Observations in TNG: "The Vengeance Factor"

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

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


"The Vengeance Factor" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG Other caps Comparison TNG to TNG-R Description TNG-R
The Enterprise in orbit of Acamar III. In TNG-R, the planet suddenly stops rotating.
Netflix HD release In the HD release for Netflix, the error was fixed and the planet keeps spinning.

The painted backdrop depicting the mountainous surface of the planet on which the Federation science outpost is housed was originally created for the film "Forbidden Planet" to enhance the planet surface of Altair IV.

A different backdrop, presumably taken from "Forbidden Planet" too, was previously visible in Worf's calisthenics program in "Where Silence Has Lease".


"Forbidden Planet"

"Where Silence Has Lease"
We can recognize the details of the backdrop better in HD.
These windows previously appeared in Drafting Room 5 in TNG: "Booby Trap".
"Booby Trap"
The windows in TNG-R.

Not just the windows, but the whole science station set is a redress of Drafting Room 5 seen in "Booby Trap". That set itself was a redress of the USS Enterprise-D battle bridge. The large rectangular screen with isolinear circuitry featured a schematic of the USS Enterprise-D in "Booby Trap".

The console on the left was originally created for the tactical lab seen in "The Emissary". It also appeared in Drafting Room 5 but in a different part of the set.

Much of the debris seen lying around here was already seen on the USS Hathaway, a few episodes earlier in "Peak Performance". This notably includes the tubular device on the wall behind Wesley and Geordi and the twin tubes in front of the warp core. Never waste perfectly good debris!


"Booby Trap"

"The Emissary"
A look at the set in HD.

"Booby Trap"

"Booby Trap"

"Peak Performance"

"Peak Performance"
The aforementioned two tubular devices on the floor of the science station are parts of the famous blinking tubes, as they have appeared in many Trek episodes and in other science fiction. These props are visible without the tubes in several more episodes or movies, such as notably as early as in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and, as already shown, in "Peak Performance". In the real world, these are ground skimmers for swimming pools. Our depiction shows a similar device.
Re-Used Props - Miscellaneous Equipment

"Star Trek II"

"The Quality of Life"
A look at the set in HD.

VOY: "Inside Man"

Ground skimmer (poolzoom.com)
The blinking black medical device seen in sickbay previously showed up on Doctor Ira Graves's desk in "The Schizoid Man". It could be rented from the now defunct company Modern Props.
"The Schizoid Man"
No changes
The microscope previously appeared in Doctor Pulaski's sickbay office in "The Child", "The Icarus Factor" and "Pen Pals". Here it is seen in use, displaying a few lines of blue text. Essentially the same prop, apparently just with a new screen, will appear in ENT: "Stigma".
Consoles by Modern Props in Star Trek

"The Child"

"Stigma"
A better look at the microscope in HD.
Acamar III is a re-use of the planet housing Starbase 6, seen at the end of "The Schizoid Man".
Re-Used Planets in TNG

"The Schizoid Man"
The planet was redone for TNG-R, but is very similar to the original one.
Marouk's jewelry/sash was later worn by an archaeologist in "Qpid". After that, it reappeared in the DS9 episode "Q-Less", worn by a Ferengi bidder.
"Qpid"

DS9: "Q-Less"
A better look at the jewelry in HD.
This clearly is a shot of the 2-foot model of the USS Enterprise-D. In HD it is even clearer that the model lacks the proper lighting.
Another shot of Acamar III that previously appeared in "The Schizoid Man". Another look at the new planet.
This is the first time this round wall decoration appears in the guest quarters and outside the guest lounge (as in "The Outrageous Okona") or Troi's quarters (as in "The Price"). In later episodes, especially beginning with season 4, these colorful pieces of wall decoration are seen in all crew quarters aboard the Enterprise, replacing the space art mostly created by Rick Sternbach.
Space Art in Star Trek: The Next Generation

"The Outrageous Okona"

"The Price"
No changes
Wesley carries a similar blue suitcase as the Acamarian servant does here in "Ménage à Troi". The only difference is the Starfleet arrowhead featured on his case.
"Ménage à Troi"
No changes
The ship is going to warp as seen through a window. Similar shots appeared in "The Child" and "The Schizoid Man". In both cases, the streaking warp-stars were seen through the Ten Forward windows though.
"The Schizoid Man"
The recreated warp effect in TNG-R.

