Star Trek - Special Edition 282
Deathlizard writes "Confirming rumours from last month, Trekkies will finally join their Star Wars brethren and get a taste of the 'George Lucas Treatment' this year. CBS will be rebroadcasting The Original Star Trek Series for it's 40th anniversary. The catch? New Digital Graphics." From the article: "Digitally created images will replace the miniature-scale models used for exterior shots of the various spacecraft on the show, including Kirk's Starship Enterprise and the enemy war vessels of the alien Klingons and Romulans. Shots of distant galaxies and planets also will be touched up with computer graphics to give them greater depth. The flat matte paintings used as backdrops on the surface of the strange new worlds visited by the Enterprise crew will be digitally enhanced to add texture, atmosphere and lighting."
Next up for 'improvement' (Score:2)
Re:Next up for 'improvement' (Score:5, Funny)
The moon, Alice.
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Good idea: Remastering old video and shows to a modern digital standard.
Bad idea: Mixing old video and new video while violating Roddenberry's standards.
(I have some old home movies of me as a child naked, perhaps I can digitally enhance certain elements of my naked body as a 2 year old. I just didn't have the capabilities back then to express my, uh, manhood and now that I do, let's DESTROY the old memory and create a new one!)
Re:Next up for 'improvement' (Score:4, Funny)
http://imdb.com/title/tt0373908/ [imdb.com]
Re:Next up for 'improvement' (Score:5, Insightful)
The only way to redirect this abberant behaviour is a) don't pay attention, and b) for god's sake don't BUY anything related to it.
Part of the charm of watching old Tom Baker Dr Who or ST:TOS episodes is to see how _good_ the shows were with such primitive budgets. I will go on a shooting rampage is someone tries to add CG backdrops to the scenes in I, Claudius.
Re:Next up for 'improvement' (Score:5, Funny)
Of course, your comment will sound better when Paul Anka's singing it.
CBS raped my childhood! (Score:2)
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Also, at least so far...they didn't apparently alter the actual story like some directors out there have done....
Re:CBS raped my childhood! (Score:5, Interesting)
If you ask them what still gets them fired up about the late producer Gene Roddenberry's creation after all these years, you get an answer that -- underneath the glibness -- is very telling: [cnn.com]
SHATNER: Money.
NIMOY: Yeah. The big, the big bucks.
SHATNER: Money. The money gets you fired up.
TOGETHER: The biiiig bucks.
Seriously?
SHATNER: Yes, that was serious. We were very serious about that.
NIMOY: Yeah. But seriously, folks.
Re:CBS raped my childhood! (Score:5, Informative)
What do I mean by "recreating"? I mean that they're matching the original shots (from what I've seen, mistakes and all) so that the jump to HD doesn't make them look like cheap models with sparklers on them. The theme song is being re-recorded to match the original exactly, but using modern sound capture technologies. The sound effects will be redubbed over the audio of the characters, again to take advantage of modern sound systems.
The result is that it will look like Star Trek, feel like Star Trek, and be like Star Trek. It will just look a little better on HD, while SD viewers will notice that the picture is a little cleaner and the audio a bit crisper. Go see for yourself [youtube.com].
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Re:CBS raped my childhood! (Score:5, Insightful)
They're doing a bit more than that.
But unlike with Star Wars, I'm all for this. There's one crucial difference: the original version is still available, and always will be. Nobody's suddenly denying the existence of the original model-based Star Trek, or telling anyone they "lost" the original negatives, or calling the new version "the Star Trek we had always meant to make".
There's another big difference: the dramatic content was not changed. Only the FX shots have been changed/cleaned up. I wouldn't have had such a problem with the Star Wars Lucas treatment if he hadn't also gone and made it so Greedo shot first, or Hayden Christensen appeared at the end of Jedi (a face Luke wouldn't even recognize!), or whatever.
I don't mind updating films and TV shows provided the original is preserved for archival purposes and made available in some form to the public. And I don't mind the updates themselves provided it only applies to the technical aspects of the film rather than the content.
It sounds to me like this is a worthwhile update to the original Trek, and I'll be watching. (I'll also be buying once it's inevitably released on an HD video format.)
The R-r-r-omulans have r-r-r-idges! (Score:5, Interesting)
I remember Roddenberry's original explanation for the new look of Klingons in the movies was that Klingons were always intended to look this new way; they just didn't have the budget to do them right in the original series.
Or afford to pay for artists of sufficient skill capable of doing them that way for the animated series either, apparently.
("Heart rate too high, internal organs all wrong, pronounced ridges on the cranium-- Jim, this man's a Klingon!")
