I actually like how there's a slight pause between the the transporter effect ending and people starting to move.
I think conceptually there's nothing wrong with this but it's executed very poorly IMHO and robs a lot of tension of scenes. Like, I just rewatched
11001001 (the Bynars are doing upgrades to the Enterprise computer, but in reality they're storing a data dump of their mainframe since they need their mainframe to live and their planet is going to be hit by a solar flare; Riker is distracted by Minuette on the Holodeck).
The episode is one of the highest budget episodes in season 1 and in my opinion one of the best. There are a number of original shots that are not typically used in TNG, especially related to the Enterprise docking at the starbase. In the climax, Riker and Picard discover that the ship have been comandeered and set the Enterprise's self-destruct function (the first time we see secure authorization, the first time we see self-destruct). They then enter the weapons room to get heavy weapondry. Because the bridge is locked off, the two decide to beam themselves onto the bridge. In order to avoid having them both overpowered by the unknown terrorists who have hijacked the ship, they decide to beam to separate locations. In the transporter room, Riker sets the transporter on a timer (the first time we see this). Very cool.
... and then they beam into the bridge... both materialize... and with no particular urgency, begin to look around. These guys were supposed to be entering a situation of almost certain death. They were prepared to be blasted by terrorists. The premise of their plan is that one of them is almost certainly going to be shot.
Now, it turns out that the plot has the Bynars passed out in a purple heap, so in the end it didn't make a difference, but I'm saying that moment is robbed of its energy and tension because the beam process takes so long and they aren't alert at all when they come out of it.
This is just one example, there are several more in season 1. In Too Short a Season the crew beams out while being bombarded by phaser fire from enemies who have their weapons set to kill and everyone seems very nonplussed when they rematerialize, not disoriented or worried they're being hit at all. Just kinda chill.
The childless space utopians in When The Bough Breaks have some sort of super-transporter where they phase in and out pretty instantly, but there's still the reaction delay. Actually, you know what this reminds me of? In Star Wars: A Phantom Menace, a lot of the scenes with young Anakin (Jake Lloyd) acting against CG. One of the CG characters will speak to him, and he'll reply with a noticeable delay. Some of it is a tech thing, some of it is an acting thing, but either way it really makes the interactions feel very phony.
I'm not a nitpicker or whatever, I'm still really enjoying everything. And Trek was always about the ideas and the characters rather than the effects. And TV as a medium has always been about deep diving character interaction and plotting, not spectacle. So it's OK. I just mention this in passing in the context of the fact that effects have come a long way since 1986 and this is the first time in rewatching the series that I'd really like to see what more modern technology can enable.
