SFX Video
(WMV)
New and Old
Additional Enterprise shots
Assorted
Tom Leighton (aka Phantom of Planet Q)
Uhura sings for Riley
Karidian is Kodos?
Death by Windex
Hidden Phaser on overload
Final curtain for Kodos
Pre-order TOS-R Season One Box from Amazon – now $129.95
Star Trek: The Original Series – The Complete First Season [HD DVD] — $129.95
Enhancements are minimal this week. The original version like this one rely on the actors to deliver and they do. Arnold Moss & Shatner in a great confrontation scene . . .
Shakespeare performed Live is still regarded as the crux of culture and the Klingons love it!
Nice shots of the Big E, but evidently there was too much rotoscoping involved to address the re-used city background from The Cage. I had hoped they would show the phaser exploding outside of the ship, but that didn’t happen either. And the phaser blast for Kodos looked untouched to me. So not much new to see, in my opinion.
First? I’m going to say that i prefer the brighter coloured planet of the original, and i’ve generally been pretty pleased with the more realistic looking M class planet look. Maybe the greys and greens are getting a bit dull.
Thanks for posting everything.
Why did they use the original theme music in the opening credits?? It wasn’t the new remastered version. Did anyone else notice this? Strange.
With so little work to do with the episode, why not at least touch up the phaser shot? I think CBS digital messed up in that if they touch up one phaser shot from an episode, they should touch up ALL of them. But I guess there’s just no time for that.
#4 T Negative – “Why did they use the original theme music in the opening credits?”
You are right, I noticed it last night. Forgot to mention it. Must have been a mistake based on the fact they did replace the opening in earlier episodes.
I could be wrong, but I thought there were a few more new effects than this, specifically a shot of Enterprise in orbit of the Benecia colony and leaving the colony at the end of the episode and one or two more shots of the Big E in orbit of Planet Q.
I think the new orbit shots are terrifically choreographed. The only downside I saw is that second shot shown above. On my HDTV display, it really looked gamey, or I should say dirty. Too much muddiness to the texture mapping, especially towards the ends of the engines around the detailing, like too much airbrushing. But then maybe it will be better on the HD DVD’s.
The stars outside the observation room windows were a really nice touch.
Oh yeah, if you want to get technical, Kirk orders the helmsmen to warp one at the end of the episode. The last shot shows the Enterprise leaving orbit, with impulse engines fired up.
The music in this episode seems particularly “old fashioned” tv scoring, very much of its time. I like it a lot.
5. Penhall
I agree… why not fix that phaser shot?
Sounds like they rushed this one to me, I was looking forward to a new matt painting outside the window and to find out they didn’t bother just goes to show how rushed they have been here. I mean when they don’t even bother to fix one on the things they set out to fix eg Space shots & matt paints, then you know they are really short for time. I am guessing this is one of the many season one rushed episodes we will see because of the need to get them finished for the season one HD DVD release.
I really hope this isn’t the end of the remastering, I am hoping for a special edition version in the years to come, with a far more complete update. I was really hoping they would have done all they could have for this one being that there wasn’t much to do, but from the comments on here about what they have and haven’t done again I feel disappointed yet again.
I was looking forward to this episode because of the opportunities presented to CBS digital. I thought for sure they would fix the “cage” city out the window because anyone can tell that city is a freaking cardboard cutout!! Also, why didn’t they put in a shot of the shuttlecraft down in the hangar deck? Or at least a view across the shuttlebay to the other side?? Very disappointing. I thought I remember Dave Rossi saying now that they had a full “library” of shots of the Big E that it would free them up for other stuff??
Basically they have rushed this whole thing and half assed it so they can get it out on DVD. What a joke. Not impressed Paramount!! I Doubt I will be buying the set.
It’s such a shame this project is being so rushed. I keep getting over the fact its not the complete update I hoped for when I first heard about the remastering, especially when I see the good stuff the do, but its all the missed chances that have become so fustraighting when I think about what could have been done if they had the time and money, I feel sad at what a wasted opportunity this whole thing has been.
It’s stupid I know, I have the originals on DVD so I think I’ll stick with them for now and wait in hope for that day when they really go all out and are given the time and money to do a more complete Job enhancing the visuals they haven’t had the time to look into this time around.
