Star Trek: The Ultimate Computer, vfx reel

[ObiTrev]

Somebody pulled a George Lucas

[STNeish]

The thing that bothers me is the insistence on making StarSHIPS fly around fighting as if they're StarFIGHTERS. It's something they started doing on DS9 and I didn't like it there, either. Ships like this should be manuevering relatively slowly, not chasing and dogfighting.

[Idazmi7]

@STNeish It was implied in TOS that the ships could do that. (Warp speed combat manuvers) The un-remastered version of this episode is an example. See it at startrek[dot]com

[tahoevic]

why cant we see full episodes for FREE CBS BASTARDS< WE are in a resession for god sakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[trekfanful]

i like the fact that they came up with a new "model"for the ore ship instead of just reusing the botony bay like was originally done

[worseto]

This is good shit 5 ***** for CBS . Holy Shit this is fucking awesome! Like hitting a fucking grand slam in the bottom of the 9th!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hell yeah for star trek and CBS. This is the CBS i used to know!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dawnabrendan]

People have been posting entire episodes in segments on You Tube, what if people post some of these newer ones the same way?

[al28283]

@dawnabrendan what if people already have?

[DKetch1966]

WoW! Awesome job !!! Thanks for posting!

[nopoet406]

Does anyone else think the limited updates made to these episodes were worth bothering with? You can't even tell sometimes.

[mikesway23]

JJ Abrams sent the Enterprise and star trek warping through a brick wall, the fact they wanna repeat what they have already done with the original movies is a waste of time and money. I'd swear if Gene Roddenberry was still alive he'd be as mad as a bull for what they're doing to his creation. Star Trek will always be no1 to me and i hate seeing it being raped by people who have no respect for it

[youngercga1968]

they needed to re-energize the star trek brand. The new movie was to put a different spin on the direction of star trek. I have never been in favor of fooling around with the timelines. They could had still done the movie in four parts:

[Actionguy1]

NO! Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman did not "re-energize" or put a "different spin" to Star Trek, they ASS RAPED IT!

These bastards should be run out of film making!

[MrPsychic8472]

@Actionguy1 Would you rather Star Trek go back to Nemesis?

[lcmorgan1221]

@MrPsychic8472 yes.

[Actionguy1]

The old NCC-1701 still looks better than that hideous excuse for an Enterprise in that horrendous JJ Abrams film!

[Hodson2000]

AMEN

[jerico641]

THANK YOU; I'm glad somebody else agrees with me! If I see Abrams on the street anytime soon, I cannot be held responsible for my actions...

[SouthernRiprey]

No comment. =P

[mikethegent]

I'd take the original Enterprises (Pilot 1and 2 version included)and the version used throughout the series and the motion picture version...

[madcapromanian]

They should do a second version of this in the TWOK style.

It would be GLORIOUS!

[dominokat07]

1:00 looks awesome! We rarely get to see a group/wing of same-class ships moving through space in formation, much less the classic ships. :)

[FLAME4564]

XD not to self never let a computer try and control a TOS starship like the Enteprise lol XD.

[ursa41]

It's fine as it is!! Very impressive indeed. I'm looking forward to buying all 79 remastered videos. Great stuff!

[DarthKillious]

For all the complainers:

The reasons they're not sooping the episodes up with damage and TWOK style shots, is because they're sticking to the original, if you watched the original adverts you would understand that they weren't out to remake all the shots and make it all the more dramatic, they were out to re-master them, but stick to the original, all they did was re-do the already existing model shots in CGI, if they made the enterprise take damage and do barrel roles. Fans would complain.

[wlt777]

The perspective of each of starship is more realistic compared to the original. In the original, all they did was duplicate the U.S.S. Enterprise four times onto the screen to make it look like it was the U.S.S. Excalibur, U.S.S. Potemkin, U.S.S. Lexington, etc., etc!

[2Scribble]

I think the reason the fans were felt let down by this particular episode is because - in the TOS - this was one of the ultimate 'ship vs ship' battles and they wanted a more 'Sacrifice of Angels' or 'TWOK' feel to it.

Instead they stuck too close to the far-off shots of the original version so the fans didn't really get what they wanted.

Its well executed - as everyone has said - and I think the graphics are top-notch. The battles themselves though... they leave something to be desired.

3/5

[Roskomaximus]

Man, there's something to be said for good, old-fashioned (actual) model work!

