The Enterprise Incident Review + Screenshots & Video April 7, 2008
by Mark A. Altman , Filed under: TOS-R Screenshots/Video , trackback
REVIEW
by Mark Altman
It’s certainly an established fact that the third season of Star Trek was a relative disaster (which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series) with a new Executive Producer at the helm, Fred Frieberger, budget slashing at Desilu and a lousy new Friday night timeslot on NBC. That said, there are still a few pleasures to be mined from the lackluster year, including the minimalist theatrics of The Empath, the surreally cornball but moody Spectre of the Gun, the swashbuckling sadism of Day of the Dove and, most notably, the Cold War machinations of The Enterprise Incident.
Although the espionage story in which the Enterprise is covertly dispatched to steal a Romulan cloaking device is dealt with only superficially, the real juice is Shatner’s over-the-top histrionics as he apes being an unhinged commander in an attempt to convince the Romulans he’s gone cuckoo for Coca-Puffs. It’s a perfect storyline for Shatner, who milks being coming completely unglued for all it’s worth, no more memorably than when he gets iced with the steely Vulcan death grip by Mr. Spock. Psyche! There is no such thing as a Vulcan death grip, sucker. Kirk manages to steal the Cloaking Device from under the noses of two moronic guards and it culminates with some genuine suspense as to whether or not Scotty can get the device online before the Romulans close in for the kill.
Less effective, despite a terrific performance from guest star Joanne Linville, is the romance subplot which always sets female Mr. Spock fans hearts aflutter since it’s clear, his subterfuge was not a complete act (unlike in This Side of Paradise where the spores force him to go all horizontal on Jill Ireland). I believe some fan fic in the 70s even contemplated that Spock had fathered a child in this episode and it was even briefly considered as an explanation for Saavik being half-Vulcan/half-Romulan. That said, Sixties sexism rears its ugly head when we realize how surprised everyone is that the Romulans are being captained by, gasp, a woman. Not to mention how quickly she’s willing to forsake her obligations as a leader to get into Mr. Spock’s pants. Of course, stranger things have happened in real life, so maybe it’s not so goofy after all. That said, Nimoy’s subtle performance as well as Linville’s credible turn as the Romulan Commander help sell it despite the relative hokeyness of the premise.
Ultimately though, Enterprise Incident remains a fun romp with a memorably bombastic score and a great macguffin in the form of the Cloaking Device which turns starships invisible (yet another prescient invention of the original show foreshadowing stealth technology two decades before it was implemented in real life). Even the ham-handed explanation of the Klingon-Romulan alliance which only existed to explain the use of stock footage of Klingon ships, instead of Romulans, in the original episode, spawned decades worth of fan speculation, and later some great episodes of Deep Space Nine.
As for Enterprise Incident 2.0, like virtually all recent episodes of the remastered project it’s a mixed bag. Lacking any matte shots, which have all been superlatively realized from day one, the starship visuals are problematic. Stock flybys are adequate including an effective boom down on the primary hull, but lack the metallic sheen of the original miniatures. The new shots of the Enterprise being surrounded by two Klingon D-7 cruisers, emblazoned with the Romulan Star Empire insignia, and a Romulan Bird of Prey, are better in conception than execution. The Enterprise looks particularly badly rendered and fake, when surrounded by the troika of three ships, and the D-7’s don’t come close to looking as good as the K’t’inga Klingon miniatures in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That said, for the most part the scenes are all well storyboarded and shot, often following the original composition, despite only appearing marginally credible. The actual cloaking of the Enterprise is handled adeptly although the overall visual effects for the episode remain maddeningly inconsistent. With only a few episodes remaining, I continue to be frustrated by the many missed opportunities and often sloppy rendering being performed on these episodes which are likely to supplant the original versions in both syndication and on DVD.
Mark A. Altman is writer/producer of the Star Trek homage, Free Enterprise, as well as numerous other feature films and telefilms.
———-
SFX VIDEO
by Matt Wright
SCREENSHOTS
by Matt Wright
Enterprise and D7 schematics
The Romulan Commander
Oh man I needed to stretch
“It this how the salt vampire attacked you?”
“It’s hard to belive that I could be so moved by the touch of an alien hand”
Comments»
I set my VCR but the local station didn’t air it.
I was justly pissed.
Mediocre.
Hearing “DUN DUN DA DUN” strung together so many times is easily the best laugh I’ve had all day.
OMG.
In the teaser, Spock states, “A second ship has appeared” then we see the exterior view with the three ships around the Enterprise. Strictly speaking, this was correct, but I would have liked to see that last Romulan ship materialize after Spock’s proclamation.
It was interesting seeing the sliding port turn Sulu put the ship into after Kirk order a change of course, quite different.
I always enjoy the Enterprise leaving behind a planet, a star in nova, a space station or, in this case, the three Romulan ships, at high speed. It is a simple, but effective way to show the speed of the Enterprise as it goes into warp. I’m of the opinion that it’s not necessary to show the ship with a ‘warp effect’. I just like seeing it go faster in relation to the stars.
The Enterprise cloaking effect was effective and worked nicely.
A good episode for the CGI.
Mark’s review is spot on. how sad that the remastered effort has decided to go out with a whimper. With great shows like TUC, EOT and E Incident to really cut loose with, we get some very mediocre stuff. Aw well…what could have been.
Maybe CBS / Paramount can release some hi-res copies into the public domain and let fans take a crack at a remaster effort….
Thank you very much, you’ve just given my 1 3/4 year old son a new bit of music that he’s determined to turn into a vocal symphony.
Mark Altman, now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. Dang I missed your reviews of Trek in Cinefantastique, you were the only source of unfiltered unbiased opinion in Trek until Berman had you banned from the sets.
I like the “Vis-a-Vis” -Angle between the Enterprise and the romulan flagship!
Strange that many people rank this episode as a favorite. For me there are just too many nagging, unanswered questions. Why didn’t Starfleet use the stolen cloaking technology? Why hasn’t Starfleet been able to detect cloaked Romulan vessels since stealing it? Why didn’t the Romulan Commander order troops from the three ships to board the Enterprise the moment the cloaking device was discovered missing? Scotty is given fifteen minutes to install the cloaking device while the Romulans just sit there waiting.
I didn’t care for the Romulan Commander either. Not a favorite guest actress.
The new effects were better than “Elaan”, though. Not bad.
Agreed !!!! Now where is Free Enterprise 2?????
It wasn’t stock footage of the Klingon ships… most of the footage was new for this episode (principally the shots from below/behind the Klingon ship.)
The problem was that the Romulan BoP model was too far gone for filming by then, and it was too expensive to build another one.
8. Hear here! Altman’s Cinefantastique critiques were priceless!
Great episode, although it kind of makes Kirk’s righteousness in ‘”Dove” kind of hypocritical– “The Federation doesn’t specialize in sneak attacks!” — but sneak spy missions are OK. Not to mention they’re doing what the Romulans did in “Terror”. Just an observation, not judgement. Still a fun episode in every way.
Are we ever going to see those iconic shots #3, 10, 11, 12 on the right side from the top recreated in CGI in any episode?
Those could use some love at some point! Heck, 10 and 11 are on the original “Making of Star Trek’ (well, the second cover, anyway). I’m still hoping CBS digital will get to it.
Let’s have a balance between new and old shots!
DUN DUN DA DUN……….DUN DUN!!!!!
I CAN NEVER HEAR THAT ENOUGH TIMES…I LOVE IT!!!
Just remembered I think they got this one from the Pueblo Incident (Navy spy ship captured by foreign powers.
10… “Why hasn’t Starfleet been able to detect cloaked Romulan vessels since stealing it?”
The non-canon explanation most commonly used is that the Federation gave up cloaks while the Romulans gave up the plasma weapon from BoT.
“Why hasn’t Starfleet been able to detect cloaked Romulan vessels since stealing it?”
Why should they, when the Romulans themselves couldn’t?
“Why didn’t the Romulan Commander order troops from the three ships to board the Enterprise the moment the cloaking device was discovered missing?”
Bad editing? It was supposed to be longer before the Romulans realized the cloak was missing.
mad that our local station didnt air it…missed it. hope it was a one time thing and that they havent changed schedules
just chiming in to say Thanks to Mark for his review and to Matt Wright for his great vid and screenies….dont know what we would do without him
Klingons — er, Romulans — must like a nice view. Their forward portholes look to be as big as garage doors. I know TOS-Classic never really lit up the D-7s, but this is a tad much. At the distances we’re looking at, cabin lights should barely register.
I do appreciate the compositions, though. The view of SubCommander Chump’s ship firing into empty space is nice.
And I’m just gonna ignore the flaming in your first very first sentence, Mark. Other than that, nice review.
