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Observations in TNG: "Too Short a Season"

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

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

"Too Short a Season" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The shot of Persephone V was originally created for "Lonely Among Us" where the shot represented the Selay homeworld. The same planet would appear again in "Manhunt" as Antede III and in "The Perfect Mate" as Krios. Re-Used Planets in TNG	"Lonely Among Us" SD	"Lonely Among Us" HD		The new planet in TNG-R seems to be the same basic model as the Selay homeworld, but with some tweaking.
The eagle statues in Karnas's office were first seen in "Encounter at Farpoint" in the 21st century courtroom. When the courtroom appears once more in the series finale, we can also see the eagle statues again. In addition, the statues are seen in the Qualor II bar in "Unification II". Re-Used Props - Decoration	"Encounter at Farpoint"	"Unification II"		No changes
The graphic of Persephone V behind Tasha Yar was originally seen in "The Last Outpost". It also appeared in "The Battle" where it depicted Maxia Zeta IV. It reappeared later in Data's quarters in "Datalore" on an LCARS display above Data's desk. This graphic would remain there until the end of the series. It was also visible in "Home Soil" and "Conspiracy".				The HD version confirms it's the same graphic.
Riker's console and the seat to the right of the commander will be removed in order to accommodate Admiral Jameson's wheelchair. Both are still present a few minutes earlier when the admiral speaks to Picard on the bridge.		A bit later		No changes
Admiral Jameson's wheelchair, designed by Andy Probert, later appeared in "Conspiracy" as the control chair Dexter Remmick sits on when he is killed by Picard and Riker.		"Conspiracy"		A better look at the wheelchair in HD.
The blades of the weapon behind Karnas have a similar shape as those of the Tkon halberd wielded by Portal 63 in "The Last Outpost". Karnas's weapon is made from a transparent material, though.		"The Last Outpost"		TNG-R shows the weapons somewhat better.
The two smaller weapons behind Karnas are Type-2 Starfleet phasers. The phaser on the right was in use in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". The phaser on the left was seen the following film, "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". Galleries - Starfleet Weapons	"Star Trek II"	"Star Trek III"		TNG-R shows the weapons somewhat better.
This is the first appearance of the automatic drawers often seen in crew quarters aboard the USS Enterprise-D.				A better look at the drawer in TNG-R.
A futuristic game looking like three-dimensional checkers appears for the first time in Admiral Jameson's guest quarters. The game would be seen in several Season 1 and 2 episodes and appeared as a Ferengi version of 3D chess in "Ménage à Troi". Rick Sternbach: "I believe it's 3-D chess (as seen back on TOS), but with a new acrylic stand. I don't recall if I drew this one up or not. Don't recall who fabricated it; might have been the Paramount shop."	"Pen Pals"	"Ménage à Troi"		The game can be seen only a little bit better in HD.
The alcove with drawers and a mirror first appears in this episode. In later episodes, a sink would be added and the alcove would often appear as part of the bedroom section of the crew quarters set.		Guest quarters floorplan		No changes
Riker's console and the seat next to it are still missing, although Jameson has been rejuvenated and can walk himself.				No changes
A new desk made from wood and glass often seen in guest quarters first appears in "Too Short a Season". The desk features the Federation logo on the front and has a small built-in monitor.				We can recognize more details of the display in HD.
				No changes
A small model of a Vulcan long-range shuttle, as first seen in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", is barely visible on the table behind Admiral Jameson's desk in the guest quarters. The model is seen again in the guest quarters in "Symbiosis" and in Wesley's quarters in "The Dauphin".				Only the HD version reveals that it's actually the Vulcan long-range shuttle.
The glass vase was later seen again in the guest quarters in "Symbiosis". This shot also nicely shows the mirror alcove.		"Symbiosis"		Some more details of the vase are visible in HD. This and some other shots filmed in this set are badly framed in the remastered episode, with a black border of 8 pixels on top. We corrected the other instances.
In order to turn Picard's quarters into the admiral's guest quarters, the starbase painting was removed and replaced by a monitor.		"Chain of Command I"		No changes
