SDCC News: Roddenberry Vault Blu-ray announced

In a happy surprise from the Rod Roddenberry San Diego ComicCon panel, it was announced that Rod had culled through archives and found cut segments of Star Trek Original Series episodes, plus other behind-the-scenes bits. It will be released on a Blu-ray later in 2016 with a brand new documentary by Roger Lay, Jr (who was part of the team that did the awesome TNG and ENT Blu-ray documentaries). The full press release is after the break.

STAR TREK®: THE ORIGINAL SERIES –
THE RODDENBERRY VAULT

 

Details On New Blu-ray™ Release From CBS Home Entertainment
And Paramount Home Media Distribution Exclusively Revealed At
Comic-Con International: San Diego 2016 

 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (July 23, 2016) – CBS Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Media Distribution and Roddenberry Entertainment announced today at Comic-Con International: San Diego that STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES – THE RODDENBERRY VAULT, a collector’s edition Blu-ray set, will be released later in 2016.

 

During the production of Star Trek: The Original Series, bits and pieces of episodic footage were left on the cutting room floor, then stored away in film cans for decades by the Gene Roddenberry Estate. Now, in celebration of the show’s 50th Anniversary, The Roddenberry Vault has finally been opened. Along with 12 of their favorite episodes, fans can see and own behind the scenes footage from the making of the series as well as alternate takes, deleted scenes, omitted dialogue, outtakes, and original visual FX elements.  

 

STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES – THE RODDENBERRY VAULT Blu-ray set includes newly-produced special feature documentaries that incorporate the “Vault” materials and feature all-new interviews with cast and production personnel, including new insights from William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), writers Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana, David Gerrold, & John D.F. Black, director Ralph Senensky, casting director Joseph D’Agosta, visual effects artist Richard Edlund, and more. Also featured is an exploration into the series’ long-lasting appeal through interviews with some of Star Trek’s biggest fans including The Big Bang Theory co-creator Bill Prady, The Simpsons writer/producer David Mirkin, Family Guy writer/producer David A. Goodman, NASA’s Bobak Ferdowsi, Bill Nye (The Science Guy), and many more. The special feature documentaries are:

 

·      Inside The Roddenberry Vault – A multi-part glimpse at classic episodes from new angles and perspectives.

·      Star Trek: Revisiting A Classic – A look at life on the set during production.

·      Strange New Worlds: Visualizing The Fantastic – An inside look at the groundbreaking work of the series’ designers and visual effects artists.

 

STAR TREK: THE RODDENBERRY VAULT includes 12 classic Star Trek episodes in high-definition Blu-ray chosen for their relevance to the Vault’s lost/unseen material:

 

·      The Corbomite Maneuver

·      Arena

·      Space Seed

·      This Side of Paradise

·      The Devil in the Dark

·      The City on the Edge of Forever

·      Operation: Annihilate!

·      Metamorphosis

·      Who Mourns for Adonais?

·      Mirror, Mirror

·      The Trouble With Tribbles

·      Return to Tomorrow          

 

STAR TREK: THE RODDENBERRY VAULT Blu-ray set is executive produced by Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth. Special feature documentaries are produced by Roger Lay, Jr. and Michael and Denise Okuda. 


Link to Roddenberry ComicCon panel video where this was announced:

https://www.facebook.com/roddenberry/videos/10153705129218144/

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Wow! What a great treat for the 50th Anniversary!

Sounds fantastic… and at least CBS aren’t making us buy all three seasons again. A 12 episode set, covering the found new footage is worthwhile.

I wish they could get a hold of the best possible quality version of that blooper reel we’ve had on tape for years.

Edlund and Senensky – the latter my fave Trek director ever, not a single loser for me in his batch of shows – man I’m jazzed about this!

What they should do is take this vault, and do a recut, thereby create “new” episodes. In fact, get the original cast to re-voice their old roles in post.

That would be problematic, as Nimoy, Kelly, and Doohan are no longer with us. The remaining TOS cast voices no doubt sound much different 50 years later, also. I suppose we should be glad George Lucas isn’t in charge of Star Trek, or he’d release a special edition of TOS with the nuTrek actors voicing over the classic cast’s lines….

john,

I wouldn’t discount the sound editor’s ability to compensate for age with the modern digital bag of tricks.

I am SO excited. I can’t wait to see the lost footage.

It is the 50th anniversary of this show, after all, so that’s more like it! Just wish there was more.

Hey this awesome! But is it really only going to be just on Blu-Ray or will there be a DVD release as well? If not i will be so sorely dissapointed that i wont ever be able to experience this. 😳

Yes, BD is more than 10 years old. But the jump to 4K is actually not all that much better. Yes, it is better. But not worth the upgrade in my humble opinion. BD will stick around for some time still it seems.

It’s not much to hang your hat on but more often than not with these box sets CBS Home Entertainment will throw in a DVD and digital download copy for some retailers’ exclusives.

Go buy a Blu-Ray player – they only cost $60.00

So they didn’t feel the need for input from Nichelle,George or Walter?? WTF??

Wow! It’s so exciting that there’s still something new to be seen from TOS! Excuse me while I go do the kind of dance that Snoopy does when his supper is coming. :-)

I found the SDCC video a little hard to follow due to the audio quality, but it sounds like there’s a ton of footage been discovered. The thought of having to buy a dozen episodes AGAIN in order to be able to watch a few clips of it interspersed between talking heads in the VAM is a bit of a let down.

I’d happily pay an extra $15 ‘fanboy premium ‘ to get a release that is squarely focused on this newly found material. I appreciate it’s not going to appeal to anyone other than the hard core fans, but surely there must be enough interest to make something really special out of this?

Some possible cut content (read from #24 on) discussed for included episodes in set:

http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/lost-footage-of-tos-found-in-roddenberry-vault-bluray-forthcoming.282415/page-2

How much will this one cost. You know it’s Star Trek ,so it’s always over priced

WHEN?????!!

I’d like to see this… But not necessarily own it. Hopefully the disc will be available on Netflix.

Or your local lending library.

I’ve always read the reason the bloopers could not be released in their entity was the fact of so many contributors of the episodes contained therewith would all need a cut of the pot. But this does open up an interesting point I have thought about over the years…why not extract the bloopers specific episodes and attach it to a special features of that specific episodes on the bluray set. Since the blooper was made during the production of that specific episode, and the cast, director, producer, gaffer, etal have been paid accordingly. Anyhow to see such rare material of our beloved original series, is truly awesome!

bryan with pointy nacelles and big disk,

That may have been a concern under the old copyright laws when it was originally strung together, but the current law considers satire and parody fair use. That doesn’t mean someone won’t get a lawyer and try though.

It’s really ironic- back in the early 80s, I subscribed to a fanzine that traded actual clips of Star Trek episodes that were collected from the TV stations which ran the show, but clipped bits out to make room for commercials. You could buy, own, and trade actual pieces of film from the show.

But this sounds even better- stuff saved from the first cutting! I. Can’t. Wait.

Beyond excited over this. They showed just a few snippets during the panel discussion (viewable on the Roddenberry Vault Facebook page) but even those few seconds seemed magical, seeing the TOS crew on set in moments we’ve never seen before. I’d preorder right now if it was available.