On the view screen in the conference room, before the incoming message, blu-prints of the enterprise are on the viewer. I think those were added in!
Thanks to Channel 9 in NY changing times constantly I missed it. Damn it Jim!
Mark Altman is a cool guy. Met him once at Comic Con in 2005, and my wife and I are HUGE fans of “Free Enterprise”. Even have an autographed copy of the movie at home! However, I have to disagree slightly with his analysis of the new VFX. I thought the new Bird of Prey digital paint jobs looked much more distinctive. And the K’tinga ships from TMP looked great on a big screen; all that kit-bashing on their exteriors for scale. But on the small screen, they’d lose all that. Besides, what the Okudas and CBS are trying to do (and by their own admission, not always successfully) is keep the look of the old ships, etc., but with updated movement, excitement and scale. And if they keep a new generation from laughing out loud whenever a ship shot appears on screen, I’m all for it. But he is very right on the most important elements of the show; the music and Shatner’s wildly over-the-top histrionics, “I’LL….KILL….YOUUUU!!” Fun stuff! Anyway, I still keep all of my original, unaltered DVDs, until CBS Paramount demands me to turn them over for “renewal (ala Logan’s Run).”
22 no thats the same
It’s “Cocoa Puffs”.
“Why hasn’t Starfleet been able to detect cloaked Romulan vessels since stealing it”
Oi. I’m guessing nobody here has a background in military history? ANY kind of ELINT tech is always a game of leapfrogging. Today’s stealth technology is tomorrow’s bullseye. One major reason the F-117A is being decommissioned - there are several integrated defense systems that it can no longer ‘fool’.
This is even more obvious when something large, like a warship, is concerned. Submarines considered ’stealthy’ in WW2 can be picked off from dozens of miles away by anything even mid-80s vintage. ECM systems that could effectively stop any SS-N-2 attack are useless against SS-N-19s, forget a TASM.
Granted, sometimes such a ‘leapfrogging’ requires capturing the offending technology. In this instance, the Romulans developed a new cloak the Federation had NO way of detecting - even to detect if one was present or not (you’ll recall, in ‘Balance of Terror’, that while the cloak rendered the Romulan invisible and impossible to directly target, everyone knew it was *there*…*somewhere*.) So the Federation capture it, and presumably develop the sensor improvements needed to know when it’s running nearby (if not necessarily target the attacker). Within a few years, the Romulans will have a new version out that can’t be so easily detected again.
And so it goes.
DUN DUN DA DUN……….DUN DUN!!!!!
HILARIOUS… anyone who has seen this episode even once knows what this is… LOL!
I really wish CBS / Paramount or whoever would air these shows either on Sci-Fi or CBS. Hell, put them on at 10:00 PM on Saturday night, it would probably get better ratings.
It would be better than what we have now. If I didn’t have DISH network, I would hardly ever be able to watch any episodes, and what I do watch I have to record after midnight.
I can’t understand investing all of that money into upgrading the FX and then dump the episodes into syndication. Trek Remastered could have easily been on Sci-Fi instead of that crapfest know as Flash Gordon.
#1 On So Calif, the local station changed TOS’ time slot to an hour later. Nice of them to tell us! >=^P
See, here they used a better version of the green disruptor shots as the Romulan D7 was warping away; why couldn’t they have used effects that good in “Elaan of Troyus?” Those green Jello blobs really didn’t cut it, for me…
21. CmdrR - April 7, 2008 - Yeah I’ll ignore the needless flaming also.
Purist, are you kidding? What’s the one thing everyone fears the most at family gatherings? That’s right. Aunt Tillie’s glowing green Jell-O. If the Klingons have gotten their hands on her recipe, the Federation is in real trouble. Just pray they haven’t learned to put those little orange mystery chunks in there, too, or it is all over.
#10
Another non-canon viewpoint holds that it was progress made in penetrating cloaking technology, advanced by the events of “The Enterprise Incident”, that allowed the Enterprise to identify the distortion field created by Kruge’s cloaking device in ST III.
(Either that, or the Romulans were giving the Klingons, low-grade second hand crap).
#29,
Where I am in Portland, OR, the new shows do run at 10pm on Saturday night on UPN(with the previous week’s episode running 10pm Sunday). I don’t even have cable. Where are you that you have to watch them after midnight?
This one has always been a favorite. Always loved the re-dressed Enterprise corridors for the Romulan ship ( even the doors had the same sound, just a bit lower in pitch). The new effects weren’t bad. The shot of Tal’s ship firing after the Enterprise changes course is pretty cool. You see torpedos and the green stuff.
Funny how they go to warp 9 nine without freaking out like they used too. Maybe they kept the upgrades from the aliens in “By Any Other Name.”
I recently read the Fred Friedburger took over for the second season of Space 1999. Now, I wasn’t really a fan of that one, but does this guy have the kiss of death when it comes to sci-fi?
DUN DUN DA DUN!!!!!
“an established fact that the third season of Star Trek was a relative disaster (which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series) ”
daaaaay-uuum!
I agree with the poster who said CBS has had some eps lately that should’ve been really top notch, but were just totally lacklustre.
Thank god for tivo. It records star trek not matter what time it comes on. I liked the effects but they could have been better. i thought it was a nice touch in seeing the romulans firing at open space trying to hit the enterprise when she cloaked. the best cgi is when the enterprise went to warp 9 and she is leaving the romulans. also when the d7 cruiser was closing on the enterprise. This was a good episode and the fx was good. but i think it could have been better.
#6: Sean’s clone.
Contact me. Gears are already spinning on TOS-R 2.0.
Lol! After all these years I never really noticed how annoying the DUN DUN DA DUN..was! I love that–excellent post!
ok. wasn’t dum da dum dum the theme from dragnet. i keep expecting joe friday to come on.
so, just HOW FAST can Romulan D7s go? Enterprise was at warp 9, yet SubCommander Chump (!) was right there, over taking her.
DUN DUN DA DUN!
DUN DUN DA DUN!
well i think with klingon and romulan technology they had a little more speed. maybe warp 9.9
LMAO! I just watched the sfx reel. DUN DUN DA DUN! is all over the place
also, I noticed that SC Tal’s ship was firing torpedoes from the bow, just like the AMT kit instructions said it could! Coolness. (some sources had that aperture marked as “Main Sensor”.) Isn’t this the only instance of a Klingon ship firing from that point, at least in TOS?
(key change)
DUN DUN DA DUN!
DUN DUN DA DUN!
#21 — ” At the distances we’re looking at, cabin lights should barely register.”
I don’t think that’s true. When it’s truly dark outside, even small lights can register remarkably clearly over distances. Here in Albuquerque, there’s a little restaurant at the top of the mountain, while the city is down in the Rio Grande valley. At night, you can see the twinkling lights from the restaurant windows quite clearly (and brightly) from many miles away.
“It’s certainly an established fact that the third season of Star Trek was a relative disaster (which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series)”
I understand that reviews reflect opinion, but that statement truly was an open flame and unneeded in the review. It had no bearing on this.
I expected better from this reviewer.
As far as the original VFX go, might this have been the last time the large Enterprise model was filmed for TOS (for the #s 6, 7, and 9 “surrounded” shots above)? Offhand I can’t think of another original shot of the Big-E for the rest of the third season — and only one other overall for S3 (the #1 approach shot above used in practically every S3 ep). Older shots were composited into new effects (like Tholian Web and All Our Yesterdays), but it seems like the model was in mothballs for practically the entire season.
Dissapointed by the display screen D7 schematics (shown above). Could have been updated to look at least as good as computer screens in 2008. I wish they would have also updated the radar between Sulu and Checkov in each episode. It looks like a painting. Missed opportunity.
I like the cloaking-scene. The short moment of absolutely silence after the disappering of the enterprise!
This one wasn’t tightly written - seemed like a run-of-the-mill radio play from the 1950s. You know, done on a tight deadline and tighter budget.
Compare and contrast to “Balance of Terror” in which each line seems developed from all the came before. In TEI, the pieces are disjointed and do not fit well together. It plays like a fan flick!
Also, the music was just plain jarring: the mix was too loud and it was as forced as the script. But yeah, dum dum da dum is iconic and it’s worth it for that alone.
Joann Linville looks great in that costume (and the dress). I miss femininity in my females. Old enough to remember it, young enough to miss it. Heavy sigh…
A few days ago, when everyone was gushing over those two still screenshots from this ep, I wrote: Wait for the video before showering it with accolades! I was right - another stinker from CBS!
I disagree with some of the observations: I think that the Enterprise “warping” out from being surrounded was rather awkwardly done. It looked almost more that the D-7 moved out of the way of the Enterprise. Plus, the ships didn’t really disappear that fast. I think this would have been an appropriate place of more of a warp effect.
