Best TNG Special Effect?

[Nerdius Maximus]

The Enterprise approaching and leaving spacedock in the binars episode(1001001 or whatever it's called). The ship looked great, the planet in the background looked great, the whole thing was very cinematic-looking. I watched it this morning and was surprised by how awesome it still looked.

 

[Doug Otte]

The Enterprise approaching and leaving spacedock in the binars episode(1001001 or whatever it's called). The ship looked great, the planet in the background looked great, the whole thing was very cinematic-looking. I watched it this morning and was surprised by how awesome it still looked.

That's because they took the matte painting from STIII, and just inserted the Ent-D.

Doug

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

The Enterprise approaching and leaving spacedock in the binars episode(1001001 or whatever it's called). The ship looked great, the planet in the background looked great, the whole thing was very cinematic-looking. I watched it this morning and was surprised by how awesome it still looked.

That's because they took the matte painting from STIII, and just inserted the Ent-D.

Doug

I always suspected as much. I remember being thrilled to see it at the time. The Enterprise D model also looks great in that shot.

 

[Cyke101]

Lots from Where No One Has Gone Before. From the almost painful warp-stretch of the Enterprise (while at warp anyway!) to the streaking nebulas to the new galaxies. Even Picard stepping out of the turbolift and almost plummeting into subspace was a psychedelic moment (so simple, yet so effective). 22 years after its premiere and that episode is still made of win. I would argue that none of the SFX look dated, either.

 

[Joker]

The anomaly in Time Squared.

 

[Maurice]

The Enterprise approaching and leaving spacedock in the binars episode(1001001 or whatever it's called). The ship looked great, the planet in the background looked great, the whole thing was very cinematic-looking. I watched it this morning and was surprised by how awesome it still looked.

That's because they took the matte painting from STIII, and just inserted the Ent-D.

Doug

That wasn't a matte painting. Those were miniatures and composited for ST3. They re-used that footage and stamped the D over the refit, except for the close angle on the docked ship and the boarding ramp.

 

[Jbarney]

The Enterprise approaching and leaving spacedock in the binars episode(1001001 or whatever it's called). The ship looked great, the planet in the background looked great, the whole thing was very cinematic-looking. I watched it this morning and was surprised by how awesome it still looked.

Ya, as others have said they re-used the effect from the movies, but still what they did with the Enterprise-D in that scene was really awesome. I think it was very impressive. For what its worth, I also think the scene where Data and Geordi are in engineering and forced to order the evacuation of the ship without consulting Picard or Riker was extremely well done.

 

[trevanian]

The anomaly in Time Squared.

Gorgeous looking, and I wrote a black hole spec script with the idea they could just change the speed and color and use the same element. But man I hated that episode, I think that is when I gave up watching the show until well into season 3, after I heard it had gotten better.

 

[Joker]

Episode was one of the better ones from season 1, which is to say it was still crap, but had a few redeeming qualities, such as that effect.

The Enterprise looked great when it U-turned directly into the anomaly, though; TNG was still very much about the voyages of the Enterprise at that point.

 

[The Grim Ghost]

Lots from Where No One Has Gone Before. From the almost painful warp-stretch of the Enterprise (while at warp anyway!) to the streaking nebulas to the new galaxies. Even Picard stepping out of the turbolift and almost plummeting into subspace was a psychedelic moment (so simple, yet so effective). 22 years after its premiere and that episode is still made of win. I would argue that none of the SFX look dated, either.

You beat me to the punch. I have always loved the scene from WNOHGB where Picard starts to step out of the turbolift into space. His reaction to it makes it seem even better. That is one of the best scenes from Season 1 in my opinion.

 

[ambessalion]

Data's arm being disconnected in Measure of a Man is interesting....