Star Trek - v1.1

[Janus]

Last night I was fliiping through the channels when I saw that an old original series Star Trek episode was on. As I hadn't seen one in a while I decided to watch.

As I started watching, I was really impressed by how crisp and clean the image was and how much detail was visible. I have just recently gotten an HDTV and the station was broadcast in digital, but it still looked good for a non-HD program. The exterior space shots looked particulary impressive.

Then I saw something that made me sit up in my chair! In this particular episode, Tomorrow is Yesterday, the Enterprise has to fly in towards the Sun and then pull away. They showed the Enterprise flying towards the Sun and then the Enterprise skimming over the surface of the Sun in a tight orbit ! I had no recollection of this second shot ever being in the episode.

I started paying more attention to the exterior shots for the rest of the episode and realised that there were other differences from what I remembered.

After the show ended, I got on the web to see what was up (and to reassure myself that my memory had gone south on me). Here's what I found out. They have re-released the Orginal Series on HD-DVD. The episodes have been digitally remastered, and the exterior space shots replaced with new CGI shots. The station I was watching was using the new HD-DVD episodes.

Here's a link that shows an example of the difference between the original and new up-dated exterior space shots.

STARTREK.COM: Behind Star Trek


I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the re-vamped episodes, it'll be like watching the series for new all over again.

[InfiniteNow]

That IS cool. We've all become so accustomed to quality graphics and CGI that it's usually distracting watching older shows and seeing the outdated effects. The remastering of the original ST will allow a whole new audience to connect with it, and (like you said) existing audiences to enjoy it anew.


This holiday, I'll be spending time at my girlfriend's parents house, and her dad has every episode of every season of TNG on DVD. I'm excited, because I'll be watching those. I know it's a form of blasphemy to most, but I've always preferred TNG, as THAT's what I grew up with.

Thanks for letting me know about the above, Janus. I'll be keeping an eye out now.


Make it so.

[CraigD]

I recall about a year ago adds for a series called “Star Trek 1.1” (or similar), that combined STTOS episodes with popup and/or splitscreen of fan data and comments. It seemed short lived, however, and I never managed to catch an episode of it.

I’m netflixing the remaster episodes. As a science fiction lover born in 1960, these shows were a major formative influence on me. I’ll gleefully consume practically any new content of or about them.

That said, I’m a little wary of substantial revisions of the old video screwing it up. Part of that made the TOS episodes the influential fiction phenomena I consider them to have been was that they were technically imperfect. For example, I recall discussing the “Tomorrow is Yesterday” scenes Janus describe with friends when they originally aired. Even though we were but 6 and 7 years old, the “how can the Enterprise be shooshing past stars on a trip between the Earth and the Sun?!” Appreciating the show without abandoning the science we were learning in school required us to “reshoot” scenes in our minds and conversation to fix such absurdities. Had the series had diligent science advisors and flawless special effects, we’d have had less to criticize and correct. Not only would we have thought less, but our sense that we were substantially better educated and more on-the-ball than the adults making the series – IMHO an important and beneficial conceit - would have been diminished.

I’m seeing and hearing with my inner eyes and ears the flashing lights and claxons of a “Red Alert: STrek fan posting technical critiques of imaginary technology on the internet”, but will press on to voice one more dire fears: The remastering better not mess with the original Matt Jeffries design of the Enterprise!

Sharing, pershaps Infi’s blasphemy, I personally feel that STTNG was, on the whole, better written and acted than STTOS. However, despite its next-generational and better budget improvement in special effects, I consider the TNG ship designs, and those of every ST series and most of the movies since, markedly inferior.

The great beauty of TOS’s Enterprise is that it’s spindly and fragile looking, requiring any viewer with both real engineering sensibilities and an appropriate artistic suspension of disbelief to conclude that something other than 20th century technology and ordinary matter is holding the ship together. Later Enterprises are sturdier and more streamlined. Although no more physically feasible, their extraordinary, albeit fictional, technological nature, is less obvious, tempting the view to think of them as basically just really big, sturdy, powerful rocket ships. IMHO, the whole STrek franchise would have been enhanced had its modelers and designers shaken off the influence of the WWII-imitating Star Wars special effects and made TNG’s Enterprise even more spindly-looking than TOS’s

With the studio-owned franchise practically extinct, I look forward to a multitude of alternative interpretations of STrek. So, any creative folk out there, take note – I’ll pay for reinterpretation, and I’m not, I think, unusual.

[TheBigDog]

This type of innovation in absolutely necessary for the absurd trivia contests that happen at the conventions. Without new variations and contrasts to draw, a Trek geek could conceivably know everything there is to know about Star Trek. Perfection must remain unattainable, so we must monkey with the original programs for the sake of the stability of the universe.

But what I really mean to say is that my sisters recently sent me a copy of the script I submitted to ST:TNG. It would have been used for the seventh season, and was submitted on the last day that they accepted submissions for that show. But alas, it didn't cut the mustard, and was returned without fanfare.

What I have is not actually my final submission, but another print out, which may in fact be an earlier draft. When I get around to typing into a new word document I will post it here. It was originally done using Claris Works on my old Mac, and there may be a copy of it on that hard drive, which rumor has it is up in a closet at my friend Andy's house in NJ. So typing it up is probably the fastest way.

Back on topic, I can't wait to see the new shows, but I am not rushing out to see them either. Trek ain't what it used to be to me. If I find a picture of myself in uniform I will make it my next avatar.

Bill

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by CraigD

I recall about a year ago adds for a series called “Star Trek 1.1” (or similar), that combined STTOS episodes with popup and/or splitscreen of fan data and comments. It seemed short lived, however, and I never managed to catch an episode of it.

That's actually called Star Trek 2.0, where they have a "chat room" setup presented on the screen. So, as the episode shows, users login to the website (the "Spock Market") and post their comments, which then appear on the shows sidebar. It's done on a cable channel called "G4."

G4 - Spock Market - Star Trek Classic 2.0

[Janus]

Here are some more examples of the remastered Star Trek.

In this one, the original is on the left and the new on the right. The top is from "Amok Time" and the second from "The Doomsday Machine"



The Enterprise in orbit:



A shot from "Charlie X"

STARTREK.COM: Behind Star Trek

[Jet2]

Do you think there would be DVD selling in the market?

[Janus]

Originally Posted by Jet2

Do you think there would be DVD selling in the market?

Buy.com - Star Trek Original Series Season 1 (DVD+ HD Hybrid) : DVD : William Shatner : Leonard Nimoy : DeForest Kelley : Donald R. Beck : Paramount

This is a double format set, you get the episodes on both standard DVD and HD-DVD. This way you don't have to shell out for an HD-DVD player to watch the remastered episodes.

[Jet2]

Thanks Janus!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[Moontanman]

I've only recently realized the Star Trek episodes I was watching on FOX were not the same as the original show. I remember see this new stuff and thinking I was really loosing it. Personally i like the new CGI shows, the old show was cheesy when it came to external views I have now watched several of them, I approve. I have to say i enjoy TNG much better than the old series but i also like Star Trek Enterprise as well Many of these episode were really great, not being shown in large markets killed this new show. It played here but was preempted for everything from ball games to oyster shucking contests and i never saw more than 1/3 of the shows. My fav was Voyager, Captain Janeway was cool and I enjoyed the regular ship to ship battles. DS9 was also a great vehicle for Star Trek although the whole war thing got old after a while. There is a Star Trek group on the user group list.