Star Trek: TNG - Season 2 Dec 4

[blonde_devil]

As one site said, you would think using cgi would solve all sorts of problems but it seems companies started, worked on shows and closed all within a few years. God only knows where those cg elements are now. Apparently the cg for TMP Director's Edition is lost as the company closed so i can see a lot of the stuff for DS9 and Voyager being lost too. I am pretty sure one of the main companies used at that time closed while the shows were still being made, a lot of the employees started a new company and kept doing the effects but i think that company closed too. Even if CBS has the models, no guarantee they are still compatible with modern cg. It happened with the Toy Story movies.

[DasRetroKid]

Originally Posted by whitearrow

At 3.4, Shades of Grey was the lowest-rated episode of the entire series.

According to Wikipedia, this episode was a direct result of the writers strike which was going on during that time. Production quickly came up with an idea for a "clip show" and threw it together.

Now I understand why this episode is so bad, and I no longer feel its fair to critique it as I would a normal episode.

*On a side note; I watched the season 2 gag reel and it was hilarious. When Whoopi Goldberg is in Ten Forward telling Patrick Stewart of the Borg. Man that had me lmao.

[whitearrow]

Originally Posted by DasRetroKid

According to Wikipedia, this episode was a direct result of the writers strike which was going on during that time. Production quickly came up with an idea for a "clip show" and threw it together.

Right -- that's also why season 2 is 4 episodes shorter than the rest of the series. IIRC, some other story ideas came from the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II project, including, I think, The Child. And it always seemed to me that The Royale was a bit of a retread of A Piece of the Action.

[blonde_devil]

Devil's Due was originally a Phase 2 episode but apparently heavily rewritten. Can't remember where I read it but the original and the TNG version are very, very different. Kind of surprised that they didn't use more of the Phase 2 episodes in TNG as they had 13 ready to go - you would think more than 2 could be used.

[blonde_devil]

More interviews up at Trekcore.com. apparently though i wasn't the only one who didn't like JJ's version of Trek

http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/01162...rburnett6.html

the next part is supposed to mention the animated series coming to bluray. looks like theyare going all out with the bluray releases.

[ChuckT43]

Originally Posted by blonde_devil

And do you get as much grief as I do when you say it wasn't that good for a Trek movie? People just tune out when you mention plot holes and dumb things like long range transporters. That's why I am glad TNG, Enterprise and apparently the Animated series are coming out on bluray this year(and not in 3D) - the rest of the world can enjoy the more accessible( and dumbed down) Abrams' Trek, I'll stay home and enjoy these instead.

I get more when I say I really like The Final Frontier.

On topic- I finished season two recently. The video is amazingly clear and detailed at times with nice grain structure. Only at times does it get overly grainy. I can't wait to see how good season three looks. Did anyone else notice how bright (washed out) the season three promo was in the beginning of disc one?

[Disciple of Vedder]

Originally Posted by ChuckT43

Did anyone else notice how bright (washed out) the season three promo was in the beginning of disc one?

Yeah, it seemed like the contrast was boosted quite a bit.

[von_Levi]

Originally Posted by blonde_devil

More interviews up at Trekcore.com. apparently though i wasn't the only one who didn't like JJ's version of Trek

http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/01162...rburnett6.html

the next part is supposed to mention the animated series coming to bluray. looks like theyare going all out with the bluray releases.

Pretty much agree with everything he says on DS9, Enterprise, Voyager and JJ.

[von_Levi]

Originally Posted by blonde_devil

Devil's Due was originally a Phase 2 episode but apparently heavily rewritten. Can't remember where I read it but the original and the TNG version are very, very different. Kind of surprised that they didn't use more of the Phase 2 episodes in TNG as they had 13 ready to go - you would think more than 2 could be used.

I believe in the Phase 2 version of "Devil's Due" the themes of "you cannot pray away problems" and religion being used a hustle were much less explicit. I also feel like I read that the advisory also wasn't so clearly a con artist.

Based on the description of the Phase 2 scripts, they all sound pretty "meh." Going back in time to Pearl Harbor? TOS had pretty much already done that.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by blonde_devil

More interviews up at Trekcore.com. apparently though i wasn't the only one who didn't like JJ's version of Trek

http://tng.trekcore.com/bluray/01162...rburnett6.html

the next part is supposed to mention the animated series coming to bluray. looks like theyare going all out with the bluray releases.

I agree with a lot of what RMB sez, especially about Voyager, but he also comes across as a bit of a douche. Having a go at JJ for his use of cinematic shorthand is fine - though Burnett's diatribe about the ship being built on Earth goes on for just a bit too long - but then he champions something disastrously lame like resurrecting Data as THE onboard computer for all starfleet ships. Really? Riiiiight.

And the way that he brushes aside people's concerns about the remastering of S2 is incredibly hypocritical given what he said about remastered TOS. So, with TNG we should be grateful that we have it in HD at all so STOP COMPLAINING BECAUSE NOTHING'S PERFECT......but, er, he really doesn't like the CG in TOS and he would've done it differently. Whatever, dude.

