|
|
 |
Star Trek The Original Series: Season 3 - Remastered Edition
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan C. Stevenson (19th November 2008). |
|
The Show
 Very few shows come back from the brink of cancellation. Even fewer shows come back purely because of fan support. “Star Trek: The Original Series” is one such show, one of the first actually, to have a fan base that was so boisterous and so vocal over their outrage of the networks decision to cancel their beloved series, that they set off on a letter righting campaign. Headlined by super fans Bjo and John Trimble, the initiative was so successful that these “Trekkies” actually managed to change studio executives’ minds – a rare feat, even today. In 1968, although “Star Trek” originally didn’t look like it would last more than the two brief seasons that had already been completed, it returned to the airwaves for one last hurrah of 24 uneven, sometimes downright awful, adventures with the crew of the USS Enterprise. Season three had its ups and downs, both on and off the screen. Most importantly, even though NBC brought the series back from cancellation, they plugged it into the Friday, at 10 PM timeslot, or as it’s known in the industry, the “death slot.” Unhappy with the fact that NBC reneged on their promise of an hour-long block, in primetime, for the series, creator Gene Roddenberry pulled the show from the lot, moved production outside of the studio “family”, took on the role of Executive Producer and never looked back. On top of a less than stellar timeslot, NBC further cut the budget (season two had already seen numerous cuts of the course of its run), which didn’t exactly help matters; often, limited funds ended up making the series look less polished than usual, and was the cause of some of the most hair brained plot contrivances (invisible aliens) in the whole franchise. Dejected, mostly by the backhanded agreements and unsavory decisions by the studio, Roddenberry had a far more “hands off” approach with his creation when compared to seasons past. He ended up pushing a large portion of creative responsibility upon producer Bob Justman and the writing staff. Whereas Roddenberry was meticulously overseeing the shows day-to-day construction during seasons one and two, aside from writing a few episodes and over seeing episodes in passing, he mostly just let the series devour itself with awful plot after awful plot and sloppy production values after even sloppier production values. And thus, that is how “Star Trek: The Original Series” died. Season three is the source of many of the misconceptions and half-truths outsiders apply to “Star Trek”. The low budget, campy ascetic, the shoddy acting and some truly awful stories, all appear here. The season opener, titled “Spock’s Brain”, an episode in which aliens sneak aboard the Enterprise and steal the brain of everyone’s favorite Vulcan (), is regarded as one of, if not the absolute, worst moments in the series’ brief history. It’s frankly easy to see why; “Spock’s Brain” is poorly directed, looks like it was made for about $6 (in 2009 terms, mind you) and the “cave people” give some of the worst performances EVER put to film (on that note, William Shatner is especially “shatastic” in season three – his now famous delivery where, every. Word. Is. It’s. Own. Sentence. Except-when-its-not. Is heightened to a level of absurd hilarity in almost every episode). On top of it all, the story in “Spock’s Brain” is completely ridiculous, far surpassing even the most ludicrous moments previously seen in the “Original Series.” Placed sporadically throughout the season are episodes that are nearly as bad, or little better than, the opener. Highlights of these “worst” Treks from season three include: “The Empath”, “The Mark of Gideon”, “The Way to Eden” (this episode is particularly campy and awful: a crazed doctor and his band of “space hippies” hijack the Enterprise and her crew. Seriously, all I can say is, “what the *#$%”) and the series finale, “Turnabout Intruder” where Kirk’s consciousness is implanted inside a woman’s body. On the whole there are more moments of pure terribleness in season three than in all of Trekdom (well, perhaps excluding the entirety of “Enterprise”). And yet, “The Original Series – Season Three” is not all bad. In fact, some of it is frankly excellent. Episodes as like “The Enterprise Incident”, “The Tholian Web” and the iconic “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”, the latter of which, even non-fans likely know: a pair of half-white, half-black aliens battle each other because of their “differences” (just one of the many not so subtle entries into “Star Trek’s” social critique of then modern society). “The Enterprise Incident” has Kirk piloting the Enterprise beyond the neutral zone, infiltrating a Romulan ship, in disguise, in order to steal the fabled cloaking device. This adventure serves to elaborate on the already dense mythology within the series, and Kirk as a Romulan is just awesome. “The Tholian Web” is another one of many Sci-Fi masterpieces within the series, introducing us to a