The stuff here is okay, but it seems like the rendering is just too low-res. When I watch the shots, it takes me out of the story and I become very aware that I'm looking at CG.

Perhaps CBS/Paramount should have figured out a way to utilize a balanced mixture of both CG AND models. I think that would have been sweet.

Oh well. I'm sure they'll "Lucas" it all over again when the next format comes along.

[liontone]

Good model work is always superior. But, terribly expensive. Re-detailing and reshooting the old models for HD would have required much more money than this made. The videos on youtube are over compressed and lok much better on TV. I think they did a good job.

[stevelatinner]

Computer game level effects.

Not hollywood level effects.

Waste of time.

What would Roddenberry think!?

[yanndick]

Improvments ? Really ? :-(

[Hodson2000]

Some of these are okay...some are less than satisfactory. Just goes to show that new fx aren't always an improvement. As far as Mrs. Roddenberry or Mr. Nimoy goes, they get point$ on the sales of DVD's, so they kind of have to endorse all this. The last of the dissension in Trek officialdom vanished when Jimmy Doohan passed away.

[jnev77]

This for me was the ultimate letdown! The Remastered project was a good idea, but on the whole it was poorly executed. There have been some nice shots in some of the episodes but they missed the mark with this one. I was hoping for a Wrath or Khan style shots, instead we got these far off views, which I feel was a real waste. They could have shown us some of the damage on the ships but we got nothing. I hope they give this another go for Blu-ray.

[Airportchris2]

I like the original FX, but as a CG artist myself, I find it very well done, and fits in well with this new coming of a digital age.

[mentalrectangle]

I like most of the remastered episodes. They did a good job overall, but some of the angle choices were poor, and they could've taken more liberties with showing damage.

This episode and the Tholian Web were real letdowns. I expected them to benefit the most from the CG and overall they're about the same.

[Airportchris2]

I just discovered the remastering CGI is done in Maya.

[trekker683]

i like that they are re-mastering the original it adds the extra level of detail that Mr Roddenberry made shore was in the movies, however if they don't have the budget and or time to make the ship models look real

then they should have tried using real models in tandem with the cgi

[wecometomyworld]

Well done

[widescr]

I've seen many of the remastered episodes - some shots get the effects right, and in others the ships lack surface modeling needed to maintain the illusion of an aircraft carrier-sized starship. Since 60s, so many films and shows portray ships flying around like high-speed scout ships.

[Zube1337]

I supposed that the M-5 computer should be dangerous and violent but why it doesn't on the communication and and some toot or tuts words?

[MrPsychic8472]

I still think the best scene in this episode is of the bridge crew when they know they can't stop the M-5 from attacking the other starships. You can see the pain in their eyes and horror.

[terminattheconqueror]

i still think photon torpedoes should be blue...

[silentbob8201]

ME TV eh? some one lives in the Chicagoland area.

[Musicbyveronica]

wonderful computer animation

[Seastorm21]

More emphasis should be done on the death of the Excaliber and its over 400 crewmen.

[Kyza2006]

Made me think of fair to middling FMV cut scenes on the PS1 to be fair. Aribazane is spot on with the 'too shiny' comment - the textures are all wrong, the models lack mass - compare this with Voyager, Enterprise, BSG...hell, even the Studio3DMaxmodels in B5 had a better feeling of solidity than these...if anything, I'd say this CGI is inferior to the original models...

[OzRoarZ]

It was said Roddenberry wished the special effects were better during the filming of the original series but they didn't have the budget. So all this talk of "butchering" is bogus - he would have done it this way if he could have. I was hoping the battle sequences were a bit better here in the is episode however :)

[commandox20]

He may not have done it THIS WAY if he could have. He would have done the best he could with what ever he could use.

[Hodson2000]

I am NOT impressed.

[Countachcx]

I didn't get it, what was that.. random enterprise shots?

[neonknights]

This looks like something out from a PC game. The original effects looked like real models with integrity at least. This remastering is the butchering of TOS in order to get the CGI-maniac idiots to watch it. A hint to you CBS: they won't...

[blacksun2175]

This makes me weep T_T

I grew up watching the tos using my imagination as a child.

It makes me sad that they would butcher one of the best shows of all time by using the cgi and replacing the original enterprise with a cgi model.

[neonknights]

Totally agreed.

