Now that the Remastered Series has been around a while

[gottacook]

I sometimes watch a remastered episode on Netflix, having seen most of them in broadcast syndication cuts 4-5 years ago. I've only found one or two sequences to be off-putting, such as the rendezvous near the end of "Is There in Truth..." just before Miranda and Kollos disembark - but that's an episode I have a VHS tape of (I have none on DVD) so I can see it "properly" when I want to.

On balance I think a great deal more was added than was taken away. I especially enjoy seeing nightsides of planets on occasion (which the original series never attempted) and such newly added establishing shots as those in "Amok Time," "Requiem for Methuselah," and "The Cloud Minders." And I appreciate that certain elements were enhanced but otherwise left alone, such as the planet hanging midscreen behind the title/opening credits of "Metamorphosis."

EDIT: Still a commander? When do I get my promotion?

 

[Vandervecken]

I've seen a lot of the remastered stuff now, and the only episode I thought benefited at all was "Amok Time," with the cool mock-sky shots of the place where Kirk and Spock fought. Gave the whole thing greater grandeur and scope, sense of history, and fit more with T'Pau's status.

I've hated everything else I've seen, especially the horrendous redo of The Doomsday Machine, and I mean the DM itself. Most of the "dirty" look of the DM is gone, which helped make the DM feel more real, it's too dark, and, worst of all, the kaleidoscope of weird/exotic energies we saw in the original's maw have been replaced by a stupid, static, sun-furnace-looking thing. A lot of Decker's terror is undermined by this change.


The new Tholian ships in The Tholian Web stink as well, although I guess maybe they've been brought in line with ENT? Well, instead of the cool, very alien, glowing jewel-like things from the original, the remastered ep has dull, boring, non-glowing ships that could easily be mistaken for ships belonging to some forehead aliens from TNG instead of belonging to one of the most truly alien races in Trek. Blah.

They didn't have too many effects to work with in the old days, but they really worked to make the most of what they had (on Trek, not other series necessarily), and sometimes achieved cheaply what looks like crap when done expensively.

 

[GeorgeKirk]

I don't have a strong preference, except in cases like The Doomsday Machine or Tomorrow is Yesterday where the effects play a more integral role in the story. In those cases, I prefer the remastered.

When I first heard about the Trek Remastered project I was skeptical. Thanks to George Lucas we all suffer from Special Edition PTSD. But when I heard that the Okudas were involved, and that Bob Justman himself said that he approved of the remastering project I stopped worrying.

After all, if Bob frakking Justman doesn't have a problem with the new effects, why should I?

 

[trevanian]

It's noteworthy as an experiment, and I think we probably all tried to do similar stuff as soon as we had a model of the Enterprise and a movie camera, or a 3d program. I used to have access to an old Fuji Single-8 that you could backwind the film, and I'd do double exposures with two ships in a scene with just one model.

I remember Single 8 was a cassette instead of a cartridge so you could backwind, but was the registration terrible? Super8 had the pressure plate issue so the film wiggled all over when you used the backwinder made by Craven that could get you maybe 5-10 feet of backwind for dx work. The wiggle actually helped on teleport shots, making it seem like you were jittering side to side as you faded out, but for model shots it was godawful.

It's funny, but the best results I got were using photo cutouts of my ship models that I mounted on our sliding glass back door, with a starfield placed behind it that was backlit by the sun. You only had side-to-side but it was SMOOTH.

The other innovation (post TMP) was when I started putting a lot of grain of rice bulbs on my ship miniatures, on their edges, and went for a largely self-lit look. I got a couple good shots of my scratchbuilds cruising by looking like a big truck passing at night, kind of like a couple of the shots in 2010 a few years later, when LEONOV is going into Jupiter space. Dark enough that you couldn't see the support pole, either, so I didn't have to poke it out the back of the starfield like you'd often have to do in brighter circumstances.

 

[Melakon]

I remember Single 8 was a cassette instead of a cartridge so you could backwind, but was the registration terrible?

I never tried anything really precise like a transporter effect with it. It was an expensive camera, and it had a mechanical frame counter that you roll back to any point you wanted, so theoretically multiple exposures could have been done.

