My nieces will wonder why I'm so insistent on watching. "It's Star Trek, girls."
MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night
- Thread starter JD
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^^ It's a great teaching opportunity.
Same here. I really dislike the idea of "remastering." It's at least as bad as colorizing, if not worse.
Except that's not what remastering means. Everyone gets this wrong for some reason, even though the word was in use for a long time before TOS-R came out. Remastering means going back to the original master negative of a film, or the original master recording of a soundtrack or album, and taking a new, high-quality print directly from the purest source, one without the degradation that comes from making a copy of a copy. Remastering Star Trek meant creating the most authentic, high-quality print possible from the purest source footage, just as with every other "digitally remastered" video and audio release we've seen for the past several decades. But since the original master negatives of the visual effects elements were lost, it was impossible to remaster those shots, to achieve the same HD-worthy quality with them as with the rest of the footage. So they replaced them instead of remastering them. The label "Remastered" on TOS-R refers to the parts that were not changed, the parts that were actually taken from the original film masters. The primary goal of the project was to improve the image quality of that footage and present it as accurately to the source as possible. The replacement digital effects, which amount to only a few shots per episode, were the exception -- they're the parts that were not remastered, but replaced. Object to them if you like, but please get the vocabulary right at least.
Blame the people who chose to call these the "Remastered Edition(s)", which wasn't us. What semantic hoops are we supposed to jump through if we want to discuss the remastered versions vs. the original versions in the context of their most obvious distinguishing feature, the different VFX?
But that's exactly what they are. Like many, many new DVD releases of old shows, they were digitally remastered, i.e. digitally scanned from the original master negatives and soundtrack elements for maximum image and audio quality. These days, the only re-releases that aren't digitally remastered are cheap DVD sets of forgotten shows like RoboCop: The Series. It's just that this particular remastered edition also had a few minutes of effects footage here and there replaced. Ninety percent of it is remastered Star Trek, so it is perfectly accurate to call it that, just as thousands upon thousands of other releases have been called that because it's simply what they are. But since it was the new FX that got the attention, somehow the entire country suddenly forgot the definition of a word that they'd been seeing routinely on videos and albums for decades.
Of course you can call them the remastered editions, since that's what they are, aside from the upgraded effects. Forget about the digital effects, look at the 90-plus percent of any episode that features live actors on sets, and compare them to earlier editions, and they look clearer, brighter, more vivid, and more detailed. That's remastering. It's the same thing that people have praised so much about the Batman '66 box set that just came out, how much higher the image quality is than in the syndicated versions that have been available to date, because they're remastered. The replaced effects in TOS are something that was done in addition to the remastering. That doesn't mean "remastering" can be used to mean "upgrading/replacing the special effects." If you go to get a haircut and decide you'll also get a manicure, that doesn't mean that from then on you can use the word "haircut" to mean "manicure." They're still two different things.
If TPTB hadn't put out "special editions" under the term "remastered", you wouldn't have to spend several paragraphs explaining the difference when the subject of preferring the non-remastered versions comes up.
I still don't think you answered my question, so let me rephrase it: How could we have worded our posts such that you wouldn't have posted paragraphs correcting us for misusing the term "remastered"?
I still don't think you answered my question, so let me rephrase it: How could we have worded our posts such that you wouldn't have posted paragraphs correcting us for misusing the term "remastered"?
RJDiogenes put the term in quotes, I think we all understood what was being implied by that.
Except, as I just said, they were remastered. The fact that they improved the image and audio quality to the best possible degree, which is what remastering is for, was the main selling point, just as it is in the Batman '66 set and in countless other digitally remastered releases. The replaced FX were an additional aspect of the work, something they did because they were unable to remaster the FX shots due to the loss of the original master film elements. The digital FX were not the sole or primary purpose of the work; they were a substitute for the kind of remastering they would've done to the FX shots if the original film elements had survived (as they did with the TNG Remastered set a few years later).
The problem is that the replaced FX dominated people's attention, leading them to see them as the only noteworthy feature of TOS-R. The release was honestly and legitimately called TOS Remastered because the live-action portions of the episodes, the overwhelming majority of their content, were remastered; but it's the minority of the content, the few minutes of replaced opticals per 50-odd-minute episode, that everyone fixates on, leading to the confusion about the title.