[chengloki]

Blacksun, I'm an orginal Trekker, (8Sep66). I totally adgree with you. But, the powers that be do not agree with us. They seem to know Trek better than I do.Most of them were not even born when I watched the first episode (The Man Trap). But, the idiots know better.I'll bet that none of them know what NCC even stands for. =Stefan=

[toddsmitts]

Lighen up.  I think it looks great. I certainly don't think they "butchered" it. Even Leonard Nimoy was impressed when he actually saw the footage, plus Majel Barrett herself believed Gene would have approved.

[opusxsmoker]

I have to admit I am a sucker for the episodes utilizing other starships. Would like to have seen more close up footage of the individual ships during the war games in the final scene.

[StupidVideoKing]

i was looking forward to The Ultimate Computer since remastered Trek was first announced...and this is dissipointing. i was expecting it look dramatic,to see the damage caused by the Enterprise...the new Starbase was a nice touch.but it to needs work...

[toddsmitts]

I almost wish they'd done more as well. In the episode, the M-5 forces the Enterprise to fire on the Excalibur, killing her entire crew but not destroying the ship itself. Maybe we could have seen some unlucky crewmen being blown out into space like in the "Enterprise" episode "Azati Prime".

[toddsmitts]

I almost wish they'd done more as well. In the episode, the M-5 forces the Enterprise to fire on the Excalibur, killing her entire crew but not destroying the ship itself. Maybe we could have seen some unlucky crewmen being blown out into space like in the "Enterprise" episode "Azati Prime".

[doctorclu]

Thanks for the compilation of all the shots. I waited a year for the Ultimate Computer, and I was happy when I saw it. :D

[charlesnjenny]

Y'know... y'all complain about everything if it's not *exactly* what you want. The effects are supposed to have the same feel of the original. So, replace the original stuff with things that have more depth and realistic movement. It's not supposed to turn the 60's show into a cutting edge sci-fi. The best improvement is in doing the backgrounds over to actually make them believable. It's just supposed to help the effects look a little more realistic to make the story more immersive.

[aribenzane]

The effects look...cheap. The textures are too shiny. The ships move too quickly. It would have been possible to make the ships look realistic without spoiling the 60s look. They really look like they were put together for some college project, in 1998. They look too 'computery'. And why is space black with white stars? Even B5 got that right back in 1993.

[Zebonka]

That was fucking awful.

I am not a luddite. I like good CGI, but this was shit.

[Renshen1957]

I concur. There were shots of the back of the enterprise CGI that look as bad as the AMT model used in the Doomsday machine. I am underwhelmed. It could have been alot better.

[aribenzane]

Agreed.

[silntdoogood]

wow that was annoying lol, cut the music a lil gentler next time

[nxman77]

StarTrek Rocks!

[sunlightguy75]

Oh, I waited to see this episode remastered for a while! I really like it, the design for the starbase and the space freighter looks very retro, quite nice! I also like to see the Enterprise's sister ships flying in formation and some battle scenes... finally we know what a Constitution class starship can do! :-)

[CalgarSkull]

COOL

[teknokracy]

Looks like a 15 year old did this in comp sci class

[UpdocFilms]

This remastered business is sad. Leave the original series as it was.

[thealphacenturi]

"Leave the original series as it was."

Yeah, no.

[FLAME4564]

oh boo hoo moron this is still TOS material ok the reason for the remasterd effects was to give TOS the sizzle it should have got long ago.

[UpdocFilms]

@FLAME4564 The original series HAS all the sizzle it needs to have. Ever. This remastered is for pussies who can't or won't appreciate THE ORIGINAL VISION *AND* for Hollywood to cash in yet again on a product that's not making enough money as they want it to. Don't help justify Paramount being a CGI whore. This is a financial decision, pure and simple. CGI sucks. Models rule. TOS material DOES NOT include this CGI GARBAGE.

[FLAME4564]

@UpdocFilms CGI garbage? wth i dont give a damn what u say ok NEWSFLASH i would rather see something clean and simple rather than just something done by wires ok n since doin something by wires shouldent count as being enough sizle i say this gives it enough sizzle it needs like it or not and think twice b4 replying to my comments with those useless garbage comments of urs.

[jeffryder9]

@UpdocFilms oh really? my father and I watch the original trek for years and we LOVE the new effects just as much as the old ones. with the rate technology is advancing, in 5 years the CGI will look just as good as models. just look at Avatar.

