“The Ultimate Computer” Remastered Video [UPDATE: + Screencaps]

SFX VIDEO

SCREENSHOTS

Remastered & Original

 

Assorted


Kirk gets angry


Daystrom gets desperate


Wesley gets nervous


Kirk all happy again

David Mack thrilled over Vanguard shout out
In the TrekMovie.com interview with TOS-R producers it was revealed that the new space station for the remastered “Ultimate Computer” was based on the design created for the “Vanguard” series of novels, written by David Mack. On his blog, Mack discusses what a thrill it was for him and designer Masao Okazaki to find out out the Vanguard look made it into TOS-R.


Vanguard station design makes it into TOS-R

More to come
TrekMovie.com will update this article with images on Sunday, plus have a full review (yes I said a review!)

Screenshots by Matt Wright, video complied by our friend Joe Coatar

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Ausome show–first?

impressive, most impressive!

It was hard for me to notice the subtle changes between the Constitution class ships.

“video no longer available…”

:(

I am gonna guess that the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CG was three parsecs away from GENE RODDENBERRY in the original version, but I gotta say that looks a little odd. Thoughts?

Rhode Island is neither a road, nor an island. Discuss.

Wow… nice what they had, but extremely underwhelmed with what little was saw. Guess they were hampered by the original lack of effects, that left little time to fill with new ones.

Woah! Another “Dave Mack”

spooky!

:)

It looks OK, but nothing special to be honest.

Dave Mack, if you are not the trek author Dave mack, maybe you should pick another name to post by…eliminates the confusion

This is in my top ten favorite TOS episodes; William Marshall is just great as Daystrom…a strong character actor that holds his own against the regulars. I really like sitting down and watching this episode over and over again. Spock and McCoy’s banter during the episode and his final remarks to McCoy (love the expression on the doctor’s face) makes this big favorite of mine…

#5

Rhode Island is in fact an island – the state’s full name is The State of Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations. The Island in the middle of the state was Rhode Island, and the surrounding mainland was the Providence Plantations.

Native Rhode Islander and general trivia buff here…

I have seen many of these Remastered versions..

The Direction (movment, perspective, colors and motion) of the animations are not as good and clear as the far more simpler originals!

They did not have nice effects but they did know how to direct back then.

I am speaking as an animator.

I liked it. The space battle scenes really opened up! Seeing those old Constitution class ships whip around and fire made the battle seem ‘dangerous.’ Better than the old triple exposure shot of the Enterprise meant to represent the three other vessels. Good job, to all the artists involved. Still think the quality of the series thus far has been hit and miss (the shuttles still seem cartoon-ish) but this was one of the hits!

#12 Are you watching these on DVD? The broadcast versions aren’t perfect, and the clips here are really not representative.

#11 Touche’ on the RIPP knowledge. I don’t think there’s a “the” in there though… Just Rhode Island and Providence Plantations… and you’re right, the big island is now called Aquidneck.

And of course #5 is wrong on both counts, because a “road” can also be a passageway for boats, as in “Hampton Roads”… so Rhode Island is also a “road” for many vessels…

11&14…

It was more a reference to Mike Myer’s Coffee Talk character, but alas, it was construed as a true trivia question. Nice job, anyway, chaps!

I agree that the renders don’t look very polygonially complex. Not enough vertices! I appreciate the efforts, but do they just not have time for more mature renders?

CBS-D: An “A” for effort, a “B-” for their product. My two cents.

I think we need to see this without the syndication cuts. Hopefully there will be more action in the full version of the episode.

Did anyone notice that last shot of the bridge screen it had rounded edges – WTF?!?

18

I noticed that too. Either sloppy, or they were finding a quick, and easier way to composite. I wish they weren’t so rushed!

That was fun. They really didn’t have a whole lot of time to work with. What they managed to show with the little time they had really looked good. Love the new space station and the super close up of the Enterprise was great, I could even see the little phaser turet. Great job CBS, thanks!.

that was a view from the lexington. It is very likely that thye have a different viewscreen than the enterprise. So I don’t see why people are complaining. pay attention next time.

I think that’s the Lexingtons viewscreen there at the end with the rounded corners, hence the subtle difference.

Why do some of the shots look so amateurish and cartoonish? Is it because we’re watching it on a computer compared to a HD T.V. screen?

#23 – No, because I was watching it on a HDTV screen (albeit not in HD).

I dunno, I suppose that “meh” is my reaction. There were a few shots that were spectacular, but most of the actual battle shots were pretty cartoonish and pathetic. It actually reminded me of some of the early Star Trek: New Voyages effects where the Enterprise looked like the sparking pull back/zip ahead toys that many of us had as kids.

Of course, I am one of those folks who would love to see them edit the dialouge so that all combat is at sublight, but that’s me.

Rob+

#6 Excellent point. I have always worried about this episode. Since it is the most highly anticpated, it has the potential to be the biggest letdown, for exactly the reason you state. Not enough time to show the battle scenes everyone here wants to see. This would be a good episode to extend 5 minutes or so on the dvd release. The confines of the syndicated hour are going to be a problem.

