The Doomsday Machine Revealed

[Richard Baker]

Very well done- I love to find out how things happen in the creation of a show, not just the result.
The one panning shot of the more mechanical version of the Doomsday machine intrigues me- was it the actual original sketch they could not afford or new art based on the description of what they intended? I like it so much better than the aluminum bugle snack we saw onscreen...

 

[EnsignHarper]

Very well done- I love to find out how things happen in the creation of a show, not just the result.
The one panning shot of the more mechanical version of the Doomsday machine intrigues me- was it the actual original sketch they could not afford or new art based on the description of what they intended? I like it so much better than the aluminum bugle snack we saw onscreen...

With Trek...it was ALWAYS about the $$$

 

[Green Shirt]

Very well done- I love to find out how things happen in the creation of a show, not just the result.
The one panning shot of the more mechanical version of the Doomsday machine intrigues me- was it the actual original sketch they could not afford or new art based on the description of what they intended? I like it so much better than the aluminum bugle snack we saw onscreen...

With Trek...it was ALWAYS about the $$$

Too bad the CBS effects reimagining team was either unaware of what the DDM was intended to look like, or didn't care to change its appearance significantly, or simply couldn't render it as described for much the same reason --$$$$.

 

[Warped9]

I must be one of the few who don't mind the way the planet killer looks with the original f/x. I like the rough hewn alien look.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I must be one of the few who don't mind the way the planet killer looks with the original f/x. I like the rough hewn alien look.

A lot of us vintage guys love the original fx. I happen to like both versions of the show now.

 

[bbailey861]

Very nice. Would like to see it done with other 'notable' episodes as well. Thanks for that.

 

[CrazyMatt]

I must be one of the few who don't mind the way the planet killer looks with the original f/x. I like the rough hewn alien look.

I think it actually looks better than the reimagined CBS version... wind-sock dipped in cement or no, the sfx on this episode were considered cutting edge at the time and I think they hold up much better than a lot of people give them credit for.

That's why when I watch this episode on Blu-Ray, I watch it with the original affects chosen.

 

[EnsignHarper]

I cannot believe those here who actually prefer the old, creaky effects of DM, as opposed to the CBS Digital FX. I mean, when the announcement was made about the new versions, wasn't the first thought in everyone's head upon hearing about them, "Boy - I can't WAIT for Doomsday Machine"?? This was THE episode that SCREAMED for better FX from Day One. (ok...maybe BoT also...and perhaps Corbomite Maneuver)

The effects now, instead of barely serving the story, now ENHANCES it! We get to see just how badly mangled Constellation is (with the neat addition of pieces of planetary rubble bouncing off its hull ), the DM is now a solid very scary thing that shoots out a wall of FLAME. And perhaps one of the best remastered effects of all of them in the series of Decker's shuttle popping out of the floor while twisting, and then ZOOMING out of the ship towards the planet killer.

I will never miss or feel nostalgic for the charred AMT model kit...

 

[Warped9]

I cannot believe those here who actually prefer the old, creaky effects of DM, as opposed to the CBS Digital FX. I mean, when the announcement was made about the new versions, wasn't the first thought in everyone's head upon heating about them, "Boy - I can't WAIT for Doomsday Machine"?? This was THE episode that SCREAMED for better FX from Day One. (ok...maybe BoT also...and perhaps Corbomite Maneuver)

The effects now, instead of barely serving the story, now ENHANCES it! We get to see just how badly mangled Constellation is (with the neat addition of pieces of planetary rubble bouncing off its hull ), the DM is now a solid very scary thing that shoots out a wall of FLAME. And perhaps one of the best remastered effects of all of them in the series of Decker's shuttle popping out of the floor while twisting, and then ZOOMING out of the ship towards the planet killer.

I will never miss or feel nostalgic for the charred AMT model kit...

You are taking things out of context. No, the old AMT kit wasn't convincing, but I do prefer the original planet killer f/x. The rest is very much a mixed bag. The new shuttlecraft sequences are garbage as is the cgi planet killer---it all looks like gaming animation and I don't care for it at all.

I will stand by what I've always said. CBS made a lot of mistakes because they shoehorned modern looking f/x into a '60s era production and a lot of it looks ridiculous. Dedicated fans have done better work because they made an effort for the new to fit in with the original aesthetic. And it's why I refuse to buy TOS-R.

That isn't to say there are things I wish were different than what had been done originally, the Constellation model being one of them. But there really isn't too much in TOS in terms of f/x that I feel hurts the show.

 

[Keith1701]

Cool! Thanks for posting this.

I agree as well, Very Cool for sure. The Doomsday Machine has always been my best episode from TOS.

 

[MacLeod]

Some of the new FX in the episode worked others didn't. And I'm going to say I prefer the practical FX of the Doomsday Machine rather than the CGI. The CGI version of the PLanet Killer to me looked more fake than the 40 year old practical FX Planet Killer.

