Tonight Is Menagerie Night + Send In Your Pics November 13, 2007
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: TOS Remastered , trackbackTonight (Tuesday) The HD version of “The Menagerie” beams to movie screens across the USA, Canada, the UK and Ireland.
Send in Pictures and get a chance at a free Star Trek Calendar (details below)
TrekMovie.com wants you to send in pictures of your local screenings. Send in your pics by clicking on the ‘tipline’ link or the right column of the site. Please note the theater name and location and try and limit it to 1-3 photos. Ideally looking for pictures of big crowds, long lines, people in costumes and other interesting shots. The first dozen (first 3 from Europe, and first 3 from each North American Time Zone) to send in usable pics will get a free STAR TREK SHIPS OF THE LINE 2008 WALL CALENDAR
UPDATE: Greg Stamper suggests TrekMovie.com readers wear nametags with TrekMovie.com written on them to help find fellow community members…sure why not? (if anyone does this…would love to see pics of it)
There are still more screenings over the next week across the world. For more details choose your location: USA | Canada | Australia | Europe
Pre-order TOS-R Season One Box from Amazon for $132.95
Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete First Season [HD DVD] — $132.95
Comments»
Tomorrow night! Sweet!
I’ll do my best to remember my camera. Going to be a fun night.
To all you people lucky enough to be seeing this, have a great time.
I’m going to see it tomorrow night at Greenwich, near London for any unfamiliar with the UK :D Gonna be a blaaast
Anthony — do you mean photos of stuff going on around the theater, or of the actual screen? The latter is illegal, I believe.
Anyway, I’ll be at the Emeryville event, and will report anything interesting.
I am on the west coast! Does this mean I am totally screwed because people on the east coast will be three hours ahead with their pics? Come on Anthony what gives?
Aaron R.
OK - hope I don’t end up taking pictures of an empty theater!
OK…i changed it to have 3 from each time zone and 3 from europe…happy?
and Mazzer…what do you think?
goot goot dat ist goot….
Okay, got it.
#7 and all….
I do not think that empty theaters will be a problem, but I am interested in the crowd demographics.
Will it be a bunch of guys in their forties, sqwawking about what was said on trekmovie.com that day…”how is J.J. gonna screw it up”, or…”what he has gotten right so far”, (like getting Star Trek back in theaters…)
Keep on Filmin’ J.J.
Awdraper
Whats wrong with guys in their 40’s?
I really wanna go, but my dad doesnt think it’s worth spending $25 (for both of us) to see an episode we already have :-(
BTW I’m not in my 40’s (I’m 16), but my dad is! :-D
#13: But it’s on the BIG SCREEN!
Kirk blown up to several meters across is automatically worth any price of admission.
re 13: good to see that there are young people who like tos. my experience is that the younger guys only like the newer series (i’m 22).
#15
I really dont prefer one series over the other. I was able to ‘convert’ one of my friends into a trekkie, and he really likes TOS!
#12 - nuthin’, just wondering what the crowd will be like…who this most appeals to and is willing to pay for it.
we will see…
Next year, in theaters: Season 2 promo with “The Doomsday Machine” and “The City on the Edge of Forever”
I am going and I want to see how they clean up the laser pistols and Phaser cannon blasts on the talosians elevator door. There was a lot of flashes in that scene. Plus the digital sound as well.
I have ticket in hand for the premeire in Portsmouth NH (at the Newington mall) I am so excited that I have twice lowered my head to waist level and ran headlong into the wall at my house. I have a slight concusion and my wife is still grumbling about the repair bills for the wall…but I am still excited. I may have to wear depends tomorrow night so I don’t have to leave my seat…and of course, to contain my obvious excitement. Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
(Of course, I am just joking. I just wear the wear the depends so I don’t have to leave my seat.)
So far the small (228 seat) cinema I’m going to se it in has only sold 71 tickets. Hope for a few more sales on the door tomorrow evening. The £10 ticket price has probably put some people off, and apart from Trek-related websites I haven’t seen any advertising for this in the UK.
12.50 a ticket? wtf? its like 40 years old. jesus cut us a break, we’re not made of money
#21
Exactly!!! I feel it should be $10 or LESS for a ticket, because not ONLY is it 40yrs old, but the remastered version has ALREADY been aired! If it was only available at the theaters that might be different!
It cost me £10 a ticket for the UK Showing in Southampton. I thought that was a lot really comparing it to a normal movie price which is around £6.50. Still the showing is sold out and I am looking forward to seeing this on the big screen. I’ll keep an eye out for anything of interest on the night.
re 21/22
It’ cost’s more because it doesn’t have the benefit of wide distribution or extended theater engagement. It’s a real lark they are even doing this at all. (Also $12.00 is the going rate for a movie ticket in New York)
I’m going tomorrow night, one of the advantages of living in NYC baby!
Doug L.
Are pictures taken with an iPhone ok? I could get those in real quick
No way did the studio strike prints for this thing. I just hope they have some decent DLP projectors rigged up. Either way, they got my $12. And I was happy to pay it, it’s gonna be a fun night.
im so looking forward ,im going to the stoke on trent one( east midland uk) i cant remember how many times ive watched the two parter and yet its like wow on the big screen how cool is that im sure all age groups will be there im the wrong side of 30 but hell dose it matter we are all trekies
Funny a friend and I are going to the Emeryville showing on Thursday and were discussing how many people might be there and what the crowd will be like. Another funny thing is tonight I am going to see BATTLESTAR GALACTICA RAZOR on the big screen in San Francisco. Now Universal is not charging for that event. Hmmmm…oh well someone has to eat.;) But hey it should be cool to see some retro TREK on the big screen so I was willing to pay. Looks like I will not be able to qualify for the calendar, but you have to know there will be many picts being sent in…cyber geeks you know…;)
Sounds awesome, but sadly, a lack of funds (on top of no-one to go with… :( ) are keeping me home. Thirteen dollars for a ticket is way steep, and especially considering that I never, ever pay more than four for any movie. I’d jump at any chance that came up, but it’s probably not gonna happen.
Shame. though, that my Halloween costume was a Pike-era uniform and would have been perfect for this. :/
Man I wish I could have seen Battlestar Galactica on the big screen! Anyhow, anybody going to theatre in Altamonte, FL?
I can’t wait to go, it’s going to be the first opportunity I’ve had to show off my new Enterprise tattoo to a crowd of people that will appreciate it.
I can’t go, and I’m not happy about it. I have too many (very) little kids, and I’d never be able to justify the request. “Hey honey. Not going to be able to help put the kids to bed. Going to see The Menagerie. Huh? The Menagerie. It’s the only two part Star Trek episode. They cleaned it up and put new special effects on it and it’s playing in theaters tonight!… What? Why not? Oh, come on… You went out Friday with the girls. But…but…it’s only tonight…Oh, all right.”
Anyone from the Sacramento area going? I’m intending to go Thursday night. I’ll be curious to see who shows up, especially on the second night, I sort of expect it to be pretty empty, but I could be wrong.
#13/15 — I’m 25 and was raised on TOS, I was introduced to TOS in 1986, so it was before TNG existed, and I didn’t actually regularly watch TNG until Season 2. So TOS has always held a special place for me.
Got my tickets. I’m (almost) 32, and love all that TOS has to offer (VOY and ENT? Bleah, who needs ‘em! TOS/TNG/DS9 all the way!) I cannot wait. Don’t think I’ll be able to take pics, not that I could send them in on time… trekmovie.com name tags… hmmm, it’s an idea!
No screenings in or around NE (nearest is in Ames, IA!!!) means this devoted fan will have to miss out :(
#34 sisko - “trekmovie.com name tags… hmmm, it’s an idea!”
sisko, I’m not really a “nametag” kinda guy but I think this event will be an exception. To help promote Anthony’s website, meet other Community members and take photos - - I’m in for this evening.
For anyone interesting:
2003 Edition Microsoft Publisher File
http://www.redriversaga.com/TM_NAMETAG.pub
Type over with desired Name, Print and insert in Nametag Holder
The project uses “Federation Classic” Font found here:
http://www.dafont.com/search.php?q=star+trek&page=2
but I’m sure you may have one similar already.
I will be going to watch the movie this Thursday night since I have plans tonight.
I will not be attending since no theaters out here on the desolate prairie are offering it.
Would be cool to see, though.
What does at the bottom of the Star Trek.com page on the fathomevents link that says the event will be shown in 4.3 format? What is that?
Anyone here going to see it at Seattle Pacific Place? I just moved here a month or so ago and don’t have anyone to go with. I might just head down, but I’ll monitor the comments today and see if I can meet up with some fellow Trekmovie people!
Peace,
Thomas
re: #39
4:3 refers to the aspect ratio of the event. A lot of movies are shot in 16:9 or 1:1.85, but standard definition TV in the US has been shot in 4:3 for years. So, they’re just letting you know you get to see the episode in its original aspect ratio.
Peace,
Thomas
Universal didn’t charge for theatrical showings of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR because original series Glen Larson owns the theatrical rights so he’d sue them if they charged a fee. They couldn’t even technically call it a movie but a theater showing of a special 2-hour TV event or something to that effect.
