Observations in TNG: "When the Bough Breaks"

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

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


"When the Bough Breaks" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG Other caps Comparison TNG to TNG-R Description TNG-R
When Riker enters the turbolift, a tripod is visible. The tripod is not visible; it was apparently retouched in TNG-R.

Aldea will appear again as Vagra II in "Skin of Evil".
Re-Used Planets in TNG

The planet was redone for TNG-R.
A good look at the season 1-3 dedication plaque. Note how much better the Aldean clothes look with restored colors.
The Aldeans scan the bridge of the Enterprise. The light beam was recreated to look like the original.

There is a characteristic latticework in this window on Aldea.

Mike Okuda: "The geodesic latticework in the window of the First Unit chamber on Aldea was actually a children's playset that Herman [Zimmerman] had purchased for this set. It was a brilliant way to get us a bit of production value that he probably wouldn't have had the time or the money for otherwise. Later, Herman recycled the same dome on the roof of one of the buildings in Paradise City in Star Trek: The Final Frontier."


"Star Trek V"
No changes
The visual effect of the Aldean transporter. The transporter too looks like in the original episode.
Four high computer consoles are seen in the classroom in this episode. These consoles appeared in several additional TNG episodes, like "Coming of Age", "The Emissary", and "New Ground", until the 5th season. They were also seen in the Jefferies tubes in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier". Between this episode and their next appearance, in "Coming of Age", the consoles were slightly modified. After that, only the colors and the LCARS displays were changed from time to time.
"Coming of Age"

"Star Trek V"
A better look at the classroom in HD. Note that the table legs are actually red, not brown.

"The Emissary"
The chairs and the transparent podium were also seen in the formal dining area in "Haven".
"Haven"
Toya, Alexandra's mother, holds a large PADD previously seen in "Lonely Among Us" where Beverly Crusher is seen using it.
"Lonely Among Us"
A close-up of the PADD in HD.
One of the domes in the miniature landscape in "Too Short a Season" can be seen as a child's toy in "When the Bough Breaks". The dome was barely visible in "Too Short a Season" but can be identified on a photo in the book Star Trek: The Next Generation 365.
Star Trek:
TNG 365
A close-up of the dome in HD.
The musical instrument Katie is playing previously appeared on Rubicun III in "Justice". In "The Way to Eden", Adam is seen playing a similar instrument.
TOS: "The Way to Eden"

"Justice"
A better look at the instrument in HD.
After Katie has dematerialized, the game of three-dimensional checkers (later chess) can be seen again after "Too Short a Season". We can see the pieces much better in this HD close-up.

The same graphic appeared in "The Last Outpost", where it depicted Delphi Ardu IV, in "Too Short a Season", where it depicted Persephone V, and in the previous episode "Home Soil", where it was used to represent Velara III.
Re-Used Graphics


"Home Soil"
We can see the graphic much better in this HD close-up.
The set borders of the observation lounge ceiling are visible in this shot. The set borders are no longer visible because the shot has been reframed for the remastering.
The Aldean tableware was previously seen on Ligon II in "Code of Honor".
"Code of Honor"
A better look at the tableware in HD.

The Custodian console reappeared in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" as a Klingon communications console on Nimbus III.
Consoles Built for Star Trek


"Star Trek V"
A better look at the console in HD.
Stools, like the one seen on the left, also appeared on Ligon II in "Code of Honor" and on Rubicun III in "Justice".
"Code of Honor"

"Justice"
The stool in HD.
The holographic game also appears in a classroom aboard the USS Enterprise-D in "The Child".
"The Child"
The game had to be completely redone for the remastering of the episode.

The Aldean logo, which appears on several walls and tapestries in this episode, is seen behind Wesley.

Mike Okuda: "I'm pretty sure that Cari Thomas designed the Aldean logo for me. I cut up the 'petals' of the flower, and made them into the Aldean alphabet."


Aldean emblem
A close-up of the emblem in HD.

The Aldean communicator was re-used at least twice, many years later in two Voyager episodes. It appeared as a device used to measure the polaric radiation in "Time and Again" and is seen again in "Prototype" as a Pralor device.
Re-Used Props - Mobile Computers


"Time and Again"
A close-up of the communicator in HD.
The Aldean Melian possesses two interesting musical instruments. The transparent harp was previously seen on Rubicun III in "Justice" and the other string instrument is of course a Vulcan lute as played by Spock in several TOS episodes.
TOS: "The Way to Eden"

"Justice"
A better look at the instruments in HD.
Footage of the USS Enterprise-D re-approaching Aldea is mirror-inverted, clearly indicated by the lettering on the hull. Surprisingly the error was not fixed for TNG-R, and becomes even more obvious.
The chair in Accolan and Leda's house was previously seen in Karnas's office on Mordan IV in "Too Short a Season".
"Too Short
a Season"
The chair in HD.

Stone seats like this appeared in some earlier season 1 episodes, like "Encounter at Farpoint" (in the Farpoint Station mall) and "Code of Honor" (in Lutan's Centerplace).
Re-Used Props - Furniture


"Code of Honor"
No changes
Among the causes for the Aldean infertility that Doctor Crusher takes into consideration, "Red Dye Number Two" stands out a little. While it is true that the dye, also called amaranth, was banned in the US in 1976 because of its carcinogenic qualities, the name of the substance seems oddly anachronistic for an episode set in the years 2364. A better look at the display in HD. We can now read everything.
Another appearance of the Aldean logo, this time on a tapestry. No changes
The round window was previously seen on the Tarellian ship in "Haven" and will reappear in the lab in "We'll Always Have Paris".
"Haven"

"We'll Always Have Paris"
A better look at the window in HD.

Benches like this were also seen on Rubicun III in "Justice" and on the eponymous planet in "Angel One".
Re-Used Props - Furniture


"Justice"

The metallic sculpture seen behind Accolan was also seen on Rubicun III in "Justice". It will be seen again in many later episodes, like "The Outrageous Okona", "The Schizoid Man" and "The Measure of a Man".
Re-Used Props - Decoration


"Justice"
The statute is better visible in HD.

A nice look at the power plant below the planet's surface, which is somewhat reminiscent of the Krell power plant in "Forbidden Planet" or the core of the Death Star.

Both the outer structure of the power plant as well as the central glowing column feature a pattern of repeating hexagons. This pattern will later appear on the walls of the interrogation room aboard the USS Enterprise-D in "The Defector" and "The Drumhead" and also adorn the backwall of the Klingon transporter room aboard Klaa's Bird of Prey in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier".

Mike Okuda: "I built the Aldean reactor core. Rob Legato and Gary Hutzel came to me and asked me to work with them on that shot. They needed something cool and powerful looking, but had no money in the budget to build anything. I had an idea for an internally-lit structure that would be seen mostly in silhouette. The advantage of this would be that the model could be fairly simple, but would look dramatic because of lighting. I used parts from several children's toys and model kits, including a Space Shuttle launch tower. I think I even used some left-over pieces from the Star Trek: TMP space dock model in the base. Rick Sternbach helped out with some of the scaffolding around the core. The core of the model was a clear acrylic tube with a florescent tube in it. Wrapped around the tube was a sheet of high-contrast black and white film with a pattern that I designed for this. The design incorporated lots of vertical lines and a series of hexagons, which was one of the signature graphic elements that I had used for this planet. Later, I used the same art for the back wall of the Klingon transporter room and the back wall of a Starfleet interrogation room. Rob and Gary loved the model and made it look like this huge, mysterious, powerful reactor."


"The Drumhead"
A better look at this great set in HD.

"Star Trek V"

 


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