TOS Botany Lab = "Outdoor" Recreation Area?

[Robert Comsol]

To me, this is clear evidence that only that right side was intended to be the “herbarium”, not the whole two part set, as some seem to think, based evidently, on the redress from “ITITNB”.

I see your point. Upon re-examination I felt it interesting to notice that the floor plan sketch I provided reveals the fountain-planter (a rec room exclusive!) in the middle of the circular room which had gone missing in TB.

Here is where it gets interesting, IMHO. The floor plan sketch was apparently created after an early draft of the script. It still features the fountain-planter but this looks odd in an area - according to the script - that's devoted to research and not to recreation.

The disappearance of the fountain-planter in the final episode may have been to tell us this is not the recreation room and/or that this is a restricted research and not R&R area.

And I’m not aware of any mirror shots in “CL”?

That would be this one, I didn't mean "flopped" (side inverted). Apparently, someone remembered that they had done that in ET to give the room extra depth by simply repositioning the actor in the opposite spot.

Both rec room scenes (ET and CL) suggest the rec room with the fountain-planter to be connected to another room with a fountain-planter (well, hopefully the other fountain would sprinkle water ).

Bob

 

[Maurice]

That would be this one, I didn't mean "flopped" (side inverted). Apparently, someone remembered that they had done that in ET to give the room extra depth by simply repositioning the actor in the opposite spot.

FYI, most "flops" are done to correct eyeline and directional continuity problems. You are supposing it was an intentional technique, but chances are it was an editorial fix.

 

[TIN_MAN]

And I’m not aware of any mirror shots in “CL”?

That would be this one, I didn't mean "flopped" (side inverted). Apparently, someone remembered that they had done that in ET to give the room extra depth by simply repositioning the actor in the opposite spot.

Hmm, I guess I'll have to rewatch the episode, because that pic by itself doesn't tell me whether there is an identical foreground matching the background. Did the scene switch back and forth between multiple close ups of people facing each other, the way it did in the "EoT" deleted scene?

 

[Robert Comsol]

You are supposing it was an intentional technique, but chances are it was an editorial fix.

It was an intentional technique:

In ET they first made a wide shot of Nimoy and his lyra facing the fountain-planter and the tanning lady on the (oddly elevated!) sitting bench.

Next they made Nimoy get up and change position and made a close-up shot of him with the fountain and the sitting bench at his back.

In the editing room the footage was combined to create the illusion of two circular rooms separated only by the food synthesizer and intercom corridor.

The same technique was applied in CL.

Bob

 

[Maurice]

You are supposing it was an intentional technique, but chances are it was an editorial fix.

It was an intentional technique:

Sorry, I misread upthread. You had qualified your statement upthread by saying you were using "flopped" not in the tradition sense, and I misread that statement. The term "flopped" really has only one meaning in film. What you're talking about is "cheating" a setup to imply a larger set than actually exists.

I assume CL means And the Children Shall Lead? ATCSL would be clearer.

 

[Robert Comsol]

^^ Undoubtedly an insufficient description attempt of mine.

However, I prefer the old, short (and IMHO efficient) Concordance abbreviations, but have to acknowledge not everyone is familiar with these. But since this new Season Three studio set was only featured in ET, CL and TB, I assumed that these abbreviations are sufficient to make the proper distinctions.

Bob

 

[TIN_MAN]

Here is where it gets interesting, IMHO. The floor plan sketch was apparently created after an early draft of the script. It still features the fountain-planter but this looks odd in an area - according to the script - that's devoted to research and not to recreation.

More likely, since the round rec room set was already designed and built as such for an earlier episode, as per the "-057" designation at the bottom of the rec room sketch discussed earlier, (as opposed to the "062" notation on the "ITITNB" Herbarium sketches), then I think this supports my interpretation that the original Herbarium set was originally intended to be a new "separate but connected" set. But one which ultimately never got built, due to time and/or budgetary limitations, and they decided to make do with just a redress of the already existing round rec room set instead, at which time the fountain/planter was removed and the table/planters (which were the only thing from the proposed Herbarium set they did build) were brought in.

The disappearance of the fountain-planter in the final episode may have been to tell us this is not the recreation room and/or that this is a restricted research and not R&R area.

Well, more or less, essentially it reinforces that we, the audience, are supposed to accept that this is the Herbarium (that never got built) and not the rec room proper we see in other episodes, but of course it really is the same redressed set; this is probably another reason, if not the primary reason, for the tight camera angles and close ups used in "ITITNB", to keep the focus (pun intended) on the characters, where it really should be anyway in a dramatic series, and not on noticing that the backdrop is the same room we’ve seen in a different context in other episodes?

PS, One further thing, I suspect that it was always MJ’s intent to add on to the round rec room set when time, money, and future script needs allowed, probably it was in the back of his mind to eventually create something like what was described in TMoST (i.e. a series of connected facilities)? Then when “ITITNB” came along he thought this was the perfect opportunity to add another section that might be versatile enough to serve as a basis for many possible future redresses, but the idea was nixed in favor of just using the round rec room set? Just sheer speculation on my part so take or leave for what it is worth.