CGI "enhanced" Star Trek (TOS) debuts 9/16

[Woochifer]

Following in the tradition of George Lucas and Star Wars, the caretakers of the Star Trek franchise decided to commemorate the series' 40th anniversary by ... well ... "improving" upon the original series. Yes, they've decided to CGI-enhance the visual effects and re-record the opening theme. This was done in conjunction with a new HD transfer. These "enhanced" episodes will make their broadcast debut on 9/16 (presumably in HD).

Seems to me that Paramount is trying to keep their syndicated broadcast affiliates on board, and pave the way for re-releasing the original series on HD-DVD or Blu-ray. We'll see how this goes. The special edition redos on the Star Wars trilogy were a mixed bag, and some of the cheesier elements on the original Star Trek were part of their appeal. I mean if they're going to replace the exterior shots with CGI, are they also going to "enhance" some of the other scenes? Like will they create "digital" tribbles (yes, we know those things looked like finger puppets) or digitally "enhance" the Klingons so that they match the look from the movies and subsequent series? If George Lucas was in charge, we know what the answer would be, but hopefully a tasteful approach will prevail this time around!

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/vie...cle/23775.html

[GMichael]

Oh man, great news! Can't wait to program that DVD now.

[Woochifer]

BTW, here's a publicity shot of the new digitized Enterprise. Oy, now I'm nervous!

[Smokey]

Wow, that look awsome.

Recently had chance to look at first season of Star Trek on DVD and was blown away at how vivid and sharp the image is ( looks like was shot on film). Can’t imagine how much better it will look with CGI/Digitization.

[ericl]

i think it's kinda cool. it was shot on film, should look good in HD. i bet once they saw it in hd they realized the og effects just wouldn't fly..

[Woochifer]

Wow, that look awsome.

Recently had chance to look at first season of Star Trek on DVD and was blown away at how vivid and sharp the image is ( looks like was shot on film). Can’t imagine how much better it will look with CGI/Digitization.

I dunno, that screen shot that I posted looks like cheaply done CGI that needs one more rendering pass, and that makes me nervous on what the final product will look like! Given a choice between bad CGI, and optical effects that were the best that Star Trek could muster at that time, I'll take the opticals because those are contemporary to that time.

The original Star Trek was shot on film, and I know that the studio did at least one restoration while the series was in syndication. A lot of the effects indeed look cheap, and recycle canned shots, but there's also a lot of bad CGI out there, and if the old optical shots get replaced by something that doesn't even come close to photoreal (like that screenshot that I posted), then why bother?

I think there's a backlash against CGI that's been brewing for a few years now, and a half-assed CGI enhancement on something as high-profile as the original Star Trek series might be enough to turn quiet grumbling into loud outrage. I know that with more and more movies I've seen recently, the thrill of the action actually gets diminished if the filmmakers overdo it with the CGI effects. Here's an article that outlines some of the recent CGI botch jobs, and how CGI has increasingly taken on a negative connotation with overuse and bad execution.

http://www.twitchguru.com/2006/08/30/cgi_gone_awry/

[Smokey]

I thought that picture looked kind of cool

Alot of “outside” (like yours) and wide angle shots (cities, nature...) on the original DVD released does contain slight “noise” that is visible. If CGI can clean up the noise and add vibrancy to these shots, it might not be so bad.

But as you said, hopefully they don’t over do it, and with the same team that did The Hulk (thanks for link)

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

I've got $5 that says they also shave off the top & bottom of the picture to make the "new" HD Star Trek fit nicely into those 1.78:1 letterboxed TVs!

[Dusty Chalk]

Heresy!

[ericl]

More Details:

http://trekmovie.com/2006/09/06/trek...nged/#more-149