Classic Star Trek to return with new special effects:

[jeffreyab]

Exclusive! "New" Star Trek Is Set on Stunning by Michael Logan

Star Trek purists, take a deep breath! On Sept. 16, the iconic '60s series
will return to syndication for the first time since 1990, but with a
startling difference: All 79 episodes are being digitally remastered with
computer-generated effects not possible when Gene Roddenberry created the
show 40 years ago. The news could cause Roddenberry loyalists to have a
collective cow, but the longtime Trek staffers in charge of the makeover say
they're honoring the late maestro's vision, not changing it.

"We're taking great pains to respect the integrity and style of the
original," says Michael Okuda, who spent 18 years as a scenic-art supervisor
on Star Trek films and spin-offs. "Our goal is to always ask
ourselves: What would Roddenberry have done with today's technology?"
Okuda's teammates on the two-year project are his wife, Denise Okuda, with
whom he's authored several Trek reference books, and 14-year Trek production
vet David Rossi.

The upgraded episodes - to be shown out of order and one per week - will
kick off with "Balance of Terror," a big fan favorite "that gives us a
chance to really show off the 'new' Enterprise," says Okuda. "The exterior
of the ship now has depth and detail, and it will fly more dynamically."
Painted backdrops will also be brought to life: Once-empty star bases will
have CGI people milling about, while static alien landscapes have been given
slow-moving clouds and shimmering water. Okuda notes that a view of Earth in
the 1966 episode "Miri" has been "replaced with a more accurate image, now
that we've gone into deep space and looked back at ourselves."

Trek's opening theme is also getting an overhaul: The music has been
re-recorded in stereo with a bigger orchestra, and a new singer has been
hired to wail those famous but wordless vocals. And goofs will be
corrected: In "The Naked Time," there was no beam coming out of Scotty's
phaser when he tried to cut through the bulkhead outside Engineering. Now
there is.

More info here:

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

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Why is this a good idea?

B

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Its not affecting the live action shoots, just the SFX which was good for the sixties but very dated for today.

Also I should be able to see the results for free on broadcast televison.

Star Trek was one of the few constants for me during the time my parents were divorcing so it means more to me than most people.

Others might find it of technical interests and I have faith Michael Okuda will have done a good job.

[wpeters.livejournal.com]

Checks date.... nope, not April 1st.

Wow! This doesn't so much smack of desperation, more gouts it from every pore! Sure, it'll get a new generation of fans ready for the new movie (allegedly set in the classic trek period) but to most it'll be naught but a passing curio, much like a car crash.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the horse is dead, Paramount! Stop flogging it!

Ho hum.

[pompe.livejournal.com]

Yeah, because we know _all_ it takes to make a series four decades old appeal again is to update the SFX and sound.

What we now need to do is colorize those old John Wayne movies, add some pompous but more modern music and upgrade the bullet trails. Fit for the Matrix Generation!

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Its not affecting the live action shoots, just the SFX which was good for the sixties but very dated for today.

Also we should be able to see the results for free on broadcast televison.

Star Trek was one of the few constants for me during the time my parents were divorcing so it means more to me than most people.

Others might find it of technical interests and I have faith Michael Okuda will have done a good job.

My stock answer.

[pompe.livejournal.com]

Just the SFX? Is alien makeup, starship machinery and general interior design scenery included or excluded in that?

What I disliked with the revised Star Wars movies were not the better sound and small glitch fixes, it was the difference in style between very modern CGI and 1970's props and makeup.

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

They are enhancing the matte shots of planets and starbases so they have CGI movement effects.

They are adding effects that were left out in one case.

Nothing they can do about the makeup.

Interior design machinery I do not know about.

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

1. I've always thought of Mike Okuda as more sensible than that.

2. I know that shot in "Miri." Always seemed like it was dumb for Miri's planet to have continents that were exact duplicates of Earth's. Don't know if a more accurate version will improve this point!

3. Fixing mistakes, ones that nobody intended in the original productions, is an understandable temptation.

4. Does Greedo shoot first in this version?

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Kirk always shot first, or was prepared to.

I totally agree on your other points.

[chipleduff.livejournal.com]

I think it's pretty neat. I mean...people don't have to watch them if they don't want to. And the 79 episodes are still availabe in their original format with no tricks. It's the best of both worlds, i think.

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I'm not buying another set of DVDs. :(

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Its being broadcast free on any syndicating channel so fire up the VCR or the Tivo, I hope Space is picking it up.

[wpeters.livejournal.com]

Y'know, the more I think about this, the more I'm intrigued by the idea and I find myself starting to look forward to it. It'll be interesting to see, I think =)

[wpeters.livejournal.com]

someone in the office pointed out that a guy has allready tried this and approached paramount with the idea and if Paramount are as subtle as he was then I'm actually really looking forward to it...

http://www.trekenhanced.com/

Crow