Changes between broadcast and VHS/DVD/Blu Ray

[Methuselah Flint]

Aside from The Cage, (which is worthy of its own thread on this), syndication cuts, the new CGI effects, and the jigged around season one theme title music, what changes have there been between original broadcast, and VHS and beyond?

Let me start off:

A Doomsday Machine cue replaces a Friday's Child cue in The Deadly Years as Spock enters the turbolift, being told to conduct the hearing on Kirk.

Added phaser/photon sounds as the Romulans fire at the Enterprise, same episode.

Doomsday Machine and re-recorded Corbomite and Mudd's Women music replace three opening music cues in The Menagerie, Part II. The opening teaser, (Corbomite re-recording), Act 1, (Doomsday Machine, original) and Act 2, (Mudd's Women re-recording).

An added 'sting' from the Rigel Fortress music is laid onto the soundtrack as Pike first appears in the illusion. This wasn't present on the original broadcast of The Menagerie.

The condensed Max's Factor music as Vina is restored to beauty, has been re-edited to create a smoother transition, for the DVDs and beyond, of The Menagerie, Part II.

After the Memory Alpha technician dies, a freeze-frame replaces the original shot where it was evident the actress was still breathing in the Lights of Zetar.

The closing credits have two differing sets of background pictures for the Lights of Zetar.

Added sound effect as the satellites enter orbit in Operation: Annihilate.

Any others?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

also TOS has sound FX changes in 1999 on the DVD.
http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/tos-is-spectacular-on-blu-ray.105036/#post-3483683

 

[Methuselah Flint]

So we also have:

Ship exterior rumble

Bridge sound effect alterations

Door effect added to obelisk lightening hitting Kirk

Friday's Child dialogue improvement

Mirror, Mirror added sound to mirror transition

 

[BlueshirtGuard]

I know some of the episodes were edited not sure if they were edited on their original broadcast though. The only edit I remember was from The Man Trap where he calls intruder alert. The scene where the red shirts patrol the hallway was cut from my tv recorded copy.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

This is a great topic! I hope we can get a lot of specific info detailed in this thread. I'm at work now, so l just list out an overview in broad strokes:

- NBC original broadcasts: a near perfect version of the show, marred only by whatever little network and local accidents/interruptions occurred.

- 1970s syndication on 16 mm film: these prints retained the original sound mix, but were cut for time by each local station. The show got dingy and ragged in this format. Also, this was before home video, and we feared that scenes cut for time would literally never be seen again. It seemed that Star Trek itself would be withdrawn from syndication at some point and never be seen again. That's why I never missed a re-run before the VCR came along.

- 1985 syndication on video tape: the show was remastered for this format, bright and beautiful, but the cuts for time were tiny and extremely numerous. It changed too much of the dialog.

- Pre-recorded VHS: this was probably almost perfect, but "The City on the Edge of Forever" had a bad music substitution because the rights had lapsed on "Goodnight, Sweetheart."

- Laser Disc: I never had one and know very little about how ST fared here.

- DVD with original fx: I understand the sound mixes were altered significantly.

- DVD with CGI fx: same sound mix as prior DVDs, or were they altered even more? I know there are a couple of instances where the Royal Philharmonic re-recordings were inserted for score music.

- Blu-ray with both fx versions: same sound as DVD with new fx?

 

[ZapBrannigan]

After the Memory Alpha technician dies, a freeze-frame replaces the original shot where it was evident the actress was still breathing in the Lights of Zetar.

I'm pretty sure her face always froze like that. At least it did in 1970s syndication.

 

[Ssosmcin]

So nice to finally see more people conscious of the cocked up sound mix.

In the first season of the BD "mono" mix, some episodes have a VERY loud exterior engine rumble. Like "Dagger of the Mind" and "What Are Little Girls Made Of." So loud, it drowns out the captain's log.

This is a great topic! I hope we can get a lot of specific info detailed in this thread. I'm at work now, so l just list out an overview in broad strokes:

- Pre-recorded VHS: this was probably almost perfect, but "The City on the Edge of Forever" had a bad music substitution because the rights had lapsed on "Goodnight, Sweetheart."

Don't forget the earlier test run of like 5 volumes with 2 episodes on each tape. The prints are darker and weather-beaten, but I am convinced these are the true sound mixes.

There were some changes made to the sound mix for these as well. The sound effect of the phaser rifle hitting the ground after Mitchell flings it from Kirk's grasp in WNMHGB is all but inaudible.

The finale music in "The Man Trap" as the Salt Vampire dies is much lower than it used to be.

Some minor cuts were found in some prerecorded VHS tapes, for example a short bit in the teasers of "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and "All Our Yesterdays." There were, however, different prints used for the Columbia House VHS releases, so some of those episodes did not have the same cuts.

- Laser Disc: I never had one and know very little about how ST fared here.

Exactly the same prints used as on the single episode Paramount tapes.

- DVD with original fx: I understand the sound mixes were altered significantly.

- DVD with CGI fx: same sound mix as prior DVDs, or were they altered even more? I know there are a couple of instances where the Royal Philharmonic re-recordings were inserted for score music.

They had sound effects added to match the new SFX.

 

[Ssosmcin]

also TOS has sound FX changes in 1999 on the DVD.
http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/tos-is-spectacular-on-blu-ray.105036/#post-3483683

Yup, that's about when I started banging the sound mix drum around these parts.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I just found this on ebay...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Trek-T...973917?hash=item3f72ccf35d:g:0k8AAOSwo4pYa-Rh

...so it looks like "Columbia House Video" and "CBS Video Library" were the same thing. And the one that's opened up says Paramount Home Video. That's odd, to have three brands on one series of tapes. These were surely the tapes offered in Starlog magazine in those full-page ads that became so familiar.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I just found this on ebay...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Trek-T...973917?hash=item3f72ccf35d:g:0k8AAOSwo4pYa-Rh

...so it looks like "Columbia House Video" and "CBS Video Library" were the same thing. These were surely the tapes offered in Starlog magazine in those full-page ads that became so familiar.

