Star Trek season 2 (remastered) (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

You're welcome Lou and Scott! I agree that there's a certain Fantastic Voyage feel to them. And a strong CGI-sh feel to the last one too. By the "Eye of Japetus", you mean the Stargate sequence? I had to look that up as I had not read the book in 20 years, but I've seen the movie many, many times!

The Best Buy that I bought my set from had about 4 that I could see on the New Releases shelf. That's good if they are a hot seller.

 

[Ockeghem]

Nelson,

Yes, that's what I meant by that phrase. I too haven't read the Clarke book in many years. I hope I was using that referent correctly. I also recall "Tycho Monolith Anonmaly," "Moon-Watcher," and a few other gems. I loved Clarke's descriptive phrases/terms in that book. And the film (directed by Kubrick) is always in my top five all-time.

 

[jim_falconer]

Just picked up the first season of this new release of TOS (the HD/SD one), and watched the documentary of how they inserted the CG shots...very, VERY impressive job. The second season has been shipped, and I can't wait to get it!

 

[Nelson Au]

Thought I'd write a quicky review of Amok Time Remastered.

Seeing these episodes remastered on syndication broadcast at 480 resolution does not do the effort any justice at all. I watched Amok Time and was really surprised at the difference between it and the last iteration DVD Season Box set.

The live action really pops. The color makes the old set look dull and dirty. That was a surprise as the last box set was really good too. But the parts that really surprised me were scenes on Vulcan. The color of the gong and other objects are colored jade! I never knew that before.

After McCoy gives Kirk the Triox compound, I could see blood on McCoy's fingers, I never noticed that before.

Some of the early shipboard scenes looked a tad dark, but so did the last set. And some of those early shots didn't look that good, but I think that was due to the source material.

Overall picture quality was as good as the last set in terms of sharpness, more or less. Some of the work at times looks soft. Could be the source material.

The 5.1 audio sounded terrific while on Vulcan. The part that surprised me was the subtle addition of the wind chime sounds to the rear channels and it surrounded you. Very cool.

Speaking of the sound, the new titles sequence sounded technically good, but as many have said, it is badly mixed as the singer's voice is too forward.

Here are some images, and notice how much stronger the reds and greens and blues are:

Spock in trouble with Kirk:
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/f/f1/htf_imgcache_33514.jpeg] [/url]

Spock in trouble with T'Pring
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/1/17/htf_imgcache_33515.jpeg] [/url]

Blood on McCoy's fingers
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/9/95/htf_imgcache_33516.jpeg] [/url]

Spock in trouble with McCoy
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/9/99/htf_imgcache_33517.jpeg] [/url]

Jim!
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/a/a9/htf_imgcache_33518.jpeg] [/url]

[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/6/69/htf_imgcache_33519.jpeg] [/url]

On course for Altair 6, via Vulcan
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/c/c0/htf_imgcache_33520.jpeg] [/url]

Vulcan
[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/5/5e/htf_imgcache_33521.jpeg] [/url]

For me, I thought the set was well worth the purchase! I've only sat through one episode, but this one really shined. I look forward to the rest! Sure, some of the CGI shots were of questionable composition or looked too CGI-sh, but overall, I liked this alternative version of Trek.

By the way, forgot to mention, in case it makes a difference, the equipment used. The DVD player is a Toshiba HD-DVD player and the monitor is a 50" Pioneer plasma 1080i. Screen caps done on a Machintosh G5 using SnapNdrag. Images resized with Photoshop but no other changes were made to the images.

The image quality overall looked really good on the HT set-up, and there's very little difference from the screencaps, other then the computer's videocard or software may not have been able to process the images any sharper.

It will be interesting to see the Blu-Ray edition when they come out. For now, this set will be pretty fun.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Very nice Nelson. Man, those colours sure do pop out. The blood on McCoy's hand! To see that is amazing!

BTW - are you making the trek - pun intended - to Vegas at all?

 

[Ockeghem]

Nelson,

I've spoken to the Moderator of the Forum about your incursions. Please stop tempting me with these excellent write-ups of TOS remastered. If you do not, I will have to take more stern measures -- like purchasing them.

 

[RickER]

Wimp!

Thanks again for the pics, and your thoughts of the remastered Amok Time, Nelson. Cant wait for the Blu-ray!
I am not weak like that human, Scott!

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Indeed! Me neither. Though my human half is causing me some difficulty.

 

[Nelson Au]

You had me going there Scott!

I knew doing the little review might generate temptation comments, which wasn't the intention.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Hmmm, I wonder Nelson....

 

[Nelson Au]

Well, maybe a little attempt to get you and Scott to fold! I am very enthusiastic about the set and wanted to share that enthusiasm, I'll admit that.

I forgot to mention, I will have to live vicariously through Trekmovie's reports from Vegas. I would have liked to have gone, but it didn't work out.

 

[RickER]

Hey, wait a minute! Scott doesnt even have a Blu-ray player?! What are you holding out for, again, Scott?

 

[Michael Rogers]

Back when I went to conventions I would see 35mm film clips of the shows (there used to be a big market for the little frames of film from Star Trek prints). I remember seeing one frame of film with a shot of the Shuttlecraft on the ground from Galileo 7. It had the words "Next Week" on the bottom on the frame.

