When I saw the original version of this movie in the theaters, I thought it was so horrible that I had put a self-imposed ban on Star Trek. It took me until ST 6 was released to even start watching ST TNG on tv.

I was glad to have watched this edit. It is an immense improvement of a nearly unsalvageable film. Gone are about 99% of the “UGH moments, poor acting/comedy bits/against established character scenes that have always annoyed me in the original version.

Technically, a wonderful edit. I like his use of “cliffhanger go to commercial” fades and the way he executed them. I can’t comment really on the video quality, as I had to D/L the .avi version from RS verses the dvd version (I don’t have MU). The audio is perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed the “classic” sound effects, especially the “planet background” effects.

As far as the edit, I completely agree with RockSavage, the opening “cliffhanger” was much too long. I did not really get the feel of watching an episode until around Act II. Although I agree that this scene he used as the opening is utterly necessary for the edit, it is just too long to be a teaser. Not sure what could be used in place.

One of the big pluses of the way this edit has been done, is that the Sybok is Spock’s half-brother is eliminated. The edit has a much more Vulcan guy gone crazy that Spock once knew feel to it and makes for a much more tense viewing. Gone is the silly Uhuru fan dance (maybe she could have pulled that off in the 60s, but not in the late 80s!) and, whew, gone is the leotard 80s hair chick cat woman attack! Thank you JackMarhsall!

As RockSavage wrote, I , too, would have liked to see the silly “Scotty hits his head on a bulk head” scene gone. The entire scene can be completely excised after Scotty blows the jail cell.

As a whole, this is my preferred version of ST V. It’s is a huge improvement over the original!

The work of Jack Marshall is highly commendable and any criticisms I might have are meant to be constructive.

Firstly the opening of Star Trek V does not have the momentum for an opening to a Star Trek episode. Maybe the episode could have started with a taste of the Campfire Chat between Spock, Kirk and Bones, then the recall to Enterprise and the terrorist threat. Then opening titles!

The Opening Titles are excellent.

This Re-Edit starts to feel like real Star Trek episode in Acts II and III. The Transitions between Acts feel very much like the original show.

The transitional cuts to an empty star field are weak because they serve no purpose. A shot of the enterprise in space would have worked better.

The reason Spock does not apprehend or shoot the Villain after their crash landing is awkward. Maybe that confrontation could be lost and instead jump cut straight to the attempt at escape from the enterprise cell.

Scotty’s embarrassingly reverential moment has been left in.

The introduction of the Alien feels rushed because at one moment the protagonists are in a desert location and the next they are in the Studio Rib-like structure without any attempt at a transition.

As a whole the episode works well. There are just some minor changes that could make it even better. I am very happy that the Cat woman that attacks Kirk in the bar, complete with her appalling James Brown Sampled screams, has been cut.

Having said that, this project really intrigued me, and I basically watched “In Thy Image” with a clean slate. I must say, the concept really worked! It certainly does feel like a classic episode and is quite enjoyable. (The only thing that didn’t feel TOS about it was some of the language, but that couldn’t be helped.) There is a fun feel to it, and having some of the old sound effects in there, combined with some of the fun lines that were retained give a nice feel to it.

Well done, sir, and we look forward to future offerings!

P.S. I actually liked Nemesis, although I can see the glaring problems with it.

Re-imagining Star Trek The remix of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek Phase II In Thy Image
based upon Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Re-imagined by Jack Marshall

In the fall of 1977, Star Trek was poised for a comeback. After being canceled in 1969, a revival of the series called Star Trek Phase II was planned to begin airing in the fall of 1978 on the then proposed 4th network, The Paramount Network. Sets and props were constructed, screen tests done and several scripts developed including In Thy Image, the proposed pilot. The ship was being updated and all but one original cast member, Leonard Nimoy (Spock), had signed on when Paramount pulled the plug. Seeing the success of the previous years blockbuster Star Wars, the new Trek show was canceled in favor of creating Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

With over 40 years and 700 hours of stories, theres bound to be a few adventures that dont hit home with the fans. For many this describes Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. I was one of the exceptions. I found Trek V to be the movie that most reminded me of the original series on which I had grown up. I soon realized that buried within the film was a gem awaiting discovery. So, to showcase these nuggets, I created the re-mixed version called: Star Trek Phase II In Thy Image the re-imagined pilot episode of the Lost Trek series.

