News from the frontier, 9/2/2007 (Trek Remastered, Heroes, MiceChat, etc.)
posted by Tygrrius @ 8:03 AM
It's been a fairly slow couple of weeks, but now I suddenly find myself with too much news and not enough time. So, I'll cover as much as I can this morning. The rest will have to wait or, more likely, never be heard from again.
Watch the Star Trek: Remastered HD DVD/DVD preview
Just in time for the holidays, the Remastered version of the complete first season of the original Star Trek arrives in stores on November 20. The 10-disc HD DVD/DVD combo set contains all 28 episodes and loads of special features. Check out this spectacular, newly released video promo from CBS Home Entertainment, over on the official Star Trek site. It runs nearly nine minutes, but you'll want to watch all of it.
The refurbished episodes, many of which have already aired on the syndicated Star Trek: Remastered, feature upgraded special effects, improved image and sound quality, and other enhancements. The original versions of the episodes are not contained on this set, so you'll have to buy or hang onto the 2004 standard DVD set to have those.
One side of each disc will play in standard DVD players, while the other will only play in HD DVD players. The combo format partially accounts for the release's MSRP of $218. Available for pre-order now, some stores are listing this at $139.
Unlike the syndicated series, each episode is presented uncut and, on the HD DVD side, in high definition. Since far more time is devoted per television hour to commercials now than 1966, the syndicated episodes lose about ten minutes of content to make room for the longer sponsor breaks.
Key first season episodes include "Balance of Terror," "The Menagerie," "Space Seed," "The Devil In The Dark," and "The City On The Edge Of Forever." Even the first season had some less than stellar episodes, though, so you will also find "The Alternative Factor" and "The Return Of The Archons," among others. Still, most of the episodes are top-notch classics.
On the DVD side, some of the special features appear to be ported over from the 2004 release. Appearing on both sides, though, is a newly released collection of home movies capturing behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the original episodes.
Appearing only on the HD DVD side is an interactive tour of the interior and exterior of the USS Enterprise. For full details on this release and the many other special features, be sure to check out this article over at the official Star Trek site.
A release in Blu-ray format, currently competing against HD DVD for the high definition video market, is not planned at this time.
Heroes arrives on DVD
Last season's break-out hit series, Heroes, arrived in stores on Tuesday. The first season set contains all 23 episodes, an extended version of the pilot, and tons of special features. Find out more over at the NBC site. The DVD version of the set has an MSRP of $60 (currently retailing for about $40), while a separate HD DVD version has an MSRP of $100 (currently retailing for about $70).
Heroes is definitely on my list, but I'm not sure if I'll buy it soon. I actually have too many series going at once right now. I'm currently in progress on various DVD sets of CHiPs, Wonder Woman, Lois & Clark, and Firefly. The problem? I keep reverting back to watching classic Star Trek instead (the 2004 DVDs of the original versions). It's hard to take time out to watch other shows when I could be watching Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
Listen to the 20th, er, 30th anniversary Star Wars soundtracks
StarWars.com recently announced that an eight-disc set titled The Music of Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collection will be released in November. For a brief moment, this was exciting news. I was thinking that ultimate versions of the John Williams soundtracks for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi had been assembled and remastered for a special boxed set.
Not quite, it seems. Instead, it appears to be at least the second (possibly the third) re-release of the almost-perfect-but-not-quite 1997 versions of these soundtracks.
A seventh disc contains Star Wars: The Corellian Edition, a "best of" CD with tracks from all six movies. This disc was first released in 2005 as a bonus with the Revenge of the Sith DVD in certain retail outlets. That's right, it's a CD containing tracks you already have on the first six discs of the boxed set. The only tracks on Disc 7 unique to the set are those pulled from the prequel trilogy.
The eighth disc? A CD-ROM containing the original art from the soundtrack releases.
Ho-hum, so why did I even mention it? Two reasons, really. One, if you don't have these soundtracks already, then this becomes a must-buy. Two, searching for more info on this release led me to a fun Star Wars discussion thread.
MiceChat on Star Wars
Many Star Wars discussion threads out there seem to degrade into George Lucas bashing, repulsive behavior from so-called fans. Though a couple of posters did indeed try to ignite the normal anti-Lucas fire, this "Thirty years of Star Wars" thread over at MiceChat.com (a site for Disney fans) managed to avoid the trap.
The best part of it, for me, was seeing all of the pictures of various people's Star Wars collections in simple, yet effective displays. Most of my Star Wars and Star Trek stuff has been sitting in boxes since I moved (uh, five years ago), waiting for me to figure out just what to do with it. I have nowhere near as extensive of a collection as some of those folks, but the MiceChat photos have inspired me to want to finally unpack that stuff and display it. Besides, it's a way to waste time when I should be studying. Old habits die hard, you know.
Out of time, so you'll have to read these articles on your own
Here's everything else I hoped to cover today. It's not going to happen, so here are the source stories from various sites.
