Star Trek XI -- It's on.

Big announcements in the last couple of days. It's official:

• Star Trek XI has been greenlit, with...
• J.J. Abrams confirmed to direct for...
• a Christmas Day 2008 release

Trek Remastered -- Various recent episodes

Yes, I've been very neglectful of this blog and you, dear readers. It's been a wild week or so in Kaijuville. To make up for it, I'll do my best to update at least once a day for the rest of the week. Hopefully there will be something in there that you're interested in.

First of all, let me tell you about "The Doomsday Machine", which aired a little more than two weeks ago in the rotation of remastered Original Trek episodes. How was it?

Outstanding. Absolutely incredible. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and of course I've seen the original a dozen times over the years. Watching the Remastered edition was like seeing it again...for the first time. It surprised me how the new effects really altered the mood and made the story pop in a new and fresh way. Of all the Remastered episodes so far, this is by far my favorite. If you only see one, this is it. You can read a review and see screenshots and video at trekmovie.com.

"Amok Time" was excellent as well. It isn't as effects-heavy as "Doomsday...", but there's a great new establishing shot of the arena that's well done.

"I...am...Kirok!!" "The Paradise Syndrome" was this past weekend's episode, the one with the American Indians. I think this one is better than it's given credit for, and it's a shame that the syndication edits don't help at all. Dropped dialogue and missing minutes of scenes lessen the emotional impact of the show. Check it on the eventual DVD.

A rerun of "Space Seed" airs this weekend, with some nice shots of the Enterprise and the Botany Bay.

Trek Remastered -- "Amok Time"

I've got some comments on last week's episode, "The Doomsday Machine", but I'll post those later. First, this weekend is "Amok Time", the Vulcan mating ritual episode. One reason this is notable is the fight between Kirk and Spock, highlighted with a great score by Gerald Fried (you know exactly what music I'm talking about). It's also important in Star Trek "mythology". There are great character interactions, particularly for the triad of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and many references to the larger Trek universe. Chronologically "Amok Time" takes place some months before "Journey to Babel", and "Doomsday..." was filmed immediately after.

There aren't a lot of space scenes in this one, so the CBS-Digital team spent their time creating some terrific establishing shots of Spock's ancestral lands (see the trailer here). Now we know why we can't see anything on the horizon from the arena...

So grab your lirpa and ahn-woon, and tune in this weekend!

Trek Remastered -- "The Doomsday Machine"

Perhaps the most anticipated episode of the Remastered Original Trek is scheduled to air this weekend. "The Doomsday Machine" is a bona fide classic, with the character of Commodore Decker and his obsession with the alien Planet Killer, reminiscent of Moby Dick's Captain Ahab. Aside from the story, two big draws are the scenes of the Constellation and the battles with the Planet Killer.

Trekmovie.com has several images directly from CBS-Digital, and the preview trailer (again, the Quicktime version appears to be better quality, at least for my computer setup). I said the trailer for "Journey to Babel" was the best so far -- until this one. Wow.

The stills are incredible, and the scenes from the trailer are fantastic... If you haven't seen any of the remastered episodes yet, this is the one to start with. A bold claim since I haven't seen it yet, but all the promotional materials look so good.

And next week... Amok Time.

Trek Remastered -- "Journey to Babel" this weekend

One of the greatest Classic Trek episodes is on the schedule for this weekend. Besides being a great story in its own right, it's an important "mythology" episode because it expands on Spock's back story with the introduction of Sarek and Amanda, his parents.

Yes, there are people in the observation windows.

Several screenshots have been made public, and it looks like another great effort by CBS-Digital. For budgetary reasons, we never saw a shot of the Enterprise and a shuttlecraft together in the Original Series. Look for a gorgeous shuttle landing sequence with the planet Vulcan in the background.

Take a look at the stills or the trailer (could be the best yet) over at Trekmovie.com.

Update: Really great episode, well worth it. Sadly, the shuttle approach where we see both ships from outside the shuttlebay was cut for time, but it should be on the DVD. See the Review and screenshots and video.