50th Anniversary Rewatch Thread

I'd seen the original series so many times, I've never bothered to get the remastered edition. I've just watched episodes as they happen to be on, from time to time. I finally decided to partake of the H&I rebroadcast of the remastered episodes, catching up with the 3rd season. I know there were cut scenes added back in, but for some episodes the additions are notable. So amazing to be going along with the usual, familiar episode and then to see footage that's unfamiliar. There's quite a bit of it in "All Our Yesterdays", and very important too. Some of this cut footage fills in gaps that were created by terrible edits made earlier on to accommodate commercial space (or censorship concerns). Anyway, it's a weird experience -- seeing "new Trek" that's actually very old. Like finding bits and pieces of long lost episodes.

What really got me in "All Our Yesterdays" was the extra bits where Spock and McCoy have a heated exchange, and you can see Spock's emotional control dissipating.

You know... Spock never thanked him. McCoy saved their lives! If he hadn't been so adamant about giving the portal a try, they'd have been stuck there, with Kirk never finding them. And of course, they'd have died because they weren't "prepared." I think the magistrate said you can survive for only a few hours without being prepared, so who knows -- they might have had just a day, to find themselves suffering ill effects with no cure... to die by the next morning.

 

Jeez, Gary7, two men embark on the only course open to them, and you seem to feel that something else is necessary!

 

Remember... Spock was resigned that they were imprisoned there in the Sarpeidon Ice Age. But it was McCoy who wasn't going to put up being the 3rd wheel. He'd rather die than hang around while Spock and Zarabeth have their romance for the remainder of their lives. He didn't know it, but he sensed that something just wasn't right and felt compelled to go back. Had he not? They'd have both died by the following day (unless they were immune to the time portal effects by not having been an indigenous species--however, remember that Kirk started growing faint as he was looking for the portal, and it seemed that he made it back to the library just in time). So yeah... Spock owes him his life! Spock has saved McCoy in the past... and likewise, McCoy saved Spock. So perhaps they're just so accustomed to pulling each other out of the grasp of death that it doesn't merit a firm acknowledgement. Kirk often brushes it off with a "thank you" then moves onto the next thing.

 

I was just making one of my extremely little jokes, referring to Spock's line from That Which Survives, right after Scotty saves them all. No further defence of your point necessary!

 

Hah! OK, I got it now -- thanks for filling me in.

 

Just adding in my review of the entire season, mainly just my thoughts about the show overall to this point.

You can read my blog post here. To those who have read my posts, thanks very much. I'll be doing it again in September!

 

Great Ideas

 

Hmm, they're showing reruns of the episodes from the same time period as Discovery right as the trailer dropped. What a coincidence, might have to give it a look

 

We have another couple of months until season two starts. But back in 1967 they were already getting ready.

50 years ago today Alexander Courage recorded about thirty minutes of library cues for season two. Some cues were re-recordings of scores from season one: some from Courage himself, some from other composers. It's interesting to hear how Courage conducts Gerald Fried and Fred Steiner.

Courage also recorded several cues not meant for any specific episode. These would find their way into several memorable scenes. Kirk reading the U.S. Constitution (or Kirk telling Mirror Spock to fight the Empire)? Here. The downbeat ending of Private Little War? Here. (Take THAT, Mr. Cushman.) The opening title of Amok Time (after the opening credits)? Kirk's corridor fight in Journey to Babel? All recorded separately from the episodes.

50 years ago today Courage also recorded a new arrangement of the opening and closing titles. With its soprano performance by Loulie Jean Norman this has become the definitive version of the Star Trek theme. In Herb Solow and Bob Justman's book the claim is that this was the first season theme and that because they didn't want to pay the singer any residuals that the vocals were gone for season two. This is the exact opposite of what happened. I just looked over on wikipedia and they repeat the same damn story. Arrrgh.

Next up: Catspaw. Music Composed and Conducted by Gerald Fried. Recorded 6/21/67.

 

Fifty years ago today George Duning recorded Metamorphosis. Almost six months ahead of air date! What a change from first season!

This is by far my favorite Duning score. One of my favorite Trek scores, period.

 

Did any episode of Season 2 manage to air in production order?

 

I was sitting at my desk this morning and felt it was time for a rewatch of Trek, myself. I'm starting tonight. From TOS to ENT, 6 series, 721 episodes and 13 movies. I try to write my thoughts down this time.

 

Season 2 "premieres" in little under a month, so I'm bumping this thread in case anyone new is interested in joining in, there's still time to go through a leisurely binge of Season 1 to catch up

The premise is the same as last season, we watch episodes on the 50th anniversary of their original US airdate and then discuss them here. This year the show moves to Fridays, starting on September the 15th.

 

Excellent. Looking forward to it. (OTOH, I've noticed how much more I've been getting done this summer not watching four DC shows, Agents of SHIELD, AND a Star Trek re-watch.)

 

Damn it. The Prisoner.

 

Nice. We watch all those shows as well! Huge Melissa Benoist fans.

 

Six months? Is there any chance the Duning session date is a typo in the CD liner notes? I'm at work tonight and can't pull out my own box set booklets. It just seems impossible that they'd have so much lead time.

 

It's not an outlier. They ripped through a good chunk of the scores over the summer. 8/30 will be Doomsday Machine.