Info Starships Fleet Yards Treknology

Episodes Database Fandom Community

Observations in TNG: "Unnatural Selection"

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

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

"Unnatural Selection" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
It seems somebody forgot his script on the armrest of the captain's chair...				We can see the document even better in HD.
The USS Lantree is the first Miranda-class vessel that appears on TNG. It is also the first time that a vessel of this class appears without the rollbar that the USS Reliant and USS Saratoga still had. Miranda Class Variations		"Star Trek II"		A close-up of the vessel in HD.
The bridge of the USS Lantree is a redress of the battle bridge of the USS Enterprise-D, last seen in "The Arsenal of Freedom". In the background, the main viewer of the battle bridge and the two adjoining monitors are seen. This means that the consoles and captain's chair were rotated 180°.		"The Arsenal of Freedom"		No changes
Part of a lifeform analysis is shown on a small bridge monitor.				The text is just as illegible in the remastered episode as in the original as SD footage of the data on the monitor was used.
The star map on the left is later seen in "The Measure of a Man" in the courtroom set, another redress of the battle bridge.		"The Measure of a Man"		An HD close-up of the map.
This aft shot of the USS Enterprise-D is new and was created for this episode.				No changes
The flashing lights of the quarantine warning are seen in this shot.				No changes
Gagarin IV is a re-use of footage of 'aucdet IV from "The Child". Only tinted green instead of blue. Re-Used Planets in TNG		"The Child"		The planet was newly created for TNG-R.
The quarantine lab is a redress of sickbay. The short corridor leading to Doctor Pulaski's office was hidden behind a wall, similar to those hiding the corridors in main engineering.		"Heart of Glory"		No changes
The quarantine force field effect is similar to Dr. Manheim's time distortion in "We'll Always Have Paris".		"We'll Always Have Paris"		The effect was reconstructed for TNG-R.
The medical monitor seen behind Dr. Pulaski was seen in all seven seasons of TNG. It first appeared in Doctor Crusher's sickbay office in "The Naked Now", sporting the same graphic. The graphic was never removed until the end of the series and the monitor was last seen in "Star Trek: Generations", where it was salvaged after the USS Enterprise-D had crash landed on Veridian III. The color of the monitor was changed from beige/brown to white between "Lower Decks " and "Genesis", where it got some more screen time. The graphic also appeared in the medical lab in "Transfigurations".	"The Naked Now"	"Bloodlines"		No changes
	"The Naked Now"	"Generations"		No changes
	"Transfigurations"
The black console Geordi uses to turn on the force field was also seen in "Home Soil" in the Velara III terraforming station.		"Home Soil"		No changes
The fabric of the sickbay table seems very battered in these two shots.				No changes

It would take more than a decade until another incubator was seen on Star Trek in the Enterprise episode "Vox Sola".		ENT: "Vox Sola"		A close-up of the incubator in HD.
When Pulaski walks behind the sickbay bed in this shot it can be seen that nobody is under the styrolite cover, as the part covering the feet is fully transparent.				No changes

