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Observations in TNG: "Where Silence Has Lease"

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

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

"Where Silence Has Lease" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
Right at the beginning, when Picard enters the bridge, we can see a microphone reflection in the black panel on the left.				No changes
The rocks in the background of Worf's calisthenics program are a painted backdrop. The backdrop likely originates in "Forbidden Planet". We couldn't identify the very portion visible in the TNG episode in the famous sci-fi movie itself. However, in the Twilight Zone episode "On Thursday We Leave for Home" we can see both the rocks in Worf's program (red) and a part of the "Forbidden Planet" backdrop (yellow). This indirectly confirms the origin of the backdrop in the TNG episode.	"Forbidden Planet"	"The Twilight Zone"		The HD version clearly gives away that it's a painting.
The insectoid monster in Worf's calisthenics program will reappear in "The Emissary".				No changes
The insectoid monster wields a Klingon mace seen in Worf's quarters and other Klingon sets in later seasons. It seems the weapon also was the inspiration for Mariner's mace in LOW: "No Small Parts".	"Redemption I"	LOW: "No Small Parts"		The insectoid monster in HD
The skull monster in Worf's calisthenics program can be seen in all later appearances of the program, namely "The Emissary", "New Ground" and "The Way of the Warrior".				The skull monster in HD
The wall seen in the left half of the screenshot was also seen on Quadra Sigma III in "Hide and Q" and Mordan IV in "Too Short a Season". Re-Used Building Interiors	"Hide and Q"	"Too Short a Season"		No changes
The true size of the holodeck is revealed in this shot after much smaller rooms were seen in season 1.				No changes
A similar crosshair cursor appeared on the main viewer in "Symbiosis".		"Symbiosis"		The crosshair was redone for TNG-R.
The shot of the hole in space on the main viewscreen is very blurry.				The "hole in space" effect was reconstructed for TNG-R.
A good look at Wesley's all-silver season 2 communicator, as opposed to the regular gold/silver version.				No changes
The USS Enterprise-D approaching the hole in space.				No changes
This shot of the USS Enterprise-D launching a probe was newly created for this episode.				In TNG-R, a CGI version of the Enterprise was used for this shot. The probe uses the original film elements of Dan Curry's model.
A probe is first seen in this episode, in this case it is a "scanner" probe. It is nothing more than a white blob in the original version. Federation Probes
The scanner probe appears again on the main viewscreen.				A close-up of the probe in HD. The model is still the original footage.
This very static shot is a freeze-frame from a sequence always appearing in the opening credits of the show. The shot leads to the Enterprise going to warp.				No changes
A class-1 probe is seen in this shot. The footage is the same as of the scanner probe seen a few seconds earlier in the episode.				A close-up of the probe in HD.
This footage of the class-1 probe too is the same as of the scanner probe.				The probe is still the same, while the hole in space was recreated.
Again, the hole in space appears very blurry.
Parts of a tripod are visible in the left half of the screen in this shot.				The shot was reframed for the remastering so the equipment is no longer visible.
The very noticeable cardboard squares return in season 2.				No changes
A microphone briefly pops into view in this shot.				No changes
Geordi uses the newly created engineering station on the bridge for the first time in this episode. The Evolution of the Enterprise-D Bridge				No changes
The two shots of the Romulan Warbird also appeared in "The Neutral Zone". No new footage of the ship was filmed for this episode.		"The Neutral Zone"		The shots in HD.
		"The Neutral Zone"
The Yamato in space and on the viewscreen.		"The Last Outpost"		The remastered episode uses a different take of the Galaxy-class ship, although the original one would have been available in HD, as evidenced by its appearance in TNG-R: "The Last Outpost".


