Customer Reviews

Its Trek, Jim, but not as we know it... - By: andy, 13 Oct 2008
Well, i too was a bit worried when i heard that this project wasin the offing, but i was also excited, having grown up with the original series & been a fan for years.
Having watched the old series time & time again, the one thing that jarred with it was the special effects, as they were very much of their time, & i always wished that they could be updated, much as the BBc have done with some of the classic Doctor Who DVD releases.
I have to say that the effects really add a depth to the original show & complement it. They do not detract from Star Trekin any way at all.
I cannot see how people can complain about losing the grainy old stock shots, which were always the same for every episode, & the wobbly-ness of the Enterprise's motion through space.
These sequences have been replaced with smooth & eminently watchable bits which really bring the old Enterprise to life.
The 'camera' zooms in,in a way that when you are used to seeing the original, catches your breath, & makes you go, 'wow!'
But what is most impressive, is the way the planets on the scanner screen, & the other minor effects are achieved.
True, the CGI effects are rather low tech, but these lookin keepingin a way, with the 1960's camera work on the live action sequences.
They do however, bring the original series into line with the films, & the other Trek series, not that i am too much of a fan of the later series anyway.
Some of the stories are space heavy anyway, so these, with new effects, are just brilliant.
Where No Man Has Gone Before, & The Galileo Seven, are notable.
The latter makes full use of CGI that really makes the episode make more sense & look more realistic without sacrificing any of the original episodes charm.
The bit where Spock jettisons the fuel & ignites it, making the Galileo burn a trailin orbit is visually breathtaking whereas before it was wobbly & so-so..
The high price makes this a poor value buy unless you get a special price as i did on Amazon.
I would agree with other reviewers that it would have been nice to have the originals on the reverse side instead of HD, then a good comparison could be made.
I would also say the the episodes should have been arrangedin order of manufacture, not viewing, as this would have visually made more sense, plus the inclusion of The Cage, would have been nice.
But, if you can get this for a reasonable amount, then buy it. I don't think you will be disappointed.

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Just what I (it) needed... - By: givolini, 13 Oct 2008
In a few words: the Original Star Trek has always been one of my favourite sci-fi series.
Nevertheless, watching the first edition DVDs left me somewhat disappointed: the stories were always great (well, most of them), but the look of the show was - guess what? - sadly dated,in a way that prevented me to fully enjoy the show like I used to.
This new remastered edition fixes that, giving the series a great new look.
Can't wait for the other two seasons to be released.

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Clearly a labour of love - By: Mr. Jeremy P. Lister, 20 Sep 2008
I think this brings new life to this ancient but enjoyable series.
I can't view the HD content but appreciate the excellent DVD pictures which have been expertly cleaned up. Colours are vibrant & contrast / detail very good indeed.
The negative comments over the new CGI effects is unjustified I think. It's great to see the original enterprise flying round well realised planets on a 42" plasma.

What a shame it's not widescreen (would have been 5 stars otherwise), but the picture stands up very well when zoomed in, which is a testament to it's quality...You just occasionally lose the tops of actors heads!
I supposein time there will be true widescren version of this as digital technology improves further.
I appreciate the way the updates have been done. In the early episodes the CGI isn't too effective, but I think this is deliberate, & it matches the rest of the production well, on later episodes, the CGI seems to improve as the overall production quality improved (a bit).
Asin one of the interviews on the disc, they held back on making the CGI fully realistic as it would not have beenin keeping with the rest of the episode. It's a fine balance, & I think they've got it right.
Most enjoyable!

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A Superb set - a classic series remastered - By: Mr. D. New, 19 Aug 2008
This 10 disk set contains the entire first season of the original series of Star Trek. Each episode has been digitally remastered & the some of the effects have been redone using todays technology. This has devided Star Trek fans - some prefer the series as it originally was shown - others prefer it with these new effects. I must admit I think they have done a superb job on creating these new special effects. They have concentrated mainly on the ships &in my opinion this does not spoil your enjoyment. The music has also been rescored & again an excellent job has been done.

Of course no box set is 100% perfect. The packaging is not great & is prone to damage - particually the plactic case. It would have been nice to have slip case packaging with armary boxes. My other gripe is the episodes arein transmission order rather than the order they were shot which spoils the character development somewhat. Also the series first pilot The Cage has not been included. I also don't like the dvd/hddvd double sided format - it would have been better to release one dvd set & one hddvd set - perhaps then they could have included the original versions of each episode on the other disk side. It would have then kept fans happy.

Still these are only minor gripes. This is a superb box set & well worth adding to your collection. I hope they hurry up & release the second & third season with the same improved special effects.

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and I thought mine was a catch! - By: Y. Emre Karasan, 18 Aug 2008
Somebody told amazon never deliver this item, not true, I just recieve mine today, very nice looking metalic box set.
I tought I was so lucky to buy this for 24 pounds, & it's hard to believe it's even cheaper today at 14 pounds!
What happened to all ST fans out there?!