Original Star Trek Gets CGI Upgrades for HD Syndicated Return

By TRexx / 03:21, 31 August 2006 / General Star Trek

On the cusp of Star Trek's 40th birthday, the Original Series will stun syndicated networks with shiny new CGI features.

Affirming rampant Internet rumor, TV Guide reports that CBS Studios is giving all 79 episodes of TOS a makeover, digitally remastered with computer-generated effects, utilizing high definition (HD) technology that wasn't available when Gene Roddenberry crafted the timeless stories.

"We're taking great pains to respect the integrity and style of the original," says longtime scenic-art supervisor Michael Okuda, whose teammates on this 2-year project are wife Denise Okuda and production veteran David Rossi.

"Our goal is to always ask ourselves: What would Roddenberry have done with today's technology?"

Formerly static backdrop paintings come to life with animated people and landscapes of sauntering clouds and shimmering water. A view of Earth in "Miri" has been "replaced with a more accurate image, now that we've gone into deep space and looked back at ourselves," notes Okuda. And some goofs will be tweaked.

The upgraded episodes will appear weekly, in no particular order, commencing with "Balance of Terror" as a flagship example "that gives us a chance to really show off the 'new' Enterprise," said Okuda. "The exterior of the ship now has depth and detail, and it will fly more dynamically."

The opening theme music is also embellished, re-recorded in stereo with a larger orchestra, as a new singer wails the wordless vocals.

Check your local listings for this gilded Star Trek on September 16.

Read the exclusive report online at TV Guide Insider, and pick up the latest TV Guide magazine for comments from William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

Additional details from CBS are expected.

http://trekweb.com/articles/2006/08/31/Original-Star-Trek-Gets-CGI-Upgrades.shtml

Start the timer for the meltdown of hardened Trekkers.....

George Lucas must be having a laugh at this one considering all the flak he's had over "tinkering" with his original versions of Star Wars. Now another sacrosanct franchise is doing it.

Actually, I'd love to see these in HD, altered or not.

i wonder if this is legit as the Seinfeld HD thing..LOL

There have been rumors about Star Trek: TOS being redone in HD, but this news has been showing up elsewhere, so the reports of TOS in HD look to be solid. But TOS in HD syndication?? That is news, if this is true.

What concerns me is it sounds as if they have done an extensive revision of the original special effects. I would have no problem if they did some minor CGI fixes such as removing wires holding up the spaceship models which would be much more obvious in HD or similar minor glitches in the filmed special effects. But replacing static backdrop paintings with animated background scenes and wholesale replacement of special effect shots? Not as comfortable with this, but if it only the special effects that are updating, that may work. Just don't emulate Lucas and re-edit stuff: Kirk shoots first and gets the babe - keep it that way.

I can see why CBS/Paramount would do this. Updating the special effects helps - in theory - the rerun value of the show going forward and may make it more acceptable to a younger generation of viewers who are used to decent looking special effects and who might otherwise not watch the TOS (we see this with people who won't watch B&W movies).

Major questions:
1) Will this be in 4:3 or will they crop it to 16:9? I fear they will crop it.

2) If this is being offered to syndication specifically as a updated version for the SD channels along with an HD version, which stations will be broadcasting it? I can't see Paramount going to all this trouble if they did not have a number of local stations lined up to broadcast TOS in HD.

Can anyone see a new DVD set coming out of all this. Why else would they go through all the trouble?

Well since the Original episodes are all currently available on DVD box sets, I don't see any reason why they can't try something new by "enhancing" the episodes to create something new. If you are hard up for the originals, then they are still availble to you. (unlike the Original Star Wars on DVD for a long time).

I'm looking forward to these new remakes, but considering that its HD syndication, I'm not sure where it will appear.

Start the timer for the meltdown of hardened Trekkers.....

George Lucas must be having a laugh at this one considering all the flak he's had over "tinkering" with his original versions of Star Wars. Now another sacrosanct franchise is doing it.

Actually, I'd love to see these in HD, altered or not.

Not a Star Trek fan.

But the debate here will probably be as intense as the debate over American foreign policy. Maybe more intense. Makes one wonder about our priorities. :mad:

Assuming they re-transferred the film to produce this they would have to re-blue screen the shots and using updated backdrops would have basically been required. It's also possible that it would be re-matted to 16:9, but I'm not positive how that would work since many of the shots are far too tight as is.

I just hope they cleanup the editing as well, shooting in 24fps, but editing in 30fps ended up with lots of 3:2 pulldown errors on progressive displays.

All in all it sounds like marketing hype because everything the mention is basically required to make it look halfway decent in HD.

I just hope they cleanup the editing as well, shooting in 24fps, but editing in 30fps ended up with lots of 3:2 pulldown errors on progressive displays.24P is a necessity for doing effects with 24fps material.

Who will get this? Star Trek TOS is only on cable G4 (formerly TechTV), right now, correct?

I suspect the prints will be available but they will never be broadcast, just released on whichever HD disc format Paramout decides.

If INHD had any sense they would pick this up. HDNet would be more likely, especially since they have Enterprise.

I hope they don't change the sparkles in the water transporter effect. Maybe it was cheesy but I liked it better than the newer ones. It gave the feeling of being broken into particles.

I also prefer seeing the backdrops the way they were originally filmed, imperfections and all. It's even fun seeing the Enterprise making sudden jerky turns as it flys away.

I just hope they cleanup the editing as well, shooting in 24fps, but editing in 30fps ended up with lots of 3:2 pulldown errors on progressive displays.I thought the original was edited on film.

http://online.tvguide.com/news/insider/images/060831insider1pop.jpg

www.startrek.com states it for those stations with BROADCAST rights to the show. G4 is cable and not broadcast.

They wouldnt have to redo bluescreen shots. Look at the Star Wars films where lucas did the effects over existing backdrops like in Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back.

Is there a list of stations that are broadcasting this anywhere?

The complete press release from CBS:

"STAR TREK" ENTERING A NEW FRONTIER

The Original Series Returns To Broadcast Syndication For The First Time In 16 Years With Brand-New Digitally Remastered Episodes To Celebrate Its 40th Anniversary

Hollywood, Calif. -- STAR TREK is getting a 21st century makeover. CBS Paramount Domestic Television is releasing digitally remastered episodes of the iconic 1960s sci-fi series, with all new special effects and music, to celebrate the groundbreaking series' 40th anniversary, it was announced today by John Nogawski, president of CBS Paramount Domestic Television.

The new episodes also mark the first time in 16 years that the original STAR TREK series can be seen in broadcast syndication. The episodes will begin airing on the more than 200 stations that own the rights to the weekend broadcast syndication window starting Sept. 16 (check local listings for station and dates). All 79 episodes of the original STAR TREK series will eventually be remastered, with the first batch of episodes chosen from a list of STAR TREK fans' favorite shows.

"STAR TREK redefined science-fiction and constantly pushed the envelope with concepts that were ahead of their time," Nogawski said. "By giving the series a digital upgrade using the best technology available today, it will continue to be a leader in cutting-edge television programming as we introduce the series to a new generation of viewers."

The most noticeable change will be redoing many of the special effects, created with 1960s technology, with 21st century computer-generated imagery (CGI). That includes:

• Space ship exteriors -- The space ship Enterprise, as well as other Starships, will be replaced with state of the art CGI-created ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

• Show opening -- The Enterprise and planets seen in the main title sequence will be redone, giving them depth and dimension for the first time.

• Galaxy shots -- All the graphics of the galaxy, so frequently seen through the window on the Enterprise's bridge, will be redone.

• Exteriors -- The battle scenes, planets and ships from other cultures (notably the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers) will be updated.

• Background scenes -- Some of the iconic, yet flat, matte paintings used as backdrops for the strange, new worlds explored by the Enterprise crew will get a CGI face-lift, adding atmosphere and lighting.

The refurbished episodes also feature higher quality sound for the famous opening theme. The original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Alexander Courage has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier…" monologue continues to open each episode.

The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD.



STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES originally premiered on Sept. 8, 1966. Distributed by CBS Paramount Domestic Television, the series was created by Gene Roddenberry. The program stars William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, DeForest Kelley as Dr. "Bones" McCoy, James Doohan as Scotty, Walter Koenig as Chekov, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura and George Takei as Sulu.

CBS Paramount Domestic Television is a unit of CBS Corp.

Oh My ;)

The complete press release from CBS:
"STAR TREK" ENTERING A NEW FRONTIER
Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD.
.
What exactly does this mean? That it will not be a network feed? That the station will have to have it's own HD equipment to broadcast the show in HD?

What exactly does this mean? That it will not be a network feed? That the station will have to have it's own HD equipment to broadcast the show in HD?Probably. I'm guessing it'll be a lot like the Paramount HD-One movie package. Stations can either air it when it feeds or, if they have the gear, timeshift it.

One side of my mouth sees this as cool the other beyond pathetic. I'm seeing this as almost like revisionist history, it sounds better to us now but it still ain't the truth.

I guess I'll watch then say how I feel. :confused:

Art

I thought the original was edited on film.

It was. Snowmoon is confusing the Original Series (shot & post-produced on film) with the Next Generation (shot on film, post-produced on video).

The complete press release from CBS:
...
The original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Alexander Courage has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier…" monologue continues to open each episode.
...
Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD.
Re-recorded score? New singer? I don't have a problem with remastering Shatner's monologue (better than asking him to redo it!), but why re-record the original music?

The last sentence may be a good clue that few stations will actually be broadcasting this in HD starting Sept. 16. OTOH, with CBS behind this, I wonder if some of CBS O&O stations will be showing this in HD? But we need to get a list of the 200 local stations which will have signed up for ST:TOS so people in each market can contact the station and ask them what their plans are for HD broadcasting.

If this shows up in my local market in HD, I will watch some of the episodes.

Will this be released on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray? I haven't kept up with which studios are doing which format?

My local UPN/soon to be CW affiliate in Little Rock is going to be showing it, but as far as I know they do not yet have the ablity to do sydicated HD programming. I do know the engineers over there though and I will be shooting the chief engineer an email later to find out if anything has changed. He's told me before that he wants to get that capability, although Star Trek is probably not a high enough priorty for the station to upgrade for it. Clear Channel here also owned the Fox affiliate, and they would probably get the gear quicker.

I thought the original was edited on film.

My bad... I though this was refering to TNG not TOS

Hopefully the discs will include the TOS without the CGI upgrades for purists.

I'm excited that TOS is being given so much love from its current owner, CBS/Paramount. How many shows from the 50's or 60's have been given this level of restoration? I understand some of the animus regarding the CGI 'enhancements', but IMO it's all in the execution; if they are truly enhancements, and don't scream for attention, that's okay with me.

As someone asked earlier, is there any way to find a list of stations that will carry the show in HD?

Re-recorded score? New singer? I don't have a problem with remastering Shatner's monologue (better than asking him to redo it!), but why re-record the original music?


Perhaps the original music is a monaural recording, and they can't transition it to stereo?

What concerns me is it sounds as if they have done an extensive revision of the original special effects. I would have no problem if they did some minor CGI fixes such as removing wires holding up the spaceship models which would be much more obvious in HD or similar minor glitches in the filmed special effects.
In most cases, there shouldn't be any wires to be seen. The ships were filmed mounted to a static stand using a multipass matte process. There weren't held up by wires. In order to make the matte lines match up, it was critical the postion and camera motion be consistant for each pass. The used several ships based on how they were shot since each model had a built-in mount in one side or the other, the top, bottom, front or back. The mount was hidden by the ship since it was always on the opposite side of the model. TNG was shot this way, too, except for the warp effect. Later episodes of DS9 began using CGI in place of many models.

The one place where the appearance of wires may be visible is with ship explosions. These were shot from below with ships suspended by a break-away wire. The ship would be blown apart above a camera protected by a glass or plexiglass shield set at an angle to prevent ship pieces from landing directly in front of the lense. This allowed the appearance of a lack of gravity as the explosion would appear to move outward equally in all direction (rather than sideways and downward like earlier SciFi features showed). TNG use primacord, but I'm not sure if that was around for TOS.

Once and a while, though, the wire would be visible, still attached to a model part as it fell away from the explosion.

Assuming they re-transferred the film to produce this they would have to re-blue screen the shots and using updated backdrops would have basically been required. It's also possible that it would be re-matted to 16:9, but I'm not positive how that would work since many of the shots are far too tight as is.
While you did mention you thought we were discussing TNG, it is important to note TOS did not use blue screen technology. It didn't exist until later.

The backgrounds were inserted using black mattes. Even TNG used a slowly moving black curtain with reflective bits of metal on it to simulate the star fields outside windows. The main view screen on both series was a matte effect.

Please anyone can show the listing of TV stations, that will carry the Star Trek in HDTV from around the country?

