In the warmth of the afterglow...
Captain's Log: 8.9.06,1013 hrs.
Well, the 40th anniversary technically ended at midnight last night, but I've dedicated the next year to watching Star Trek every Friday night, two episodes some Fridays, one some other Fridays.
I'm going to post the list of my viewing schedule later on this weekend. It had been finalized according to the original production order of the series, though I've now decided to watch the show as it originally aired. This will put some events in the mythology of the show out of chronological order, but I'm going for experience here.
And what an experience. Non-Trek fans just can't get it. Star Trek, with no bloody TNG, DS9, VOY, or ENT after it, was a phenomenon. There'd never been anything like it. Nor will there ever be. It was daring, it was bold, it had something important to say, and best of all, it was inspirational and fun. It had something for everybody, and I believe, still does.
But most people who know I'm a diehard TOS Trekker often can't get past the usual petty arguments. "The special effects are a joke," "Shatner can't act," "the show was made in the sixties," "Kirk's a male slut," and so on. Yet none of those so-called "assertions" are true. Bill Shatner is a hell of an actor, as well as much of the original cast, the stories were for the most part extremely well-written and compelling, and the special effects have a charm not seen today. That's hard for the modern audience to see, since today's audience is so used to seeing special effects as the showpiece of a film or television program instead of as a storytelling device. TOS used SFX as a device, not as the crux of a story, and that's why so many people can't get past the SFX and see the story.
Not that I'm opposed to the new updated SFX that are going to be introduced to the series starting next weekend. I think it's true that current tech should be used to enhance the old effects and in some cases, completely replicate them. But they certainly shouldn't outright replace them with new sequences.
Star Trek.comhas a Q&A session with some of the guys working on restoring the SFX of the series, including beloved Trek guru Mike Okuda. It put many of my initial fears to rest and gave me confidence that the show will not be the fiasco that much of George Lucas's "enhancements" were.
Well, my 40th Anniversary Marathon continues today with "I, Mudd," "The Enterprise Incident," and a few others. I'll write again after watching.
Log out.
Well, the 40th anniversary technically ended at midnight last night, but I've dedicated the next year to watching Star Trek every Friday night, two episodes some Fridays, one some other Fridays.
I'm going to post the list of my viewing schedule later on this weekend. It had been finalized according to the original production order of the series, though I've now decided to watch the show as it originally aired. This will put some events in the mythology of the show out of chronological order, but I'm going for experience here.
And what an experience. Non-Trek fans just can't get it. Star Trek, with no bloody TNG, DS9, VOY, or ENT after it, was a phenomenon. There'd never been anything like it. Nor will there ever be. It was daring, it was bold, it had something important to say, and best of all, it was inspirational and fun. It had something for everybody, and I believe, still does.
But most people who know I'm a diehard TOS Trekker often can't get past the usual petty arguments. "The special effects are a joke," "Shatner can't act," "the show was made in the sixties," "Kirk's a male slut," and so on. Yet none of those so-called "assertions" are true. Bill Shatner is a hell of an actor, as well as much of the original cast, the stories were for the most part extremely well-written and compelling, and the special effects have a charm not seen today. That's hard for the modern audience to see, since today's audience is so used to seeing special effects as the showpiece of a film or television program instead of as a storytelling device. TOS used SFX as a device, not as the crux of a story, and that's why so many people can't get past the SFX and see the story.
Not that I'm opposed to the new updated SFX that are going to be introduced to the series starting next weekend. I think it's true that current tech should be used to enhance the old effects and in some cases, completely replicate them. But they certainly shouldn't outright replace them with new sequences.
Star Trek.comhas a Q&A session with some of the guys working on restoring the SFX of the series, including beloved Trek guru Mike Okuda. It put many of my initial fears to rest and gave me confidence that the show will not be the fiasco that much of George Lucas's "enhancements" were.
Well, my 40th Anniversary Marathon continues today with "I, Mudd," "The Enterprise Incident," and a few others. I'll write again after watching.
Log out.
posted by Christopher at 8:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home