Look at the camera angles in the observation lounge. The camera is fairly level (not looking down). Which means that all you’d see in the shuttlebay is the opposite wall. You don’t see down, which means you wouldn’t see the shuttles below. (Which is probably why they shot it that way to begin with.)
I thought I re-called reading before these aired that the theme was scored twice. With vocals and without. Not sure on this, but a thought none the less.
Best music in this episode… phaser hunt in the captain’s cabin.
The music and the tight editing as the phaser slowly gets closer to overload always sends a chill down my spine. Of my top ten favoite scenes in the series.
I’m thinking it’s great they keep some FX, such as the phaser shot on Karidian. Stylistically, I feel it fits with what some people complain is a “cartoony” slant with the new VFX. I agree in that I feel the CBS CGI team are looking for a middle-ground stylistically, so as not to distract so much in juxtaposition of a 40 year old sci-fi TV show.
Enjoyed the jazzy rendition of the theme music played during the cocktail party at the begninng! I never noticed that before.
This is an episode that has really grown on me over the years. Great performances, excellent direction, and the score is wonderful.
I was pleasantly surprised they found a way to keep Spock and McCoy’s first discussion of Kirk’s behavior, with the “drop of the true” and “now I know why they were conquered” dialogue. That scene had always been cut for time in every broadcast I had ever seen before. I assume they made up the time by their deft editing of Uhura’s song later in the show. Kudos there.
As usual, the remastered changes that are there are excellent. The Enterprise orbit and flybys look just about perfect to me at this point, and the choreography of the ship’s movement and the camera in some scenes are especially wonderful. Also, I *really* appreciated the moving stars out the observation deck windows. It was such a small change, but it so complimented the already strong performances, lighting and music. The moving stars just accented and punctuated the dynamics of the scene and it just made everything ‘pop’. A wonderful addition.
And, as usual, I can’t help being sorry for the things they didn’t change, whether for time, budget or both. The Planet Q set always made the episode feel on-the-cheap, and I am so sorry they didn’t have the time or funds to find some way of enhancing it – both the “out the window” cityscape and the “Kirk and Lenore take a stroll” scene, which is a fairly short scene. *Something* would have really helped sell that as more of a genuine location. Ah well. I was also sorry that the final phaser blast wasn’t beefed up a tad and that the “file photos” of Kodos and Karidian retained that bland pale blue background of the originals. This was also the case with young T’Pring’s photo in “Amok Time” but they did a beautiful enhancement of that image, with the Vulcan house background that I’m sure many of you will remember, and it would have been nice to have seen something similar, especially on the Kodos image. Smaller details and additonal work, but it would have been lovely to see.
Regarding the hangar deck, I agree with Commodore Z – if you look at the shot, there wasn’t anywhere to add an image of the shuttle or the hangar, and I’m sure it was staged that way deliberately in 1966 because it would have cost more money. But the scene works so well as it is, and especially with the observation window enhancement, that I don’t think it needed a hangar deck at all.
Finally, regarding the opening credits theme music – I too was really surprised when I heard it, since it sounded pretty much exactly like the early version of the original series theme, which had that odd electronic sound to it. I would bet money it was the original music and not some kind of heretofore unknown re-orchestration done for the remastered series. Either someone made a decision to keep it as-is, or somebody screwed up and didn’t make the change. Personally, I’m glad they left it alone.
Re: 7.
If you think your missing any effects shots remember that these are all 51 minute episodes that are edited(or hacked!) to fit current time slots with commercials. So that makes them roughly 42-43 minutes depending on who’s doing the hatchet job. The HDDVD’s will have the all of the effects so we’ll be seeing new things when they show up.
Lovely fanfare. I wonder why they couldn’t at least have put some sort of glow or distant blinking light in the hangar deck?
Does anyone know if the CBSD folks will be tweaking any of these episodes further. I like what I saw in these episode, but I think so much more could have been done. I’m a little annoyed that they would spend considerable effort on Doomsday and Amok Time, but little gems like this episode they back off. I don’t care for that trade off. Like my Pa always said, if you’re gonna do it – do it right.
