Star Trek - The Ultimate Computer - visual effects comparison

This video compares the effects scenes from 2 versions of the classic Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer". ON the left side you can see the original effects from the broadcast version of the episode, on the right side you can see the CGI effects from the "digitally enhanced" edition

[@GoldenFava]

Props to the effects team in 1967…amazing work for the day. I could watch them all either way and still love this show.

[@leftcoaster67]

In that context yes. But people that go on how it's superior the original effects are. We're not talking Wrath of Khan or The Motion Picture here. We're talking 1967 Network television. The original effects look dated. And a lot are reused footage, or split screen versions of the Enterprise. There's nothing wrong with appreciating them for what they are. But there are episodes like this one, Galileo Seven, Balance of Terror, and The Doomsday Machine that benefit from the newer effects. Just my 2 cents.

[@MartyOfEarth]

@@leftcoaster67Exactly my thoughts! I like both old and new effects but I just don’t like the hate on the new effects. It’s skillfully remastered, it looks amazing and it’s not out of place. I’ve read about 10 comments from people saying they could’ve done it better. They don’t realize that if they made the effects look like SNW or DIS it would look out of place. These effects just slightly enhance the old ones so it looks newer but still like TOS.

[@Stuff_And_Things]

The CGI doesn't make the episodes unwatchable for me but it does piss me off every time I see the ship and station exteriors. There was nothing wrong with the original shots. The CGI looks cartoony.

[@lancecampbell4323]

This is one of the great Star Trek episodes of all time. I do question the cheery music and this smiles all around at the end. One crewman vaporized, one destroyed starship and one badly damaged. All in, 484 dead and likely another 150 injured. Oh well, next week is a new voyage.

[@sapainca]

same, it was an odd way to end the episode. You would expect some relief but not the euphoria we get in the final scene. perhaps something was lost in the edit. still a great episode

[@EazyCheeze]

Not to mention a brilliant computer scientist seeing his life's work turn against everything he (literally) taught it (with his own memory engrams), resulting in what you stated, Go Mad From The Revelation as TV Tropes puts it. That's definitely not a happy ending. But then, Daystrom probably recovered and somehow repaired his reputation (HOW?!), because in the TNG era there is a Daystrom Institute mentioned - and even in Discovery before the events of this episode, it existed and thus was not disbanded afterward. Guess the work DID stand apart from the man... Colleagues "[...] Building on my work!" was what rankled him the most, probably leading him to take shortcuts to have a more impressive product, though unfortunately one that did not stand up to the real tests as we saw here.

[@keithbrown8814]

I noticed this too...despite the carnage....all's well that ends well!

[@dbvander]

What's a few hundred crew members... It's the Federation baby!

[@dekelanson5280]

Maybe they were mostly red shirts. They would have died on an alien planet anyway.

[@MKULTRA1701]

To keep it short and sweet I'll just say, except for a very small minority of shots, I do prefer the original fx. If your doing spaceships, especially Enterprise, a model will always look better than cgi, a model has a certain Character that cgi just can't quite pull off I guess you could say. I'm not really sure if I expressed that well, some of you might get what I'm attempting to say.

[@kevinmurphy65]

Yep spot on.

[@jackmiller9464]

I completely agree. I much prefer the original and still watch them all to this day.

[@PETERJOHN101]

I agree completely. I also didn't see any difference at all in the bridge scenes.

[@martinfiedler4317]

@@rng_stuff Thought exactly the same thing. The original - cheap - effects from the 60s look mostly more real than the CGI. Fascinating...

[@zer0b0t]

Planets is probably the only thing I'd say is kinda ok

[@MORE1500]

The score used as they were departing the space station is one of my favorites. The music from the original series was, in my opinion, far superior to any used in any other Star Trek series.

[@pianobypc1031]

It is really great, but James Horner did some truly outstanding work for Star Trek feature films - esp "Wrath of Khan."

[@tempest20000]

Definitely to both comments.

[@trainliker100]

@@pianobypc1031 You are spot on about the late James Horner's score for "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.". Check out this amazing "cover" by a first rate musician who plays both French horn AND trumpet: kzbin.info/www/bejne/roGcp5eOhpKse68

[@CenturianEagle]

@@pianobypc1031 yeah. first contact had awesome music too

[@thebadgamer1967]

Deep space nine has entered the chat

[@TXKafir]

This is a episode where the CGI version makes much more sense. In the original, when the four ships approached, they were stacked two by two and when the remaining three attacked later, you could tell they just reused the first scene and deleted one of the ships. The CGI had the ships spread out in a more reasonable formation in both scenes. Also, everybody recognized the ore ship as Khan's SS Botany Bay. Glad to see the CGI had a different ship.

[@mavericstud]

The ship resembles a ship from animation series. So much for being non canon

[@hblanche]

The CGI wasn't always an upgrade. For example, the Doomsday Machine looks worse to me. But yes, this is an episode where the CGI greatly enhances the experience.

[@DocMicrowave]

Plus the four ships looked like exact copies of each other at two slightly different zoom levels. Even the running lights were blinking in unison.

[@TXKafir]

@@hblanche Are you kidding? The Doomsday machine is probably the best of the CGI enhanced episodes because it has so many exterior shots. The damage to the Constellation is more detailed and believable because it doesn't look like they just took a blowtorch to a plastic model. The Doomsday Machine itself is more believable, the shuttle, the phasers hitting the machine. Everything is simply better in that episode.

