STAR TREK “THE V’GER INCIDENT”
 a TRUE FANEDIT by BionicBob
This is a revision of Star Trek The Motion Picture that brings the movie more in-line with The Original Series look, sound and feel. member ratings: |
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TAGLINE: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
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INTENTION:
1. Inject some classic TOS energy into movie
2. Shift the story focus away from Decker and back onto Kirk and Spock
EDITING DETAILS & CUTLIST:
carefully watched originals to see what could be accomplished, mapped out desired edits, made edits according to map with occasional spontaneous new edits made on the fly
CUTLIST:
–created new opening credits in style of the Original Series
–deleted the Vulcan sequence except for a brief flashback cameo
–removed sequence of Kirk taking back command of the Enterprise
–greatly truncated Enterprise’s jouney to intercept V’GER
–downplayed the Decker/Illia romance
–added footage from Next Generation
–added lots of music from all the various Trek series
–edited scenes in the style of TOS with dramatic fade to blacks and classic music cues
–created new closing credits
SYNOPSIS:
THE SECOND FIVE YEAR MISSION BEGINS…
An Unknown Entity of uncalculable destructive power is on a direct course for the Planet Earth!
CAPTAIN KIRK, along with his new First Officer COMMANDER DECKER, must lead the crew of the newly refitted ENTERPRISE on a dangerous mission to intercept the alien intruder and determine it’s true purpose.
Along the way, they are joined by the enigmatic MR. SPOCK, who offers to assist them in their mission. But what is SPOCK’s real agenda and can he be trusted?
Together, they embark on an adventure that will have unforeseen and long lasting consquences for not only EARTH, but the entire GALAXY!
Release : NTSC SL DVD – 4:3 letterboxed (2.35:1)
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DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW … YET …
Do not read this review until after you have watched this fan edit. Experience this edit with no previous knowledge or bias, then come back and read the reviews posted here. It will be well worth your time.
I never do very long reviews, but I wanted to on this one. This is the sort of edit I would like to see more of, so I decided to do a lengthy review.
My initial reaction to this edit is WOW! This is an amazing edit and showcases what can be done with a movie; more than just cutting scenes.
While I do not think this is a “perfect edit”, it certainly comes very, very close.
*** RED ALERT. RED ALERT. ***
!!!!! SPOILERS BEGIN FROM THIS POINT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK !!!!
BionicBob’s stated intention is to make the original movie feel more like an episode. While, I tend to be leery of edits that make this attempt, BionicBob achieves this wonderfully (although not perfectly).
I thoroughly enjoyed the “cliff hanger” open scene BionicBob created for his edit (just like the ones that all the ST series utilize ). I really enjoyed the new opening titles and his use of images of from the original series and all six movies. Very effective and definitely creates the feeling of watching an episode. BionicBob utilizes this technique throughout his edit. Although not as much as I think he should have. This is the reason I say that he almost achieves his intent. Over the 80 mins of the edit, I would have liked to see more “cliff hanger go to commercial” points. As a result, there were times I lost that feeling of watching an episode but more like watching the movie again. There are several point in his edit that he could have used this technique more and really made me feel like I was watching tv.
AUDIO:
(4 OUT OF 5)
I absolutely loved his use of of new music, original series sound effects etc. This new audio really improved several scenes and lent to the new faster paced/move the plot along feel.
It seemed to me that at the times the volume of the dialogue drop significantly. I found myself turning up the volume on my amp to keep the same level of dialogue volume, then only to be blasted by the higher level of sound effects and/or music. This might just be my perception, so other reviewers please let me know if you think this is an accurate thought I am having.
VIDEO:
(5 OUT OF 5)
I own the Director’s Cut dvd version (the yellow dvd jacket one) and this edit’s video quality is exactly likke my store bought dvd. Iwatched this on my 55″ LED tv and it looked wonderful.
EDITS:
(technical aspects)
I didn’t detect any rough cuts or imperfect cuts here. As a note, there might be one, but I don’t have the time to look at my store bought dvd to verify if it is the original. The scene when Kirk, Spock and McCoy first enter the Officer’s Lounge, Spock talks to Kirk and Kirk replies; there seems to be a very abrupt cut in the dialogue. Again, this may also be in the original.