Hoping that we can get it, in Albuquerque TV market.....

Thanks!

8-31-06

For those about to blast Lucas- they're redoing the effects, not changing the story (Han Shoots First!) Make teh content and story the same, and I'm fine with it.

I liked the enhancemetns that Lucas did (save for the Greedo scene- it was a material change) I'm fine with adding to what's there as long as it does not change the story, but enchances it via CG or what not.

Too bad they cannot do this with TNG. Everywhere I've ever seen it, it's been horribly soft all around (in any form of SD- never seen the DVDs)

I'm a long time fan, but ye gods! Who cares if they polish it up. Its not Olivier or Laurel and Hardy. It is not a great moment in TV history.

Let those who like cheesy special effects get the DVDs. Those of us who like cheesy acting can enjoy the HD remake. Let's face reality, Shatner is Shatner, no matter what's in the background. Although in my view his best moments (other than Price Line) were as the guy watching the gremlin tear up the wing (talk about special effects), and any Boston Legal episode.

Bring it on in HD, Comcast!

^Dude, you are sooo unworthy of your member name. Shatner was James T. Kirk, man. He'll always be Kirk. That fat guy on Boston Legal? That ain't him.


;)

^Dude, you are sooo unworthy of your member name. Shatner was James T. Kirk, man. He'll always be Kirk. That fat guy on Boston Legal? That ain't him.


;)
That fat guy on "Boston Legal" is Capt Kirk's father isn't it..?? :eek: :p

Wonder if they'll stick ridges on the Klingon's foreheads....

This is a different thing than the whole Lucas/Starwars affair. In this case, the original Star Trek is still available, and the 'enhanced' version is offered as another version. I think you would see a much bigger uproar if they pulled all old Star Trek eps forever and replaced them with the new version.

Trek Movie Report says the HD version is for BROADCAST ONLY. NO DVD of ANY FLAVOR.

http://trekmovie.com/category/tos-in-hd/

The Trek Movie Report has learned some more details that should answer some of those questions:

* Broadcasts start in mid/late September
* No DVD (or HD-DVD or BluRay) release in the near future
* Episodes will NOT air in the original production order (nor original airing order)
* First episode will (probably) be “Balance Of Terror“
* CGI Trek Videos on YouTube (here and here) are not related to this project
* TV Land and G4 will continue to show ‘classic’ Trek in standard 4:3 ratio

Here's an official release.
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/23775.html

I'm a huge fan and this is just amazing news. I'm way excited about this.

Don't worry we still have the original shows in 4x3 on DVD.

ok so which channels and which markets will be getting the HD?

Can anyone see a new DVD set coming out of all this. Why else would they go through all the trouble?Very simple.
HD DVD / Blu-Ray.

* No DVD (or HD-DVD or BluRay) release in the near future
There may be no "official" plans for HD-DVD or Blu-Ray release, but we will eventually see them. Run through Season 1 by spring/summer of 2007 in syndication. Then after season 2 is well into the syndication cycle, put out a premium priced HD (in one or both of the 2 formats) season 1 box set late in 2007 in time for the Xmas shopping season. That is my fearless prediction!

Come the weekend of September 16, we can use this forum to assemble a list of the local - if any - stations broadcasting TOS in HD along with a list of which stations have indicated that they are working towards towards showing it in HD this year.

I just went over to the Paramount TV syndication website, and I notice that it has not been updated to reflect availability of this new syndicated package in HD. As a result, I am still treating reports that the syndicated package is being offered in HD as being just rumors, especially since that Paramount website is stating that the show is being delivered via Pathfire (which several industry folks here have previously told us does not support HD).

Despite all this, I hope that the rumors are true, since this would be something that could be really interesting to see in HD, albeit in edited-for-syndication versions -- the stated running time for each episode is around 43:48, versus over 50 minutes for the original network broadcasts.

As for which stations will be running this -- I have heard elsewhere that incumbent "Enterprise" stations had first shot at this, so I suspect you can figure that whoever is carrying "Enterprise" reruns in your local market will be the station that carries the original series com mid-September.

Cyclone predictions:

So how far into Season 1 will we be before a Starbucks appears either in the Enterprise, on a Starbase, or on a colony?

Or the comunicators get the T-Mobile Ring tone?

Spock reaches for a Pepsi and declares it the only logical choice?

A pack of Trojans is always seen by the bed in the Captains quarters (as a PSA service mind you).

Sulu gets a special rainbow pride insignia on his uniform?

The main screen viewer on the bridge gets a Sony logo just directly under it?

I tell you, I'm setting my DVR to warp factor 10 (well what ever the limit was in TOS). I'm really excited about this news. Especially that I'm really only hearing about it to this extent just a few short weeks before it takes to the air. I'm used to having to wait years (ie Star Wars TV) before somthing I waiting on airs. :D :D :D

Good news!!

KASY-DT, in Albuquerque will be carry Star Trek in HDTV!! :D :D :D

I got a e-mail from KASY-DT, saying they will broadcast Star Trwck on 9-16-06!

Not bad for top #46 broadcast TV market in the country! :)

8-31-06

This is a different thing than the whole Lucas/Starwars affair. In this case, the original Star Trek is still available, and the 'enhanced' version is offered as another version. I think you would see a much bigger uproar if they pulled all old Star Trek eps forever and replaced them with the new version.

The original versions of the Star Wars movies are coming out on DVD. However, they won't be anamorphic or of great quality.

Good news!!

KASY-DT, in Albuquerque will be carry Star Trek in HDTV!! :D :D :D

I got a e-mail from KASY-DT, saying they will broadcast Star Trwck on 9-16-06!

Not bad for top #46 broadcast TV market in the country! :)

8-31-06We shall see. I tend to think channels sometimes mistake running SD on their digital channels as being "HD".

WCVB-DT in Boston reruns Enterprise in 4:3 SD, but I highly doubt they'll be doing TOS in HD.

We shall see. I tend to think channels sometimes mistake running SD on their digital channels as being "HD".

WCVB-DT in Boston reruns Enterprise in 4:3 SD, but I highly doubt they'll be doing TOS in HD.

That is because the Enterprise reruns are sent in SD only,otherwise HDNEt's ruynning of Enterprise IN HD would not carry as much weight.

If CBS had 1/2 a clue they would offer this as a downloadable HQ XVID. Most ST slash scifi geeks are very resourceful in aquiring the best version available. Its save to say it will be available 9/17/06 and with a $50 DVD player one will be able to watch it W/O commercials in HD quality. Hollywood just doesn't get it, rather they pay lobbist big bucks to squash technology. Totally clueless.

I'm very excited about the face lift. I've always hoped that they would just hire new actors for the original crew and make new epsidodes with the ole gang. Like there isn't any material out there, about 2 million paperbacks with excellent stories.

Final note, this was inspired by DS9's episode when they mixed in the old crew with Sisko and Co. Looked good.

Wonder if they'll stick ridges on the Klingon's foreheads....

According to a Worf quote in DS9's Trials and Tribble-ations, "That's a LONG story.

Wolfie

I find the cheesy (by todays standards) special effects to be part of the charm of the show. If they wanted to go back and remove strings from props and re touch the seams on Spock's ears or whatnot I'd have no problem. Wholesale backdrop changes however are a different story.

If CBS had 1/2 a clue they would offer this as a downloadable HQ XVID. Most ST slash scifi geeks are very resourceful in aquiring the best version available. Its save to say it will be available 9/17/06 and with a $50 DVD player one will be able to watch it W/O commercials in HD quality. Hollywood just doesn't get it, rather they pay lobbist big bucks to squash technology. Totally clueless.Just like Seinfeld, I'll wager by 10/17 no channel will be broadcasting it in HD. I'll bid 1000 Quatloos on it.;)

CBS is pushing many stations into HD syndication capacity with Jeopardy and WOF. This might extend that effort. The next step will be talk shows. Dr. Phil is a CBS Paramount show, imagine how much better will that be in HD. Um ok maybe that's a bad example.

I find the cheesy (by todays standards) special effects to be part of the charm of the show.
And I find many of the cheesy special effects to be amazingly convincing considering the time and budget constraints the show was working under. I mean the Enterprise and other spacecraft really did look like objects to me (well, in SD anyway) because they were real objects. The clever guys who made them look so good forty years ago shouldn't have their hard work wiped out, especially if they'll be replacing the effects wtih inferior CGI shots.

There have been rumors about Star Trek: TOS being redone in HD, but this news has been showing up elsewhere, so the reports of TOS in HD look to be solid. But TOS in HD syndication?? That is news, if this is true.

What concerns me is it sounds as if they have done an extensive revision of the original special effects. I would have no problem if they did some minor CGI fixes such as removing wires holding up the spaceship models which would be much more obvious in HD or similar minor glitches in the filmed special effects. But replacing static backdrop paintings with animated background scenes and wholesale replacement of special effect shots? Not as comfortable with this, but if it only the special effects that are updating, that may work. Just don't emulate Lucas and re-edit stuff: Kirk shoots first and gets the babe - keep it that way.

I can see why CBS/Paramount would do this. Updating the special effects helps - in theory - the rerun value of the show going forward and may make it more acceptable to a younger generation of viewers who are used to decent looking special effects and who might otherwise not watch the TOS (we see this with people who won't watch B&W movies).

Major questions:
1) Will this be in 4:3 or will they crop it to 16:9? I fear they will crop it.

2) If this is being offered to syndication specifically as a updated version for the SD channels along with an HD version, which stations will be broadcasting it? I can't see Paramount going to all this trouble if they did not have a number of local stations lined up to broadcast TOS in HD.


If they can crop the show as well as HDNET does with Hogan's Heroes (approximately 1:66 to 1), I'm all for it. Apparently back in the 60's most television sets had large overscan, so the programs had plenty of "empty"space in them. Others? Any word on the plans for the aspect ratio?

I'm one of those purists who liked the original show since it was state of the art for it's day, but I have to admit I'm looking forward to how they will redo some of the classic show's special effects. Remember the paper-mache painted funnel known as the Doomsday machine along with the USS Constellation starship that as damaged, look more like a kid stepped on it rather than attacked by a plasma weapon? That's the kind of stuff I'd love to see redone.

Bottom line is that as long as the old shows will still be around and available, Paramount can do these kind of tweaks as much as they'd like (not changing the story, of course).

I thought the Doomsday machine itself looked pretty cool, unlike what you would expect and the damage to the Constellation was fairly detailed. However almost every other special effect in the episode was pretty terrible. The firey innards of the Doomsday machine looked like orange tinsel blowing in a fan. The phasers "bouncing" off it were cartoonish. The shot before the Constellation gets "eaten" looked terrible -- it should have been a sillhouette against the bright mouth of the Doomsday machine. And the "explosion" was as impressive as paint coming out of a spray can.

It's my favorite Star Trek episode but I don't think fixing these effects will make it much better.

From what I can tell Star Trek TOS will not be distributed to the stations in HD in September. The press release says:
The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HDThat does not say HD distribution will begin on Sept 16. If the distribution is via Pathfire, then that would certainly indicate that it is not HD. Pathfire does not support HD at the moment.

As with a previous post, I hope I'm wrong. But at this point I've not seen any evidence of HD distribution for this show in September. Maybe a bit further down the road.

I think this posting on the CBS/Paramount website should end the uncertainty: http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/23775.html

I've always hoped that they would just hire new actors for the original crew and make new epsidodes with the ole gang.

The Great Bird of the Galaxy heard you!

You can go to http://www.startreknewvoyages.com and new episodes of the TOS are being shot and made available for free for the downloading. They have two episodes out now, the first one done in 2003 called "Come What May" with John Winston (Transporter Chief Kyle) in a cameo and one shoot in 2005 called "In Harms Way" with special guest stars, William Windom, reprising his role as "Commodore Decker," BarBara Luna who was the "Captain's Woman" in the TOS episode, "Mirror, Mirror" along with Malachi Trone (Commodore Mendenez of "The Menagerie").

On September 8th, they will be releasing their third episode, written by DC (Dorothy) Fontana and guest staring Walter Koenig reprising his role of Chekov and in late September begins shooting on their fourth episode with guest stars George Takei as Sulu, Grace Lee Whitney and from Odyssey 5 Leslie Silva with the episode written by Ethan Calk and Jack Trevino. David Gerrold has also signed up for two episodes, repurposing an unused Phase II script.

The Enterprise sets are exact copies from the actual blue prints and the SFX are CGI and are done by people who work on active sci fi shows, some we talk about here on AVSForum. You HAVE seen their work.

I have no connection with them other than I like their work.

TRIVIA ALERT! The helmsman navigation viewer used in one episode of Enterprise was THE viewer used by the helmsman from this set.

^Dude, you are sooo unworthy of your member name. Shatner was James T. Kirk, man. He'll always be Kirk. That fat guy on Boston Legal? That ain't him.