I also think that there should be something more than a simple fade for the cloak. Remember, part of making the ship invisible is the bending of light as well. As you engage and disengage the cloak, you would be bending those light rays, therefore, the ship would look wavy, bent and distorted.
Here is something that is kind of itching at my brain: Don’t you think that the original effects team was doing what they could to try to make the effects look as REAL as they thought they could? I mean, they built actual models, and did make some real looking planets. They dind’t have access to satellite pictures of earth, so they used a globe. I think the team was trying to make the effects look as real as possible, with the technology, the ability and the know-how of the time. Now there is a project where they are redoing the effects. If you were on that team, wouldn’t you be thinking: “You know, technology is so much better today, I bet they can make the effects look a lot more real than we could.” Now you get to watching the Remastering project, and what you get is effects that are often INTENTIONALLY fake looking.
I don’t think I would feel very honored.
alrighty!..now when will the music for the Remastered shows come out on CD? I already have the current complete collection…please tell me…FINE!!!! DUN DUN DUNN DUNN!!!! serves you right!:P
i cant believe it . this is best ever i see uss enterprise start warp speed went underway klingon ship then turn right escape……….that is best vision..i love it…
The crack about TOS’ third season being “light years better than most subsequent Trek series” was unnecessary and unprofessional. In fact, it made me stop reading the review.
30. I live in SoCal too, so I was surprised to tune in and find “Cheaters” on at 11:00 and Trek at 12.
DUN DUN DA DUN….DUN DUN DA DUN………………DUN DUN
This video clip had me rolling. The same motif being played over and over again was hilarious.
This episode is one of my personal favorites. It is truly a vintage TOS experience.
I think Mark Altman hits all the big points re: the story and acting. However, I again disagree with the harsh assessments made in this and other reviews over CBS-D’s FX work. But I think we all bring our own differing expectations to the table as far as those things are concerned. I personally think movie-quality FX work would distract and clash with the style of TOS. So, I appreciate the new shots for being slightly cheesy. Listen, CBS-D has been consistent in their storyboarding. Yes, some things differ from show to show (the phasers, the rendering at times). But on the whole, these new FX shots are meant to work within the context of the 1960s show. George Lucas missed this notion when he did his Special Editions of Star Wars.
Xai and Jason Portable, I’m with you, it was a completely pointless comment that had no place in this review, I stopped at that point as well.
1. What’s a VCR?
being in australia- i wont see it till the SD DVD release but i can only see one thing that is off- the glowing engines on the back of the klingon/romulan vessels- the two middle ones look like the 1701 refit impulse engines- why did they move them ST: TMP & ST:VI clearly show them to be on opposit sides of the hull- with torpedo bay in center like a pooper.
the TMP crusers were the same class just with bigscreen detail- why did they change it- for the worst? i guess it was a design fault corrected bt TMP era i suppose…
for the most part thrilled with the new remastered versions and FX but they always have something a little off that baffles me- the A & B teams at CBS-D seems a good explanation for most of it+ budget
love mixing the ships- beast of both worlds n the animated series style painted romulan/klingon vessles are great.
great improvement over original viewing experiance but uneven hit n miss hurts project over all.
#37: Fred Frieberger & the kiss of death…
Interestingly, Mr. Frieberger had done some other programming and movies that are considered classic. I believe he was involved in CBS’s ‘Wild Wild West’ and the 1950s movie classic ‘The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (although having Ray Bradbury involved was a good thing too).
But as far as TREK and Space 1999 goes, yes, he was NOT a good fit (I think year two of ‘Space 1999′ is far more unwatchable then season three of TREK). That said, at least he wasn’t of the Irwin Allen school of science fiction.
I thought this remastered episode was excellent.
The only thing that might have made it better would be a shot of the Enterprise de-cloaking once they made it back to Federation space.
Was Trek really this colorful? Everything not just the FX look computerized now.
I find it odd that they completely changed one of the D7s into an original Bird of Prey but they wouidn’t change that torpedo in Balance of Terror (?) into a phaser shot like Kirk ordered.
#66 In BOT Kirk ordered “proximity phasers” (which just happen to resemble torpedoes.)
Again, these ships (at times) are moving TOO fast for my taste. When the Enterprise warps out past the Romulan ship, it’s just happens much too quickly. It looses all sense of mass and size when they do this. I mentioned TWOK before as a great example of how these ships should behave. I cannot get enough of that battle sequence and the sense of scale that is portrayed. And, as another poster here mentioned, the Romulan ship appears to be moving up and out of the way of the Enterprise - something looks off here. I did think the inclusion of the Bird of Prey ship was a nice touch and the graphics on the bottom of the Kinglon ships (oops -Romulan) where very creative.
Best special effect sequence in ST history…and it’s done with models:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dsYwf_VMmPU&feature=related
#61 Focus puller: Thanks for that laugh! Once upon a time, the “VCR” was a machine the size of a briefcase that cost almost $1000 and recorded TV shows with a fraction of their quality….on a good day. And everybody wanted one! And I am so glad Trek Movie Report posts the altered VFX reels; saves me the time of trying to find out where they are on TV. I don’t watch a lot of broadcast shows these days, and all I really want to see are what’s changed anyway. Thanks!
Good review..I like Joanna Linville’s performance a lot. Still think there should have been an explanation as to why no one put up a deflector screen (which would have prevented Kirk/Spock from transporting back and forth off the Battle Cruiser). On TNG, Picard always put his shields up whenever a Romulan ship got close.
If I counted right, there were approximately 18 “DUN DUN DA DUN’s” or variations of it in the posted video alone. Just a FYI!!!!
“Relative disaster” perhaps, as the third season did give us “Spock’s Brain,” “And the Children Shall Lead” and “Way to Eden.” But there were IMHO more than a few gems beyond the stated above.
“Spectre of the Gun” (delightful surrealistic sets and direction), “Elaan of Troyus,” “The Tholian Web,” “The Empath”, “The Enterprise Incident,” “Is There In Truth No Beauty,” “Requiem for Methuselah,” “All Our Yesterdays”
Some fine episodes there despite the problems with production limitations. Some good character bits and key elements that would surface in later Treks. I must add to my “guilty pleasure list” eps like “Turnabout Intruder” and “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” (great title and nice jab at “relative truths”).
It kind of seems unfair to this episode to say its bad because later Trek episodes and stories conveniently ignore the fact that the cloaking device is stolen by Starfleet here. The writers of this episode had nothing to do with the mistakes of later creators.
These new effects really add some pop to an already great episode. Hats off to CBS for another job well done. Another example of why the “horrible” third season wasn’t quite so horrible as so many fans like to believe.
Can’t wait to (Hopefully) see this on 1080p someday.
Great episode, although it kind of makes Kirk’s righteousness in ‘”Dove” kind of hypocritical– “The Federation doesn’t specialize in sneak attacks!” — but sneak spy missions are OK.
there is a world of difference between intelligence gathering on a military target and attacking colonies from a cloaked ship without provocation
@ 73
actually was it not gene roddenberry who said he did not want starfleet using cloaking devices cause they are not sneaky , and yes starfleet had one , but the point was they signed the treaty of Algeron , to not use them .
i mean they have used them on mines in DS9 , and built one for the U.S.S Pegasus so they can make them. As for not picking up other ships, the Romulians did go into a isolation so they they would have decades to keep refining cloaking devices .
74
Yes. Nice touch all around.
I especialy liked the last shot of Big E moving away. I somehow, even on my regular (not flat, not HD) TV, got the imression of scale and just how big the old girl really is. That’s hard to pull off at that scale. On a movie screen, yes, but not usually TV.
When you open a review with “It’s certainly an established fact that the third season of Star Trek was a relative disaster (which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series)” I really have to wonder what the agenda of the review is.
Was TOS better than TNG? Maybe. But I’ll bet you a thousand credits that a lot of fans feel the exact opposite. Is TOS better than DS9? I don’t think so, because to me DS9 was the best Trek series of all. But again others will disagree with me. My point is that your statement of fact concerning the quality of TOS third season is not a statement of fact but an opinion. And IMHO, it really starts the review off on the wrong foot and makes me wonder if the reviewer has an agenda.
great stuff, though i would have preferred a replication of angles for the shots with episode titles overlayed, as the transitions were more in beat with the music, whereas we get a gentle pan here, which although effective, doesn’t blend as well. other than that, i liked everything els,e especially the cloaking effect which is more gradual. in the original the Ent fades in a more stilted fashion.
#69 What’s a briefcase? lol!
#10 “Why didn’t Starfleet use the stolen cloaking technology?”