Can’t wait to see “The Menagerie” on the big screen tonight!!
hey, do u have to buy tickets online?
or can i buy it like i would any other ticket?
cuz my mom has this thing about buying stuff online (im 19 btw)
re: DC
Get a debt card :P
I’ll be at the Warrington, PA screening tonight, I was lucky to convince my wife for me to go alone (my 6 year old daughter is a TOS fan all the way, but its a school night!)
I saw a brief trailer for this event when we went to the movies on Saturday, and I must say just that short trailer gave me goosebumps.
If the clarity is like or better than what I saw then, this will be amazing!
(gotta remember to change into my ComicCon Trek promo shirt before I get over there!)
#44
thats wat i have, but my mom still has this thing about buying online because of identity theft etc.
i can understand that to a degree, yeah, but shes kinda paranoid IMO
so, is it possible to buy it when i get there, or is online the only possible way?
I’m confused…. I know this is playing tonight, but it says a second date was scheduled (Nov. 15). I’m unable to make it tonight—how do I found out where it’s playing on the 15th? Is it all the same venues? On the web site you can only download the Nov. 13 schedule. Anybody know about this?
#47–go to the drop down menu of movies and select “Star Trek: The Menagerie–ENCORE”
That’s the thursday night showing. That’s the one I’m going to try to go to
DC #48: THANK YOU. Silly of me.
#40
Sorry. Lakewood Cinemas.
Who is going in uniform?
AMC Saratoga theaters in San Jose is where I’ll be seeing it. A nice new theater with brilliant sound and excellent presentation. We’re just a bunch of lucky ducks here in the bay area…no matter what the film event, it’s coming to San Jose, just about guaranteed. Should be a pretty big turnout, lemme see what kinda pics I can get…
Looks like there’s a few in the San Francisco Bay area going, like Emeryville. I’ll be in Mountain View at Shoreline. How many are in the Bay area who visit here?
Glad to hear that the west coast has a fighting chance to win the calender, thanks Anthony.
OK, everyone tonight… wherever you see this, be sure to chant
“No Wings! No Wings!” Let’s start a movement!!!
(there’s a thread that says James Cawley has seen the new E and it has wings.)
First shots of new Spock…Enterprise re-design hoopla…casting news…TOS on the big screen tonight….
it really is 1978-1979 all over again, except the news is daily, not monthly…..
“Can I stand the strain”
Great to be a Trek fan in 2007…
Metro Detroit: AMC Livonia 20 sold out for 11/13; according to the phone jockey at the Customer Relations desk (when did movie houses get desks?), “a few tickets” remained for the encore on 11/15. That number has since been reduced by two.
I haven’t pre-purchased a ticket for a Trek-related event since GR spoke at Cobo Hall in 1980 (?). As luck would have it, I saw “The Cage” that night.
I resisted this blatantly “Trekkie” behavior, but after sitting through “The Deadly Years” with my wife and noting that she enjoyed the ep, I figured: What the hell.
In Atlanta tonight…
Anybody know if there is going to be any “Freebies” handed out at the theater tonight (poster, discount coupons for the HD set)?
And please, for the enjoyment of all, turn off the phones and the “chatter” once the film starts….I almost lost it watching “Transformers” with all the chatter and device beeps going off around the theater…Thanks.
#57–AMEN TO THAT!!!!!!
Atlanta area Treksters: I’ll be at the showing at the Regal Cinemas Hollywood 24 tonight.
Look for me — I’ll be the mid-40s chubby guy with the too-tight t-shirt and the facial hair.
;-)
Scott B. out.
…Egads, I could see this degenerating into a “Rocky Horror” event. Lessee, how could this devolve further:
* When the Talosians kidnap Pike, everyone whips out a small flashlight and shines it at Pike on the screen.
* When Pike screams in the Fire and Brimstone, everyone screams along.
* When Pike drinks the “nourishing liquid”, everyone takes a swig of whatever booze they smuggled into the theater!
* When Vina makes a crack about her having to wear clothes, the women in the audience throw their bras and panties at the screen!
…And so forth :-p
Who’s going to Crocker Park in Cleveland, OH tonite??
I’ll be wearing a black blazer and red Ships-of-Trek tie.
I’ll be taking pix.
#60 OM- YES! I think we SHOULD!! And it should become a yearly tradition!!
I guess those of us going Thursday night are SOL on the calendar.
#62
Agreed. I’ll be going Thursday night at Times Square in New York. (Would have gone tonight, but I have the toughest of my classes tonight.) Might there be something done for us?
Haven’t decided if I’ll wear my TOS command costume, or my Movie jacket, but my girlfriend and I will be there!
Too bad I have to work tonight and Thursday, but I hope all of you enjoy it!
By the way, I can’t believe the way people complain about the price… $12.50 is SO WORTH IT!
Seattle area fans…get a pic in so maybe I can spot a friend or two in line!
Man caught BSG RAZOR on the big screen in SF Monday night and now it is on to some great STAR TREK on Thursday night. Wow who would of thought I would watch some much cool scifi on the big screen!;) 21st century fun! By the way BSG looked frakkin great on the big screen!!!
Man I am too geeky!
It just hit me I recall the original BSG pilot was on the big screen for a few weeks. Missed that one, but I could of seen it. Man can’t wait till the STAR TREK action!
59. Scott - November 13, 2007
Look for me — I’ll be the mid-40s chubby guy with the too-tight t-shirt and the facial hair.
;-)
Scott B. out.
Haha you and everyone else!!!!
Picard/Marcus 2008
STAR TREK FOREVER!!!
I’ll be at the Emeryville show with 2 friends. It just happens that one of these friends has his birthday today so I’m treating him.
I don’t mind paying a little more for something special like this…it is unlikely that we will ever see TOS on the big screen ever again, IMHO, so again, it’s worth the $13.50 I’m paying per ticket to me :) …
But I did draw the line at the way-too-expensive HD season sets…I will not be buying these until the price comes down to about 1/2 of its current outrageous level. I’m happy enough with the original season sets for now…
Jon
#64 I hear that, it is way cheaper than buying an HDTV, HD DVD and the new HD DVD Season 1 discs.
Going to the showing in Everett, Washington tonight!!!
re: # 60 your last point about vina’s clothes will unfortunatley never happen as that specific line was only in the Cage, but i cant wait to hear about the rest lol!
Jon
It shows in Visalia, but I’m going to Fresno with its bigger theatre venue.
steve623 - - Come in, steve623
Will be at
Hamburg Pavilion
1949 Starshoot Road
Lexington, Kentucky
7:00pm Tonight! Hope you and any others in the area can make it.
In case anyone is wondering…I will be at the Burbank screening tonight.
Mall of Georgia (no Imax showing, though) 7:30 tonight!
Myself and my best bud are going…and he is a TOS fan all the way.
“There is no need to improve or change or update the classic ship…it is fine as is…”.
IHHO
FYI: We once went out to LA, drank A LOT and zipped out to Vasquez rocks for a “ARENA” photo shoot with screenshots as a guide. Nailed the locations pretty tight. The park ranger says goofballs like us show up every now and then with out toys and cameras. Makes his work interesting…
Every Trek fan should make the trip, then hit Star Trek in Vegas.
Well I’m not sure what the lines are going to look like in Bristol, VA. According to Fandango, they still have tickets available = |
I am leaving now for the Paducah, Ky showing, its about a 2 hour drive but a couple of friends are going so were going to eat and see the show. Can’t wait! :-)
I’ll be heading down to Mira Mesa (that’s a suburb of San Diego to you non-Southern Californians) for my TOS fix tonight. Since I was up in Palmdale for the BSG-Razar screening just last night (I didn’t get home until 2:00 this morning, and got up for work just a few hours later), consider me, after this, completely geeked-out.
Not that it isn’t worth it. “The Menagerie,” as I’ve stated previously, is for my money the best two hours of Star Trek ever produced, and while I have every confidence in Abrams and his team to make a good mass audience entertainment (though this talk about wings is making me a leetle bit nervous), I would be genuinely surprised if that changed in 2008.
http://search.cityguide.aol.com/atlanta/movies/movie.adp?mid=31422
Regal 24 rules.
WOW what a bummer. Just looked up the only place near me to play this, and it’s in the most gang banging bullet riddled theater in the area. I’m a huge TOS fan and would LOVE to see this… but not to risk my life over, or in the least have my car stolen.
FYI… also have to miss HorrorFest 07 due to playing only in this same shite-hole theater.
Just seen it in Manchester, England…. absolutely incredible!!!
many thanks to you Anthony for letting me know it was on… wouldnt have known otherwise!!
Were only 2 people in uniform…. the rest of the crowd were averaging 60, doesnt look very good for the new film.
However those 2 people were myself and my girlfriend and we are both 19 so rock on!!
Just got in from seeing it in Central London with some guys from work - our various other halves having point blank refused to indulge. It was wicked. Seriously mixed crowd too. No uniforms, big mix of ages, girls and boys, men and women. Was quite cool.
Amusingly the moment in Part II where Shatner (in my opinion brilliantly) represses a slight smirk when it’s said that ‘no man can resist’ an Orion slave girl drew a round of applause from the audience, so perfectly timed was the great man’s comic reaction. They are tremendous episodes and they look great up on a big HD screen.
Also, I spotted in the audience Mike Tucker, who is one of the FX guys on the new Doctor Who and a friend of a friend. Maybe he was taking notes? Or maybe he was just there ‘cos he digs TOS? Interesting.