The transparent plate on the table behind Anne Jameson is the holographic projector previously seen in Riker's quarters in "Haven" and the Observation lounge in "The Last Outpost".		"Haven"		No changes
This shot nicely illustrates the modifications to the quarters set between "The Battle" and "Too Short a Season".		"The Battle"		The set in HD.
The round piece of wall decoration behind Anne Jameson appears to be a celestial hemisphere map.				A close-up of the map in HD.
Both Riker's console and the additional seat are now back in place.				No changes
The structures of Mordan IV on the main viewscreen.				Some more details of the graphic can be recognized in HD.
Close inspection reveals that the footage of Data and Geordi looking at the viewscreen is being played backwards.				No changes
Footage of Mordan IV will reappear twice, first in "Coming of Age" as Relva VII and then in "A Matter of Honor" as the planet housing Starbase 179. Re-Used Planets in TNG	"Coming of Age"	"A Matter of Honor"		Mordan IV too was reconstructed.
The wall behind Picard and Jameson was originally created for the Klingon Bird-of-Prey corridor as seen in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". It also appeared in "Encounter at Farpoint" in a corridor leading to Groppler Zorn's office.	"Star Trek IV"	"Encounter at Farpoint"		A better look at the wall in TNG-R.
The cylinders on the left were originally seen on the Regula I research station in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". They appeared again in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" on Vulcan. They were also seen in the Farpoint Station tunnels in "Encounter at Farpoint". The ceiling was built with freezer spacers, like many other walls, floors and ceilings in TNG. This very set will reappear in "Datalore". Re-Uses of Freezer Spacers	"Star Trek II"	"Datalore"		A better look at the cylinders and the ceiling in HD.
The wall in the background was previously seen in "Hide and Q" on Quadra Sigma III. A similar wall could be spotted in several Star Trek films, including "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". Re-Uses of Sonobuoy Containers	"Star Trek II"	"Hide and Q"		No changes
The corridor extension seen behind the Mordan IV guards was originally created for the film "Spaceballs". The screen cap also shows another re-used cylinder of a similar type as the one mentioned above.		"Spaceballs"		It is just as obvious in the remastered episode that it's just a painting.
The light beam from the soldier's weapon is darker than the surroundings.				The light beam doesn't look more realistic in TNG-R.
We rarely see a phaser battle with two groups fighting each other and the energy beams being almost the same color. The Mordanites (dark red) are using old Federation phasers, explaining why they nearly have the same color as the current phasers.				The slight color difference was reproduced for TNG-R.
The eagle statues can be seen a little better in this shot. They are flanking a banner with the Mordan IV logo.		Mordan IV banner		A better view of the flag in HD.
Stools like the one seen behind Picard also appeared on Ligon II in "Code of Honor" and Rubicun III in "Justice". They will later be seen on Aldea in "When the Bough Breaks".	"Code of Honor"	"Justice"		No changes
The surface of Mordan IV, dotted by several large buildings, can be seen in the background. Like with the surface of Deneb IV in "Encounter at Farpoint", a model of the surface with several buildings was created instead of using a matte painting. This surface model can be seen better on two drawings in the Star Trek Fact Files and on a photo in Star Trek: The Next Generation 365. The shape of the buildings (including a briefly visible dome) is nicely mirrored in the LCARS display of the surface of Mordan IV seen earlier in the episode. Mike Okuda: "Rick made most of the model city buildings. He used hot melt glue to create some cool sculptural detail on the skyscrapers. Very simple, but it looked good when photographed. I did paint and tape detail on dome structures what were mostly made from found objects. I recall that one big dome was a cooking wok. Later, I borrowed the shapes of the buildings for the animated city map graphic on the main viewer."	Star Trek Fact Files	Star Trek: TNG 365		No changes here, but the structures on the surface are better visible in TNG-R.
Anne Jameson's dress appeared again in "Ménage à Troi" where it was worn by a Bolian woman.		"Ménage à Troi"		The dress in HD.
Another look at the Type-2 phasers from "Star Trek I", "Star Trek II" and "Star Trek III".				A better look at the weapons in HD.
The rifles used on Mordan IV are a modification of the Klingon disruptor rifles first seen in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock".		"Star Trek III"		A better look at the weapons in HD.

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