After blue in "The Bonding" and purple in "The Price", we can now see a yellow window corner.

The plant in the guest quarters is an Aechmea fasciata.


"The Bonding"

"The Price"
The set in TNG-R.

Yuta's cylindrical suitcase is similar to the ones often used by Starfleet personnel when they go on short trips, like Picard in "Family". The cases first appeared in "11001001".

The big crate in the background previously appeared in "The Battle", then holding Picard's belongings.


"11001001"

"Family"
No changes

"Ensign Ro"

"The Battle"
Both shots of Gamma Hromi II were originally used for Ramatis III in "Loud as a Whisper". The planet appears once more as Alpha Onias III in "Future Imperfect". Gamma Hromi II too is represented by a new and more detailed planet in TNG-R.

Characteristically shaped cargo containers like the one seen in the foreground of this shot were first seen in the Genesis cave in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". This prop was originally a Little Tikes Apollo Space Capsule that was painted to appear less toy-like.

The wall panel in the far background includes parts previously seen on the Erstwhile, Captain Okona's ship in "The Outrageous Okona". The rest of the wall panel is the almost ubiquitous "tube wall" that, among other things, also includes sonobuoy containers.
Re-Uses of Sonobuoy Containers


"Star Trek II"

"The Outrageous Okona"
The same shot with improved colors in TNG-R.
The reactor stolen by the Gatherers is similar in design to the reactor of the duck blind seen in "Who Watches the Watchers", only it is mounted sideways here.
"Who Watches the Watchers"
No changes
The Regalian phaser rifle first appeared as a Solari weapon in "Loud as a Whisper".
"Loud as a Whisper"
An HD close-up of the weapon.
The Regalian phaser rifles fire purple energy beams, a color seldom seen for an energy weapon on Star Trek. The newly created beams of the weapons in TNG-R.
The second Gatherer uses a different kind of rifle. The prop is seen much better in "The Hunted" where it is used as an Angosian rifle, of which several copies exist. This may also explain the many variations that appear in later series. Modified rifles of this type are used by the guards of the Albino in "Blood Oath" and as a Bajoran rifle in "The Circle" and "Shakaar".
"The Hunted"

DS9: "Blood Oath"
An HD close-up of the weapon.

DS9: "The Circle"

DS9: "Shakaar"
We can hardly recognize in SD that the Gatherer costumes, such as Volnoth's and later Chorgan's, feature a metallic fabric that was also seen in several earlier episodes, like "Encounter at Farpoint", "The Last Outpost", "The Child", "The Emissary" and "The Price".
Later in this episode

"Encounter at Farpoint"
In TNG-R, we can clearly see that the fabric is the same.

"The Last Outpost"

"The Price"
The fire barrel seen in the Gatherer outpost on Gamma Hromi II will later turn up again on Qo'noS in "Sins of the Father".
"Sins of the Father"
No changes
Like in "Loud as a Whisper", where this shot showed Ramatis III, the planet appears very dark here. The simple reason may be that it is supposed to be the dark side of the planet. This shot is unusually dark even in TNG-R.
Brull wears a jacket originally worn by Thadiun Okona in "The Outrageous Okona". It was slightly modified for this re-use.
"The Outrageous Okona"
No changes
The insignia on the collar of Brull's jacket is identical to the fabric used on the rim of the Ferengi head gear in the first season.
"The Last Outpost"
A close-up of the insignia in HD.
This is one of the rare occasions (the other being "Lonely Among Us") with an animation (here only strings of numbers) on the conn console. The animated central part of the LACRS was added in post production. The reconstructed console in HD.
The pyramidal Pair Match games by Bandai are seen in many scenes set in Ten Forward, but this is one of the rare cases when somebody is actually seen playing with the game. No changes

This painting, prominently displayed in Riker's quarters, was created by Dave Archer and is called "Heaven". A slightly different version with rounded edges was first seen in Drafting Room 5 at Utopia Planitia in "Booby Trap".

The commander also has a thing for female torso sculptures. The torso in "The Vengeance Factor" is the third, after two other, different ones had appeared in "Time Squared" and "Up the Long Ladder". The latter would reappear in "Future Imperfect".