Yes they were the same. The cases got flimsy but yeah, same company

 

[Tosk]

As I had pointed out to me a while ago, the Blu-ray (and newer DVD) versions of Tribbles (accidentally) has one of Spock's lines muted. "He'll do it."

 

[johnnybear]

Has anyone ever worked out all the cut scenes from the BBCs transmissions of the show from 70-86? I know of a few but probably not an expert on it as such! There is the Kirk meets Cogley scene in Court Martial, Spock and Droxine's chat about Vulcan biology in The Cloud Minders and a scene or two from Arena and missing bits from Lights of Zetar...
JB

 

[Commishsleer]

A long time ago I got one 2 episode DVD Empath and Tholian Web. I think the Tholian Web on the double DVD had an extra 10 seconds or something in it that my full Seasons DVDs didn't have. I'm not sure though. Does anyone know about this? It may have been restored on the Blu-Ray version. At least I think it was Tholian web.
Got to find my blu-ray plkayer to check.

 

[Ssosmcin]

When the Tholian Web was released on 2-episode DVD, it was missing a little bit of the final sickbay scene with McCoy and Uhura. When the season sets came out, the scene was restored.

Also, The Doomsday Machine was missing some library music in the original DVD release, but was corrected in the season sets.

 

[gottacook]

After the Memory Alpha technician dies, a freeze-frame replaces the original shot where it was evident the actress was still breathing in the Lights of Zetar.

I'm pretty sure her face always froze like that. At least it did in 1970s syndication.

I am fairly certain that "The Lights of Zetar" was one of the episodes I watched first-run as a preteen (the first I'd seen was "Spock's Brain"). And I also recall that the scene ended with a freeze-frame; I think this is a true memory of the original viewing because of how scary the freeze itself was, coming after the croaking/color-changing effects.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I am fairly certain that "The Lights of Zetar" was one of the episodes I watched first-run as a preteen (the first I'd seen was "Spock's Brain"). And I also recall that the scene ended with a freeze-frame; I think this is a true memory of the original viewing because of how scary the freeze itself was, coming after the croaking/color-changing effects.

The freeze frame was terrifying because a living person can't do that, so it really spelled out death to a little kid. It happens that "The Lights of Zetar" on NBC was my first-ever glimpse of the series. This was on a b&w TV, either in first run or the network repeat, meaning I was six or seven years old.

When the ship did a flyby, I remember my older brother pointing out the saucer and saying, "That's where the people ride." But most of all, I remember being scared and creeped out by the technicians death, and I said "I don't like this show."

It was as scary to me as The Exorcist would be to an adult. I probably didn't watch Star Trek again for a couple of years.

 

[Green]

Very interesting -- but complicated. What I was wondering is whether any live action footage is missing from the Blu-rays? My brain can't even handle all the audio versions, but I would like to know if anything from the live action that appeared in the network airings, VHS, DVDs, Laserdiscs releases is missing from the Blu-rays?
Sorry if this has been mentioned already. And thanks!

 

[billsantos]

On my VHS version of "Requiem for Methuselah", after the dialogue where Flint says, "You're trespassing, Captain", Kirk picks up with "If necessary, we'll take it." However, I first noticed on the BD (and maybe the DVD-- I don't recall), the additional dialogue in between those two lines, "But you have the ryetalin we need. We'll work for it, pay for it, trade for it" and Flint says, "You have nothing I want or need." Also, on the VHS, I noticed a break in the music when Flint recites the Constantinople lines.

As others have said, there have been many changes made to the sound effects tracks, even the so-called original mono BD tracks still have original sound effects mixed with new on DVD/ BD. The VHS's I purchased sound as close to the original SFX I recorded on the TV VHS's. Also, the laserdisc SFX are very close to original.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

On my VHS version of "Requiem for Methuselah", after the dialogue where Flint says, "You're trespassing, Captain", Kirk picks up with "If necessary, we'll take it." However, I first noticed on the BD (and maybe the DVD-- I don't recall), the additional dialogue in between those two lines, "But you have the ryetalin we need. We'll work for it, pay for it, trade for it" and Flint says, "You have nothing I want or need." Also, on the VHS, I noticed a break in the music when Flint recites the Constantinople lines.

As others have said, there have been many changes made to the sound effects tracks, even the so-called original mono BD tracks still have original sound effects mixed with new on DVD/ BD. The VHS's I purchased sound as close to the original SFX I recorded on the TV VHS's. Also, the laserdisc SFX are very close to original.

That reminds me of my 1970s audio cassette tape of "Methuselah." I can't recall other details, but I'll never forget a defect in the 16mm film that caused Kirk to seemingly say "You'd wipe out four lives?" instead of four hundred.

 

[billsantos]

Right. I still have somewhere an audio cassette from one of the first ten episodes from season one, when the original electronic violin theme was used (again, before the theme was later changed to the strings version) where immediately after Shatner says, "These are the voyages.....", there is NO break between that and "It's five year mission", but then a big pause before the next "To explore...." line. The music didn't break any, so something happened there with just the dialogue track.

I lived near Philadelphia, PA at that time and had recorded most of my VHS Trek from "WPHL TV Channel 17 Philadelphia" which would air the reruns everyday after I would finish school. I think the start time was 4 PM. Problem was that they only aired seasons two and three for ages and then finally season one, but it took at least a year before they started showing season one. The audio I spoke above though was in the days before I had a VCR, so not sure what channel that would have been. It may have been the same channel.