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Now then... after our DVD Sneak Peek panel concluded, and after some quick pictures and an impromptu "meet and greet" with readers who attended (and it was really great to meet all of you!), Charlie, Paul and I headed over to CBS/Paramount's Star Trek: The Remastered Original Series panel, where the DVD/HD-DVD Combo release of Season One was announced for 11/20. On hand for the panel were supervising producers from CBS/Paramount as well as the actual content producers from New Wave Entertainment. A pair of special guests joined them, including Rod Roddenberry (son of the late Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) and regular Original Series extra Billy Blackburn. They showed a video of some of the extra features you'll get on the ten disc set, including the HDi ability to fly a shuttlecraft around the CG model of the Starship Enterprise, as well as various picture-in-picture and pop-up features that include shot by shot comparisons of the original effects compared to the remastered effects, trivia/data files about various vehicles, equipment, characters and planets, and video interviews with members of the cast and crew (unfortunately, it doesn't seem as if any new interviews were shot with the major cast members - it was all file footage shot for the previous DVD release). The best of the extras on this set is really special: Billy Blackburn's original 8mm and Super-8 footage shot on the set of the series way back in the 1960s. Blackburn was an extra on many, many episodes of the show, and he shot tons of footage behind-the-scenes, including fun footage of the various cast members clowning around on set. THIS is a real gem, and we can't wait to see it. Unfortunately, most of the pop-up stuff seemed awfully gimmicky. One guy behind me even whispered during the presentation, "Why the hell would I want to fly around a bad CG model of the Enterprise?" (and for the record, it wasn't Daren Dochterman!). Personally, I've been pretty open to the idea of TOS Remastered, as long as the original versions of the episodes are also preserved. My own feeling is that the new CG effects are interesting, but have been somewhat uneven. Some have been great, others not so much.

Anyway, it should be noted that, all through this panel, those on stage referred to HD-DVD and "the other format." But they never indicated whether a Blu-ray Disc was being planned, and never actually mentioned Blu-ray by name. Inevitably, someone in the audience finally asked them directly about Blu-ray Disc during the Q&A session that followed (and, interestingly, there was a smattering of cheers and applause from the audience when the question was raised). The panelists admitted that one was currently "under consideration," presumably for 2008. They also revealed that Seasons Two and Three were expected to start production this week. They further revealed that tests had been done for a possible future Star Trek: The Next Generation - Remastered effort. But here's what WASN'T announced during the panel, and I can understand why (because it may have started a riot among the Trek fans in attendance): The price tag for just Season One alone is currently set to be a whopping $217, and there's no separate DVD-only release planned! No, I'm not kidding. $217 for just a single season on ten discs!! And it doesn't include the original versions of the episodes - just DVD and HD versions of the remastered episodes. Are they INSANE?!

Let me put this in further perspective for you. Later on Thursday evening, I participated in another Trek event - the Living Long and Prospering: Celebrating 40 Years of Star Trek panel - along with Mark Altman, Jeff Bond, Robert Meyer Burnett, Anthony Pascale and Daren Dochterman. The $217 price tag, which had been uncovered by Anthony after the CBS panel, was the butt of almost continuous jokes and ribbing the entire hour. At once point, I asked the audience for a show of hands to see how many people would be interested in purchasing the set at that price. Out of the entire 500-strong audience (and keep in mind, these were not just casual Trek fans but major Trek über-fans), just THREE people raised their hands. Just three. CBS/Paramount is going to eat this release if they stick to the $217 price tag. Given that many Trek fans already have mixed feelings about the whole Remastered effort, $217 is just crazy - it'll be a poison pill for this release if it doesn't change between now and November. Ouch!

Out of the entire 500-strong audience (and keep in mind, these were not just casual Trek fans but major Trek über-fans), just THREE people raised their hands.

It looks like Paramount hasn't learned anything about gouging customers being bad for business

Patrick Degan wrote:Fuck 'em. My home-burned DVDs of the Trek uncut episodes from G4 will do me quite nicely for a few years until Paramount get reasonable on prices. I could care less about the remastered FX or the extras.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:That pricing is terrible, considering that you can get all three TOS season sets bundled together for only $176 on Amazon.