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New syndication of Star Trek: TOS

T

Tim-In-Houston

Was watching Star Trek: TOS episode on a local station here in Mississippi. The episode "The Doomsday Machine" was airing and I got in about 3/4 of the way through it. There was a scene where Commodore Decker's shuttle was flying towards "the planet killer" device that I *know* was not in the original episode I had seen recently on G4tv. The special effects employed in that single scene were way to advanced to have been around in the 1960s when the episode aired.

Well, just as I was about to post on here asking if they had been retouched, I logged on to startrek.com and found that CBS/Paramount is remastering episodes with updated special effects.

The new effects are quite well done and only add to the episode, making it more real. Gone are the hokey over-lay images of the Enterprise in space (which, in most episodes, you could still see the starfield through the hull of the ship) replaced with beautiful digital effects with better lighting and camera aspects that were unavailable with the budgets and technology of the original episodes.

If you haven't seen the remastered episodes yet, its worth a look. Aside from enhanced special effects, the scenes are much brighter with colors appearing much richer than the original tapes.

Anyone know if these remastered episodes are airing on TVLand or in the syndication package only?
 
I've seen parts of a few ST:TOS episodes recently on TVLand (whose bright idea was it to put them on in the early morning?). I haven't noted any updated effects, but admittedly they were largely "background" distraction as I get ready to leave in the morning.

If they are updating special effects, I wonder if they can re-do the famous fight scene with the curly-haired stunt double who looks nothing like Leonard Nimoy. :D
 
The remastered episodes are only airing on local stations, Stanislav. TVLand is airing the same episodes that G4
is still airing. G4 has daytime rights to Star Trek. That's why TVLand can only show it late at night.
 
StarTrek.com has the remastered images online and preview of the episodes already aired. As someone stated above, it is only running on some local stations throught syndication. Sci Fi, G4, and TV Land have the old cuts of the episodes. The only problem is that these local stations sometimes relagate the broadcast to the late night hours. Here it Atlanta it airs on WSB TV at 1:30 am Sunday mornings.

When watching the new images/CGI, it almost makes some of the episodes seem more believable. They look great and not cheesy anymore. Check it out. Even William Shatner's acting does not seem so over the top with the right CGI working behind him.
 
I don't know -- to me, the "cheesiness" is part of the charm. ;) The sequels were glitzier and had more believable effects, but TOS is a touchstone of my youth -- clunky consoles, recycled matte paintings, poorly matched stunt doubles and all. Clean up the masters, sure, but leave well enough alone. TOS wasn't really about exotic planets or scary aliens, anyway -- it was really a personality driven show that focused on the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triangle and the human foibles and faults shared by two-legged creatures throughout the galaxy.
 
In New York, it airs late Sunday nights/early Monday mornings on NBC O&O WNBC/4.
 
Stanislav said:
I don't know -- to me, the "cheesiness" is part of the charm. ;) The sequels were glitzier and had more believable effects, but TOS is a touchstone of my youth -- clunky consoles, recycled matte paintings, poorly matched stunt doubles and all. Clean up the masters, sure, but leave well enough alone. TOS wasn't really about exotic planets or scary aliens, anyway -- it was really a personality driven show that focused on the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triangle and the human foibles and faults shared by two-legged creatures throughout the galaxy.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but there has come a point - with me anyway - where the cheesiness of it overshadows the story lines. Where it just becomes too much. In the fifteen or so minutes that I watched this weekend, it was like watching a whole new episode for the first time. It brought the interest back. Yeah, "The Doomsday Machine" is one of the greater episodes, but the new effects add a whole other dimension to the plot, making it more - as someone mentioned earlier - real.

Now if they would just go back and remaster the first season or two of Star Trek: TNG, we'd be in business!
 
Especially re-imaging the first episode of TNG would be great.

I have caught 4 episodes of the new remastered ST TOS. The "Tower of Babel" was great showing the new shuttle craft view of Sarek arriving on the Enterprise. Also, the Gorn episode was better showing the devistation of the city. Additionally, all the planets now look realistic instead of a painted mat. Lastly, the Enterprise looks more like a ship rather than a model on wires.
 
Tim-In-Houston said:
Now if they would just go back and remaster the first season or two of Star Trek: TNG, we'd be in business!
Click to expand...

At least to digitally change that horrible hairstyle Counselor Troi wore in the first season..... ;D
 
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