This remixed version of Trek V runs 63 minutes (the same runtime as the original pilot, The Cage). The story is broken up into the traditional Trek format of a teaser and five acts. The storyline has been altered as well, removing those things fans found most objectionable like a certain Vulcans new half brother or a turbolift shaft that travels through 78 decks (as most die hard fans know, the ship has FAR fewer decks than that).

The music score has been enhanced with music from the original series, as well as many classic sound effects such as the bridge ambient noise, the planet background sounds and other effects having been added. In addition, several special effects have been replaced with footage from the other films (including shots from the TNG movies).

So, forget what you know about Star Trek. Imagine turning the dial (manually) to the September of 1978 premiere of the new Trek show. Theres a new ship, the 1701-A, the familiar crew, albeit older and wiser, and when its over you realize that this IS Star Trek. An alien convinces a crazy Vulcan that hes God? Crazy Vulcan in turn hijacks the Enterprise and heads for the center of the galaxy with Kirk and company in tow? Kirk stands toe to toe with said alien and kicks his ass? Sounds like an original series episode to me!

Enjoy and remember, this is provided as a collectors oddity only. If you buy it or sell it youre BREAKING THE LAW. Star Trek is owned by Paramount Pictures and no infringement is intended.

Live Long!
Jack Marshall

The following is an interview I did with Chris Gore of Film Threat. I hope that it can shed some more light on the process of the re-mix.

Are you a big Star Trek fan?
Ive been a fan of varying degree since I was born (the same year as Trek premiered mind you). I suppose I actually became involved in fandom during the early 70s. In 1976, when Trek and I turned 10, Gene Roddenberry was touring the country doing various conventions. I was fortunate enough to attend one of these shows where I wandered backstage (who sees a kid sneaking by?) and met the man himself. I recall we had a great conversation until some large Romulan babe tried to throw me out. Gene, however, said I could stay and hang out. I spent the rest of the evening backstage with Gene and, in retrospect, that night set the tone for the rest of my life. I wanted to do what he had done I knew that night that I wanted to be in the business.

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Clearly you have a wealth of film knowledge and experience, how did you get your education in film?
I really began my career as an actor. At age 8, I was doing theatre and quickly moved on to several regional TV shows. Once I got to college, I discovered an old video editing machine and spent one spring break learning how to use it. When my friends came back from break I forced them to make a music video and I was hooked. I LOVED production and my focus shifted from in front of to behind the camera. After college I moved to L.A., worked on several Hollywood backlots and got a crash course in all aspects of production. About 5 years ago I moved back east where I took a job as producer/director/writer for an educational TV station in Washington D.C. It was during this time I was introduced to the digital revolution and won a local Emmy Award to boot! But Ive never had any formal education in film or TV production. Now, Im back in L.A. working as the Visual Effects Coordinator for Battlestar Galactica. A job I got directly because the CGI Supervisor on Galactica (Doug Drexler) had seen the Trek edit a few years earlier and we became friends. Once a job opened up on Galactica that was a fit with my skills, I was on my way. Literally, Doug called on a Friday, I was on a plane Saturday and working on Galactica the following Monday. What a ride!

How did the “Star Trek Phase II” project come about?
Originally, I had started work on my version of the Phantom Menace. You see, I had heard about the Phantom Edit, but could never find a copy so I decided to do my own. It was really a case of testing the non-linear editing system that I had built from scratch. So, using the Menace DVD as file footage, I began to run the machine through its paces. About half way through, I thought that this whole process would be so much more satisfying if I could do this using something I loved rather than having to work with a movie I despised. So I turned to Trek.

What was it about “Star Trek V” that intrigued you so much to want to improve it? I mean, honestly, most fans think “V” is the worst of the series.
The only fans who think Trek V is the worse movie of the franchise are the ones who havent seen Nemesis but I digress. As I said, I began looking at Trek for source material and wondered if I could do anything with my favorite franchise. And youre right; most fans seemed to have a certain dislike for Star Trek V. But I REALLY liked the film. It reminded me of the original series more than any of the other films. I remember seeing The Motion Picture and leaving the theatre wondering what the hell happened to the uniforms and where was the ship and crew I had grown to love over the years. Trek V evoked strong memories of the original series, and in fact was THE BEST character film of the franchise. I think a lot of the fans were just very unfair to the film. In truth, the wrong entity got blamed for Trek Vs failure the studio was the enemy, not the director. When I see Trek V, I see an episode of the original series, and thats how the idea began.

