posted
...TOS were remade? As I've watched more and more TOS episodes recently, I've found myself repeatedly distracted by just how silly a lot of it looks. Not necessarily the stories (though, in some cases...). But the campiness, the VFX, the props/sets, some of the acting... Not to mention the continuity violations that bother people like me (you know who you are...).
So, what I keep thinking is this: What if someone remade TOS? Just redo every episode, but w/ new actors, sets, &c. Some words here and there would be altered (early references to "lithium" changed to "dilithium", and such), but the same scripts would be used otherwise. It seems to me that this would make the epsiodes a lot more watchable, while maintaining the most important aspect: the stories.
So, what do people think of this? I think it would be nice to have a TOS that fits better into the ENT-TNG-DS9-VOY scheme, while still keeping the stories that really made it what it was.
posted
I've had the same thought a few times. I think that the product would be very good and help smooth out some of the inconsistencies that occurred during its run. To see some of the episodes in brand new special effects would be awesome.
However, I really don't think that it would work. First, the Trek community would probably go to hell in a handbasket as factions formed around The New Original Series. Those fans favoring TOS would accuse the fans of TNOS of revisionist history while the fans of TNOS would accuse the fans of TOS of clinging on to something obsolete. Imagine the current Enterprise debates only a hell of a lot more intense and bloodier. Second, the Trek community would run into the problem of which series to accept as canon. Should we go with TOS and all its flaws or a more improved TNOS? That would undoubtedly lead us into more arguments about original writers' intent. Lord help us if Berman and Braga were put in charge of the production; we'd never hear the end of the "B&B ARE DEMON SPAWN!" remarks.
Finally, I don't think I could accept a redone TOS. A lot of the campiness were part of what did make TOS a lot of fun. I mean, watching a cargo hold full of living toupees fall on William Shatner is priceless. The oddball color scheme and the ridiculously large props (in comparison to what we have now) really do add a lot to the overall aura of TOS. I guess I'd feel that a lot of the stuff that couldn't be accounted for in the stories, direction, acting, and whatnot would be lost. It just wouldn't be the spirit of TOS if we didn't that exact same model of the Enterprise soaring across the screen.
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posted
And, in the end, what purpose would it serve? Old fans who consider TOS to be the Star Trek would be annoyed that different people are playing their favourite characters. And the large group of people who only really watched TNG aren't going to be any more interested in it than Enterprise.
The only people who are bothered are the hard-core fans who are distracted by the dated visuals, and continuity errors. And frankly, if hearing "lithium" stops you from enjoying the show, then please go and make friends with real people. The dated imagery, fair enough. It is hard to maintain your suspension of disbelief when McCoy uses a 60s microphone to test someones heart. I enjoy Doctor Who, but I wouldn't mind seeing it with a decent budget. However, I'd want to see new stuff. Not old stuff that I'd already seen.
It would start of as a novelty, but after a while, wouldn't we just get bored of episodes we'd already seen? Sure, "The Doomsday Machine" would be cool to see, and "Balance of Terror", and a few others, but are you dying to see a redone version of "And the Children Shall Lead" or (heaven forbid) "The Way to Eden"?
Not to mention that, essentially, Paramount would no longer be able to sell TOS, in the same way that no-one sells the non-special edition Star Wars films. When Paramount makes new episodes, they add them to their existing pile of what they can sell. In this case, they'd be replacing them. It's one thing to do updated versions of the films, because the outlay there is a tiny percentage of what it would cost to reshoot them. In this case though, they'd be losing 79 whole episodes and replacing them. It'd be poor financial judgement, all to help some fans who get an ulcer everytime they hear "Space Central".
(As an aside, I'm all for tweaking stuff to fix things. For instance, in the Special Edition of TWOK that I'm sure they'll get around to doing, I'd like them to remove the line that says specifically "1996". I wouldn't mind if they removed that line from "Space Seed" either. Or if they overdubbed "Lithium" with "Dilithium" in the old episodes. But I can live without it. And reshooting the entire series? Mad.)
[ October 30, 2001: Message edited by: PsyLiam ]
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Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Well, what I was thinking, what if they just went Lucas and re-did the special effects sequences and the like from TOS? Give it the whole 'Troubles & Tribbleations' effect ...
posted
Oh, Liam: Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - Will get Special Edition treatment (ala The Motion Picture) and will be released 2nd or 3rd Quarter 2002.
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posted
I have mentioned this before... it would be a little cheap to redo the scenes exactly as they wre staged, just with new models and lighting.
The real fun would be to embellish what was already there without contradicting what was shown too much.. a la Special Edition (excluding Greedo).
Ive already voiced my first idea: Making the four Constitutions in 'Ultimate Computer' design variants that show little details that might have been added between the original Connie design and the TMP refit (like the double bridge turbolifts, & docking ports that were added to the Phase II Enterprise. Showing variances without detracting from the TOS look)
Another idea would be finally showing the Klingon scout that assaulted Enterprise from 'Errand of Mercy' possibly it would look like a pre-Romulan influence bird of prey (grey hull rather than green, wings swept back instead of forward).
And that episode also had two fleets converging for a battle.. imagine modeling a Dominion War style scene except with TOS ships.. it would be heaven for fans like me
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On the other hand, a new project set in or around TOS times would recieve a cautiously enthusiastic yes from me.
But if Lucas has taught us anything, it's that trying to "fix" things we remember fondly leads to nothing but pain and sorrow and the gnashing of teeth.
posted
Yeah. I've thought about this a few times. What irritates me the most is the crappy phaser effects and that most of the alien ships in the series are either dots of light, or 300 year old sleeper ships. Those two things alone piss me off more than ANY bad acting or continuity violation.
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posted
It might be nice to see some of the FX updated, but I wouldn't hold my breath on it. The shot-for-shot remake of Psycho a couple of years ago taught most people in Hollywood that it's a pretty stupid idea to clone a classic, and we Trek fans are a lot more demanding than the Hitchcock crowd ever have been.
-------------------- The difference between genius and idiocy? Genius has its limits.
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Yeah. I'd say this is a good idea in theory that probably wouldn't pan out well in reality. If they were gonna do it, I think Jeff's idea of redoing the sfx and some of the sound would be the only way trek fans wouldn't take it as an affront. The whole Greedo thing really bothers me A LOT. So as long as they didn't do anything other than restoration and new SFX, it might be cool, but I don't see that being a huge cash cow unless they did it as a spec ed series with commentaries from original cast and crew. On the other hand I'm sure there's more than enough decent fanfic floating around to set another series in the same time period, maybe with little tie ins to TOS episodes (ala Sol System's suggestion). That could be super cool.
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Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Actually, I had had this exact same idea, but with the Blake's 7 TV series. For all of its incredibly goofy special effects, aliens, costumes, & models, it was really a pretty good show. To have the same scripts redone today but with 21st century production values, it would really be a smash in my opinion.
-------------------- "A film made in 2008 isn't going to look like a TV series from 1966 if it wants to make any money. As long as the characters act the same way, and the spirit of the story remains the same then it's "real" Star Trek. Everything else is window dressing." -StCoop
Registered: Jun 2000
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