[@betaneptune]

@@TXKafir I must disagree. The old version had an actual uniform beam (well, which you probably couldn't have seen in a realistic situation, but then you would be able to see the ships, either, as they're lit up only by distant starlight) and strange patterns inside the machine. In the new version it was just a flamethrower with fire inside. I don't see how that's an improvement. Also, at the end, the machine slowly sinks downward. We're in deep space! There's no up or down! In the old version it was still, lifeless, and even looked kind of frozen. The only improvement was that in the old version you could see stars through the end of the machine. Oh, and yes, the phasers looked better. Still a great episode. Probably the best of the action-oriented eps.

[@jyesucevitz]

I was just a toddler when this first aired, but my parents were fans so Star Trek has always been a part of my life. I know people my age are supposed to say: "you don't change the original. leave it the way Roddenberry pictured it." i'm sure had he been able to produce visuals like this back then I'm sure he would. l like the difference a lot. well done.

[@tomsmith1545]

FACINATING! The CGI makes Bill Shatner look just like Captain James T. Kirk!

[@axenledgie1423]

They really did a great job remastering all those Connies. Seeing how they recreated those dogfighting scenes between the Enterprise and her kin really was interesting. They seem much more interactive and engaging than the more static shots in the original cut. It was also cool to see each of the other Connies had their correct name and registry printed on them.

[@navyreviewer]

Agreed. That and making the planets look like... planets was nice. The rest I could take or leave. They did a great job on constellation would have been nice to see a more battered Excaliber. Pacing probably didnt allow it.

[@tempest20000]

@@navyreviewer I agree but my head canon was that the M-5 must have targeted a major system that involves life support and power backups. The phaser shot kills main power and the backups don’t trigger causing everyone to suffocate to death. Dark but also very cold and calculating. Which is what the M-5 would do in a battle situation.

[@FezFindie]

Got a bit silly when it was the exact same shot for the phaser firing?

[@gabrielmoreno9455]

I think they did a wonderful job in this restoration/remastering. They respected the original concept and the simplicity of the 60s effects.

[@Roger50871]

i have to be honest. i love both versions. i have always been a fan of the original constitution class with the rotating/sparkling warp drive. that certain look the original has is just beautiful. the cgi really brings a new spin to the look and adds a certain amount of realism to the scene.

[@AarHan3]

4:22 - McCoy: "Your brilliant young computer just destroyed an ore freighter! In fact, it went out of its _way_ to destroy an ore freighter!"

[@jaimhaas5170]

Our last defender of human over tech....Look at all the crap tech we have today and people keep lapping it up. Yet when some moron trucker in Oregon can't put the address into GPS correctly the GPS gets blamed for getting the truck stuck in the mountains. Humans!

[@55Quirll]

Dastrum: "No, it was the ore freighter that went out of its way to annoy M5 and M5 gave the ore freighter - The Botnay Bay for those who didn't see the 'Space Seed' - what it deserved.

[@iggyarctic5711]

@@jaimhaas5170 "Did you see the love-light in Spocks eyes?The right computer finally came along".

[@alainarchambault2331]

@@55Quirll Yeah, I noticed it was the same ship model they used.

[@johntabler349]

One of the greatest of many great guest starring roles in TOS was William Marshall as Daestrom , the back and forth with McCoy was spot on

[@jasonviande5053]

The old effects looks great once the film has been cleaned up, but more importantly I think the many of the shots themselves look better. For example, a view from the right nacelle with the Enterprise pointed at the planet just looks better than a quick pan.

[@cooper_s]

I prefer the original for the most part, but I like seeing the phasers hit the ships in the cgi version

[@taskmaxter]

I agree - the original looks better to me as well

[@patrickwilson1459]

Me too, I never saw the point of remastering the show.

[@betaneptune]

The battle scenes are definitely better in the CGI version. Other than that, they should have left well enough alone.

[@zacmumblethunder7466]

@@patrickwilson1459 I always like the fuzzy planets, probably because even the best NASA photos were fuzzy when I was young and watching Star Trek for the first time.

[@robynzelickson6164]

Same

[@TheCerealHobbyist]

My wife laughs at how enraged I become when the CGI shows up. Part of TOS is the quaint effects. Stuff that shows what they could do in the 60s, and it should be left alone. The CGI adds nothing to the story and just jumps off the screen as being out of place. I just don’t understand why they felt the need. I find myself growing enraged again! Thanks for putting this together, fascinating to see it side by side! I also agree that this is one of the best Trek episodes in the entire franchise. DC Fontana was a national treasure.

[@jeremyfinch2835]

The "new CGI" version did improve the weapons and ship formations. For one, the phasers with the new CGI were tight and parallel; in the original phasers from the ship, only one beam would hit the target and the other would go off WIDE into space! Also, the photon torpedo in the new CGI looked tangible--instead of just a fluff of white energy. Finally, in the old version, when one of the ships from the quad formation gets taken out, the filmers/editors simply tossed/erased one of the images (LAZY!), the new CGI changes the engagement to a 3 vs 1 fighting formation that looks tactically beautiful! Sorry, but in a side-by-side challenge, the NEW beats the old hands down! Much love to everyone who worked on this! Great fun comparing them!

[@melodiefrances3898]

I'm with you. The cgi just kind of rewrote the ship stuff, which seems to me like total hubris. And definitely takes away from the cool 60s feel. For no particular value other than that they could.

[@SuperMagnetizer]

CGI looks like a cartoon. Ruins the show!

[@epiendless1128]

They didn't omit the animated core at all. They replaced the silly red animation with a subtle white animation. However, I do appreciate the 1960s effects folk at least trying to show a standing wave.

[@jimjohnston5719]

in fact, in the CGI version, the conduit gets gradually stronger/thicker and you can see the red energy pulsing slowly over it in the opposite direction. It is subtle, but the effect is there.