Just been to see it in Hatfield.
On one hand I’m disappointed. Why?
Well, 2 reasons really
1) the ratio is cropped to fit 1.85 for the most part and resulted in lots of chopped off heads and other poor framing issues
2) Basically it was £10 each (Over $20 each) for an extended trailer for the boxset, although I expected this.
On the other hand, I was thrilled with the new effects in places and happy with the generally much nicer image quality. Although the restoration makes Kirk look like he’s been slapping on too much fake tan.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but would have been happier if it was cheaper
Just attended the Norwich screening of the Menagerie in the UK, was nice to see the fantastic remastering of the first time this side of the Atlantic, and despite the hype I was truely impressed.
80- I also saw a serious lack of young people (and saw alot of empty seats), but that is one of the main goals of the new film, to introduce a new generation to trek and gain a new respect for its past.
a Big thanks to the involved, along with Trekmovie for advertising it.
>>82/ - the ratio is cropped to fit 1.85 for the most part and resulted in lots >> of chopped off heads and other poor framing issues
That’s really poor. We didn’t have that problem where I saw it (Shaftesbury Avenue). They even took the time to adjust the screen dimensions between the episodes (4:3) and the special features (16:9).
Also, meant to say more generally - re: concerns over Kirk meeting Pike in Star Trek XI. In The Menagerie Kirk just says ‘I met him when he was promoted to Fleet Captain’. He doesn’t say that was the only time, or how long ago it was or even how much of a relationship they had after that time. Later he addresses Pike as ‘Chris’ which is quite familiar. Plenty of wriggle room there, I think.
Does anyone know if the 30 minute Behind the Scenes will be shown first, or last? Because of my job, I will be forced to be 15 minutes late to the showing.
Birmingham UK
Shown in 4:3, so no cropping. Lip sync was out! Audience quite mixed and pretty much full. The HD transfer is fantastic, it looks like it was shot this summer, the detail, colour…the amount of information in the 35mm neg is remarkable. It was easy to see where there was original camera neg available, and where there were dupes or generation loss (such as the original monitor shots or transporter effects or orignal title captions and did one or two normal shots looked like dupes?) The new VFX were great and the Enterprise is awesome on the big HD screen with it’s extra subtle detailing with real mass and scale. Maybe the VFX were a tad too crisp and need a bit more grading to match the original neg, and there were one or two off a little (the rear new matt digital painting of the Earth city being too sharp in a brief c/u shot, and the stars in Pike’s window were sharp when the rest of the background was out of focus in a Pike c/u for example).
A real treat to see, well worth it! One day I will get the HDDVDs and HD player/monitor, for sure.
No. 80 - I was in Manchester too, in the row behind you. Your laughter kept me amused throughout.
I was not one of the “Average age 60′ people.
Shame they didn’t show the trailer for season 2 at the end, as was announced - but the £15 off of the HD-DVD boxset in Virgin Megastores will come in handy.
#82
I was also at Hatfield, with my friend, who also goes by the name of James…
The aspect ratio issues were annoying, it didn’t totally spoil it, but having the opening shot of KS&M beaming down without visible heads wasn’t so cool.
I did feel a tad miffed paying £10 to watch a Trek DVD as well, but I guess it was a pretty large screan, eh?
I don’t think the episode was the best example to use to show off the remastered effects considering that there weren’t that many effects shots in the episode.
Well so far there doesn’t seem to be a sellout crowd here. I’m in the theatre 10 minutes to showtimes and there’s about 30 people and a LOT of empty seats. Kind of dissapointing.
I’m in Bristol, VA at Tinseltown
I saw it at Covent Garden and the theatre was just about full. Was really terrific seing the episodes on he big screen, and he picture quality was amazing. Really enjoyable. Didn’t think the CGI enterprise looked to cartoony or lacking in contrast or anything. And it as quite funny to see which bits drew a lugh fom the audience. And finally, it was the only time I’ve been to the cinema and there’s been a round of applause at the end.
Good stuff.
And apologies for my bad spelling in that; my post-Trek drinks must have got to me…
#91 I was at Covent Garden (London) too! I thought there was a really good mix of people there. The reaction from Kirk after the comment about orion slave girls being irresistable really made the audience laugh. I hadn’t seen this episode in years, and I enjoyed it. I didn’t remember this episode to have so many comical moments… :) Well worth the trip to London! I hope they’ll do another one.
The reaction from Kirk after the comment about orion slave girls being irresistable really made the audience laugh at mine as well.
I think the only problem was that they seemed to have started here at 7:00 pm instead of the time noted on my receipt which was 7:30 pm. We got in during the behind the scenes feature, but there were stragglers who came in at 7:30.
Mostly filled here in Northern Virginia.
So the behind the scenes feature is first? Before the episode?
If there are still tickets, I’ll probably try to go to Thursday’s show at the Clifton Commons in Clifton, NJ at 7:30. Where I will attempt to start a “We want Shatner” chant.
Just returned from Philadelphia showing. it was great. The new effects work terrific on the big screen. What amazes me is just how well this episode still holds up (even on a big screen) some forty years later. My only complaint was the color intensity of the digital transfer, a bit to saturated for my taste. All things considered, it was a great experience. They could probably do this with other remastered episodes and I would go those as well as I so impressed. No one will be disappointed here. It was great seeing TOS in a movie theater. Never thought that would ever happen. A lot of fun.
#94, behind the scenes was shown before the actual episode. there was a preview of the second series HD DVD after the episode.
Just saw it in Kingston, Massachusetts USA—
What a phenomenal show!!!
The FX on the big screen were SSSOOO fantastic to see. Granted, “The Menagerie” isn’t a huge FX extravaganza (like, say, “Doomsday Machine”) but on a huge screen in HD what we saw was GREAT.
That said, I thought the color balance was a bit off. The colors seemed TOO vibrant, TOO saturated at times. Whether this was by design or a local theatre problem I can’t say.
But the HD plus the BIG SCREEN sure revealed detail never seen before… the wig adhesive lines along Shatner’s “hairline”….. many shots also revealed the seam lines where Nimoy’s own ears end and the pointed tips begin!!!
All in all, a great time, and much fun to share with a theatre full of other Trekkers. And alot of fun to laugh with others at some of the lines & scenes which never happens when I watch this episode home alone…
Have a GREAT night all.
I LOVED THIS EVENT TONITE!!! Enjoyed revisiting past memories of the effect THE MENAGERIE had. Kudos to Denise, Mike and Rod for sharing his thoughts beforehand.
Scott in Atlanta here. Went to the Hollywood 24 and sat directly behind comic book artist extraordinaire Adam Hughes. He drew the fantastic Trek graphic novel “Debt of Honor,” probably the best-drawn Trek comic ever. I didn’t speak to him. I’m shy.
Anywayz, I took my 14 year-old son and his buddy. They were probably the youngest folks in the audience of maybe 50 people. They both like Trek, though aren’t fanatics like old dad here. They enjoyed it a lot anyway. I did too. I could really get used to watching the OS on the big screen.
Three thoughts:
- the old ’60s stuff looked fantastic on the big screen. I thought I’d see all kinds of irritating details showing how cheap everything really was, but nothing truly bothered me. I loved the better view of everything.
- the new starbase shuttlecraft scenes looked like videogame graphics. Disappointing.
- However, the Enterprise…oh, man. She looked really, really nice all big and digital, as did the planets. Looking at her up there made me realize that there’s not a dang thing wrong with that original Matt Jeffries design. It’s majestic and darn near perfect.
Scott B. out.
P.S. Really enjoyed the sneaky peak at the Billy Blackburn stuff. Never noticed before that the goats in Errand of Mercy were all alien and stuff. Green and purple paint!!
Just got back from the Regal Cinema in Lexington, KY. 65 people paid $12.50 each to see The Menagerie on the big screen. Loved seeing the Billy Blackburn movie bits. I still wish we could see both flags unfurled that were in the courtroom. Everyone loved it. The only complaint was the price of admission. 3 people were in costume, 2 in TOS shirts and 1 in a command TNG uniform.
Fathom Entertainment’s projection of it at Crocker Park in the Cleveland area was an ABOMINATION. Blocked-up shadows, color-shifted highlights, vignetted corners, and DARK with visible raster lines.
I swear, I have a ten year old VGA monitor that is capable of displaying a better picture than what was shown tonight.
DO NOT waste your money on Thursday!!!
If THIS is what they think is going to sell DVDs, they’re INSANE!
About 15 people showed up. The only up side was that I met a Trek prop guru who I had no idea lives about a mile away. Very small world.
Again, SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!
I wish I could get mine back.
Dusty — I agree, the laughter was the best part, the whole audience experience. There wasn’t a lot of laughter or cheering at Nemesis, so it’s been awhile.
Saw it in Atlanta. There were I’d guess 50 or 60 people in the audience, about 1/3 capacity. A few were in costume.
I think the best laugh lines were, perhaps, unintentional. “The women!” got a good one, as did “Let me finish!”
Paramount could do us all a favor and spend a few bucks more to package it better. There was nothing really here that hasn’t already appeared in syndication or on this website. The film ran to black and there was no cue tone on the film strip to signal a projectionist (if there are still any anywhere in the building these days.) We exited in the dark. Also, a really, really good p.r. department would have coordinated with local fans and had some parties arranged. There was one guy self-promoting his local club. Could be fun. But, if Paramount had sent over some crappy plastic cups (like they did for Shatner’s mess, STV, which I used for years afterwards) then this same guy coulda been a hero tonight, and sold a lot of DVD sets.
