That Sense of Enterprise

I've said this before, but one of the things I love about Star Trek? It's crap.

Better than that. It's crappy.

The sets suck. The costumes suck. The writing often sucks. The effects suck... but that's all just part of its charm, and part of how it makes such an impact on people like me, watching TV, hoping for something better to come along, literally and metaphorically.

Well now, Paramount says something better is coming along, and it's Star Trek HD. They've revamped the effects. They've re-recorded the theme song. They've digitally altered the planetside exteriors so that we can't see the boom shadows on the horizon. They've remastered the whole shebang, my friends.

At first I was aghast... but I've come to realize I'm looking forward to seeing what they've done. As long as the beloved, chewy core of the show stays the same -overwrought, earnest writing, hammy acting and overplayed themes to which we can all relate- why, I'll be thrilled to see an Enterprise that doesn't slide through space, and to not see matte lines surrounding the Galilleo 7 and the doomsday machine.

The simple fact is, they could transform the entire cast into talking pot holders, and I'd still watch, and most likely enjoy it... as long as I always knew I could pop in a DVD of Let That Be Your Last Battlefield and see the gloriously unaltered original any time I wanted. Thankfully, Paramount has not doggedly followed the Gospel of Saint Lucas on this point, and I can -and will- do just that. I'll watch the episodes -altered and unaltered- side by side each week, you can count on that.