In the new issue of Star Trek Magazine, Trek Remastered Producer Dave Rossi wants to get some stuff off his chest. In article written by Rossi about how the project to enhance the Original Series came to be, the Producer makes it clear that they are listening…but not always agreeing with the reactions to Trek Remastered. Rossi fires back at the critics:
We’ve already been bad-mouthed and cursed and burned in effigy by a handful of people, including some friends and colleagues, who know better than most what we’re up against from a production standpoint, yet have firmly placed their fanboy hats on to criticize the work. Sitting in their armchairs they have the luxury to do that.
Tell us how you really feel Dave…
To be fair the article was written months ago and before the big changes in the show changed the mood around this site and others. And Dave did acknowledge that he actually agrees with the some of the critiques of the time.
Some comments we read we agree with. It’s merely a matter of having the time to address them, which will come. Others are just a result of people having different ideas about the ‘right’ way to do some of these shots, while still others come from not understanding the parameters we need to operate in.
A call to action
Rossi also reacts to the issue of the show not always having the best timeslot. He wants to marshal Trek fandom into action
If you want to help us out, here’s what you can do: call your local affiliate station and tell them you want Star Trek to air at a decent time. In many markets it is on at ungodly hours. The advent of Tivo has dulled the public’s need to make those kinds of calls, but it would be great if people organized like the old fans used to. (The old ones…the ones who made us. Yes it is still in my memory banks…but I digress). It would send a clear message that Star Trek is still vital.
Although TrekMovie.com doesn’t always go in for the whole ‘petition thing’, this is something we fully support. Trek Remastered is shown at the most absurd times in some markets (like 3:30am Monday in NYC). So pick up the phone and call your local affiliate and tell them you want Trek at a decent hour. Tell them that WWME in Chicago (the nations 3rd largest market) shows Trek in the middle of the afternoon and has increased their ratings 10 fold for the timeslot. Tell them you want your Trek TV!
Down here in New Orleans Star Trek does not air until 1AM on Sunday. The time slot needs a change. I agree.
I’ve already written WNBC in New York about the ungodly hour they air Star Trek… Mondays at 2:35AM or 2:45AM or 3:00AM or whenever.
Many of the casual or even non-Star Trek viewers that I have mentioned the Re-mastered Project to have been very interested in seeing it. However, when they learn of the time slot or the changes due to Sunday Night Football they end up not watching or missing it.
I have no doubt were WNBC to air the show at a reasonable hour their ratings for that time would increase.
Sad that NBC is still trying to kill Star Trek. ;)
I think CBS digital is doing a great job and have no complaints at all when it comes to Star Trek Remastered. Yes, with unlimited time and budget they could do more, but be realistic. It would be nice if it had a better time slot, but in my area, it is not too bad – 11:30 PM. The fact that it is airing at all is amazing since the original versions are readily accessible on cable and satellite, and most people who care have it on tape or dvd. I look forward to each episode as it is completed.
Yes Yes!!! In the New York Market, it’s never on at the same time (even tho the guide always says the same thing) so you can’t even rely on TV without blocking a 2 hour slot to record a 1 hour show.
So annoying!!!
re # 4. correction. ** Tivo… can’t rely on Tivo..
I’ve called,,,, and the got the Royal “thanks, but” response! back in September. In St. John’s, Newfoundland Canada, Star Trek Airs at either 3:35 am or sometimes 2:35 am Monday
It’s dosn’t look to much different than the origional when recorded on my 10 year old VCR.. LOL I’ll just have to wait for the DVD collection.
Thanks Trekmove.com for keeping me up to date….with TOS,, but what about Star Trek XI?
Seattle-area? 6:00PM Saturdays. No complaints. Besides, a DVD recorder (although, I presume that a cheap-o VCR would also work) takes care of any scheduling conflicts.
But, then again, what do I know? This “convention-going” Trek-fan (incl. a member of the local S.T.A.R. chapter in college in the late 70s, and attendee at the ’75 Equicon in L.A.) didn’t loathe the theme for “Enterprise”, mind (up to a point) the continuity issues, nor did “Voyager” (overall) suck, or TNG “rock”.
Guess that means that my opinion is toast, well, in places.
The remastered product looks great! Except for editing footage, I’m very pleased.
What’s the point in ST Magazine posting such an out-of-date interview?
I’m happy because My East TN TV in Knoxville shows TOSR (and used to show Enterprise) at 7pm on Saturday nights. I watch it “live” as often as I can. I couldn’t petition for a better timeslot.