;)

I enjoyed the original, I did, but that does not mean I have to admire Shatner as an actor, or that I cannot chuckle at him on BL. What was it the Shatner said on SNL back in '87?

And the name, well it has nothing to do with the ST franchise, but a lot to do with a hobby of mine. Live long and prosper.

For those still not sure if this is true... I think this posting on the CBS/Paramount website should end the uncertainty: http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/23775.html How does that end the uncertainty?

so cbs locals would be the source for ST in HD?

Here's a post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8336629&highlight=pathfire#post8336629) from a station regarding this issue:
We at KSTW have the Star Trek series, however, there is no plan by the syndicator, Paramount, to distribute it to us in HD.

Almost all syndicated programming for TV stations across the country comes from a distribution clearinghouse by satellite called Pathfire. All Pathfire can support at this time is SD distribution.

That sucks!

I've never seen Star Trek: Enterprise on HDnet, only Oddysey 5. I don't think they carry it or any other HD channel either.
I hope the new CGI Star Treks aren't on the same stations as syndicated Enterprise, its only on a low quality ex-UPN analog station for me and they don't even have a digital station much less HD. All the other local network stations have HD though.

I've never seen Star Trek: Enterprise on HDnet, only Oddysey 5. I don't think they carry it or any other HD channel either.


HDnet has been running commercials for Star Trek: Enterprise almost constantly for the past few weeks. Series starts in September.

Here's HDNet's link (requires Quicktime) for the upcoming series:
http://www.hd.net/enterprise_promo.html . It's brief--and for those not atuned to all the series variations, makes it clear this isn't the original TV S.T (original, 1st post, Trekweb link).
--John

Here's HDNet's link (requires Quicktime) for the upcoming series:
http://www.hd.net/enterprise_promo.html . It's brief--and for those not atuned to all the series variations, makes it clear this isn't the original TV S.T (original, 1st post, Trekweb link).
--John

Are you saying there they made a mistake and are NOT releasing the orginal 60's tv series? It seems to me both are being released. The link you posted and the original 60's series.

Are you saying there they made a mistake and are NOT releasing the orginal 60's tv series? It seems to me both are being released. The link you posted and the original 60's series.Both are coming out, this fall. "Enterprise" will be on HDNet while ST:TOS will run in broadcast syndication.

Doc

From what I can tell Star Trek TOS will not be distributed to the stations in HD in September. The press release says:
That does not say HD distribution will begin on Sept 16. If the distribution is via Pathfire, then that would certainly indicate that it is not HD. Pathfire does not support HD at the moment.

As with a previous post, I hope I'm wrong. But at this point I've not seen any evidence of HD distribution for this show in September. Maybe a bit further down the road.

Is there any other viable broadcast HD distribution medium other than Pathfire?

yes this is just clever studio FUD

many in the past have cleverly worded HD into their releases, but that doesn't mean we are getting HD. not only is the distribution system not their yet, especially for a low rent show like this, but if you read the PR you'll see that they are doing the conversions now, which means they wouldn't even have the shows to offer in HD, ie they have a couple eps converted to generate buzz and the rest are not and still the same ol same ol SD and old special effects. it would be a waste to syndicate an HD show when only one ep a month was actually HD.

and don't rely on contacting your local stations; they often are more clueless than anyone. they may know a bit about how to tweak their analog broadcasting antenna, but this new scary digital world is just 'fuzzy math' to most of them.

Is there any other viable broadcast HD distribution medium other than Pathfire?Well, they could always send the thing down one of the CBS pipelines during off-times for timeshifting as they did for the Paramount HD-One movies and still do for CBS Sunday Primetime during football season.

But Pathfire will be handling "Wheel" and "Jeopardy," HD Feeds (http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=58639) this fall, though only with a "handful of stations" until the bugs get worked out.

Just think: Tomorrow, the 16th will show up in the TVGuide 14-day window and we can all get up at the crack of dawn to find out where and when this thing's gonna show. :D

Are you saying there they made a mistake and are NOT releasing the orginal 60's tv series? It seems to me both are being released. The link you posted and the original 60's series.
No, just trying to make the distinction after the HDNet-related posts. As I mentioned, for those like myself not so finely attuned to all the series, the ": Enterprise" add-on is a little vague. -- John

Just think: Tomorrow, the 16th will show up in the TVGuide 14-day window and we can all get up at the crack of dawn to find out where and when this thing's gonna show. :D

Except for those of us who's guide only goes up to four days.

Marcus..

I meant the one at tvguide.com. Even though that's not always complete, either.

Am I missing something here? Where does it say that Star Trek:TOS is going to be syndicated in HD?

Am I missing something here? Where does it say that Star Trek:TOS is going to be syndicated in HD?
In the part of the press release that states: "The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD."

The question is not whether the revamped TOS will be shown in syndication starting on the weekend of Sept. 16 across the US, but whether there will be any showing it in HD and if so, how many? There has been 1 post that the engineer at the local station has stated that his station will be showing TOS in HD. So there may be a few that will do so or maybe none at all until later in the TV season. We will likely have to wait until the weekend of Sept. 16 to see what the stations send out.

Here's info from Paramount TV (http://paramounttv.com/star_trek_2006_07_basic_information.htm):

The 2006/07 Season of STAR TREK runs 09/16/06 (week of 09/11/06) through 09/09/07.

STAR TREK is a one-hour, weekly show. It is pitched via Pathfire on Thursdays before the weekend window begins.

____________________________________________________________

STAR TREK is closed captioned and in stereo on Channels 1 & 2 and SAP Mono Spanish on Channel ?. Delivery is in standard definition.
As Pathfire is not being used for general HD distribution yet, these shows will very likely be distributed in SD only. If they were HD, they would probably be using linear satellite feeds like Wheel and Jeopardy are. Plus I think they would be making a bigger deal of this if it were to be shown in HD. Maybe once they get their feet wet with Wheel and Jeopardy Star Trek:TOS will be next.

The title of this thread is misleading. There is no solid evidence to its validity, and much to the contrary. It should at least have a question mark. The mods here are usually very diligent about maintaining such accuracy and it surprises me that hasn't been done with this thread.

I suspect it won't be long before punctuation is added with a big NO after it. If it's a YES, then that will be good too. A pessimist is never disappointed.

EDIT: Thread title was updated. However now it appears to question whether the remastered version is in HD. It is. What's in doubt is whether the Sept 16th syndication will include the HD version. I had meant the question mark should be at the end of the title.

from trekmovie.com

HDTV Trek Will NOT Be in Widescreen…Plus Some More Details September 2, 2006
by Anthony Pascale
Since breaking the story on Star Trek going HD, TrekMovie.com has been trying to get more and more updates to keep answering the questions coming from the fans. One burning question was about the ratio, will it be formatted for HD TVs in 16:9, or as originally formatted in a 4:3 ratio, or both. Many thought that after seeing the Eden test it might be in 16:9 widescreen, but the official CBS photo is in 4:3. Now we have that info and some more directly from CBS Paramount:

Ratio: 4:3 (no letterboxing on regular TVs, ‘windowboxing’ on HDTVs)
Countries: USA only
Episodes/yr: 40 (one new episode per week, with some repeats)
First Episodes: “Balance of Terror”, “Miri”, “The Devil in the Dark”, and “The Naked Time”
Station List: TBA (only ‘handful’ will broadcast in HD)
Runtime: TBA (not original 51 minutes, will be edited down for commercials)

from trekmovie.com
Ratio: 4:3 (no letterboxing on regular TVs, ‘windowboxing’ on HDTVs) :)
Countries: USA only :(
Episodes/yr: 40 (one new episode per week, with some repeats) :)
First Episodes: “Balance of Terror”, “Miri”, “The Devil in the Dark”, and “The Naked Time” :rolleyes:
Station List: TBA (only ‘handful’ will broadcast in HD) :rolleyes:
Runtime: TBA (not original 51 minutes, will be edited down for commercials) :eek:

Sorry, but I'd rather watch G4's 'Trek' repeats (which go beyond the hour-long standard to fit the length of the show and accomodate commercials) than chopped-for-syndication weekly CG updated one's. BTW, anyone care to bet that when HD-DVD/BR seasons come out next year the episodes will feature the original 50m broadcast running time? Bastards! :mad:

My TV guide interactive lists Star Trek on WCVB Boston. 9/17 2:35-3:35 AM Episode title is "Balance of Terror". No mention of format, but I'll assume SD since delivery is from Pathfire.

Gotta get all those commercials in. Keep em coming. Cut down on the show length more and more. As it is I can't watch a show live anymore. Aside from almost 20 minues of a 60 minute show being commercials, they are about twice as loud as the program, making me dive for the remote (we always mute and skip commercials). Thank God for HBO, HDNet and inHD. And thank God for DVRs. It's a pitty we won't be able to see the complete episodes so we can instead have enough time to hear Billy Mays scream at us about some cleaning product.

Runtime: TBA (not original 51 minutes, will be edited down for commercials)

This information can be found right on Paramount's syndication website. And here's what Paramount has to say about it:


New syndicated versions have standardized running times of 43:48 PRT with 6 breaks.

Average running time of network version (when applicable): 50:50

In DC, WDCA (MyNetworkTV O&O) is picking up Star Trek. They run Enterprise, so this move makes sense. They have been slow on HD (we got UPN HD this July), but hope remains: Their sister station (WTTG, FOX O&O) is upgrading local news to HD, and they share the same facilities, so HD could be in our future.

TVGuide shows it running Saturdays at 10 PM.

In Cleveland, WBNX will be showing it Saturday at Midnight (Sunday morning), according to TitanTV. No possibility of HD here, since WBNX doesn't even have a digital signal on the air yet.

New syndicated versions have standardized running times of 43:48 PRT with 6 breaks.

Average running time of network version (when applicable): 50:50

I believe the 50:50 running time includes the 30-second next-episode previews. So that's 50:20 for the shows w/credits - 43:48 = about 6-1/2 minutes chopped from each episode (or possibly speeded up/time compressed as well). Wonderful.

KASY-DT in Albuquerque TV market, will show Star Trek at 9 PM Mountain Time! :)

Looking forward to this great show!


9-3-06

KCWE in Kansas City has it set for 7PM CST. TitanTV shows no HD on it though. Does anyone's station have it in HD?

Free pass* to the next Trek convention for a verifiable report of a station showing this in HD.

*(Free pass has added cost for price of admission, shipping fees and administration. Travel and lodging not included. Delivery may take up to 20 years. You must have an IQ lower than 60 to qualify. Void where prohibited which is everywhere.)

From what I have seen,it seems like the stations who ran the "weekly" reruns of Enterprise will get the weekly reruns of TOS.

The weekly reruns of Enterprise will not really be missed as they were in 4:3 letterbox (NO HD or even 16:9 SD) and always seemed to be the same 10 or so episodes. The series premiere a few critically accaimed shows here and there a few cool two parters from the 4th season,and the horrible series finale.

New syndicated versions have standardized running times of 43:48 PRT with 6 breaks.

Average running time of network version (when applicable): 50:50


In other words, losing about 14% of the show, not to mention screwing up the credits somehow.

If it weren't for the DVR, I probably wouldn't watch network television at all anymore. HBO has enough good series, commercial free. And I can rent the series I want to watch, commercial free, on DVD.

KAIL-TV which ran Enterprise at 7 PM on Saturdays will air Star Trek: TOS at that time. KUVI-TV My45 Bakersfield on the other hand which carried Enterprise at 7 PM will move to 10 PM Saturdays. They will have the episodes in Widescreen HDTV.

According to online listings, original series on WNUV in Baltimore on 9/17 at 3 AM. Don't know about HD.

In Cleveland, WBNX will be showing it Saturday at Midnight (Sunday morning), according to TitanTV. No possibility of HD here, since WBNX doesn't even have a digital signal on the air yet.
In case you didn't know, they will be airing the episode at 2PM on Sunday afternoon as well (same slot that Enterprise had).

I'm interested in checking these episodes out. The cutting sucks, but I've already seen the episodes, so I don't really care too much. I just want to see these enhancements. I've never been much of a fan of TOS.

Looks like WJZY will have it here in charlotte. I doubt it will be in HDTV though.

8pm

In DC, WDCA (MyNetworkTV O&O) is picking up Star Trek. They run Enterprise, so this move makes sense. They have been slow on HD (we got UPN HD this July), but hope remains: Their sister station (WTTG, FOX O&O) is upgrading local news to HD, and they share the same facilities, so HD could be in our future.

TVGuide shows it running Saturdays at 10 PM.

Exercise caution when setting DVRs, since there's a 7 pm Nationals game on DCA that night.