Anyhoo, just finished S2 and, like S1, I've thoroughly enjoyed it. There are some clunkers in there but also some golden Trek moments, and it's been a treat to revisit them all in HD. Some of the effects work is unforgiveably shoddy, but that's literally only on a handful of ship exterior shots. I can handle the DNR'ed VFX because it's almost like classic optical-style degradation, only with a smoother image instead of a rougher looking one. I'm not saying that I like that way of doing things, but it's not grossly offensive to me and for a single season I can live with it. And some VFX scenes still have properly matched grain levels - usually the shots with phaser effects - so it's not a total wash.

The special features are excellent - RMB, take a bow - and the full-frame gag reel was especially illuminating re: the question of 16:9. Even when they answered this on the S1 set there was still a tiny voice in the back of my head going "but WHY can't they?", yet seeing is believing. The feature-style shooting format - complete with a shift to the right to allow for the never-to-be-added optical soundtrack - is so full of schmutz that the frame can't simply be 'opened up' like a lot of more recent shows, meaning it would need to be actively recomposed for 16:9 which is a step too far. (I'll stick with my overscan method instead. )

Roll on S3. Can't wait.

[von_Levi]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

... but then he champions something disastrously lame like resurrecting Data as THE onboard computer for all starfleet ships. Really? Riiiiight.

Having Data as the new universal computer is going a bit too far, but bringing Data back as a hologram is an effective way to get around the fact that it's impossible to hide Brett Spiner's age.

While it would never happen, I think his idea for another TNG movie is spot on: low budget, not in space, character driven, etc. And that was really the problem with the TNG movies -- the show was at its best with character driven stories, and the movies couldn't balance that with the scope of a feature length film. In my view, only "First Contact" was good because 1) It not only further developed Picard, but did so in a way that wasn't going to happen on the show; and 2) Had a cinematic scope beyond just bigger space battles, such as the deflector dish fight.

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by von_Levi

While it would never happen, I think his idea for another TNG movie is spot on: low budget, not in space, character driven, etc.

Careful...X-FILES tried that and we got the undercooked I WANT TO BELIEVE, which about five people in America went to the theaters to see.

[Geoff D]

Picard was turned into a psychopathic nutter in First Contact. I still like the film a lot but its flaws become more obvious with every viewing.

I really am jonesing for S3 something chronic after burning through S2 in a few days. ME WANTEE!!!

[von_Levi]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

Careful...X-FILES tried that and we got the undercooked I WANT TO BELIEVE, which about five people in America went to the theaters to see.

Well, Chris Carter seemed to forget that he was making an X-Files movie. The Scully plot line dominated it so much that there was no reason why he needed the X-Files characters/set it in the X-Files universe. It could have just been a low budget indie movie about a doctor's crisis of faith while treating a terminally ill child.

[Josep5349]

Originally Posted by von_Levi

Having Data as the new universal computer is going a bit too far, but bringing Data back as a hologram is an effective way to get around the fact that it's impossible to hide Brett Spiner's age.

I guess they could get round it by having him play Data without the make up, say that he experimented and developed the human skin we saw in First Contact. But I wonder if they would ever go with such a drastic change of appearance of a major character.

[von_Levi]

Originally Posted by Josep5349

I guess they could get round it by having him play Data without the make up, say that he experimented and developed the human skin we saw in First Contact. But I wonder if they would ever go with such a drastic change of appearance of a major character.

I say "why not?"

It was a mistake to wait until the movies to take the visor off Geordi. And that was one of Roddenberry's shortcomings: good with ideas (in the future a blind man being able to serve on a star ship), but poor in execution (the prop impaired the actors ability to act).

[omegaman7]

Originally Posted by von_Levi

I say "why not?"

It was a mistake to wait until the movies to take the visor off Geordi. And that was one of Roddenberry's shortcomings: good with ideas (in the future a blind man being able to serve on a star ship), but poor in execution (the prop impaired the actors ability to act).

The eyes are somewhat critical while acting. I still think his facial expressions were RIGHT ON, for the most part. I recall many instances where his lips cheeks and eyebrows were spot on Just because we can't see his eyes, doesn't mean the acting is sacrificed. The sound of the voice is also critical...

[von_Levi]

Originally Posted by omegaman7

The eyes are somewhat critical while acting. I still think his facial expressions were RIGHT ON, for the most part. I recall many instances where his lips cheeks and eyebrows were spot on Just because we can't see his eyes, doesn't mean the acting is sacrificed. The sound of the voice is also critical...

I'm just saying the more sensible way to have done it would have been to have some gadgets glued to his face near his eyes + contact lenses, instead of covering up his eyes.

[ApolloOne]

Originally Posted by omegaman7

The eyes are somewhat critical while acting. I still think his facial expressions were RIGHT ON, for the most part. I recall many instances where his lips cheeks and eyebrows were spot on Just because we can't see his eyes, doesn't mean the acting is sacrificed. The sound of the voice is also critical...

Good point. LeVar Burton deserves a lot of credit for pulling that off.

[ChuckT43]

So, how about that STNG season two on blu?