The original 1960s Star Trek series will receive a high-tech makeover and return to broadcast syndication for the first time in 16 years, with digitally remastered episodes, Paramount announced. In honor of the show’s 40th anniversary, CBS Domestic Television is releasing all 79 episodes with new special effects and music on 200 stations, beginning Sept. 16. The first batch of episodes will be chosen from a list of fan favorites.
The original special effects will be replaced with computer-generated images, including the exterior of the Starship Enterprise, based on the exact measurements of the original model, now resting in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The main title sequence will also be redone with new effects and a new digital stereo soundtrack re-recorded by an orchestra and a female singer. William Shatner’s classic original recording of the 38-word “Space, the final frontier …” monologue has been remastered
and continues to open each episode.All of the space scenes, alien landscapes and ships—including the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers—will be updated as well. The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a high-definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture, even when viewed in standard definition.
Um … guys, what’s the point? Really? I confess to a fascination to see what they end up doing — but, jeez, the cutting-edge-1966 SFX are part of the charm of the show. What next — digitally remastering away Shatner’s end-of-season guts?
Okay, I’ve vaguely comforted that Michael Okuda is involved in the project.
Longtime Trek crew member Michael Okuda, who is also a visual-effects producer of the remastered episodes, added: “Basically, the approach is that Star Trek is a period piece, albeit a period in the far future. So all the decisions are being made to honor the production style, the style of cinematography, the style of editing. And with that as our guidance, using the original decisions made by the directors and the editors, it follows very logically trying to recreate the look and feel of the original
series.
Of course, having said that, they are cherry-picking episodes and broadcasting them “out of order.”
CBS Paramount Domestic Television will release the digitally remastered episodes for air on more than 200 broadcast stations, starting Sept. 16. The first episodes to be remastered include “Balance of Terror,” “Journey to Babel,” “Mirror Mirror” and the two-part episode “The Menagerie,” said John Nogawski, president of CBS Paramount Domestic TV. All told, about half of the original series’ 80 remastered episodes will be released this year and half next year.
Next up — colorized original Outer Limits, with a CGI version of the late Joseph Stefano introducing each episode. Feh.
I just read this in the new TV Guide, which had a picture of the Enterprise. Eh.
Why have a vocal on the main theme? The lyrics are… lame.
Maybe they’ll change the interiors to look more advanced than Archer’s Enterprise? :p
I’m assuming the vocal on the main theme is the wordless “oooooOOOOOOO, oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-OOOOOOOOO ….” already present.
And that’s confirmed in the TV Guide article:
The article also has a link to a graphic of the “new” Enterprise. To which I also say, “Eh.” I mean it looks nice, but also a bit … too … sharp.
Maybe it the age of the original episodes, but even in the recent DVDs I have (mutter mutter coincidence mutter mutter) there’s still a “mid-60s TV episode” lack of crispness to them. Will the episodes themselves be substantially (and well) sharpened? Or the new Enterprise shots blurred a bit? How much tweaking will the live SFX be given? What difference does it make if the ship looks kick-ass new if the planetary backdrop still looks like styrofoam rocks and colored lights playing on a backdrop?
If they do it right, it might come out really good. Just a few tweaks here and there and above all do not mess with the stories (no changing whether Kirk or the alien shot first, for example).
Strange they could see the example of George Lucas obsessing over the quality of his special effects while Star Wars movies got suckier and suckier, and still take this step.
Still, for some reason it triggered a reduction in the price of the full-series DVD set, so I finally ordered one. Heck, I read comic books (OK, they’re “graphic novels” now) and they’re just ink on two-dimensional paper. So ST’s cheesy special effects don’t bother me any.