new, dangerous race of aliens and placing Kirk between dimensions. It’s episodes such as these that prove, when “Star Trek” is good, it’s really, really good. It’s episodes like these that justify the existence of the fan base. It’s episodes like these that make Season three worth owning. But, what’s the real allure to this new DVD set? After all, no matter which way you cut it, the episodes themselves are comprised of the same stories most of us have been watching for years and years on television, VHS and via the previous DVD release. The stories don’t change, the acting doesn’t change… so what’s the draw to this double dip? New extras? Well, yes (see below). But, more importantly, and more enticingly, is the word remastered. “Season Three – Remastered,” like the previous “Remastered” versions of season one and season two, brings Trek into the 21st century with fully restored picture and sound, modernizing the series, but at the same time keeping rather faithful to the source material. All 79 episodes of the “Original Series” have undergone an expensive, extensive overhaul. What originally began as a simple “clean up,” where technicians were charged with basically polishing the image (cleaning off scratches, removing dirt, fixing contrast issues and tweaking away age related defects) soon elevated to a level far beyond simple preservation. This restoration revitalizes the series in ways not possible for many years. Frankly, it wouldn’t be wrong for me to say that “Star Trek” looks better now than it did during the 1968-1969-television season. Technicians rescanned the original 35mm film elements into the digital realm, whereby they color corrected, cleaned and generally brought new life to the decades old prints. The purpose, originally, of this restoration was to create new high definition masters that would withstand the scrutiny of high def broadcast and, eventually, an HD home video release. Unfortunately, the massive increase in resolution brought forth some less than flattering truths about the quality of the model work and effects. It’s true that they already looked absurdly fake and cheap (although, for the time and budget, contextually, they were impressive), even on DVD, but in HD, the ships and phaser blasts just didn’t hold up. What followed was a complete reconstruction of the shows effects work, using state of the art CGI. Fans, myself included, were apprehensive about this endeavor. Would the series be destroyed in the same way the “Star Wars” original trilogy (1977-1983) was with the Special Editions (and subsequent 2004 DVD redo which changed even more)? Fortunately, “TOS – Remastered” looks nothing like the George Lucas-Certified abominations of years past. The redone CG effects are extremely faithful to the originals; even having artificial film grain added in for increased effect and better integration with the regular, non-effects based, photography. These new CG creations fit within the universe nicely, and better yet no story elements are changed, nothing looks outright out of place and, if I do say so myself, I think that the new effects only enhance the overall experience of “Star Trek.” "Season three" may be unequivocally the worst of the original series as a whole. It's campy, and sometimes downright atrocious next to the best episodes of the series. But, at the same time, undoubtedly, "Star Trek" is one of those rare series, which the fan base loves even for its faults. As the saying goes, even the worst of "Star Trek" is better than most anything else on television. Newcomers may be put off by the seemingly antiquated program (much of this is now remedied with the addition of new effects), but fans know that "Trek" is an enduring, largely satisfying adventure, which stands the test of time and remains one of the most influential and iconic properties in all of television and film history. All 24 episodes from the series’ 3rd season are included on 6 discs (with a bonus episode on the 7th). Episodes include: - "Spock’s Brain" - "The Enterprise Incident" - "The Paradise Syndrome" - "And the Children Shall Lead" - "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" - "Spectre of the Gun" - "Day of the Dove" - "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" - "The Tholian Web" - "Plato’s Stepchildren" - "Wink of an Eye" - "The Empath" - "Elaan of Troyius" - "Whom Gods Destroy" - "Let That BE Your Last Battlefield" - "The Mark of Gideon" - "That Which Survives" - "The Lights of Zetar" - "Requiem for Methuselah" - "The Way to Eden" - "The Cloud Minders" - "The Savage Curtain" - "All Our Yesterdays" - "Turnabout Intruder"
Video
