Star Trek 1 “The V'Ger Incident”

Review by JetSetWilly — July 10, 2012 @ 8:07 pm

I first saw this edit over two years ago, and I’m ashamed to say I’ve only just got around to writing a review about it. Overall, I thought it was very well done. BB’s intention of keeping it inline with the original TV series, and as a start to a second 5 year mission, works very well. The original music, fade outs, it all fits, and works very well. It is also an achievement that he managed to take a movie that’s 135 minutes long, and condense it down to 80 minutes, and STILL tell the same story.

UPDATE: April 2013

BionicBob has released an updated version of this edit, which has slight improvements in the video, with a few added extras to boot. Still a good edit, the added bits make this even better.

Is it an improvement? I don’t think it’s a question I can answer, because I still think the original version is a classic Trek story, whereas BionicBob’s version is a different take on it altogether, so it would be unfair to compare them both side by side. What I will say is that it is an excellent way to start a series of edits based on the first 6 Original Series movies, and moulding them into something that he has thought a hell of a lot about.

This is the start of the crew’s second 5 year mission. It would be rude to not join them.

A solid 9/10.

Star Trek The Motion Picture is not an easy film to watch. The concept is good and I still think the reveal of V'Ger identity is a really awesome idea but the pacing is painfully slow and the characters are not totaly themselves. When the director's edition came out, the movie became more watchable and the pacing was improved.

But now, I have found my go to version. BionicBob has crafted THE definitive edition! There is much to be liked in this. By the way, I have watched the second version of the edit.

First of all, the execution of the new introduction is really impressive and puts us right in the mood! The inclusion of the original series music mixed with the original score works really well. The move feels like a good two parter episode, including the classic fade out. The pacing is way much better and the edit waste no time, launching the enterprise directly into its mission. The pacing slows down a little bit when V'Ger reaches earth but it does not decrease the enjoyment. I must say that I really liked the Spock flashbacks during his mind meld with V'Ger.

I did experience just a little bit of problem with the sound mix during one scene. When Spock wakes up after his mind meld, the background music was great but a tad too strong since it was difficult to understand what Spock was saying.

The relation between Decker and Ilia has been trimmed for the better but it does remove a little bit of motivation in the end scene. Decker is not as present and it feels that the original series characters are now front and center, has it should be. The voyage to V'ger and inside V'Ger have been greatly reduced and because of this, the movie is much tighter and way more enjoyable. It really feels much more in the line with Star Trek!

I wont spoil the finale but it has been modified with two new effect shots which really adds something interesting to the Star Trek mythos.

In summary, this is a fantastic edit!!! If this version was the one shown in theater in 1979, it would have been much more welcomed by the critique and the viewer. Nice work BionicBob!! I look forward to watch your other TOS movies edit!

Review by L8wrtr — May 29, 2010 @ 4:44 pm

Star Trek “THE V’GER INCIDENT” by bionicbob

Reviewed by L8wrtr

TOS goodness to the rescue

What Bob has done with Star Trek The Motion Picture is for me, the definition of a Fan Edit. He has taken a movie and not only made the story better, but he has given the entire narrative an entirely new perspective, breathing fresh air into an extremely stale movie.

From a story standpoint, BionicBob has refocused the story to what fans of Star Trek care about, Kirk and Spock, and it works very well on this level. Decker is as annoying as ever, perhaps even more so now that we’ve lost the “Kirk has lost his edge” subplot, but fans of the film will understand the first officer’s motivations, which also now highlight the dynamic between Kirk and Spock.

But what really causes this fanedit to stand out, and you see from frame 1 is the TOS treatment. The sights and sounds really help bring this into the classic feel of the original series, at least as much as is possible with with heavily 70s vibe of the set and costuming.

Video editing
The technical execution of the editing is quite good. Choices are logical, transitions are appropriate and the pacing is greatly improved. I find no reason to mark off any points. 10 out of 10

Video Quality
I wish the same could be said for the video quality, but this is not entirely due to the editor. The quality of the original is quite disappointing, however there are heavy compressions going on in the ambient or glowing reds. 8 out of 10

Audio Quality
In evaluating the audio, I will keep in mind that the spirit of this particular fanedit is to emulate TOS. One scene that exemplifies this is the Klingon attack against V’GER. In replacing the music with TOS, we’ve also lost the quiet rumble of the Cruisers, however quite often in the Original Series, ships often glided by on screen with only musical accompaniment, and minimal sound effects like phaser or torpedo shots. While the audio is not perfect, it is in keeping with what we heard on TOS. 8 out of 10

Overall Entertainment
Like CBB’s Kirkless Generations, BionicBob has rescued a film that could, and should have been very good. This movie still has its flaws because the original was itself, terribly flawed, but bionicbob has managed to inject classic Star Trek feel into a movie that I would have been fine never watching again. 9 out of 10.

