Caretaker 1 and 2!
- Thread starter Arianwen
- Start date
IMO, it's the best of the premiere episodes for the TNG - ENT treks. I've not seen it in years myself (missed it in the first round on Spike), and it was like watching something new, since there was lots that I didn't remember.
Yeah, but it's been so long since I've seen the whole thing, I can't remember what they left out. I'm thinking something was missing from the underground sequences involving Janeway, et.al. after they arrived there.
Syndication reruns of TV shows are always edited to make room for more commercials -- perhaps because reruns get lower ratings than new shows and so more ad time needs to be sold to compensate, or perhaps because there are more different people who have to be paid (the syndicators as well as the original creators and copyright owners) and so more ad time must be sold in order to pay them all.
Whatever the reason, as far as broadcasters are concerned, TV shows are just packaging for commercials. They lose money on the shows and make money on the ads. So they always try to shove in as many ads as they can.
And Voyager has it easy compared to TOS. The number of commercials per hour in first-run shows has skyrocketed since the '60s. VGR episodes tended to have 42 minutes of story, so maybe only 1-2 minutes have to be cut for syndication. TOS episodes had 52-54 minutes of story, so they have to be cut by a good 20 percent, over 10 minutes, for syndicated broadcast.
Whatever the reason, as far as broadcasters are concerned, TV shows are just packaging for commercials. They lose money on the shows and make money on the ads. So they always try to shove in as many ads as they can.
And Voyager has it easy compared to TOS. The number of commercials per hour in first-run shows has skyrocketed since the '60s. VGR episodes tended to have 42 minutes of story, so maybe only 1-2 minutes have to be cut for syndication. TOS episodes had 52-54 minutes of story, so they have to be cut by a good 20 percent, over 10 minutes, for syndicated broadcast.
Why was "Caretaker" split into two episodes when Spike had a two-hour block to air the full uneditted episode?
People,
I was watching part of VOY's premiere ep, "The Caretaker," and you know what? It was better than I remembered (of course, I was flipping back and forth between it and "X-Men 3," so maybe I missed the crappy parts!).
For one thing, I forgot that while Neelix was goofy in his first appearances, it was an endearing kind of goofy. He seemed unpredictable and far more interesting a character than he ended up being.
I also like how Tom Paris was more of a thorn in Chakotay's side in the beginning, too.
Red Ranger
P.S.: I had posted a similar thread before I noticed this one, but I've deleted it.
I was watching part of VOY's premiere ep, "The Caretaker," and you know what? It was better than I remembered (of course, I was flipping back and forth between it and "X-Men 3," so maybe I missed the crappy parts!).
For one thing, I forgot that while Neelix was goofy in his first appearances, it was an endearing kind of goofy. He seemed unpredictable and far more interesting a character than he ended up being.
I also like how Tom Paris was more of a thorn in Chakotay's side in the beginning, too.
Red Ranger
P.S.: I had posted a similar thread before I noticed this one, but I've deleted it.
Most American channels feature 42 mintues of programming and 18 minutes of commercials per an hour. When "Caretaker" premiered, it was 45 minutes of programming with 15 minutes of commercials. This means that the fully uneditted "Caretaker" would have to be editted down from 90 minutes to 84 minutes to make room for commercials. It has to be editted down further to be a two-parter.
This is why I watch Voyager on DVD instead of on SpikeTV.
This is why I watch Voyager on DVD instead of on SpikeTV.
I saw the second half of part 1 and all of part 2. I must say, I was very, very impressed with the way these episodes were filmed and the production values. It had a real cinematic sweep, with lots of interesting camera angles. I wish the whole series could have been like this, although of course that would probably be unrealistic what with budget limitations etc.
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