You WILL Be Assimilated to the ReMastering...!
Okay, me... long-time Trekker, I collect ST toys & books & Dickel bottles BUT... I've never owned any Trek Original Series on any form, Beta, VHS or disc. Until now. And I'm glad I waited and didn't get stuck with 79 separate VHS's in clamshells! You'd think I'd be a purist and all a-gripin' about the Remastering, but nope. I love it! Here's what the naysayers are missing in their reviews.
Of course Star Trek would be easy to preserve and clean up, it always looked great, it was a vibrant, colorful show. But no one probably thought that it would get "tampered with" à la Star Wars. Fans hate to point out weaknesses in the things we revere, but face it, the stock shots of the same Enterprise model crudely super-imposed over the same planet footage, it was just jarring transition-wise.
The old-fashioned dials are turned into more futuristic read-outs, the Gorn blinks, the matte paintings are re-done more realistically, the phaser beams colors are in sync. The special features tell you that they basically used the same planet shot multiple times, just tinted it different colors. Let's face it, the budget went into Janice Rand's basket-weave hairdo, there wasn't much left over for FX.
But the new exteriors and bridge viewscreen shots aren't jarring like you might expect, in fact they flow with the original series footage better than ever. The ships don't jerk, they don't get translucent, but somehow they made the CGI a bit aged to fit in with the rest of the film stock. It's only when you first start watching that you anticipate the CGI and are more concious of it, after awhile you forget about it at all. There's a great side-by-side comparison at the "Star Trek" website, just search for "Star Trek comparison remastered". So basically, that's how I feel about THAT! Nyah!
Okay, the dvd packaging? Feh! It's SO bad that I find it funny now, every time I open the cases wondering how anyone could've seriously thought this was aesthetically-pleasing or convenient presentation. Unmarked dvd discs, a big 10-disc plastic case in a paper box in a plastic hinged box and the square cards with each episode listed on them. My cards fell out today when I tilted the box to pull the unweildy 10-cd plastic case out. Ugh. Anyway, so bad it's funny, at least I get a little laugh out of it! That's how I put a positive spin on things I guess.
Buy it. NOW!!! And live long & prosper.Read full review