If it weren't for the retconning of DS9 and Enterprise, then I'd expect that in this remastered version, not only the Klingons, but also the R-r-r-omulans would have r-r-r-idges on their foreheads if these were "the Star Trek we had always meant to make".
Will they be fixing the flying pizza bats in "Operation: Annihilate!" as well?
I'm easy to please. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I'm easy to please. (Score:5, Insightful)
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OH NEVERMIND!!
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Hah! That sounds like a great idea for a Youtube video! Show some footage of the Enterprise rocking violently from some sort of explosion (doesn't really matter), then have Kirk pop in with, "Spock! What was that?" Cut to Jamie and Adam pasted into a Star Trek science lab background. Play some sort of "sorry about that guys, we didn't expect an explosion that big" clip.
:D
Comedy gold!
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So where can I get the T-shirt?
Re:I'm easy to please. (Score:5, Informative)
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i guess you could argue that roddenberry somehow used the system to slip something worthwhile through -- but bottom line is it only existed as long as it was perceived as a means of g
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Because the props can be changed without changing the show.
Frankly, I'm amazed at all the bad reactions here. It looks like they are going to show Lucas what he should have done: Update the special effects to what the orginial would have done had they had the budget/tech they wished for, but not change the story or feel of the show other than that. Done well they could actually give us a 'better' original Trek than the orginal. Leave the stor
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Sadly this is what lucus has stated many time is exactly what he did. Apparently the only reason the old ones were any good is because he DIDN'T have the technology to add all sortsa cutsy CGI. Think about all the cutsy stuff they managed to put in even the original Jedi. Now imagine if Lucas had had that kinda budget for A New Hope.
Re:I'm easy to please. (Score:5, Insightful)
Jeffery Hunter, while probably a better actor, would have been as forgotten as the captain of Time Tunnel by now.
Face it, the entire cast of Gilligans Island will be known as those characters forever as much as Thomas F Wilson will be forever known as Biff Tannen. Those performances would be nothing without the contributions of those actors. How many Gingers were there?
Star Trek would be just another crappy 60's Sci Fi show without Shatners contribution.
Probably the best actor to reinvent himself each decade would be Lee Majors.
He has been iconic in his roles in Big Valley of the 60s, the Six Million Dollar Man of the 70s, and the Fall Guy in the 80s and was married to THE hottie of the 70s.
The only one who comes close (and forgive me) would be David Hasselhoff of Knight Rider and Baywatch fame. (and I can personally attest that Hoff is a wuss in real life)
Most of the Trek episodes weren't that good anyway so any 'bad acting' fixing isn't going to matter. I'd like to see how they fix the western episode and if they remove the wires from those creatures in the halloween episode.
If you were an actor, how would you handle the following episodes:
-evil twin episode
-evil twin in another universe episode
-old age episode
-episode with a guy in love with a bunch of lights
-a greek god episode
-episode where a main character loses his brain
-halloween episode
-western episode
-Nazi episode
-Chicago gangster episode
-Indian episode
-Abraham Lincoln episode
-Hippie episode
-episode where they're all in an empty room with some chick that heals
-the episode with the midget in some greek setting with the first interracial kiss
Yeah, god bless William Shatner and the stuff he had to go through.
Say it aint so (Score:5, Funny)
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Beam me up, Scotty (Score:2, Funny)
Other changes: (Score:2)
This is an outrage! An ... um... wait a minuht. (Score:2)
>>Extra CGI appendages will be added to each attractive alien go-go girl
Hold on now. Just what appenda-thingies are we talkin about here?
Please God, NO! (Score:5, Insightful)
Obviously the dorks at CBS/NBC/ABC or whomever seem to have missed the point: It's the cheese that makes Trek taste so good after all these years.
TOS is a classic, in part, because we get to sit back and see the innovation Roddenberry and crew had enough insight to bring to the surface but not enough FX abilities to make it convincing (even back when TOS was in first run). Aside from Shatner's bad acting what else will we have to cheer for?
Frankly, this blows. If people like it I have nothing against it but I will not be party to it either. This is akin to updating all the antiquated language and references in, let's say, War of the Worlds and try to make it new and accessible to a new fanbase... Oh, sorry! (See! I've proven my own point)
It's not the cheese (Score:5, Insightful)
You like to think that you like Star Trek (or Doctor Who) because of the cheese, but you didn't. If you saw these shows as a kid, you fell in love with them because of the memorable characters, engaging plots, the strong moral messages, and (yes) a sense of wonder at the imaginative settings, creatures, and situations. Seriously. You fell in love with these shows because you liked them -- don't try to intellectualize your way out of it now that you're all growed up.