Not really complaining, but Paramount seems paramount at missing opportunities.
Other stuff you can see better in HD on a big screen: Dr. Boise using a Bic pen, Number One’s ring, and how crappy the early nacelle caps really look. That last was compensated for by getting a great look at the bridge flyover.
Well, I just got back from the Regal Cinema in Lancaster, PA. (don’t ask - I’m out here in business, and no, not with the Amish)
About 50 people in the theater, one dude dressed as a red shirt who actually ended up eating the rest of my popcorn.
The show started screwing up about 20 minutes from the end. The lip sync was all off, and the audio was clipping. The ended up stopping it as Kirk was receiving the last transmission from Talos IV and were going to replay it when I bolted.
All in all, it was rather interesting. You could *really* see how cheap everything was done, but I could honestly care less. It kinda made me think what could have been if they had gone with the first pilot…
Twenty souls in the audience, mainly middle-aged or more, but some children.
I see Mr Abrams must make his picture with the ADD generation in mind. The Menagerie is much too deliberate, too quiet too contemplative for today’s theatre goers.
Having said that, the picture quality was stunning and the special effects gave goose pimples. The telly does them no justice!
Just saw it in Boca Raton Fla. Took my two twenty-something nephews and they were impressed, especially with the first half (the second part lags a little too much for modern tastes, I think). Small theater, about half full. Presentation was fantastic, I’m glad they have throttled back on the brightness of previous transfers of these shows, so the tacky production values aren’t quite as noticeable as before. Colors are a little too saturated as some have noted. The Enterprise looks great. Still wish they could have done more with the special effects (lasergun raybolts, bridge monitor displays, etc). Cute preview of the season two set was shown at the end. I think that’s around the 33rd time I’ve seen this episode (including Gene Roddenberry’s live presentation of the original “Cage” episode back in the 1970s) and I still haven’t tired of it!
Just got back from the Toronto showing. What an amazing experience! The theatre was packed! I had to wait in a huge lineup just to get in.
The classic Enterprise looks sooooooooo good on the big screen. I was blown away buy how good it looked up there. I wish they would do this sort of thing with other TREK episodes, like “The Doomsday Machine!”
Oh yeah, and Spock yelling “The women!” got a really big laugh here too! And William Shatner as Kirk… he really is the Man! It was clear the audience loves its Captain!
Wow, I’m really glad I went to London, it was packed! Only a few seats unoccupied. I just checked the capacity of the screen we were in, apparently it’s 269! So I’d say there were approx 250 pairs of eyes staring at the screen.
Did anyone else notice the officer’s cap on Cptn Pike’s table? And I did not see anything that seemed cheap. I was taken by the high quality of the construction of the sets and props, especially considering a 1965 TV would show less than a small amount of the detail in the filmstrip.
Just returned from one of the Detroit showings at the United Artists Commerce 14 theater in Walled Lake. No one in costume, ages ranged from 30’s-60’s, small theater was about half full. There was no laughter where there wasn’t supposed to be - only exception was when Spock yelled out, “THE WOMEN!”
The screening was great (the sound was phenomenal) - But I didn’t like that the UA theater didn’t turn on the lights when it was time to leave, so a lot of Trekkers left in the dark. Hope that wasn’t intentional…
All in all, I had a fantastic time!!! It was so worth the ticket price…. STAR TREK FOREVER!!!
Saw it in Rochester, NY. Great show. Theater was probably about half full, quite a mix of ages.
The showing itself was great, but I think what made the night was the atmosphere of the audience. “The women!” was a laugh line here as well. It was really nice to be able to watch a classic with about 50 other trekkers.
I bet if a theater would show things like this regularly, say show a season episode by episode, every Tuesday for a reasonable price, I’ll bet it could be a popular niche.
Just saw it in Glasgow, Deleware and there was maybe 2 dozen people. I am shocked at the low turnout. And nobody was in costume, not even a Star Trek t-shirt. Plus I was freezing because I wore a tank top to show off my Enterprise tattoo, but there was nobody around to notice.
Oh well, I enjoyed it none-the-less, and I hope the low turnout does not discourage them from doing this again.
109- The “captain’s hat” on the “TV” was one of the hats from Forbidden Planet.
Yes. There’s an astounding amount of detail in those old negatives.
Run through a DLP theater projection system- it would have looked utterly spectacular. Too bad they used the system they did.
Just came back from the show in Toronto. The place was packed and there were some Klingons int he audience. The Image was great with some short scenes out of focus. The sound was great and hearing the opening theme in all its glory was amazing.
You know what also got a laugh here in Atlanta — something my non-Trekker wife laughed at the first time I watched with with her — is that little squinchy look Susan Oliver gets on her face before she runs toward the Rigel fortress. It is sort of goofy-looking.
Scott B. out.
We just got back from the showing here in Austin TX - didn’t get to see anyone in line as most everyone was already in the theater! The theater was full except for a few seats on the very front row and everyone seemed to have a great time. I loved it, and for those who say the Enterprise needs to be “re-imagined” for the new movie, they should have gone to see the show tonight - the Enterprise looked amazing on the big screen!
Sorry, no pics from the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota show (just north of Minneapolis), I never had a chance. There were about 75 or 80 people with a mix of ages, nicely packed though. Heard one guy next to me from a group of four give some woman a hard time saying ‘you’re marrying him and have never seen Star Trek. That was great. I was the only freak dressed up and only had a pin and hat on.
It was fun though, there were funny moments when everyone laughed so that was great. It was THE way to watch Star Trek though, on the big screen. The big E looked great, I could see detail that I missed before, like one officer (a guy in the Transporter room after #1 and the Yoman return sans Pike) whose insignia patch was crooked. Watching I felt like I was watching it for the first time, it had been a while since I had seen The Menagerie.
I won’t bitch about the ticket price, but I should have skipped the snacks though, that was $13.75. If it had been cold I would have snuck in some but it was near 60 today, too warm for me for a jacket.
The effects of the season 2 previews looked great on the big screen, especally the planet killer. All in all a great time.
Saw The Menagerie tonight. Pretty cool I sat with Robert J. Sawyer and his wife Carolyn. Any of you readers of SF know Rob has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards and is known as the Dean of Canadian SF.
We were all suitably impressed by the clarity of the image and the new SFX. Overall a job well done. I expect to be even more impressed watching the first season set at home. The projected image had a noticeable screen door effect.
The clarity at times is unnerving, sometimes Nimoy’s ears really showed the join line. Labels on computers and equipment were clearly legible and the text from the Top Secret file on Talos IV could also be easily read.
I was very impressed and look even more forward to the Season 1 HD set.
114. Ran Perry
Are you kidding me? The theatre was only 3/4 full.
I came away from the Toronto show with two conclusions:
1) The original Enterprise design doesn’t look as hookey on the big screen as I thought it would, so I’d be okay with minimal changes (even though I’m open-minded about whatever they come up with), and
2) I will never, EVER, believe anyone on this site who claims that this, or any other Trek site is a microcosm of what the mainstream audience is thinking.
There has been much talk lately about how hot Trek is in the news, and everyone goes nuts when newspapers print anything about Shatner or the new movie. People like to pretend that this is like talk radio, and for every person that posts, there are 100 more with the same opinion that don’t post.
Well… I have news for everyone. If Star Trek relies on pleasing its existing fan base, then the franchise is in trouble.
I was shocked…. SHOCKED… that the largest city in Canada, with 3 million people, could not fill up A 300 seat theatre for a one-night only show.
Star Trek needs new blood, and it needs it badly. From the demographics I saw tonight, it needs women badly. It needs people under the age of 30 badly. I don’t care how far it strays from canon or original design, just please, PLEASE, make it good, or Star Trek’s resurgence will be EXTREMELY short lived.
#119 Great post. Fascinating, even.
“Well… I have news for everyone. If Star Trek relies on pleasing its existing fan base, then the franchise is in trouble.
(me) News flash: It IS in trouble. The last series got canceled, and the last movied fopped badly.
I was shocked…. SHOCKED… that the largest city in Canada, with 3 million people, could not fill up A 300 seat theatre for a one-night only show.
Star Trek needs new blood, and it needs it badly. From the demographics I saw tonight, it needs women badly.
(me) it has needed them for 40 years!
They don’t sit in a room and dream up stereotypes. ST fans are nerdy guys who don’t have much luck with the ladies. Truth hurts. Our hope is that the new flick gets a little ST IV type whale-luck and hits a fun enough nerve to crossover and make some bucks. With an accurate Enterprise, of course.
Uh…”flopped”. sorry
Just saw it tonight in Charlottetown PEI. It was great. The Enterprise looked fantastic on the big screen. Seriously, if JJ and crew bloat the look of the Enterprise and lose the simplicity…I’ll be completely disgusted. The ship could totally stand on its own in a motion picture, it just needs some finer detailing and minor tweaks.
There weren’t many in the audience, but it wasn’t well advertised at all. One guy fell asleep around twenty minutes in. Obviously a wanker who needs explosions every 3 seconds. I loved seeing the episode again, it’s quiet, contemplative and one of my favorites.