I believe there was a treaty signed that outlawed Federation use of cloaking devices. That was mentioned in that episode of TNG about the Pegasus and Riker’s mutiny.
All in all, I think if I was going to introduce someone to TOS, I would show them the original original, and not these half-cocked cruddy CGI remakes. What a shame this effort to update ended up looking so cheap. The original models - 40 years old - look so much more ‘realistic’ than the CGI; it’s kind of sad this is the end product.
“Stock flybys are adequate including an effective boom down on the primary hull, but lack the metallic sheen of the original miniatures.”
Maybe it’s just me, but the originals look like they’re made of plastic, not metal.
Yes, there were a lot of of “Dun-Dun Da-DUN!”s (especially run together in the FX reel), but the soft, almost nonchalant horn Trek fanfare when Enterprise was moving away was a nice counterpoint.
Using the Romulan Bird of Prey seems like one of those “they would have done it if they could have” things, and so it makes sense, and it reinforces that these are Romulans. The Bird of Prey design on the Klingon D7 was cool, and foreshadows the Klingon Bird of Prey in ST3 and 4.
As far as the “better than most subsequent” Treks comment: IMO, TOS3 is better than Voyager and Ent, but I don’t think it is better then TNG or DS9. So the question is, is TOS3 better than TAS? >;>}
My favorite 3rd season episode…Count me among those who speculated that Spock may have fathered a half-Romulan child as a result of his “encounter” with the Romulan Commander. I am holding out hope that Spock’s “love child” is the Romulan villain with an ax to grind in STXI…If he isn’t, well…he should be!
#81—There is that explanation. There is also the literary explanation that the device was only used once, and subsequently failed disasterously in an official Starfleet test.
#78—I think you’re making too much out of it. The “facts” are that TOS had a new man-in-charge, a lesser budget, and an infamously poor time slot. Remember that the 3rd season almost did not happen, and when it did, it operated on a shoestring budget and with little confidence from the network.
An agenda? Really? Mark is one of the world’s biggest Star Trek fans, and many of us share his opinion. Isn’t that what a review is? An opinion? In my opinion, Mark’s review has alot of merit, particularly in his characterization of the 3rd season in general.
And yes, many will disagree with you. I can barely stand TNG, and although DS9 was a very good show at times, it is no TOS…
matt jefferies was a genius far ahead of his time.
Actually, I thought this looked pretty good. That long shot of Enterprise banking at about 1:50 feels right, full of bulk, and far from the balsa wood lightness that creeps into too many of these new shots of the ships. You believe that that’s a big ship. And indeed all the ships here move or are “filmed” better here than usual for this project, with some slow grace and some mass.
And, yes, the enemy fire was miles better than the jello shots we saw last time out.
#84—Aside from TAS, “Yesteryear”, IMO it was. I agree that TOS3 was better than VOY, but not better than ENT or DS9 (although TOS1-2 were). IMO, any of it is better than TNG.
I thought those shots of the D7 firing it’s weapons looked a little too computer gamish…it might have been better to have the ship fly past the Enterprise closer up — firing, but missing — and larger on the viewscreen. And when it fires the photon torpedo have the ship farther away, but have the torpedo bolt get bigger on the viewscreen and overshoot the Enterprise…
I don’t know if that’s the best answer either given Kirk ordered a course change, but again the direction of some of these shots leaves a lot to be desired.
#78 “When you open a review with “It’s certainly an established fact that the third season of Star Trek was a relative disaster (which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series)” I really have to wonder what the agenda of the review is”
No hidden agenda that I can see. It’s just the truth. It is better because it IS TOS. It IS Star Trek. Now, granted, many like TNG more. Many like Ds9 more, but the fact remains that Star Trek IS Star Trek.
The others weren’t better, they were different. THis episode isn’t “better” than the spin-offs…it’s different. Other than the name and some similarities of being in the same fictional universe, Star Trek and it’s spin-offs are nothing alike. So it stands to reason that those that love the new stuff, may not like the original and vice versa.
You have two completely different schools of thought behind the production and writing of TOS and the spin-offs. It’s to be expected that one group may not like the efforts of the other group because that are totally different animals.
So yes, this episode is better “Star Trek” than TNG and the other spin-off series because of the simple fact that that it IS Star Trek. Best of Both Worlds can be a better story than Mark of Gideon….and it is. But it can’t be better “StarTrek”…any more than an episode of Lou Grant can be a “better” episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The Mary Tyler Moore Show IS The Mary Tyler Moore Show…Lou Grant is not. Apples and oranges folks, apples and oranges.
#61 focuspuller
As in the ‘focuspuller’ who is currently compiling the COMPLETE ‘Blade runner’ music fan edit?
If so, can’t wait for that! And welcome aboard the good ship Trekmovie.
Thanks to those involved in organizing the above shots and video once again, as these are always appreciated. The ’shots and video’ anyway… if not necessarily the actual ‘remastered’ content… ;)
Channel 9 effed with us yet again.
I don’t even think Star Trek was merely moved this time – I think it was completely PRE-EMPTED.
Has anyone in the New York City market seen The Enterprise Incident on Channel 9 this past weekend ?!?!?!?
#78 Was TOS better than TNG? Maybe. But I’ll bet you a thousand credits that a lot of fans feel the exact opposite. Is TOS better than DS9? I don’t think so, because to me DS9 was the best Trek series of all. But again others will disagree with me.
Yeah A lot of people disagree with you on that. I believe DS9 was the worst of them. I rarely saw more than just a few episodes of it when it seemed interesting. It just didn’t have the same spark the rest of them had. At least IMHO. Many others are saying that ENT was the worst. I think that was one of the best. Many didn’t like it because of the new aliens that were never seen before. But I remembered how many aliens were in TOS that were never shown again in later generations. Like in STAR WARS. THe orgininal 4, 5, and 6 didn’t have GUNGANS. I was able to look past that, but many others weren’t.
#82 The original models - 40 years old - look so much more ‘realistic’ than the CGI; it’s kind of sad this is the end product.
Maybe somebody can tell me how they thought the original effects were better and looked more realistic. I looked at the original FX for a long time and I always was saying how fake they looked. At least to the FX that were shown in the Movies and later Series. So how do they look more real to you? Because I just couldn’t see it.
Fun episode.
I liked the effects!
You guys are doing a great job. I think most people posting here have never worked in TV, had to work within a budget, or get something done under a deadline.
Take a look at some of the God Awful effects on the SciFi Channel’s crappy movies that air on a weekly basis. A lot of the stuff here is really nit picky. I’m just glad they got a chance to clean up some of the effects. I really, really, enjoyed “The Doomsday Machine”. That was 10 times better than what originally aired. I also really enjoyed “Tomorrow is Yesterday.”
If they had a 100 million dollars they could have Skywalker Ranch clean up the effects really well. But I doubt if they have that.
The hardcore fans are what has kept this show alive for over 40 years. I’ve never seen “Free Enterprise” but I might check it out after this review.
The next time you see these guys that have worked on this for the past few years make sure to tell them, “Thanks!” and give them a big hug.
Just my two cents. Have a great day!
#90 I suppose that if you look at it that way it makes a tiny itsy bitsy eenie weenie little bit of sense. Just as an apple is a better apple than an orange is an apple etc… BUT if you are comparing quality of the finished product in relation to others, then the 3rd season is a shoddy version of a once fine brand. As a TV show compared to other TV shows regardless of the genre, the 3rd season overall is tough to watch. Star Trek is a product, and the 3rd season did not have very good quality control.
“The new shots of the Enterprise being surrounded by two Klingon D-7 cruisers, emblazoned with the Romulan Star Empire insignia, and a Romulan Bird of Prey, are better in conception than execution”..
I don’t agree with this at all.
THESE remastering of these episodes make these things watchable to me. As a 25 year old, I’ve grown up in the “movies era” and watched TOS episodes more for history and all knowledge of the Star Trek Universe, but was almost laughable at the effects.
Some of you old schoolers may not be for the change, but let me tell you, speaking from the younger Gen..
This is the best thing they could have done.
Could the graphics be better? Sure.
but the same could be said for all TV shows now-adays.. with the exception of BSG. That thing is in a league of it’s own.
I kind of liked the scene where it went to warp away from the ships. I wonder if they got that effect from James Cawley. In 2 of the episodes of STP2/NV you see the Enterprise warp away from planets or space stations it is stationary on the screen while the planet or space station quickly gets smaller showing that they are going fast. Where originally it warp didn’t look much different than Impulse except for the scenes where they had it zoom at the screen. I also noticed many times in the warp scenes where the stars are moving past them really fast. It is not the streaking stars like in later spin-offs but it is close enough.