Well I see it in Sacramento where I expected to see it: 5pm on Saturday 9/16/06 on Ch. 31... NOT in HD... :-/

KAIL-TV which ran Enterprise at 7 PM on Saturdays will air Star Trek: TOS at that time. KUVI-TV My45 Bakersfield on the other hand which carried Enterprise at 7 PM will move to 10 PM Saturdays. They will have the episodes in Widescreen HDTV.
Well Trek itself is still 4:3. And according to TitanTV neither of those stations have Star Trek in HD. How did you hear it would be in HD?

According to TVGuide.com my local ABC station WPDE-DT 15 out of Florence SC is airing Balance of Terror Sun, Sep 17 at 02:10 AM but no mention of HD.

I get two CBS stations (WRAL & WBTW) but neither show as airing Star Trek anytime up throuth the 17th.

NBC at 12:05am on Sunday night but not in HD here in Los Angeles

No No No. I just checked my local listings and the show is being carried on NBC in my town.
NBC is the only network not in HD.

At least I just found out that the NBC station 70 miles away is showing Star Trek at 1:00 AM Sunday Morning. Usualy at that time the station is coming in pretty well.
Of course I can not tape it so I will have to stay up till 2:00 AM if I want to watch in HD.

according to Titan tv it will be showing in Atlanta on WSBdt 2.1 (abc) 2:00 am on 9/17 apperantely not in HD. And what a great time slot...
thanks WSB

SanFran Bay Area, KBCW, formerly KBHK UPN 44, has TOS scheduled for 11 p.m. Saturday, starting Sept. 16 with HD availability! Unfortunately for me, I can't get the station via OTA and I have D* locals, so it's SD for me.

SanFran Bay Area, KBCW, formerly KBHK UPN 44, has TOS scheduled for 11 p.m. Saturday, starting Sept. 16 with HD availability! Unfortunately for me, I can't get the station via OTA and I have D* locals, so it's SD for me.
It isn't HD according to their own TitanTV portal: http://kbcwtv.com/schedule/

NYC - WNBC4 Monday morning 3:35 AM (most likely even later due to Sunday Night Football)

Station is fully HD capable.... although currently doesn't list this as HD

Near as I can tell no station is getting this in HD, I plugged in a ton of station call letters and checked their listings. This appears to be thanks to the chosen distribution method: Pathfire.

Way to go Paramount, I hear tell there is a press conference on the remastered Trek on Wednesday.

Near as I can tell no station is getting this in HD, I plugged in a ton of station call letters and checked their listings. This appears to be thanks to the chosen distribution method: Pathfire.Or they are holding out the HD for optical disc sales.

It isn't HD according to their own TitanTV portal: http://kbcwtv.com/schedule/

My mistake. The station's guide lists its digital channel separate from analog. I thought that was HD.

It would be nice if the two acronyms "TOS" and "CGI" that were used in the first two sentences in this article; would be defined as neither is a every day term and also mean different things.
BTW, "The" is not normally used as part of an acronym (or would be a lower case letter).

At least the CBS press release did this. Everyone that watched the series isn't a 'die hard Trekie'.

Question. If Wheel and Jepody are to be distributed in HD via Pathfire, how can Pathfire not be available in HD?

It would be nice if the two acronyms "TOS" and "CGI" that were used in the first two sentences in this article; would be defined as neither is a every day term and also mean different things.
BTW, "The" is not normally used as part of an acronym (or would be a lower case letter).

At least the CBS press release did this. Everyone that watched the series isn't a 'die hard Trekie'.
Well, the acronym OS is already taken and it would just look funny as tOS ;)

And I thought CGI would be more common since most movies nowadays use it.

And on Pathfire for HD, only thing I could find in a quick search is http://www.digitalproducer.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=58639

It looks like they have to tweak it for HD.

Wheel and Jeopardy are being distributed by scheduled linear satellite feeds. It looks like HD on Pathfire at this point is more of an experiment. They might be able to flip files to an air server, but I don't think the video workstations are capable of linear HD playout.

According to online listings, original series on WNUV in Baltimore on 9/17 at 3 AM. Don't know about HD.WNUV-DT's (MyNet Baltimore) engineer just posted that it won't be in HD (at least as first) since they do not have the equipment to do it.

Has anyone spoken to an engineer at WNBC? I wrote an e-mail but got no response.

No Star Trek TOS in HD in Wichita Kansas. :(

Question. If Wheel and Jepody are to be distributed in HD via Pathfire, how can Pathfire not be available in HD?
They aren't yet AFAIK: The PR they issued just said sometime in this season which they defined as Sept 06 through May 07, King World is supposed to start shooting in HD starting 9/11/06. Also don't forget Wheel and Jeopardy are the first shows for a test of the Pathfire upgrades. Pathfire isn't supposed to be ready to carry lots of HD feeds for sometime.

"We're working on it with CBS now, and our intention is to do it within the television season [which runs September to May]," Fabiano says.
http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=58639

If they can do a good job (like the Hogan's Heroes episodes on HDNET, which are superb), I will applaud the effort. I must say I'm reluctant to endorse their "improving" the special effects, though... Why not just expand the ratio (assuming these can be pulled out from the original 35 MM) and issue as "HD" - which is what appears to have been done with HH?

I guess it's time to look into getting the DVD set; I own a couple of the VHS tapes from the eighties but never bothered to purchase others. I agree that the kitschy look and feel of the originals is a large part of their residual charm. Like Turner "colorizing" classic cinema, something doesn't wash with me about modernizing the SFX.

According to a Worf quote in DS9's Trials and Tribble-ations, "That's a LONG story.

Wolfie

"We do NOT discuss it with OUTSIDERS!"

he's right. the new trek will not be distributed in hd anytime soon. details to come.

"We do NOT discuss it with OUTSIDERS!"They did offer up an explaination in the last season of Enterprise.

According to a post from an employee of the Sacramento station offering TOS, it will not be in HD for anyone. Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8369243#post8369243) is the link to the posting in the Sacramento OTA forum.

They did offer up an explaination in the last season of Enterprise.
The following excerpts are from the plot synopsis of the two episodes to which Sigma957 is referring:

From plot synopsis of ST: Enterprise "Affliction"
"...the Klingons bring Phlox a Klingon specimen for dissection The "specimen," however, is still alive. Phlox notices that the specimen's [i]skin appears to be peeling, his forehead ridges smoothing out. Despite the doctor's protests, the ailing Klingon is killed, giving Phlox something to study. As Phlox works, he discovers something disturbing — his specimen has Augment DNA.

Phlox realizes the Klingons were attempting to create Klingon Augments. Unfortunately, there were some unanticipated side effects, and the Augments' forehead ridges began to dissolve. It seemed for a while as if the experiment was successful — the Klingon Augments looked human, but were still very Klingon in nature. Then their neural pathways began to degrade and they died in agony. One of the Klingon test subjects happened to be suffering from the Levodian flu — the Augment genes modified the virus and it became airborne, resulting in the current plague.

From plot synopsis of ST: Enterprise "Divergence"
Onboard Enterprise, Phlox examines Antaak (a Klingon research doctor). After being infected with the virus, the Klingon doctor's forehead ridges have completely disappeared — he has become a metagenic Klingon. Antaak is a bit disturbed and notes that millions of Klingons will have to live with this cosmetic change, which will be (genetically) passed down to their children. Ever hopeful, Phlox tells him that it may be possible, in the future, to reverse the effects.

Remastered in HD, but not available in HD?
One of the areas of confusion lately is regarding the availability to see the show in HDTV. TrekMovie.com was told that some stations would be carrying the show in HD, but since that time no listings (including on digital HD stations) seem to be in HD. When asked about this Nogawksi said that all the remastered episodes are ‘available’ in HD format, however there are issues regarding affiliates abilities to store the show in HD so for now it is being distributed in SD. He went on to say that as time went on they would try and work with affiliates who wanted to show Star Trek Remastered in HD. So it appears for the time being that the only place to see Star Trek Remastered in HD is at CBS Paramount headquarters. Another lingering question that is also vexing our friend Bill Hunt at Digital Bits, revolves around the format for the HD versions of the show. CBS said that the show in syndication was in standard 4:3 ratio, but the new HD master was in 16:9 widescreen. What is unclear is if this widescreen version crops the original show, or if it has left and right black bars ‘letterboxing ‘ [Matt of httpcnews.com lets me know that the correct term for vertical bars is ‘pillarboxing’]. Expect updates as more info comes out about HD, ratios, etc.

http://trekmovie.com/2006/09/06/trek-remastered-producers-nothing-is-being-changed/#more-149

WNBC-DT in New York just announced that they'll be converting all their newscasts and other local programming to HD beginning Sept. 13th:

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6369114

WNBC, as it happens, will be carrying the new syndicated package, running it at 3:35am Sunday night/Monday morning beginning Sept. 17/18.

This says nothing about the general availability of the package in HD, but it's a hopeful sign that WNBC will at least have the capability to transmit it in HD.

Well, I guess thats the curse of current day HD syndication.

But with Seinfeld, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and now ST:TOS at least available in HDTV, this will get the wheels in motion.

I guess this forum will have a purpose for many years to come. :D

WNBC, as it happens, will be carrying the new syndicated package, running it at 3:35am Sunday night/Monday morning beginning Sept. 17/18.

This says nothing about the general availability of the package in HD, but it's a hopeful sign that WNBC will at least have the capability to transmit it in HD.


I would take that WNBC puts Star Trek TOS: on as the last weekend syndicated program before it returns to it's daily schedule. Are they also going to chop down the hour long Star Trek to 55 mins? I know that KNBC-TV which has been airing ST: Enterprise at 12:05 AM Sunday Night/Monday Morning is keeping that hour with Star Trek: TOS but since when did WNBC start putting TOS at 3:30 AM?

From Digitalbits.com:

http://www.digitalbits.com/#mytwocents

Well... we've got some more information for you today on CBS/Paramount's effort to upgrade Star Trek: The Original Series in high-definition with new digital effects. This comes from a phone Q&A session with producers John Nogawski, Dave Rossi, and Michael Okuda, held earlier this morning:

The effort to update The Original Series is a completely independent effort from Paramount's theatrical side of the franchise. This is not related to the J.J. Abrams feature.

The purpose of this effort is NOT to change the story and plot. They're working rather "to enhance the experience of watching Star Trek." The intent is very much to honor the original.

The work is painstaking... they're trying to be very faithful to the original effects, right down to the placement of stars. Says Mike Okuda: "Star Trek is a period piece... all the decisions are being made so as to honor and recreate the look and feel of the original style, direction and cinematography."They're confining themselves to the original edit length of the shots, and the dynamics of motion and position within the shots will be the same (so don't look for the Enterprise to do any barrel-rolls, etc).

There are certain occasions where they are going to do things to correct errors, but they're not going into the live-action footage much. Mostly they're sticking to exterior ship shots and viewscreen shots, and some atmospheric effects are being added to matte paintings of planet exteriors. The aliens will stay the same (no revised Klingon foreheads, etc)!

In addressing the ways in which the series' classic opening has been changed, it was noted that the re-modeled CG Enterprise was created from measurements taken from the original filming model hanging in the Smithsonian. All the star patterns are being exactly duplicated. The Enterprise motion is simply being smoothed out. The music is being re-scored, but otherwise most of the changes are very subtle.

Mike Okuda was initially a little reluctant when he first heard that this was bring done, but when he learned the spirit of the effort, his opinion changed. The producers involved in the effort are not concerned about a backlash, because they're "taking every effort to do it appropriately." For example, they've spent hours discussing whether or not to do certain changes, so they're being very careful.

All 79 episodes are being done, plus the pilot. 35-40 episodes will be done for weekly broadcast syndication airing this year, and another 35-40 for next year. The entire length of the episode is being done, not just the 43-minute syndication length (broadcast stations choose how much they wish to show of the episode). There are somewhere between 15-70 effects shots per episode, and the total length of enhanced footage per episode could be as little as a minute and a half (depending on the episode).

Masters are apparently being created in both 4x3 and 16x9. [Editor's Note: We're working to determine EXACTLY what this means, and how the specific footage is being handled.] Eventually, the producers expect that there will be a DVD release of the new versions [and presumably high-definition HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions as well], but not right away, as it's going to take at least a year to get all the work on all the episodes done.

The original versions of the episodes will continue to be available on TV Land and G4, and the previously-released DVDs will continue to be available. The new versions will be seen only in broadcast syndication for at least the next year or so, and will air as they're completed. The new versions can't be shown on cable until all the episodes are done, as cable syndication deals are made in "strip" packages (meaning entire runs of episodes - complete seasons or entire series). The original film masters of all the episodes will be preserved.