Just got back from Eagan, Minnesota. Heard a couple of people say they heard about it from TrekMovie.com… shoutouts to you, folks! It was awesome. Really. We somehow filled a theater with people of all ages. I was sitting behind a young man with two young lady friends, with a thirtysomething on my left and fifty-something Desert Storm vet on my right. I saw grandmothers, a couple of families… one really cute family with Mom in the Nemesis uniform, Dad in the Vulcan uniform from “Carbon Creek” (ten points for ENT fandom, plus five for obscurity, man!) and the little four-year-old in what I -think- was a Klingon uniform… but frankly seeing the little girl in it was so out of context I couldn’t be sure.
In response to 119, yes, we had a disprorportionate number of middle-aged men. But let’s remember that this movie was advertised more or less solely on a very small number of websites… websites demographically frequented heavily by men on an internet frequented, again, mostly by men of right around that age. I don’t think the crowd is an accurate representation of Trek’s audience.
It was, however, great to see what the Trekkies laughed at. A huge, spontaneous laugh at the moment when Scotty leaves the transporter room grumbling. Another one when Mendez describes the Orion animal women and cut to Kirk staring at the screen. Audible gasps during the pre-show and during the more remarkable VFX sequences… it was clear a lot of people have never heard about TOS-R.
Nice presentation by Rod Roddenberry, incidentally. I like him.
So, yeah, great night. Haven’t seen so many Trekkies in one place since the Minneapolis convention back in ‘03.
Just saw it in New Rochelle, NY. The picture was excellent. The remastered Enterprise looked great on the big screen (even the old version didn’t look that bad during the opening feature). It all holds up pretty well. Although I thought the regular series uniforms looked a little skimpy, but the dress uniforms looked ok, and surpisingly the Pike era uniforms looked pretty good. Some of the props didn’t look too subsantial (the desktop screensfor instance), but I think if they use the design but update the details it would look gret for the new movie.
The theatre was about 3/4 full and appeared to have a good mix of ages attending.
(The line, “Please, let me finish!” drew probably the biggest giggle from the audience. Can’t imagine why. :) )
Just was at the Edmonton, Alberta showing. Was about 3/4 full, which suprised me! Really good show!
#60 - Let’s do the Space Warp again!
Glad to see the Eagan show went well, can’t believe it isn’t showing near a friend of mine in Chicago. In response to our friend from Toronto, I’m not too surprised you didn’t have a full house. There were no ads for it except for our favorate spots on the net, I didn’t see a poster for it at the theater which would have been some kind of advertising at least. There were more women than I thought at the showing I saw tonight, none together in a group like the guys were, but there were couples there which was cool.
I will say that in one shot of young Nimoy as spock I thought ‘man does ZQ (Zachary Quinto) look the part.
Full house here in Texas, north of Dallas. Only the very front rows were empty. It was interesting to see a nice mix of old and young and the reactions were great.
The ship looked fantastic and anyone who thinks the classic E won’t hold up on the big screen is bats. They just added another showing as well so sales must be good. I just wish they would have kicked the sound up louder.
But no complaints, everyone had a great time. It reminded me of the old days when a Trek movie was an event. Hopefully CBS will schedule a few more of these as the year progresses, perhaps a Romulan episode or City on the Edge of Forever, to raise awareness of the upcoming movie. I’d pay another $12 to do this again.
Great fun.
Just saw it at the Cinemark in Plano, TX. Almost a full house. Mostly older crowd.
Looked great on the big screen!
Just saw it out here at AMC Studio 29 in Olathe, KS. Theater was almost full. Varied ages. Brought my 12 year old son and he loved it. Opening theme got an ovation. The previously mentioned scenes that generated laughter every where else got laughter here, too. Presentation was flawless. The special effects looked fantastic. The big E looked fine on the large screen. Hope they add a little more bass to her engines to give her a more powerful sounding flyby in future dvd releases. Got another ovation at end of presentation. Everyone left with smiles and laughter. All in all, a wonderful evening.
Kansas City show. Theatre about 4/5 full. I’d say the average age was about 45, although adults ranged from college age to what looked like a 90 year old woman. Rough count showed about 60 percent men, 40 percent women, although there were several college-aged girls there. No children except for my nine year old son, who loved it.
The Enteprise looked awesome. I totally agree that they don’t need to change much to make it work in the new movie…just some extra detailing and she will be good to go. Hope J.J. and company listen to that.
Just got back from the theater here in Phoenix. Was about 2/3 full.
Had a great time. The transfer and FX looked fantastic. However, it was a bit jarring to see the images on the courtroom screen very dark and grainy, then cut to ‘in-scene’ where everything was bright and sharp. The extra detail visible, such as labelling on devices, to the texture of the costume fabrics, etc, kept me looking all over the screen (I agree with someone above who mentioned how good the Cage uniforms looked).
Again, the FX looked fantastic. With just a little more detail the Big E would look great in the upcoming movie. (It was a bit odd to cut from the brightly colored and lit ship interiors to the darkly lit ambient lighting of the ship exterior FX.) My only other complaint about the FX was a red star in a number of scenes that stuck out like a sore thumb to my eyes (and I’ve always like the colored stars in TOS).
Looks like we got all the same laugh lines as everyone has already mentioned (including Susan Oliver’s facial expression). Unfortunately, we too had to leave the theater in the dark.
And I too, had never noticed the painted goats in Errand of Mercy. (the Blackwell videos snipets were a treat.)
#101 FishDS9 -
It was so dark inside I missed you!! I was there right with you. I’ve just gotten back at Midnight (I had a way to travel). I’ll be sending in some pics of the things you’ve described. It was a good time, met some nice people.
Saw it in Georgia. Maybe less than thirty people. Mostly middle aged. One father brought his young daughter. Only a couple guys brought a girl. And one middle aged man came with his mother. I was impressed with her. Seems like she has read all the books. And knows more about William Shatner’s writings then anyone I have met.
The quality was fantastic. Looks like the Enterprise will be done in great detail. Including the hull plating. The picture was rather dark. And they left the lights out at the end. A little disappointed on the turn out. But I did enjoy the show.
I went to the theater to see it tonight at 10:30. I was speeding to get there on time, and got a ticket from a police office, which made me late for the showing.
Once I got the theater I was informed that the showing was canceled. So basically, I got a speeding ticket for nothing. Yay.
To the ATL/GA attendees:
Just a thought, but maybe the seats were kinda empty because they had about 15 theaters in the ATL metro area showing this thing. Wish I could have gone, but job responsibilities are in my way this week.
I’d love to see a TOS-R screening at the Fabulous Fox Theater! Now, that would be SWEET, looking at the stars on the ceiling and the stars on the screen!
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
Saw it in downtown Chicago, sold out, highly responsive crowd. It was my most pleasent Trek theatre experience since First Contact. Great way to get pumped up for next Christmas. Definately worth the $12
Just got back, very cool seeing it on the big screen! I don’t see the problem of using the original ship for the new movie, thought it looked pretty nice. Liked how they showed the extreme closeup of the ship sliding along left to right and the preview of some of the other eps new fx(Doomsday Machine, Galileo 7, etc.)
The theatre wasn’t “packed” but there were a number of people there, didn’t count but several. Would be cool if they did something similar for the season 2 set (allthough I seriously doubt it and there aren’t any more two parters but still).
Watched it here in Bend, Oregon tonight. Maby 25 people showed up? Didn’t see why this had to cost more than a regular movie, in fact they should have charged less to draw more people…
It was cool though and wish they would do this more before the new movie comes out.
My favorite line is when Spock yells on the transport pad “The Women”
Great stuff!!!
Darth “To many Ballz” Ballz
Chicago theatre’s top 3 bust-out laughing, highest response moments:
3 - Kirk talking to Piper about Helen Johannson
2 - McCoy can’t help wondering who is in the shuttle pursuing
1 - Spock speaks the obvious and exclaims: “The women”!
I can’t report on the showing in Salt Lake City UT because I had to work but it sounds like it was a blast. I wish I could figure out a way to go to the next showing but again, I have to work. I bet if they would show this on a Saturday night, it would be a lot more packed as some of us have to unfortunately work nights.
120 and 119:
3/4 full for a theatre in Toronto on a Tuesday night is pretty good. Especially considering this event didn’t get any coverage in the press; only on websites like Trekmovie. Also, don’t forget that it was playing in “2 theatres” in the Toronto area: one in North York and one in Mississauga. I was at the one in North York, and with the exception of the front rows, the theatre was packed (who wants to sit in the front rows anyway??)
Most importantly, the majority of everyone there seemed to be enjoying themselves. Its been a while since I heard so many people clapping at the end of a movie. And there where plenty of women there, btw. I mean, c’mon… where you guys going to a Trek movie to scope for chicks or something?
I just got back from the Colorado Springs showing and it was fantastic!! The theater was packed and we had a VERY enthusiastic audience! They applauded at just about everything… including when the screen first turned on to where we could see the “Turn off your cell phone” graphics! haha. We got there very early and got great seats. The only seats unoccupied were in the very front, but those actually filled up as late comers came in. Easily 250 showed up. The audience laughed hysterically when Spock yelled, “They took the women!!”. It was overall a wonderful experience and I loved seeing the effects in HD. Wow, I can’t wait for the new movie now!!