#68 Again, these ships (at times) are moving TOO fast for my taste. When the Enterprise warps out past the Romulan ship, it’s just happens much too quickly. It looses all sense of mass and size when they do this. I mentioned TWOK before as a great example of how these ships should behave. I cannot get enough of that battle sequence and the sense of scale that is portrayed. And, as another poster here mentioned, the Romulan ship appears to be moving up and out of the way of the Enterprise - something looks off here. I did think the inclusion of the Bird of Prey ship was a nice touch and the graphics on the bottom of the Kinglon ships (oops -Romulan) where very creative.
Best special effect sequence in ST history…and it’s done with models:
Yes in some of the scenes you were right. They might have done a little better if they had the time and the funds to do so.
True that scene in the wrath of Khan was done with models. But don’t forget TOS was done in the late 60’s while TWOK was in the early 80’s. Technology and funding had progressed in that span of time. A lot of movies today are done with CG. Nobody seems to complain about them.
This was the first episode of TOS I ever saw at age 6 (WPIX in NYC baby!) and I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for it ever since, despite some obvious flaws.
I thought Mark’s review was on point, particularly when it comes to the FX. Some stuff is great(the new matte paintings and the accompanying rotoscoping), but the space shots continue to be uneven; brilliant at times, and then very obviously CG in others.
Don’t you put real FX videos on trekmovie.com anymore? (Ceterum censeo …) Again, there is no SFX Video but only a blurred streaming.
Best,
Jim Profit
(which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series)
I know it’s been said before by Xai and some others, but I couldn’t read the review beyond that - as a person who enjoys all trek, but with DS9 as my favourite, it seemed like a unnecessary attack.
Fred Frieberger also produced the first season of Superboy. It was just god-awful. The show improved considerably in seasons 2-4 after he was gone.
“which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series”
I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement. I am 27 years old and therefore grew up on TNG, DS9, Voyager, and ENT.
I have no fond childhood bond to the original series and I have yet to see some episodes because frankly it looks bad, the acting is terrible, there is poor consistency in the first season, and they were so cheap at times that the clever writing of “Romulans using Klingon design now” so they could use stock footage is embarassing.
The acting and the special effects on Enterprise is light years better than the original series. The writing of DS9 can do laps around TOS without even breaking a sweat and in the end future Treks knew how to tell a better story than TOS ever did. I think it is time to recognize the fact that the day of TOS is coming to an end. Sure it still important because it started it all but so did Episode 4 of Star Wars and it’s not that great either.
Fire at Will!
Pound for pound Ds9 is the best of all the Trek series and one top scif series of all time. by the way if anyones interested are two Trek Novels,The Price of the Phoenix and The Fate Of the Phoenix written by Myrna Culbreath and Sondra Marshak which deal with the Romulan Commander, they are kind of follow up stories to The Enterprise Incident and they are quite good books. im not sure if they are still in print though.
Here we go with the ” my Trek is better than yours” stuff. You are all wrong. My Trek(s) are better than yours. I will not tell you which ones they are. All that matters is that I am right.
” Episode 4 of Star Wars … it’s not that great either.”
There went your credibility.
And for the previous poster, VCR stands for “Very Cranky Response”.
Ugh. Why did this thread have to turn into “My Trek is better than your Trek”? So tedious, so juvenile. Thanks a lot, Mr. Altman!
#102—You are entitled to that opinion, but IMO, none of the other series even came close to the rich characters in TOS. As far as the writing, I cannot think of a single episode of TNG (beyond “Yesterday’s Enterprise”) that would make it into my top 50 ST episodes list. DS9 did quite a bit better (and IMO, comes closest in character depth), but the writing was certainly incapable of topping the likes of “City On The Edge Of Forever”, “Journey To Babel”, and others. Perhaps the most beloved episode of DS9 is a revisit to TOS, of all things.
The TOS-era successfully transitioned to the big screen, with 4 of its 6 feature films being able to stand the test of time. The TNG movies are terrible. Even First Contact (the best of them) could have easily been a straight to dvd release.
The fact that you even include special effects as a template for comparison is laughable. Of course the effects are better in TNG-era Trek. Is the imagination of those in your age group really so lacking? I hope not, for your sake. Can you even enjoy a novel? How do you even get through it without state-of-the-art special effects to help you along?
24th Century Trek was bland, too sterile, way too formulaic, and not nearly as “cutting edge” as the story telling in TOS. What new ground was broken in TNG-era Trek?
The day of TOS coming to an end? Not even close. I seriously doubt that decades from now, A-list Hollywood names like JJ Abrams will be recasting the crew of DS9, TNG, VOY, or ENT. Don’t get me wrong, DS9 had its strong moments, and ENT is, IMO, very underrated, but there are no “iconic characters” in the spinoffs. There is no James T. Kirk, no Spock, no Dr. McCoy, and no Scotty. The characters in the spinoffs do not even come close! Why do you think that the revival of the Star Trek franchise is centered around a return to 23rd Century Trek in a feature film with an enormous budget? The end? I don’t think so…The human adventure is just beginning…
Enough!
Here’s the final proof why TOS is and will always be the superior show:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1×07hd/whatarelittlegirlsmadeofhd471.jpg
spot on review. I did like the addition of weapons firing in the ending chase..
enough of this “My Trek is better than your Trek” crap !! !!
DID THIS EPISODE AIR AT ALL IN NEW YORK CITY ?!?!??!??!
I enjoyed the FX on this episode. The D-7 looked much better than last weeks episode. Loved the Romulan bird of prey painted on the bottom and an original warbird. That was a cool touch. The cloaking sequence was well done as well as the Romulan shooting into empty space.
I seem to contradict everyone here but I very much enjoyed the new FX. Also, I noticed this on the Elaan of Troius. Has the transporters alway painted in Pastels?
“Here we go with the ” my Trek is better than yours” stuff. You are all wrong. My Trek(s) are better than yours. I will not tell you which ones they are. All that matters is that I am right.”
Well, if this thread does indeed degenerate into a free-for-all about the merits of the various Trek series, you can thank Mr. Altman, who couldn’t resist leading off in the space given to him to review this episode with a completely irrelevant, inflammatory remark. (On the plus side, he finally did manage to refrain from dragging in how George Lucas had raped his childhood, so I guess that’s something.)
“Irony” wouldn’t begin to cover his castigating CBS-D for their supposed lack of professionalism.
Altman is right Poopey is right the Lord is right
Nuff said
96.
Younger fans like you probably like the new effects because they remind you of the video games you have played since you were an infant. These new effects remind me of video games. I prefer mass, detail and realistic movements. CBS - Digital rarely delivered. Too much hokey-looking stuff.
#11.. Commander Keen… You Are Not Alone. I think the effects were awesome and fit well, keepoing in mind the idea was to update the effects of a TV show, not a movie. I enjoyed this and most of the other efforts.
However, most, if not all, of the other posters who complain here are 100 percent, bona-fide, dyed in the wool professionals who surpass the CBS efforts each day before breakfast., with no time or budgetary limitations. Those that enjoy them are usually of the common rabble who, like the majority of the population, could not do better themselves, and think they look great.
I think the effects in this episdoe rocked.
#102 - To quote Zoe in Serenity, “I don’t disagree on any particular point.” And I am kind of surprised that I am saying that. |:>|
I have more tolerance and appreciation for TOS, but you make good points. Even about Enterprise: the acting and effects were very good, as was the set design; it was just everything else that was bad…
Maybe the new movie can take the best of all these elements and remake TOS into something better.
Did I just say remake? >:>0
Shatner is not in the new movie.
That ought to change this thread.
#115—”I think the effects were awesome and fit well, (keeping) in mind the idea was to update the effects of a TV show, not a movie. I enjoyed this and most of the other efforts.”
Absolutely. I agree 100%.
This episode has always rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t care why or how they justify that the Romulan’s are using Klingon designs. Everything we know about it indicates it was a decision made solely out of budgetary concerns and Freiburger’s desire to use his snappy new model.
So why not correct the mistake? A quick check on Memory Alpha indicates that any kind of Romulan/Klingon alliance is specious at best, revolving squarely around this one episode. It is only briefly mentioned again a couple of times in later spinoffs in the most vague and oblique fashion. Further, if it ever happened, the dates are conflicting and nevertheless brief.
All they had to do is cut from Scotty’s shocked expression to the screen just before Kirk orders red-alert, omitting the whole Scotty/Spock confusion/lame explanation which continues to confuse die-hard fans and casual viewers alike. A 10 second snip that would fix one of the biggest production gaffs in the franchise. Then all the ships could be Romulan designs. The decision to do this in the first place was to utilize the new model as much as possible. The problem now of course is that the model has retro-actively been inserted quite visibly in earlier episodes, so the need to showcase it as much as possible in the 3rd season is now moot.