I’ll never buy these remastered versions, never. I’ll gladly wait until someone does it right…which may never happen.
I’m not an overly picky person, but the effects for these episodes just look wrong. They’ve gotten it pretty close a few times, but as I’ve said before…it’s all over the place.
What I really can’t stand, is how they have desaturated the film to look so dull and lifeless. The originals were so colorful…these just look so abysmally boring compared to the vibrancy of the originals. What is up with that? At this point, I don’t know whether it’s a lack of time or that they really don’t have a firm grasp on the style of TOS. Perhaps both. I’m sure the team is reading this and thinking…”yeah yeah, another know it all TOS fanboy”. Well, that may be true…but I’m a fanboy who can tell the difference between what fits and what doesn’t.
Death by Windex. Ha Ha! Good one!/
Double Red Alert!
22 – I agree, the originals look brighter and more saturated, especially Lenore by the window
How come a new more realistic background wasn’t used for the city you see out the windows down on the planet? They did it for “Wink of an Eye” and “The Menagerie”. Were they just lazy for this one?
I liked it overall. Did miss the opportunity they had to create a nice shot of the phaser exploding outside the ship.
Did anyone notice the ending credits were from “Galileo Seven”?
All this power, surging and throbbing, yet under control.
Now there’s one that got past the censors.
HOLY COW! Am I the ONLY one who thought that extended opening shot of the ship was the most awesome flyby YET?!?!?!?!
You guys are too jaded to enjoy this.
29. I agree. It is great.
#22: You must be watching an entirely different show than I am. TOS-R is more vibrant, more colorful, sharper, and clearer than TOS has ever been. Bob Justman himself said that the remastered episodes look the way he always wanted them to be.
#29 and 30: Ditto! Love the opening shot!
The title card scene was a disaster.
The way the ship turns and the planet’s angle unfolds, it feels like the planet is about the size of Manhattan. Which is to say, not massive like a real planet, but on the same scale as the ship.
It sort of looks like you’ve got a plastic model, and you’re squinting as you make it orbit a big beachball. Y’ever do that as a kid? Looks cool if you keep your eyes squinted, but of course there’s no sense at all of the scale of a real planet.
Little tip to computer animators. Why not program using the actual numbers from real life. Like: ship is 1000 ft long, and planet is 7000 miles in diameter, now off you go!
they couldn’t splice in a new hand with a hypo instead of the sprayer from the 99 cent store!
I liked this week’s theme song.
I still don’t get that the sky is Pink on Planet Q, but from and orbital view, it’s rocky green. What gives?
The music playing at Leighton’s cocktail party is a slower, jazzier version of the Star Trek theme. I never noticed that before!
Many opportunities for an extra effects shot would require removing an existing shot to keep the soundtrack timing. This was done to great effect in “Amok Time”, but I think that’s the only time they have done it.
The original series staged the action to avoid such shots to save money. Jerking the camera and having the cast fall out of their seats was much cheaper than filming an effects shot of a weapon hitting the Enterprise.
I like this episode, but there’s one huge plot hole: they have a photograph and a voiceprint of Kodos, yet they can only charge him on the basis of someone’s 20-year-old memory? Kirk would have been a teenager at the time.
Maybe I’m a purist, but if Paramount is going to remaster TOS, then they should do it to perfection. To get some shots good and others half-ass is, frankly, unforgiveable. If the Catholic church can take years and unlimited resources to clean up The Last Supper by DaVinci to it’s original beauty, then TPTB, who have made a BILLION DOLLARS off of this particular golden goose, can take the time and money to do it RIGHT!
I HATE THE MENTALITY OF HOLLYWOOD! THEY NEVER GET IT RIGHT!
Is it just my eyes again or do many of the original photos above have better color, contrast and brightness? As much as I like the new CGI effects for most of the episodes, I don’t care for the “toned down” colors and lighting in the new TOS-R prints.
Mike :o
RE: Strange Opening Theme Music
When “The Conscience of the King” was originally aired, it aired with the theme they used for “Where No Man Has Gone Before” as opposed to the other version.
If you spin up the DVD version (at least the one I have, the season 1 set), you’ll hear that version of the theme. I believe there are one or two other episodes that used that theme as well.