"Booby Trap"

"Time Squared"
No changes

"Up the Long Ladder"

"Future Imperfect"
Riker has moved the painting "Proto-planet" by Rick Sternbach from the living room to the bedroom since "The Enemy". The painting also appeared in some crew quarters in "The Child" and at Starfleet Headquarters in "Conspiracy".
"The Enemy"

"The Child"
No changes
In some earlier episodes Riker used to have a trombone without a counterweight. Now we can see an instrument with a counterweight (the small black disk) in his quarters. We can recognize this detail a lot better in "Parallels".
"Time Squared"

"Parallels"
No changes
As can be seen on this still, the LCARS graphic of the large sickbay wall display was changed again between seasons. The screenshots from "Symbiosis" and "Time Squared" show what the display looked like in seasons 1 and 2 respectively.
"Symbiosis"

"Time Squared"
No changes

Two graphics showing information about the microvirus used by Yuta to kill Volnoth. The monitor was first seen in "The Schizoid Man" where it was used during Data's psycho test. It also appeared in "Shades of Gray" and was later heavily modified for "The Inner Light".

As can be seen in the original episode, the text about the microvirus on the left is a re-use of the text created for the display about the Tralesta massacre, seen on a bridge aft station later in the episode. The words "History File" and "Tralesta Massacre" can even be made out. The numbers on the small keyboard on the bottom left are reversed.

The PADD lying in front of the monitor was originally created for season 2 and often used by Dr. Pulaski, such as in "Shades of Gray". It always shows the same graphic of a brain scan...


"The Schizoid Man"

"Shades of Gray"

When the episode was remastered, the original text was replaced by strings of nucleotides, more fitting for a medical analysis of the virus.

The numbers on the input area are still reversed. Actually, the whole picture including the PADD was reversed (already in the original episode) before the LCARS screen was inserted.


"The Inner Light"

"Shades of Gray"

Yuta's intricate tattoo can be seen really well in this screenshot. Sovereign Marouk has the same kind of facial mark.

The Gatherers additionally sport some kind of facial scarring.


Sovereign Marouk

Temarek
In HD it can be seen even better.

Brull

Chorgan
A nice shot of the Gatherer ship, which is a re-use of the model of the Pakled ship Mondor created for "Samaritan Snare". The comparison shot from that episode highlights the color differences between the two ships and also shows how the main viewscreen was slightly modified between seasons 2 and 3.
Redresses of the Mondor

"Samaritan Snare"
The color of the ship was faithfully recreated for TNG-R.
Like the Regalian phaser rifles seen earlier in the episode, the Gatherer ship fires a purple energy beam.

The USS Enterprise-D firing at the Gatherer ship, the beam being deflected by the ship's forward shields.

The Gatherer ship strangely appears upside down in this and the following shot. The nose-tip of the ship is pointed upwards here, in all other shots it is pointing down.

Note the better defined shield bubble in TNG-R.

The Gatherer ship is still upside down in just these shots in TNG-R, only to appear upside up in the next one.

As can be seen in this screenshot, taken shortly after the Enterprise has stopped firing at the Gatherer ship, the Galaxy class ship is totally stationary. As freeze-frame of footage of the 6-foot model was used to create this shot.
The Gatherer Brull wears two Ligonian belts from "Code of Honor". A bit earlier, we could see that Brull's boots are adorned by what used to be the Ligonian headgear.
"Code of Honor"

Earlier in this episode
Brull's outfit in HD.
The USS Enterprise-D faces the Gatherer ship. This footage was again re-used from "Samaritan Snare". Again, the color of the alien ship was modified in post production. Exactly the same footage of the gray ship is re-used in "Cost of Living" as the Kostolain starship.
"Samaritan Snare"

"Cost of Living"
Another look at the ships in HD.
Acamarian writing can be seen on the small desk monitor in the foreground. The monitor in the background was rented from Modern Props. It was also seen in the terraforming lab on Velara III in "Home Soil".
"Home Soil"
An HD close-up of the monitor.

Both the window on the left and the red ribbed wall panels on the right were originally Klingon. The ribbed wall appeared in the mess hall on the Klingon Bird-of-Prey Pagh in "A Matter of Honor". Both the window and the wall also appeared in the Rite of Ascension simulation in "The Icarus Factor".
Re-Uses of Freezer Spacers

The "solar panels" in the background were most likely rented from Modern Props. They would reappear in "Eye of the Beholder" a couple of years later.


"A Matter of Honor"

"The Icarus Factor"
A look at the set as it appears in TNG-R.