[@crazyivan030983]

Just wrote the same :)

[@jimrobin]

Pity about the spelling - "ommitted". 🙄

[@alexjohnward]

“You have not experienced animation until you have seen it in the original CRT.”

[@TIMEtoRIDE900]

@@alexjohnward When a Human Being turns instantly to vapor - I would expect an explosion equal to 100 hand-grenades as a 150 pound lump of water turns to steam, not counting bone fragments or toxins from the clothes - even the shoes, Phaser and communicator just vanish. Doesn't even leave a stain or lingering odor.

[@meyelejuega3602]

honestly, the og intro makes it feel like i'm zooming trough space with the practical star effects

[@WadeStar]

4:52 The animated core wasn't omitted for mysterious reasons. It looked dated and gimmicky in the first place. The new version looks better without it. Ah, the 60's when sine waves were synonymous with SCIENCE.

[@SuperLuminalElf]

NICE.

[@Jeffrey314159]

What a cool way to go Retrofiction with retrovision

[@johnfranklin4038]

Yep, I saw the new "energy core" is there, it's now briliant and still spiraling like the original graphic but looks more like an energy core than doodles with a red drawing pencil.

[@Minsc]

@@johnfranklin4038 I was going to say, the core is there. Updated version definitely looks better.

[@bubhub64]

Man what an awesome show the original Star Trek was.

[@noellearundel2803]

CBS Digital has a lot to answer for. I've watched most of the re-mastered episodes, and without a doubt, the planets from space looking amazing. Unfortunately, in many episodes (The Doomsday Machine, for example) the Enterprise looks even more like the model it is than in the originals, mostly by having it fly around like an X-wing fighter, ruining the illusion of a large vessel. Worse, they reshoot a number of key scenes that destroy those small but important "moments" that make Star Trek what it is. In The Ultimate Computer, they discarded the very simple but amazing shot of the Enterprise, positioned perfectly to show the nacelle domes ablaze, pulling away from the station at the beginning by having the station recede rather than the Enterprise fly past the camera. They even ruined the shot when the other captain calls a ceasefire, the Enterprise flies toward the camera until it blackens the screen, and is seamlessly replaced by McCoys back as he walks away from the camera. They destroyed similar moments in Is There No truth in Beauty, when the Enterprise enters the galactic barrier, and messed up the bridge-to-starfield fade out in The Naked Time when the reverse time begins.

[@domainofthesun4400]

Another choice I disliked was how they made the CGI alien ships in "Tholian Web" more detailed and 'realistic'. Really stupid decision. In the original sfx their featureless geometry was spooky, surreal and a perfect fit with the truly alien-looking double-voiced Tholian, inhabiting some incomprehensible boiling medium. Thank goodness they didn't try to "improve" on that with some human actor wearing a knobby forehead... (BTW the episode is dull and unconvincing - McCoy is written as a ridiculous asshole... too bad those ultra cool aliens didn't get a better show written around them. Anyway the episode can't afford the slightest loss of what coolness it has, lol)

[@wbfaulk]

Agreed. There seem to be a number of instances where any artistic thought about the cinematography was just completely ignored, and it's not like that's something I'd call out as being either emblematic of Star Trek or subtle when it was being used. Very strange decision-making by the new FX artists.

[@Mr.Robert1]

The original Star Trek series is being broadcast again every night at 8:00 p.m. I don't miss it for the world. Brings back fantastic memories. Simpler times years ago. I found one little thing that I noticed now as an adult that I never noticed as a kid. James Kirk never finishes a sentence. I shouldn't say never, a majority of the time. He will drop off the last word or even too sometimes. Is he too lazy to act out the entire line ? Is it so difficult? No it's the way he speaks. I understand I just been noticing it every night now.

[@jurassickaiju14]

Just realized that at 7:03, the _Lexington_ has two sets of two windows on the bow of the saucer, as opposed to the _Enterprise's_ one set of three.

[@KJOSCOT]

Also, check out Lexington's screen as Wesley note's Enterprise's disposition. Has rounded corners.

[@eddieschwab864]

Those are actually not windows but the deflector Shields, but yes it's inevitable that there would be minuscule differences along the way amongst even similar ships in the fleet...

[@PumpkinTuna]

@@KJOSCOT And notice that the Lexington has a very different command chair.

[@jnichols3]

When you look at it on this video the last scene was very inappropriate. They are happy, smiling, and very joyfull, because it ended so well you know..........except for that starship crew the Enterprise wiped out. I know that there was nothing they could do, but you would think they would be a little more somber about the all the bodies floating around that part of space.

[@jaimhaas5170]

Near death experiences have a way of making the human being giddy. They had plenty of remorse when the people were dying.

[@jimjohnston5719]

If you have not seen the full video of the conglomeration of the cut scenes from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (I believe that is it, please someone correct if I am wrong), Kirk does have a moment there where he discusses "my Ship destroying another, and I felt helpless as I had to watch..." or something of that line, regarding the destruction of Excalibur. It was quite an emotional performance from Mr. Shatner.

[@andysahs1599]

And 53 were killed on the Lexington as well.

[@CaptApril123]

TV show logic.. Well more 1960's TV show logic

[@brianadams8136]

I think there were only a few (two or three) episodes in all three seasons where the ending wasn't upbeat no matter what happened during the episode. The most notable with a miserable looking Kirk was the great 'The City on the Edge of Forever' episode, after the return of the original Federation timeline with the death of Edith Keeler, beautifully played by Joan Collins. Kirk was the most serious and morose I've ever seen him. He looks thoroughly depressed and finds it hard to speak. Even his tone of voice sounded depressed.

[@lionelmorelet1852]

Even CGI effects are really great, original 1960's effects were also really great as more than 50 years have passed.

