| Author |
Message |
anth
Member
|
# Posted: 3 Sep 2006 02:45
Reply
Came across this, lets hope it's better than the dreadful Star Wars SE's. I'm very much looking forward to it anyhow.  ...
Confirming the rumors that quickly spread this week, CBS Paramount has announced that they are putting the original Star Trek TV series back into syndication, with brand new digitally remastered episodes which are in High-Definition and feature new special effects, along with other visual and audio updates to the beloved 1960's series.
The most surprising thing in the announcement is that these new versions will begin airing almost immediately, on September 16th, on over 200 stations the series has been syndicated to nationwide. Obviously work was well underway on the upgrades before the rumors hit the web this week.
According to the press release, special effects have been redone for many aspects of the series, with new CGI effects replacing the 1960's imagery. The press release lists the following alterations:
* Space ship exteriors -- The space ship Enterprise, as well as other Starships, will be replaced with state of the art CGI-created ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
* Show opening -- The Enterprise and planets seen in the main title sequence will be redone, giving them depth and dimension for the first time.
* Galaxy shots -- All the graphics of the galaxy, so frequently seen through the window on the Enterprise's bridge, will be redone.
* Exteriors -- The battle scenes, planets and ships from other cultures (notably the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers) will be updated.
* Background scenes -- Some of the iconic, yet flat, matte paintings used as backdrops for the strange, new worlds explored by the Enterprise crew will get a CGI face-lift, adding atmosphere and lighting.
The press release also notes, "The refurbished episodes also feature higher quality sound for the famous opening theme. The original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Alexander Courage has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word 'Space, the final frontier…' monologue continues to open each episode."
"The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD."
|
daecrist
Member
|
# Posted: 5 Sep 2006 23:13
Reply
I'm just barely old enough to have been around before CG took over, and I remember a time when the TOS special effects didn't seem all that bad.
Of course today they look downright silly most of the time. If it brings in new fans to the old series then more power to'em, but I still prefer my Enterprise hanging on wire and being menaced by day-glo alien ships.
|
lythria_2005
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Sep 2006 00:39
Reply
I have to words...erm...sounds..."HOO YAH!!!!!"...  ...
I remember when I was 4 and I watched my first TOS episode...I was shocked...it was soooo beautifal...
And then when I was 11...I watched the same episode again...and thought, "erm...*switches off tele*"...
Im glad paramount have done this...It's like taking Battlestar Galatica (The Original)...and giving it a funky face lift...  ...erm...wait a minute...  ...
|
anth
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Sep 2006 03:31
Reply
It seemed magical to me when my dad introduced me to TOS Trek, when i was about 5 or 6 in the early 70's. I still love it, new cg effects would not make much difference to me in that regard.
Having said all that though, i am very excited about seeing these enhanced episodes. I'm hopeful too that some of the younger people who laugh and dismiss TOS due to what they see as "old style" special effects will now give it a chance. Because lets face it it is the best Trek you'll ever see.
Some members here may know i am on a long learning curve with cg effects, its a bit of a hobby of mine, something i'm putting into practice on the OTF SW film project. I had often thought about taking a TOS episode and having a go at replacing the old effects with computer generated versions. I've been beaten to it!  *L*
As for Battlestar Galactica, i recently re watched every original episode. I was quite impressed with around 70% of those old effects. Of course they do not hold up compared to the new BSG, which i believe to have the best cg work, and the most realistic space scenes i have ever seen on TV.
Not that i want to get side tracked here, but i did enjoy the old BSG far more than the new. It was more fun, more good old fashioned adventure, and more true escapism. I really enjoy the new BSG, but it smacks you in the face when you re watch the old shows just how gritty, and depressing the new version can be at times.
I'm also a bit saddened when i hear some modern cast members laugh about and generally make fun of the old show. Can you imagine the TNG cast doing that about TOS?
They would have been lynched!
|
lythria_2005
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Sep 2006 03:39
Reply
not getting side tracked at all... ...but I have to say that the only repsect that you can compare BSG old and BSG new together in is the fact that they are the same show...BSG old was much more of a family orientated show...while BSG new is going wiht the new "emo" type dark sci-fi drama the reared it's head when Voyager was introduced to the Borg and Species 8472...that's where all the dark stuff started...
Some would say that it started with that old hting with the computer called Hal in it... ...but nobody really cottoned on to the idea until Voyager finnished...
Anyhow...the same applies for TNG and TOS and DS9 etc.etc...Star Trek, until Voyager and certain Ent episodes, was more of a family orientated show...and I think that it always should be...
Nemesis was much darker than most previous Star Trek movies, and I enjoyed it...I can't stand the people who lynch the Director...after all...Star Trek is not only Paramounts Vision, Gene's vision, but it's the fans vision aswell...and just because somebody conveyed their own vision of Star Trek...does not mean it was "ruined"...;)
anyway...rant over...