I think this was the camera, a Fujica ZC-1000:
http://www.super8data.com/database/cameras_list/cameras_fuji/fujica_zc_1000.htm

I had used a black backdrop with the first pass showing the model stationary. Then I rolled back about 300 frames, moved the model to one side, and stop motion animated it passing in front of the first ship. Apparently I had it lit well enough, as there was no ghost image when one ship passed in front of the other. But the camera was on loan from a friend, and I only had a couple of weeks to play with it.

Edit: Some of my memories of it are a bit hazy, comparing with the camera's specs, but it was over 35 years ago.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I only have the season 2 remasters, and I'm of many minds over it.

Overall, it was a nice attempt. However there were just too many oddities that bother me. To name a few:

The orbiting shot of the Enterprise (the one where the ship flies by the right of screen), the ship does this seemingly weird 'twist' as it passes out of camera range. I can't explain it...it just doesn't look right.

Why, oh why, is the stock footage stormy sky of Gamma Trianguli VI tinted back to its seemingly original grayish color? The reddish tint used in the original episode worked so well. That really bugs me. I defy the remastering team to justify this choice. Especially as this project was done, as I understand, on a tight deadline: why do extra work which weakens what already worked fine?

I also miss the colorful planets which are replaced with Earth-looking globes. Some of them have a vague color tint which picks up the sky colors on the live action set, which is nice...but the planets themselves just seem to take some of the wonder and mystery out of the universe. They might be more scientifically accurate, but this is fiction. I miss the colorful worlds!

I do like the wider establishing shots planet-side.

 

[Lance]

I don't dislike the new TOS-R effects at all, and I think a lot of them are very sympathetic to the originals. Having said that, the original effects for all their faults are still more natural. The physical model is a thing of absolute beauty even when she's being seen in ratty looking reused footage, and no amount of CGI can ever have the same soul. So the original effects are pretty much my favored option.

 

[OpenMaw]

I honestly think they went about it the wrong way. They're okay. In some cases they are an improvement, in others not so much.

What would I have done? Clean up the prints, which they did. I would have then divided the various elements into different kinds of work. Things like phaser effects and stuff would be redone digitally, with a consistent look throughout the entire run.

Next? I would have taken the USS Enterprise from the Smithsonian, refurbished her back to her original series configuration, and gone one step further by having the interior lined images of the sets to give the entire thing more depth and detail in HD.

Then, redone every shot of the ship fresh and clean for the HD remaster, including the creation of a few new shots that the old series couldn't do for lack of money. (IE some of the shots they weren't able to achieve for episodes like Space Seed.)

Same goes for the Klingon D7, The Romulan BOP, Botany Bay, Shuttlecraft(Giving it different decals for different shuttles, too) ) I would have done all the space ships as physical models, excluding any that were a hybrid of a primitive/basic model and optical effect. Those would be redone digitally.

A lot of the digital matte work was actually quite good and served to expand the scope of various scenes without breaking anything. The various Starbase mattes in "Menagerie" and "Court Martial" were very good, as was the expanded Vulcan vista in "Amok Time."

Obviously, it would have cost quite a bit more to do, but I think it would have been a lot more compelling visually to see THE Enterprise refurbished after 40 years and back on TV.

 

[The Lensman]

Yeah, my opinion of the new effects is it's for those kinds of people who refuse to watch anything that was filmed in black and white.

Not really. I was a proponent of redoing the FX and not only do I like watching films in black and white, I like silent films as well. I even have a nice library of silent films.

So I disagree with that sentiment.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Yeah, my opinion of the new effects is it's for those kinds of people who refuse to watch anything that was filmed in black and white.

Not really. I was a proponent of redoing the FX and not only do I like watching films in black and white, I like silent films as well. I even have a nice library of silent films.

So I disagree with that sentiment.

I'm sure that Melakon was not speaking of wise individuals like you.

I know the ones he means. I had an old girlfriend who is a good example of whom he speaks. She was all bummed and deflated when I had rented a movie to watch because it was in black and white. The movie? Citizen Kane, off all things!!

 

[plynch]

Yeah, my opinion of the new effects is it's for those kinds of people who refuse to watch anything that was filmed in black and white.

Not really. I was a proponent of redoing the FX and not only do I like watching films in black and white, I like silent films as well. I even have a nice library of silent films.

So I disagree with that sentiment.

