You appear to have been distracted over the movie length of ST-1 and the boards length.

Y'know, I've just been re-watching this movie over the last few days, and I really think that it still has some things that the other movies don't.

This is especially true of the effects. No matter how much I absolutely love the Wrath of Kahn, the effects were a bit of a step down from this movie. They just didn't look quite as real. they started to recover in Voyage Home, took a step back in Final Frontier, took a pretty good step (possibly even equaling TMP) in Undiscovered Country and Generations, and then switched to CGI, which still seems to have something CG about it, no matter how good it gets.
So say what you will about the plot and pacing, but I still love TMP because it has a sense of reality and epic scale that most of the other films don't.
(Although I have to admit that the CGI shot of V'ger exiting the cloud is pretty darn epic- not to mention cool.)

I also noticed a couple of issues sound-wise. For the most part, I like the new soundscape better, but I miss the old V'ger plasma ball sound. It had a sense of onrushing power to it. the new sound is more like a whining mouse at double speed.

Also, during the scene where V'ger's plasma weapon is straining the shields, the creators aparently decided to jump aboard the train, and they added the famous Wilhelm scream to the shot of the consoles overloading.

Well, that's about all I noticed this time through. And no matter how I may defend it, it's still too dull to watch all the way through again...

You could do it and listen to the commentary. Some how, it doesn't feel like you are repeating the movie.

Already watched that months ago. Some good stuff. Especially liked the Engineering forced perspective stuff.

FYI, that last line was meant as a joke anyway.

I think another line was cut in the Rec Deck scene. After Epsilon IX is destroyed, the crew stands in stunned horror. Kirk orders the viewer off. Still horrified, nobody moves. Only when Kirk orders "viewer off!" again, does Uhura shut off the VCR.

Now in the director's cut, Uhura reacts right away.

Also I distinctly remember McCoy's line upon looking at V'Ger. A crewman (maybe Sulu, maybe Decker)says "It could hold a crew of tens of thousands." McCoy counters "Or a crew of a thousand, ten miles tall."

But that's gone now.

Fortuntately they kept my favorite line of the whole movie:

Fiiiireeee phooootooon tooooorpeeeedoooes!!!

think that was Chekov s line, asking Spock about its light beam crew (could that be one of its crew?)

by the way, rx fan, can you remember your first trek you ever saw, and how old

(I know I started that board)

Actually, *I* started the original one, called "Your First Time...", but it was lost in the Great Collapsing NitCentral Disaster of 2000.

One other scene they added was from the TV version where the guy with the glowing eyes mentions that Captain Decker has been through the entire refit.

Was the person with the glowing eyes an alien or an android?

He was an alien, played by Billy Van Zandt. He was listed in the credits as "Alien Boy" but in the longer ABC-TV version, Decker addressed him as "Mr. Gamal," or something of the sort, in the scene where V'Ger first fired on the Enterprise.

I seem to remember Paul Schaffer playing that particular alien in a skit. On SNL perhaps?

Other short stuff that was cut out:

The Klingons slouching at their consoles after adjusting the viewscreen at the beginning of the movie (which just looked dumb).

Kirk's poorly delivered "My God", just after the transporter accident.

It's surprising that director Wise won an Oscar for editing Citizen Kane. ST:TNP is considered by most critics to be poorly edited. Although he didn't edit the original version, I would have expected some better editing in the Director's cut. It's still a boring mess and could have used more cutting. The endless scenes of the cloud's interior are dull, dull, dull.

It's surprising that director Wise won an Oscar for editing Citizen Kane. ST:TNP is considered by most critics to be poorly edited.
Luigi Novi: Um..........what does one have to do with the other?

It means he should have had some influence or cooperation with the editor. The original version was a mess. Just read any review (unless one likes effects sequences that ridiculously drag on far too long).

Oh, okay, I see what you mean now.

"ST:TNP is considered by most critics to be poorly edited."-Rona

Yeah, I was never a fan of Star Trek: The Notion Picture... :-)

I thought she was referring to String Therapy: Tom's Next Plan.

I didn't like Star Trek The Motion Sickness much either, it could have been called Star Trek I Attended my High School Reunion, Class of 2274

How come the "Director's Cut" is never shown on TV? HBO Family has been running the film this past month. But, it's the original theatrical version, not the 2001 re-cut. Incidentally, the digital cable guide lists a running time of 132 minutes. But...that includes the two or three minute overture, which is never included in TV showings.