How long did it take you to make it?
Overall I spent probably six months working on this. The actual physical editing only took a couple weeks, but the planning and research took a lot longer.

It’s amazing to me that you were able to seamlessly include the original score from the 1960s television series. Can you explain technically how you completed this project? Software used, methods, etc… (And, please, none of this bullshit techno-babble like one of the Next Gen movies.)
I hate this question because once I answer it, youll see how basic it all was to accomplish. I had mentioned that we designed and built a non-linear editing machine. Its a Pentium P4 1.8 with half a gig of ram, a Canopus DV Storm video editing card, a Creative Audigy 2 digital sound card and a DVD+/- R/RW Sony disc burner. Ill explain how I managed the technical part of the remix, but for a great resource on everything DVD, check out http://www.dvdrhelp.com. Using the DVD version of the film, I ripped the disc using SmartRipper 2.41. That program copies the DVD to your hard drive. Then using DVD2AVI, I converted the VOB files to AVIs. Then, those AVIs are processed with VFAPI Reader. This program converts DVD2AVI projects to fake AVIs that can be imported into Adobe Premiere. Then, using Adobe Premiere 6.0 and Adobe After Effects 5.5 I treated the files as my own footage and began to re-edit the film from start to finish.

Once I had the cut I wanted at the proper length, I went back and started to add embellishments such as the original series music and sound effects. These were obtained from the various soundtrack CDs I own. Whats fortunate is that the Goldsmith score from the movie and the TV score from the 60s are written IN THE SAME KEY! Therefore, it was easy to move from one piece of music to another. There are times in the remix that we go from music from the 60s to the Goldsmith score via a cross fade and you absolutely would swear that its one piece of music rather than a cobbled together score.

Finally, to make it seem more like an episode I wanted to create a unique opening credit sequence as well as a classic looking end credit sequence. The opening sequence is obviously the original opening Space the final frontier which leads into a more modern theme written by Dennis McCarthy. The visual you see is actually the beginning of the film Contact played in reverse!

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For the end credits I returned to the original 60s style credits which used pictures from the episode rather than running the credits on black.

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The other thing to note is the style in which the acts were broken up. Not only did I want people to clearly understand that we were going from act to act, but I wanted to pay tribute to the original pilot episode, The Cage by doing a style similar to what was used before the show ever hit the air. Therefore, between each act there is a graphic saying what act were in and what show youre watching!
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One other thing Id like to point out is that I replaced many of the special effects as well. Throughout the film, I used shots from the other movies of the ships wherever possible. One effect in particular I want to point out is the fix of the matte shot of Paradise City. As you can see from the picture comparison, I managed to remove the matte line and match the color with the interior shot that follows.

The Original still of Paradise City:
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The retouched shot:

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An Interior shot in Paradise City see how it matches the exterior now in hue:

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What specific scenes did you cut?
Unlike the Phantom Menace, which had scenes cut that were just bad, the goal here was to work within the time constraint of a pilot episode. I knew I had to get the movie to 63 minutes (the length of The Cage pilot) if I was indeed going to succeed at creating a TV type show. It came down to the point where I had to decide what was A story and had to keep, and could I cut out the B and C story lines without compromising the meaning of the story that William Shatner was trying to tell. Does Sybok NEED to be Spocks brother to tell this story? Do Uhura and Scotty HAVE to fall in love? Do the big three HAVE to fly up the turbolift shaft? Is the message demeaned any by cutting the camping scenes? And if I removed these things, would the story remain the same? In my opinion, the story can be told without these elements.

What inspired you to want to spend so much time on what many consider a turd?
Exactly for that reason. The people who dont like the film see only the things that bother them. My goal was not to cut up the film because I didnt like it – as Ive said I loved the film. My goal was to re-present the film in a different light so that the fans could see the wonder and power of the story and not get hung up on the little things. It was a terrible mistake of Paramounts not to give Mr. Shatner the funds he requested to do a Directors Edition of the film. From a business standpoint, they would have sold more than enough DVDs to cover the cost. The Special Edition they have coming out is the same film that was released and fans will not buy it. I created this re-mix so that fans could re-visit the story and see it in a new light.

