Observations in TNG: "Tin Man"
A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Tin Man" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).
"Tin Man" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore
| Description TNG | Other caps | Comparison TNG to TNG-R | Description TNG-R | |
| The two small consoles behind Captain DeSoto appeared in previous TNG episodes. The taller one was first seen in "Evolution" and the smaller one in "Déjà Q". The LCARS display in the background shows the back half of an Excelsior-class vessel. Fitting, as the USS Hood indeed belongs to this class. |  "Evolution" |
 "Déjà Q" |
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An HD close-up of the console. |
| The footage of the USS Hood and the USS Enterprise-D flying next to it were originally filmed for "Encounter at Farpoint". The shots of the two ships were edited together differently for this episode, though. The Enterprise-D is a little further ahead of the Hood, so in this sequence, there is nearly no overlapping of the two ships unlike in the original shot. It also makes the USS Enterprise-D seem larger than the USS Hood, more even so then in the original arrangement of the footage in the pilot episode. Size of the Excelsior Class |
 "Encounter at Farpoint" |
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The two starships in HD. | |
 "Encounter at Farpoint" |
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 "Encounter at Farpoint" |
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 "Encounter at Farpoint" |
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 "Encounter at Farpoint" |
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 "Encounter at Farpoint" |
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| Data is seen inserting an isolinear chip into the starboard aft station - except that there never was an according slot in the surface. Still, the illusion works. |  "Brothers" |
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No changes | |
| The mission orders delivered by Tam Elbrun. |   |
We still can't read the text in HD. | ||
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| These graphics and cross-sections of Gomtuu are CG creations. |   |
The graphics are all still the same in TNG-R. | ||
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| We can recognize in this shot that there are no window panes in the observation lounge set. Some time in season 3, the acrylic glass was removed to avoid reflections of lighting and filming equipment. We can also see what appears to be a seam of the backdrop at the level of Tam Elbrun's head. |   |
This is still more obvious in TNG-R. | ||
| In this scene, Crusher's desktop monitor displays the same graphic often seen on Picard's ready room monitor in episodes like "Up the Long Ladder" and "Yesterday's Enterprise", only the line "File = Captain's Log Entry by J.L. Picard" was removed. |  "Up the Long Ladder" |
 "Yesterday's Enterprise" |
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A close-up of the display in HD. |
| Beta Stromgren was seen on the observation lounge monitor earlier in the episode. The footage of the sun was flipped for this second appearance. |   |
The same was done in TNG-R. It looks like the original footage of the star was retouched though. | ||
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| A first look at Gomtuu in orbit of Beta Stromgren. Very alien and very cool. |   |
A first look at Gomtuu in HD. | ||
| The footage of the Romulan Warbird was originally created for "The Defector". In that episode, the ship was pursuing the Romulan scout ship during this shot. Appearances of the Romulan Warbird |
 "The Defector" |
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The shot of the Romulan ship in HD. | |
| The shot of the Romulan Warbird approaching the USS Enterprise-D was newly filmed for this episode. The footage of the USS Enterprise-D, on the other hand, was taken from "Déjà Q", where the ship faced the moon of Bre'el IV. The 4-foot model was used. |  "Déjà Q" |
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Different footage appears in the remastered episode. We now see a shot of the Enterprise-D from TNG: "Home Soil" (flipped horizontally). This is the 6-foot model. | |
 "Home Soil HD" |
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| This footage of the Romulan Warbird firing at the USS Enterprise-D and flying towards Beta Stromgren was newly created for the episode, using the second model of the Warbird, as can be seen by the added detailing on the side of the nacelle and the extended lighting compared to the model seen e.g. in "Contagion". |  "Contagion" |
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The shots of the Romulan ship in HD. | |
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| Geordi has a new engineering tool in this episode. But he won't enjoy it for long, as Dr. Crusher snatches it. It can be seen in sickbay in "Hero Worship" and "Identity Crisis". |  "Identity Crisis" |
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No changes | |
| This footage of the USS Enterprise-D appeared in earlier episodes, like "Unnatural Selection" and "Contagion". It is interesting how it was modified for each subsequent appearance. In "Unnatural Selection", the blue light of the nacelles is reflected on the side of the neck of the USS Enterprise. In "Contagion", the green light of the Warbird's nacelles is reflected here. In "Tin Man", finally, the hull shows the reflection of the orange light of Beta Stromgren and of the nacelles. |  "Unnatural Selection" |
 "Contagion" |
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We can see the orange reflection in TNG-R too. |
Data's desk originally belonged to Kirk in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". It was also seen (in the same location) in Picard's Stargazer quarters in "The Battle" and much later as a Voth table in VOY: "Distant Origin". Data's season 3 chair previously appeared in the sickbay office in seasons 1 and 2. |
 "Star Trek I" |
 VOY: "Distant Origin" |
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No changes |
| This painting also appears in Data's quarters in "The Most Toys", still covered by the red fabric. It is reminiscent of the spatial vortex in "Time Squared". |  "Time Squared" |
 "The Most Toys" |
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No changes |
| Parts of the footage of Gomtuu sending out the energy wave were originally created for the end of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" when V'Ger enters a new stage of existence. The footage of the Romulan Warbird was newly filmed. |  "Star Trek I" |