"The Icarus Factor"

"Eye of the Beholder"

The console at the center of the raised platform in the background originally was a Klingon transporter console, seen in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". It also appeared on the Pakled ship Mondor in "Samaritan Snare".
Consoles Built for Star Trek

The consoles with the four round monitors previously appeared on the Promellian battlecruiser in "Booby Trap".


"Star Trek IV"

"Samaritan Snare"

"Star Trek V"

"Booby Trap"
Seen on the bridge of the Gatherer ship are a Rocchetto stool, as it appeared in engineering in "Where No One Has Gone Before", and thin pentagonal cargo containers, known from "The Child", "Star Trek V", "Booby Trap" and other episodes.
Commercially Available Chairs in Star Trek

"Where No One Has Gone Before"

"The Child"
No changes

"Star Trek V"

"Star Trek V"
Chorgan wears the golden insignia that was part of Worf's season 1 sash. It was also attached to the sash worn by the Klingons Kor and Kang in TOS.
TOS: "Errand of Mercy"

"Heart of Glory"
A close-up of the emblem in HD.

TOS: "Day of the Dove"
The console seen behind Chorgan was seen in several earlier TNG episodes. Amongst others, it appeared in Doctor Soong's lab in "Datalore" and in the surgical suite on Starbase 515 in "Samaritan Snare". Here, it is turned off.
"Datalore"

"Samaritan Snare"
No changes
Dr. Crusher wore a two-piece uniform in the first few episodes of season 3 (such as in "Evolution") and then switched to a front-zipper jumpsuit. It appears here for the last time.
"Evolution"
No changes
Several files from the Acamarian Planetary Database.

The text was newly created for TNG-R and matches the original only partially. The new text contains several names of people involved in the remastering of TNG, such as Wade Felker, restoration supervisor ("Felker City") or Chris Tezber, VFX supervisor ("Outpost Tezber").

The door which leads to the bridge lavatory can be seen behind Data. The door is rarely seen and only a few times people are seen entering or leaving the room. No changes
An animated map shows how the Tralesta clan (yellow) was eradicated by the Lornak clan (red). We can read the (mostly new) text on this display in HD too, including names such as James Holt, compositor ("Jamholt region").
Archival photos from the Acamarian Planetary Database reveal that Yuta is much older than she seems. The sequence as it looks in TNG-R.
The console on the background also appeared on the bridges of the Erstwhile in "The Outrageous Okona" and the Mondor in "Samaritan Snare". The console was rented from Modern Props.
"The Outrageous Okona"

"Samaritan Snare"
No changes
The rotating console/sensor behind Picard also appeared on the bridge of the Pakled ship Mondor in "Samaritan Snare". This prop too was rented from Modern Props.
"Samaritan Snare"
No changes
When the Gatherer falls backward violently, his wig comes loose. Maybe the poor man is wearing a wig in-universe too? No changes
Yuta, Marouk's male guard and female servant all wear similar metallic necklaces. Yuta's necklace can be seen up close here. The necklace of the female servant, only seen briefly in the episode, is later worn by a Ferengi bidder in "Q-less", the same one who also has Marouk's sash. The servant's necklace is a little thinner than the ones worn by Yuta and the guard.
Earlier in this episode

"Q-Less"
The necklace can be seen better in HD.
Riker's phaser fires at a very weird angle in this shot. The reconstructed phaser beam in the remastered episode.
A close-up of the Type-2 phaser introduced at the beginning of season 3. The comparison shot from "The Arsenal of Freedom" shows the season 1/2 Type-2 phaser. Note that Riker's phaser is a "left-handed" model with the black ribbed area on the left side of the grip. Most other phasers appear to be right-handed.
"The Arsenal of Freedom"

"The Hunted"
A better look at the phaser in HD. Note the worn out labels.
Yuta is vaporized by the phaser beam. Visually impressive but unnecessary. The reconstructed effect in TNG-R.
The central Gatherer desk features three small monitors directly attached to it. Monitors of this type first appeared in the tactical lab in "The Emissary" and were also seen in Drafting Room 5 in "Booby Trap".
"The Emissary"

"Booby Trap"
No changes

 

Credits

Thanks to Eleanor for the hint about the reversed numbers on the keypad and to Adge for the observation that the whole picture is reversed. The image from the Netflix release comes from TrekCore.

 


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