Does he mean Daren D?
Dom – Magazines like the Star Trek Magazine, Starlog and other have something like a three month lead time due to layout of photos, articles and advertising. When they finalize the next issue for printing, most of the information in it will be at least a month old or longer which why generally other than upcoming release dates or birthday lists of the cast, there is no breaking news appearing in it.
The station in my area has it in a very good time spot.
Sundays at 7pm CST with last week’s episode repeated the following hour.
Good chance most viewers are at home and not out and about. Perfect way to top off one’s weekend!
-cs™
I think that magazine deadlines show us just how much the internet makes us an almost instantaneous society in today’s world. That news would have been NEW news 15-20 years ago…in today’s world, if it happened 3-4 days ago, it’s very old news.
I think they have addressed a lot of people’s concerns and are headed in the right direction with this project. No worries from me about it anymore, except for one minor thing…they MUST go back and fix those first episodes that were done with the other model that was smooth, poorly lit, and has those god awful……no, no, I won’t say it……lol
It will be a treat to see those episodes (especially Balance of Terror) changed into the high quality that is now starting to be put out by CBS Digital. Heck, #11, even Darren is warming up to what they are now doing.
I’m looking forward to 2007 and beyond Trek Remastered!!!!!
Oh, and Omaha here shows Trek at 7 p.m. central time on Saturday’s (new episode) and 9 p.m. Sunday’s (previous week’s re-run). YAY, Omaha!!!!
Sioux City, on the other hand, shows it now late Sunday night at midnight and 1 a.m. (first the new, then the previous week’s, unless they mess them up like they tend to do). Boo, Sioux City!!!!!
Here in Denver they have moved it from midnight to 10 pm.
A note to Rossi and his Zero Room™ Posse: BIG DAWG AP says to watch the flamin’ of the members here. We don’t kick it that way at this site, baybeeeeeeeeeeee.
Still, CBS-D is very very very mac in the pants. I’d also say that they are highly dick in a box, which is about the highest compliment that I am throwing around these days. And rarely have I combined the two.
VIVA REMASTERED TREK and VIVA TREKmovie.com!!
best!!
=h=
Hi Dave (12).
I know: I’ve worked in newspaper and magazine publishing. But to publish an interview saying certain things when you know they will be subject to possibly massive change is pretty stupid.
You wouldn’t publish an interview with someone who died in November which states the interviewee will be appearing in such and such a place in January.
>We’ve already been bad-mouthed and cursed and burned in effigy by a handful of people, including some friends and colleagues, who know better than most what we’re up against from a production standpoint, yet have firmly placed their fanboy hats on to criticize the work. Sitting in their armchairs they have the luxury to do that.
–We’ve already been bad-mouthed and cursed and burned in effigy by a handful of people, including some friends and colleagues, who know better than most what we’re up against from a production standpoint, yet have firmly placed their fanboy hats on to criticize the work. Sitting in their armchairs they have the luxury to do that.-
Well, for the most part…I have been supportive of the CBS digital team, but I have NOT been supportive of whoever decided it would be alright to rush this project out the door. I think it’s perfectly fair to be critical of a professional production that promised to make us drool ‘a lot’. The fact that the team was put out to pasture, while still trying to iron the bugs out, wasn’t something anyone would realistically have expected. Call me old fashioned, but you release a product when it is as good as you can get it. The suits dropped the ball and made their digital team look like a bunch of amateurs. It was really unfair to them, because they ended up taking all the blame. I applaud them for being able to turn the project around, but I still feel that it is perfectly reasonable for fans and colleagues alike to be critical of such an important project.
Essentially, don’t blame the fan boys for your hardship Dave…blame your bosses for rushing the whole thing.
I’ve already called my station to complain. I think I’ll give them another call. Star Trek Remastered deserves a better timeslot.
I agree with post 19 the suits really hung the digital team from the word go. They had no realistic chance of starting the project off on the right foot with such a rushed schedule. It is a credit to Rossi and his people that they turned the project around, and are willing to pick up the pieces from their rough start.