Anybody notice in the scene where Spock first shows up on the bridge, the shots of Kirk with the alien ensign in the background are all wrong?

It looks like they spliced film together to erase a continuity error. Some shots of Kirk have the alien in the background, others look like the alien wasn't there originally and was then spliced in. Just look at the line of the handrail, it's not continuous. Also part of the background to one side of the alien is in sharp focus, then it suddenly blurs.

Yeah, I had noticed that oddity... I alsways assumed it was a wierd trick of the camera. Does it show up in the original?

Yes, it shows up in the original version. It's produced by something called a split diopter lens. See one of Adam Bomb's November 8th 2001 posts in the first part of this thread for more details.

At one point Decker says, "Admiral, this is a totally new Enterprise, you don't know her a tenth as much as I do."

I find that unbelievable.

First thing: I assume Kirk knew at the end of his 5 yr. mission that the Enterprise would be refit & upgraded.

Second thing: Seeing Kirk was obsessed about the Enterprise, I'm sure that as Admiral, Kirk would have full access to all data regarding upgrades and refits that the Enterprise was going through.

BTW...I'm surprised the censors allowed that micro-micro miniskirt worn by Ilia (Khambatta) and only give this movie a "G" rating.

That thing barely covers her "naughty bits down below"

In the sonic shower scene, Persis Khambatta was supposed to be nude. She objected to the nudity, however, and wore a body stocking. I'm sure that if she wanted the robe a little longer, Bob Fletcher and the costume department would have been pleased to make her a longer one.
Movie ratings have gotten a bit tighter since 1979. There was little in "ST-TMP - The Director's Edition" that warranted a change in rating, but since it was a different cut, it had to be re-submitted. It got a "PG" rating this time out.
A quick refresher - four of the five Planet of The Apes films got "G" ratings. Even the first one, with all its violence, political satire, and the shot of Charlton Heston's bare bottom. (Conquest was the only POTA film to get a "PG" rating. The 2001 remake of POTA got a "PG-13" rating, as most films do these days. Even some kids movies don't get "G" ratings nowadays; the recent Nanny McPhee, and The SpongeBob Square Pants Movie both got "PG" ratings. Both Pirates Of The Caribbean films got "PG-13.")

How come Starfleet attempted to beam up those two people to the Enterprise when they knew the Enterprise's Transporters weren't working yet?

(Remember...Kirk had to beam to the orbiting station and take a Travel Pod over to the ship)

I always assumed that when Kirk comes into main Engineering to talk to Dekker, that he and Scotty were working on the transporter's tie-in to ships power. Dekker finds the problem and Scotty instructs Cleary to put in a "new backup sensor" or whatever and the transporter was deemed fixed.

Obviously they should have tested the system more extensively, however, they were under a time crunch because of the V'ger emergency. After Kirk's conversation with Dekker, the sensor fails (spectacularly) and the transporter accident happens as a result.

This DVD is now out of print, and has been replaced by the theatrical version. Which, AFAIK, is only available in this set, not individually. (Anyone know when the DVD went OOP?)

I like the new version better

So do I. The movie looks especially good on my 40" HDTV, as played on a Blu-Ray player. Even though the additional effects were done at 480p, thye still look superb.
The split-diopter lens, which is frequently used here, and which I wrote about previously, "splits" that "buckle" attachment to the uniform on Decker in one scene.

When the ensign exits the turbo-lift to greet Scotty and Adm. Kirk after the tour around the ship, the computer voice says "A travel pod is available at dock 6." Like in the original version, but in the "Director's Cut, it's a more subdued female computer voice. However, the number on the pod dock reads "5".

When Kirk turns to address the crying Spock, just before they leave to meet V'Ger, he of course stomps his foot lightly to stop the rotating chair. The sound of the stomp, which is heard in the video version, is not heard on the DVD.

"Will you puh-leeze sit down!!"

When members of the cast appeared on talk shows in late 1979 to plug the movie, the sonic shower scene was the accompanying clip shown. In it, there was background music. When the film was released, that music was gone, but it was restored for the DVD. (I'm fairly sure it was the same cue as well.)