Here’s just a FEW “pros” and “cons” I am thinking of, having just finished watching the edit. This is by no means all the areas I liked, disliked or thought could be improved, just a sample of things that hit me while watching:
BionicBob says in the dvd extras that he edited this movie to keep Kirk as the Captain (i.e. rid the sub plot of Kirk usurping Decker as captain for this mission). He does this perfectly until the meeting in Kirk’s cabin with Decker. At one point, Decker says “You haven’t logged a single starhour in over 2 1/2 years …” If Kirk has never accepted a promotion and moved on form being a the Enterprise’s captain, then why would Decker say that line?
I think there should be some scenes left in this edit to let us know that this is a new Enterprise – i.e. it just received an overhaul. There are several scenes in this edit that show Kirk and McCoy are unfamiliar with the ship. The “wormhole” scene (btw, one of favorite new scenes of this edit – great editing, music etc – wonderful!) where Kirk wants to use phasers, but Decker overrides him, McCoy’s complaint how his sickbay is all new and during Kirk’s log entry that Spock has helped solve the engine imbalance. To be fair, there is dialogue at the beginning of the Kirk-Decker-McCoy meeting in Kirk’s cabin about “the Enterprise redesign …” but I think we as the audience needs to know there has been a redesign earlier in the edit.
I absolutely loved how BionicBob handles Spock’s arrival, gone is the long drawn out arrival (i.e. the exposition of a shuttle coming and the back and forth between Kirk, Uhuru and Chekov). Combining their dialogue with the exterior shots of Spock’s arrival is masterful.
I like the use of the modern series’ “trekology” throughout the edit (i.e. using “sector 001″ and “deep space station epsilon nine”)
as much as I always liked the “captain’s logs” – he effectively minimizes them and adds very brief “information titles” on the screen to indicate where/what is happening. I may not be explaining this very well, but you’ll understand what I mean when you watch the edit. This may not be to the liking of trek purists, but I liked it – gave it both a modern feel while keeping the episode feel.
I was REALLY REALLY hoping that the part where Kirk keeps tilling Spock to sit down during the officer’s lounge scene would have been edited out. I have never liked this scene and it does not make any sense. Even if Spock is the most logical, purged of all emotions Vulcan, he would sit down (after being told by his superior office several times) .
Yes, BionicBob, I thought your flashback of Spock on Vulcan was perfect. Gives the audience the reason why Sock was absent form the Enterprise and why he returned without slowing down the edit. Bravo. And another favorite of mind is the re-working of Spock’s mind meld with the digital Ilea/V’ger. Great use of scenes form the original series. I wasn’t prepared for that and loved it.
There are several other areas of the edit I would like to mention, but then this review would be as long as a Stephen King book.
One final thing I would like to mention, sort of, is the new ending. I am am ABSOLUTELY NOT going to mention exactly how this edit ends. I think everyone should watch this edit and get the surprise I did. I hope that other reviewers of this edit will follow my lead and not be specific about the ending.
I had never read/heard any theories of what the ending of the original movie meant in relation to future series/plots/movies etc, so I was thoroughly surprised and excited as to how BionicBob ended this movie. Not only technically wonderful but exciting in how he transitioned from the boring let down of the original dialogue/ending of the original movie to this edit. A great new ending to a new version of “a tired science fiction movie” (BionicBob’s words).
Again, I implore other reviewers not to put in print how the edit ends. Please give others the thrill of the surprise and masterful new way BionicBob ends his edit.
Overall, a 5 out of 5 edit (or 9 stars using the fan edit rating). I don’t rate it a “perfect 10″ because of some minor points I mention above.
BionicBob, this is the sort of edit I have been wanting to see for a long time. Not just a “scene cut” of existing material, but a new vision of a movie as well. Your love and knowledge of Star Trek erupts from the screen of this edit. Good job.
You have set the bar very high for yourself and, possibly, fan edits on this site as a whole.
Review by flyboy707 — May 29, 2010 @ 4:14 pm
Star Trek “THE V’GER INCIDENT” by bionicbob
Reviewed by L8wrtr
TOS goodness to the rescue
What Bob has done with Star Trek The Motion Picture is for me, the definition of a Fan Edit. He has taken a movie and not only made the story better, but he has given the entire narrative an entirely new perspective, breathing fresh air into an extremely stale movie.
