SCI FI PI

DVD/HD DVD Combo Disc Set


For hardcore TOS fans, it will only be a few years ago that you bought the DVD of TOS Series 1. So now they say there's another version, apparently better, more interesting. But is it that much better that we must hand over the cash yet again?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes, especially if you have an HD DVD player.

For starters you can play it on your DVD player, and can then play it on your HD DVD player when you get one (or add the HD DVD to your Xbox 360 at around $250, not a bad option if you intend on buying a great deal of Paramount HD DVDs in the near future). Even if you already have Blu-ray, you can still play the show, but you won't be able to access the extra HD features.

But let's start at the beginning. What have they done to a classic?





Star Trek TOS, before and after the makeover.


Firstly - cleaned it up. Odd, you thought the DVD looked okay. But no. An army of clever people have gone back to the original film stock (yes, the celluloid that was exposed to William Shatner?s hairless chest back in the early sixties) and digitally transferred the images with faults, scratches and tears. These have then been removed and cleaned up, and then the entire colour palette's contrast has been overhauled. Blacks are blacker, colours are more vibrant, and that wishy washy sepia tone is now a thing of the past (or of past DVDs). The 'dream-like' fuzziness is less a factor, and the clarity (especially when played on the HD DVD) reveals far far more. The effect is a subtle yet definite shift in the way you react to the performances and actors. There is, would you believe, a new 'reality' to it all - one half of the 'reality shift' in this new version of Trek.



Space clouds are more 'cloudy'.

The other half is the CGI revolution. Gone are the famously crap model, matte and planet visual effects shots. They have all been replaced with modern CGI. But not 'modern' in appearance. It?s obvious that a great deal of care (lead by Trek?s ubergeeks, the Mike and Denise Okuda) has been taken to walk the tight rope between the original designs and cool, realistic ships. So something a painful as the original Romulan Warbird has been replaced with a ship of the exact same dimensions and exterior design, but it looks like a spaceship, not a piece of badly painted balsa. The same goes with planets, which are gobsmackingly stunning to look at.



Planets are more life-like and in higher resolution.

The Enterprise herself is a work of genius, with far more realistic movements (although flying along similar vectors as in the original shots) and details that almost get you down to the rivets.

The effect of the exterior CGI combined with the interior palette upgrade is to give the show a new lease on life, a real tilt at reality, previously denied it by the paucity of the budget.

Obviously we're not going to jump up and down and say it looks like Battlestar Galactica, but the suspension of disbelief has becomes easier for those not raised with the show, and that makes for an experience that is more immersive and allows you to get caught up in the stories, rather than snagged on a special effect shot that screams 'this is just a crappy Sci Fi show, ignore it!'

For those purists who are worried about 'the Lucas Effect', rest easy. The new CGI really does fit well in tone and style, and there are many internal shots where phaser and other effects have been replaced, added or enhanced, but in a way that is close to seamless. Subtle enhancements (like, for example, blinking eyelids on the previously literally bug-eyed monster, the Gorn, in the classic Kirk-fights-an-alien episode, Arena) undeniably add to the Star Trek experience in a way that only the true hard core know-every-shot-by-shot-by-shot devotees will notice.



The Enterprise has never looked better!

EXTRAS:

The HD DVD extras include picture in picture video commentaries, comparisons of the remastered and original effects, and encyclopaedia and trivia on eight episodes. Superfan and Star Trek Extra Billy Blackburn's home movies from the Star Trek set have candid and surprising images from the day to day life on set - you will see a Spock crack up!

The big star of the HD DVD extras is the virtual exterior tour of the recreated Enterprise. Frankly, if you're a Trekkie, this is a moment of incandescent joy. Pick a spot, say, the deflector dish, and fly up close to it. You can then watch the phasers in action, and stand behind the impulse engines as they fire up. You can also go inside and outside the shuttle bay, and see the new 'bomb bay' as it launches satellites. Look through the windows and see the crewmen walk by. Frankly, it's awesome.

There is also a peek at the new MMORPG, Star Trek Online, which will have Trek Gamers slathering and crossing their fingers for a Trek game that finally fulfils all hopes and dreams, and then the rest of the extras are a repeat of the 2003 DVD extras.

If you haven't bought Star Trek TOS S1, you?re in luck. If not, well, it is worth it, but more so if you have and HD DVD player. The Paramount Trek People are currently working on S2 and S3, and discussions (although nothing has been finalised) have begun on a digital makeover of Star Trek: The Next Generation. So if you love your Trek, the HD DVD may have to be your HD playing option.



The journey ahead to Seasons 2 and 3 looks great.

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