The episodes will be seen on more than 200 stations around the country, starting on September 19th. In terms of which specific stations will be showing the new versions, The Original Series is apparently replacing Enterprise in syndication. So if your local station has been showing Enterprise in recent months, that station will now be showing the new enhanced Original Series episodes. Enterprise is being moved to strip syndication on Sci-Fi Channel and HDNet. Star Trek.com will be posting a list of every market in the country where you can see the new episodes soon. Promotion/advertising for the newly-enhanced Star Trek is expected to begin this week.

Not all of the broadcast stations will be able to transmit the episodes in full HD. Regardless, they'll be shown in the original 4x3 aspect ratio (presumably with black bars on the sides for digital broadcasts). It's up to the affiliates as to whether they'll show the episodes in true HD. Apparently, many stations don't have the harddisc capacity to store pre-recorded syndicated episodes in full high-def (broadcast stations that do HD mostly just do it live, or simply re-transmit network HD broadcasts). The hope is that will change over time, as stations upgrade their equipment.

The first few episodes to be shown will include Balance of Terror, Journey to Babel, Mirror, Mirror and The Menagerie, Parts 1 & 2. FYI, Doomsday Machine is scheduled for the "second" broadcast season next year (as we said, there are going to be two 35-40 episode seasons).

The preliminary decision to enhance The Original Series was made in January. The final decision was made in March, and planning began shortly thereafter. The actual production work began much more recently. FYI, there are no plans at this point to do anything similar with the other Trek series.

KSTW went into detail about the lack of Trek HD in the local boards.

We at KSTW have the Star Trek series, however, there is no plan by the syndicator, Paramount, to distribute it to us in HD.

Almost all syndicated programming for TV stations across the country comes from a distribution clearinghouse by satellite called Pathfire. All Pathfire can support at this time is SD distribution. We are told there are plans to ramp up the system to carry HD programs for syndicated distribution but we're not there yet. Pathfire uses a store/forward file distrubution system in order to feed some 800 TV stations programming on a daily basis and not eat up a tremendous amount of bandwidth on the satellite system. HD distribution would tax that system for obvious reasons. It's the same reason why we at KSTW take CSI in syndication, but cant' get it in HD yet. Now that a sunset date of analog broadcasting has been set by Congress.....broadcasters and program distributors will have justification to work on HD distribution now.

From TVWeek.com's High Definition newsletter and is also posted in the HD News Thread.

Trek Revamp Will Not Air in HD
Show gets HD facelift, But No HD distribution

Episodes of the original "Star Trek" series won't be available in high definition anytime soon, a delay that has all parties involved pointing fingers in different directions.

CBS Paramount Domestic Television, which owns the show, is blaming stations for not being ready to handle HD. Some stations say Paramount's content relay service is slowing them down. The relay service, which electronically transfers HD files to stations, says offering "Trek" in high def is no problem—if that's what the other parties really want.

The confusion puts a spotlight on stumbling blocks for television executives tasked with delivering shows in high definition. As distributors, networks and station groups race to meet consumer demand for HD content, they're discovering unanticipated problems that are complicating the spread of the super-crisp format.

The "Trek" flap kicked off last week, when CBS Paramount sent out a press release announcing the original 1960s series will be digitally remastered in HD with new backgrounds and special effects. The release stopped short of declaring the show would be distributed in HD, saying "once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD."

Yesterday during a conference call with reporters, the CBS Paramount team elaborated on that, saying they are creating HD version of the series, but will not make them available to stations during the show's initial weekly run.

"While they are being transferred into HD, [most] of the stations are not transmitting in HD because of limitations of the stations," said Dave Rossi, a visual effects producer on the project. "We can offer them the opportunity to do it, but our understanding is the major affiliates don't have the storage capacity to do anything but live broadcast. So the choice has been made that we're going to air them in their standard definition, 4:3."

But some station owners, who have spent millions to upgrade to high definition, said the "Trek" team's argument is not, as a certain Vulcan officer would say, logical. CBS Paramount's own "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy" are going to be syndicated in HD starting next week, with about 50 upgraded stations on board.

And Bill Carroll, VP director of programming at Katz Television Group, said stations want "Star Trek" in an HD format.

"Stations are looking for as many HD opportunities as they can," Mr. Carroll said. "You don't make these kind of investments if you don't believe there's an emerging audience."

The HD versions of "Wheel" and "Jeopardy" will be distributed the old fashioned way—a satellite feed.

But for "Trek," Paramount is using a digital-content distribution service called Pathfire that some say is not-quite HD-ready.

Naturally, when called by TelevisionWeek, the Pathfire team said they can, in fact, distribute "Trek" in HD.

"If stations and studios say to us, `We want to do this,' trust me, we'll do it," said Joe Fabiano, chief technology officer for Pathfire. "We wouldn't be doing a fully functional HD field trial … if we weren't capable of doing it."

the delivery service instead. Currently, Pathfire is conducting HD tests by distributing "Wheel" and "Jeopardy" to a few stations.

Until the HD issue is sorted out, the CBS Paramount team will make 4:3 and 16:9 versions of each episode. The team will also make available full-length and shorter syndication-length cuts of the series. An eventual DVD release is also planned.

CBS Paramount President John Nogawski said upgrading the series will keep the original "Trek" relevant for future generations of viewers.

"As we move into having much better TV sets than in the 1960s, as we move into more lines of resolution and HD, this show would not have held up for the viewer," he said. "It was really imperative to make this change."
Mr. Nogawski emphasized that, unlike George Lucas' tinkering with the original "Star Wars" trilogy, the changes would only improve the quality of the original effects - not alter content.

"I'm not concerned we're going to have a backlash … I don't think people are going to say, 'Oh my gosh, you destroyed it.' … It's just prettier to look at," he said. "Right down to the placement of stars, it's being re-simulated to be exactly what was there before."


This article is part of TVWeek.com's High Definition newsletter, a weekly source of breaking HD news, articles and interviews written by Senior Reporter James Hibberd.

Topic title changed.

Topic title changed.

Major Suckage....why can't they let those who CAN handle HD grab it, and those who can't grab the SD feed? Is that just too complicated? :0(

You know, this would be a great pickup for HDNet. And they have the advantage of being able to air the remastered eps at their original length, with no editing for commercials. And something tells me they'd be able to scrounge up a hard drive that could hold the programming feed from Paramount. :rolleyes:

If HDNet is looking for compelling programming to drive subscriptions, this would be about as good as it gets.

You know, this would be a great pickup for HDNet. And they have the advantage of being able to air the remastered eps at their original length, with no editing for commercials. And something tells me they'd be able to scrounge up a hard drive that could hold the programming feed from Paramount. :rolleyes:

If HDNet is looking for compelling programming to drive subscriptions, this would be about as good as it gets.
Probably too expensive, and there might be some conflicting syndication issues. It would be great though.

At least we know that there WILL be a 16:9 version available. Of course we still don't know if it is a stretched or cropped version.

16X9 versions means CROPPED and that is an absolute crime. It should not be allowed. We can only hope any HD-DVD or Blue-Ray releases are 4X3.

I really do hate executives and their stupid Joe Six Pack decision making processes.

...and there might be some conflicting syndication issues.

Not, apparently, with the HD versions. HDNet would give those versions an outlet. If Paramount were to offer it to Mark at a reasonable rate, I'm sure he'd grab it. It's more than they'd make hanging onto them until the inevitable HD-DVD release. Everybody wins!

Not, apparently, with the HD versions. HDNet would give those versions an outlet. If Paramount were to offer it to Mark at a reasonable rate, I'm sure he'd grab it. It's more than they'd make hanging onto them until the inevitable HD-DVD release. Everybody wins!
There may be in the near future though, depends on the syndication deals. Personally, unless I see the original length/uncut versions, they're worthless to me, I don't care how much fancy re-working Paramount has done, I'll never watch them on commercial TV.

By the time enough stations have the ability to do the HD version, the commercial break time per hour may have gone up to over 20 mins. They should just put up a slate for the whole time period with info on how to get the HD-DVD set. :D

Trailer up!

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/videoview?id=25575

Man, did Paramount screw the pooch in a big, big way by not distributing this in HD.

<Thank you for the link, Hound!>

One question:

Does Han shoot first? :D

One question:

Does Han shoot first? :D

(K)Han shot first!

Wow, that trailer has me sold. I really look forward to this now, and really lament that they botched the opportunity to bring this out in HD.

But hey, my local nets wouldn't have likely been able to show it in HD even if they did. But I still at least have this to look forward to in the future. Star Trek-HD

Me too. It's unfortunate they didn't release it in HD to those who could show it in HD. But, as with most everything else, we take what we can get. :(

What station/network will carry the remastered show broadcasting on 9/16? My searching can't seem to find a station.

Man, did Paramount screw the pooch in a big, big way by not distributing this in HD.Jeopardy and Wheel are 5 day a week shows with high ratings, and there are only a handful of stations that purchased the equipment necessary for HD syndication. The amount of stations taking HD ST:TOS would probably be alot less. Pathfire is not really HD ready at the moment, and satellite distribution costs money. CBS is pioneering HD syndication and HD VOD so I don't think they're behind the curve. Maybe Showtime HD would be a good place to start but this show doesn't really fit into its format. HD syndication is in its infancy so I think it's a matter of when than if for HD ST:TOS. Maybe next year.

What station/network will carry the remastered show broadcasting on 9/16? My searching can't seem to find a station.You literally will have to check your local listings. It's syndicated, which means no network is carrying it. Could be on one of your network affiliates at 2AM Sunday (as it is here) or it could be on an independent station at 6pm Friday. Head to titantv or tvguide and click on "search."

From startrek.com

Episode air dates:

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/25835.html

Affiliates:

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/25835.html?page=1

Wow, little old KFTY in Santa Rosa is carrying the series. :p

There have been rumors about Star Trek: TOS being redone in HD, but this news has been showing up elsewhere, so the reports of TOS in HD look to be solid. But TOS in HD syndication?? That is news, if this is true.

What concerns me is it sounds as if they have done an extensive revision of the original special effects. I would have no problem if they did some minor CGI fixes such as removing wires holding up the spaceship models which would be much more obvious in HD or similar minor glitches in the filmed special effects. But replacing static backdrop paintings with animated background scenes and wholesale replacement of special effect shots? Not as comfortable with this, but if it only the special effects that are updating, that may work. Just don't emulate Lucas and re-edit stuff: Kirk shoots first and gets the babe - keep it that way.

I can see why CBS/Paramount would do this. Updating the special effects helps - in theory - the rerun value of the show going forward and may make it more acceptable to a younger generation of viewers who are used to decent looking special effects and who might otherwise not watch the TOS (we see this with people who won't watch B&W movies).

Major questions:
1) Will this be in 4:3 or will they crop it to 16:9? I fear they will crop it.

2) If this is being offered to syndication specifically as a updated version for the SD channels along with an HD version, which stations will be broadcasting it? I can't see Paramount going to all this trouble if they did not have a number of local stations lined up to broadcast TOS in HD.

Would you have a problem with the series being shown in HD in 1:66 ala Hogan's Heroes and Charlies Angels? HDNET did a great job with these classics.

Would you have a problem with the series being shown in HD in 1:66 ala Hogan's Heroes and Charlies Angels? HDNET did a great job with these classics.
That I might be OK if it was done well.

HDNET did a great job with these classics.Did HDNet have anything to do with the transfers, or did they just get them from CBS Paramount?

You literally will have to check your local listings. It's syndicated, which means no network is carrying it. Could be on one of your network affiliates at 2AM Sunday (as it is here) or it could be on an independent station at 6pm Friday. Head to titantv or tvguide and click on "search."

The folks in New York and LA have to catch it airing on NBC in the middle of the night, we have it good in Las Vegas--CW at 5PM Saturdays followed by Farscape at 6.

I checked TitanTV Star Trek will be on in the NY/NJ area on WNBC channel 4 Monday morning 3:35 am no HD.

Rob

Middle of the night showings on a weekend? Doesn't sound like it's getting much priority at some stations. That's infomercial territory.

Middle of the night showings on a weekend? Doesn't sound like it's getting much priority at some stations. That's infomercial territory.

Well, I wouldn't be suprised if some of the major market stations make the highest bid for the rights and then proceed to stick it in the overnight death slot in order to protect their own programming. Star Trek taking even a 1.0 ratings bite out of a network's hot new show could cost hundreds of thousands, maybe millions in lost advertising revenue.

Saturday night at 9:00 pm is just fine with me. If they are half as good as the trailer, they have me hooked yet again and then they'll get me oncemore when it finally comes in HD.

They (startrek.com) have it wrong for San Diego. :eek:

The episodes will NOT be on Fox 6 (XETV), they'll be on My Network 13 (the old UPN 13). This according to the TWC program guide.

Sunday 5:00 PM (Balance of Terror) and 10:00 PM (Miri). :cool:

I didn't think Miri was one of the redone episodes, is it?