As the title suggests, the biggest draw to this set is the new “Remastered” addition tacked onto the packaging. Largely, the term “Remastered” refers to the new video transfers. Each episode is presented in its original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 (full frame), with black bars on the left and right when viewed on a widescreen display. The restoration (discussed above), from the original 35mm film elements, was completed at 2K, for eventual delivery via high-definition. This DVD set is part three of the aborted HD DVD/DVD Combo series from Paramount, who, for a time, exclusively supported the now defunct HD DVD format. Season one, which I also own, is the only season from the original series to have been released on the Toshiba backed high-definition home video format (with the fall of HD DVD, subsequent Blu-ray releases have appeared this year from Paramount/CBS). This season (as well as the second) disappointingly drop the AVC/MPEG-4 1080p high-definition edits from “side B” of the flipper DVD. Although still quite good, I’ll admit that these “Remastered” DVD episodes can’t hold a candle to the true 1080p versions (this applies to the series on HD DVD and Blu-ray, as I’ve seen both, and no matter the format, “Star Trek” is a revelation in high-definition). I always found the original 2004 DVD's to be a bit flat, lifeless and dirty. That is no longer the case with the new restorations. Colors are excellent, with bright and bold hues. Contrast is much improved over previous home video releases; these new transfers are much brighter, and the image is far more dynamic, with deeper black levels and noticeably improved depth. Print damage has been almost completely eradicated, with nary a speck anywhere in the series (sans end credits which are still slightly speckled and dirty). This is a massive improvement over the pockmarked, and frankly filthy DVD and VHS transfers of the past. Grain is present, if inconsistently so, but this is inherent to original photography, as is a variance in sharpness. Many of the shows close-ups appear softer than the rest of the footage seen in the rest of the series. The issue of softness is especially true with close-ups of women, which is unsurprising; the practice of focus dipping is still present in television today (side note: entire shows are now shot with diffusion filters; see “Ellen” (2003-Present) or “The View” (1997-Present) for examples). Even in standard def, these inconsistencies are clear to see, but I don’t think this effects the overall viewing experience and isn’t a fault of the DVD's themselves; it’s just an element to note, really. Don’t expect this old show to be consistently sharp, because it isn’t. There are occasional bursts of noise and artifacts from time to time, although this is far less frequent than the less than consistent photographic techniques, and unlike the softness and grain, not inherent to the original footage (meaning the encodes are at fault). However, despite these issues, the “Remastered” episodes look quite good, as good as one could ever hope an over 40-year-old television program to look. The DVD's may not look as stupendously superb as the HD DVD and Blu-ray releases (the latter of which, I would suggest fans purchase instead of these DVD's, if they can), but that’s to be expected. Fans who aren’t quite satisfied with the older 2004 transfers and who aren’t HD ready and Blu-ray enabled, should look no further than these “Remastered” DVD's. As is the case with the season one HD DVD/DVD Combo and the DVD-only release of season two, the updated (enhanced) CGI effects are the only viewing option for season three on DVD. Purists and those who wish to watch the series with the original 60s era effects should look no further than the upcoming Blu-ray edition, which seamlessly branches both the old and new edits of effects-heavy scenes on one disc, giving the option of old or new.
Audio
The new “Remastered” English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix improves clarity and depth considerably when compared to the 2.0 Dual Mono on the old 2004 set. Alexander Courage’s theme and score see a marked increase in crispness, with the original theme having been completely rerecorded with a multi-part orchestra. The show has never sounded as full-bodied or dynamic as it does in these new remasters. The 5.1 remix is surprising faithful to the original source, with dialog and most effects staying within the front channels. Pans between the left, right and center are tight and controlled. Rears are mostly silent, which I frankly prefer as it keeps closer in tune with the original monaural source. When elements are channeled to the rears it’s done tastefully, never sounding over-processed or crudely done. The lossy Dolby Digital doesn’t quite compare to the lossless TrueHD (Season one HD DVD) or DTS-HD Master Audio (Season one and two on Blu-ray) tracks, but regardless, this still sounds great considering that it’s a television production from 1969. The purist in me wishes the original mono were offered as an option on this DVD, but I can live without it. And I am sure that the upcoming Blu-ray release of Season Three will fall in line with the other two Blu-ray editions of the previous season, which do include the original 1.0 mono broadcast mix as an option. So, if you’re absolutely dying for the broadcast audio, that’s just another reason to upgrade to the high-def Blu-ray release come December 2009. French and Spanish dubs are available in Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono. Optional subtitles are offered in Spanish and French.