Damo
|
daecrist
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Sep 2006 07:02
Reply
<!--QuoteBegin--lythria_2005+Sep. 06 2006,03:39--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (lythria_2005 @ Sep. 06 2006,03:39)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->not getting side tracked at all... <!--emo&:?--><img src="http://www.outpost10f.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/srp.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':?'><!--endemo--> ...but I have to say that the only repsect that you can compare BSG old and BSG new together in is the fact that they are the same show...BSG old was much more of a family orientated show...while BSG new is going wiht the new "emo" type dark sci-fi drama the reared it's head when Voyager was introduced to the Borg and Species 8472...that's where all the dark stuff started...<br><br>Some would say that it started with that old hting with the computer called Hal in it... <!--emo&:P--><img src="http://www.outpost10f.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/ton.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':P'><!--endemo--> ...but nobody really cottoned on to the idea until Voyager finnished...<br><br>Anyhow...the same applies for TNG and TOS and DS9 etc.etc...Star Trek, until Voyager and certain Ent episodes, was more of a family orientated show...and I think that it always should be...<br><br>Nemesis was much darker than most previous Star Trek movies, and I enjoyed it...I can't stand the people who lynch the Director...after all...Star Trek is not only Paramounts Vision, Gene's vision, but it's the fans vision aswell...and just because somebody conveyed their own vision of Star Trek...does not mean it was "ruined"...;)<br><br>anyway...rant over...<br><br>Damo<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--><br>Yeah, except the Nemesis director said in the commentary for the film that he'd never seen an episode of Trek in his life, didn't care for the series, and then proceeded to royally screw with the cosmology in ways that hadn't been seen since seasons 1-3 of Enterprise.<br><br>There's a difference between making a Star Trek movie and completely throwing out the history of the series and making a sci-fi movie that happens to have the Star Trek name attached to it. Shatner learned that lesson with V. <!--emo&:P--><img src="http://www.outpost10f.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/ton.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':P'><!--endemo-->
|
lythria_2005
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Sep 2006 07:06
Reply
...so what?...The Director "may not have" cared for Trek...but in the end he did what he did...and he didn't change things that much...  ...what people have to remember is that Bretn Spinner helped write that script...and there were loads of faces from the orignal Star Trek series like TNG workin gon that movie to...
so while yes, we should lynch the director for being so "anti-trek" about trek... ...we have to give him the fact that he did a good job with it... ...
Opinions are like butts...they come in all shapes and sizes...lol...
|
daecrist
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Sep 2006 07:15
Reply
But did he do a good job?
A human being made Romulan emperor, that'd be like Osama bin Laden being elected president of the U.S. The whole plot was overblown, convoluted, and silly to the point that in my theater Trek fans were laughing at the turkey.
I don't mind killing off a major character, but the way they did it seemed more like an afterthought. "Oh, we have 10 minutes left, better pile on another deus ex machina that sends Data over to die before the credits roll."
|
anth
Member
|
# Posted: 6 Sep 2006 11:01
Reply
Changing stuff is at the core of what alot of BSG fans object to about their new series too.
i dont remember any story lines featuring rapes, or baby killing in the old BSG. Theyve also completely changed the origins of the Cylons for the new series.
I'm not complaining about the new BSG. I like it, i'm just pointing out that many hard core fans do care. I know exactly what i'm going to get when i sit down and watch each individual series, new or vintage.
To steer things back around to the topic, i feel its a very good thing that the vintage Trek is getting this treatment, and potentialy getting an airing in a new generation of sci fi fans homes. Or maybe a acting purely as a re cap to those who have forgot the series and what it stands for.
It's good to have this revamped TOS experiance before a new Trek series goes into production it may help shape things.
I do feel the producers of any new Trek film or show take BSG into consideration and make a choice. I do feel we could be heading for troubled times if we get delivered a Trek show with wobbly camera's, gritty, emotionaly driven plots, etc. Some will love it i'm sure. But, i'm also sure many will hate it.
It is the trend these days for things to get darker, and the lines between what makes a hero to get blurred. Not sure that'll work for Trek. Even if it has for BSG. But, comparing the too its BSG in name only, and in a resemblance with ship designs.
Things it seems cannot be bright, colourful, and fun so much these days and be considered "really cool". A hero has to have a dark past etc.
Even the new Superman's costume was darker! It looked like Christopher Reeves Superman costume when they tried to portray him as an evil Superman in one of the movies. Remember that? It looks exactly the same!
|
anth
Member
|
# Posted: 21 Sep 2006 16:58
Reply
Time to get this well and truly back on topic. *L*
I've just finished watching Balance of Terror "Enhanced Edition".
Did anybody else see it?
What did you think?
For me it was brilliantly done. I really liked the way the CG effects did indeed "enhance" rather than take centre stage.
The computer effects obviously upped the standard of the episode's production values, as is to be expected by replacing 40 year old techniques with state of the art.
The standard was upped, but the style remained the same. Which was a huge relief. I'm a big fan of the CG on Enterprise. say what you like about that show but the CG was breathtaking at times. However, big in your face highly detailed CG ships etc of the type seen in Enterprise would look out of place in TOS. The artists involved on these "Enhanced Editions" got it absolutely right IMO.
Btw, it's a no brainer to say the episode was fantastic. But, any self respecting Trek fan already knows that.
Great job.
|
