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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
 Posted - 02/05/2007 : 02:13:21 AM
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I was relaxing in the middle of the night and I was flipping channels. When I landed on NBC, is saw that Star Trek: The Original Series was about to start. It was the "Journey to Babel" episode were we get to meet Spock's parents. Since nothing else was on, I said "why not?"
Almost immediately, I noticed something wrong. This episode had CGI effects. And more extras had been added and other special effect sequences were REALLY cleaned up. It looks like Star Trek has been George Lucas-ed.
I'm not a Trekkie so I haven't kept up with the news.
So, I have a few questions:
When did this start?
Who is behind this?
And what do you guys think of this?
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 06:13:35 AM
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They, Paramount, have gone back, remastered the series, and redone all of the special effects. They even redid the opening music. It was done so they can release the series on HD DVDs. They just finished up late last year. As a result, they have released the improved versions for syndication on over-the-air stations.
My opinion on the whole thing is that they did it "right." The new effects match up almost shot for shot with the old ones. In other words, they didn't pull a Lucas and try to add scenes or special effects shots. All they did was replace the bad looking effects with up-to-date ones. I hadn't watched the series for years. I've watched a few episodes lately and have found that a lot of the episodes have a great quality about them that I didn't remember.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 06:51:52 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Terrahawk
They, Paramount, have gone back, remastered the series, and redone all of the special effects. They even redid the opening music. It was done so they can release the series on HD DVDs. They just finished up late last year. As a result, they have released the improved versions for syndication on over-the-air stations.
My opinion on the whole thing is that they did it "right." The new effects match up almost shot for shot with the old ones. In other words, they didn't pull a Lucas and try to add scenes or special effects shots. All they did was replace the bad looking effects with up-to-date ones. I hadn't watched the series for years. I've watched a few episodes lately and have found that a lot of the episodes have a great quality about them that I didn't remember.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. -
They may have followed the lead given by the director's cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. There, they only made updates in the special effects to get the movie into the kind of shape it would've been in had the filmmakers had two extra months of post-production to work on it back in 1979. Then they put it out, deciding to live with whatever flaws it had.
I wish, I wish, I wish George-y would take note. |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 11:58:28 AM
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I would be fascinated to see what they did with Devil in the Dark. On paper, it's probably the finest epsiode of the original series. On film, it's, um, well... remember our thread, "No really, the monster is a what?'
The horta IS...
Chef Boyardee Beef-a-roni! |
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CDiehl
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 1:39:40 PM
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I thought it looked more like the surface of a sausage pizza with extra cheese.
You know Grand Funk, don't you? The wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher? The ... adequate drumwork of Don Brewer? |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 3:32:43 PM
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I've been hearing about these remastered episodes and haven't caught one yet. My attitude is kind of the purist "let it be what it is" type but it doesn't sound like they've done anything horrible. i'd like to check it out, actually. The idea of TOS coming to HD-DVD is pretty exciting.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 8:26:47 PM
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Brad, the one thing that baffled me about the Lucas redo of the special effects was that he didn't do all of them. You had some brand new, sharp looking CGI followed by some 70's state of the art model work. It seemed like a lot of the redo was just proof of concept type work. At least with the TOS rework, they redid all of the effects to provide a consistent feel. However, I think zombiewhacker is stuck with the horta as is for all eternity.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 10:44:03 PM
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I would love to see "Balance of Terror", "Obsession" and "The Immunity Syndrome."
Plus, I would like to see what they did with the last few minutes of "The Galileo Seven."
"Balance of Terror"- Number one on my list. I love ship to ship battles. Which is why [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kAfLXKp8Ec"]Wrath of Khan[/url] will always be above The Voyage Home in my book. I know they ripped off the movie "The Enemy Below." But I loved that movie too.
"Obsession"- This is another movie that looked good on paper. For me, the vampire cloud was in dire need of a over haul in terms of special effects. The animation they used at the time just didn't cut it.
"The Immunity Syndrome"- This episode I watch solely for the special effects. It had a lot of goals and I think it achieved them for the most part. I think the scene of the Enterprise entering the ameba was excellent. Because of my special effect interest, I want to see what modern techniques can do. I am very willing to give it a chance.