Just say "replaced special effects" or something along those lines. It's as simple as that. Call it what we called it when George Lucas did it with the Star Wars prequels, before this whole confusion over the word "remastering" happened. Call it upgrading or alteration or replacement. Remastering means creating the purest version possible from the original, unaltered and undegraded source. So remastering and modifying/replacing are opposites, not synonyms.
You mean all gorillas don't want to wrestle Lynda Carter?
The story meetings for that episode must have been a stitch.
Hell, I wonder if the pitch was anything more than "Wonder Woman wrestles a Nazi gorilla." Sold!
It still seems like your ultimate beef should be with how the product was named, not with us for distinguishing between that product and its processor by using the distinguishing word in the newer product's name. Everyone involved in this exchange evidently understood what aspect of the newer product we disagreed with.
I love Svengoolie. The tradition of the Horror Host is classic Americana and must be preserved. 
Yeah, that about sums it up without wasting umpteen redundant posts.
I love Svengoolie. The tradition of the Horror Host is classic Americana and must be preserved.
I couldn't agree more. As a matter of fact I was thinking the other day about how I wish that MeTV would keep the tradition alive should something further happens with Rich Koz's health (he's had two heart attacks, the most recent in 2012). The no-brainer plan would be to bring in Elvira and ressurect (yet again) her show as a replacement. I'm not trying to write the guy off and certainly don't want anything to happen to Rich, I just want the tradition to keep going well into the future.
No, the product was named correctly. Like most DVD re-releases, it was, in fact, remastered. The main selling point was that the live-action footage and audio had their quality improved through remastering, and they were perfectly correct to promote it that way. As I said, the redone effects were not the only purpose of the project. They're just the part everyone is preoccupied with.
It's really very simple. TOS-R was remastered and had replacement special effects. The Batman '66 box set was remastered but did not have replacement special effects. They're simply two different things. My concern isn't about how people talk about TOS-R versus regular TOS. What bugs me is when people use the word "remastered" to talk about other, non-Trek projects that have replacement effects.
For instance, a while back I saw an article about a fan video for a proposed "remastering" of the original Battlestar Galactica. I went in expecting to see something like the Batman Blu-Rays, something with beautifully clean and restored image and sound quality. Because that's what remastering is. But instead it was just some fan's attempt to replace the original effects with new-BSG-style shakycam digital effects, and the actual image quality of the live-action footage was just as degraded as on the syndicated versions we've had for decades. And that was disappointing, because it wasn't what the name led me to expect. When different people use "remastering" to mean two different, completely opposite things, it leads inevitably to confusion. And it doesn't make sense that one single example of a remastered DVD set with replacement effects should outweigh the thousands of other examples of remastered films and shows that don't have any replaced or altered footage.
I love Svengoolie. The tradition of the Horror Host is classic Americana and must be preserved.
I couldn't agree more. As a matter of fact I was thinking the other day about how I wish that MeTV would keep the tradition alive should something further happens with Rich Koz's health (he's had two heart attacks, the most recent in 2012). The no-brainer plan would be to bring in Elvira and ressurect (yet again) her show as a replacement. I'm not trying to write the guy off and certainly don't want anything to happen to Rich, I just want the tradition to keep going well into the future.
If something were to happen to Rich Koz, God forbid, I wouldn't mind Elvira as a temporary replacement but since Rich was the second Svengoolie I would like to see that character re-cast with another actor.
As long as it had his blessing, sure, just like when he took over from the first Svengoolie. But there are a few other Horror Hosts around the country that could also do the job (I think I've mentioned Penny Dreadful from right here on the South Shore). I'm sure most of them would appreciate the opportunity.
We had Ron Sweed back in the day-- except we didn't really have him, we just had a UHF station that was owned by the same people who owned his home station in Cleveland.
"The Joker Trumps an Ace"/'Batman Sets the Pace" seems oddly unfamiliar to me, as if I haven't seen it in a long time. I wonder if this could be one of the three 3-parters that were left out of the previous syndication package (which I think was due to offensive stereotypes -- maybe the Maharajah here?). Or maybe my memory's just wonky. But there are set pieces I definitely remember well, like the golf-course disappearance (great shot with the Batmobile driving up and looming over the toy van, revealing just how tiny it is), the chimney escape, and the one-way mirror. (Though I didn't remember how lovely the novelty-shop clerk was. And henchwoman Jill is pretty stunning too.)
The opening with the Joker pulling a whole heist and only taking a hairpin was just the sort of thing you'd see in the comics at the time. Since they couldn't rely on violence during the height of the Comics Code, they had to rely on puzzling twists like that.