[@painkiller1968]

The '60s effects back then were bad.

[@CaptApril123]

@@painkiller1968 bad now, passable then.. Watching the show today with original FX takes you completely out of the story. The writing, acting, etc.. is still great but then cutting to an original FX shot is jarring. The SFX people kept the original aesthetic of the special effects which is why it works, from what I read they didn't just replace the effects with 'new' ones they worked from the premise of what they would look like if the crew had an unlimited budget back in the 1960's. They don't show anything that couldn't have been done back then

[@keithbrown8814]

For 1967/68 special effects were actually pretty good...made room for more theater of the mind...IMHO

[@marzsit9833]

@@painkiller1968 the 60's effects were deliberately designed for low-resolution television which is what we had back then. if you watch the original series on a low-resolution screen the effects look really good. if you watch them on a 4k high-definition screen, they look terrible. the only reason paramount did the cgi mods was for the blueray release.

[@sandal_thong]

They had to do what _Battlestar Galactica_ did about 10 years later: reuse shots episode to episode, like the Enterprise and planets. The CGI effects look like what they might have filmed in the 1960s; some people just don't like change. I bought 26 episodes on VHS about 30 years ago, nearly all the ones with space battles, except the "Deadly Years," which I forgot had a battle. Getting rid of the stars moving past the space station (and planets) makes it less cringe and less laughable.

[@AndrewChapman]

There is a change in the remastered that I consider to be an improvement, but also a change that I consider to be a disappointment. I love how they altered the Lexington viewscreen at 7:15. But what disappointed me was the closing shot at 7:48. In the original shot, the Enterprise flies between 'EXECUTIVE PRODUCER' and 'GENE RODDENBERRY', which actually looks quite clever. But in the remastered, the Enterprise flies behind 'EXECUTIVE PRODUCER' and we have this big empty gap between 'EXECUTIVE PRODUCER' and 'GENE RODDENBERRY'.

[@X2FileWrightonite]

@Andrew Chapman - WOW- I was just thinking the exact opposite about that changed effects shout of the bridge of the Lexington/ The original was better. However- I never noticed that in the ending credits - and you are correct. THX 4 pointing that out.

[@sandal_thong]

I love the captain's chair from the Lexington, which matches the one from "Mirror, Mirror."

[@wladimir.Quiroz]

This is one of the best uses of cgi. It is not intrusive, and it fits the original aesthetic

[@Columbiana777]

Well stated.

[@lordkarellan7808]

Agreed. Bunch of delusional people thinking the original effects look better. They look like crap.

[@TrekkieChannel]

I recommend to turn on the auto-generated subtitles, they are hilarious :) I never knew Shatner's opening was "Space from the the Jesus shit mission which strange the you like new civilizations" :)

[@AndrewChapman]

I saw that. LMAO!

[@249denny]

LMAO that's great!

[@jtkirkfan2002]

+TrekkieChannel He was calling his dog just before that: "Spot."

[@Jeffrey314159]

I think in ARENA he called the Mettrons "Metronomes" or "Metrones"

[@EdKolis]

Looks like the captions are disabled now... :(

[@voicetube]

The only effect I preferred from the original was the energy beam in engineering with that wave in the middle of it. If they had swapped those and said that the earlier effect was actually the CGI affect I would have believed that easier. On another note, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet that actor (the African-American dude who play the character who owned the M5 computer) at the Whole Foods Market in Los Angeles (Sherman Oaks) I think about 21 years ago. Definitely as tall and epic as he appeared in the episode (if a little bit older). Although he had gone back in time to the 2000's, he appeared to have weathered his rehabilitation well :-)

[@sandal_thong]

I'd always noticed he didn't quite fit in the sickbay bed. They've been saying something similar about the basketball player seized by Russia.

[@robscott351]

Both are great, But have to say the CG looks like CG. The Models look a bit more "realistic" here to me. The Digital Improvements on color and resolution are a real plus. But somehow the CG has a slightly cartoonish/video game look. This is the era of CG, great when It's all CG, but often not so good when they paste people and CG together. Maybe that's why directors like Ridley Scoot like to use real sets as much as possible? JMHO....

[@BackAgainize]

Daystrom had EVERY right to be PISSED OFF. The things he describes in the breakdown DO exist. Take it from a uni student. Every right to be furious. Sad that it drove him to insanity. Btw....this is my favorite ST original episode.

[@betaneptune]

Yes, he certainly does. Who said otherwise?

[@jaimhaas5170]

Mine too....that music gets me everytime.

[@TheWinterShadow]

And that's why Star Trek was ahead of its time.

[@Bondek1996]

What I do like about the remastered episodes is showing off the other Constitution class ships like the Constellation and Exeter, this more-so as they look more in action than the original where it seemed somehow stilted by the effect they used. Not quite polished, sure, but good enough. You can't remove by any stretch some of Kirk's most pained expressions in the series here: "DAAAYSTROMMM!"

[@zqfmgb4335]

That could be an interesting TFO for STO : fight an elite Constitution (and maybe a few other corrupted ships for the sake of challenge) in a simulation of the M5 disaster. Speaking of STO, the Perseus escort description mentions the M6 computer, a more advanced M5 with none of the... drawbacks. So I guess this whole thing served as a really hardcore beta testing.

[@HailAnts]

For those curious the voice of the M5 computer was that of James Doohan (as well as the voice of Commodore Enright at the very beginning)..

[@curtischildress9580]

Super trivia...thanks for sharing...didn't know these things!