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The spectacular sequence in HD. | |
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 "Star Trek I" |
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| The shockwave reaches the USS Enterprise-D. |   |
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| The open circuitry seen in the background was originally created for "The Big Goodbye" where it was part of the holodeck circuits. It also appeared next to the holodeck doors in "11001001". The circuitry only appears here, as part of the removable corridor wall plug, in the third season. |  "The Big Goodbye" |
 "11001001" |
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Only in TNG-R we can see that the slots are blue. |
| An LCARS display showing the flight path of the Romulan Warbird. |   |
A close-up of the display in HD. The labels on the stars are just numbers. | ||
| The graphic of Beta Stromgren also appeared in "The Naked Now", depicting the red giant, and in "Symbiosis", showing Delos. |  "The Naked Now" |
 "Symbiosis" |
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A close-up of the display. |
| The footage of the USS Enterprise-D and the Romulan Warbird originally appeared in "The Defector". |  "The Defector" |
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A look at the two ships in HD. | |
| The bridge of the Romulan Warbird looked different in each appearance since "The Neutral Zone". The room seen in "Tin Man", however, is the ready room, according to the episode script. It looks similar to the interior of Tomalak's Warbird in "The Defector". The Romulan logo was not yet present behind the Tomalak's chair in "The Defector" and the light behind the grating above the logo was switched from white to yellow. The lateral red panels, like countless other decorative gratings in TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT, were made from so-called freezer spacers. Re-Uses of Freezer Spacers |
 "The Defector" |
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The bridge as it looks in TNG-R. | |
| This is more re-used footage of the Romulan Warbird from "The Defector", only Beta Stromgren was added for this episode. |  "The Defector" |
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More shots of the Romulan ship in HD. | |
| This footage of the Warbird and the USS Enterprise-D originally appeared in "Contagion". Direct comparison shows that the lights (nacelles, deflector) of the USS Enterprise-D are misaligned in one of the two episodes. The original model of the Warbird was used for this shot, as the second model wasn't created until "The Defector" in the third season. Conversely, the side of the nacelle is completely smooth here, in contrast to the earlier side shot of another Warbird in this episode. |  "Contagion" |
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| Another shot of Gomtuu in front of Beta Stromgren. |   |
More of Gomtuu in HD. | ||
| The footage of the Warbird flying away from the camera too was originally created for "The Defector". In that episode, only the first part of the sequence was fully seen, as the ship engaged its cloaking device partway in the sequence. The second model of the Romulan Warbird can be seen here, as the side of the nacelle features added details. |  "The Defector" |
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Note that the side walls of the Romulan Warbird are almost black in TNG-R as the ship is passing by. | |
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| Another shot of Gomtuu in orbit of Beta Stromgren. |  |
No changes | ||
| Tam Elbrun's hand partially immerged in Gomtuu's interior walls. |   |
A better look at the wall in HD. | ||
| The door to Gomtuu's "bridge" slowly opens. |   |
We can recognize a bit more of Gomtuu's interior in HD. The overall hue is more reddish than in the original release. | ||
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| A captain's chair appears on Gomtuu's "bridge". It was created using a melting wax model, played backwards. |   |
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| A window opens in Gomtuu's command center. |   |
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| Gomtuu glows more intensely as Beta Stromgren comes closer to going supernova. |   |
The great sequence in HD. Notice how the solar flares of Beta Stromgren look much more realistic in the remastered version. | ||
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| Gomtuu whisks away the USS Enterprise-D and the Romulan Warbird. |   |
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The orange glow of Beta Stromgren on the hulls of both ships is only present in the remastered version. | |||
| The footage of the USS Enterprise-D being whisked away was originally created for "When the Bough Breaks" but also appeared in "Q Who". This sequence is interesting, as all three models of the USS Enterprise-D are used for it. The first part of the sequence uses the 4-foot model. The middle section (like the final section re-used from "When the Bough Breaks"), showing the ship from a distance, uses the 2-foot model and the last section, showing the ship come to a halt, uses the 6-foot model. |  |
No changes | ||
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The shot of the stars flashing by on the bridge viewscreen was originally created for "Q Who", when the USS Enterprise-D is whisked away by Q. As can be seen, the pattern of stars is identical. A screenshot of the main viewscreen from earlier in the episode shows how the border of the viewscreen has become narrower between seasons and is no longer ribbed. |
 "Q Who" |
 Earlier in this episode |
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The sequence in TNG-R still shows the stock footage. But only if we freeze frames, we can see that underneath the central red alert indicator, one single element of the left white chaser light remains dark. We can see in other season 3 episodes that the same light is broken, but it was evidently still intact in season 2 and in the original version of "Tin Man". Was this incredibly tiny detail "fixed" for visual continuity? |
| The footage of Beta Stromgren going supernova is re-used from "The Naked Now" when the unnamed red giant goes nova. |  "The Naked Now" |
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The effect in TNG-R is identical as in "The Naked Now" too. | |
 "The Naked Now" |
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 "The Naked Now" |
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 "The Naked Now" |
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| Friendship. |   |
Deanna and Data in HD. | ||