#102 “Tim”
This Guy should be banned from this site. What a Rat. bye bye “Tim” Don’t let the door hit you in Arse.
#115
Count me among the rabble. I think the effects are fine.
#120 “Tim”
Is he sure he’s 27? Considering the bulls*** he writes about TOS, perhaps he’s more like, say 7. Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult the 7 years old kids.
102. Tim - : ” I think it is time to recognize the fact that the day of TOS is coming to an end”
Really?! Someone had better tell CBS. Paramount and J.J. and Bad Robot productions.
102
Heresy! I say thee NAY!
I am continually amazed by how contentious and small minded so many Trek fans on this site are. A number of people claimed that they couldn’t even read the review because they were so outraged by the author’s opeing line. Good God, people, you must have your panties in a wad 90% of the time. The reviewer was giving his opinion of the episode, season and franchise in general. As it was opinion, there is basically no point in arguing with it; you either agree or you don’t. There’s even less point in getting upset about it. His statement about season 3 being better than the subsequent trek spinoffs is a completely subjective assesment and THEREFORE completely unprovable, just like anybody else’s opinion that their Star Trek show is the best. And to suggest that Anthony should start banning people for expressing their opinion like the poster at #120 did… I’m sorry, is this still America? Is there no room for a dissenting view anymore? Should the world be some vast echo chamber where everything you hear only confirms that which you already knew? I’ve read all of the posts here, agreed with some, disagreed with others without once feeling the urge to ban anybody, or boycott anything. I guess I’m just weird that way.
Ah, Mark. Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark.
I was looking forward to the first piece of writing of yours I’ve seen in a while. Every once in a while, between the petty snipes and the constant demonstrations of your own poor taste, you say something entirely insightful, and, beneath the sheafs of epic fail, uncovering that diamond of intelligence can be quite exciting.
And then I read your first sentence–your very first sentence, Mark!–and thought, “Why bother?”
See ya’ll next week, folks.
God i wish I hadn’t continued the free for all with my opinion regarding DS9. its about the episode The Enterprise Incident. as clunky and as many holes as this 3rd season episode has, it does have some good moments no question, adding the Romulan ship nice touch. The acting was good and the most memorable scene was at the end when Spock and the Commander were having their little heart to heart discussion in the Turbo lift The most memorable character in that episode was the Romulan Commander,hands down.
The biggest problem is that the topic starts on one thing and quickly avalanches into another musical rendition of the Cannon Follies. We all love trek but not all of us love it the same way and that a part of the problem. On the other hand these free for alls are good way to blow off the steam, at each other.
#102 isn’t Tim, It’s TIM, TIM, TIM, TIMMY!!!! Obviously, because the guy doesn’t realize he wouldn’t have the spin-offs without the original series. Sheesh…
#66
They DID change the shot. Kirk orders ‘proximity phasers’ which is clearly different than regular phasers. Those purple bolts aren’t photon torpedo shots.
#99
Video works fine for me. Maybe your computer has an issue with flash?
#78, 85, 90, et al
I think there are qualities to admire in all the shows (aside from ENT - I’ve given it every opportunity, even rewatching the series in reruns, and it still disappoints me on every level). There are stories that each show dealt with that might not have worked in the context of the other shows.
For example, as wonderful as TOS is, they never have had an episode like TNG’s ‘The Inner Light’ or DS9’s ‘The Visitor’ - two of the most powerful hours of Trek ever committed to the screen. I think subsequent series never truly recaptured the sense of danger and discovery in TOS episodes like ‘Devil in the Dark’ or ‘Balance of Terror’. DS9 tackled religion head-on in a way no other Trek ever did, and Voyager had some true mind benders like ‘Year of Hell’ and ‘Timeless’.
So I think TOS deserves credit for being the first, but I think every show can be commended for expanding and enhancing the original mission and going where some never thought to go before.
Mark Altman!! One of my favorite reviewers. Where have you been? As usual, I agree with his review. I understand the contraints they’re under for these FX shots, but I can’t help thinking how much better they could be with the proper time.
Re: Mark A. Altman
“As for Enterprise Incident 2.0, like virtually all recent episodes of the remastered project it’s a mixed bag. Lacking any matte shots, which have all been superlatively realized from day one, the starship visuals are problematic. Stock flybys are adequate including an effective boom down on the primary hull, but lack the metallic sheen of the original miniatures. The new shots of the Enterprise being surrounded by two Klingon D-7 cruisers, emblazoned with the Romulan Star Empire insignia, and a Romulan Bird of Prey, are better in conception than execution. The Enterprise looks particularly badly rendered and fake, when surrounded by the troika of three ships, and the D-7’s don’t come close to looking as good as the K’t’inga Klingon miniatures in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That said, for the most part the scenes are all well storyboarded and shot, often following the original composition, despite only appearing marginally credible. The actual cloaking of the Enterprise is handled adeptly although the overall visual effects for the episode remain maddeningly inconsistent. With only a few episodes remaining, I continue to be frustrated by the many missed opportunities and often sloppy rendering being performed on these episodes which are likely to supplant the original versions in both syndication and on DVD. ”
So very true (and so very pathetic for CBS). Even my longtime love for this episode could not make me tolerate the video-gamey ships, bizarre ship movements and the overall rush-job feel of the Remastered project’s FX work.
I have a sneaking suspicion CBS will rob the willing with Remastered for at least another year or so, before they “suddenly” respect the orignal versions, and (gasp) release TOS-R…with original FX back in place.
I’ll wait and see, because nothing will motivate me into wasting money on inferior work at a time when FX now several years old puts TOS-R’s to absolute shame.
I thought the new shots were good except for the turn where it appears that Mr. Sulu hit a patch of black ice and put the big E. into a skid! You would think with all of space they could take a little room to make a turn! It looked like the ship went over on it’s side the way a speed boat would bank in water.
# 130 The Inner Light, The Visitor and all of those episode that you list I agree with you. But don’t forget Yesterday’s Enterprise and Relics with Scotty. and Unification parts 1 and 2.. Your correct about TOS, Without it there would be little if any science fiction to watch and probably certain technologies that we take for granted might not have come about if certain engineers and scientists growing up with trek had not been inspired by it.
#132—-Whether you are watching the original effects or the remastered ones, you are still watching TOS, with its wonderful characters and stories, its social commentary and vision for the future. Star Trek has never stood on its f/x. It was much stronger than that. The effects are just window dressing. I’m not going to spend more money on purchasing these again either, but I am enjoying occasionally seeing something a little different, such as the added BOP in this episode. I disagree with anyone who thinks that the attempts at adding a bit of new flavor to the special effects have hurt anything at all. The Okudas and the remastering team may not win an emmy, but it is giving us something different to talk about. However, in the end, it is still the same episode—IMO, the best of the much handicapped 3rd season.
You want me banned Derek? What happened to freedom of speech or the rights of one person to have an opinion?!
If you hadn’t all gone balistic on me that you would have read the comment in the context it was originally intended and that was that the day of the originally produced episodes being the most celebrated element of Star Trek coming to an end. I am all for the new movie. I can’t wait even and I am counting down the days. It drives me nuts though that people get so angry as to threatening, insulting, and suggesting I be banned just because I have a differing opinion of something. I do in fact read the novels. I love them. My imagination is grand enough to envision a universe beyond whatever produced episodes have existed previously.
My comments were about moving beyond, about the ideas growing, and changing and evolving. The ideals of an American 1960s culture have changed so radically. If the original Enterprise was such a bastion of ideals where are the gay characters? Where are the Middle Eastern? Just because something was one day one way does not mean it has to be inherited onward for all time. Just because the sets were built the way they were in the 60s does that mean thats the only way it should be done? No clearly not.
Ban me if you wish.
You are not banned Tim, but you’re views are not right. As I’ve said before - Only my views of Trek are correct. I will not share these views with anyone, but rest assured I am the only one that is correct.
Originals still look TONS better.
CBS-D, you are messing with a classic with really inconsistent and poor work.
#134—I like “Yesterday’s Enterprise” also. That is just great writing. I wish that it had not been wasted on my least favorite Trek characters, but it is worthy of praise nonetheless.
“Relics” and “Unification pt. I, II”, on the other hand, are (IMO) only fun at all because they involve original characters.
#136—None of the posters have the right to ban you (that is not our perogative), and you are, as I said in post# 107, entitled to your opinion. However, you should not be surprised at the reaction of other posters, considering this is a thread dedicated to a TOS episode! Your comments about DS9( writing doing circles around TOS (nevermind that TOS won an Emmy), were bound to incite an unpleasant response…how could you be so shocked?