The last few minutes of "The Galileo Seven"- I have always thought that the scene where Mr. Spock jettisoned the fuel of his space shuttle and ignited it could have been done better. I would like to see what they would have done with that.
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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hbrennan
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Philippines
1455 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 11:03:04 PM
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I think pretty much all the episodes could benefit from some updating. For those of us who grew up with the original episodes, the cheesy effects are really not an issue, since they were such a comforting, familiar part of our childhoods. It's like watching a favorite B-movie and appreciating it for it's nostalgic value as well as it's story (I'm talking "good" B-movies, here). In this case, we have always overlooked the effects in lieu of the timeless story-telling (see also "Twilight Zone"). With that said, I will point out that, in my opinion, the main benefit of this update will be to bring TOS to a newer generation of folks who, under other circumstances, might be distracted by the original poor effects.
"...yet it hadn't destroyed his brain."
re: Charles "The Butcher" Benton (1956)
http://www.henrybrennan.com/
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Edited by - hbrennan on 02/06/2007 01:49:36 AM |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 11:19:03 PM
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Where would I be without YouTube.
Here are links about what I was talking about.
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otTzyyw_Z7s"]Link 1[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjZbHNzbOtU&NR"]Link 2[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUvK-4_ZLX8"]Link 3[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EelS9WPbOk&NR"]Link 4[/url]
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2007 : 11:55:37 PM
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Cool, thanks for posting that. On the whole I think I like it. The feel of the original is still pretty much there. There were things though, like the better plasma effects in the Balance Of Terror shots that just looked a little too slick for the surroundings. It pulled me out of it. But stuff like the new matte paintings in Devil In The Dark are really nice. It is really nice having the huge matte lines and sparkles around the Enterprise gone. All in all I think I'm more pro than con.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 12:34:04 AM
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Forget the links. Check out these trailers:
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcKNobuUGZk"]Trailer[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjdbJciD6WU&NR"]Trailer[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB5gpUDuZTw"]Trailer[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM1OimZYl28"]Trailer[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBC502AYPWU"]Trailer[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_lYAcnIcNs"]Trailer[/url]
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 01:18:58 AM
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You know in a way, I almost have the same attitude about this that I have about the new Beatles LOVE album. We have the originals and we've had them for 40 years, so if you're going to redo it, why be conservative? Go nuts. Replace the cardboard sets with cool stuff. Put real aliens in the background. Make Nurse Chapel attractive. Why not??
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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New Hinda
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Israel
469 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 05:00:52 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Terrahawk
They, Paramount, have gone back, remastered the series, and redone all of the special effects. They even redid the opening music. It was done so they can release the series on HD DVDs. They just finished up late last year. As a result, they have released the improved versions for syndication on over-the-air stations.
Did they correct Captain Kirk's GRAMMAR in the credits sequence? I'm against this kind of thing. Its Orwellian. What's next? A politically-correct-about-native-Americans STAGECOACH? |
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New Hinda
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Israel
469 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 05:05:21 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by hbrennan
It's like watching a favorite B-movie and appreciating it for it's nostalgic value as well as it's story (I'm talking "good" B-movies, here). In this case, we have always overlooked the effects in lieu of the timeless story-telling (see also "Twilight Zone").
The best "Twilight Zone" episodes are CLASSIC examples of what fine acting and a good script can do, in spite of a zero special effects budget. LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!!!!!!!!
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Edited by - New Hinda on 02/06/2007 05:06:35 AM |
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Kit Rex
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
294 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 6:05:09 PM
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I've said it before and I'll say it again: Fiddle all you like, but keep the original source material extant. For historical value if nothing else.
I find myself wondering, though, about the message being sent here. Are those original effects just not good enough any more? And is that what people are going to be saying before long about any sci-fi movie or TV show made before the age of CGI? It's bad enough that people turn their noses up at MODERN movies with practical effects. Hell, we've already taught a whole generation of young people that black and white movies aren't cool any more. Maybe I'm in a minority, but to me those wild and wooly primitive effects are part of the show's charm. I'd hate to live in a world where I can never see them again. Orwellian, indeed!
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"Time. Time. What is time? Swiss manufacture it. French hoard it. Italians squander it. Americans say it is money. Hindus say it does not exist. Do you know what I say? I say time is a crook." |
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