From a story standpoint, BionicBob has refocused the story to what fans of Star Trek care about, Kirk and Spock, and it works very well on this level. Decker is as annoying as ever, perhaps even more so now that we’ve lost the “Kirk has lost his edge” subplot, but fans of the film will understand the first officer’s motivations, which also now highlight the dynamic between Kirk and Spock.
But what really causes this fanedit to stand out, and you see from frame 1 is the TOS treatment. The sights and sounds really help bring this into the classic feel of the original series, at least as much as is possible with with heavily 70s vibe of the set and costuming.
Video editing
The technical execution of the editing is quite good. Choices are logical, transitions are appropriate and the pacing is greatly improved. I find no reason to mark off any points. 10 out of 10
Video Quality
I wish the same could be said for the video quality, but this is not entirely due to the editor. The quality of the original is quite disappointing, however there are heavy compressions going on in the ambient or glowing reds. 8 out of 10
Audio Quality
In evaluating the audio, I will keep in mind that the spirit of this particular fanedit is to emulate TOS. One scene that exemplifies this is the Klingon attack against V’GER. In replacing the music with TOS, we’ve also lost the quiet rumble of the Cruisers, however quite often in the Original Series, ships often glided by on screen with only musical accompaniment, and minimal sound effects like phaser or torpedo shots. While the audio is not perfect, it is in keeping with what we heard on TOS. 8 out of 10
Overall Entertainment
Like CBB’s Kirkless Generations, BionicBob has rescued a film that could, and should have been very good. This movie still has its flaws because the original was itself, terribly flawed, but bionicbob has managed to inject classic Star Trek feel into a movie that I would have been fine never watching again. 9 out of 10.
Review by L8wrtr — May 29, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
As it seems, I like Star Trek: The Motion Picture a whole lot more than most people. I think it’s an excellent Sci-Fi film, my fave of the Trek movies actually. I find the way it unfolds to be more mood-creating than “boring”. In other words, adagio can be as valid and beautiful a musical tempo as allegro. So, that means I didn’t prefer this fanedit to the original.
Yet I liked it a lot better than I thought I would. My favorite angle of TMP, the mystery around V’Ger progressively unfolding, develops mostly the same way, and, otherwise, I think Bionic Bob achieved his goal to give a TOS flavor to it pretty well (I’ll leave the minor Trek mythology details to the experts). Focus is back to Kirk and Spock indeed. However, ironically I got the feeling that the reordering of his sequences in the first half pointed out his initial so-called “assholeness” more than the original. On the other hand, from watching this version no one would doubt the movie is and always was all about Kirk. The new pacing works very well mostly, the sole excepcion being Spock’s spacewalk, which I found too fast, seemed like he was continuously reading from a list instead of discovering/realizing things one at a time.
The editing was mostly very well done, except for some of the fades to black, that screamed “artificial” It might be because of the music fading out at the same time, while more of an ending cue would help hiding the stitching. Otherwise I noticed no hard cuts. However, and I understand this is a firstling, several technical aspects left quite a bit to be desired. Red-tinted sequences, as others have mentioned, look badly compressed and pixelated, but to me the biggest letdown was that the DVD was exported in 4:3 non-anamorphic widescreen format, rendering the actual movie as a smallish rectangle in the center of any panoramic screen. Also, the footage inserted into the end of Spock’s spacewalk (which I loved, actually) had fades to white which covered the black bars too, as did the final movie poster still. Some ending inserts were low quality as well (source problems, I guess), and, finally, I personally wouldn’t include the red fanedit warning as part of the main movie, but as a separate video or part of the menu (which, BTW, is very well done, particularly for a first-timer).
Overall, I’m giving this fanedit a 7/10, which would be 8 or 9 if not for technical issues. This shows a very talented faneditor, whose subsequent works I’ll be definitely checking out, and a fanedit which, if a TMP fan liked a lot, people who like Trek but didn’t much care about TMP will no doubt love to pieces.