[@andrewmcgee1001]

Oh wow..interesting..and if I remember correctly, he also did the voice for Trelane's father in 'The Squire of Gothos'

[@HailAnts]

@@andrewmcgee1001 - Actually no. Trelane's father was voiced by veteran voice actor Bart LaRue, who also did the voice of The Guardian of Forever. He and James Doohan were actually very good friends. Trelane's mother was voiced by character actress Barbara Babcock. She actually appeared in the rather lame episode _Plato's Stepchildren_ and the much superior episode _A Taste of Armageddon._ She was also the voice of the Tholian ship commander Loskene in _The Tholian Web._ I have way too much free time..

[@trevorgwelch7412]

Lets bring back new original episodes using computer trickery . New Stories but same actors . 😊

[@neves5083]

I like both And I didn't know that the robot freighter originally was the same model as the Botany Bay And I think that "the core" of the electric beam is actually there but they made it different, thicker and moving slowly.

[@blackrock1961]

The new robot freighter looks a lot like the one from the animated series episode More Trouble More Tribbles.

[@neves5083]

@@blackrock1961 Yeah it's a nice touch i like it

[@nunyabizness6595]

Commodore Enright is voiced by James Doohan without the Scottish accent.

[@OriginalHologram]

So basically they went in and ruined every scene?

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

For a program made in the 1968, it was quite the show! The remake is very nice, and adds further believable detail!

[@lynnpoint6395]

It would have been interesting if they had changed one or two of the attacking ships (Lexington, Excalibur, Hood or Potemkin) into some other class of ship. It would have had to be as equally large as a Constitution-class cruiser so that Kirk's later reference to crew sizes would remain valid, but surely Star Fleet at that time had more than one type of heavy cruiser-class vessel.

[@AlexandarHullRichter]

Actually, according to the technical manual, no. There was only one class of heavy cruiser. There were scouts and destroyers (same configuration: just a primary hull and single nacelle), and there was a Dreadnought class, but all with radically different crew complements. The Excelsior class was the first heavy cruiser developed after the Constitution class entered service.

[@lynnpoint6395]

​@@AlexandarHullRichter Are you talking about the Franz Joseph Technical Manual? The one first published in 1975? I think a lot of subsequent Star Trek between then and the 2006 re-mastering had rendered that Manual as non-canon, if it ever really was. Or extremely bendable canon at best. But...according to internal memorandum dating from the original production era in the 1960s, the Lexington, Potemkin, Hood and Excalibur were Constitution-class heavy cruisers so it would have been a breaking of continuity to show them as anything else. It still would have been a bit of fun, though.

[@tempest20000]

The book “The Making of Star Trek” says that the producers came up with the 14 Constitution Class ships. This list was made by the producers of the show at the start of Season 2. Constitution Constellation Enterprise Lexington Hood Potemkin Excalibur Exeter Republic Farragut Yorktown Intrepid Valiant Kongo Now I’ve heard that the script writers accidentally messed up the name Valiant and used Defiant instead. But I can’t confirm that. So there might have been a second batch ordered after the loss of the Farragut, Constellation and the quarantining of the Exeter or during the Klingon/Federation War.

[@lynnpoint6395]

@@tempest20000 Yes, I have that book by Stephen E. Whitfield (Stephen Poe). I've had it since 1968, actually. I remember the part you're talking about, where Robert Justman says they have 12 heavy cruisers like the Enterprise and they need to have names for them since they periodically reference one or two. Then they settle on a list of 14 names, and it doesn't even include the U.S.S. Defiant which was actually shown in the series. It's possible the Defiant was a more recent addition to the fleet, replacing one of the ships destroyed earlier. So let's say there were 15. To the best of my recollection, the Enterprise, Constellation, Lexington, Hood, Potemkin, Excalibur, Exeter and Defiant were actually shown in TOS. In addition, the Constitution, Intrepid, Farragut, Republic and Yorktown were referenced. Personally I find the various fictions that refer to the Enterprise as the "only starship to survive its 5-year mission" to be irritating and they make the Enterprise just a little Too Special. The Excalibur, Constellation and Intrepid are all destroyed, while the Defiant was lost. Justman refers to the Farragut as having been destroyed, which isn't the case; although it did suffer a tragic loss of crew. He also indicates the Valiant was lost but he appears to confuse the Constitution-class Valiant with the S.S. Valiant mentioned as destroyed a hundred or more years earlier. The Exeter wasn't destroyed but it seems likely it would have been quarantined. Anyway, this leaves multiple possibilities as far as surviving Constitution-class vessels goes. To the question at hand, yes, I know, filmed canon shows the Enterprise being attacked by four Constitution-class ships in "The Ultimate Computer." But it also shows a Botany Bay type ore freighter that changed its appearance to a TAS type ore freighter. Also, canon shows the Enterprise being originally attacked only by Romulan D-7 Cruisers in "The Enterprise Incident," but when the effects were re-done at least one War Eagle was snuck in there. Just saying that in a universe where canon is important to most fans but is still bendable, it would have been fun to have inserted a different type ship in the war games there. As ST: Discovery is showing, not all ships of the era were Constitution-class. And now ST: Strange New Worlds might be showing that Whitfield's list of Constitution-class ships maybe weren't even all Constitution-class ships, although they all could have still been classified as heavy cruisers.

[@tempest20000]

@@lynnpoint6395 you are exactly right on the ships. That book is one of my favorites. I do like that they added a classic Romulan Bird of Prey for the Enterprise Incident. And using the Antares Class freighter from TAS. Pretty cool. Anyway, it would be really cool to see some of the expanded universe TOS ships. I mean in SNW, we got to see a Miranda Class like ship and a Hermes/Saladin Class like ship. If we get to see the Franz Joseph Dreadnaught, that would be so cool. Or the Akula Class or a Loknar Class ship would be really cool. And I’m assuming if they do show more ships that look like Constitution Class ships, they’re that Sombra Class design. It’s a good idea to reuse the Enterprise model without saying it’s a Constitution Class. It’s may look the same or similar on the outside but has a different description and has a different layout and power grid like the Hermes Class and Saladin Class or the Miranda Class and it’s multiple variations.