I saw tonight’s event at Emeryville (San Francisco area). The theater was pretty much full. As everyone else said in this thread, the Enterprise FX shots were fabulous, and a credit to CBS-D in how they look on a big screen.
However, I thought the live action images were just horrible. The picture was so dark throughout that we were straining our eyes — I hope this is partly due to AMC’s poor projection, because it doesn’t make me want to buy the disks. The dark areas of the image contained no shadow detail whatsoever (severe black crush). The sound level was also way too low — we struggled to hear the dialog. Did anyone find these problems at other theaters?
I saw it at Shoreline in Mountain View, (SF Bay Area) A Century Theater.
The problem we had was no sound at the start when the documentary was playing. Got sound about 1/3 of the way into the doc.
The image looked pretty good. Was actually bright! Sound was okay, got worse in part 2, but it was clear and audible. No real surround sounds.
The theater was fairly packed, a good mix of people. Young, older, men, women, kids. There a lot of laughs during some sequences. The reaction of Kirk to the comment about Helen. The sequence when the tech was checking the computers before Spock sneaks into the computer center. The Women! comment got a laugh of course and when Spock smiles at the singing plant.
What got me was the large image really showed a lot of subtle stuff I never noticed liked the encampment stuff, facial reactions, and the new CGI was nice to see so large. Overall, it was fun to see.
I brought my camera, but there wasn’t anything worth shooting. Darn!
My best friend Sherri and I saw it this evening with what appeared to be more than 75 other TREK fans. Seeing the extras was fun. ‘The Menagerie’ has always been my favorite episode so I was pleased seeing it up there on the silver screen. It looked great!
“Rod” Roddenberry was visibly proud of his dad’s creation. I know the cynics will say the admission price was too high and that Paramount is taking advantage of us fans. I nix that idea! It’s obvious that CBS/ Paramount is doing a lot to protect the franchise. These new updates don’t come cheap, and the new special effects and music look and sound awesome!
I think TOS holds up remarkabley well and hope that the movie next year succeeds on the same level.
AMC Burbank show was pretty cool. We got Denise and Michael Ocuda, David Rossi and his VFX team introduced the show!!! That was really cool. Plus the theatre was packed. Crowd reactions made it that much more special.
Not sure what Anthony looks like otherwise would have approached him and given him a huge THANKS for the site!!
The picture quality was really good, although the sound seemed mono and Pt 2 seemed a little less saturated. Hated the 8 minute commercial at the beginning, but I gues they gotta pay the bills.
All in all I was very happy i went!
“THE WOMEN!!”
AMC Promenade 16 in Woodland Hills, CA (Los Angeles, for those not from here). The theater sits about 113 (or so said the sign from Theater #11), and they did sell all the seats, but overall I’d say there were 90-100 people there. The video did cut out when the Keeper was talking about Number One and Yeoman Colt as potential mates for Pike. The lights came on. Eventually the video and audio restarted (t’was a nice radio program for a minute or two), and eventually the lights in the theater went down again (though they didn’t come back on when the show was over).
As I said about 90-100 people there, I only saw one person with a Trek shirt, one person in an ENT jacket, and one person in a TOS Yellow uniform top. Beyond that, I didn’t see a soul dressed up and I didn’t see any trekmovie.com name tags. :D Sorry no photos.
So despite the video shutting off at one point, the olde girl looked GREAT on the big screen. Why change the Enterprise? She was beautiful (even though the Refit version is my favorite, the original girl still is the best). Plus it was fun to see 2 hours of Star Trek (Remastered or otherwise) on the silver screen.
p.s. The new VFX ROCKED in HD!!!! Colors were amazing, contrast was great…the Enterprise was BEAUTIFUL and the star field was so full of detail. Looked so much more like the original starfield than what we see on TV. Standard broadcast TV does not do this justice.
#125 downtown? That’s where I was.
Crowd reactions were really fun as many have already mentioned. Plus the local Klingon club (dressd classic of course) scanned me on the way in and gave me this card:
Admission approved … this lifeform is approved for entry by the Klingon Defense Force. This person is not an alien infiltrator … or a tribble.
Now WHERE can I get one of those posters???
Reporting from Vancouver BC.
Theatre only sold about 80 of 200 seats. Of the 80 I didn’t recognize anyone from my 25 years in SF/Trek fandom in the region. Audience was about 80% male and surprisingly young - more 20s and 30s than 40s like me.
Not one person attempted a costume. It was very low key. I saw no local advertising or promotion. I personally would not have been aware of the event if it were not for trekmovie.com.
Clarity was okay but no more than a home HD set. I’ve long thought The Menagerie framing scenes were lame and apparently I’m not alone. Many laughed at the performance of the actress playing Piper. Bizarrely the audience found Shatner’s reaction shots hilarious. In particular they all laughed at Kirk’s response to the Orion slave girl and the Talosians offer Pike a choice of mates. Conversely the audience seemed very respectful of Hunter’s performance. An interesting experience.
The commercial aspect was even informative. Apparently the set is dual DVD&HDDVD. Still awfully expensive considering my investment in the last version.
Just got back from the Emeryville, CA, 7:30 showing…
The theater was close to full I would say…mostly folks ranging from 20’s though their 50’s…with only a couple of children. I was hoping that more parents would bring their young ones as I kept thinking what a cool thing that this would be as they (their kids) would be seeing Trek at about the age I started watching in the early 70s.
The print was nice…colors were sharp and the picture was virtually 100% dirt and scratch free. But I was disappointed in the overall darkness at this showing…but I’m assuming that this was the fault of the theater :( .
And, yea, the sound should have been a bit louder.
I nonetheless had a good time, but I will still wait until the new DVD set’s prices come way down before I buy ‘em…take note, Paramount…
Jon
My experience was a rather humorous one. Instead of re-typing it here, you can read about it at my blog…
http://danielbroadway.blogspot.com/
just got back from Burbank. Interesting experience to see TOSR on the big screen and with a big audience. Will write something up tomorrow tomorrow. Still waiting to get more photos….so send them in
#132: I saw it in Phoenix too. The picture was good but I would have appreciated a little more volume on the sound. Speaking of which…
#147: The sound was mono; it’s the original sound mix from the series. I just wish they could have punched it up a bit. The difference was striking in the promo for the season 2 DVDs, which used reorchestrated cues from “The Corbomite Device”. That sounded great.
Another line that got a big laugh was the Keeper’s rather salacious comment about Colt’s “unuuusually strong female drives.”
As for the color saturation, the Peacock Network wanted to show off its new color programming. We’re used to the faded syndication prints, so the restored color looks pretty garish.
Just got back from the Dublin, CA ( SF BAY AREA) show and was pleased. The crowd was large and mostly 30 to 50 somethings, with a few kids mixed in. I only saw one guy dressed up - as Spock - but that was it.
The theatre was a larger screen than I wanted because I figured the DLP could not project a bright enough image - and my fears were confirmed. The image, though large, was very dark and contrasty. The colors were not so great either. Most flesh tones were orange, blue shirts slightly purple. The HD DVD will look so much better on a decent plasma. The sound was OK.
I really enjoyed the introduction by Rodenberry’s son and the behind the scenes on the remastering effort. They showed a commercial for the season 2 DVD set due out in 2008, but I don’t recall seeing anything that has not already been aired.
I have not been a fan of CBSD cgi work, but I have to admit it looks pretty good in HD. I think they could have blended the new CGI footage with the original live action better by maybe adding some grain - but overall not bad. My only serious complaint is that the Enterprise is way too grey and dark in some shots - but the projection was dim so this added to that impression I’m sure.
To 119 120 and 142, I was also at one of the Toronto screening. I was at the north york one like 142. The colour saturation could have been better, and with the exception of some of us, the audience was pretty quiet except for the very end and a few laugh out loud lines. Perhaps I was expecting too much. I for one tried to clap when I saw all the names at the opening credits but i got HUSHED very quickly. My fiance’ who is also a Trek fan, has 1, never seen much of TOS. 2, has never seen the Remastered, 3 has never really been to a public Trek event. She really enjoyed herself, and she couldn’t stop talking after about how great the Big E, she called it that, looked on the screen. I agree, I enjoyed it as well, but a little more oomph in the sound and pic and audience would have made an 8/10 a 10/10!
Oh yeah, although I didn’t get dressed as I was coming direct from work. I did see some klingons but not much else. Just street clothes. I did however wear a phaser and communicator and the fiance wore her tricorder.
Bobby (#147) I was also at the Burbank screening and yes indeed, the sound was screwed up and mono from the left speaker for the whole evening.
Saw it at the same theater in Plano as jonboc and Lostrod. Great turn out, great fun, great viewing. Sound could have been turned up though.
I noted a nice cross section of people even if the majority were 30-50 years olds like myself. I had some 40 somethings on my right and some 20 somethings on my left, if not younger, on the back wall.
The classic Lady E and the classic uniforms and designs look awesome on the big screen. Putting to rest finally the silly notion that goes all the way back to The Motion Picture.
Do more CBS!
JMN
112- I was also at the Glasgow, Delaware showing- the low turnout didn’t really surprise me as I was half expecting to be the only one in the audience.
It was a really quiet crowd, they didn’t even laugh at Spock’s “the women!” line. The only thing that got a chuckle was the bit during the commercial about finally being able to see the Gorn blink.