The room Riker enters is the medical lab, last seen in "Home Soil". The wall console seen in the room was already present in that episode.		"Home Soil"		No changes
This shot shows main engineering redressed as a corridor. The short corridor that Worf is seen in is usually covered by a wall console. In "The Naked Now", the wall wasn't in place yet and a door was seen behind it. In "Lonely Among Us", when the set was redressed as the sensor maintenance room, a short corridor was seen behind the door. This corridor was expanded for this episode and now features a door as it typically leads to a holodeck, shuttlebay or cargo bay.	"The Naked Now"	"Lonely Among Us"		No changes
The door behind Word is normally not seen opened because it doesn't really lead to a room. We can see that on the TNG stage plans.				No changes
The Yamato on the main viewer again.				Once again, we can see different footage of the ship than in the original episode.
The dedication plaque on the Yamato bridge clearly wasn't changed for this episode. The plaque is not that of the USS Yamato but the familiar USS Enterprise-D plaque.				The very noticeable USS Enterprise-D dedication plaque was blurred in post production so the too long name of the ship is not legible in HD.
Lighting equipment is visible at the upper left side of the shot.				The equipment is no longer visible in the slightly reframed shot. However, we can see a different take of the Yamato than in the SD episode yet again.
This shot clearly shows the Galaxy class top- and side-view graphic next to the ready room door.				A close-up of the graphic in HD.
Black tape stripes were added to the floor of the transporter platform between seasons 1 and 2.		"Haven"		No changes
It seems that something is missing at the left border of the viewscreen image. Maybe the bluescreen ended here?				The border is not visible any longer although the shot is wider in HD.
Nagilum in the original episode.				Nagilum's face was originally created with a filmed image of an actor's face, extensively distorted with video processing. The HD remastering uses the same film as the basis for similar distortion in the re-created effects.
The hole in the hole in space again.				The improved shot in HD.
A notable change in main engineering between seasons 1 and 2 are the lights flanking the MSD. The display is recessed in the back wall now. Furthermore, the pool table was turned around 180°. In the direct comparison of the activation of the self destruct in "11001001" and "Where Silence Has Lease", Picard and Riker have switched places as well. But that may be just a curious coincidence, and not related to the pool table orientation.		"11001001"		Pool table and MSD in TNG-R.
The auto destruct countdown in engineering looks different than it did in "11001001".		"11001001"		No changes
The round carpet with the Federation logo in Picard's quarters was originally created for "Conspiracy" where it appeared at Starfleet Headquarters. It appears in the captain's quarters only in this one episode. After it appeared in different locations in Picard's quarters in "The Battle" and "Angel One", Picard's sextant is first seen in its familiar place next to the door, where it would remain until the end of the series.		"Conspiracy"		A good view of Picard's quarters in HD.
The aquarium, last seen in Picard's quarters in "The Battle", is still present in his quarters.		"The Battle"		The fish tank in HD.
This shot is blurry because pan and scan was used in this case to make the FX heavy shot easier to accomplish.				The shot is somewhat clearer in TNG-R.
Three permanent fixtures of Picard's ready room are first fully seen in this shot. Picard keeps a transparent crystal on his ready room table. Whenever he is facing a difficult decision, he is usually seen playing with the crystal. In this episode, two crystals of the same type appear, normally there is only one crystal on his desk. One of the crystals did make a background appearance as far back as seasons 1's "Haven".		"The Loss"		No changes
The ammonite on the shelf behind Picard's ready room chair is seen fully in this episode after only parts of it were seen in "Lonely Among Us". This ammonite stays in his ready room until the beginning of the third season. In the third season, it is replaced by a nautilus shell, which itself is replaced by a different ammonite in the fourth season.		"The Icarus Factor"
Finally, two transparent orange PADDs are first seen on a stand in Picard's ready room in "Where Silence Has Lease". These PADDs were seen on his desk until the end of the series.				No changes
The shot of Nagilum on the desktop monitor appears very blurry in the original episode.				The blurriness is gone in TNG-R.

Credits

Thanks to TrekBBS users jimbotron and MickJo1701 for spotting the new takes used for the remastered episode. Thanks to Jan Thomae for spotting the microphone reflection.

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