[@pat34lee]

They may have cleaned up inside shots but it looks like they only changed the space scenes.

[@jeffwalsh6015]

The stories and acting are what made Star Trek so great. The special effects were secondary. Updating the special effects was just a money making scheme, and not only unnecessary, but actually a slap in the face to real Star Trek fans.

[@mementomori5580]

4:40 The "animated core" of the laser beam was probably omitted because the first scene seems to be the only one in the original to have it. All later scenes you don't see that "animated core" anymore. So for consistency sake, it makes sense to omit it from the very beginning.

[@007robotchicken]

The CGI looks good. And you can turn it off on the Blu Ray sets.

[@knuteeriksen7612]

Shall we touch up the Mona Lisa or Mozart too now? Just because we can doesn’t mean we should!

[@Hendo56]

Met William Marshall at a convention once. Wish I had a voice like that.

[@jedraft]

Everybody does. :)

[@alm5966]

One of my favourite episodes. I even named one of my SQL instances as M5.

[@leftcoaster67]

Considering that the Excalibur is "dead". I found it awkward and not appropriate to have the folks joking at the end of the episode.

[@paktype]

leftcoaster67 Exactly what I was thinking. In addition to the 400 dead on the Excalibur, there were also 53 dead on the Lexington (per Commodore Wesley) and the unnamed red shirt who got smoked by M-5's power beam. That's at least 454 dead as a result of M-5 and Kirk is smiling away at the end.

[@Ballsarama]

+paktype Agreed...it should have been a more somber ending...some of which, in the original series, they did do.

[@CommanderBalok]

Well, the whole episode is very weak, and one of the worst in the series: as soon as Kirk realized he'd lost control of his ship to the M5, he should have ordered engineers to simply remove torpedoes from the launchers, and to destroy the power conduits leading to the ship's weapons. Without weapons much of the harm M5 did would have been avoided. There's suspension of disbelief, and then there's plot holes you can drive a starship through with room to spare. :)

[@thelonecomet1377]

CommanderBalok I wouldn't be so sure about that. With a paranoid supercomputer controlling everything it could conceivably take defensive action to protect itself and effectively prevent such sabotage.

[@thelonecomet1377]

CommanderBalok I wouldn't be so sure about that. With a paranoid supercomputer controlling everything it could conceivably take defensive action to protect itself and effectively prevent such sabotage.

[@alanb8884]

Seeing several Connies in one scene makes me so happy

[@TrekCadet1701]

The CGI fixed the stars in a few shots. In the original approaching k-7, the stars move as if the ship is at warp. If so, k-7 would whip by in a blink of an eye. CGI fixed that to space normal. Same thing for the approach to the survey planet.

[@TIMEtoRIDE900]

But you know if you were traveling 10X Light Speed every single Star in the Galaxy would be in a cone in front of you just 18 degrees wide. You would also be blind, probably . . .

[@TrekCadet1701]

@@TIMEtoRIDE900 Several years ago, I read an interview with some scientists, that while agreeing with you that hollywood got it wrong, they said stars would move to the side, except for the one that you are apporaching. The reality check on going blind doesn't matter, because if we are talking reality, there are no inertia dampeners and you would have been a smear by the time you could notice the starfield move.

[@johnrbrownjr7380]

I don't know about the updated version, seems to me that the original version holds up quite well to the "new" version. I prefer the older/original better. Call me a purist for cinematic watching! Watching it in original version is the joy of seeing how the show was created and made considering the time it was made in. 🤔

[@jonvisser1509]

william marshall excellent in this episode.Also excellent as Blackula

[@Sennmut]

And as Glycon, in "Demetrius and the Gladiators". Always good.

[@domainofthesun4400]

he really has an overpowering presence - for one thing he looks about 7 feel tall - and that richly melodious voice

[@bernhardwall6876]

A voice like James Earl Jones. I would be ecstatic to have that.

[@gobbletegook]

55 years ago, the quality of the special effects was pretty good, and it was hard to see any mistakes on a 19 or 21 inch TV screen when we were kids. I am still in awe though, about how they did the vaporization of the crewman when the beam tapped into the warp core.

[@TIMEtoRIDE900]

When a Human turns to vapor - I would expect an explosion equal to 100 hand-grenades as a 150 pound lump of water turns to steam, not counting bone fragments or toxins from the clothes - even the shoes, Phaser and communicator just vanish. Doesn't even leave a stain or lingering odor.

[@andysahs1599]

I like how they changed the look of the WODEN ore ship its totally new look instead of re using stock footage of the BOTANY BAY the new design of the WODEN is from the animated series of TOS .And new footage of the Excalibur being attacked and it being disabled drifting in space the old footage of this is a stock footage of the USS Constellation NCC-1017 on view screen from The Doomsday Machine first with the added expolsion effect then the image of it being transposed .

[@timothyp873]

if you look carefully, you can actually see the animated energy beam waving slightly, i think this was intended to recreate the core.

[@christopherthorkon3997]

I prefer the 60s effects.

[@denyfixe1000]

Man, I'm not a Star Trek fan but I've watched several episodes with my dad and I think the show is ahead of its time and amazing. When I realized that the Enterprise scenes were reshot, I thought: wow, the original scenes must be VERY AMATEUR (besides that these new scenes are very CGI) Then I watch this video and see what the original scenes really look like. Dude... WHY CHANGE??? THE ORIGINAL SCENES WERE EXCELLENT!!!! THERE'S A SCENE THAT IT DIDN'T EVEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO PUT THE FAKE CGI!!! HOW UNNECESSARY!!!!!!!!!!!

