HTF REVIEW: Star Trek - The Complete First Season (1 Viewer)

[Joseph Bolus]

Well *cough*, I counted myself as one of those loyal fans (I participated in the "Save Star Trek" petition that was sent from Auburn University at the time); but after reading about all the desertions among the creative staff that occurred over the Summer, and then viewing "Spock's Brain", I decided at the time that it was best to remember my favorite TV series as it was.

I really didn't see "The Enterprise Incident", "The Paradise Syndrome", "All Our Yesterdays" and most of the other third season eps until around 1972. And that was also true of most of the crowd that I ran around with at the time. Don't forget that in 1968/'69 there were no VCR's or TiVo's. You either sat in front of the TV when the show you wanted to view aired, or you didn't see the show. Friday night was already very tough to try to clear for a college kid; if "Spock's Brain" was the best they were going to be able to offer, then why bother?

But, ultimately, you're right: The show was doomed anyway when Roddenberry left. The fan base didn't really matter at that point.

 

[JoSAN]

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[Bill Hunt]

I haven't forgotten about you guys. I expect to have the last couple of answers to those questions about the fixes to the TOS DVDs in soon, and I'll post them all as soon as I do.

 

[Dan Lindley]

Hi Bill,

I can't wait to hear if/how the complete TOS set in Dec differs from buying each indiv TOS set. If the complete set is much cheaper or has extra extras, I'd really like to know before/while the sales for Season 1 go on.

And best to you, the Bits, and esp to Todd!.

Thanks so much to you, and the DVD community.

Dan

 

[AlexCosmo]

I love "Spock's brain"! Planet of Go-Go Boot Girls steal Spock's brain to run their air conditioning. Awesome.

 

[Britton]

Brain, brain, what is a brain?

I loved the Wonder Years spoof of this classic episode.

 

[Blu]

I believe I'm going to hold out until I find out for sure if the complete release is going to be a bundled collection or a new complete release with perhaps some extended extras.

I'd LOVE to see some great extras added to really get people on board with this release!

 

[Nelson Au]

FYI-

I was at the Farewell Convention for James Doohan in Hollywood, Los Angeles today.

I was kinda surprised to see copies of this DVD on some dealers tables there, 2 days before release day. Could be advanced copies for promotional purposes. Saw large German cardboard promotions for the DVD sets with some very nice cast photos never seen before.

As usual Shatner and Nimoy were goofing around on stage and made a great comedy team. Doohan came out last with the remaining living cast members and Neil Armstrong, sans Shatner and Nimoy who came out earlier. That is the Neil Armstrong who landed on the Moon.

Jack, don't know if you were there, saw Kier Dullea and Gary Lockwood there in the autograph room. Many TOS guest stars where in the room signing for cash.

 

[Ric Easton]

Nelson,

More info please! What kind of shape was Doohan in? Did you have fun? I'm surprised that both Nimoy and Shatner were there gien Doohan's animosity toward Shatner... But you say they were never seen on stage together? Scotty gets his Hollywood star this week, doesn't he?

Ric

 

[Nelson Au]

Ric-

Well, since you asked...Read on if you're okay if you've not seen James Doohan in any recent appearances.

There was a banquet dinner Saturday in his honour with many fans and stars in attendance, including Armstrong and a few TNG actors. I didn't go to that as I only flew down for the Sunday portion that was the big event. So the only time I saw Doohan was when he came out in the end. It was kinda sad. Sad in that some felt it was the last time we'll see these guys together. Doohan had to be helped as he walked out slowly. He sat as the crowd cheered and applauded for him and the remaining cast at his side; George Takei, Walter Keonig, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, Grace Lee Whitney and Armstrong. After a few minutes, they picked him up and he and the cast left the stage. Then James Doohan's wife, Wende came out to express her and his appreciation for all the love and support by the fans and for coming to the event to bid him farewell. James Doohan didn't speak. He looked the same as he looked in recent pictures. He was pretty still and you could still see a spark in his eyes, though he was definitely looking very old.

