Observations in TNG: "The Dauphin"

A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider

Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "The Dauphin" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).


"The Dauphin" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG Other caps Comparison TNG to TNG-R Description TNG-R
Klavdia III was re-used several times. In this very episode, it appears again as Daled IV. It is also seen as Tau Cygna V in "The Ensigns of Command", Moab IV in "The Masterpiece Society" and Devidia II in "Time's Arrow I".
Re-Used Planets in TNG
The planet was reconstructed to look much like the original.
The superconductor magnet (SCM) model 3 was later seen in Riker's quarters in "Conundrum". In the Voyager episode "Prime Factors" it was reused as the Sikarian spatial trajector.
Re-Used Props - Engineering Tools

"Conundrum"

"Prime Factors"
A better look at the device in HD.
Wesley's quarters appear only in this one episode. They are a redress of Data's quarters, which was modified after it last appeared in the previous episode, "The Measure of a Man". The blue carpet covering several walls in the quarters has been removed and was replaced by a ribbed gray material. No changes

The fish tank in Wesley's quarters is the same one seen in Picard's quarters in "The Battle" and "Where Silence Has Lease".

To the right of the fish tank, the door to the sonic shower (seen in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture") can still be seen. The shower (and this part of the set) also appeared in "The Naked Now", where the quarters were used to depict the SS Tsiolkovsky quarters. The three mirrors to the left of the shower have been replaced by a simple wall alcove with a shelf.


"Star Trek I"

"The Naked Now"
The close look in HD confirms it's the same one as Picard's.

"Where Silence Has Lease"
A monitor like that is seldom seen in the guest quarters. The two carpet-covered shelves are normally only seen in Picard's quarters where they frame a similar carpet-covered wall which features Picard's starbase painting. The painting was replaced with the reflective viewscreen here.
"The Battle"
No changes
Wesley's scanner appears in some later episodes. In "Hollow Pursuits", it is used by Barclay to scan the isolinear optical chips of an antigrav sled, for example.
"Hollow Pursuits"
The scanner in HD, including the reconstructed light beam effect, which is more clearly defined than before.

While the small black box Wesley is seen working on in this episode was already part of the engineering set in "The Schizoid Man", the box was enlarged for this episode so it could be opened and the circuitry inside could be seen.

Curiously, the scanner has changed from the preceding close shot to this one. The keypad above the handle of the device is gone. There are actually two versions of the prop, one "hero prop" (with keypad and LEDs) and one "stunt prop" (without keypad and without function) of the same basic design.

The obvious reason for the use of a stunt device is that Wesley drops the scanner to the floor at the beginning of the scene, when Geordi calls him from the lower engineering level. The camera position at the end of the scene is the same again (looking up to Wesley from Geordi's perspective, who is standing beside the warp core). It was almost definitely filmed at the same time and hence uses the stunt prop too (in the hope that it would not be recognizable), unlike the close take of Wesley holding the device and programming it, which required the presence of the keypad.


"The Schizoid Man"
A close-up of the box in HD. We can also see more clearly in HD that the keypad is gone.
The large domed bridge ceiling window is seen nicely in this shot. No changes
A good close-up of Worf's teeth. Worf's teeth in HD.
The black cardboard squares hiding reflections in the aft bridge consoles are again very noticeable in this shot. They are just as noticeable in HD.
The furry little form of Anya transforms into the humanoid woman. All morphing sequences of the episode were redone for TNG-R.
The transparent blue dome seen in the background in this shot also appeared in the starboard lounge in "Justice".
"Justice"
No changes

The padded tube behind the warp core features a box with circuitry on the side opposite the one Wesley worked on earlier in this episode as well.

Geordi is holding the hero version of the scanner that Wesley used earlier in this episode.

No changes
This is the first good look we get at the expanded senior officer's quarters/Ten Forward corridor set. Like in "The Child", where this part of the set is seen through the opened Ten Forward doors, the opening in the back wall is still covered with dark carpet and is no turbolift door yet.
Changes to the TNG Sets Between Seasons 1 and 2

"The Child"
No changes
This was not clearly visible in the season 1 episodes in which this corridor set was seen, but the door labels are purple here, instead of brown like in the other, larger corridor set. We can read the label on Salia's quarters in HD: "Lt Cdr Deanna Troi"!
Anya morphs into a large furry monster.