I'm sure that Melakon was not speaking of wise individuals like you.

I know the ones he means. I had an old girlfriend who is a good example of whom he speaks. She was all bummed and deflated when I had rented a movie to watch because it was in black and white. The movie? Citizen Kane, off all things!!

In HS civics I show "Mr. Smith" and in history, "Grapes of Wrath," both of which most kids end up really enjoying by the last period of viewing. Doin' what I can for the cause here in Upper Michigan.

 

[Richard Baker]

I grew up with original series on a black and white TV during it's original run and I like the remastered SFX. They broaden the scope and being able to see better what was just some viewscreen glows and dialog is great.
My only disappointment was with 'The Ultimate Computer'. The Vanguard-style station was good, but the final battle with the Enterprise ripping up the other Connies was too far away and boring. I was hoping for something like a Wrath of Khan battle.

 

[Warped9]

I'll know I'll sound like a broken record, but then I'm not the only one by far to repeat myself.

There were some things in TOS-R that I thought were noteworthy, but overall I think they got it wrong. They simply couldn't resist change for change's sake and making too many things look more contemporary. The Enterprise space shots are the most apparent, but certainly not the only things.

As such I only watch the original effects because I don't find them jarring. Yeah, the shortcomings can be more apparent now than what we grew up with (because of higher resolution television), but I'm fine wih it.

That said I still maintain the original could be enhanced in a much more appropriate way.

Firstly, clean up the original live-action footage (as has been done). Since, unfortunately, the original f/x composites no longer exist then they would have to be redone from scratch. My general rule of thumb would be not to change how the ship is shown moving unless it's inconsistent with the story events. Recreate the look, the aesthetic that was there originally only now with a complete model. This has been done by fans and some fan productions to great effect---it looks finished and yet doesn't look out of place. Another reason I'd go this route is to retain some iconic shots that were lost when they did TOS-R their way. Someone like Doug Drexler would know exactly how to do this. Goes without saying that throughout TOS after WNMHGB we should only see the series production version of the ship.

In terms of matte paintings some things TOS-R did were quite interesting in how it added a bit more depth to the original designs. I think those were generally fine even though sometimes I think something about the style and lighting/shadowing seemed a bit off. It can also make sense to insert something else rather than reuse a matte that represented another locale earlier. In terms of space anomaly effects (such as the energy barrier in WNMHGB) I wouldn't change those things so drastically. If the original version worked sufficiently then leave it alone.

In terms of planets I think in some cases they went too far in updating them. They no longer looked like what could have been done then. I'd look at some older SF films to get a better handle on how to visualize these while maintain something of the original look. Forbidden Planet, 2001 and Alien come to mind.

In terms of outright changes there are some instances where maybe it really would have to be changed to serve the story. In "Miri" unless it says the planet looks identical to Earth as opposed to having the exact same composition then I would change the look of the planet. And add clouds. Ditto for the clouds in "Tomorrow Is Yesterday." Shooting the picture of a globe is just a little too cheap looking.

In "Charlie X" it can be argued it does make sense to insert a shot of the Enterprise coming alongside the Antares. Of course, one can also argue that the Enterprise is approaching and hasn't quite yet reached the other ship so you can get still get away with not showing it. The reuse of the Botany Bay in "The Ultimate Computer" shouldn't happen so, yeah, using the robot freighter design from TAS wasn't a bad idea. But I wouldn't change the design of the Tholian ships or the ship seen in "Spock's Brain." Clean them up, but leave the original designs as is. I really didn't like the new Aurora design in "The Way To Eden," but it does makes sense not to reuse the Tholian design. Why not use one of the small scoutship designs from TAS? Where the ship is far away as a distant pinpoint of light I would resist changing that. It strengthens the idea that these combating ships are hundreds to thousands of miles apart.

The Klingon and Romulan ships I would treat as respectfully as the Enterprise and that includes the original colour schemes. What they did to those ships in TOS-R was horrid. The Klingon ship in "Elaan Of Troyius" looks particularly bad along with the enhanced disruptor beams.

There are a lot of little details that were changed that needn't have been. It wasn't necessary to add a visible beam to Scotty's phaser in "The Naked Time." It wasn't necessary to add blinking eyelids to the Gorn. It wasn't necessary to add torpedo sound f/x to the phaser bursts in "Balance Of Terror." Certain small things like that could be left alone. One might argue they would be remaining as imperfections, but they worked as is and so why change them. They're small things that help retain the original feel of the series.