Oh, and if that is the context you wished your comments to be taken, you might want to be a bit more clear and even elaborative…As for me, I like all Trek fans (even TNGers)…That doesn’t mean I won’t voice my disagreements.
TOS never won an Emmy.
Decloaking . . .
Unlike my friend CmdrR @ #21 I’m not going to ignore the flaming comment of:
“the third season of Star Trek was a relative disaster (which still makes it light years better than most subsequent Trek series)”.
I have to sincerely object to that comment, which makes me dismissive of the review as a whole and the opinions of the reviewer.
With respect Anthony, it seems to me that some youngsters here have gotten flame warnings from you for less.
To let a paid submission or TrekMovis.com staff member get a free pass with an opening flamethrower like that — damages your credibility — with all due respect, Sir.
Recloaking.
Decloaking again . . .
140. Krik Semaj
“TOS never won an Emmy.”
That is incorrect. TOS won an Emmy for Best Visual Effects for The Tholian Web.
Recloaking.
I promise to stop griping about CBS -D if someone can please answer this question:
1) Why not preserve the angles and composition of the original shots as seen in the originals and enhance the VFX from there as originally seen?
Decloaking . . .briefly.
139. Mr. Poopey face(formerly known as Closettrekker)
Semper Fi my brother.
You are an anti-TNG.
How fascinating, being an All-Trek lover myself, I’d like to hear you expand your views on the topic sometime.
Recloaking.
Decloaking . . . one last time.
143. dan
I don’t like speaking for other people, especially those I have never met or interviewed, but my assumption is that they wanted to add variety to the shots. So many TOS shots were stock endless repeated. Also, today we can do moving camera shots that were not available in the 1960’s. Such as those seen here as the big E is surrounded.
The list goes on, but in general I agree with you and others that some origional shots looked better and many opportunites were missed.
IMO, the entire remastered experience was worth what they did for “The Doomsday Machine” alone. That was mindblowing.
Recloaking for today.
Was I the only person who thought that the Romulan flagship should have been the BoP since its, you know, Romulan and all. Or would that have changed the plot too much for the purists? The lines about them being Klingon ships would have stayed the same, its just that all the action would have taken place on the BoP.
142.
You are correct. However it was not for the story or writing. As a previous post alluded to.
Great review, Mark.
I can’t help it–
This CBS-D space stuff continues to be SOOOO boring and borderline amatuerish.
What the hell??? AAARRRGGHH!!!!
I never saw TEI before and it was pretty good for a first timer. I’m not one to criticize the story and writing as I am an FX guy. I’ll leave the story critiquing to other people.
At least it’s not as bad as last week’s attempt.
http://trekmovie.com/2006/09/08/more-images-from-edenfx/
#142—Was it just a nomination for “City On The Edge Of Forever”, then? If so, I stand corrected (on the example, not the opinion of better writing on several episodes).
130:”For example, as wonderful as TOS is, they never have had an episode like TNG’s ‘The Inner Light’ or DS9’s ‘The Visitor’ - two of the most powerful hours of Trek ever committed to the screen.”
Sorry Sean, I have to disagree here. TOS did that type of story (where much happens with our players and they become emotionally involved in a whole other existance, only to find out that only a few minutes in real time has passed) first with City on the Edge of Forever.
136 “If the original Enterprise was such a bastion of ideals where are the gay characters? Where are the Middle Eastern? ”
You see Tim, the beauty of TOS is the fact that these types WERE there…they just never felt the need to put a sign on them. Why? Because my young friend, in the 23rd century..TOS style, being gay or middle eastern or black or a woman is irrelevant. Your a starfleet officer and you’re there because you are best for the job. The silent statements are often the strongest.
Decloaking . . . just for the Veteran.
150 Poopeycloset et al.
I think you’re thinking of the HUGO award “City” won and maybe a Nebula or Saturn (not sure).
Recloaking . . . really.
hey… just wondering.
Has anyone in the New York city market (WWOR/My9) seen this episode ?
Was it pre-empted, or rescheduled ?
If it was completely pre-empted, then this is the first Remastered episode not to have aired in New York City, either WNBC-TV or WWOR-TV.
#141—Personally, I don’t find it difficult at all to disagree with part of a man’s opinion and agree with another part of it. I can see where many TNG-era fans would disagree with his opening line, but why does that make him less qualified to review an episode of TOS? It is no secret that Mark is a TOS fan…but he is reviewing a TOS episode, so what is relevant about his opinion of other Treks toward that purpose?
#144—Semper Fi to you as well. I just never fell in love with the characters. They began boring me at Farpoint, and I lost interest soon after. I watched them all in syndication, and what can I say? It just didn’t do anything for me. It was too sterile, and perhaps too indicative of the politically correct era in which it was produced. TNG just wasn’t “sexy” to me. I have been longing for a return to the 23rd Century glory days of Star Trek for some time.
It wasn’t until DS9 that there was actually a 24th Century Star Trek series I appreciated. Watching VOY was, to me, like hearing fingernails across a chalkboard. I am in the ENT fan minority, though. It was just rough enough around the edges for me, I guess. I especially like the last season and a half (excluding the “finale”, of course). But even though I like DS9 and ENT, the characters will never be the icons that Jim Kirk, Bones, and Spock are 40 years later.
#147—Apparently, it was a Hugo award for best dramatic presentation I was thinking of. Ellison’s original also won a WGOA award. Anyway, my point made in the post to Tim is unaffected. TOS had much better writing in many episodes than he originally implied. DS9 was a good series, but IMO, was far from running circles around TOS.
140-
TOS won for FX of the Tholian Webb and the animated series won for best Childrens series. Also, TOS was nominated for best drama a few times and Nimoy even got nominated for best supporting actor a few times. It also scored some nods for art direction and other behind the scenes stuff. And it was only on the air three years.
So yeah, it not only won but also got nods in the big boy categories as well as the technical nominations.
Not too shabby.
When I read Altman say that TOS’s third season was “light years better than most subsequent Trek series,” after saying that it was a relative disaster, I quit reading the review. There’s no need in being silly like that, espeically on a “Star Trek” site, when most of TNG, most of DS9, some of Voyager, and the last two seasons of Enterprise were totally kick-ass.
(After I wrote the above statement, I went back and glanced through all the comments and saw that many people agreed with me. Glad to hear that there are intelligent people out there.)
If there are people alive who think Enterprise had the best acting of the franchise then truly anything is possible…:) Truly there is a Trek out there for everyone!
#153—Yes, that is correct. I looked it up awhile ago, as I wasn’t sure myself. I actually posted my finding earlier just so people wouldn’t think that Leathernecks, like me, were lazy. Thanks for decloaking, though. I am honored.
Season 3 of TOS is maybe on-par with Voyager Season 6.
I too was going to complain about the inconsistency… but ah… whatever. It’s not worth it. A lot of it was good, some of it was bad, some of it was great. The remastering effort wasn’t really about pleasing me or anyone else anyway.
As for the review, what’s this dude smoking? Has he actually seen TOS? It’s um… it’s crap, with few exceptions. I love it anyways, but really, I don’t see how anyone with objectivity can claim otherwise. Many of the episodes are unwatchable by those who aren’t super hard core fans, which is not a sign of quality. It was pioneering for it’s day certainly, but watching all these “remastered” episodes has been enough for me to conclude that trek is more about the ideas and philosophies that fans cherry pick from it than anything else. It’s like saying that the Knight Rider was a masterpiece (hint: it wasn’t)… you lose all credibility when you say something like that.
161 “As for the review, what’s this dude smoking? Has he actually seen TOS? It’s um… it’s crap, with few exceptions. I love it anyways, but really, I don’t see how anyone with objectivity can claim otherwise.”
Gotta love the backhanded “compliments”. Why don’t you just admit you don’t like TOS? The TOS police aren’t going to fine you.
While I wouldn’t agree with you, I could at least respect your sincerity!
162 - I do love TOS, that is, the five or six episodes that are good. The rest, as I said, are crap. There are moments of brilliance and ages of mediocrity, and as I said, it’s not really about the shows themselves, but about their ideas.
#130 sean
My computer doesn’t have an issue with flash. But the person in front of my computer does. When trekmovie.com started it’s valuable work, they provided downloadable videos. For a couple of weeks or months, there are no more videos that deserve the name “video”, but only blurring streamings. So every week I ask if the downloadables come back.
Best,
Jim Profit
I, being 27, do come from another generation, and another school of thinking. While yes, Star Trek is about the stories and the ideas, the special effects are just as valid an element to Star Trek as anything else.
I am one of the ones who think that they should have gone all out for the effects. I’m not one that thinks the style of the effects verses the style of the live action are apples and oranges; hence why they are called “SPECIAL” effects. The special effects were shot differently than the live action to begin with, which is why they had to redo the effects in the first place. The new sepcial effects don’t detract me from the show, the special effects detract me from themselves.
