Star Trek original series remastered

I've just ordered Star Trek original series remastered discs. Read the reviews and they are all positive, talking glowingly about the wonderful true colours coming through as they were meant to be, even down to Mr Spock's subtle green skin, and Kirks pale lime-green shirt, rather than the mustard colour it appears as originally. 8 discs for 26 quid, now that's not bad at all. An early Christmas present to myself, methinks.

Sounds like a bargain.
I've got the Star Trek 'Original 3 series' on dvd also, but because I've got room in our loft, to save money, I bought the Next Generation (all series), Deep Space 9 (all series) and Voyager (all series) on video for a mere few quid each on ebay !!!
As more and more people convert to dvd, there are some really cheap bargains on video sets out there - if you have the storage space that is, and if the seller lives within a reasonable distance and you can collect from them, because obviously the postage would be crippling.

I'm not keen on the new CGI effects. It's not the Star Trek I remember, so I'd rather stick with the previous DVD releases.

Andrew Kearley wrote:I'm not keen on the new CGI effects. It's not the Star Trek I remember, so I'd rather stick with the previous DVD releases.

Apparently the people responsible for the remastered Star Trek have resisted the temptation to go over the top with the enhancements, and have made it as near to the original as possible. But it will be very interesting to view these remastered episodes, and I must say it'll seem rather strange seeing a green-skinned Spock and a lime shirted Kirk. The discs should be arriving in the next few days so I will be able to comment more on them when I have watched a few.

Cleaning up the images, resolution and colorwise, is fine. Tweaking the FX is okay, too. I draw the line at "re-imagining" the stories. I am glad the folks responsible have resisted that temptation.

I fervently agree.

Speaking of Star Trek and 'tweaking' - anyone remember that Star Trek episode (can't even remember if it was TNG, DS9 or Voyager) where the characters were in the midst of an orginal Star Trek series scene - now that was clever 'tweaking' I remember thinking at the time.
It's going to really bug me now - anyone care to let me know which episode and which incarnation of Star Trek it was from ?

Sounds like you're thinking of "Trials and Tribble-ations" from DS9's fifth season - they were interacting with the original series episode "The Trouble With Tribbles".

Andrew Kearley wrote:Sounds like you're thinking of "Trials and Tribble-ations" from DS9's fifth season - they were interacting with the original series episode "The Trouble With Tribbles".

Thanks for sorting that - I can sleep easy now
Very clever episode I thought, bringing different incarnations of Star Trek together like that.

I hate remastered Trek. The shots of the Enterprise from space are primitive and look like they're from a video game, and they were totally unnecessary. CGI's fine if you need to cut costs to get good SF made, but if there are already shots made with carefully designed and built detailed models, such as the brilliant original Enterprise model, it's insane to throw that footage into the dumpster and replace it with simple cheap-looking CGI.

As for other effects, original Trek had inspired special effects, which were perfect for the drama and sense of strangeness and alien-ness they were trying to convey. The later Trek shows were able to show us a wider variety of things, but it was shown in a flat, matter-if-fact way.... none of that Twilight-Zone-esque semi-surrealiasm of original Trek! Unfortunately, the mood and emotion of original Trek is not something later viewers can seem even to perceive, much less appreciate. I say this not to be negative, but to encourage appreciation of the artistry of original Trek, which is now being discarded. I'm just not very skilled or diplomatic in how I express this.

Very good point Magnus. It's great to see remastered improved picture quality and sound, and bonus material such as interviews, doumentaries, and trailers, but I agree that replacing actual footage is a step too far.

The dramatic creative camera angles used to shoot the Enterprise are gone too, replaced by undramatic, merely functional shots of the ship going by. The proportions of the ship are often wrong. One great thing about a model-- there's no possiblity whatsoever of getting the proportions wrong. They're always totally consistent.

Magnus Greel wrote: One great thing about a model-- there's no possiblity whatsoever of getting the proportions wrong. They're always totally consistent.

Yes! As much as I enjoyed B5, there were many such inconsistencies. Granted, it was created at the dawn of CGI, but miniatures would have made the effects timeless, as opposed to 'primitive' which was my thought on a recent watching. The plots and acting of B5, however, have held up well.

I agree with your point. It always a pleasure to visualize improved sound quality and pictures.