Review by DwightFry78 — May 30, 2010 @ 9:45 pm
Growing up, I was not an avid TOS watcher. I appreciated it, and saw a fair number of episodes, but I was not yet really into sci-fi in general. Every time I saw TMP, I found it dragged on and on at parts (Spock’s flight in the spacesuit is mercifully short in this edit, which is appreciated) and didn’t have the sense of excitement that the sequels had. But now, I’m a big fan of TOS and have seen every episode at least once, many multiple times. Watching this edit, even without the TOS additions, I must say that in some ways, it felt the most like TOS among all of the Star Trek movies! Amazing. :p I never would’ve thought it.
Bob’s additions are well thought out and not intrusive or jarring. Towards the last third to quarter of the movie, I actually wished there were more of them. I’m a little undecided about the new twist ending. It makes sense, considering what is said about V’Ger’s “people” and planet and whatnot, but…still felt strange. Plus, you have to ignore what was brought out in Star Trek: Enterprise about those people, too. Haha.
Overall, I quite liked this. I would say it is THE version to watch. I have a much bigger appreciation for the movie now because of this edit. Doesn’t make me want to watch the original version, but I would certainly watch this one again sometime. I will give this fine effort 8/10. Well done!
Review by Ripplin — June 4, 2010 @ 8:47 am
I was grinning ear to ear, an innovative and interesting cut! Cutting out and around nearly all of the problems that the motion picture had in it’s release, and adding amazing atmosphere with the replacement of sound effects, and the rehashing of the opening!
This was nearly perfect, and when I discovered that this is an early effort from BionicBob, I was all the more impressed! I’ll be keeping an eye out for everything he does in the future!
If I HAD to offer a crit, repeating what flyboy707 posted above:
At one point, Decker says “You haven’t logged a single starhour in over 2 1/2 years …†If Kirk has never accepted a promotion and moved on form being a the Enterprise’s captain, then why would Decker say that line?
It was the ONLY thing keeping this from being a perfect fanedit!
Congrats, and please keep it up!
Review by Checker222 — June 8, 2010 @ 5:26 pm
Star Trek: The V’ger Incident by bionicbob
Review by Captain Khajiit
This review contains mild spoilers.
The beginning – in the style of the Original Series – is thoroughly entertaining. There are many clever cuts that help the pace greatly, and the added music helps to give the edit a different feel to that of the original film. As others have noted, the issue of the Enterprise refit needs to be better addressed, and the Kirk-Decker antagonism is incompletely removed. One cannot help feeling that the editor has overlooked some fairly obvious deletions that would have helped the edit greatly.
While the edit starts at a terrific pace, it seems to falter towards the end. It is testament to the truly awful pacing of much of the original material that sections of it still seem to drag when part of an eighty-minute edit. This is not the fault of the faneditor, but as the end approached I would have welcomed more of the clever editing that was shown earlier on. As it stands, the latter part of the edit feels like watching The Motion Picture, which is a little bit of a let down after the exceptional beginning.
The ending was intriguing, but it does seem rather hard to follow even for Star trek fans. It could certainly be made clearer.
Editing: 8 out of 10 The editing itself was done well, but some of the editing choices were questionable.
Entertainment: 7 out of 10 (theatrical – 6 out of 10; director’s cut – 7out of 10)
Image and video quality: The video is non-anamorphic widescreen, which is not good. Otherwise, the picture quality is acceptable, and the new effects were generally very well done. 7 out of 10
Audio editing and audio quality: A variety of Star Trek music was implemented successfully, and it was great to hear many original sound effects in The Motion Picture. I did find that the audio level fluctuated throughout the edit though, which was somewhat irritating. 8 out of 10
Presentation: I do not care for menus, but Bionicbob’s screens look like the work of a highly accomplished editor. Those who like cover art might have expected the fan editor to make some to complement the rest of the presentation. 8 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10 This is the most promising firstling I have seen in a long time. I hope for a second version, and look forward to more edits from bionicbob.
Review by Captain Khajiit — June 12, 2010 @ 2:07 pm
This is also a 7/10 to me, and could have been a lot more if not for some technical aspects: 4:3 letterboxed (2.35:1), pixelate red color, dialogue lower than sound effects/music and some added flash light coming over the black bars.
But as some already said, this is a GREAT firstling fanedit, and each fan of Star Trek should watch this one.
The nice new “twist” in the end is very well thought, the pace of the movie is great, the new music and “TV’ series cliffhangers like” are a nice touch.
