Merrick here...


..with some images from this weekend's STAR TREK Remastered.

It's..."The Doomsday Machine"!!!

This is the episode many fans have deemed the litmus test for the "Remastered" effort. It's a beloved episode that's downright sexy in its simplicity: Enterprise goes up against a gigantic instellar ice cream cone that destroys entire planets & gobbles up their debris for fuel. It's a self-perpetuating mechanism of destruction and consumption...not dissimilar to my teenage son.

First up: a reworked shot of the starship Constellation, commanded by Matt Decker (played by the great William Windom). The damn Machine has already fragged her by the time Enterprise pulls up. ON THE REMASTERED IMAGE: note the detailing around the fractured saucer hull. When this footage is in motion, a piece of planetary debris will spin in & bounce off the ship's plating.

Original

Remastered

Here's Enterprise in Constellation's proximity.

Original

Remastered

Next: a new exterior of the reworked sequence in which a suicidally determined Decker steals a shuttlecraft & flies out to a fateful rematch with the Machine.

Original

Remastered

Finally, here's The Doomsday Machine. A scorched-earth weapon deployed during an ancient interplanetary war, this is the TREK Universe's icon for Mutually Assured Destruction.

If memory serves, the original script indicated the Machine was bristling with weapons (or something to that effect). I would love to have seen a reimagined, armed and fortified "Doomsday Machine" harkening back to scripter Norman Spinrad's intent - I think it would have been interesting and unexpected in the context of these "remasters".

None the less, I suppose I applaud the remastering team's restraint (and respect) in the matter. If they’d gotten too radical, there would certainly have been hell to pay.

Original

Remastered [CLICK TO EMBIGGEN IMAGE]

HERE's a list of airdates and stations showing the Remastered TREK. If you can't find a station near you, they can also be downloaded via iTunes and XBOX Live (where an increasing number of episodes are available in High Definition - the series is not shown in HD by many broadcasters).

"Original" images from TrekCore

[[[e-mail Merrick]]]

Merrick at MySpace