Star Trek in HD - with revised special effects? (1 Viewer)

Since no one has dropped this bomb yet, I'll go ahead and get the thread started. Star Trek fans, make sure you're sitting down and then read this:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html#082806

Its like Star Wars all over again.

All i can say is im glad i own the 60s series on dvd, since there going to mess with it on hd dvd and whatever other format.

It's not "like Star Wars all over again." They're not inserting extraneous material and new scenes; it sounds like they're just cleaning up or reshooting the exterior spaceship shots, which never looked clear because they're process shots. It's not like JarJar Binks is suddenly going to take over for Lt. Uhura...

My only gripe is, why didn't they do this BEFORE I spent $300 buying TOS on dvd??

I'm surprisingly not as bothered by this announcement as I originally was back in late 1997, when those other crappy CG-redux shots from "The Doomsday Machine" surfaced in various genre magazines like Cinescape.

When I first beheld the space battle sequences in Enterprise's "A Mirror Darkly" two-parter, I was suddenly -- and unexpectedly -- excited by seeing a model-quality TOS-era Constitution-class starship blazing away and kicking massive amounts of ass on the screen in a way they never could've done in the 1960s, and began wondering if something like this was in fact in the works for the rest of the original episodes.

That was some amazing FX work, and it looked LIGHT-YEARS better than those shitty earlier tests. Color me still cautious, yet slightly optimistic about this.

Oh boy could this be a can of worms...
While some of the old FX indeed looks dated, wome still looks fab and the fact that they used "real models" as oppossed to CG...

hmmm....

And if they crop it to 1:78...???

If they MUST do this, then I hope it will at least look like it COULD, maybe, possibly have been done in 1968, given the time and money. (the effects guys should just watch 2001 over and over).

The thing that excites me the most about this news is that if CBS will actually spend the time and money creating all new CGI shots for the original series, then perhaps they'll also go back to the original elements of "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" and allow those to be re-edited in HD.

Oh, and CBS, anything other than OAR is unacceptable.

I was at the same panel as Bill and some enhanced CG had been done by one fan who had redone the first act of "Doomsday Machine" as a demo reel.

Well... yes... far from being "one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood" this idea was at least discussed and demoed several years ago, just after the broadcast of DS9's "Trial And Tribbilations" if I'm not mistaken...

And...

Well it SUCKS quite frankly. I don't want my TOS messed around with, nor my TNG, DS9 or VOY for that matter. If this is the price we're gonna have to pay to see these episodes "upgraded" to HD then they can shove 'em!

The "Enhanced Trek" clip created by the fan (see previous post) is fine and nice and novel and works "okay". But it's NOT how these episodes should look! We've had these arguments before with Star Wars, you know the rest...

Looks like the decision to take advantage of Amazon's price cuts on the DS9 DVDs has been made for me!

JR

I totally disagree with you John. Your Trek is already out and available for you to view.

A tastefully done reworking of exterior space shots for the original Trek would be fine with me. As long as the OAR and live action scenes are not monkeyed with - go for it.

The work done on the Enterprise episode and by the fan are great.

Why are you so protective of OAR? Why are you setting parameters of what is okay to "monkey" with and what is not? It's either OAR and as originally broadcast (i.e. with all the correct effects shots intact), or it's not.

I mean, what's next? Replacing the Gorn with a more convincing CGI monster? Sigh...

JR

I am all for this change. As long as the anal purist can have their crappy original version. Which they already do. Then I say they should be allowed to get rid of the cheesy effects for those who get turned off by them.

If you already have a version you want, why get upset that others might get a version that they want? It is no different that getting mad that they still produce Full screen DVDs even when widescreen ones are also available.

oops double post

Sigh. Missed or purposely ignored my first point. The original series is already out on DVD in all its untouched glory.

This new offering is made available for the individual to decide whether or not they deem it worthy of purchase.

You have stated your position and I am stating mine.

I am setting the parameters according to my aesthetic tastes. What is wrong with that?

... and you know, redoing the Gorn is one of those few live action instances that wouldn't bother me either...

Might be just the thing to make me buy an HD player. And im an old die hard fan from way back. Dont you think they would have put a Klingon ship in The Trouble with Tribbles in 67 if they could afford one? Trials and Tribulations, and A Mirror Darkly were great!

Actually I wouldn't mind if they reframed to 16:9 if it could be successfully done, I just don't believe it could be. That's just not something you can change after the fact, where as replacing entire special effects shots is. I think this would be great if done well, and also hope they follow through with The Next Generation. Those shots of the 1701-D in the Enterprise finale were fantastic.

Gotta admit I don't get this attitude. How is this different than colorizing, something almost everyone views as an abomination?

Personally, I don't mind changes as long as the original is also available IN THE SAME MEDIUM. To state that John has "his Trek" available so it's cool to alter it for HD would be the same as saying it's fine to only have the altered Star Wars films on DVD - hey, the originals are out and available for viewing on VHS!

If Paramount put out both original and altered Trek on a hi-def format, that'd be fine - I wouldn't care if they chopped, cropped and flopped the altered one as long as high quality hi-def versions of the original also appeared. If the altered version is all they'll produce on hi-def, then count me as a big

Don't be so sure of that. There are a lot of people on this forum who opted for the colorized Bewitched and Jeannie seasons, and many people who are strongly OAR also expressed interest in colorization when a company announced they had a new and improved method of doing it.

As for the side-by-side comparison on that guy's site, it shows that the change is largely unnecessary as far as I'm concerned. The original model work was more restrained, perhaps by necessity. He does too much movement with the camera. For example, the shot right before the credit sequence. The original is a static shot behind the Enterprise. He moves in from behind. Both times. I also like the original transporter effect.

Okay, let's imagine an episode like Specter of the Gun: the spiffy new CGI Enterprise comes warping in, and a kewl new CGI Melkotian appears and admonishes the Enterprise for violating their territory. Then Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty and Chekov use the awesome new transporter effect to beam down to ... a cheap soundstage where they couldn't even build a full Western town, and the fake trees cast shadows on the scenic backdrop.

Yeah, great idea.

Yes, the FX look cheap and shoddy compared to modern SciFi shows. But you know what, Star Trek isn't a modern SciFi show. It's a product of the 1960s. Looking cheap and shoddy is part of the charm.

What's next, replacing the rubber-suited monsters on Lost in Space with really menacing CGI creatures?

Hey Scott I'm put off by that Cheesy Grainy B&W of Citizen Caine can we coloriize that ? And While we're at it how about a happier ending, the one that's there now is such a downer...

Geez where does it End.