 

[CrazyMatt]

I cannot believe those here who actually prefer the old, creaky effects of DM, as opposed to the CBS Digital FX.

Perhaps it's that the CBS effects where SO AWFUL and DISAPPOINTING that I prefer the original ones, where at least what we see is the best available from that time.

What's wrong with the new fx? PLENTY.

-- The machine surface and interior effect both look cartoonish. The beam it shoots looks as phoney as a three dollar bill. And it's not supposed to "shoot flame," it's supposed to shoot an anti-proton beam. Don't really know what that looks like exactly but I'm pretty sure it ain't flame.

-- The ridiculously over-damaged Constellation. My god, considering the pounding, how did any of the crew not die until they got to the surface of the planet? Half the saucer section--a very slight exaggeration--is gone! And, oh by the way, wouldn't have been nice if they used the same font in both "U.S.S." and "CONSTELLATION"? Look close and you'll see they're different. SLOPPY and INATTENTIVE WORK says I.

-- The ridiculously undamaged Enterprise: You mean to tell me the machine does that level of damage to the Constellation, but it hits the Enterprise six times (that we see), including at least two after the ship loses its shields, causing "inner hull ruptures" and "severe casualties"... and yet when we see it break away after the tractor beam is broken, it looks 'fresh out of the shop new.' I understand why the Enterprise looks undamaged in the original version--they couldn't afford to damage the model--so what's the excuse for the remastered version? That's right, there is none.

OH YEAH, that's it. The Enterprise had that corbomite stuff... guess they forgot to install that on the Constellation. That explains it!

So yes, I'll watch the episode with the original effects. Better off with a beat up '67 Mustang than a '07 Focus!

 

[feek61]

What he said ^

If I wanted to watch cartoons; I would watch TAS

 

[Warped9]

Some things in TOS-R were respectable. I'm thinking of the matte painting scenes where the original scenes were given more depth and the camera pulled back a bit. Other things I really disliked such as adding a visible beam to Scotty's phaser in "The Naked Time" (ruined the coolness factor of the original invisible beam), adding blinking eyes to the Gorn, needlessly changing Kara's ship in "Spock's Brain" and the awful contemporary looking Tholian ships.

 

[Push The Button]

Agreed, it was good to see Eddie Paskey in this documentary.

 

[CrazyMatt]

Some things in TOS-R were respectable. I'm thinking of the matte painting scenes where the original scenes were given more depth and the camera pulled back a bit. Other things I really disliked such as adding a visible beam to Scotty's phaser in "The Naked Time" (ruined the coolness factor of the original invisible beam), adding blinking eyes to the Gorn, needlessly changing Kara's ship in "Spock's Brain" and the awful contemporary looking Tholian ships.

I agree on the matte shots, they were a big improvement over the originals (no disrespect to Albert Whitlock). But almost every ship depicted in space looked 'cartoonish' to me... I expected the remastered Enterprise and the other starships shown to be of the same quality as the CGI Defiant from "In A Mirror, Darkly." Unfortunately, that wasn't the case... ever.

 

[Harvey]

Other things I really disliked such as adding a visible beam to Scotty's phaser in "The Naked Time" (ruined the coolness factor of the original invisible beam)

These Are The Voyages claims:

"Due to a delivery deadline (this was the fourth episode to air), there was no time left to add in a phaser beam as Scotty burns through the bulkhead outside Engineering" (p.188).

This strikes me as plausible, although it's not sourced by an interview or a production document, which makes it hard to discern if it's the author's speculation or a verified fact.

Given the UCLA collection's sparse documentation for "The Naked Time," I suspect the latter, although there's a folder of correspondence with the Anderson Company which I haven't read.

 

[Warped9]

^^ Even so, sometimes circumstance leads to a result that works just as well or better.

 

[scotpens]

. . . And, oh by the way, wouldn't have been nice if they used the same font in both "U.S.S." and "CONSTELLATION"? Look close and you'll see they're different. SLOPPY and INATTENTIVE WORK says I.

I never noticed that before. "U.S.S." is in the correct military-style font while "Constellation" is in a more generic signage font. That's simply unforgivable.

 

[Commishsleer]

I can give or take the effects. I thinks models look better than cheap CGI but the graininess of the old effects film makes me more inclined to watch the new fx despite its sometime cartoonish features.
Watching the new fx makes me think how good the acting and scripts were for this episode when we could understand what was going on in this episode with half the fx missing as it was originally.

I think I'm alone here but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't like the design of the planet killer - windsock or cigar shape thing that it was. I think we should have a competition to design a new planet killer totally different from either one on screen. It should have lots of dohickeys on it and look big and cool and scary. I know lots of people like its design but not me.

I try not to think too much about the workings of the planet killer but planets are great big things. Don't you think it would take decades at least to actually consume a planet unless the planet killer was way bigger than seen on screen?