CAN I ASK A SILLY QUESTION?

I’ve been following the Remastered episodes for over a year now, off and on, and after watching that SFX reel above, I have to finally ask:

Why does the “new, improved” Enterprise seem to have all the weight and movement of an AMT model??? Yes, the effects and lighting are marginally better, but whenever you see shots of the E banking, flying, etc., it seems like there’s this odd, slightly jittery weightlessness to the new shots. (See the :25 and 1:10 second marks for examples). WHY IS THAT??? I can’t be the only one who notices this, can I?

It just seems like the E is being pulled and jerked along by invisible wires! Very odd.

#24,

That always bothered me as well, and it’s probably the only thing in the dialogue that I would consider changing, since we all know now that the only weapon that they have that is effective at warp is the torpedo, but since that will never get changed, c’est la vie (yeah, I think i spelled that wrong)

#18. Was that lat shot of the viewscreen from another ship (Lexington) looking at the Enterprise? As I recall it shows the bridge and I thought the chair looked like the mirror version, maybe slightly different viewscreen?

I haven’t seen the ep in awhile just thought it might explain the difference.

With the shots taken out of context it’s a perfectly valid question. So bite me enterprisefan00.

So maybe you should watch the episode before you get all hot and bothered?

I think hes just pissed at me cuz im an enterprise fan.

Fantastic work I thought was done on this episode. Even though the effects may not be as meticulous as say, a fan might take with all the time he or she has, the fact that they were even given the chance to “re-master” these episodes makes it worth watching.

I had kinda hoped that we’d be able to see the ships being shot at from their point of view and not just of the Enterprise’s. It was nice however to see the Woden as a robot ship first seen in the Animated Series and not some DY. Very cool to see the team acknowledging input of other artists and not being limited to their own (i.e. Space Station). The closing shot is exactly what I wanted to see (although I would have preferred to see the Enterprise regrouping with the Lexington and the others before departing).

#24: Agreed. That little “wind-up” effect in New Voyages drives me crazy!

#28: Yes the chair is re-used from the episode “Mirror, Mirror”. It was done to show the difference between the two ship bridges (it seems the change in actors isn’t enough lol). Viewscreen was digitally altered to appear more “round”.

#26 – the jerkiness is just this particular video. it doesn’t jerk on tv.

As for this show… I’ll admit disappontment. The explosion of the Woden was just corny. I like firey, pyrotechnicness

While the phaser hits on the Excalibur look pretty decent, at the same time, it is kind of cheating to have them so distant and small. Granted, this might actually be “more realistic” moving at the incredible speeds they do, but this just didn’t seem “in your face” enough.

I also just wasn’t left with the impression that the Excalibur was crippled beyond repair… it was just too fast and too small.

I also think that more could have been done with the formations of the ships. They could have shown one flying up or down, or off to one of the sides and keep one coming head-on. One would think that would be a realistic and effective maneuver and formation for a space battle.

I think I am ok now with the Constitution class being kept, because Kirk did mention “1600 people” which would indicate 4 crews of 400, the approximate compliment of a Constitution class ship. However, I still am disappointed that more obvious variations weren’t implimented.

Just an afterthought… it would’ve been kind of cool if the Enterprise had left at an upwards or downwards orientation in relation to the space station… that is, we see the top or bottom of the station as they leave.

They could have done a heck of a lot more…frankly, I was expecting some real battle action instead of just MORE fly-bys. Instead of just static shots of the Enterprise sitting there with phasers coming out of the front, why not show it blasting hull plating off of one of the other Connies? The ones that were shot at were barely seen in the distance…

I guess this is what happens when animators direct things. They’re very good at their job of ANIMATING, but the directing should be kept to the directors. Just look at “The Deadly Years” – those scenes with the Romulan ships were painful to watch.

The original footage was actually more effective than this. What happened here??

I thought it funny that McCoy was worried about the ship not being to run with 20 people if M-5 didn’t work. OF course they were well on their way ( leaving the space station) before the M-5 was hooked up with only–20 people. I guess cruise control is still in operation in the 23rd century.

And what’s with the damn torpedoes being red?? Hell, the torpedo effects for “In a Mirror, Darkly” were more accurate. The red ones just look lame…

They did an awesome job. I can’t wait for Remastered Season 2 to come out so I can see the uncut version. The battles were well choreographed for the time the shots alloted. I also like how they did an exterior shot for the final blow to the Excalibur instead of just seeing it on the view screen. However, I do miss seing a damaged version of the Excalibur. Maybe we’ll see it in the uncut version. Hope they come out with Seasons 2 and 3 remastered on the HD DVD / DVD combo soon. From the last article I saw here it said May or June. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Have to admit to feeling a little underwhelmed myself. Nothing really wrong with the work here. . . but nothing particularly memorable, either. The lack of any close detail on the devastated Excalibur was particularly a letdown.

Oh, well. I knew going in that it wouldn’t be another “Doomsday Machine,” but I still expected more than we got.

10

Agreed, this is definitely one of the best written episodes of the series. There are SO many great scenes in this between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

In fact I can’t help but wonder how many of the quiet character moments in TWOK were inspired by this episode. You can definitely hear some similarities in the tone and style of the dialogue.

