Star Trek - Remastered

The OLD Version:












The NEW Version:












From the site http://www.startrek.com:
"The most noticeable change will be redoing many of the special effects, created with 1960s technology, with 21st century computer-generated imagery (CGI). Upgrades include:

• Space ship exteriors – The 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 viewscreen 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."

Well, here's my take on this. I'm going to check it out by watching it. Hmm. Then, if the birthday gods are kind, I'll get the DVDs of the original series and can compare/contrast the differences while the eps are fresh in my mind.

In the mean time, I have to remember to setup the TIVO for this Saturday. As I've previously said (in e-mail), I expect these episodes will dominate the fiercely contested 2:35 am timeslot here in Atlanta on Sunday mornings. Look out REAL ESTATE INFOMERCIALS! Fire photon torpedoes!

This saturday one of my favorite episodes will be on - yet it is one of the most hotly debated by its author, Harlan Ellison. For a good read, and a view into how the series was put together I heartily recommend the following book:

Harlan Ellison's the City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay That Became the Classic Star Trek Episode




In this book, Harlan Ellison provides a sharp-witted and biting response to the decades old legend that G-Rod (Gene Roddenberry, as the more hip Trekkers refer to him) had to re-write because the draft Ellison provided wasn't up to par. Of course if you note that Ellison's un-rewritten script won him a Writer's Guild Award, you can already guess (correctly) that the original script was pretty darn good.

In fact, it was a cutting-edge work that dealt with the harsh realities of what can happen when drug addicts are given access to time-portals. And can we really afford to brush that kind of stuff under the carpet? I think not.

Anyway, if you don't have this book you should buy it. In fact, you should buy it off of my blog by clicking the link and going to Amazon and purchasing it. And you should purchase 10 or 15 of them and give them to every struggling Hollywood scriptwriter you know, because it gets cold out there in Hollywood and if they have one copy to read they can use the other 9 to 14 of them to fashion a winter coat.