 

[Bixby]

The new effects didn't bother me that much, in fact there are some I liked quite a lot.

What DID bug me was that they used a cross-dissolve to go from one FX shot back into a live-action shot, instead of using a straight cut. Normally that wouldn't bother me but TREK as a rule did not use X-dissolves back then...

For some a minor thing, but it's like adding Michael Bay-style camera swings to Citizen Kane...

 

[J.T.B.]

In "Charlie X" it can be argued it does make sense to insert a shot of the Enterprise coming alongside the Antares.

That BTW was something I really did not like, because it was not only an FX revision but an editorial revision. As has been discussed here before, Antares was originally intended to be a merchant vessel, but the revision makes it a Starfleet ship. Not a big deal in the grand scheme, but it seems to me a bit of an imaginative shortcoming, as if another ship "out there" must be Starfleet. The idea that there were also various merchant vessels out there made the world seem a little bigger.

 

[Warped9]

In "Charlie X" it can be argued it does make sense to insert a shot of the Enterprise coming alongside the Antares.

That BTW was something I really did not like, because it was not only an FX revision but an editorial revision. As has been discussed here before, Antares was originally intended to be a merchant vessel, but the revision makes it a Starfleet ship. Not a big deal in the grand scheme, but it seems to me a bit of an imaginative shortcoming, as if another ship "out there" must be Starfleet. The idea that there were also various merchant vessels out there made the world seem a little bigger.

That strikes me as them not paying attention to the dialogue, the content, the intent of the original idea in the story.

 

[CrazyMatt]

Which do you prefer watching now, Remastered episodes or originals ?

Depends on the episode. The remastered ship renderings look cartoonish to me, so I watch the original effects for episodes with a lot of space action. But for episodes with improved landscapes (e.g., Scalos in "Wink Of An Eye"), I prefer the remasters.

Probably 80% original/20% remastered if you add it all up.

 

[Melakon]

Not really. I was a proponent of redoing the FX and not only do I like watching films in black and white, I like silent films as well. I even have a nice library of silent films.

So I disagree with that sentiment.

I'm sure that Melakon was not speaking of wise individuals like you.

I know the ones he means. I had an old girlfriend who is a good example of whom he speaks. She was all bummed and deflated when I had rented a movie to watch because it was in black and white. The movie? Citizen Kane, off all things!!

In HS civics I show "Mr. Smith" and in history, "Grapes of Wrath," both of which most kids end up really enjoying by the last period of viewing. Doin' what I can for the cause here in Upper Michigan.

My original comment certainly wasn't meant as an indictment of those of us who are already fanatics about the franchise.

I have a problem when artistic works are digitally modified, colorized, or otherwise enhanced in an attempt to make them more "acceptable" to modern audiences. I don't know if it was a comment I read here or elsewhere, but someone once criticized TOS in its original form for its "bad CGI", which only showed how ignorant the commenter was about film history and computers all in one sentence.

The other problem I have with the new effects is it removes a large body of work by special effects artists who were using state of the art methods at that time. The end titles still list those companies, but their work is nowhere to be seen in the episodes.

Plynch, that's good to hear. Sometimes I worry that future generations will refuse to watch anything made before they were born simply because it's old.

If any of this post digs a deeper hole for myself, it's because I've been awake less than an hour and I'm not operating on full thrusters.

 

[Cap'n Claus]

Regarding the double sided DVDs and whether they were in HD-DVD - only the first season had the combo discs. Seasons 2 and 3 only had DVD data on one side because HD-DVD was dead by then. Why they were still filpper discs is a question....

It wasn't necessary to add torpedo sound f/x to the phaser bursts in "Balance Of Terror." Certain small things like that could be left alone.

To be fair to the TOS-R team, that was done for the original DVD releases. The sound mix - and the accompanying edits - are close if not the same. But I do agree with you about some of the more unnecessary changes. The Wink of an Eye sequence, when Kirk, Spock and the guards do a phaser sweep didn't need changing at all. Instead of a sweep, it looks targeted. Meh.

 

[Warped9]

^^ They shouldn't have done it for the DVDs either.