Wow, little old KFTY in Santa Rosa is carrying the series. :p
Guess I should have checked before I posted, sure enough, and just like smog in LA, there they are, Clear Channel owns KFTY-Santa Rosa now, man, where did our little local TV station go...

I didn't think Miri was one of the redone episodes, is it?
Yes it is, To kick off the newly redone shows CBS Paramount is allowing both Balance of Terror and Miri to be shown this weekend if the affiliate wants. Eventually all episodes will be redone.

Thanks, I missed that somehow when I looked at the list. ;)

Here are a couple of Time Warner channels in the Portland, ME area which are starting to show the Star Trek series:

G4Tech TV (ch 102) a marathon going on until 7pm tonight (it started at 9am this morning) then starting on Mon 18-Sep at 6pm they are showing individual episodes on weekdays

WPXT - CW (ch 12) showing two episodes a week starting at 11pm on Saturday (tonight) and ending at 1am on Sunday.

TV Land (ch 67) showed a marathon on Fri 08-Sep marking the 40th anniversary of the first airing of the show and advertised they will be showing the series uncut/unaltered starting in November.

That's it for now. I'll post more if/when I find them.

~3 hours for me until Balance of Terror!

I have a media center PC all setup to record the local syndicators digital feed. Yeah it's not being shown in HD, but a nice SD feed is the best we can get for now.

lucky bugger :)

volsh, did you watch any of the G4 or TVLand showings? I believe it was said somewhere back in this thread that those two channels were going to continue just show the original versions, and the remastered episodes were going to be syndicated only. Everything I've seen so far looks that way, most notably the fact that they only have a few of the episodes finished so far.

volsh, did you watch any of the G4 or TVLand showings? I believe it was said somewhere back in this thread that those two channels were going to continue just show the original versions, and the remastered episodes were going to be syndicated only. Everything I've seen so far looks that way, most notably the fact that they only have a few of the episodes finished so far.
That is correct. G4 and TV Land have the original versions. The remastered versions are part of a special broadcast syndication only package for the 40th anniversary.

It's showing locally here on WSST-TV/WSST-DT.

I've got it TiVo'ing now...

~Alan

I have a custom designed/built media center PC which enables me to digitally record a broadcast in mpeg format so I can edit, author and burn it to DVD, so it looks like Star Trek is my next project.

I've watched/recorded both the G4 and TV Land broadcasts, and yes they are the uncut/unaltered versions. I don't know if/when G4 will show the altered versions (isn't "altering" what they do to male pets?), but I've read on the web that TV Land will only be broadcasting the original versions.

One thing I really hate about the G4 broadcasts today is this G4 console they put around the broadcast at various times during the episode, even lasting about five minutes or so at the beginning. It is *really* annoying. I don't know if I'll keep the recordings from G4 because of this, especially since other channels are broadcasting as well.

It's showing locally here on WSST-TV/WSST-DT.

I've got it TiVo'ing now...

~Alan
I saw this today and either it has been a long time since I've seen TOS or the remastered version didn't look that different. If it was the remasterd version then I don't understand what all the fans were complaining about.

I didn't think Miri was one of the redone episodes, is it?

I think they chose that one because Enterprise will be orbiting an exact copy of Earth. It comes up pretty much at the very beginning of the episode, so you can the differences between the upgraded version and the original (which showed the continents but no weather patterns - as if you were looking at a globe).

Nothing can be done to make Spock's Brain any good.

I just watched "Balance of Terror" on WJZY-DT from Charlotte. Not HD, of course, but I thought it looked pretty good for a 40-year-old show. I've never seen any of the DVDs :eek: so I have no idea how they compare. I'm sure it looked better than it must have when I watched the original series broadcasts as a teenager on our then-new color TV.

Unfortunately I forgot about the show, and just happened to stumble on it as I was channel-surfing after dinner, so my recording doesn't have the opening scene and title sequence. Hopefully they'll rerun it later in the cycle.

[added] Aha, I should have checked TitanTV first. They'll run this episode again a week from tomorrow. Looks like their schedule is 8pm Saturday and 3pm Sunday, but not the same episode on consecutive days. I can't see a pattern yet.

I saw this today and either it has been a long time since I've seen TOS or the remastered version didn't look that different. If it was the remasterd version then I don't understand what all the fans were complaining about.

I scanned over the episode, and I didn't see a lot of changes either (not that I expected many changes after reading the articles), but the point was to "enhance" TOS, not to change it... and what little I saw looked pretty good (other than the horrible picture on my particular station's digital channel).

My Uncle and Aunt (who got me hooked on Star Trek) are interested in seeing the changes as well (but Dish Network doesn't offer that local station), so I'll have to record it and show it to them...

~Alan

I'm watching it now, off Charlotte WJZY. It looks really good, I can tell it's from an HD master. The CGI is very subtle.

Well, watched it here off of WTTA-HD on Comcast. Definitely a HD master.

The redone Bird of Prey was alright, but the over the top shot towards the end of the episode of the Bird of Prey was fabulous.

Several really impressive shots of the NCC-1701 also, and a fabulous 'bumper' still as well.

Also the Romulan plasma bolt was redone as well as the phaser shots.

After watching a few episodes on G4 earlier today, I would have to say the 're-mastered' version looked better in general, it just seemed that the colors had more 'pop' and we saw no grain in the picture (and we were looking for it).

Which episode is on next week:)

Aha, I should have checked TitanTV first. They'll run this episode again a week from tomorrow. Looks like their schedule is 8pm Saturday and 3pm Sunday, but not the same episode on consecutive days. I can't see a pattern yet.Don't forget that Miri is also being shown this week. Here, it's Balance tonight at 9 pm, then Miro tomorrow at 3 pm. Next week, it's a new episode on Saturday and then a rerun of the first episode (Balance) on Sunday.

Just finished watching it here in Jacksonville.

Very vibrant, well saturated colors. The CGI Enterprise looked great.

Did anyone watch in Las Vegas? My Tivo was set for a season pass for it and I came home to nothing! It was supposed to be on at 5pm. Did I miss it or did the schedule get changed last minute?

Looks like they flipped the episodes here with Miri being broadcast now and Balance tomorrow. I was hooked with the opening credits :) and can't wait to see Balance tomorrow. Colors are definitely more vibrant and PQ, even though not HD, is excellent.

Did anyone watch in Las Vegas? My Tivo was set for a season pass for it and I came home to nothing! It was supposed to be on at 5pm. Did I miss it or did the schedule get changed last minute?

Season Pass is buggy, over the Vegas thread foghorn said he watched it and it look great.

No Miri for me in Sacramento but Balance of Terror was on at 6pm tonight it was pretty darn good. I have it recorded with my MCE box and will have screenshots up soon thanks to TrekMovie.com

Just finished watching it (well about 45minutes ago) on WBNX out of Cleveland over DISH.

Colors were very bright. Looked clean, just as good as the DVDs, perhaps a tiny bit more detail was visible, not much though.

The new digital effects were very respectful to the original SFX. The intention here, like what was stated above, wasn't to change the show, but to enhance it.

And they did that.

I'd love to see it in HD though.

The new digital effects were very respectful to the original SFX. The intention here, like what was stated above, wasn't to change the show, but to enhance it.
Yes, they even imitated the jerky stop-motion animation of the ships when they could have made the motion smoother. I'm very surprised they didn't do a little more. Even the photo torpe...I mean "proximty phasers" looked like cheap flashes of light but a different color. They changed the color of the Romulan plasma weapon too but I thought the original looked just fine. I expected to see the atomic warhead explode but, as in the original, they omitted that. The Enterprise, thank God, still looks like an actual object instead of something you'd shoot at in a video game.

Um, they really didn't enhance that much at all. They could have used grain reduction in several shots but skipped on that. The prints looked very clean but the ones restored for the Sci-FI channel a few years ago also looked exceptionally clean.

After watching a few episodes on G4 earlier today, I would have to say the 're-mastered' version looked better in general, it just seemed that the colors had more 'pop' and we saw no grain in the picture (and we were looking for it).
There was certianly grain but nothing too terrible.

http://home.pacifier.com/~scowl/hdtv/grain.jpg

The old Star Trek used lots of colored lighting to spice up the backgrounds (and make NBC happy to promote a colorful series, I guess) and smooth areas of color tend to grain out more than white or grey areas.

I think they flipped the order here in Nashville. We got Miri first.

The colors looked great, even in upconverted SD. The shirt uniforms looked so bright I half-expected Kirk and crew to break into a rousing chorus of "Hot Potato" or "Big Red Car" (parents of little tykes will know what I'm talking about :) ).

Special effects looked very good....not overdone...in fact extremely restrained in this episode.

Just finished watching it (for the 2nd time!) this morning. On KSTC-45 here in the Twin Cities (MN). Not in HD of course but I'm going to send a note to them and ask about it.

Sound is great, colors are great, really enjoyed it. I didn't hear the woman's voice though on the opening music. Is that coming later or did I miss something?

Can't wait for the rest!

:)

I didn't hear the siren voice on the open or close either. Thought it might be my local stations problem. "Balance" looked great! It isn't one of my favorites and I would like they started with something else, but after watching it on G4 all day it was obvious this was of much better quality than the originals. No scratches or cut splices like you usually see. The CGI looked very good. It was comparable to what the New Voyages CGI Enterprise looks like other than the NV Enterprise does do barrel rolls! Looks like they redid the closing credits as well. Baylar's puppet looked AWESOME!! Miri is this afternoon after football.

I didn't hear the woman's voice though on the opening music. Is that coming later or did I miss something?According to the wife (a big Star Trek fan), the wailing woman didn't start until the second season.

Scott

I usually sing that part myself anyway. Much to the dismay of anyone near me.

Via TitanTV - Los Angeles Area

Program Affiliate Channel Date/Time

Star Trek

Balance of Terror KNBCDT 4.1 09/18/2006 12:05 AM

For those interested I have a group of shots up in cooperation with TrekMovie.com's webmaster: http://trekmovie.com/2006/09/17/balance-of-terror-screenshots-before-and-after/

Does anyone who had Miri in their syndication market have screenshots from an HTPC and/or transfered from a DVR? Miri wasn’t shown in my area this weekend, just Balance of Terror.

Did anyone watch in Las Vegas? My Tivo was set for a season pass for it and I came home to nothing! It was supposed to be on at 5pm. Did I miss it or did the schedule get changed last minute?

It was on at 5pm on the dot. The Dish Vip622, a better Tivo than the Tivo, was set to a manual timer. The show looked wonderful on a 42" LCD, although not HD, the colours were very exciting and it was interesting to see the background ship computer screens look more realistic (no Windows in the future! :)) I hope they don't crop the HD version into 16:9. We might miss those nice "shots" of the yeomans and the mini-skirts ;)

There were a few moments where the picture looked too dark and the episode lagged as it was not one of the better ones, but a great overall experience. I never would have thought I would still be watching a show which was created before I was born on a screen that was hung up on a wall as described in fahrenheit 451 in my mid-life years. The kids loved it too just like I did way back when.

Another thing great about watching this on Channel 33 here in Vegas, is that the station is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, so its a bit of revenge for me. The show is so politically progressive in nature that I am surprised Sinclair is not censoring any ideas that their regressive minded owners might not want the viewers to see.

It was on at 5pm on the dot. The Dish Vip622, a better Tivo than the Tivo, was set to a manual timer. The show looked wonderful on a 42" LCD, although not HD, the colours were very exciting and it was interesting to see the background ship computer screens look more realistic (no Windows in the future! :)) I hope they don't crop the HD version into 16:9. We might miss those nice "shots" of the yeomans and the mini-skirts ;)

There were a few moments where the picture looked too dark and the episode lagged as it was not one of the better ones, but a great overall experience. I never would have thought I would still be watching a show which was created before I was born on a screen that was hung up on a wall as described in fahrenheit 451 in my mid-life years. The kids loved it too just like I did way back when.

Another thing great about watching this on Channel 33 here in Vegas, is that the station is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, so its a bit of revenge for me. The show is so politically progressive in nature that I am surprised Sinclair is not censoring any ideas that their regressive minded owners might not want the viewers to see.

I'm still not sure why the Tivo missed it. It was set to record when I left in the morning. At least it's getting replayed next week and I'm all set to record "Miri" tonight at 1am.

Do you know why channels 21.1 and 33.1 are both showing the new remastered shows (33.1 yesterday/21.1 tonight)?

KASY-DT in Albuquerque TV market, will be showing Star Trek "MIRI" at 11 PM Mountian Time!

Last night was showing Balance Of Terror at 9 PM last night, upconverted from 480i to 1080i and the pictures looks alot better than the old verson of Star Trek film's print. :)

9-17-06

I'm still not sure why the Tivo missed it. It was set to record when I left in the morning. At least it's getting replayed next week and I'm all set to record "Miri" tonight at 1am.

