Old Time Radio at OTRCat!

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Well, the next post is #1000 for the Aardvark. It should be pithy, and purple, and probably prolix (was he Neelix' smarter brother?). Anyone have questions? Ideas? They may be a springboard, or callously ignored.
-------------------------------

So, I'm hatin' here. Just discovered MeTV on our local FOX digital station, and I am watching my favorite Star Trek episode: "The Doomsday Machine". But these are the "enhanced" ones; all the space FX are CGI. The Enterprise has dull soft edges, like they used Micro Machines toys. Dang it, the original model work looks more real. I also miss the herky-jerky movement when the Constellation starts up its impulse engines. The original series was good enough. The difference displayed between the old film footage and the new CG scenes is like the ham-handed Nineties anime that used sharp, crystalline CG mechanical design, intermixed with classic cel animation.

Besides, the Doomsday Machine shot first.



Top: TOS / Bottom: Remastered

7 comments:

Doom said...

I didn't even know they had ever modified the series! That is like... modifying women! While I have my problem with women, I wouldn't want them to fix... anything, mostly. It should be illegal.

The big one, oh, oh, oh, eh? HWCHDA? Oh, sorry... how would Christ have done anime? Hmmm... What are the hottest/worst of anime? Hmmm... Or this might do. What would you introduce to noobs in order to bring them into anime, comics, or such? There was so much anime when I first found it, for example, that I couldn't get a grip on the thing. As for comics, they (like the Republican party) left me, not the other way around. Is there anything good in that world anymore? Or... never mind. Not much of a brainstorm, but the winds are out of the west and I just woke up.

Michael W said...

So much to comment on here.

First up: "enhanced" Star Trek. I'm of two minds on this subject. On the one hand, I rather like seeing different views of the Enterprise in action. And there've been some little tweaks that I've enjoyed (e.g. in the remastered "The Enterprise Incident" the Enterprise is jumped by one Romulan variant of a Klingon battle cruiser, and two classic Romulan Birds Of Prey).

But I had problems with the remastered "Doomsday Machine". In the original episode, when the planet-killer fired, it cut loose with a LETHAL shaft of blue light that spelled B*U*S*I*N*E*S*S. The remastered version replaced it with a sort of wussy-looking flame thrower effect. Feh! For me the remastered material tends to be like the little girl with the curl: when it's good it's very very good . . .

(To add insult to injury, my MeTV station cuts up the Star Trek episode in order to run more commercials. And they're crazy if they think no one's noticing.)

Next up: 1000th post. Wow. Well . . . the first idea that comes up for a celebration is having all of us get together in Nashville to sing "Treat Him Tender, Maureen" at the Opry.

Failing that, we start producing an Aardvark version of TOP GEAR (test driving comics, anime, etc.) for cable television. I got dibs on the James May role.

Third up: Prolix. I thought he was one of Asterix's warriors.

The Aardvark said...

@Doom- Apt simile. I do not go back and re-edit my earliest blog entries. OTOH, I am innately lazy As to "It should be illegal", please leave "there oughtta be a law" at the door ;^). We have enough.

HWCHDA? We have the answer. "Neon Genesis Evangelion". I shall now retreat to a safe distance. (I could have said "Flying House", which is a fave of mine (Gad, I'm writing like "Tiger Beat" now.) You've gotta love when the Gadarene demoniac proclaims "I like my meat freshly slaughtered!".
-----------
@Mike-
I did like the helplessly adrift motions of the Enterprise AND the planet-killer. Very neat, very maritime.

I remember when whole scenes were cut out in the '70s syndication of Star Trek, and I NOTICED the loss. Dreadful. I miss the starfield shining THROUGH the planet-killer's hull in the original. I am fanwanking the effect as we speak. Stuff like the refractive index of pure neutronium or the sheer mass of the thing bending light in an intergalactic homage to Einstein. Yeah. I'm that guy.

Nashville, huh. You need an MRI to check out that glossal malar intrusion. You amuse me so.

Now you ARE talking about the REAL Top Gear?! I actually like this. A lot. Webcast possibilities. Jay would prolly be on board if I promised not to mention PONIES, and if I could get him to talk about ANYTHING but Haruhi! ;^)

Srsly- A decent webcast is a major way to Get Known and Get Invited Places. On other people's dime. As in "guests".

Prolix/Asterix...I cannot believe I did not think of that. I am humbled.

Michael W said...

MRIs: I've had several, thank you. They've usually been followed by suggestions that I sublease the space which has been found.

Yes, the original British TOP GEAR. Understand I am not as much a "motorhead" as others, but I like the back and forth between May, Hammond and Clarkson. Plus their "challenge" programs are always fun (e.g. driving through the Middle East to get to Bethlehem, driving from Switzerland to west England on a single tank of gas, etc.).

@Doom: how would Christ have done anime? Doesn't WINGS OF HONNEAMISE count?

I used to drive Jeremiah crazy by glancing at a single scene in a classic Star Trek episode and being able to immediately identify which one it was (sometimes you can even tell just by the position people are in on the bridge, or what uniform Shatner is wearing at the time).

I'm certainly open to webcast ideas (do any of you listen to "Film Sack"?).

Jay said...

"HWCHDA? We have the answer. "Neon Genesis Evangelion". I shall now retreat to a safe distance."

Too late. She's coming for you. You SHOULD be glopped for that!

The Aardvark said...

@Michael- Wings of Honneamise is still Gainax, so yes. We have so much to thank them for.

So very, very much.

--------------
I love doing that Terk episode trick. Great way to be hailed as nerdliest.

The Aardvark said...

TERK??!? Trek.