The intermediate stages are much crisper in the remastered version.

Note on the first image of this sequence how the size of Anya relative to Worf was changed.

The furry monster version of Anya transfers back into the humanoid Anya.

The intermediate stages of the reverse sequence were improved likewise.

For this sequence the remastered version uses a different take of Worf. In the original version he is standing still, and the top of his head is well above the upper edge of the LCARS wall display all the time. In TNG-R, he bends down when Anya begins her transformation and shrinks accordingly.

One of the three ringed planets seen in season 2. The rings are identical to those of Gravesworld ("The Schizoid Man") and Mariposa ("Up the Long Ladder"). The two beautiful sceneries were recreated from scratch for TNG-R.
The simulation of Rousseau V.
A better look at the corridor set with the carpet covered door opposite the port Ten Forward door. No changes
In the original version of the episode, the moving starfield was awkwardly inserted into the ready room window in post production. In the remastered version of the episode, the shot looks much more convincing. 
As previously said, Daled IV is a re-use of the same planet model as Klavdia III. The moon of Daled IV, however, is a re-use of Earth's moon as seen in the original version of "Conspiracy".
Re-Used Planets in TNG

"Conspiracy"

The two planets appear to be identical in TNG-R too.

The moon, on the other hand, seems to have been recreated from scratch.

The observation room windows are blue in this shot, as no footage of animated characters was composited in post production (like in the opening credits or "Where No One Has Gone Before"). In "The Schizoid Man", something similar happened, but here the room appears dimly lit.
"Where No One Has Gone Before"

"The Schizoid Man"
The observation lounge windows appear reddish in TNG-R.
Both the footage of Daled IV and its atmosphere seen on the bridge viewscreen appeared earlier in the episode as Klavdia III and its atmosphere.
Klavdia III
In TNG-R the reconstructed versions of the two shots are identical too.

Klavdia III

Wesley's game is interesting as it seems to be played with chess figures.

The game was previously featured as "Nukem" in "Robocop", where it was played with tall metallic figures.


"Robocop"

"Robocop"
A better look at the game in HD. The black cards with the atomic symbol belong to the Trek version of the game as well.
Salia transforms into a furry monster. The reconstructed morphing sequence looks a bit different. The fur on Salia's hand begins to grow a bit later, and she is not yet quite as tall in the intermediate shots.
Even though the wall covering of the set was changed after "The Measure of a Man", the wall drawers are still a part of the set.
"The Measure of a Man"
No changes

Both Anya and Salia transform into their humanoid selves.

We can see that the furry Anya and most notably her raised arm remains in place for several intermediate shots, while the image is fading to her humanoid form.

In TNG-R, there is no fading effect and no raised arm that remains visible. Her left arm is now animated, making the transition to the lowered humanoid arm more plausible.
As can be seen when comparing a screenshot from the transformation sequence and a shot right after that, Salia's reflection in the mirror in Wesley's quarters was missing during the transformation. In TNG-R the reflection too appears only after the transformation.

A model of a Vulcan long range shuttle (as seen in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture") is also seen on the shelf in Wesley's quarters. The same model was seen in the guest quarters in "Too Short a Season" and "Symbiosis".

Also, a 23rd century phaser and, hardly visible, a communicator as used in The Original Series can be seen on the shelf behind Anya.


"Too Short a Season"

"Symbiosis"
We can recognize the props somewhat better in TNG-R.
The forcefield integrated into the door frame only appears in this episode. A different force field was seen in "Heart of Glory".
"Heart of Glory"
No changes
Salia's true form. The effect was faithfully recreated for TNG-R.
A final look at Daled IV. The recreated planet in TNG-R.

 

Credits

Thanks to Kevin Hanson, who owns the two engineering props and made us aware of the existence of the stunt version.

 


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