Do you know why channels 21.1 and 33.1 are both showing the new remastered shows (33.1 yesterday/21.1 tonight)?

Same owners maybe? Miri will be in remastered?
Now thats a treat!

I can't believe I'm so excited over this old show. I guess I'm re-living it with my kids. The cartoon series will be out soon too. Looks like an interesting and fulfilling fall/winter.

Watching the new Balance of Power in SD on local cable.

I do like the CGI enhancements! Keep wondering what this would look like in 1080i!

Doing something like this is fine as long as you have a panel of experts (historians, psychologists, artists), and as big a budget as you need. This is in the same level of classic as Gone With the Wind, so anything done to it needs to be done with a godly touch.

My Tivo just showed very general descriptions of the episodes, something like "Captain Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise boldly go where no one has gone before" or something like that.... with the exact same general description for both episodes. So the Tivo probably thought it was the same episode run twice. I know *I* thought it would be the same episode, so I specifically told my Tivo to record the first showing and not the second. Duh...

I expected to see the atomic warhead explode but, as in the original, they omitted that. The Enterprise, thank God, still looks like an actual object instead of something you'd shoot at in a video game.

They omitted enough of 'Balance of Terror' to make it clear I'm not gonna watch any more of this.

The editing, done to allow more commericials, really makes the story suffer. If you hadn't seen these before a couple dozen times, you would have trouble following it.

They omitted enough of 'Balance of Terror' to make it clear I'm not gonna watch any more of this.
The editing on Miri was terrible. They took out nearly every scene with the kids that didn't have Miri in them including the establishing scene that defined John as their leader and how he figured out the crew was talking to a spaceship on their communicators. This is tough because the last time I saw these episodes was during the long Sci-Fi special in which they showed every episode completely uncut.

The only enhancement was the Earth-double which looked exactly like a globe from a classroom in the original. Pretty embarassing to see now.

I want to watch Miri just for the classic Shatner line "NO MORE BONK BONK!".

WNBC in NY did not seem to air this when the schedule said. It was supposed to be 3:35am, but I set my DVR and got only the last 10 minutes of the episode? Why did they start it earlier? And where was Miri?

They omitted enough of 'Balance of Terror' to make it clear I'm not gonna watch any more of this.

The editing, done to allow more commericials, really makes the story suffer. If you hadn't seen these before a couple dozen times, you would have trouble following it.

As a matter of fact, I did not notice missing the scene where the bigoted crew member approached spock in anger and called him a traitor/spy because he looks like the Romulans and accidently set off a buzzer. Is this now considered politically incorrect?

So, not owning the DVD sets, I can record and watch uncut versions of the originals on G4 (analog cable, not so hot looking) or these pretty new remastered, but butchered versions on digital cable. What a choice.

As a matter of fact, I did not notice missing the scene where the bigoted crew member approached spock in anger and called him a traitor/spy because he looks like the Romulans and accidently set off a buzzer. Is this now considered politically incorrect?

More like a clueless editor who's got to cut minutes out of the program and isn't too careful which scenes get lopped.

Who wants to watch an edited version of these classic shows? We should all lobby Cubes to pick this thing up in its original form for HDNet. Talk about a subscription driver! Either that or wait for the inevitable HD-DVD's.

WNBC in NY did not seem to air this when the schedule said. It was supposed to be 3:35am, but I set my DVR and got only the last 10 minutes of the episode? Why did they start it earlier? And where was Miri?

Maybe they did us a favor. In those last few minutes I saw enough bad editing to cancel my season pass on this. I just don't understand why they'd go to all this trouble and then air episodes that are more hacked up than the ones showing in syndication on SD. :rolleyes:

WNBC in NY did not seem to air this when the schedule said. It was supposed to be 3:35am, but I set my DVR and got only the last 10 minutes of the episode? Why did they start it earlier? And where was Miri?

"Miri" was never scheduled. What they did do was change the scheduled broadcast order so that TREK started in place of ACCESS HOLLYWOOD. The reason you even got the last 10 minutes was because TREK ran over one hour. So whatever editing may have taken place (if there even was any) was negligible if the running time is 70 minutes. By the way, I thought the visual enhancements were well done, without being intrusive. Colors were especially vibrant. And while it may not have been broadcast in HD, the detail was so good that I could easily see the knitted wool patterns on the Romulan costumes. I also particularly enjoyed the rear channel activity on the torpedo blasts. Makes me even more eager to see episodes like "Who Mourns for Adonais," "Doomsday Machine,"and "The Menagerie".

And while it may not have been broadcast in HD, the detail was so good that I could easily see the knitted wool patterns on the Romulan costumes.A couple of the shots I could see the seams where Spock's ears were attatched! :)

They omitted enough of 'Balance of Terror' to make it clear I'm not gonna watch any more of this.

The editing, done to allow more commericials, really makes the story suffer. If you hadn't seen these before a couple dozen times, you would have trouble following it.

It wasn't that bad, at least not compared to what many of us saw growing up. Stuff was missing, but I think we all knew that was inevitable since there is no way that they could offer this show in barter syndication with space for just nine minutes of commercials. But, despite not having seen this episode in a couple of decades, I really didn't have any problem following the story.

In comparison, I think of how the independent stations that ran Star Trek back in the seventies would just butcher the shows into incoherence. KSTW/11 in Tacoma/Seattle (where I grew up) would chop out five to six minutes of the program to make room for extra commercials -- and they usually made the entire edit in one location. The result was a rather abrupt jump in the storyline. And I don't get the impression that they were unusual in that regard -- a friend who grew up here (Dallas area) tells me that KXTX/39 did the same thing...

Oh, and a nostalgic aside for folks in the Seattle/Tacoma area: I see that KSTW has picked up the barter package and is running Star Trek Saturday evenings at 6 PM. That was the exact same time slot where the show ran on that station for most of five or six years starting around 1976.

In comparison, I think of how the independent stations that ran Star Trek back in the seventies would just butcher the shows into incoherence. KSTW/11 in Tacoma/Seattle (where I grew up) would chop out five to six minutes of the program to make room for extra commercials -- and they usually made the entire edit in one location. The result was a rather abrupt jump in the storyline. And I don't get the impression that they were unusual in that regard -- a friend who grew up here (Dallas area) tells me that KXTX/39 did the same thing....

Good point and one which I wanted to (but forgot to make). The show, when in syndication back in the early 70s were mutilated beyond belief. And yet...THAT was when the program became truly popular! That certainly is not the case with yesterday's broadcast. Perhaps showing it at 2:30 AM allowed them to allow a 70 minute running time. I can't say that I can be certain there wasn't a single cut (I'm not familiar enough with every scene) but I certainly didn't notice any.

Did anyone besides me think they went overboard with the color? I thought it was a bit *too* vibrant, even given the aesthetics of the time. And the blacks looked crushed in some scenes.

I was watching on KNBC, from their over the air digital signal. Perhaps it's time to reevaluate my monitor's default settings?

Did anyone besides me think they went overboard with the color?
Not me. If the skin tones had looked funny I would have said it was oversaturated but they looked perfect to me, even Spock's.

NBC/RCA was trying to sell color sets. :)

I watched "Balance of Terror" just so I could see an episode. I found the heavy make-up (in particular the eyeshadow on the guys) a bit distracting.

As for the color, I thought I remembered reading that back then the studio went a bit color happy in part because color TV was new. It wouldn't surprise me if louder colors looked a bit different on equipment from that decade. That would explain the loud uniforms, sets, etc. Skin tones looked fine to me.

If it were in HD I might consider watching more episodes. I'll pass on the SD.

Red uniforms were way too saturated for me. I had to turn my color setting way down from normal.

Red uniforms were way too saturated for me. I had to turn my color setting way down from normal.

Exactly. Skin tones looked fine, but the uniforms, displays and such were glowing. It wasn't a film-like look at all. Glad I'm not the only one who thought so.

"Miri" was never scheduled. What they did do was change the scheduled broadcast order so that TREK started in place of ACCESS HOLLYWOOD. The reason you even got the last 10 minutes was because TREK ran over one hour. So whatever editing may have taken place (if there even was any) was negligible if the running time is 70 minutes. By the way, I thought the visual enhancements were well done, without being intrusive. Colors were especially vibrant. And while it may not have been broadcast in HD, the detail was so good that I could easily see the knitted wool patterns on the Romulan costumes. I also particularly enjoyed the rear channel activity on the torpedo blasts. Makes me even more eager to see episodes like "Who Mourns for Adonais," "Doomsday Machine,"and "The Menagerie".


Also isn't it the last weekend program on WNBC since they air Early Today before Today in NY? I feel so sorry for you guys over there because it airs Saturdays at 7 PM and 10 PM on the My Network TV stations not to mention I get the KNBC feed and they air Star Trek on Sundays at 12:05 AM, so I don't have to worry about WNBC's feed.

Last night was showing Balance Of Terror at 9 PM last night, upconverted from 480i to 1080i and the pictures looks alot better than the old verson of Star Trek film's print.

How does one determine if the source material has been upconverted or if the source material is HD?

I've only caught Miri so far (WNUV Baltimore (1080i) - I'm in Ashburn, VA) , and it looked fantastic, with details I've never noticed before - and I've been watching ST for a real long time (I remember the first episode ever aired in '66).
If the broadcast was this good upconverted from SD, I can't wait to see what true HD will look like.

[I]I've only caught Miri so far (WNUV Baltimore (1080i) - I'm in Ashburn, VA) , and it looked fantastic, with details I've never noticed before - and I've been watching ST for a real long time (I remember the first episode ever aired in '66).
If the broadcast was this good upconverted from SD, I can't wait to see what true HD will look like.
Lucky you - I'm also in Northern Virginia and can't get the Baltimore stations. No stations in the DC metro area are carrying the 'new' ST.

Ron Jones

How does one determine if the source material has been upconverted or if the source material is HD?
You look at it. If it's blurry or lacking in details in wide scenes (not close ups), it's probably upconverted. Of course some HD source material looks only a little better than SD and even the best HD can be wrecked in the path it takes to get to your screen so it can be hard to tell at times.

Or you can ask here.

Here is the schedule I see on zap2it. TiotanTV does not show the WDCA showings for some reason.

Devil in the Dark
45.2 WBFFDT2 Sun 9/24 3:00 AM
54 WNUV Sun 9/24 3:00 AM
54.1 WNUVDT Sun 9/24 3:00 AM
20 WDCA Sun 9/24 2:00 PM
20.1 WDCADT Sun 9/24 2:00 PM
54 WNUV Mon 10/2 1:00 AM
54.1 WNUVDT Mon 10/2 1:00 AM

Balance of Terror
54 WNUV Mon 9/25 1:00 AM
54.1 WNUVDT Mon 9/25 1:00 AM

The Naked Time
45.2 WBFFDT2 Sun 10/1 3:00 AM
54 WNUV Sun 10/1 3:00 AM
54.1 WNUVDT Sun 10/1 3:00 AM
20 WDCA Sun 10/1 2:00 PM
20.1 WDCADT Sun 10/1 2:00 PM

You look at it. If it's blurry or lacking in details in wide scenes (not close ups), it's probably upconverted. Of course some HD source material looks only a little better than SD and even the best HD can be wrecked in the path it takes to get to your screen so it can be hard to tell at times.

Or you can ask here.
Yep, we know for a fact Paramount isn't distributing it in HD currently.
Another way is to check is use TitanTV.com it will have a red "HD" in the listing if it is a high def broadcast. I've found TitanTV to be pretty darn accurate.

Yep, we know for a fact Paramount isn't distributing it in HD currently.
Another way is to check is use TitanTV.com it will have a red "HD" in the listing if it is a high def broadcast. I've found TitanTV to be pretty darn accurate.It's probably the most accurate on line HD indicator available, but errors are pointed out here on a regular basis.

Lucky you - I'm also in Northern Virginia and can't get the Baltimore stations. No stations in the DC metro area are carrying the 'new' ST.

Ron Jones

See Trekl2004's posting after yours: WDCA/20 picked up "Star Trek" at the last moment, and will be airing the show in Washington, DC. An article in "Broadcasting & Cable" reported that DC was the last of the top ten markets to get a clearance for the show.

We went through some of the same thing here in Dallas, where listings at one point showed a middle of Saturday night (3 AM!) showing on KTXA/21...but that vanished and was replaced by infomercials. At the last minute, it finally showed up on Sunday evenings on KFWD/52. So, apparently, we were the last two markets to get clearance for the new versions of "Star Trek".

Lucky you - I'm also in Northern Virginia and can't get the Baltimore stations. No stations in the DC metro area are carrying the 'new' ST.

