Transcription
4 panels, arranged 2x2.
The first panel contains a picture of Jean-Luc Picard holding up a frame containing a number of medals. It has the text “These are your Starfleet merit badges, are they not, Mr. Data?”
The second panel has a picture of Data, with the text “Yes, Captain.”
The third is a close image of the frame containing the medals. The medals take a variety of shapes, but the bottom-left medal resembles the Starfleet insignia. The panel has the text “And this shiny combadge in the lower left?”
The fourth panel is another image of Data, with the text “Communications merit badge, sir.”
I think the joke is that the props department needed a collection of medals and one of them is just a combadge painted a different color. Maybe they ran out of ideas, maybe it was easy, maybe they assumed nobody would notice. Star Trek needed a lot of props that looked alien or futuristic but sometimes it’s just a hair dryer with a curvy pipe glued on the outside and spray painted black.
Apparently there’s specific plumbing fixtures that feature in many films and shows. Can’t remember what it is exactly but it’s a large pipe reducer (shaped like a cone to connect a big pipe to a small pipe) with a few extra bits here and there.
If I remember correctly, it features in many low-mid budget Sci fi shows from the 2000s as space gun parts, which is what brought my attention to it in the first place. I watched the DVD commentary for Stargate sg1, and one of the prop/sfx people mentions it. I’d love to talk to the vfx guys to see what their take on all the ridiculous “laser guns” they’ve had to make look good in post.
Although my personal favorite is the ever-popular, yet oh-so-simple Corrugated Pipe.
So many spray paint options, so many ways to twist and turn it and cut it to make it look like 10,000 things.
It’s crazy how often you’ll be watching something and then boom it hits you that the wall “support column” is actually large diameter corrugated plastic pipe for drainage, cut in half and spray painted gold.
Or realize the ship-mounted turrets are just straight pipes with a few pieces of corrugated pipe turned around the “barrel” to make it look like some kind of hi-tech turboencabulator.
My favorite obviously fake sci-fi gun props are P90s.