Extras
Paramount includes a majority of the features from the previous 2004 DVD release, including multiple featurettes, a bonus episode (with two versions) and preview trailers for all 24 episodes. A majority of the video-based material is 4x3 pillar-boxed or window-boxed 1.78:1 widescreen. The lone 16x9-enhanced featurette is noted below. DISC ONE: Each disc contains the corresponding preview trailers for the episodes on said disc. These old relics (tattered and worn, sourced from non-remastered elements) were once played at the end of episodes as promos for next weeks adventure. Previews on this disc include: - "Spock’s Brain" runs 1 minute 1 second. - "The Enterprise Incident" runs 45 seconds. - "The Paradise Syndrome" runs 1 minute 1 second. - "And The Children Shall Lead" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. DISC TWO: Each disc contains the corresponding preview trailers for the episodes on said disc. These old relics (tattered and worn, sourced from non-remastered elements) were once played at the end of episodes as promos for next weeks adventure. Previews on this disc include: - "Is There In Truth, No Beauty?" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Spectre of the Gun" runs 1 minute 4 seconds. - "Day of the Dove" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" runs 1 minute 3 seconds. DISC THREE: Each disc contains the corresponding preview trailers for the episodes on said disc. These old relics (tattered and worn, sourced from non-remastered elements) were once played at the end of episodes as promos for next weeks adventure. Previews on this disc include: - "The Tholian Web" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Plato’s Stepchildren" runs 1 minute. - "Wink of an Eye" runs 1 minute 1 second. - "The Empath" 1 minute 2 seconds. DISC FOUR: Each disc contains the corresponding preview trailers for the episodes on said disc. These old relics (tattered and worn, sourced from non-remastered elements) were once played at the end of episodes as promos for next weeks adventure. Previews on this disc include: - "Elaan of Troyius" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Whom Gods Destroy" runs 1 minute 1 second. - "Let That Be Your Battlefield" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "The Mark of Gideon" runs 1 minute. DISC FIVE: Each disc contains the corresponding preview trailers for the episodes on said disc. These old relics (tattered and worn, sourced from non-remastered elements) were once played at the end of episodes as promos for next weeks adventure. Previews on this disc include: - "That Which Survives" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "The Lights of Zetar" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Requiem for Methuselah" runs 1 minute 1 second. - "The Way to Eden" runs 1 minute 3 seconds. DISC SIX: Each disc contains the corresponding preview trailers for the episodes on said disc. These old relics (tattered and worn, sourced from non-remastered elements) were once played at the end of episodes as promos for next weeks adventure. Previews on this disc include: - "The Cloud Minders" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "The Savage Curtain" runs 1 minute. - "All our Yesterdays" runs 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Turnabout Intruder" 1 minute 3 seconds. DISC SEVEN: Quite possibly the biggest draw to this set is the inclusion of the fully restored version of “The Cage,” a bonus episode, it's the original 63 minute pilot episode which was rejected by NBC. This now famous first episode features a radically different cast, with Jeffrey Hunter as Capt. Christopher Pike, Majel Barrett as Number One and an emotionally charged Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy and Spock are the only elements from the first Pilot to return to the series proper). Most of “The Cage,” nearly three-quarters of it, was reinserted into the two-part Season one episode “The Menagerie.” As an added extra bonus, an extended version, running 71 minutes, has an introduction by Gene Roddenberry and switches back and forth between color, black and white, restored and un-restored, 16mm and 35mm film. “Billy Blackburn’s Treasure Chest, Part 3” is the final entry in the three-part featurette where "Trek" actor Billy Blackburn shares some of his old Super8, 8mm and 16mm camera footage from the set of “Star Trek: TOS.” 10 minutes 53 seconds. This is a new featurette produced for this "Remastered" set, and was not included on the previous 2004 DVD release. “To Boldly Go… Season Three” is a retrospective featurette with William Shatner, , Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig and producer Bob Justman. Topics discussed include the cancellation and subsequent letter writing campaign, the rise and fall of Pavel Chekov, the infamous Kirk/Uhura kiss and many other highlights from the shows 3rd and final season. 22 minutes 36 seconds. “A Star Trek Collector’s Dream Come True” featurette is an interview with John Long, a prop and model maker for feature films, and an avid "Star Trek" collector. Long talks about various props from the series, including phasers, communicators, and a laser assault rifle (seen only in one episode, season one’s “Where no Man Has Gone Before”), and showcases (semi-working) “hero” props vs. their lighter, nonfunctioning versions, and, in some cases, he even puts the originals up against reconstructions that he’s produced for his own collection. 