Overall, I enjoyed seeing TOS on the big screen and I hope they do this again when Season 2 comes out (Doomsday Machine in particular would be great).
Still waiting in Australia for the screening. I’m in no mood for anti-climax so I think I will check out the venue to ensure good picture and sound
142. Demode
My points were as follows:
1) Some people on this site seem convinced that a “purist” form of Trek is what is overwhelmingly desired by the mainstream audiences. A Trek without Shatner will not succeed. A redesigned ship will not succeed. Sets and costumes that lack bright 60’s colours will not succeed. Well, tonight, all of those things only attracted a gentrified, 3/4 filled theatre.
2) If it’s a one-night only showing, you sit in the front two rows, because a premium seat the next night is not an option. Heck, just waiting around for the second showing was not an option. The number of people that showed up were the number of people who wanted to see it… period.
3) Even if it was playing in Mississauga, it only means that a population of 3.6 million couldn’t fill 2 theatres. And it’s not like people showed up to the North York theatre, found out that only the front rows were available, then got in their car to go to the other theatre. Not physically possible given the geography.
4) I don’t need to be scoping for chicks to know that a successful franchise has to appeal to a wider demographic than what we saw last night. Be realistic.
5) Re: advertising. That was another of my points. Some people on this site seem to think that they speak for the masses, and that Trek has this amazing amount of buzz around it right now. While it’s true, Trek is getting some mainstream attention, let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that it’s suddenly some hot property that can start demanding things like absolutely slavishness to TOS design and cannon. We don’t have the mainstream eating out of our hands the way some people would like to think. The new movie has to reach out to these people and lure them over.
So… you missed my points entirely.
Did people have fun last night… yeah, sure, from a nostalgic sense. Can the future depend on catering to the type of people who showed up last night? Trek would be dead in the water…
I did not mention the sound issues, but in general it was OK. No sync problems. However, my friend did notice a constant hum and warble that was not part of the sound fx track.
Also, the theatre was about 90% of capacity, and it was a larger auditorium. The crowd was very much into the show, laughing at the various points mentioned in previous posts. Overall - a pleasant group viewing experience.
Vulcanista — It’s playing again on Thursday.
Missed ya at the Hollywood 24.
John N (#164, etc.): I’m going to tell you why you’re wrong, here… so listen up.
I was born in 1965 and so grew up with the original Star Trek and only the original. You might argue that this makes me biased towards TOS, and in fact, I freely admit, I prefer it to all the pale copies that came after. But I have good reasons for this; I’m not simply some knee-jerk purist. The original show was produced at a time when people understood how to tell straightforward and heroic adventure stories. Some of that skill has clearly been lost in the ensuing years, with film and TV growing more trite, politically correct and juvenile–despite becoming hugely flashy and visually impressive–at the expense of getting a good, thrilling story across.
Look back at the material that’s been rehashed over the years—The Twilight Zone re-done now…at least three times I think, including a film. Was any of it as good as the original TZ? No. Oh, sometimes it reached to the same level, but never consistently so. The Outer Limits was updated—and yet never seemed to have the iconic weirdness and sense of thrill that the original did. A few years back, an updated Avengers was presented, in film form. Abysmal. Go outside of science fiction and you see the same thing.
It was the original series that Star Trek was not only founded on, but it was TOS that made Star Trek iconic. In fact, to most people out there in the world who aren’t Star Trek fans or sci-fi fans, TOS still IS Star Trek–to them there is no other. I’m quite sure TNG brought in a lot of new, younger fans. Some of them even preferred it over the TOS. But the non-Star Trek-fan world does not view TNG, Voyager, Deep Space or Enterprise as ICONIC.
You argue that a re-vamp of TOS needs to “reach out” to a broader range of people. Well of course in some sense any entertainment media needs to do this–that’s what the business is all about. But I think you imply more than a simple truism—you’re in a sense saying that TOS is outdated, passe, no longer of interest. It needs to be jazzed-up, made hip and sexy. Now, maybe all this is only about the superficial—a cooler looking Enterprise, non-cheesy sets, non-cheesy costumes. But again—this seems to be barking about the obvious. Naturally some “fleshing out” of the look of the old show needs to be done, because it was designed for the small screen and now we’re talking the big screen. But again, I sense you mean more than this.
What people today seem to have lost touch with is the idea that film — particularly fantasy/sci fi film — should be otherwordly, dreamlike… it should pitch us out of ourselves. This is why old films and TV still have that iconic impact—because they succeeded in capturing that dreamlike (or nightmarish) quality. It’s rather like when stop-motion animation fell to CGI, and people began creating more and more realistic CGI creatures. Sure, it looked amazingly cool. But the films became colder, and more like hyped-up rollercoaster rides than movies. Place, for example, Jurassic Park next to the original King Kong. Lots of people would say, of course, that Jurassic Park presents highly realistic dinosaurs. Lots of believability. Thrilling. But does it have the same oddly haunting quality as King Kong? No. Which is more “iconic”? Kong. Which has survived 70+ years and will almost certainly continue to survive at least another 70? Kong. Cruder effects? Yes. More awkward, not as flashy? Sure. And yet…. it’s King Kong. A few years down the road the new King Kong will be… well, not forgotten, perhaps—just as Jurassic Park won’t be “forgotten.” But will either equal the original Kong? No. Because Kong presents this nightmarish/dreamlike quality to it—it’s in the FX as well as in the simplicity of the story—adventure without over-the-top flash, classic themes told simply and straightforwardly without a lot of dross ladled on top. You could argue that people clamor for all the added frills… but the original story and the original film not only still stand—but they remain the preference. I know kids, for example, who have been brought up on all the flash and, I think, emptiness, of Jurassic Park and such… but when first seeing the original Kong, many of them are hooked. They scoff at first—black and white? Silly old actors? Jerky effects? But nevertheless, they get hooked.
The original Star Trek works on the same level. It isn’t about impressive hyper-reality extended and extrapolated into the future… it’s like a dream, a fantasy… told simply and straightforwardly. It hooked people because it caught that dream quality and appealed to that deep need we all have, to escape into the dream now and then.
It isn’t that Star Trek, then, needs to pander to a wide audience, giving them more of what they already have from the crap all around them… they don’t need a “sexy, 21st century Trek”. Sure… take some of the cheesy edge off. But beyond that, no. Star Trek was a success (culturally) because it swept people up as escape and fantasy. Return to that original series/Forbidden Planet/wagon train to the stars kind of quality, and you can bet your ass people will flock to it. Not a TOS with the “new” Treks grafted on top of it—people have had that, already, and the audiences have declined and ticket sales have fallen.
157: You confirmed my experience at the AMC theater — way too dark and contrasty; darker areas of the live action frames were completely black, with zero shadow detail. This would also account for the “over-saturated” look that several people are reporting; if the image is too dark, then saturation appears to increase.
I hope this looks better with proper brightness… folks who have watched the TOS-R broadcasts on US television: has the image looked better lit on TV?
#167….well said.
143: I was at the Colo. Springs show as well. It was a blast. The crowd was enthusiastic. Lots of Star Trek t-shirts, but only 2 people in uniform. Although one of them was a smokin’ brunette in the TOS miniskirt, so quality over quantity.
Kirk’s smirk at the Orion comment was something I had never noticed before, and it got a huge laugh. So did the skeevy guy with his “Nice place you got here, Mr. Pike” comment. But I think the biggest laugh came during the season 2 trailer, when they showed the clip of the Vulcan guard from “Amok Time” flexing his pecs. That about brought the house down.
I am not a video purist and wouldn’t know a DLP projector if it bit me, but the presentation looked fine to me. The colors were correct, the only gripes I had with the presentation were they they very slightly misaligned the projector — the top right corner of the image went above the screen, and they didn’t bother to turn the lights on at the end — leaving everybody to stumble out in the dark.
Outstanding!! Went to the Boca Raton, FL show at Shadowood and had a great time! It was AMAZING seeing the original series on the big screen! This was actually my first Trek movie experience and it was a wonderful one!!
One thing, to those of you who are complaining about the price, I find that very, very sad. 12.50? Are you SERIOUSLY so hard up for money that you have to be frugile with 12 freakin 50???? What do you work for, if not to spend money on the things you like??? And some of you will drive yourself so crazy worrying about the money you spend, that you wont be able to actually ENJOY what your spending your money on.
So, either stop being so cheap, or get yourself a new job, because if your complaining about paying 12 bucks, your not making very much. My suggestion, is to quit McDonalds.
OK South Plainfield, NJ checking in
First of all, I must start out by saying that I have never been a fan of “The Menagerie”. I hate the clip show concept in general, and this particular plot, while exciting, is resolved horribly. However, this episode was always a must-see because of the flashbacks (what we call “The Cage”, but was the original “The Menagerie”, which is one of my Top Ten favorites.) Once “The Cage” was released on VHS (even with its B&W and Malichi Throne’s voiceover work scenes spliced in), I had no use for, and never watched “The Menagerie” again.
Until last night !