Actually in NYC the situation is much worse. It is listed at 3:30 AM, but in reality airs at 3! Making it hard to tape or Tivo. I missed it by alarm clock, too. for many weeks. And actually it starts around 2:57 making it an art to record properly. To make it worse it hasn’t aired at all for the past few weeks, but those were the scheduled repeats. I hope it returns soon. If it wasn’t for this website I wouldn’t have about any of this!! I’d pull my hair out if I had any left. (Insert Shatner toupee joke here)
Gee I wonder where Dave Rossi’s frustration comes from. Perhaps it’s three months of web rants dedicated to the nacelle caps not looking quite right.
Arghhh!!! Someone had to go and say the “n” word-LOL!!!
To the people who have Tivo and watch Trek Remasted on WNBC in the New York area what you have to do is set the Tivo to start recording 15 minutes before the show start time and stop recording 10 minutes after the end time. At times I’ve fast forwarded 20 to 25 minutes of the prior show before I get to Trek, but because of the buffer I gave it I’m able to watch the entire show. Of course it took a couple of weeks of trial and error before I got it just right. And I’ve been enjoying the show as much as if it was brand new. Now if only WNBC would move to the show to a better time slot.
My thoughts on the time slots were that the network affiliates didn’t get enough time to plan ahead. They were told no less than a month before it was ready to air. Trying find a time slot for it in that alotted time is difficult. They quickly scooped up the rights to air it b/c… well, let’s face it, it’s Star Trek and they wanted to air it. I think the networks are working to free up space to move it out of the wee hours of the morning- it just takes time. Here in Denver they moved it from midnight to ten and as time goes on (depending on how well it does there) it’ll probably be moved again.
13, 14, 24…. You tell ’em Jim.
I can only speak of KMEG, the CBS affiliate for Sioux City, IA. They have been a great Trek station over the years… until recently. Trek has migrated from a Saturday early evening to a Saturday 10:30 to 11:30 and then 2 am and now back to midnight from the advent of TNG to now with TOS:R. It’s frustrating to not know when to tune in.
On the subject of CBS-D’s response…. I don’t blame them. They got flamed here and I suspect other sites. The work is superb now, but they really didn’t deserve the continual critique day after day back then.
nacelle, nacelle, nacelle
O
I’m lucky, I get it twice a weekend:
7PM on Sat, 1AM on Sunday.
As for the quality: I think the remastered editions for the most part look amazing. Yes, yes, they had some bumps in the first couple of episodes they released, but since then the show has look beautiful in every way. And the 1701 CGI model is a middle finger to the naysayers that said the old TOS designs don’t look cool anymore.
Two words for the CBS Digital team: GREAT JOB!
Please keep it up. I for one am thoroughly enjoying the excellent work you’re doing and the fantastic feeling you’ve given me back of looking forward every week to a brand new episode of a wonderful series I can enjoy anew, thank to your efforts.
I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next!!!
Hitch 1969,
With all your talk about ‘mac in the pants’ it’s clear that is a really important aspect of your life. Is your penis really THAT small? Maybe give it a rest with all your ‘mac in the pants’ comments. There are plenty of BB’s out there that would love hear all about your fixation.
I am sure you kind find someone who will love you for who you are…and the size of your reproductive organ.
They are probably getting paid a lot of money to do this and shouldn’t take any comments to heart, although people have a right to say so. Many “fanboys” know enough to comment intelligently. In the long run, it’s unknown if this will be seen as a good thing. I appreciate their work, but special effects are not what attracted me to Star Trek. Should we be concerned about the pioneering SFX artists whose work is being replaced? Today, the SFX artists are sitting in their chairs, not hauling oven-heavy models around a sweltering soundstage. Does that make them better? Your call. To be fair, you can’t take a quote (possibly out of context) and make an issue out of it, to generate responses. The only guy who should take this personally was Roddenberry himself.
My local station Channel 44/Cable CW keeps misleading me on my DIRECTTV listings on Sunday that the show is playing 12AM and shows “The Shield” instead. The show never looked better. The newer shots of the Enterprise are looking a little better and better. It is kinda cool seeing rough cuts in progress. The early ones looked like the animated series. They still need work.
Has anyone in the CBS Digital team tried out sourcing any of this project to get it the best it can be? The guy who did Star Trek: The Motion Picture was FANTASTIC!!! I heard he pitched a offer to them? It might be wise to hire him as a contractor for a bit just to get the Enterprise correct, or make a new real model again from the digital drawings of the original model to give it some weight. It still doesn’t look correct. I know these poor guys at CBS digital had little time to really do anyting.