But the Joker's dirty trick with the wager to "stay afloat" and "Who said anything about water?" is just the kind of sadistic, murderous joke you'd expect from the more modern Joker. So it's a good amalgam of the different aspects of the character. Really, this is one of the strongest Joker stories in the show. He's in rare form with his pranks and reality-bending tricks.
And some great one-liners here.
Robin: "Can I go first? I want to see their faces." Batman (shakes head): "Dynamic seniority."
Maharajah: "Pay to the order of Batman..." Batman: "One T."
Really, this is a classic. Although I wonder what that "run for governor" gag at the end was about. Probably some topical reference of the day. Although it seemed like padding to fill out an episode that ran short.
The Maharajah was Dan Seymore (sic), who I think we saw as a villain in several Superman episodes. He's the guy I thought was Victor Buono but wasn't. Ironically, we get Buono as King Tut just next week.
Wonder Woman: "Last of the $2 Bills": Hey, it's Barbara Anderson, Mimi from Mission: Impossible and Lenore from Star Trek: "The Conscience of the King"! Plus James Olson, totally miscast as a brutal Nazi spy.
Some nice touches, like Diana practicing her American slang, and Etta finally getting some characterization. And it was nice to see Wonder Woman in her "formal" outfit with the skirt and cape. But some odd things too, like Wonder Woman just randomly asking Steve for a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing even before she knew it was connected to the Nazi plot. And how come Wonder Woman had so much trouble overpowering Wotan on the beach, when she was strong enough to stop an oncoming truck a few scenes later? And why did she have to change to Wonder Woman just to fake a voice on the phone? I think an earlier episode showed her faking a voice as Diana.
And if she remember Genghis Khan and Napoleon, how come she's never heard of Thomas Jefferson? Plus it's a reach to say Genghis's conquest was a failure, when he built the largest land empire in pre-modern history.
And how many padlocks did they have in that diner basement? There was the one Wonder Woman broke, the one the bad guys shot off, and the third one they used to confine Steve. What, did they collect padlocks or something?
I think this is the debut of the boomerang tiara, by the way.
The opening with the Joker pulling a whole heist and only taking a hairpin was just the sort of thing you'd see in the comics at the time. Since they couldn't rely on violence during the height of the Comics Code, they had to rely on puzzling twists like that.
But the Joker's dirty trick with the wager to "stay afloat" and "Who said anything about water?" is just the kind of sadistic, murderous joke you'd expect from the more modern Joker. So it's a good amalgam of the different aspects of the character. Really, this is one of the strongest Joker stories in the show. He's in rare form with his pranks and reality-bending tricks.
And some great one-liners here.
Robin: "Can I go first? I want to see their faces." Batman (shakes head): "Dynamic seniority."
Maharajah: "Pay to the order of Batman..." Batman: "One T."
Really, this is a classic. Although I wonder what that "run for governor" gag at the end was about. Probably some topical reference of the day. Although it seemed like padding to fill out an episode that ran short.
The Maharajah was Dan Seymore (sic), who I think we saw as a villain in several Superman episodes. He's the guy I thought was Victor Buono but wasn't. Ironically, we get Buono as King Tut just next week.
Wonder Woman: "Last of the $2 Bills": Hey, it's Barbara Anderson, Mimi from Mission: Impossible and Lenore from Star Trek: "The Conscience of the King"! Plus James Olson, totally miscast as a brutal Nazi spy.
Some nice touches, like Diana practicing her American slang, and Etta finally getting some characterization. And it was nice to see Wonder Woman in her "formal" outfit with the skirt and cape. But some odd things too, like Wonder Woman just randomly asking Steve for a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing even before she knew it was connected to the Nazi plot. And how come Wonder Woman had so much trouble overpowering Wotan on the beach, when she was strong enough to stop an oncoming truck a few scenes later? And why did she have to change to Wonder Woman just to fake a voice on the phone? I think an earlier episode showed her faking a voice as Diana.
And if she remember Genghis Khan and Napoleon, how come she's never heard of Thomas Jefferson? Plus it's a reach to say Genghis's conquest was a failure, when he built the largest land empire in pre-modern history.
And how many padlocks did they have in that diner basement? There was the one Wonder Woman broke, the one the bad guys shot off, and the third one they used to confine Steve. What, did they collect padlocks or something?
I think this is the debut of the boomerang tiara, by the way.
Most likely a reference to this, which would have been a hot topic in Hollywood at the time.
