Episodes with terrible edits

[erastus25]

I just watched Sons and Daughters last night and was struck by how abrupt they cutaway from the scene of Dukat inviting Kira to the party in Ziyal's honor. I checked the script and, indeed, there was more to the scene that was edited out.

I know lines/scenes are edited out all the time, but this one stood out because it was exceptionally clunky - you can really feel that there was another line coming between Dukat and Kira when we move away. Then the following scene with Worf/Alexander begins immediately, like we're jumping in to their conversation, with no establishing shot for context.

What are some other bad or clunky edits that really bother y'all?

 

[dub]

The cut at the very end of TMP when Spock says his task on Vulcan is complete and he is looking down, then they cut to a wider shot of the crew and Spock is instantly looking straight ahead/slightly up...or there was something different about his look between those two shots that made the cut seem like a mistake and feel awkward. That cut has always bothered me, especially since it comes at the very end of the film.

 

[Shazam!]

Naturally, I can't recall any off the top of my head but scenes ending early is something I spot often.

 

[dub]

There is also a scene, I believe in TWOK, when Sulu is saying he's always excited about any opportunity to serve on the Enterprise, then it looks like he's about to say something else and they cut away. Doesn't bother me as bad as the one at the end of TMP, but it does bother me slightly.

 

[Shazam!]

Also TWOK, when the landing party return from the Genesis cave it's like they're having a conversation during transport which always seemed weird to me.

 

[Melakon]

In TOS: The Return of the Archons, there's one moment that always seems abrupt to me. I've not seen a shooting script, so I don't know if something was cut or not.

Reger takes the landing party to an upstairs sleeping room. At one point, Kirk asks, "What about Landru?" Reger fearfully cautions him and closes the window so that they can't be overheard. Cut to the streets, with the townspeople caught up in Festival. Back to the sleeping room, with Kirk watching through the window. Reger is nowhere to be seen, so apparently several minutes or hours have suddenly passed.

 

[NOVE9]

The one that always comes to mind is in ST:INS when the E crew first enter the village and are talking about hand-eye coordination and then the next shot the village leaders at just standing there.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Also TWOK, when the landing party return from the Genesis cave it's like they're having a conversation during transport which always seemed weird to me.

It's not just like they are; they absolutely and intentionally are having a conversation during transport, complete with distortion effects in Saavik's voice. That's not a bad edit, though, is it? It's really a natural continuation of the idea that people can experience their surroundings during transport, that was established no later than the opening of "That Which Survives" when Kirk and party witness the Lorisa image kill Wyatt.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I don't know if this qualifies as bad editing so much as bad directing, but why is it that after the Enterprise's port-side torpedo launcher is damaged by Reliant's phasers, Kirk and the rest of the bridge crew look to the left as he's giving the order to fire? I suppose they could be looking that way because they felt an impact in that part of the ship, but shouldn't they be looking at the viewscreen?

I'll add one that's been talked about a ton: Kirk's space-suit in TMP. Why, oh, why couldn't they have fixed that for the DE?

--Sran

 

[BK613]

I've always thought that the arrival point in the cut to Kirk's fight in "Journey to Babel" was a bit odd.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'll add one that's been talked about a ton: Kirk's space-suit in TMP. Why, oh, why couldn't they have fixed that for the DE?

What do you mean? Unless I am mistaken, the only shots of Kirk's spacesuit in the DE were those when he wore the kind shown here, which is the same as in the theatrical release. Only the ABC TV broadcast version had the outtakes with the other spacesuit shown here.

---

I've always thought that the arrival point in the cut to Kirk's fight in "Journey to Babel" was a bit odd.

The fight is already in progress. Yeah, it's a little abrupt.

 

[Silvercrest]

How about "What You Leave Behind" where Kai Winn chants in the Fire Caves for a few minutes while a couple of days pass on DS9?

 

[Green Shirt]

I've always thought that the arrival point in the cut to Kirk's fight in "Journey to Babel" was a bit odd.

On one of those "deleted scene" clips, there was someone standing at the far end of the corridor - hence the awkward edit. IIRC its on Youtube somewhere.

What about the strange looking jump cut while Spock is bent over the navigation station just before the teaser of The Changeling fades out?