That video where Mr. Dave Rossi and the CBS crew are tooting their own horn is a bit much. Some of the new shots are FANTASTIC and I know how many hours you guys spend must be mind numbing. And speaking of the Animated Series, what about RE-ANIMATING THAT AS WELL!!!!. Just think with some of these sets for these fan films you could use as a basis for something wonderful. The animation was terrible for Star Trek, the stories I remember were great, but the stone faced animation is treadful. If I had the software and time I’d do it myself. Then of course think about future animation with the voices of the surving actors WOW!! O.K. I’ve rambled to long.
My local affiliate in San Francisco seems to have finally settled on an 11PM, Saturday airing of the remastered Trek. Although they did air a 30 minute “Paid Programming” bit this past Saturday at 11PM that bumped Trek to 11:30PM. It appears to be a one-time thing as TIVO lists it at 11PM next Saturday again for “Friday’s Child.” Originally, the show aired Sundays at mignight, but I’m glad they moved it as I just got an HD TV, but the Sunday night airing was too late for me to stay up so I would’ve had to settle for a TIVO’s copy only. I know…I know…they are not truly in HD over the air yet, but they still look very nice I must say on my new TV. :)
I am also fortunate in that I get another station (Ch. 50) that airs the show twice on Sundays at 3PM and 9PM. The 3PM is a re-airing of the previous week’s show so if I miss it the first week it airs, I get another chance the following week which is certainly nice :) .
Can’t wait to see the new Klingon ship for Friday’s Child! I wonder if it will be the usual Klingon ship from TOS, or a newer Bird of Prey style from the movies and TNG. I’ d wager the latter…
Sent a message to kayutv.com (Fox28) and got an immediate response from Rick Andrycha, Director of Programming & Broadcast Operations thanking me for the suggestion. Well I guess that’s something so at least their open to giving it a better slot, so anyone in the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene or Southern British Columbia, I’d encourage them to write in as well.
#30 Bilar
I’m going to guess that you’re new here. Hitch is our beloved mascot. You show him love, you’ll be on his “mac in the pants” list, which is not about penises per se, it’s about respect, it’s about appreciation. It takes some getting used to, but once you’re on that list, you feel good about the rest of your day.
Seriously, don’t be so judgmental about hitch, he really is a gentle soul.
Having done the “petition thing” as one-time Midwest Regional Coordinator for TrekUnited (dodges flames from PowderedToastMan and UWCDefiance ;)), I can say that, at the national level, it’s hard to get much of anything done. But, every once in a while, you’d stumble across some local guy, a network affiliate, a newspaper columnist, who would jump on board and contribute a little something.
In fact, we had a Congressman from Florida sign a Save Enterprise petition. You might have heard of him. Went by the name of “Mark Foley.”
The point is, most attempts at budging local programming are going to fail at first. But, if enough of you find enough local sympathizers and generally just make your point to each individual network affiliate with enough voices, there’s a good chance you can get some momentum up and make some real change.
Or not.
I live in St. Paul, of course, where we get it at 6 PM Saturdays and 10 PM Sundays. I haven’t had the whole family gather around the television for Star Trek since I was still in a highchair, but TOS-R has done it. In fact, to help out, I’ll see if I can find our local ratings. If they’re good, they might add to your arguments.
As far as “Friday’s Child,” we might see a Klingon ship, but it will probably only be a small shape in the far distance, like the gorn ship.
As has been said before, this story is months old due to the lag time of magazines, (and in particular, the overly long lag time of the Star Trek Magazine)… It was obviously an interview conducted when Rossi was deep in the beginnings of the project when the reactions were at their worst. (Though, as vocal as I personally have been, I’ve never been one to cast the blame on Rossi or the Okudas) The blame for any shortcomings should and have mostly been directed to the short sighted, last minute machinations of an unwieldy and massive corporation trying desperately to do SOMETHING to celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of their (until recently) un-slaughterable cash cows.
As always, I am ready to assist Rossi and the Okudas with my support and encouragement and whatever else they might need from me… all they have to do is ask. I am glad that the project has seemingly increased interest and talk about TOS.
As to the accusation that some people are throwing criticism from the safety of their armchairs… well, that may be true. All I can say is that I have a pretty good armchair… that swivels… and has buttons on the arm marked “yellow alert”, “red alert”, and “eject pod”… :)
Here’s wishing everyone a great new year, and many more adventures to come.