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Don't forget the first interracial kiss on TV was Kirk and Uhura. Not to mention all the alien chicks Kirk got (white green or gold, if she's hot he's going to go where no man has gone before.. care to see the Captain's log??). Kirk getting all he can
Re:It's not the cheese (Score:5, Insightful)
The funny thing is, Shatner seems to agree with me about Star Trek. He doesn't claim to be a big fan of the show, but I've never heard him say "oh ho ho, people love it because it's such high camp. Oh ho ho, what a stupid joke it all is." He, like me, believes the longevity of the show is due to the relationship between Kirk and Spock -- either that, or nobody really knows [cnn.com] what makes it so popular.
I'm not an idiot. When I was a kid, I thought the Horta (the monster that burrows through solid rock) looked like a piece of slightly burnt lasagna. That didn't make me say, "Hee hee hee, I want to watch that stupid lasagna show." I bought the premise anyway, despite the fact that it obviously wasn't "real." It was a sci-fi show. Obviously it was about your imagination.
Forty years after TOS aired and they're still making rehashes of the same ideas... they're still making TV shows about spaceships that travel faster than the speed of light and beams that can transport people from one place to the other. And you're telling me the original is camp??
Bottom line, if the only way you can enjoy a dated TV series is by laughing at it, well ... I kinda feel sorry for you. You keep trying to imply that I'm some kind of rabid Trekkie. Unfortunately, it's you who sound like one. You seem to have a lot more invested in your "ho ho ho" than I do in just enjoying the reruns. Maybe it's you who needs to get over yourself. Maybe if you weren't so self-conscious about whether people are going to think you're a Trekkie or not, you could enjoy the show for what it is. As it stands, I'd say your insecurities are getting in the way of enjoying some fine old television.
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Obviously the dorks at CBS/NBC/ABC or whomever seem to have missed the point: It's the cheese that makes Trek taste so good after all these years.
That's funny. I always liked TOS because of the good writing, acting, characters, and storyline. The effects weren't great, but it's not like we're talking about Land Of The Lost here. I also like the TOS doesn't take itself too seriously, something that was lost on TNG. As long as the new effects don't look worse or out of place with the rest of the series, I
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Spock - Logical Alien
McCoy - Emotional Physician
Scotty - Engineering Miracle Worker
Kirk - William Shatner
With Kirk you think of the actor, with the others you think of the character. That's why Shatner is a bad actor.
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Exactly! I still have a hard time not seeing Spock when I see Nimoy in a non-Trek related role. When I see Shatner? Hell, all bets are off.
Ah, well (Score:5, Informative)
And to improve the acting. (Score:4, Funny)
"Mesa shout, Kahn?"
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Whosa are yousa? (Score:2)
How wude."
Dupe, dupe, dupe (Score:2, Funny)
dupe of url, url, url
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/29/123021 3 [slashdot.org]
Understatement (Score:3, Insightful)
CBS?! *splutter*... (Score:3, Interesting)
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How did CBS get to show them, much less get permission to tart them up?
TV executives and tarts?
I suspect money is the enabler.
Re:CBS?! *splutter*... (Score:4, Informative)
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Welcome to 2006...media conglomerates buy and sell your favorite creative properties almost daily.
this is not the george lucas treatment (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean, I grew up with TOS and think it's kinda cool CBS will rebroadcast it in HD - but I'm not clamoring for it either. I just think the comparison between Paramount's changes tp TOS vs. what Lucas did to the original Star Wars is just plain unfair.
*shrug*
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I agree. You know, if someone wants to go back and clean up the film quality, enhance the special effects, etc., then I don't really see it as a big problem. Even if they go pretty far with it, it could be a little bit of a creative act, like a partial remake. I think the analog with music would be that instead of covering a song (which is like a remake) they'd be doing a remix, and insofar as it's understood as such, it's kind of neat.
My objection to Star Wars re-editing is only in that it seems to be
Animated series (Score:3, Interesting)
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Yeah... I saw some in the late 90s....
Nostalgia will do wonderfull things to your memories
Sulu, fire phasers! (Score:2)
Because it's not real TOS Star Trek if they don't.
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You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say, to you
Uhura, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my FIRE! [lieutenantsolo.com]
(Funny stuff. [lieutenantsolo.com]
Laugh or cry? (Score:2)
either way, nerds around the world will unite and make this a succesful venture. Guys, there has got to be something better to waste time on.
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Oh wait... the Red Dwarf special editions were broadcast once ever and never seen again, and aren't available on DVD. So... yeah, great use of that money.