[@TrekkieChannel]

Well, the changes were done for the 40th anniversary with the intentions of giving the fans a reason to buy the show again

[@Discrimination_is_not_a_right]

I can see why they replaced some of the shots. It helps not to be using the same stock footage over and over again.

[@MIDI_Player_Kion]

3:54 Botany Bay again 4:05 4:08

[@charlesgruber1631]

you know, just because you have the ability to make a starship swoop and bank like a sports car, doesn't mean you should do so. Granted, the '67 effects team had their limitations but the results were the view that the Starship was HUGE and took time to execute a turn... and not bank like a fighter jet. Its like an aircraft carrier turning in the middle of the Pacific or a giant oil tanker; the choreography in the old ones is more correct. But I agree it was good to see the phaser hits in the later version and the final approach of the task force. If only they could CGI Bob Wesley's crazy motion when the Lexington was first hit by Enterprise's 100% phaser barrage--- a bit overdone, but that's just me.

[@MeowAbout]

Little less than 8 minutes of effects for an hour-long episode. Amazing, and in a not sarcastic way. They did so much with so little.

[@alainarchambault2331]

6:48 I'm surprised they didn't think about hopping aboard a shuttlecraft and using the communicator from there.

[@55Quirll]

Same here or just taking out one their hand held communicators or how about auxiliary control room.

[@calanon534]

And what if M5 detected them trying to get out of the shuttle bay? Close the doors. If they defeated the door lock wit hmanual override or blasted through? Shoot the shuttle. Same if they went for the escape pods or enviro-suits - Kirk had no guarantee M5 wouldn't just swing around and waste them to preserve itself. And handheld communicators have very limited range, and can be blocked by remote disabling commands or simple signal interference.

[@rivards1]

Interesting that in the "energy beam" shots starting at around 5:00, not only is the animated core of the beam omitted (not a major loss) but the CGI team screwed up the perspective of the floor reflection they created. Although it strikes the reflection of the target, the beam reflection originates far too high on the M5 side.

[@jaysonpida5379]

My only complaint ---- a lot of people were killed in this one.....probably a more somber ending would have been appropriate.......

[@thomastmc]

Now you want to CGI in a new ending? When will it stop? (I'm just kidding)

[@kurtb8474]

I've been saying that for years. This was a major friendly-fire incident. Kirk nearly had a nervous breakdown watching his beloved ship kill hundreds of his fellow Starfleet comrades and there wasn't anything he could do about it. The special inquiry into the incident would make an interesting sequel.

[@RobMacKendrick]

In fairness to Trek, Hollywood does that all the time. "Whew, my psychotic girlfriend just tried to kill me after we'd been together for ten years! Good thing I beat her to death with a crowbar while she sang our song! WHO WANTS PIE??"

[@richardthomas5362]

Kind of like the end of the TNG episode "Best of Both Worlds, part 1".

[@TrekCadet1701]

It was nice seeing the attention to detail in the CGI of most window lights being turned off as the M-5 had shut down power where it wasn't needed.

[@radiobikini6429]

The original green screen models actually look better. When they made the digital recreations for this they did not spend the money to get state of the art cgi. Watch Star Trek New voyages and Continues and the CGI looks fantastic and real.

[@Ralphie_Boy]

*I was 9 years young when Star Trek was first shown on NBC channel 4 NYC, for my personal taste either suits me well enough to say in 2022, I'm still a Trekkie...* 🖖

[@robertsuhrer5604]

It's a toss up. I wish they left the larger, 12' original Smithsonian model scenes alone while CGI on everything else. Just compare Enterprise scenes at 2:58, 4:31 and the phaser fire 5:55. . The 12" model was just so realistic looking...

[@TrekkieChannel]

That's what I was hoping they will do when I heard about this project back in 2006. Nothing beats the old physical model. The CGI model looks nice, but not real enough in my opinion

[@DavidGoben]

I recently picked up the new enhanced full Star Trek series. The weird part is I can still remember all the old effects and can easily spot them as I watch the programs, even when there is just a minor enhancement. Did I really watch re-runs that many times (also watched when it originally aired)?

[@Mr.SpockEurope]

see the laser beam at 5:22, on the right. Note the reflex on the floor. It's paralell to the beam, but, cause the prospective , it should be convergent to bottomside of the hole.

[@alexpalmer9101]

Is it me, or does Commodore Enwright sound like James Doohan?

[@AndrewChapman]

You're right, it is James Doohan (Scotty). He is also the voice of the M-5 computer. He provided several voice roles in Star Trek TOS and TAS. Also, Commodore Wesley is portrayed by Barry Russo, who also portrayed Lt. Commander Giotto in the Season 1 episode "The Devil in the Dark".

[@alexpalmer9101]

Andrew Chapman I'll be damned. I thought Wesley looked familiar.

[@padawangussin1]

Alex Palmer Your right, never saw that

[@55Quirll]

If I am not mistaken Commodore Enwright use to be a lower level crewman, see `A Devil in the Dark' about the Horta and the trouble the mother was causing.

[@calanon534]

@@AndrewChapman Giotto is CDRE Wesley's less successful identical third cousin twice removed.

[@rowdyyates8626]

I watched this show when it originally aired. The special effects were not the best offered, but this was a tv series not a big budget movie. But still pretty good for the times. The show has amazing longevity. It was a very cool show at the time. Still is!