The DVD menus are beautiful too.
I really wished I could rate this fanedit more but it’s mostly the 4:3 letterboxed (2.35:1) issue that stoped me to do it.
Anyway, Bionicbob is a faneditor to follow, for sure!
Review by TMBTM — June 26, 2010 @ 3:38 pm
It’s amazing that even after losing so much of ST:TMP that it STILL moves slowly. How I wish the whole wormhole and warp engines subplot could be eliminated. This just slows down things to a crawl.
My only critique of this fan edit is that if we’re going for a real TV episode feel that there should be build ups and fade-outs for commercials the way that Star Trek Phase II (http://fanedit.org/44/) managed to do. I think that ST:P2 is the gold standard for ST fan edits (along with Kirklesss Generations) and lessons could be learned from it.
Review by cashiers — July 6, 2010 @ 4:59 pm
Okay, my mistake. Just saw one of those fade outs I mentioned.
Review by cashiers — July 6, 2010 @ 5:12 pm
Just finished watching this edit, and have to echo the comments regarding the fluctuating sound levels. Most dialogue was ridiculously low level, requiring an increase in volume and as soon as any effects were introduced (i.e. V’Ger firing it’s weapons) I was blown back in my seat and scrambling for the sound remote.
Also, it’s been mentioned before but heavy pixelation in reds. Even my wife commented on this, and she generally never mentions things like this.
Lastly, there was way too much black space at the top and bottom of my screen, and the image itself looked “squashed” due to the 4:3 letterboxing.
In all, though, this was a great version of the film, and made what I always felt was the worst of the series a very enjoyable film. I’d give it a 7/10
Review by ThunderVamp9 — July 25, 2010 @ 6:29 am
I watched Perdition’s Flames before this edit so instead of watching how Bionicbob sharpened his fanedit skills it felt like a step back since Perdition’s Flames is the better of the two edits to me.
I have only watched Star Trek TMP once, so I cannot appreciate all the little changes Bionicbob has done as much as other Trek Fans here. TMP was never a good movie to me. It had one of the most interesting concepts in sci-fi movie history but the execution buried all the great intention and ideas. The movie is simply not engaging. Cutting an hour from this mvoie still makes it feel too stretched out, maybe it’s possible to cut it down to 50 minutes like a star trek episode.
However the material cut helped progress this movie a little better than in the original and it was more enjoyable (meaning the ideas behind v’ger don’t take so damn long) there is still the bad acting/standing around and staring at stuff/acting like people are fighting that a fanedit can’t fix
Also Perdition’s Flames felt more like a TV-Episode and handled the commercial fade-outs so very well, i was missing this from this edit.
I won’t spoil the end, but I think it’s really cool (even though i was suspecting it since I knew the fantheories, but it’s still very cool)
and I hope Bionicbob revisits this edit some day
7/10
Review by Sunarep — October 9, 2010 @ 2:26 pm
Well, I’d love to review this… but part nine of the rar is missing. =/
Review by ionvox — December 27, 2010 @ 10:26 am
This was the first “trek” edit I watched at FE – of course there aren’t that many to begin with!
I wasn’t quite sure what the edit was going to be about from just reading the synopsis, so I decided, prior to watching, to read the reviews. I did exactly what Flyboy707 said and did not read his or anyone else’s review until AFTER I watched the edit. I am glad I followed his advice!
I was blown away by this edit! This edit was something quite different than I watched before and really liked what he did with ST:TMP.
I will not bore you with re-hashing all the other reviews already posted, but merely echo what has been said. Is this a perfect edit? No, but darn close for a first outing (I think this is BionicBob’s first edit, yes?)
Again, a MUST-SEE even if you don’t like trek. This edit showcases what, to a newbie like me, FE is all about.
Review by UnkwnFactor — January 10, 2011 @ 11:35 pm
I only watched Star Trek TMP once and I liked it but thought it was a little too boring for my tastes. I really dug Bob’s edit “The V’Ger Incident”. For me, the pacing was much better and I felt the story flowed really nicely.
There are some technical issues that other reviewers have brought up, such as the audio levels and the letterboxed picture. For me, these didn’t bother me too much, but still factors into it.
Overall Rating – 8/10
Review by Neglify — March 24, 2012 @ 8:11 am