Dvd and Blu-ray release comparison
- Thread starter David Brown
- Start date
That's how it was, alright. Local stations would receive 16mm syndication prints, cut out whole scenes, and then they were supposed to splice them back in before returning the film. The episodes got beat up and were showing their age toward the end.
Then in the mid-80s, Paramount remastered the series to look bright and new, and syndicated it on videotape, already cut for time. These cuts were short snips, but extremely numerous. It messed with the flow of familiar dialogue.
Yes it is, on the last volume of the 3rd season set. It’s “restored” but still not 100% accurate.
Yep. I always disagreed with what they cut, too. Then there were some eps that had no cuts whatsoever for some reason; maybe they had shorter running times.
I remember always wanting to hear Kirk's sad but determined music near the end of "The Naked Time" (in what is now known as "Captain's Wig"), and it was almost always cut for time.
Before the home video era, you had no recourse. Even worse, it seemed like the episodes of Star Trek were going out in tatters, and the series would disappear from syndication at some point and never be seen again!
In the mid-1970s, I would have been relieved to learn that the series was vaulted on well-preserved, uncut 35mm masters, and not forever chopped up and beaten to hell.
It would also be nice to know the VHS era was coming, but the cost of pre-recorded episodes would be ridiculous. In 1989 (if I recall the prices) it would cost about $944 to own the whole series on tape. That translates to $1932 in today's dollars. It makes the current DVD and Bluray complete series box sets seem like quite a bargain, as the tapes were about 43 times more expensive, adjusted for inflation.
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I had the VHS tapes- I think some crack version though. As soon as the DVDs came out my husband made me get rid of the tapes.
They weren't great quality.
They weren't great quality.
As long as we're all here, I'd like to share a brief memory. When I was a boy obsessed with Star Trek, I got my father to get us a tour of the local independent station that was showing it. I secretly had one thing in mind. When my moment came, I asked the station employee about Star Trek scenes being cut for time, and he explained that yes, they do remove some scenes from the 16mm film reels.
And I said, "Could I have them?" He laughed and said, "No, we have to send those back."
So... I gave it a shot.
And I said, "Could I have them?" He laughed and said, "No, we have to send those back."
So... I gave it a shot.
It still makes me a little sick to my stomach tha I spent nearly $700 on Deep Space 9 on dvd. I've watched the hell out of them over the years but I could sure use that money now.
Yep. If (somehow knowing the future) you'd waited to save the money, you would have lost the years of enjoyment. And that's not even counting the now-extinct TOS sound mixes you have in your possession.
The episode with the late start was Earthbound which they put on the very last tape of the first series! The Commissioner was giving Commander Koenig a hard time as usual and the brunt of his argument was totally gone if you were a new viewer!
JB
If it was a standard syndication slot, stuff WAS cut, always. There was never an original network TOS episode with an original runtime of 42 minutes. Tjhat said, it there were a lot of 'corridor scenes that just showed characters walking/running, or a lot of simple external flyby shots with no dialogue <--- Those would end up being the thing edited out to fit the syndication runtime.
While they aren't perfect, I am so happy to have TOS on Blu-ray.
Dunno, just remember the Phil Farrand books listing several eps that were never cut for syndication.
Yeah, I have his books and I remember his list of "unsyndicated" episodes. I also had every episode taped off WPIX and airings from the PBS station WVIA Channel 44. Not a single one of them was longer than 45 minutes. So, I don't understand how he had a batch of uncut episodes off the air.
I have been watching the series on Netflix and Amazon Video. Both are remastered versions though. I would really like to see the old versions. I’ve heard that they are the better of the two. Sounds like BluRay is the way to go. Thanks for all the input, everyone.
I taped the series on audio cassette back in 78,79 & 80! Then I videoed the rest in 81! In 84 they started it over again and I videoed those that I didn't have! Then in 2000 I bought the original set of videos and then in 2004 I bought the three clamshell sets on DVD! I think I'm done really, it's cost me a fortune which my Mother keeps going on about still to this day with all the other shows as well! But she has never understood the meaning of these classic shows to me! 
JB
JB
I taped the series on audio cassette back in 78,79 & 80! Then I videoed the rest in 81! In 84 they started it over again and I videoed those that I didn't have! Then in 2000 I bought the original set of videos and then in 2004 I bought the three clamshell sets on DVD! I think I'm done really, it's cost me a fortune which my Mother keeps going on about still to this day with all the other shows as well! But she has never understood the meaning of these classic shows to me!
JB
Your classic TV is a very personal thing. Along with Star Trek, Lost in Space, and The Twilight Zone, and a lot of other "real man" programming, why do I need Bewitched and The Bionic Woman sets in my collection? I don't need to explain, that's why! It was my money and it's my memories.
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