The Animated series (It has no special place on BBS)

[cwnorma]

I know its been said before, but count me in the category of those who believe it would be swell if TPTB at Paramount would re-do TAS with modern, high quality 2D (I don't really care for the look of 3D) animation. Some of the scripts really are good, and the 70s filmation graphics, while they have a certain simple charm, could be easily updated. Anyone else for TASR?

 

[Chrisisall]

TAS was what kept me alive between the series cancellation & the awesome syndication of TOS.
Yes, I am old. But as an immortal, I still feel YOUNG!!

 

[KobayashiMaru13]

it gets a lot less respect than it it deserves. it went places the live action TOS couldnt, though without chekov. i got it for christmas and i was pretty impressed.

 

[I am not Spock]

We don't know Chekov wasn't there in TAS. It could have coincidentally not been his duty shift during every TAS episode! Arex could have been one of the relief navigation officers. TAS can be treated as the fourth and fifth years of the five year mission.

I enjoy TAS, but I haven't seen every episode yet. It's the only Trek DVD I can't find anywhere in stores.

 

[Christopher]

I know its been said before, but count me in the category of those who believe it would be swell if TPTB at Paramount would re-do TAS with modern, high quality 2D (I don't really care for the look of 3D) animation.

Thank you. I get so annoyed by the suggestion that the original 2D animation should be "replaced" with 3D. That's like saying you should replace an oil painting with a marble sculpture, or replace a string quartet with a jug band. They're two separate art forms, both valid in their own right.

I could live with such a project if it stayed true to the aesthetic sensibilities of Filmation's work. TAS looked great; the only problem was that it didn't have much movement. It would be okay if it were made to look the way Filmation would've made it if they'd had far more time and money (i.e. like the gorgeous work they did in the 1979 Flash Gordon TV movie). And as long as it were not done with Flash animation. I've seen part of that fan film that tries to recreate TAS's style, but they're recognizably using Flash and it just looks wrong.

 

[Focus Abbey]

My brother gave me the ST:TAS DVD box set for Christmas, and I feel ashamed that I haven't had it on my shelf until now. I've been really enjoying it. For all its technical limitations (it's about as good as any cartoon made in its era) it had very high aspirations.

If only all Saturday morning cartoons had stories like that.

 

[Christopher]

^TAS's limitations were more budgetary and logistical than technical. They were given a ridiculously short time to produce 16 episodes, and that required cutting even more corners than usual for a '70s Filmation show. Given that, it's impressive it came out looking as good as it did. (Although the performances -- in many cases literally mailed in from wherever the actors were at the time -- leave a lot to be desired.) The 6-episode second season was made at more leisure, and the production values are somewhat better.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I've had TAS on my shelf for a couple of months now, but haven't gotten around to watching it yet (I'm in the midst of DS9 S4 at the moment). Perhaps after finishing this season of DS9, I'll take a break by watching TAS. The comments here are encouraging.

 

[KingstonTrekker]

I love TAS. I watched it when it first came out on DVD. Several good stories there --- it was great to watch additional adventures with the TOS cast!

I also think this forum is the perfect place for TAS -- it truly is TOS's Fourth Season.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

I've always loved TAS. Yeah, it was made in a hurry with a late pick up during the first year like Christopher said. The violence was toned down and the sex eliminated for the younger audience. But it still had some good ideas at the core of most of the stories. M'Ress was a little cartoony-looking but the first time I saw the show as kid I was thinking "Who is that strange orange dude in Chekov's spot?" Too bad they never filled in Arex's background a little.

 

[I am not Spock]

^TAS was great in that they could go crazy with their alien designs. No need to have human actors every week to play forehead aliens!

 

[Broccoli]

^ Or, like is many cases for TOS, humans saying they are aliens.

 

[Navigator_NCC2120]

I know its been said before, but count me in the category of those who believe it would be swell if TPTB at Paramount would re-do TAS with modern, high quality 2D (I don't really care for the look of 3D) animation.

Thank you. I get so annoyed by the suggestion that the original 2D animation should be "replaced" with 3D. That's like saying you should replace an oil painting with a marble sculpture, or replace a string quartet with a jug band. They're two separate art forms, both valid in their own right.

Well, for better or worse, it seems 3-D television is becoming a reality.

ESPN to launch 3-D network

Accoriding to the article DirecTV will also have a 3-D channel. I am sure other networks will follow.

As for TAS, I enjoyed it as a child when it originally aired in 1973-1974 on Saturday mornings. It was something to look forward to.


Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
/\

 

[Therin of Andor]

We don't know Chekov wasn't there in TAS.

Actually, he is there in a cameo, in the first episode aired, "Beyond the Farthest Star" - probably a re-use of part of some pilot/test bridge footage before they were certain the budget couldn't afford Walter Koenig's voice and so Arex was conceived.

Note that Chekov is even in red, a precursor to his role in "Star Trek: Phase II", as security chief. A role he also held in ST:TMP.

http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2010/01/chekovs-tas-cameo.html

(Or, it could be Scotty, but it's fun to speculate.)

 

[Christopher]

Thank you. I get so annoyed by the suggestion that the original 2D animation should be "replaced" with 3D. That's like saying you should replace an oil painting with a marble sculpture, or replace a string quartet with a jug band. They're two separate art forms, both valid in their own right.

Well, for better or worse, it seems 3-D television is becoming a reality.

That's a completely unrelated matter. I'm talking about the distinction between hand-drawn cel animation and the animation of computer-generated figures modeled in three dimensions. Whether an image is projected flat or stereoscopically is a totally different kind of 2D/3D distinction. Something like Toy Story or The Incredibles is 3D computer animation, since the digital models are mathematically three-dimensional, but is projected in 2D form. Conversely, it's possible to make a film using 2D animation -- flat drawings -- in such a way that it can be projected stereoscopically ("3D") and have the illusion of depth. So it's two different things.

 

[Valin]

M'Ress was a little cartoony-looking but the first time I saw the show as kid I was thinking "Who is that strange orange dude in Chekov's spot?" Too bad they never filled in Arex's background a little.

Both characters pop up in Peter David's "New Frontier" books.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I always thought of TAS as season 4 of TOS and I'm happy with that.

But i am looking forward to the furor that will happens when they release the remastered versions of TAS with new CGI shots, should be fun to watch.

 

[Hambone]

I finally picked up the TAS set at Walmart ($14.99). My oldest son an I sat down to watch the first episode ("Beyond the Farthest Star") and he was suitably impressed. Halfway through, he turned to me and said "Did the movie Alien rip this off?" There are actually quite a few similarities.

 

[CoveTom]

Let's leave the fifth season to Cawley and his merry band.

Please, let's don't...

 

[judge alba]

kind like tas myself pity the episodes weren't a little longer