Star Trek to get CGI Makeover

[Mr. Analog]

Let me be the first to say:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo Khaaaaaaaaan!

http://trekmovie.com/2006/08/28/star-trek-tos-gets-redone-with-new-cgi/

This proves my theory that current Trek is dead because the producers think that flashy special effects are what make Trek good. Also if a CGI makeover can improve Episode #62 Spock's Brain I'd like to see it.

[Lazybones]

Dumb idea.. however it does remind me of an interesting Enterprise rerun I saw the other day, where the concept of the episode was that Riker in the future was reviewing historic events on the holo deck. I thought it was a rather clever tie in that didn't involve time travel.

[Darren Dirt]

"...a secret plan to get it back on the small screen, but with a makeover."

Nailed it. Sadly.



I am guessing this is a result of those indie film makers (Star Trek New Voyages I think) who had painstakingly redone a couple of TOS episodes, including major improvements in lighting and SFX... Paramount must've started drooling when they saw how "kewl" it looked.



PS:

it does remind me of an interesting Enterprise rerun I saw the other day, where the concept of the episode was that Riker in the future was reviewing historic events on the holo deck. I thought it was a rather clever tie in that didn't involve time travel.

Worst. Ending. To. A. Trek. Series. Evah.

[Ustauk]

PARAMOUUUUUNT! PARAMOUUUUUUUNT!

This cannot end well.

[Mr. Analog]

I am guessing this is a result of those indie film makers (Star Trek New Voyages I think) who had painstakingly redone a couple of TOS episodes, including major improvements in lighting and SFX... Paramount must've started drooling when they saw how "kewl" it looked.

I strongly disagree with this, Viacom recently took over UPN and has plans to relaunch that network combining Paramount, CBS & Warner Bros. properties. I'm convinced part of this relaunch strategy is to regenerate interest in Star Trek in the hopes that it could be revived (and the built-in revenue that comes with it too).

Sure the web-based Trek series are cute but they have limited potential no matter how much we love them.

[Darren Dirt]

I'm saying the Suits let the Indies spend the time and money and blood sweat tears etc. doing a "test run" of improving the old series, and once the Proof Of Concept was confirmed, they decided to run with it -- and make a profit.

My theory anyway.

[Ustauk]

I was flipping through the TV on Saturday, and stumbled upon the episode "The Corbomite Maneuver" playing on the Seattle Fox affiliate.  With some dread, I sat down to watch.  I was pleasantly surprised. 

The new effects shots did not seem out of place.  They either faithfully reproduced the original shots, or were logical extrapolations of what the original team could have done had they been able to "cut the wires".  The Fesaurius looked a little different, with the glowing balls of its superstructure made to look like glowing geodesic domes,  but this didn't bother me that much.  An example of shot consistency was a lack of a visible tractor beam effect when the Fesarius's parasite craft was towing the Enterprise.  An example of an extrapolation occurs when the Enterprise breaks free of the tractor beam, making a quick, graceful arc away instead of abruptly shearing to the side, like in the original effect. 

I think it helped that they redid everything, so they didn't have jarring transitions between original and new effects like in the special editions of Star Wars.

Was it necessary to replace these shots for a new generation?  I'd say no, as many of the effects still like quite good today (though some are admittedly cheesy).  Was what they did sacrilege?  No.  At least they seem to be doing a good, faithful job in the new effects.  Given this one episode, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until they really screw up.

[Lazybones]

Whole site about it
http://www.betafive.com/wordpress/

They have a side by side video of an episode as well.