To Boldly Go…And Remaster Star Trek
At a time when Star Trek had been rerun so frequently that prints were dull, scratched and hazy, Paramount/CBS decided it was time to remaster the original series (TOS) by cleaning up the original master prints, boosting the picture quality and re-recording the background music. Then they took the decision to take a step futher and replace the old special effects shots with digital CGI effects.
This venture was spurred on by the appearance of High Definition DVDs in the consumer marketplace. Just a year ago (late 2007), there was an arms escalation between the two competing High-Def formats: HDDVD and Blu-Ray. Neither showed signs of being a clear winner. All that changed early this year when Warner Bros. finally decided to exclusively support the Blu-ray format.
The weapon that HDDVD had up its sleeve, though, was the release of the remastered first series of the original Star Trek. Toshiba, who were backing HDDVD, invested a lot of money into the Star Trek project and the release of the remastered Star Trek series was heavily promoted.
All the original series of Star Trek were recorded on film which is inherently a high-contrast, high-definition medium. Lighting techiniques like those used in movies at the time were also used. More recent series of Star Trek such as Deep Space Nine, Next Generation and Voyager were all shot using video, an inherently low-to-medium definition, low contrast medium. Plus, Next Generation especially, was recorded using low-contrast lighting that was in vogue at the time. What this means is that it’s highly] unlikely that any of these series will ever appear in high definition on Blu-Ray. I wouldn’t be surprised if TOS does make an appearance on Blu-Ray at some point in the future.
Ok, so what are my impressions of the Remastered Series?
To begin with, it looks stunning in high definition. The original 4:3 aspect ratio has been retained and the images are exceptionally crisp and clean. Contrast has been boosted somewhat so images have more punch. The only downside I can see is the common criticism levelled at high definition: too much detail is apparent! So on the HDDVD you can see the zippers on the cast’s shirts.
The HDDVD release featured a Standard Definition version on one side (so it plays in a normal DVD player) and a High-Definition version on the other side. Both sides have a good set of extras with little material being repeated.
Now the rest of this review will look at the standard definition DVD releases of the remastered series.
A few months back, the first series of the Remastered Star Trek was made available in a standard DVD edition. in the meantime, the second series of TOS has been released and the third series will be available in November. For those who already own the previously released version of the series on DVD (without remastered special effects and music), is there a good reason to acquire yet another edition of Star Trek?
For me, having grown up watching the series, getting the HDDVD version was a must. I was more interested in image quality and the show looking as pristine as it did straight out of the camera in the 1960s. I have to admit to being a little dubious about the new CGI animations replacing old ship and other special effects shots and how intrusive they would be. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The effects do add to the show, giving it a more immersive quality and lend the alien settings a more real feel.
All the FX were created inhouse by CBS (who now own the TV rights). While, for the most part, they’ve done an outstanding job, a few ship FX look plasticy rather than like hammered metal. FX for Enterprise~I believe the company that created the effects for Enterprise} were originally considered to create the TOS FX but their expenses were too high and so CBS did the effects inhouse instead.
The thing that makes the remastered series so enjoyable is that no liberties have been taken in altering or re-imagining the episodes (for better or worse). There’s no showing off here. Instead what they’ve done is clean the show up and presented it exactly as it was originally meant to be, musical note for note, shot for shot. The musical score has been re-recorded completely, but apart from it now being crystal clear (and in 5.1 Dolby Digital) you’d never know it. FX shots of the Enterprise have been rendered with CGI, but it’s hard to tell any difference (except on rare occassions), and it now looks brilliant instead of worn out, washed out and incredibly grainy. The new FX fit seamlessly amongst the original live-action footage. Remember those black matte lines, especially around ships orbiting planets? They’re gone. And Fuzzy prints? They’re a thing of the past. The colors are brighter, the shadows are deeper and Star Trek has never looked as stunning.
Like I said previously, I was dubious about a version of Star Trek that replaced spacecraft models with CGI or tampered with the originally recorded musical score. But what they’ve done here is so faithful, that there’s nothing that you can do but applaud their efforts. It’s obvious that the work has been carried out by people who love the series. It’s just a pity it’s not being put to better use. Paramount has declined to air this new version in high-def, even though they now have the capability to do it. Combine that with how difficult they’re making it to see it on cable and satellite, and it’s hard to find a reason for bothering with it on television.
Better to beam this pristine version of one of TV’s most loved and classic shows onto DVD at warp speed. And if you bought into HDDVD and don’t have the Remastered HDDVD, pick that one up instead. You won’t be disappointed.
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