Rob+
#22 New Horizon…
I agree with your post and I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed.
TOS was originally filmed when color TV shows were finally becoming the norm in the 1960s. It’s understandable that the producers wanted to highlight the use of color, and I think it’s no accident that they chose to make the Star Trek TOS sets and costumes as bright and colorful as they were.
The producers of these new TOS-R epsisodes have done a great job of not going “overboard” with the new effects. But I do wish they had just cleaned up the original prints and kept the original color, brightness and lighting effects untouched. They looked great just the way they were!
Thats my two cents!
Mike :o
Overall a very good effort.
The opening flyby was great.
The other ship shots were very nice.
The Jazzy Theme was cool.
They should have changed the planet view through the window.
Anyone else notice how Riley changed uniforms from red shirt to gold after escaping sickbay to the play?
Sheez, #32. The “exaggerated circular orbit” perspective was a staple in just about every TOS episode, and some of the movies too (though not TMP, since Doug Trumbull valued technical accuracy more than his counterparts at ILM). So while your observation is technically correct, it’s pretty darned selective.
Everybody complaining about lost color/brightness/sharpness, remember the “old” footage is captured from DVD and the “new” from non-HD broadcast. Wait for an apples-to-apple comparison before you judge. The high-res screenshots startrek.com sends out are more representative of the real deal.
Kodos’ beard wasn’t digitally fixed! They didn’t improve upon the windex bottle effect! The nacelles, my God, the nacelles!
Was this not the same orbital shots seen in Return to Tomorrow? I could have went to sleep!! They have other chances to impress me, The Ultimate Computer and one of my favs, Return of the Archons to redeem themselves.
You folks complaining about the lack of vibrancy of the colors in the remasters versus the originals – are you actually watching the remastered episodes, or are you basing your opinions on the screengrabs above? The show as I actually watched it at 4 o’clock in the morning today was much brighter and more vibrant than the images used above. I don’t think the screengrabs do justice to how the actual episodes look. Or you might want to tune your television’s color and brightness.
40. MichaelJohn – Actually, color shows were not the norm in 1966, many shows were still shot in black and white – for a good reason – only about 9% of TV viewers owned color sets.
The vibrant colors we are used to seeing actually did not materialize until the first set of re-mastered episodes (struck from the original release prints) made it into syndication back in the early 80s. Prior to that, what most of us actually watched through the 70s were telecined 16mm film prints – which were horribly scratched, grainy and grew worse with every airing.
THe bright colors we fondly remember from TOS could be, in my estimation, crudely over-saturated in order to compensate for fading prints. The current re-mastered effort uses a digital restoration process and are more realistic based on the film stock values used to shoot the show (which was likely Kodak’s color neg 5247 – which produced bright but accurate colors.)
KXVO in Omaha REALLY DROPPED THE BALL this weekend on this episode-the TV Titan schedule said it was going to be on KXVO Sat. Night at 9pm. So did the Omaha World Herald. But at the appointed hour a totally unrelated health program was aired instead of this Trek episode. Suddenly the box set of these remastered Trek episodes seems much more enticing than further attempts at viewing it from the local affiliate.
Why are they keeping the old phaser shot SFX?
Seems crazy to me. They go to all that effort to make the effects look better, and leave in some really ugly old-fashioned effects like that.
It might not have been so bad if they left ALL the phaser shots untouched, but re-touching some and not others is just weird.
I find it really disheartening, personally. It’s like they’ve given up caring about this project. Surely phaser shots are the EASIEST thing to replace?
#49 Jamie – “Surely phaser shots are the EASIEST thing to replace?”
According to what we have been told they are not that easy to fix. Plus, redoing Phaser Beams is not a Priority Directive of the CBS Digital Team, they do them when they can.
I’m like you, I wish they would/could each time but CBS Paramount have them on a tight budget and timeframe. They feel that 70 to 80% reclamation of the series is sufficient in order to milk the cash cow once more (This very site’s Community voted a “B” Grade overall to the Remastered effort thus far). Never mind what the series has done for the studio in the past. It’s business, all about the money. Once you accept that you can move on.
Steve623 – how sad that 4:00am timeslot is. A long way from Saturday at 1:00pm last season we enjoyed.