I think that he did pose and sign for limited number of autographs, but I didn't see that or tried to go there. A recent trend I've heard about, is that all the TOS main actors will pose with you and sign for you for a fee. The big convention in Las Vegas does this. There was a room where a professional photographer will take the shot. Shatner and Nimoy were the most expensve, but for a larger fee, you could get a photo with the entire TOS cast. That area was a zoo and there was lots of security, but we managed to sneak a peak into the room and see Keonig, Takei and Nichols posing with fans. At the end of the day, I saw one fan walking past with her photo with the cast, looked like a very nice keepsake, though a bit technical, like a photo you take at school every year.

In a separate room, there was a group of many popular TOS guest stars sigining autographs and posing for fans. They included, France Nuyen, Don Marshall, Arlene Martel, Gary Lockwood, who was with Keir Dullea signing for 2001, Barbara Luna, Frank Gorshen, Lawrence Montaigne, Celeste Yarnell, several of the Way to Eden "Hippees", Michael Forrest, Jack Donner, Sean Kenney, Julie Newmar(Catwoman), and Joanne Linville where the main ones I recall seeing there.

All in all, it was a fun day, but nothing I've not seen before. But I'm really glad I went because as I said earlier, the buddy I was with had feeling this was the end of the TOS crew. I didn't feel as low about it. I thought it was a special day. It was a bit of a let down at the end of the day when the cast came out then went off stage almost as fast. But then, what could they do, Doohan wasn't in any shape to stand and tell stories of his days on the TOS set, so it was best he made his appearance and took in the fan appreciation. Earlier, when Shatner and Nimoy was out, they spent a whole hour on stage doing their comedy shtick and they didn;t dissapoint. While fans wanted to hear about Shatner coming back on Enterprise and Shatner, to his credit, tried to keep it about Doohan. They tried to tell about his professionalism and always doing a great job. Nimoy has a fond memory of his efforts with the "Computer" on Star Trek 4 and Shatner recalled his days in Canada where he was up and coming and that Doohan was already a known radio star then. As for Enterprise, Shatner said he's willing and has a story for it, but joked that when it came to how much he wanted to be paid for it, they stopped talking. So he's willing and also mentioned that on his new show, Rene Auberjoinous will have a few guest shots. When asked if Leonard would guest star, he said he'd love for him to be on the show. But it's not up to him. They were great, Nimoy was Shatner's straight man, they joked a lot. Nimoy would call Shatner , Bad, bad Billy Shatner for all the mean things he did to Nimoy over the years, the pranks and jokes. One point Nimoy took his coat off, turned around and we could see "#1 Vulcan" on the back of his shirt which brought on a big cheer. I got my money's worth, I enjoyed seeing the cast speak and Doohan one last time and that was what I really wanted to go for.

No, I didn't wear a costume!

Anything else you'd like to know? And to keep this a DVD thread, the TOS DVD sets I did see there did look remarkably small compared to the pictures that are out there of the box. It looked pretty nice, though I didn't pick one up or hold one.

Nelson

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Very nice recap of the event. I'm not a huge Trekkie, and I've never been to a convention, but something like that sounds worthwhile.

And I'll chime in the I really like the packaging of S1. Nice and compact - I figure it takes up only about 1/5th of the space occupied by the old 2-episode DVDs for S1...

 

[Dave Farley]

Some news about TOS complete series set in December...


I don't know how reliable this is but I just got off the phone with Paramount's consumer DVD hotline. I called about another issue but also decided to ask about the differences between the Star Trek:TOS individual season set releases versus the complete series release in December.

I never really counted on any additional material or bonus DVDs. I had wondered if there would be some sort of special packaging. The lady on the phone said that there would be no additional extras(not a surprise)and she was 100% sure of this. As for the packaging, everything she has been told and seen shows it to be nothing more than the three sets shrink-wrapped together, as some of you in this thread already suggested.

 

[Ric Easton]

Thanks so much for the recap, Nelson! Sounds like a fun time and possibly the end of an era. While its nice to see Doohan get the honors, its a shame it couldn't have been done when he was in better shape. Sad to see these guys heading for the real final frontier, I still remembered how saddened I was when De Kelley died. Not to take anything away from he rest of the talented group, but I think he was always my favorite!

Live Long and Prosper.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

According to Doohan's son, Bill and Jimmy have made up in recent years. I really hope that's true, as it always saddened me that they didn't get along.

