Remastered Trek episode “Journey to Babel” airs this weekend
by Doc on Feb.01, 2007, under Television
We received the following via e-mail from a well-known person associated with the franchise: “”Journey to Babel” airs weekend of February 3, 2007. The Starship Enterprise hosts an explosive gathering of interstellar diplomats in “Journey to Babel,” an episode of Star Trek Remastered, premiering nationwide during the weekend of February 3, 2007. “Journey to Babel” is regarded by many fans as a pivotal episode of the series, introducing Mark Lenard as Ambassador Sarek, Spock’s father, and Jane Wyatt as Amanda, Spock’s human mother. In the episode, an alien spy nearly kills Captain Kirk (William Shatner), putting Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in temporary command of the Starship Enterprise while the ship comes under deadly attack. The situation pits Spock’s logical duty to his ship against his all-too-human desire to reconnect with his dying father.” Read More for some details and production CGI shots. The various external shots in this episode help the remastered CGI really stand out. Search your listings for when it airs in your area – its in syndication, and can be at odd hours – my TiVo is my friend here…
“Although most of the episode takes place on the Starship Enterprise, D.C. Fontana’s script afforded the visual effects artists at CBS Digital the opportunity to show off the Enterprise’s shuttlecraft hangar deck with an all-new shuttle landing sequence. They also reimagined the mysterious alien raider ship. In the original 1967 version of the episode, budget limitations forced the show’s effects team to use a simple spinning wheel of light to represent the attacking spacecraft. For the 2007 remastered edition, digital artists remained faithful to the original effect, but embellished it by creating an ingenious ship design that used the spinning lights as a powerful alien propulsion system. Finally, this episode offered one of the original show’s only glimpses of Spock’s homeworld, Vulcan, as seen from space.
Mark Lenard’s character of Sarek proved a favorite among Star Trek’s fans, so much so that Lenard later reprised his role in three Star Trek movies and two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The versatile Lenard had previously played the Romulan Commander in “Balance of Terror” during Star Trek’s first season, and he also played a Klingon captain in the first Star Trek movie. Lenard is known to genre fans for his numerous roles in science fiction productions, including the regular role of Urko in the television version of Planet of the Apes. Jane Wyatt also reprised her role of Spock’s mother in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Wyatt won three Emmy Awards for her performance as Margaret Anderson in the beloved sitcom, Father Knows Best.
The newly-remastered version of “Journey to Babel” will premiere nationwide during the weekend of February 3, 2007, starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, with DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy. The original episode was first aired in November, 1967 and was written by series story editor D.C. Fontana and directed by Joseph Pevney. Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry. Star Trek Remastered is distributed in syndication by CBS Paramount Television.”
Images:
Touchdown: An Enterprise shuttlecraft makes a perfect landing in the ship’s hangar deck. The shuttle carries Ambassador Sarek and his wife, Amanda to an important interstellar conference in “Journey to Babel,” this weekend’s episode of Star Trek Remastered.
Shuttle Turntable: An assemblage of Federation dignitaries and Starfleet crew members gather to witness the arrival of Spock’s parents on the Starship Enterprise in “Journey to Babel,” this weekend’s episode of Star Trek Remastered. The gathered ambassadors and Enterprise officers, glimpsed in the windows of the upper observation galleries, are cameo appearances by most of the visual effects artists and technicians who are working on the remastered visual effects. (Most of them appear more than once in different windows!)
Vulcan Orbit:: The Starship Enterprise departs orbit of planet Vulcan, heading to the neutral planetoid Babel for a vital interstellar conference. Unfortunately, dark forces conspire to disrupt the mission in “Journey to Babel,” this weekend’s episode of Star Trek Remastered.
Orion Attack: A mysterious alien spaceship makes a deadly attack run on the Starship Enterprise in “Journey to Babel,” this weekend’s episode of Star Trek Remastered.