I live in Chicago very happy with the timeslot here. Plus there is a replay from the previous week each sunday evening. If you have not seen it yet and have a 360 the Trouble With Tribbles HD episode is awesome!!! (they all are of course in HD) But Space Seed and Trouble with Tribbles have some beautiful Starship shots and in widescreen HD they are heaven!!!!
Little Rock AR it airs at 10 PM on Saturday nights so not too bad, but I’ve never given it a second thought thanks to my DVR. I usually let two or three record and then watch them in a group (a la my BSG viewing habits).
I still don’t get why the show isn’t available to buy on an ep by ep basis on the iTunes store.
And any advance word on what HD format TOS-R will go with? Which side of the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray fence does CBS-Paramount sit on?
Hey it doesnt air if at all in NYC tristate area. I am in Jersey.
Their air times suck balls. Also NBC are not re showing the reruns. WTF. I missed a couple of episodes in the beginning. I am a very disgruntal trek fan because of this. And the way the effects shots “took a couple of episodes:” to nail down.
I am happy with the DVD versions that are out now.
I’m with #40. Why the heck aren’t these available on iTunes? My God…what a missed opportunity. It’s not like iTunes is something entirely new to the world. Who the heck is running these companies anyway…or better yet, who keeps the suits up to date on what is HOT. Evidently, they’re not doing a very good job.
Sorry, just want to stress the importance of iTunes again!!!
ITunes, ITunes, ITunes, ITunes, ITunes, ITunes, ITunes, ITunes, ITunes!! :)
Sorry, but it’s true. I won’t pay the ridiculous prices for cable, just so I can get Star Trek here…but I would gladly pay for the episodes I would like to watch through itunes. :)
32 33 Jack/Jon
I actually went to the SF CW affliate web site and shot them an e-mail about the showings of STAR TREK. I actually got a reply there was this.
Hello Rick,
Thank you for your email to KBCW. In regards to your comment, Star Trek airs on Saturdays at 11pm. For future reference please visit http://kbcwtv.com/schedule/. Thank you!
Heather Turley
Of course it sounds like it is showing at 11:30 now.;) I can’t help think how funny this whole remastered situation is. I like that it is being done. But too bad some one at the top didn’t have to foresight to start this process earlier in 2006 have a two hour premiere on CBS that Sept night of 2006. Man what a missed opportunity. Of course the sad or funny thing is how much these guys or gals get paid and they should be thinking of these things. Of course being in the entertainment industry at times I have seen some of this close up.;) There are some though that are on top of things.;)
Writing as an example of a lunatic fan who purchased, learned and used a CGI graphics product for the sole purpose of creating my own Star Trek TOS effects to insert into episodes, I have pretty much nothing but praise.
These fellows are literally doing EXACTLY what I dream of doing. Kudos boys, kudos.
Now, I do have my preferences but still, I love what they are doing.
I live in the Youngstown Ohio broadcast area and I get the show on Saturday nights at 3:30AM (OK OK Sunday Morning…Geeesshhh!!) on my local CBS affiliate. I do my best to catch each remastered episode, either via VHS (I know I know…) or watching it live(If I am awake…zzzzzzzzz) I am rather pleased with the results of the work that CBS Digital has done with each episode. Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to even more surprises in the future. Thank you…
I live in the Dallas area, and by the time I found it, I had missed a few episodes, but it’s actually on at a decent time 9PM on Sunday, usually followed by a repeat of last week’s episode. No complaints here, besides the crapinfomercials. LOL.
As for the Article, kinda another non-story to me, old info, nothing to see here, move along. Yes, there were some vocal critics, but there was also a lot of support and positivity as well. So, let’s just say I think it behooves us to remember that… and hope that Rossi has also felt the “love” as well as the “hate”. ;-)
I must commend my local station WDKY in Lexington, Kentucky. Because they air Trek Remastered at 5:00pm Saturday (sometimes 1:00pm) allowing my viewing area to be among the very first to see them. Indeed the entire Lexington broadcast area have always been good to Trek. For many years I did not understand what fans were talking about when they referred to “edited” or “cut” episodes. Lexington was one of the very last regions to stop airing uncut Treks decades ago.
Daren Dochterman and SciFi Eric on the same board, that is fabulous!
Over the Xmas weekend, “Devil in the Dark” was shown at 7 PM Saturday in Los Angeles and environs. I do not have the ratings for it so I hope it was seen by more people and KNBC gets the message.
I am also pleased with most of what has gone thru on CBS Digital, except for some lighting, it is looking very good.
Star Trek owns you.