Thanks for the report, Nelson. I remember reading about this convention a few months back and really wishing that I could go. I'm sure it was a worthwhile event.

And thanks Dave for the info about the DVD sets. I imagine I'll go ahead and get Season 1 this week.

 

[Nelson Au]

You're welcome guys. It was a fun day! Oh yeah, regarding James Doohan getting his star, he is getting his official star ceremony on Tuesday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Farewell booklet also had a page where some fans are now lobbying to collect the money needed to get Walter Keonig his star on the Walk of Fame. He'll be the last main cast menber without one now. (Not sure about Majel Roddenberry though)

Another cool thing, I saw the signed cement block of TOS that was done in 1991 at the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater right around the corner where the Farewell was held.

Thanks to the Mods for allowing this little digression from the DVD discussion. And Dave, I hope your information is correct, I would almost bet the farm that the complete set in December would not have any new extras.

 

[Ric Easton]

Nelson,

Way back in 1987 I interviewed James Doohan at a Sci-fi covention in Columbus, GA. I asked him to say something in character and in his famous scottish brogue he said, "Fer that Laddie, I'd have to charge ya!" De Kelley and Walter Koenig were also there, but I didn't get to chat with them!

Ric

 

[BernieV]

Excuse me for jumping in here, but I'm stuck between buying the whole series collection in December or ordering individual season boxes now.
The thing that puzzles me is the pricing. If you compare Amazon's current charge for S1+S2+S3, it works out to 84.49 + 90.99 + 90.99 = $266.47 vs. $272.97 for the combined package. The $6.50 difference can't be for shrink wrapping. In fact they should offer some incentive if they want people to order the more expensive product. I can't help but think that they're going to include a bonus like the Galaxy Box provided with the Japanese release and possibly the tricorder replica. See www.stfan.com for pictures. [Scroll down past the photo of George Takei attending a Japanese con.]

The way I look at it, the Galaxy Box defeats the point of compact packaging. It's intended to serve as a tabletop display case. The large footprint may prevent its use in a storage rack. I don't care about collectables and supplementary material is something I only view once, so I don't see any point in waiting. It would be nice to get the whole set at once, but there may be discounts on S2 and S3 later. Any reason I shouldn't go ahead and purchase S1 now?

While I'm here, let me touch on a few other questions.

1. release errors - One thing I noticed about the VHS collection was that the trailers didn't always correspond to the following episodes. In fact, some trailers appeared more than once while others not at all. Is this fixed on the DVDs?
2. monaural audio - I may actually use both DD 5.1 (home theater) and DD 2.0 (mono TV). Do I need an A/V amp to combine channels for monaural?
3. City on the Edge of Forever - Watching it on LD, I haven't noticed any jitter. Monitor overscan could mask it, though.
4. Goodnight Sweetheart - I'm really glad they restored this music. It fits the story and it was the top song of 1931, so it's the perfect choice. Rudy Vallee didn't release his cover until 1940, so it's probably another artist - not that anyone would worry about historical accuracy.
5. mpeg-2 compression - It's been said that improvements in compression technology might yield better results than the previous DVD release, but how likely is it that Paramount would bother with the expense of re-encoding?[/list=1]
   Thanks a lot for the helpful information!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The $6.50 difference is because S1 is currently 35% off while S2 and S3 and the 3-season package are all 30% off. The list price of S1+S2+S3 exactly = the list price of the 3-season set. Ergo, it seems logical it'll include nothing extra.

 

[Jay Pennington]

As I recall, the VHS tapes were numbered according to production order, but the promos corresponded to airdate order (which would be historically accurate).

Wow, Best Buy usually comes through on day/date competitive pricing, but I see that I'd save twenty bucks if I go with Amazon. I guess I won't be watching Trek tomorrow night after all! I can live the few extra days for an order to come in, though.

So....anyone care to send me a STL?

 

[Nelson Au]

Bernie-

There's been reviews out on other sites like the Digital Bits that say the new DVD's do edge out the previous DVD for slightly improved image quality. For more modest home theater systems, it's likely the difference will not be noticed.

Yes, the old DVD's and I assume the new DVD's include the correct City on the Edge of Forever music, Goodnight Sweetheart.

Ric, cool story!

Nelson