The Good:
It was an absolute BLAST to see this with a live audience. To hear an audience reacting to something I am so incredibly familiar with was an awesome experience, although, there were only about 30 people in my theatre. Here’s the demographic breakdown: No one under 40 (maybe mid 30s the youngest) Mostly caucassian. About 7 or 8 women, who seemed to be The Wife or The Girlfriend, except for one group of three women who came together. They were in Heaven if they had a bearded fat guy who wears glasses fetish, because that was 90% of the attendees (myself included). One guy in a XXXXXXL Kirk shirt, maybe two in black Trek Tee Shirts, the rest of us were in civies.
Since were were gypped out of our Convention this year here in the NYC area (it was supposed to be this coming weekend, but Creation canceled it), this was my Trek gathering for the year. The event had a mildly convention feel to it, with the Eugene Roddenberry intro, the HD-DVD commercials and the Billy Blackburn bit.
The cleaned/colorized scenes (the stuff that was not replaced with new CGI footage) was gorgeous. I had to pop in and watch my DVD when I got home, to compare, and I really appreciate the work done to these old films. Just gorgeous. Original Vina just looks grey to me now after seeing her all colorized in the Remastered version.
The Bad:
Only about 30 people in my theatre. I was hoping for a huge turnout.
I don’t know if it was the feed from Fathom, or my particular theater, but there was no eye-popping super HD resolution on the screen I watched. It was big, it was cleaned up, and it was gorgeous, but not the super crystal clear ultra HD experience I was excited for. Also there was ONE channel sound. I thought this was supposed to be something special audio-wise.
As this one one of the early efforts of CBS-D, the CGI Enterprise herself looked all plated and metallic. We’ve since seen much better work from CBS-D. Hopefully, we can see more (i.e. better) episodes from Fathom. After last night, I would pay to see the entire series presented like this.
#167. Randall Nice essay! I think you touch on a lot of truths there, and I completely dig what you are saying.
As somene also pushing into his mid-forties, growing up on the original Trek as well, I can tell you that there is also a generational thing going on. I have very much the same sensibilties as you do toward classic 50 / 60’s fantasy scifi.
My father (may he rest in peace), however grew up watching silent films in the 20s and had a love for the genre, which I simply could not share. Silent films to me were somewhat boring and disconnected, save a few Chaplin films.
I think the same type of thing is going on now. I know for a fact, anything black and white turns my kids off immediately. Most folks under 30, never knew a world without MTV. Even a diffrent place - marketplace and Paramount needs to cater to the widest audience.
#131 somewhere in that theater, I was sitting as well. I was the tall, thin college aged guy with really short hair. The man seated in front of me was in a gold command uniform.
Yes, an exellent experience though. Kansas City had a great crowd, lots of excitement in the air. everyone stuck around to see the season 2 trailer, which more than anything made me hope Doomsday Machine comes to theaters.
“So, either stop being so cheap, or get yourself a new job, because if your complaining about paying 12 bucks, your not making very much”
I wish I’d only had to pay $12.50 for my ticket. I had to pay £10, which is a whopping $20. Good old rip-off Britain.
#173 seangh:
Thanks.
A little more thought on this, since you brought this up… while the common perception is that kids won’t even look at anything in B&W…. I’ve known kids—mine especially, but others as well—who, if they manage to give an old film a chance, will enjoy it—IF it was a good, thrillingly told film to begin with.
People “get it” if they take a little time to give it a shot. The thrill of an old Ray Harryhausen picture, or one of the old “Thin Man” movies, or King Kong, or the superlative 40s version of “The Thief of Baghdad”…. they can all capture people still, if people give them a chance.
The generational aspect of it is, I suppose, that when we were younger, we only had so many choices—so we were more likely to give time to something, to see if it would work for us. Whereas today, if something doesn’t do it for you in a few minutes, there’s a dozen other things you can turn to in a heartbeat.
But if someone younger, today, can be stopped, settled down, and convinced to give the old stuff a chance, then quite often they get hooked. This has been my experience.
The original Star Trek came out of that old tradition of telling a story—both textually and visually—and that’s why it worked so powerfully, and still works. (And why Kirk and Spock are iconic, worldwide heroes in the same league as Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, etc., whereas Picard, et al will *never* be thus). The newer “Treks” didn’t come out of that tradition—and to my thinking, they’re nowhere near as effective. And I think this is borne out if you think about it—you come to the realization that, had “Star Trek” begun with TNG (i.e. if there had never been a TOS) then it would not be the iconic thing that it is today.
Went to the Toronto show last night. The place was almost full.
Nice to see such a mixed crowd.
Spot on #167.
I will say Pike’s uniform and the dress uniform really shined and looked great. Everything looked better than it did when it was on HD tv. I just hope they fix the brightness and volume on Thursday. There may be a larger turn out. And turn the lights on when it’s over!
(#160) John
…you the same John from the Cawley post
…”I’m sure he had his buddy ready to give him the script, show him the uniforms. intoduction to Nimoy and a guest spot as a redshirt…”
If so..glad to hear we are neighbors.
I was wearing brown cords and a blue Ford racing jacket at the Burbank screening.
Thats funny, the one thing I have noticed about these posts is that they didn’t turn the lights on. Same thing at the Everett Washington screening. Maybe at $13 a ticket they figured they didn’t have to, which is funnt since everything else in that theater was less. Or maybe CBS sent a memo telling them not to turn on the lights afterwards, yeah thats it a CBS conspiracy to try to make all classsic Trek fans break their necks. That way when the new movie comes out, they won’t be around to nit pick.
Crap, Now I wish I would have gone. I even took the day off but got dumped by my Trek buddy and I didn’t want to go alone. However, years and years ago they released a film print of TOS’s Tribbles episode. It came to town and I went to see it at my local “art” theater. Wow! IT was cool seeing it up on the big screen (in “glorious” 4:3…) and in color (albiet muted…) and I had the time of my life. The (mono) sound was cranked up though and the rather packed house had a great time. This had to have been darn near 15 years ago or so. This Menagerie wasn’t the first to TV episode to come to the big screen but at least it was cleaned up. I heard there may be more showings, so now I’ll go check (and go alone..). Anyone in Vancouver, WA wanna go??? (assuming it plays again…)
#179 I am #22 in the Cawley thread? Able to follow that? :)
My sister doesn’t read this site, but she saw The Menagerie in King of Prussia, PA last night. She wasn’t impressed with the picture or the sound and she also had the lights not coming on issue.
I guess Burbank also had the issue of the lights not coming on, but the whole episode did start replaying (and the sound was still coming from just the left front speaker).
Full house in West Jordan, UT! Four or five in costume… I’m assuming any LA shows were “Chock full o’ nuts” (I say that with love) of course, so I’m sorry I missed that experience.
I had a great time. We were all laughing though at the over-dramatic camera work. Overall it was great, though slathered with plenty of “cheese”. But we can’t be too harsh to 60’s TV.
I noticed the CG shots of the Enterprise didn’t “improve” the movement of the ship (i.e. the enterprise still “slides” off the screen as it wooshes by in the opening sequence, on that note I don’t like the “improved” woosh) not neccessarily a bad decision to keep the original feel of the show. But if you’re going to update the effects why not fix some of it.
It appears to me there was some sort of arguement at paramount about what would and would not offend the fans during the remastering process.
On a completely positive note, I loved the shot from “The Seed” where they showed the Botany Bay completely adrift in that slow, lazy, and uncoordinated way that we’ve come to expect from “ships adrift in space” shots.
All in all, Loads of fun.
182 - John
Funny stuff…and I totally agree with you on your points with that thread.
Anyway, need to get back to work.
This episode really worked well as a movie type presentation. Think of it, the major charactor Spock does something unthinkable and dramatic. You see all the classic trek sorta out of it’s element and the Pike era Enterprise is a very well written episode. A lot of time is spent with longer movie like shots in “The Cage” shots and it really held up amazingly well on a movie screen. Did you even notice Spock had a limp in “The Cage”, I didn’t and neither did a dude behind me. I still think a lot of the fx looks more like video game grahpics but whatever. The audio mix was amazing and of course the restoration of the print was fantastic. Glad we had this in Ames Iowa where we don’t get much of this sort of thing. BTW the projector was OK but a far cry from the Boeing and TexIns projectors you would see in Hollywood.
167. Randall
I agree with much of what you said, and certainly believe that TOS should hold a place of high ranking in the pantheon of television history.
However, nothing that you said proved my points to be incorrect in any way. My points firmly support a return to imaginative, adventurous, wondrous storytelling.
I never suggested that Trek should be “sexed up”. I merely said that 60’s design, lighting, and costumes only appeal to the nostalgic gentrified crowd that I saw last night.
I DO however disagree with you that kids can be persuaded to prefer the classic Kong over the new one. Some perhaps, but the majority of times it doesn’t work that way.
Cheers,
John
Just wondering, would this count as a theatrical release? Even on limited screen most films appear in the box office charts, or does this not count? Would just be interested to see how much it made
I saw it at a Northwest Chicago suburb theater. Excellent picture and sound (but not surround sound for some reason). I thought it looked great, including the added effects–clear, sharp, detailed. Noticed a few things I never noticed before. The color and contrast seemed right to me.
I also noticed a brief outside view (CGI) of Starbase 11 at night, cut for syndication. Very cool. I expect the new DVDs will have many extra snippets of CGI footage cut for time. Can’t wait!
Theater was only 3/4 full. I would have hoped and expected it to be packed. Audience was enthusiastic.
Overall, a fine time. Glad I went. Don’t mind the price; it was worth it.