Maybe, one day, we will see EdenFX or ILM get a hold of these, and we will get something mind-blowing.
And come on people, learn to distinguish fact from opinion.
#143
Because then we’d only be seeing the same 13 shots over and over again. Take a look at the original screen shots above that are repetitive…and that’s in one episode.
The joy of the remastering project (to me at least) has been the addition of so many wonderful new angles/shots. The series has a renewed sense of life to it that it hasn’t had since it broke the ground it did back in the 60’s. And think of the new ships we’ve seen that were always conveniently off camera before. The CBS-D team and the Okuda’s have a nice job of re-rendering the classic shots while building on the “body of work” to keep things exciting and surprising.
And for those that prefer the originals to the revised, enjoy those VCR episodes while you can still get parts. C’mon…crayons and cartoony? As compared to ColorForm cut outs and cheap plastic? Bring on the crayolas for me!!
Hats off to TOS-R!!
Contrary to some of the above reports, the Original Series never won an Emmy. Do a search at http://www.emmys.tv/awards/awardsearch.php if you want to verify this. As stated previously, there were a variety of nominations, however.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Remastered episode, only finding the direct distant frontal view of the Big E, when surrounded by ships, a bit cheesy although the other ships looked fine. I thought the cloaking effect was particularly interesting and applaud the Okudas’ decision to have an old-style Romulan ship present and have the Klingon designs show Romulan graphics, in keeping with Stiles’ statement in Balance of Terror. They also were wise in showing the Romulan ship firing torpedoes and disruptors, although I would think that disruptors are just as useless as phasers when traveling *faster than light* but Star Trek always suffered from pretty bad physics.
#166: Because then we’d only be seeing the same 13 shots over and over again. Take a look at the original screen shots above that are repetitive…and that’s in one episode…And for those that prefer the originals to the revised, enjoy those VCR episodes while you can still get parts. C’mon…crayons and cartoony? As compared to ColorForm cut outs and cheap plastic? Bring on the crayolas for me!!
You are right about that. And I know of a lot of people complaining about the “Earthlike Planets.” I say “Get With IT.” How many “Earthlike Planets” did we see in TNG and beyond. More than I can count. And nobody complained. So why are they all of a sudden complaining about them in here?
Another thing I like about it is that the planets and ships look more realistic. Maybe a little cartoony but I can live with that. It is better than what we saw originally.
Only one thing I would have done differently at least in the episode “Space Seed.” At the end, I would have shown the Enterprise actually Approaching Ceti Alpha V. They didn’t do that and I was a little dissappointed there, but other than that it was good. Overall I say the remastering was good. Not Perfect but a big improvement. wouldn’t you?
#168 Most of The planets all looking earth like should not even be an Issue, It is possible for earth like planets evolve elsewhere.
DA-DA-DA-DUM! DA-DA-DA-DUM!
I wouldnt say it was beneath Mark Altman to throw a dig at the sequel series in his review, he often does that, In fact it is clear in the movie Free Enterprise his disdain for it “I f-in hate the next generation, only classic…” I dont particularly object to these pointed barbs because they are so consistently there in his work. I am just surprised he didnt work in a comparison between Kirk and Kennedy or Kirk and Clinton as he usually does. Although I’ll wager the line in the review about persons in high positions of authority getting caught off guard due to sexual situations is probably referencing Clinton/Kennedy so short of calling Kirk a “mack daddy” this review is true to form, and part of what makes Mr. Altman’s posts so charming.
A planet not earth like in appearance may not be habitable, coloration may indicate what type of gases compose the planets atmosphere. in some case blue might indicate a metheyne atmosphere which would be breathable. But if solar systems formed under the same or similar conditions to ours then there is a reasonable chance that an earth like planet with blue oceans could evolve and may well be more then common then we think, but without any actual proof this is only a theory.
# 168 Absolutely! And we probably all have a “wish list” of shots they didn’t do. Someone on this thread had a good one…the flyby at the end could have been the E “de-cloaking” as it got back into Federation space. I would have like at close-up of the dead Excalibur in The Ultimate Computer.
But overall…as you said…CBS-D has done a good job. Yep, it could’ve been great with some more time and money.
I still stand by my statement in #47, but I am not making this a Trek vs. Trek arguement. I like all Trek.
My complaint is that the reviewer is making a derogatory blanket statement regarding series’ that many people like and do represent quality Trek as much as TOS.
The statement had nothing to do with the episode, and not was it needed in it. In fact, it was needlessly inflamatory
Others have said that if a poster had made a similar statement in the threads, they may have been given a warning… and I agree. Someone mentioned a freedom of speech issue. No offense to Anthony at all, but you can’t say some things in here. There are rules, just like other places in society. It’s understood by most.
I feel now like I can watch the episodes and enjoy all of it, not “pretend” that the effects are realistic. They really are now.
#151
I love COTEOF, but it’s a completely different animal. Like most TOS stories, it is completely self-contained and never referenced again, either through dialogue or long-lasting effects on the characters. Which is okay, that’s part of what I enjoy about TOS - you needed no previous knowledge when coming into a given episode. There was a sort of ’soft’ continuity going on, of course - the characters were the same week to week, same ship, etc., but most story elements had no real reprecussions (for example, Uhura’s mind wipe in ‘The Changeling’). That famous ‘reset button’ was in full use.
In the case of Picard’s experience in ‘The Inner Light’, there are at least references to the event after the fact in various episodes. Plus, Picard conciously lives out another man’s life for what, 60 years? In a constant struggle to forget who he really is, only to be ripped out of it all and find out it was all a computer-generated fantasy…his wife, his children, the loss of his best friend, it’s all gone in an instant. Of course, if the same thing had happened on DS9, they likely would have dealt with the fallout from that experience in even greater detail than TNG, in yet another example of the different ways the various shows differed in their approach to telling a story.
I feel for Kirk’s loss in COTEOF, but it’s just completely different. Mind you, it’s one of my absolute favorites. I do wish it had been left as it was originally written by Ellison, as it was a beautiful story. Many people argue that Kirk’s indecision in the original screenplay was completely out of character, but I think it would have been an interesting crack in Kirk’s armor. As it stands, the filmed version with Kirk holding McCoy back is still powerful. In fact, something that always bothered me about ‘Requiem For Methuselah’ was that Spock had to use that ‘forget’ trick on Kirk because of how he felt for Rayna, yet in comparison to Edith she’s just another damsel-of-the-week.
I’m not saying either one is better than the other, just that they’re entirely different levels of storytelling. Something like ‘The Inner Light’ might not have worked as well on TOS whereas, as I said, there were TOS episodes that would not have worked on TNG. All the shows had different styles, and I can admire the strengths of them all.
Of course, both COTEOF and The Inner Light had the rare TV honor of winning the Hugo. So they both are something to be proud of.
Re: 135. Mr. Poopey face(formerly known as Closettrekker) - April 8, 2008
“#132—-Whether you are watching the original effects or the remastered ones, you are still watching TOS, with its wonderful characters and stories, its social commentary and vision for the future. Star Trek has never stood on its f/x. It was much stronger than that. The effects are just window dressing.”
Incorrect. Roddenberry and his team wanted to sell a realistic vision of the future with creatively executed FX, otherwise, they would settled on the pie-tins on a string method used by Ed Wood. FX are a part of the sales job of sci-fi, and audiences found the design of the 1701 (and other TOS ships) believable and striking as FX elements. It took all parts to make TOS what it would become.
“I’m not going to spend more money on purchasing these again either, but I am enjoying occasionally seeing something a little different, such as the added BOP in this episode. I disagree with anyone who thinks that the attempts at adding a bit of new flavor to the special effects have hurt anything at all. The Okudas and the remastering team may not win an emmy, but it is giving us something different to talk about. However, in the end, it is still the same episode—IMO, the best of the much handicapped 3rd season.”
The Okudas/CBS should have just worried about matching the quality of FX that has become a standard BEFORE the Remastered project got the green light. There’s no excuse (in this day and age) to produce the kind of cheap, video-gamey FX reserved for the extreme low end of the Sci-Fi Channel’s “beast of the week” films and lowbrow sci-fi fare.
This is a production of the mighty, well-monied CBS, dealing with one of the most successful properties in the colltive history of fiction (filmed or otherwise), so how on earth could CBS/the Okudas feel anything they produced was worth releasing?
I wouldn’t go quite that far, COMPASSIONATE GOD–the new background matte shots have been uniformly sublime. Unfortunately, the name of the series isn’t “Matte Trek”, and once again the F/X this week were a disa