7 minutes 5 seconds. In “Life Beyond Star Trek: Walter Koenig” featurette the delightful Walter Koenig discusses his life post-Star Trek, how he found out that he had landed the role of Pavel Chekov, and showcases some of his massive collection of geek memorabilia, including a wall devoted to "Star Trek," another to buttons and still another full of old serial comics. 10 minutes 57 seconds. “Chief Engineer’s Log” is a featurette that has a sickly James Doohan (interviews recorded late 2003, two years before his death) reminiscing about his time on the show, providing some interesting insight to his character (Scotty) and talks about the various other accents and voices he provided during the show. (Interesting fact: Doohan is also responsible for much of the Klingon “dialogue” up until the second feature film). 6 minutes 11 seconds. “Memoir from Mr. Sulu” is another actor/character based featurette. This timeGeorge Takei (Hicaru Sulu) discusses life after the show, his character and his place in the US as a “third generation” Japanese American. 8 minutes 42 seconds. “Star Trek’s Impact” featurette has son of Gene Roddenberry, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, sharing his thoughts on the original series, including some of his favorite episodes, how his father’s show changed the television landscape and what it’s like being the son of the creator of a series’ that he himself very much enjoyed. 9 minutes 3 seconds. “Collectable Trek” featurette is an overview of various TOS collectables. Penny Juday, a "Star Trek" archivist, discusses some of the pieces of memorabilia and toys that she has seen, and the often-outrageous prices that they go for at auction. John Long, the man from the “Collector’s Dream Come True” featurette also returns here to share some of his collectors items, and many others showcase some of their prized possessions. 14 minutes 35 seconds. “Captains Log: Bob Justman” is a newly produced featurette about the late super-producer. , Michael Okuda and many others reminisce about working with the man who made much of “Star Trek” possible, a statement that is particularly true after Roddenberry departed during the show's third season. (Justman also comments via his last recorded interview before his untimely death in 2008.) 9 minutes 34 seconds. 16x9 enhanced widescreen. Notably missing from this set are the Michael Okuda text commentaries (trivia tracks) present on the 2004 DVD set. This is an unfortunate downside to the otherwise exemplary supplemental package. The material from the text-tracks that has been excised here will be mostly reincorporated into the “Star Fleet Access” Picture-in-Picture features on the high-def version (see HD DVD of season one and Blu-ray of season one and two and presumably, three).
Packaging
The 7-discs are packaged in a plastic Digipack (opens like a “book”), with a cardboard slipcase. This is then housed inside a plastic “Clamshell”. Although the package looks quite nice and compact, the casing has been less than ideal for shipping, with notable instances of damaged products upon delivery. The plastic Digipak (and the clamshell too) look like that they can break quite easily. (Side note: although this 3rd season arrived unharmed, my 1st season set had to be sent back twice to Amazon due to a cracked outer casing. Although I finally received an undamaged set, one of the hinges on the outer clamshell has subsequently broken due to nothing other than “normal’ use. I fear this third season will do the same). The “double-sided” discs have no artwork on either side. The B-side, once the place for the 1080p high-definition versions is this remasered DVD series, no longer has data on it, and thusly, this seems lazy and serves as problematic. The lack of a label leaves both sides more vulnerable to damage. I’m all for packaging continuity, but when the HD DVD edits were dropped, so should the label-less platters have been. The DVD also includes a series of “holographic” collector’s cards, which feature a rundown of disc contents, episode titles and original airdates (plus each stories “Star Date”).
Overall
Season three may not be the strongest offering of Star Trek’s “Original Series” but it has some good episodes; unfortunately, there are many, many bad ones too. Overall, the third entry is a must own for Trekkies (or Trekkers; whatever camp one finds themselves is their own business) as it completes the trinity. The inclusion of “The Cage” is a nice plus too. I’m a fan of the overall restorations presented here, I even like the new effects, the improved audio is strong if limited by the source material and the extras will surely please fans. But, as good of a DVD release as this is, the knowledge of the upcoming Blu-ray edition in December 2009 makes this a difficult recommendation. Add season three to your collection, but wait for the Blu-ray if you’re high-definition enabled.
|
|||||
|