 

[Melakon]

I don't know if this qualifies as bad editing so much as bad directing, but why is it that after the Enterprise's port-side torpedo launcher is damaged by Reliant's phasers, Kirk and the rest of the bridge crew look to the left as he's giving the order to fire? I suppose they could be looking that way because they felt an impact in that part of the ship, but shouldn't they be looking at the viewscreen?

In ST:TMP, the tactical station manned by Chekov was on the port side of the bridge, so maybe it's still there in TWOK, haven't seen it in decades. So Kirk may have been giving the order to someone at that station.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I don't know if this qualifies as bad editing so much as bad directing, but why is it that after the Enterprise's port-side torpedo launcher is damaged by Reliant's phasers, Kirk and the rest of the bridge crew look to the left as he's giving the order to fire? I suppose they could be looking that way because they felt an impact in that part of the ship, but shouldn't they be looking at the viewscreen?

In ST:TMP, the tactical station manned by Chekov was on the port side of the bridge, so maybe it's still there in TWOK

Yes, it was still there.

IIRC, the only alterations made to the bridge between TMP and TWOK was that the science station - which was originally directly behind the captain's chair - was moved to starboard.

 

[erastus25]

I've always thought that the arrival point in the cut to Kirk's fight in "Journey to Babel" was a bit odd.

On one of those "deleted scene" clips, there was someone standing at the far end of the corridor - hence the awkward edit. IIRC its on Youtube somewhere.

What about the strange looking jump cut while Spock is bent over the navigation station just before the teaser of The Changeling fades out?

Both of those drive me crazy! I also hate the return from the teaser in Whom Gods Destroy and Spock is just being randomly carried away. Did they want to save money on a phaser effect or something?

 

[erastus25]

Also TWOK, when the landing party return from the Genesis cave it's like they're having a conversation during transport which always seemed weird to me.

It's not just like they are; they absolutely and intentionally are having a conversation during transport, complete with distortion effects in Saavik's voice. That's not a bad edit, though, is it? It's really a natural continuation of the idea that people can experience their surroundings during transport, that was established no later than the opening of "That Which Survives" when Kirk and party witness the Lorisa image kill Wyatt.

I actually kind of like it in TWOK, although I'm glad it didn't become a regular thing. We could have ended up with more stupid scenes inside transporter beams (e.g. Realm of Fear).

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Also TWOK, when the landing party return from the Genesis cave it's like they're having a conversation during transport which always seemed weird to me.

It's not just like they are; they absolutely and intentionally are having a conversation during transport, complete with distortion effects in Saavik's voice. That's not a bad edit, though, is it? It's really a natural continuation of the idea that people can experience their surroundings during transport, that was established no later than the opening of "That Which Survives" when Kirk and party witness the Lorisa image kill Wyatt.

I actually kind of like it in TWOK, although I'm glad it didn't become a regular thing. We could have ended up with more stupid scenes inside transporter beams (e.g. Realm of Fear).

Me too, and right. It jumped the shark there. Or the giant larval stage. Horrible episode, "Realm of Fear".

 

[Richard Baker]

I've always thought that the arrival point in the cut to Kirk's fight in "Journey to Babel" was a bit odd.

On one of those "deleted scene" clips, there was someone standing at the far end of the corridor - hence the awkward edit. IIRC its on Youtube somewhere.

What about the strange looking jump cut while Spock is bent over the navigation station just before the teaser of The Changeling fades out?

Both of those drive me crazy! I also hate the return from the teaser in Whom Gods Destroy and Spock is just being randomly carried away. Did they want to save money on a phaser effect or something?

Any Phaser beam was very expensive- lighting effects were hand drawn in post production so if there was any way to save money and have it happen off screen they did it.

 

[erastus25]

On one of those "deleted scene" clips, there was someone standing at the far end of the corridor - hence the awkward edit. IIRC its on Youtube somewhere.

What about the strange looking jump cut while Spock is bent over the navigation station just before the teaser of The Changeling fades out?

Both of those drive me crazy! I also hate the return from the teaser in Whom Gods Destroy and Spock is just being randomly carried away. Did they want to save money on a phaser effect or something?

Any Phaser beam was very expensive- lighting effects were hand drawn in post production so if there was any way to save money and have it happen off screen they did it.

Assuming that it was done for that reason I suppose it doesn't count as bad editing then since it was actually designed into the episode.