I believe that on the network run of the previews for season 1 and 2 they original had "Next Week" at the beginning of the preview. I believe the "Star Trek: Next Voyage" clip was done for syndication. However, I believe the third season previews started to do the "Star Trek: Next Voyage" fanfare on the network. So, I believe they took the idea started with the third season previews and made a version to cover over the "Next Week" shots at the beginning of the season 1 and 2 previews for syndication.

Also, notice on the preview for Menagerie Part 2, there is Leonard Nimoy narrating. He says "You will learn next (pause) why Captain Pike was kidnapped" He originally said "You will learn next week..." but it was muted for the syndication version.

I'd love to see a pre syndication preview from the first and second season one of these days.

I love the previews as they often had alternate takes and lines cut from the actual episode plus pre effects/rough effects footage.

 

[Michael Rogers]

My visual discoveries with the new set were subtle. Like in Doomsday Machine, the toggle switch Kirk presses to start the countdown to the explosion. I could see that the toggle switch had a ribbed texture.

 

[Carabimero]

Here's my problem with buying the remastered DVDs.

In the early 1970s I recorded the audio tot my favorite epiosdes on cassette tape (edited comment).
In 1979-1980 I recorded every episode off TV on VHS
In the late 80s I bought the run on Paramount's VHS (which had City On The Edge music changed)...cost me a small fortune
Early part of this new century I bought DVD rips of the series on VCDs-a small chunk of change.
In 2002 finally sold a script and bought the single layer 40 disc set--cost me $600
A couple of years ago I bought the season sets for the extras and the missing music cue in DOOMSDAY MACHINE--cost me $240

God Oh Mighty it has to end!

 

[troy evans]

My girlfriend hates Star Trek. While I was watching Doomsday Machine she was cleaning in the living room. She happened to glance over a few times and comment on the new effects. Even she was amazed. Tonight, I'm inviting one of my friends over who has yet to see this since he catches the episodes randomly. He's convienced he won't buy the remastered sets because he says he's never been wowed by what he's seen so far. We'll see about that. Also, has anyone else checked the DS9 episode on here? I'm not saying it's been remastered, but, it looks better than I remember it on the previous release. Here's hoping Trek remasters don't stop at TOS.

 

[Carabimero]

I know I'm eventually gonna buy 'em. But I'm gonna wait till they drop in price and then get them used (and wait till season one is done to match seasons 2 and three in DVD).

But right now I'm doing good to wait. If I didn't have (albeit edited versions of DOOMSDAY MACHINE and AMOK TIME remastered recorded off TV I doubt I could wait).

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Our attempts to capture this show have come a long way ...

I used to film the show in its first syndication run in the late 60s with my Super 8 camera. Since the reels were only about 3 minutes, I had to ... erm ... edit in camera (stop and start) as I went, being sure to get the titles, writer's credit, sexy alien girls, sfx action, monsters, and finale. I filmed in 2-3 second bursts (otherwise you'd get the out-of-synch video roll bars). I had highlights of all 78 episodes and spliced them into one big reel. It was like a Star Trek acid trip. Sensory overload. A subliminal tour through the entire series. It was a prized possession.

I also had 35mm single slides of the show and the original fan letter, which was ... mimeographed on about 4 sheets of paper and stapled into a folded mailing size.

But I never bought the VHS when it came out, nor the lasers, but did get the original DVD sets, paying about $84 a pop.

I've seen some of the remastered episodes on TV and will no doubt pick up this set and the first season ... when they come out on Blu-ray.

It would be fun to post a Super-8 image of the show filmed off air in all it's dark, grainy glory vs. the Blu-ray when it comes out.

Yep. We've come a long way.

Bring on the hologram version!

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I can go one step further than you on this:

During the original network run of Trek I taped the audio portion of the shows on reel-to-reel tape! Believe it or not, shows like "City on the Edge of Forever" hold up pretty darn well even when listening to just the audio portion of the show.

When the shows were released to VHS, I just "cherry-picked" about 30 of my favorite eps.

I was therefore ready (and willing) to purchase the initial 40 volume DVD release. (And it was dribbled out over about a 28 month period which made it easy on the pocketbook.) When the season sets were released I happily gobbled those up and then sold off (or in some cases gave to relatives) the older two-ep volumes.

I have to admit that I'm wavering badly here in my commitment to wait on the BD's of these eps. After all, these discs will still play in all current and future BD players, and how much better will they really look in HD? Since Nelson still has his HD-DVD player and presumably purchased Season One of this set, perhaps he can let us know, right?

 

[Ockeghem]

Agreed. There are at least two that come to mind, if I'm understanding you correctly. I recall the one when Gav (the Tellarite) is not yet in full make-up; another (which I saw the other evening during closing stills to The Immunity Syndrome) is a would-be scene from (I think) Return to Tomorrow, in which we get to see the plastic-like moldings that were going to be used for Sargon, Thalayssa, and Henoch.

They also had some odd dubbings in (of lines); you can hear the subtle differences after many listenings. I think one of those is "Yes sir" (in response to Kirk regarding the possibility of a mutiny in This Side of Paradise). In the actual episode, we hear "Yes sir, it is." And although not a rough effect or additional footage, there is the wonderful "But sir, what about Mr. Spock?" line that Scotty ostensibly says in an episode, but which is actually dubbed in later.