Beam Me Up?

It was more like "Beat me up" if you wanted to own the three seasons of the original Star Trek series on DVD just a few weeks ago. The price of each individual season has lately dropped from over $100 to $45 at Costco. Hmmmm...usually means there's a "new" edition coming out soon....

And there is. CBS/Paramount will begin broadcasting digitally enhanced versions of the original series, beginning on September 16, so the DVDs won't be far behind. (But at what price?)

From startrek.com:

The most noticeable change will be redoing many of the special effects, created with 1960s technology, with 21st century computer-generated imagery (CGI). Upgrades include:

Space ship exteriors – The Enterprise, as well as other starships, will be replaced with state of the art CGI-created ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Show opening – The Enterprise and planets seen in the main title sequence will be redone, giving them depth and dimension for the first time.
Galaxy shots – All the graphics of the galaxy, so frequently seen through the viewscreen on the Enterprise's bridge, will be redone.
Exteriors – The battle scenes, planets and ships from other cultures (notably the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers) will be updated.
Background scenes – Some of the iconic, yet flat, matte paintings used as backdrops for the strange, new worlds explored by the Enterprise crew will get a CGI face-lift, adding atmosphere and lighting.
The refurbished episodes also feature higher quality sound for the famous opening theme. The original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Alexander Courage, has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier..." monologue continues to open each episode.

The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD.

Just for fun, here's a look at the new enhanced Enterprise.

I don't know how I feel about this. Sure, I realize that the show (especially the unenhanced edition) is major cheese, but I grew up on the show and have fond memories of it. Like many of us from my era, this was our first introduction to sf. And even though I haven't watched any of the newer Trek incarnations in the past 20 years or read a Trek novel in 30 years, I still love watching the old shows. (Some of them, anyway.) I like watching the old cardboard sets, the cheap fx, the universal rock-planet that appears in each episode.

Sure, it would be nice to see a cleaner picture, a better soundtrack, and fx with less of a cheese factor. But what can you do about Shatner's bad acting?

Still, I think of those old episodes as an old friend. He stumbles around a bit and embarrasses you sometimes, but he's still hanging in there.

"He's dead, Jim."

Yeah, well....yeah...