What would you say to Shatner about the project?
Im getting geared up to direct my first feature. When Shatner directed this movie, it was his first time as a feature director as well. Being on the set your whole life does not necessarily mean you can step up to the directors plate. Shatner did, and for a first film did a tremendous job with a subject that is very difficult to handle. In reading his Making of book, Im amazed at the similarity between the problems he encountered and those that I am currently facing in my own project and career. Granted his budget was WAY different than mine is, but the fact is, a first timer is a first timer. I admire anyone whos willing to put their reputation on the line for something they believe in and still admire the man to this day. Shatner had great vision for his film he seemed to want to make an epic in the vein of Lawrence of Arabia, but Paramount wanted something different. I hope that he understands that the remix is not a slam. I wrote Shatner a letter after I had seen the film a dozen times the summer it came out (1989). He even responded, by the way! The point is, when I saw this movie, it was at a time in my life that I needed to hear the message it was saying. I think its a great film and I have nothing but love for what he accomplished! The fact is, the movie made a difference in my life in some small way and I hope he knows that Im grateful to him for that.

A prime example of Shatners Arabia type shot:

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What has been the fan reaction to the DVD?
Most people cant believe what theyve seen, nor do they understand the process that went into making it. But everyone has said the same thing its like watching a lost episode of the original series. That was my goal so I guess its worked.

You seem very intelligent, unlike Rick Berman who seems to have driven the Trek franchise into the ground. What is your theory for what’s wrong with the Trek universe and what would you do to improve it?
I dont think its Bermans fault per se. Its the business mentality thats at fault. Paramount handles Trek as a business (as it should) and, although I disagree with how theyre running it, what can you do? I realize its a business, I know they are making economic decisions Im not crying as a fan saying they arent doing Trek well, Im saying they are handling their business poorly. They are trying to sell a new Trek when the majority of people want old Trek Roddenberry Trek if you will. Paramounts afraid to give the franchise to a fan because they know we dont care about the one thing that is most important demographics. Enterprise doesnt appeal to me on many levels but Paramount doesnt care you know why? Because Im not 18-24 years old. Business tells us to cater to that demographic because thats the demographic that buys stuff. Classic Trek however wasnt about demographics. Children, bums, scientists, factory workers it appealed to everyone. A Trek episode from the 60s has much more playability than anything else that has carried the brand name. As a child I watched Trek for the action. As an adult, I notice that I have different favorite episodes than when I was a child. Classic Trek is timeless, but I cant see watching reruns of Enterprise 35 years from now. The guys who ran DS9 would be GREAT as the heads of Trek. They were shining examples of what fans could do for the franchise.

It comes down to this. The part of TPol came down to two actors Jolene Blalock who got the part and Marjorie Monohan who didnt. Majorie, who I happened to go to high school with, would have rivaled Spock as the epitome of a Vulcan. She was the perfect choice teamed with Bakula, she would have been a formidable cast member. You may know Marjorie from Babylon 5 as Number 1 and from Space Rangers. Instead, we got the tits. Thats the wrong choice. Its not what Trek is about. OK there were tits in Star Trek, but it was backed by brains and brawn not cover girl acting. It breaks my heart that Marjorie didnt get the part, but it makes sense. Trek is playing to the lowest denominator now rather than trying to grow its fan base. They are courting the wrestling crowd rather than the group the show captured in the 70s and 80s. Id love to take a shot at the franchise. Im not saying I could save Trek, but I know for a fact I would steer the ship in a different direction radically different.

Do you have any other remix projects in the works?
Not at the moment. Battlestar Galactica takes over 70 hours of my week at this time. Unless I could find something that was really radically different than your standard cuts only fan edits that are out right now, I couldnt see justifying the time. Do I have an idea for an edit yes, but nothing to talk about at the moment.

I do hope that people can find a copy and check it out. It was a real joy to do and I still watch it myself (although you can imagine how many times Ive seen it just during the editing process). Perhaps the greatest aspect of doing the remix has been sharing it with fans who appreciate the classic Trek touches and the discussions that ensue. Its opened many doors for me, but more importantly, it has made me feel that Ive made a difference in the life of Star Trek as it has made a difference in mine.

Best Regards!

Jack Marshall