Campiness Appeal (Score:2)
I guess they have not figured out that the campy-ness of the show was a big part of the appeal. That and the fact that you were sort of forced to use your imagination to buy into some of it.
It sort of seems to me like they are saying: "We want to make that Klingon more realistic." Um...
while we're updating things... (Score:2)
Let's give the mona lisa more modern clothing and make her thinner.
I'm sure this will give that old classic more "modern appeal".
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Dude, there have been ENDLESS redoings of the Mona Lisa, including nude versions. There's a nude one in the Carrara Academy in Bergamo, Italy dating back to the 17th century.
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This time around, they aren't pulling a Lucas:
From what I've seen, this is more like repairing all those cracks in the varnish and bringing back the original colors through the years of fading. Technical enhancement, nothing done to the subject of the work.
Yes... but (Score:4, Funny)
This is what we want to hear (Score:2)
That is the way it should be. Clean things up, enhance colors, tweak minor items, but in the end, LEAVE THINGS THE WAY THEY WERE! (You hear us George!?)
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Not just a CGI makeover (Score:2)
Differences (Score:2)
Not the end of the world. (Score:2)
One of these two scenarios is going to happen. Unlike Star Wars, if item #2 comes to pass, then we can simply ignore it. Gene Roddenberry isn't around to "tape over" the originals and absolutely refu
Full Circle (Score:2, Insightful)
On the other hand, one could argue that, at the very least since DS9, Trek has gone downhill with every successive series. Maybe they think the
"Special" edition? (Score:3, Funny)
Better than Trek 2.0... (Score:2)
Why not? (Score:2, Insightful)
This is still 'news'? (Score:2)
Did they fix the "swoosh" sound? (Score:2)
Does the Enterprise still go "swoosh" when it goes by in vacuum?
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To be the devils advacate for a moment. (Score:2)
But is it Art? (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't let him get his hands on the Mona Lisa. He'll probably add whitener to her teeth.
One of the things that I appreciate about these older shows is how much they are able to present of a story with such simple sets. All the glitz just leads to neoronic distractions. Of course some of the alien babes were a bit of a distraction too, but that's also part of the characters of the original show.
Go back and watch some of the pre-WWII movies and you'll find a fantastic lost technique in movie making. How
Mona Lisa (Score:2)
DVD? (Score:2)
Actually if they're re-mastering it in HD, this may be the series that would convince me to make the jump to HD-DVD...
Star Wars: Specialer Edition (Score:2)
A New Hope (Score:2)
It could be 1969 all over again! Wooooooooo.... wooo... woo woo.
At any rate I'll be pleased to see it on prime time again, possibly reac
Station List (Score:2)
Alternatively, you can go to TVGuide [tvguide.com], set up your local guide, and then punch in "Star Trek".
The Red Shirt (Score:2)
If this really bugs you... (Score:2)
Hey... you! Yes, you. You don't even have a girlfriend, do you???
Trailer (Score:3, Informative)
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Re:How about... (Score:5, Funny)
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It has one setting: blunt force trauma
Well, at least... (Score:2)
Well, that's cool....hehee...I can't remember who it was, I think maybe Dennis Miller who asked "Did you ever get really stoned, and watch the beginning of Star Trek, and try to figure out which star became the Enterprise?"...hehehe...priceless.
I like that and his idea for a more existential setting for the phaser...instead of just 'stun' and 'kill'.....
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Spending all the development effort on something that'll bring the same amount of money would be a waste to them. They only care about impact as far as how much money they can make off of it. Besides, there's nothing stopping them from developing new ideas at the same time they've got other people working on this.
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I think the analogous Trek term would be "...that doesn't make the fans feel as if they have been molested by Captain Kirk...".
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So, they can't actually do it without breaking canon.
Re:Klingon foreheads (Score:4, Insightful)
You mean the revised canon.
Roddenberry always said since the first movie with Klingons in it, they always looked like that, he just didn't have the budget to do them right back then. He also retconned all the books out of the official history and all of the animated series except some elements of the backstory of Spock's childhood. (Animated Klingons also looked human.)
That was the official canon until the DS9 episode, after Gene had no more say (being dead does that), and they found they still couldn't afford to CGI the Klingons.
And how can you watch "Mirror, Mirror" now knowing that despite Mirror-Spock reforming the Terran Empire, the human race ends up subjugated by an alliance of Klingons, Cardassians, and Bajorans?
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Could you be more lame.
It was trekkies in the 60, it was trekkies in the 70s, and it will always be trekkies.