Ron Jones


I can get them but I can't DVR them, and given the time of the airings, I'm SOL.


edit: I see the WDCA posts. Finally.

I captured the Balance of Terror episode off KNBC HD over firewire from my cable box to my HTPC, and cut out the commercials using VideoRedo. I have the DVD version of the episode and did some comparisons, in general and between identical frames. My observations:

1. The DVD version is 6:46 longer (50:28 vs 43:42)
2. The "HD" version is in general darker and has greater color saturation
3. The level of detail is very similar between the two, with a slight but definite edge for the HD version. This is most noticeable in extreme closeups like head shots, where the DVD is surprisingly good but the HD is clearly better.
4. This similarity holds true for more distant shots, where (seen in still frames) the images tend to be quite blurry in both.
5. The HD version is 8% wider, it is 13:9 (in a pillarbox) that is 1.44 rather than 1.33. And the extra width is actually extra picture, not a stretch. For instance in the closest-in shot of the "screen" in the Enterprise with the video from Outpost 4, both of the red rectangular boxes-with-blinking-lights that flank the screen are fully visible in the HD version with blue wall borders outside, while in the DVD the left box is cut off at its left edge and none of the lights on the right hand one are visible at all. (I compared other frames without special effects to confirm this. The "extra" width is common on pillarboxed 4:3 programs shown on HD, I believe it is from the horizontal overscan that is present but not normally visible in the SD analog TV signal).

Watching the HD version and then going back to the DVD, my lasting impressions were:

A. The DVD version has noticeably more low-level video noise, the HD version is overall easier on the eyes and more pleasant to watch.
B. The DVD seems cramped by comparison, the extra 8% width make a big difference.
C. The low quality of the original special effects is very intrusive in the rather good quality DVD, whereas the updated CG effects flow much better with the overall visual quality of the "HD" version.

If they would only SHOW THE WHOLE THING rather than cutting out almost 14% of it, this would be the version that I would consider definitive. But I guess we'll have to keep waiting for the "ultimate" version.

Follow up to my 16-Sep-2006 post. WPXT (TWC ch 12) is showing the remastered versions and G4 Tech (TWC ch 102) is broadcasting the entire episode in reduced sized in their G4 console.

Being a Star Trek fan for decades I have to say that the remastering is not worth cutting out certain scenes (including the opening pan shots of the enterprise fly-bys) just to make it fit within the allotted time.

Keeping the G4 Tech recordings is definitely out because of their silly console and keeping the WPXT remastered versions is questionable as well.

I'll probably wind up waiting for the TV Land (TWC ch 67) uncut/unaltered broadcasts in November.

Ahh well!

You have that confused. G4 has both uncut versions (Saturday mornings) and Trek 2.0 which is syndicated cut with their interactive console around it.

TV Land is just showing syndicated cuts, I see nothing about it being the uncut. That is G4's gimmic, CBS Paramount is only letting all of these different networks have TOS because all have a different spin on TOS.

TV Land, however, is supposed to be streaming the uncut episodes from their site.

So to get uncut, un-interative versions, not streamed online, you need to record Sat AM on G4. You can tell becuase it is called "Star Trek" not "Trek 2.0" and goes to odd times.

SpHeRe31459,

Thanks for the correction, G4 looks like it is showing 6 uncut episodes on Sat 9am to 4pm.

I've read inconsistent stories about TV Land's broadcasts in November, some say it will be the original versions (likely editted though), some say it will be the remastered version. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Just FYI, tomorrow 9am EST, G4 is starting the episodes from the beginning (Where No Man Has Gone Before) and showing them _in order_ from there (too bad they're not starting with The Cage!). Here comes another 6 episode/7 hour Star Trek recording session!

SpHeRe31459,

Thanks for the correction, G4 looks like it is showing 6 uncut episodes on Sat 9am to 4pm.

I've read inconsistent stories about TV Land's broadcasts in November, some say it will be the original versions (likely editted though), some say it will be the remastered version. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
No, Paramount has said that the remastered versions are only for network TV syndication for the next 2 years -- while they remake and air all 79 episodes. TVLand is the old version.

I can't believe I have missed this thread and all of this news on the remastered Star Treks. I have all of the originals and the movies on DVD and can't wait to catch one of these. (It is nice to watch them without commercial interruption) I'm no purist, and anything they can do to improve them is fine, but please no cuts. Sorry, I have little to add, but I needed to get logged onto this thread to keep informed. Star Trek has certainly lived long and prospered. :cool:

I can't believe I have missed this thread and all of this news on the remastered Star Treks. I have all of the originals and the movies on DVD and can't wait to catch one of these. (It is nice to watch them without commercial interruption) I'm no purist, and anything they can do to improve them is fine, but please no cuts. Sorry, I have little to add, but I needed to get logged onto this thread to keep informed. Star Trek has certainly lived long and prospered. :cool:
In case your curious as to what the new Trek looks like I've been working with TrekMovie.com to put up screenshots every weekend of old/new shots.

http://trekmovie.com/tos-in-hd/hdtv-star-trek-tos-episode-order/

Has anyone seen any ratings for how the new versions of the old Trek are doing in broadcast syndication so far?

In case your curious as to what the new Trek looks like I've been working with TrekMovie.com to put up screenshots every weekend of old/new shots.

http://trekmovie.com/tos-in-hd/hdtv-star-trek-tos-episode-order/
Very cool! :cool:

rseven:

In case you are wondering why you may have been missing this thread, it appears to me that for some strange reason this forum only shows five pages of threads and any thread which will eventually get on page six won't be listed.

I don't know if this is intended by the moderator(s) or this is a forum bug, but it means if we want to keep this thread visible in this forum, it needs to get bumped before it lands on page six.

In any event, I am thoroughly enjoying the unaltered/uncut broadcasts of the original Star Trek series on G4 Tech TV, Saturdays 9am to 4pm. What an incredible show!

Yes, Volsh, I have noticed that thread limitation. I suspect it is intentional in order to limit serer usage, but that is just a guess. I have seen the listing for the new ST's in my program guide, but they go on at 2:45AM. That's about an hour past my bedtime. Eventually, they will be on a different time or become available in HD. I've got my DVD's armed and ready in the interim. :)

Volsh, this thread is eight pages so far and all eight pages are accessible. It is not limited to five pages.

Hey guys, I saw the one a couple of weeks ago with Janice lester. Funny as heck that part seeing Shatner filing his nails like a woman :)

lragusa, I believe Volsh was refering to new posts.

Nashvillecat, you may already know this, but that Janet Lester episode was the last of the original series to be broadcast. Back in 1969 we thought it was all over, but it looks like it will never die.

In case you are wondering why you may have been missing this thread, it appears to me that for some strange reason this forum only shows five pages of threads and any thread which will eventually get on page six won't be listed.

I don't know if this is intended by the moderator(s) or this is a forum bug, but it means if we want to keep this thread visible in this forum, it needs to get bumped before it lands on page six.


You can control how many pages of threads show.
If you want to see more or less than the last seven days worth of threads, just go to your "Control Panel" (there's a link on the bar near the top of the page) then to "Edit Options" and scroll down to "Default Thread Age Cutoff". Use the dropdown menu to change from "Use Forum Default" to one of the other choices.

(edited to add) Don't forget to go to the bottom of the page and click the "Save Changes" button.

earletp:

UserCP is only available when you log in and I only login when I want to make a post or reply, so that really isn't a solution.

I've been away from the forums for a while. I just happend to be channel surfing the other night and saw The City On The Edge Of Forever was on. I thought the Enterprised looked different. :) As mentioned before the uniforms especially the red ones were really vibrant. I can't wait to see more episodes.

Looks like the moderators cut down the thread list in this forum to four pages now...did anyone notice?

>!* BUMP *!<

My God, they've "cut down" all threads on the forum down to four pages! They're outta control those guys! :)

I show 9 pages.

Affirmative, I show nine as well.

Anyone who doesn't see 9, is doing it to themselves.

I see 9, 10 , 11, How long has this show been on tv?

From Trekmovie.com

Producer: Trek Remastered Is Getting A New Enterprise
October 18, 2006

by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Interview, Exclusive, TOS Remastered , trackback
TrekMovie got some time with Trek Remastered Producer David Rossi to talk about how the project is going and where they are going next.

Like any Trek endeavor, the CGI-enhanced Trek Remastered project has spawned much discussion. In general the show has been well received. The re-recorded theme and the digital transfers get a lot of praise. Much of the CGI work like the new matte paintings and planets have gone over quite well, and some of the live action touches have been pleasant surprises. However, much discussion has focused on how CBS have been digitally recreating Kirk’s classic Enterprise. Many seem to feel that the team have not got it quite right yet, but what may surprise the critics is that the producers at CBS agree. "It is not that we are unhappy with the work, but it is not yet the Enterprise as we want to see it" says Dave Rossi, going on "we want it to be there as much as everybody else does." And this is not just talk; the team has a plan…and a new model.


Not enough time and too much detail
The reasons for the Enterprise not meeting the most exacting standards are twofold. Firstly there is the matter of time. The CBS team only had one month to deliver the first 2 episodes with over 120 new effects shots. "People need to understand the amazing amount of work these guys had to do from a dead stop," says Rossi. Secondly the team started with a model of the Enterprise that was in essence ‘too good’. It had detail all the way down to the nuts and bolts which you would never see, and the problem is that it takes forever for their computers to render the shots. Rossi explains, "It was taking time from us to do the lighting and the things that make the Enterprise shine." Together these things gave the team little to no time to make the changes they felt were necessary.

A ‘new’ Enterprise for Trek Remastered
Things have settled down a bit for the team now that they have done a few episodes, but the biggest change is that they have a brand new digital model of the Enterprise. This week a new model with less of the render hungry (but invisible) detail is being delivered to the Trek Remastered team. Rossi says the new ship will cut down the render time dramatically and free up time to ‘do some of those cool things’ that they have wanted to do. "We will have time time to test lighting, coloring, and yes…those nacelle caps," says Rossi, "it is going to totally change the process, we are very excited about it." The team is so up on their new model that they hope to go back to some previously done shots and redo them. It is a welcome sign that the team is willing to make these improvements going forward (and backward). Many of those early shots get re-used throughout the series (an example would be the plastic-looking ‘left turn shot‘ seen last week in ‘I,Mudd’, which is a reuse of one of the first shots the team made for ‘Miri’). Due to the lead time in putting together an episode, the ‘new’ Enterprise won’t be making its debut until November.

More shots and more ships
Not only is the Enterprise getting a new look, it is also going to continue to show off new moves that were impossible to do with a physical model. "In the original series you only see it in 17 poses, we are going to give you 50 or 60," says Rossi. In addition to the Enterprise the team is also working on a number of new ships. Just last week they started working on the Khan’s Botany Bay for ‘Space Seed’ and according to Rossi it is going to get spruced up, or more accurately spruced down.” It is going to look like it has been in space all those years, it is going to be pitted and have scarring on it," says Rossi. Beyond that the team are also going to start creating some ship models for brand new ships, for example a new Gorn ship for ‘Arena’, an Orion ship for ‘Journey to Babel’ and a new freighter for ‘the Ultimate Computer’. The team feels that they should not be constrained to the same limits as the original effects team that often ran out of time and money. "Our job is to do ships, so why not give people ships," says Rossi enthusiastically.

And more ‘little surprises’
One thing that has been a pleasant surprise is the little changes in some of the shows, such as the android’s new innards in ‘I’Mudd’ or Sulu’s new chronometer in ‘The Naked Time’. These live action touches were not part of the original mandate for the show which was supposed to focus solely on replacing space shots and matte paintings. According to Rossi, when he and fellow producers Mike and Denise Okuda first look at the show they start thinking about what to fix and what they can convince the CBS Digital effects team to do in the time they have: "there are always things in each episode where you go ‘oh that looks bad I wish we could do something.’" Their priority will always be the space and matte shots, but when there is time they will always strive for more. "We are all very passionate about it and want to do everything we can, it is just a matter of having the time to do it," explains Rossi. This weekend keep your eyes on the Gorn in ‘Arena’ for another one of these touches.

Getting their space legs
The Trek Remastered team has been up and running for almost 3 months and has gone through some growing pains. The producers admit that with more time and money things would have gone smoother, but as Rossi points out "anyone who’s ever worked in series television will tell you that there’s never enough time. That’s the nature of the beast. We always complain about inadequate time, but CBS Digital is stepping up to the plate like the professionals that they are." One thing is for sure, Rossi and the Okudas have the respect, dedication and eye for detail that Trek deserves. The rest of the CBS Digital team has been on a learning curve, but it appears that they are getting the hang of it and the new model should be a big help. There are dozens more episodes to go, with a projected completion of all 79 in early 2008. TrekMovie wishes the team good luck and, of course, we will be there every step of the way to keep track of their progress.