Star Wizards
Star Wars: The Clone Wars--Lucas gets involved
Star Wars: Recycled Toys (be sure to check out page 2 of this one)
The Informers (movie co-starring Brandon Routh [Superman Returns])
RiffTrax DIY
Until next time, try to enjoy your daylight.
Watch the Star Trek: Remastered HD DVD/DVD preview
Just in time for the holidays, the Remastered version of the complete first season of the original Star Trek arrives in stores on November 20. The 10-disc HD DVD/DVD combo set contains all 28 episodes and loads of special features. Check out this spectacular, newly released video promo from CBS Home Entertainment, over on the official Star Trek site. It runs nearly nine minutes, but you'll want to watch all of it.
The refurbished episodes, many of which have already aired on the syndicated Star Trek: Remastered, feature upgraded special effects, improved image and sound quality, and other enhancements. The original versions of the episodes are not contained on this set, so you'll have to buy or hang onto the 2004 standard DVD set to have those.
One side of each disc will play in standard DVD players, while the other will only play in HD DVD players. The combo format partially accounts for the release's MSRP of $218. Available for pre-order now, some stores are listing this at $139.
Unlike the syndicated series, each episode is presented uncut and, on the HD DVD side, in high definition. Since far more time is devoted per television hour to commercials now than 1966, the syndicated episodes lose about ten minutes of content to make room for the longer sponsor breaks.
Key first season episodes include "Balance of Terror," "The Menagerie," "Space Seed," "The Devil In The Dark," and "The City On The Edge Of Forever." Even the first season had some less than stellar episodes, though, so you will also find "The Alternative Factor" and "The Return Of The Archons," among others. Still, most of the episodes are top-notch classics.
On the DVD side, some of the special features appear to be ported over from the 2004 release. Appearing on both sides, though, is a newly released collection of home movies capturing behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the original episodes.
Appearing only on the HD DVD side is an interactive tour of the interior and exterior of the USS Enterprise. For full details on this release and the many other special features, be sure to check out this article over at the official Star Trek site.
A release in Blu-ray format, currently competing against HD DVD for the high definition video market, is not planned at this time.
Heroes arrives on DVD
Last season's break-out hit series, Heroes, arrived in stores on Tuesday. The first season set contains all 23 episodes, an extended version of the pilot, and tons of special features. Find out more over at the NBC site. The DVD version of the set has an MSRP of $60 (currently retailing for about $40), while a separate HD DVD version has an MSRP of $100 (currently retailing for about $70).
Heroes is definitely on my list, but I'm not sure if I'll buy it soon. I actually have too many series going at once right now. I'm currently in progress on various DVD sets of CHiPs, Wonder Woman, Lois & Clark, and Firefly. The problem? I keep reverting back to watching classic Star Trek instead (the 2004 DVDs of the original versions). It's hard to take time out to watch other shows when I could be watching Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
Listen to the 20th, er, 30th anniversary Star Wars soundtracks
StarWars.com recently announced that an eight-disc set titled The Music of Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collection will be released in November. For a brief moment, this was exciting news. I was thinking that ultimate versions of the John Williams soundtracks for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi had been assembled and remastered for a special boxed set.
Not quite, it seems. Instead, it appears to be at least the second (possibly the third) re-release of the almost-perfect-but-not-quite 1997 versions of these soundtracks.
A seventh disc contains Star Wars: The Corellian Edition, a "best of" CD with tracks from all six movies. This disc was first released in 2005 as a bonus with the Revenge of the Sith DVD in certain retail outlets. That's right, it's a CD containing tracks you already have on the first six discs of the boxed set. The only tracks on Disc 7 unique to the set are those pulled from the prequel trilogy.
The eighth disc? A CD-ROM containing the original art from the soundtrack releases.
Ho-hum, so why did I even mention it? Two reasons, really. One, if you don't have these soundtracks already, then this becomes a must-buy. Two, searching for more info on this release led me to a fun Star Wars discussion thread.
MiceChat on Star Wars
Many Star Wars discussion threads out there seem to degrade into George Lucas bashing, repulsive behavior from so-called fans. Though a couple of posters did indeed try to ignite the normal anti-Lucas fire, this "Thirty years of Star Wars" thread over at MiceChat.com (a site for Disney fans) managed to avoid the trap.
The best part of it, for me, was seeing all of the pictures of various people's Star Wars collections in simple, yet effective displays. Most of my Star Wars and Star Trek stuff has been sitting in boxes since I moved (uh, five years ago), waiting for me to figure out just what to do with it. I have nowhere near as extensive of a collection as some of those folks, but the MiceChat photos have inspired me to want to finally unpack that stuff and display it. Besides, it's a way to waste time when I should be studying. Old habits die hard, you know.
Out of time, so you'll have to read these articles on your own
Here's everything else I hoped to cover today. It's not going to happen, so here are the source stories from various sites.
Star Wizards
Star Wars: The Clone Wars--Lucas gets involved
Star Wars: Recycled Toys (be sure to check out page 2 of this one)
The Informers (movie co-starring Brandon Routh [Superman Returns])
RiffTrax DIY
Until next time, try to enjoy your daylight.
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