[@sandal_thong]

I still would like to see comparisons between TOS and its competitors like _Lost In Space._ One movie of the time was _2001: A Space Odyssey_ which has models but no space battles. I don't know if they had any for _Planet of the Apes._

[@superalepaes]

a masterpiece needs no improvement

[@stephen300o6]

That CGI Kirk is amazing.

[@nogoodnamesavailable]

The charm of TOS are indeed those special effects from that time period. I appriciate those "primitive" effects quite more as every modern replacement.

[@bubhub64]

At 7:43, the classic three...Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Gives me the chills.

[@ellejagerman6105]

Fascinating 🖖

[@darthnito6336]

Im not a star trek fan but always been a fan in making sure films evolve with the times so new generations dont think its lame

[@RobMacKendrick]

Gotta say, the four-way split screen of the same model in the simulated attack always did look cheesy to me when I was a kid.

[@KevinGrahamArt]

I’ve worked on a lot of Star Trek projects as an artist and most of the time I’ve always stuck with using the original show references. I’ve always preferred practical ships too. Just look more realistic to me. I prefer focusing on the characters anyways 😊

[@tubewatcher77]

So, Skynet takes over in the 23rd century instead of 1997.

[@TrekkieChannel]

Basically.

[@MAW-sf6ru]

The new ones are nice enough, but I prefer the original effects most of the time.

[@bernecomp]

Why are the new ones so consistently dark?

[@Bynk333]

2:57 the original look better then CGI, how to? :-)

[@TrekkieChannel]

Depends on your personal preferences

[@cdst8888]

And it's great that both versions are on the Blu Ray set

[@Jeffrey314159]

I think they misdesigned the 'K7' Space Station here - - over did it. Should have been closer to the original.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

In that first clip, is that the voice of actor James Doohan? I purchase the ST ANIMATED SERIES on DVDs a couple of years ago, and from watching those learned that James Doohan did a lot of the _voices_ on that show. I never realized this previously while watching this episode.

[@TrekkieChannel]

Yes, it's James Doohan. He also gave his voice to M-5

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@@TrekkieChannel >>> Rodger that -- Thanks.

[@ClintHollingsworth]

That last scene is entirely too upbeat.

[@johnmarshall4442]

Got the entire Star Trek Blue Ray set . Definitely worth it . When I got it , watched everyone one of the in sequence.

[@gerald8573]

The ship and the base look like something from a 1999-2004 video game. Mushy textures, low details and overall plump. I'm only 29 years old but I prefer the original for some scenes. Yes, the planets and the phasers / lasers look great in CGi but the ship and base models are cheap. They either saved a lot of money on purpose or got scammed.

[@Radionut]

Great job. And some of the clips so I prefer the original over the CGI

[@takashitamagawa5881]

Overall I don't like the CGI "remastered" version. I'm not really sure how it was originally done in the 1960s, but I think physical models of the starships were used for the exterior shots. Somehow those clunky techniques seem to convey better the feeling of large masses in motion. After all the advances and refinements CGI still makes the ships look cartoonish. I always liked the grandeur of four starships in formation, but I never cared all that much for the premise of this episode. A revolutionary multi-tronic 23rd century computer not able to execute any kind of Identification-Friend or Foe algorithm? It is amusing to see how science fiction over the decades imagined the advances of computers, generally the ideas haven't scored high predicting the future.

[@TrekkieChannel]

Correct - the ships were physical models, space / starfield was a giant black screen with holes cut into them and backlit with strong light, and the planets were usually painted spheres.

[@domainofthesun4400]

How high do you think our ideas today will score in predicting the future half a century from now? It's a total crapshoot. So it's really not legit to downgrade a past TV show for failing to accurately predict the future 50 years away. It was meant as entertainment, not an impossible attempt at prediction. Judge it as drama on its own terms...

[@lostcarpark]

A few of the multi ship shots on the CGI version are nice, but for the vast majority, the model shots look much better.

[@bayoudevil]

I prefer the original. It let the imagination run free and do all the work. Ir was truly awe-inspiring to see from back then.

[@Dr.Acula3000]

Digitally enhanced Star Trek and Star Wars are major pet peeves of mine

[@deadman746]

I much prefer the original effects, for the most part. Maybe it was an artifact of having to use large models, but in the original series, spacecraft moved like spacecraft and not like airplanes.

[@WatchingTrainsGoBy-PassingTime]

I will say that I think they tried very hard to keep the flavor of the show but make it look a little more polished with their updating of the special effects. BUT, part of the charm and personality of the original, that they can never recapture if they change the special effects, is the very fact that it was a product of it's time. Sometimes better, isn't an improvement. Not when it's pasted over something that was itself a time capsule of what people thought the future might look like and used what they had at hand to do that with.

[@lazycat42]

i think tos should be left as tos and not as some weird updated fake effects stuff that sucks balls. edit: the planets look better but that's the only thing that looks better in the cgi version.

[@domainofthesun4400]

the only one I can think of where I preferred the CGI is "Galileo Seven." Their descent into burnup and death was quite scary.

[@theinfiniteoutsider]

The ship needn’t bank to turn. Gravity and centrifugal force was never an issue. IMO, the pristine remasters in their original form are better.

[@macdaniel6029]

I like the 60s Version better. This new CGI stuff looks so damn cheap.

[@Corbomite-ei1ty]

At approximately 7mins in, CBS Digital has possibly made an error. Of the 3 remaining starships other than the Enterprise, the one closest to the “camera” has the “NCC 1701” livery. If I’m wrong then I think I need to revisit the episode.

[@followerofjulian1652]

0:47 Hmm. Speaking to a *commodore* that way?!

[@leftcoaster67]

Doohan and Shatner at logger heads already?

[@Jipsydude]

The original Airdate of the ultimate computer was March 8th 1968, not 1967.