This is a redress of the part of main engineering where the pool table is located. This part of the set was also redressed in season 1 to appear like a corridor junction. In the first season, however, the wall where the MSD normally is located was modified to feature a holodeck/cargo bay door. Here (and this will be true for the rest of the series), some chairs and plants are placed in front of the wall to make the junction appear like a corridor lounge. In front of Troi, a square piece of carpet can be seen. The carpet was put there to hide the hole with the power connection for the pool table.	"Where No One Has Gone Before"	"Heart of Glory"		A close-up of the patch in HD.
	"11001001"
The sickbay office is seen clearly for the first time in the second season. One noticeable change is the addition of the medical caducei on the two office windows flanking the entryway. This Starfleet Medical caducei would stay there until the end of the season.		"We'll Always Have Paris"		A close-up of the emblem in HD.
As can be seen in this screenshot, the sickbay office now also features a small stand with a few transparent orange PADDs on the central desk, similar to the PADDs adorning Picard's ready room desk since the beginning of the second season.		"Where Silence Has Lease"		No changes
It can barely be made out in SD, but the sign on the shuttlebay door says "Holographic Environment Simulator 2".		"The Big Goodbye"		In HD, the wrong label is painfully obvious.
A nice wide shot of shuttlebay 3, last seen in "The Child". It seems the shuttlebay door has changed since its last appearance, as it is a regular holodeck/cargo bay/shuttlebay door now (see previous observation). The large yellow "3" has changed orientation as well. In "The Child", it was still facing the outside (which would make more sense for an approaching shuttlecraft), here it faces the inside of the shuttlebay. The small console La Forge and Pulaski are seen working on is later seen much better in the transporter room.		"The Child"		No changes
The large inaccurate Type-7 shuttle mock-up is seen for the first time in this episode. Variations of the Type-7 Shuttle				No changes
This is the first time we see the large shuttlebay doors in motion since they were seen in engineering aboard the USS Enterprise in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".		"Star Trek II"		No changes
The interior of the shuttle cockpit has been changed only slightly between "Coming of Age", where it was first seen, "Skin of Evil", where it was last seen and this episode. As can be seen, the pilot's chair is different in each appearance of the set.	"Coming of Age"	"Skin of Evil"		No changes
As the shuttle is powering up its engines, the set borders are visible.				For the remastering, the shot was reframed so the set borders are no longer visible. We can also see that the lighting of the shuttle nacelles and of the forcefield was improved to be more brilliant. The light is also reflected from the floor now.
The front part of the shuttle was only modified slightly since "Coming of Age" as well. The small monitor behind the control console displays a graphic originally seen in the sensor maintenance room in "Lonely Among Us".	"Coming of Age"	TNG: "Lonely Among Us"		A close-up of the display in HD.
		TNG-R: "Lonely Among Us"
This is a beautiful new shot of the 6-foot model of the USS Enterprise-D with new footage of the Type-7 shuttle model leaving shuttlebay 3.				The shot in HD still uses the same footage of the models.
The footage on the viewscreen was originally created for "Coming of Age", it is framed a little differently here.		"Coming of Age"		No changes
The shuttle comes to a stop next to the port nacelle. This footage has also never appeared before.				No changes
The console in the background appeared in the cargo bay earlier this season in "The Child". In "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier", it occupies the same spot in the USS Enterprise-A transporter room, it is just rotated 180°. As season 2 and the fifth feature film were filmed concurrently, it is possible the console was left there after filming of "Unnatural Selection" had finished.		"Star Trek V"		No changes
The aft section of the shuttle appears for the first time in this episode. The wall decoration consists of commercially available acoustic panels. Acoustic Panels as Wall Coverings in TNG				No changes
The effect of Doctor Pulaski dissolving the styrolite.				The effect had to be recreated for TNG-R.
The small medical device Pulaski uses to dissolve the styrolite is also used by Nurse Ogawa to scan the Trill Odan in "The Host" and by Doctor Crusher to scan Counselor Troi in "Night Terrors".	"The Host"	"Night Terrors"		A close-up of the prop in HD.
In "Coming of Age", the aft hatch of the shuttle was still unlabeled (the number 03 can be seen faintly beside the door on the port side). Here "USS Enterprise" and "01" can clearly be read.		"Coming of Age"		A close-up of the shuttle in HD.
The large central communications console/viewscreen of the shuttle cockpit is first seen in use in this episode.				No changes
A good look at the other side of the aft section of the Type-7 shuttle.				No changes
An extreme close-up of the shuttle's aft section.				No changes
The matte painting of the Darwin research station on Gagarin IV was later reused in "Starship Mine" where it was used to show the surface of Arkaria. After this appearance, the matte painting was modified and appeared again as the surface of the Ohniaka III in "Descent I".				The matte painting is mostly unchanged. The rocks in the foreground were changed slightly and a sparkling effect was added to the river.
For a science station specializing in genetics, this microphone seems oddly archaic.				No changes
The console to the right of Dr. Kingsley was previously seen in "Home Soil". It is one of the consoles, rented from Modern Props, that would appear countless times in future episodes.		"Home Soil"		No changes
The wall in the background has appeared several times during the previous season. It was seen on Aldea in "When the Bough Breaks" and Relva VII in "Coming of Age". Four kids are playing a futuristic game in the background.	"When the Bough Breaks"	"Coming of Age"		The CG effects had to be recreated for the remastering of this episode.
A good close-up of the 3-D chess set which was later often seen in Ten Forward.				No changes
Based on the background, the scene with Captain Taggert was most likely filmed in front of a wall previously seen in the guest lounge in "The Outrageous Okona".		"The Outrageous Okona"		No changes
The round window in the background was also seen on Aldea in "When the Bough Breaks" and Vandor IV in "We'll Always Have Paris". The console in the foreground doesn't look like it belongs into the 24th century. Consoles by Modern Props in Star Trek	"When the Bough Breaks"	"We'll Always Have Paris"		No changes
Another look at the very archaic console, featuring a microphone, telephone, old-fashioned lamp and TV screen.				No changes
Though it cannot fully be seen in this shot, this console originally appeared in Dr. Ira Graves's lab on Gravesworld in "The Schizoid Man".		"The Schizoid Man"		No changes
Another look at the Darwin research station matte painting, this time with a landed shuttle with powered down engines. Re-Used Planet Sets				An outdoor turbolift can now be seen moving up behind the shuttle in the remastered episode.
The transporter circuits in the side entrance of the transporter room are seen up close in this shot. They were already part of the set during "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". They are not seen in the transporter room scenes, but appear in the sickbay scenes, behind Doctor McCoy's office windows. The corridor behind the transporter room side entrance leads past these windows, but the part of the set is rarely seen in TNG because the blinds behind Doctor Crusher's office windows are almost always closed. The Corridor from the Transporter Room to Sickbay	"Star Trek I"	"Star Trek II"		No changes
		"Star Trek II"
The previously mentioned medical monitor is seen in Doctor Pulaski's quarters in this shot.				No changes
The bathroom alcove can be seen really nicely here. It hasn't changed since it was last seen in "The Child".		"The Child"		No changes
As can be seen in this shot, the console still sports the same LCARS display it did in "The Child". The same display is also seen when the console appears in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier".	"The Child"	"Star Trek V"		No changes
The 2-foot model is seen in this shot of the USS Enterprise-D leaving orbit of Gagarin IV. This shot, which was re-used in several later episodes, appears for the first time in this episode.				The newly created planet was used for this shot too. The lack of window lighting on the 2-foot model is blindingly obvious in HD.
A nice shot of Gagarin IV.

Credits

Thanks to Colin for a hint about the shuttle labeling and to Ambassador/Ensign_Q for a correction about the Lantree.

Back to Observations index

Top

View as gallery