[fairhillnorrie]

Im a TRKIE so TALK TO THE WARP DRIVE... YOUR SPACED OUT... SPOCK OFF

[cartmen88]

look here i hate freakin trekies they piss me off they think there better then star wars fans so screw off cuz trekies are dummies 501st legion 4 life

[canteal]

More of the same. This is like "improving" the Mona Lisa and claiming the improvement is better.

[082076]

thats if you think the mona lisa is any good. I do not, and so i am not offended when things are updated.

[DonKarnage1]

they should not use cgi but a real model like when the did star trek, they use model for the other star trek series so why use cgi now?

[thealphacenturi]

"they use model for the other star trek series so why use cgi now?"

Not true at all, starting in the mid 90s they started going CGI. There were CGI models in Star Trek: First Contact (I believe the only model was possibly the Enterprise herself.) Insurrection was all CGI, the dominion stuff in DS9 used CGI elements. Voyager certainly started going wild with it and Enterprise was entirely CGI.

Simply put, you can do more with CGI and it's cost effective, but sometimes the results may not be.

[Straitjacket2007]

Can't wait to see the whole remastered episodes! just hope they do the show justice as they should be spot-on! No excuses! the CGI should be perfect! The fans deserve it!

[RebbyPDX]

A little trivia for you. The voice of the M-5 computer in this episode is James Doohan who plays Scotty. Many people don't know that. Watch the episode again and see if you recognize it then!

[destructive1]

Doohan was also the voice of the starfleet admiral who ordered Commodore Wesly to destroy the Enterprise

[racefan32]

@destructive1 And he was the voice of Trelane's father in 'Squire of Gothos' and Sargon (can't remember that ep) and others.

[PsWii60pwns]

Yeah I know James Doohan had a versatilty with doing voices

[texas1701]

He used to work in radio

[verbusen]

Are they doing a re-release of this???? Or was this as I thought when I watched it, some youtube user putting together a video game thing ? That would be very cool if someone was re-doing Star Trek TOS with newer effects, also they should re-do the cartoon series with new animation and the original voices. Thats a great way to get some new money out of us TOS fans!

[destructive1]

these are effects produced by CBS for the upgraded Star Trek Original tv series, currently in syndication, i did not create these effects

[verbusen]

Is it showing now? What cable channel? I never heard of Me TV, I have Comcast cable. Thanks!

[ericwhitenack]

If you have a digital cable box, do a title search for "Star Trek". The eps are syndicated and on local broadcast channels. The description won't say they're new or remastered, but they will be. Unfortunately they're still edited for time so about ten mins is missing from the originally run ep.

[sapphiresteddibear]

Animated WAS original voices for the main cast. Even Mark Leonard did Sarek, Stanley Adams did Cyrano Jones and Roger C Carmel did Mudd. They shoulda gotten William Campbell for Koloth, though.

[trekboi78]

where is my post?

again dissapointing enterprise pov only perspective- wanted money shot of distant enterprise ripping through other ship! ala Star Trek VI final battle scene.

it seem CBS Digital was given a "just finish the job- just redo the old FX- no frills" directive and a budget cut for season two's remaining 40 episodes of season two of Star Trek Remastered.

[Airportchris2]

That is awesome!!!!!!

[njo2801]

WHY!!!!!

I don't honestly think it's made any difference and does nothing to enhance the story. In fact, I think the new effects are every bit as ropey as the old ones.

[jackdev73]

ropey? Oh and by the way, the effects of the orginal series were state of the art back then.

[njo2801]

Ropey. Those new CGI shots aren't up to all that much. And I do know that the original effects were state of the art and appreciate them a whole lot more for it.

[albion432]

In fact, the effects in the original Star Trek series were better than most movies at the time, and they had to deliver the episodes on a weekly basis!

[thealphacenturi]

"and they had to deliver the episodes on a weekly basis!"

Considering most were stock shots it wasn't like they were hard pressed all the time.

[albion432]

Point taken on the model shots, even then there were several one time shots used, like in Space Seed, however all the transporter effects and any one time effects for individual episodes had to be turned out on a weekly basis.

[KHfanguy]

I rememebr this episode, with the M-5(super computer thing)

[neonknights]

The explosion was REALLY lame (again).

[FLAME4564]

so? tough luck ok and furthermore stop trying to turn TOS into a mirror image of TNG with TNG style explosions.

[trekkie1701a]

they did leave that in

[JoeSiegler]

I know it's not an sfx, but I was hoping you'd leave McCoy's line about "..in fact it went out of it's way to destroy an ore freighter!"