Just wow.
That is all.
That is all.
STC Ep. 8: "Still Treads The Shadow" rating and discussion....
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
Is it confirmed that Chuck wears a toup? I demand sources! 
WHAT!
THAT WAS AWESOME!
THAT WAS AWESOME!
Uh, strictly speaking there was no non Federation vessel.
Cute, though, how they got around not exactly contradicting what was done in ENT regarding that ship. Even though I ignore ENT a lot of viewers could see a big contradiction here if they're not paying attention.
Doug Drexler had a way of making the visuals look reasonably faithful to the TOS aesthetic. Thats simply gone here. Nothing looks TOS like in the ship and space visuals--it looks very TNG like.
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But, there was a non-UFP ship in this episode.
Agreed, I really miss Drexler's involvement. Although, the VFX have kinda toed the line between classic TOS and TOS-R, so the shift toward more "modern" effects isn't as bad for me.
Oops! Right, I momentarily forgot about that one. At least it didn't look all plated like other efforts, but I still didn't care for the all grey colour.
Quite good. I even got a bit verklempt at the end.
Hopefully this will be only a minor spoiler, but had the ceiling of the turbolift been shown in STC before? A nice touch, regardless.
Also, I thought the effects were great, but then I'm not generally in agreement with some when it comes to what is considered acceptable in that regard.
Hopefully this will be only a minor spoiler, but had the ceiling of the turbolift been shown in STC before? A nice touch, regardless.
Also, I thought the effects were great, but then I'm not generally in agreement with some when it comes to what is considered acceptable in that regard.
I noticed that, too. No, I don't think the TOS turbolift ceiling has ever been shown before.
You just reminded me of something that's been puzzling me since I first watched the episode. This is gonna be a tough one to dance around with, so I'll put it in a spoiler protector:
There was something about the Defiant's bridge that looked different than STC's bridge set, and I don't think it had to do with the lighting. I don't know if it was just a matter of having different displays, but the set looked like it might be from another production, possibly even New Voyages? I also saw that the Defiant bridge had more of the starboard-side railing going toward the viewscreen than I remember STC's bridge having. Maybe I'm misremembering how much they've built?
Interesting. I didn't notice that.
The interior shots and acting were definitely still as good.
But the external shots were...off? maybe due to the necessity of the larger backdrop they used for this one.
But the external shots were...off? maybe due to the necessity of the larger backdrop they used for this one.
The episode does decanonise the Enterprise followup of the Defiant so it's clear they were going for their own story, which is fine, the loss of the intact Defiant has a lot of potential. Infact the Interphase allows for a myriad universe effect where every outcome of it's loss happens, "splinters" spreading out from one event. [Since the IaMD two parter has the Defiant crew still lying dead exactly as they were in Tholian Web only a short time after the ship fully disappeared]
The Klingon ship was iffy, I'm not sure it even needed to be there except to demonstrate Ti's hostility. I'm not sure if anyone's tried for a silvery look for the ships but battleship grey gets boring after a while.
The situation with Ti and OldKirk feel a little too close to Cochrane and the Companion, as well as Ti coming too close to Next Generations episode centered around the Enterprise D's computer becoming self aware. AI going rogue is all too common too, maybe if Ti had been benevolent, but needed to be sent back into the singularity with the Defiant to preserve the timeline?
And the Thomas Riker clone storyline, I'm sensing a theme here.
Transport enchancers...oh boy, they went down the Nemesis portable transporter unit route, quickly accessing the Defiant's own transporter grid and locking it into the Enterprise's would have worked, they did sync transporter pads in more than one TOS episode.
And the tractor beam was jarring. They drowned out the old sound effect with a phaser sound for some reason. Having a strobe light on the underside of the Defiant with a glittering effect on the Enterprise hull might have been easier, cheaper, and less...offputting. I always liked the idea of TOS's beams being invisible except for slight illumination from some angles. That and the Defiant CGI model weirdly fish-eye's as it turns to move away.
It's more those technical aspects that stand out as like I said, everything that happened on set was nicely done.
The Klingon ship was iffy, I'm not sure it even needed to be there except to demonstrate Ti's hostility. I'm not sure if anyone's tried for a silvery look for the ships but battleship grey gets boring after a while.
The situation with Ti and OldKirk feel a little too close to Cochrane and the Companion, as well as Ti coming too close to Next Generations episode centered around the Enterprise D's computer becoming self aware. AI going rogue is all too common too, maybe if Ti had been benevolent, but needed to be sent back into the singularity with the Defiant to preserve the timeline?
And the Thomas Riker clone storyline, I'm sensing a theme here.
Transport enchancers...oh boy, they went down the Nemesis portable transporter unit route, quickly accessing the Defiant's own transporter grid and locking it into the Enterprise's would have worked, they did sync transporter pads in more than one TOS episode.
And the tractor beam was jarring. They drowned out the old sound effect with a phaser sound for some reason. Having a strobe light on the underside of the Defiant with a glittering effect on the Enterprise hull might have been easier, cheaper, and less...offputting. I always liked the idea of TOS's beams being invisible except for slight illumination from some angles. That and the Defiant CGI model weirdly fish-eye's as it turns to move away.
It's more those technical aspects that stand out as like I said, everything that happened on set was nicely done.
Agree. I don't think it "decanonizes" ENT because the explanation given allows for multiple outcomes.
But like I said upthread I see a lot of borrowing going on here.
Doing another rewatch just now, and there's one minor thing that's bugging me with the cinematography. In McKennah's closeups, they should've used a fill light on her to eliminate the shadows over her eyes due to her eyelashes. Probably the only issue I've had with the way the show is shot so far.