McCoy was the original Troi! Kirk sought counsel from Dr. McCoy in the same way that Picard related to Councelor Troi. McCoy had his “psychological profiles” & Kirk basically was concerned about bettering himself & hoping he had risen above the desire of status & ego. That’s a nice little nugget of TOS enlightenment & part of the very essence of what sets Star Trek apart from most other science fiction.

Nice special effects & action in this episode too.

#38

My eyes may be playing tricks on me (it is a fairly long distance shot), but as the Enterprise pulls away from the Excalibur, in the shot of her on the view screen it looks as though a large chunk of her saucer section is gone! Again, it’s hard to tell in such a small shot, but that is definately a LOT of damage.

Guys, give it a damn chance. Watch the episodes themselves, not just the effects out of context. THEN get back to me. I might add, these YouTube videos are not indicative of the quality of Remastered one bit. I know, since I own the first season remastered set and it looks a hell of a lot better… even on the DVD side!

As for the small bluish explosions we’ve seen in Remastered in some episodes, I kind of like them. They’re different, not clichéd, and not overdone. I honestly think huge, fiery yellow-orange explosions would have looked MORE out of place with the series’ style. And who’s to say that their fuel doesn’t ignite differently than today’s? Just saying. ;)

#36: The torpedo colour was probably influenced by what we saw in The Animated Series. The effects were reused footage for many other weapons in the original series, so I find it a rather welcome change.

“It would be most interesting to impress your memory engrams on a computer, Doctor. The resulting torrential flood of illogic would be most entertaining.” Which they do in the 24th century, the result being the EMH on Voyager…I would have loved to see Spock’s reaction to this…

Holy COW! I’ve never seen that episode, and I’ve been looking forward to it based on reputation for months!

I haven’t watched an hour of new Star Trek that good in *years*! Fantastic!

This is also my first TOS-R that I am seeing with “fresh eyes,” in that I am not constantly comparing it to the original. Amazing work, CBS-D. I’ve never watched a TOS episode without, at some point, being taken out of the story by the outdated special effects. I never even noticed before today how much that’s been a part of my TOS experience. Tonight, in one of the most SFX-heavy episodes of the series, I was rapt, and the only notice I took of the SFX was how gorgeous those ships were.

Also, the freighter from TAS was back. I smiled.

The new effects really opened up to where the ships were in relation to each other. It is very nice to see the Enterprise “hunting” its prey at multi-warp speeds and scoring hits on such targets. Everything is more dynamic! When Spock says that the Lexington was hit in its engineering section, in the previous FX scene, we see the Lexington getting hit in its engineering section.

When M5 shuts down power to decks on the Enterprise, certain deck windows on the Enterprise’s exterior are dark. When Commodore Wesley looks out the viewscreen of the Lexington, we see a differently shaped viewscreen… a subtle difference between the Constitution ships. The opening shot of the 4 Constitution-class ships is not as impressive in terms of camera angle as the original, but all the others are worthy substitutes for the original. Before the cut to the final sickbay scene, we see an extreme Enterprise close-up to the area where the sickbay would be.

I’d give the entire effort an A-. Great work to all involved!

#42 – I HAVE seen the show. They actually air it at a reasonable time in the Eugene, OR market. Heck, they even kept it at a reasonable time tonight even with NASCAR on. My conclusion: there must be an abundance of Duck alum that are Trekkies. As for your take on the explosions: I don’t think an explosion is a contextual thing. I think an explosion is just an eplosion.

Which brings me to this point: I don’t get where the idea comes from that a special effect “looks out of place.” Could someone explain this to me? I mean, say that EdenFX did redo the Star Trek effects; would someone who never watched Star Trek before really sit there and say “hmm, those space shots don’t seem to fit in with the show?” or “hmm that explosion doesn’t seem to fit?”

#34 – Good to see a purist agree with me

#43 – It isn’t memory engrams, it’s the writings and logs of lots of different doctors

While I am generally pleased with CBS-D work this one kind of underwhelmed me. The Syndication cuts were brutal and ruined the flow of the episode. I don’t think I will watch this again until I get Season 2 on DVD. Hopefully in the DVD version we get a better look at the severely damaged Excalibur. Why did they show the ships being fired upon from so far away?? Close up shots of the Excalibur getting drilled would have dramatically raised the tension of the battle scenes.

#36 agree
The old Photon torpedo effects were actually better than the new “red” ones. The originals just seemed more powerful to me.

Can’t wait for this sweet episode :-)

Anthony: Congrats on the “upgrade”!

# 36 – Actually arent the red “torpedos” actually a particular phaser? I remember this from one of the other episodes, it was talked about then. Kirk orders a particular phaser, but the original FX had it as torpedos. So they made them red to make them their own.

no they’re the new standardized photos torpedoes. One of the first victims of TOS-R was Balance Of Terror where Kirk ordered “proximity phasers”, they changed the looks a bit in order to make them stand out where as back in the 60s they reused the torpedo shot. If there is an episode that needs to be re-re-masterd its BOT!