Star Trek Season One Boxed Set on HD DVD
Star Trek fans are definitely going to be pleased that the first 29 episodes of their favorite show are finally available on HD DVD, but they might be upset at a few…changes.
In the tradition of George Lucas, some of the special effects of the original Star Trek episodes have been touched up. Part of it is a redone intro, with a CG Enterprise and planet. Considering it was just a model and a globe back in the sixties, there is no way that the new effects can blend seamlessly.
I wouldn’t think that true Trekkies would appreciate these touch-ups, and as someone who enjoyed watching Star Trek reruns, I never watched it for the special effects. I simply understood that special effects technology was in its infancy, and it was imagination not technology that makes this show timeless.
There are 10 discs in this set. On one side are the episodes in 1080p AVC MPEG-4 HD DVD format, and the other side is the standard DVD format. Of course, film quality was a totally different animal back in the sixties, so I’m not certain how good this will be to look at. The Audio quality might be something with its release in Dolby True HD 5.1 and Dolby Digital Plus 2.0. However, fans might not like the newly re-recorded theme song as far as sound is concerned.
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Chuck Says: November 21, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Call in and check out our interview tonight at 8pm EST with Ray Buchanan, founder and president of the Stop Hunger Now organization and veteran actor John Mahon ie. Admiral Gardner from Enterprise on thirdrailradio.com
Capt Logan Says: November 21, 2007 at 10:21 pm
The newly remastered episodes have been aired on tv all last season and so I’ve watched several of them. I was skeptical too, at first, but I agree with what’s been done. Mike and Denise Okuda have tried to stay true to the original intentions of the show, not merely soup it up to look more modern. If anything, they’re trying to do what the effects guys back in the 60s would have done if they had the technology. It certainly isn’t entirely seamless between the live-action and the CGI, but it’s a lot closer than I would have thought possible. And when you put the original live footage up against the stuff that’s been touched up, the difference is astounding, so I can see it being in HD. What would be really silly is if they put the original, untouched episodes in HD, and they’re available on regular DVDs. If you haven’t seen it, take a look before you make a final judgement call. I also wrote a related blog– http://blog.mygeeklife.net/articles/2007/11/21/captain-kirk-vs-captain-pike
Marc Says: November 21, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Why….? I mean, really – what were they thinking?
I’ll happily watch reruns of trek and enjoy them but a 40 year old TV show isn’t exactly going to showcase the full potential of high-def is it? Seems like a wasted effort to me.