Review by steelio2006 — June 21, 2011 @ 3:29 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by flyboy707 — May 29, 2010 @ 4:14 pm

DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW … YET …

Do not read this review until after you have watched this fan edit. Experience this edit with no previous knowledge or bias, then come back and read the reviews posted here. It will be well worth your time.

I never do very long reviews, but I wanted to on this one. This is the sort of edit I would like to see more of, so I decided to do a lengthy review.

My initial reaction to this edit is WOW! This is an amazing edit and showcases what can be done with a movie; more than just cutting scenes.

While I do not think this is a “perfect edit”, it certainly comes very, very close.

*** RED ALERT. RED ALERT. ***

!!!!! SPOILERS BEGIN FROM THIS POINT. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK !!!!

BionicBob’s stated intention is to make the original movie feel more like an episode. While, I tend to be leery of edits that make this attempt, BionicBob achieves this wonderfully (although not perfectly).

I thoroughly enjoyed the “cliff hanger” open scene BionicBob created for his edit (just like the ones that all the ST series utilize ). I really enjoyed the new opening titles and his use of images of from the original series and all six movies. Very effective and definitely creates the feeling of watching an episode. BionicBob utilizes this technique throughout his edit. Although not as much as I think he should have. This is the reason I say that he almost achieves his intent. Over the 80 mins of the edit, I would have liked to see more “cliff hanger go to commercial” points. As a result, there were times I lost that feeling of watching an episode but more like watching the movie again. There are several point in his edit that he could have used this technique more and really made me feel like I was watching tv.

AUDIO:

(4 OUT OF 5)

I absolutely loved his use of of new music, original series sound effects etc. This new audio really improved several scenes and lent to the new faster paced/move the plot along feel.

It seemed to me that at the times the volume of the dialogue drop significantly. I found myself turning up the volume on my amp to keep the same level of dialogue volume, then only to be blasted by the higher level of sound effects and/or music. This might just be my perception, so other reviewers please let me know if you think this is an accurate thought I am having.

VIDEO:

(5 OUT OF 5)

I own the Director’s Cut dvd version (the yellow dvd jacket one) and this edit’s video quality is exactly likke my store bought dvd. Iwatched this on my 55″ LED tv and it looked wonderful.

EDITS:

(technical aspects)

I didn’t detect any rough cuts or imperfect cuts here. As a note, there might be one, but I don’t have the time to look at my store bought dvd to verify if it is the original. The scene when Kirk, Spock and McCoy first enter the Officer’s Lounge, Spock talks to Kirk and Kirk replies; there seems to be a very abrupt cut in the dialogue. Again, this may also be in the original.

Here’s just a FEW “pros” and “cons” I am thinking of, having just finished watching the edit. This is by no means all the areas I liked, disliked or thought could be improved, just a sample of things that hit me while watching:

BionicBob says in the dvd extras that he edited this movie to keep Kirk as the Captain (i.e. rid the sub plot of Kirk usurping Decker as captain for this mission). He does this perfectly until the meeting in Kirk’s cabin with Decker. At one point, Decker says “You haven’t logged a single starhour in over 2 1/2 years …” If Kirk has never accepted a promotion and moved on form being a the Enterprise’s captain, then why would Decker say that line?

I think there should be some scenes left in this edit to let us know that this is a new Enterprise – i.e. it just received an overhaul. There are several scenes in this edit that show Kirk and McCoy are unfamiliar with the ship. The “wormhole” scene (btw, one of favorite new scenes of this edit – great editing, music etc – wonderful!) where Kirk wants to use phasers, but Decker overrides him, McCoy’s complaint how his sickbay is all new and during Kirk’s log entry that Spock has helped solve the engine imbalance. To be fair, there is dialogue at the beginning of the Kirk-Decker-McCoy meeting in Kirk’s cabin about “the Enterprise redesign …” but I think we as the audience needs to know there has been a redesign earlier in the edit.

I absolutely loved how BionicBob handles Spock’s arrival, gone is the long drawn out arrival (i.e. the exposition of a shuttle coming and the back and forth between Kirk, Uhuru and Chekov). Combining their dialogue with the exterior shots of Spock’s arrival is masterful.

I like the use of the modern series’ “trekology” throughout the edit (i.e. using “sector 001″ and “deep space station epsilon nine”)
as much as I always liked the “captain’s logs” – he effectively minimizes them and adds very brief “information titles” on the screen to indicate where/what is happening. I may not be explaining this very well, but you’ll understand what I mean when you watch the edit. This may not be to the liking of trek purists, but I liked it – gave it both a modern feel while keeping the episode feel.

I was REALLY REALLY hoping that the part where Kirk keeps tilling Spock to sit down during the officer’s lounge scene would have been edited out. I have never liked this scene and it does not make any sense. Even if Spock is the most logical, purged of all emotions Vulcan, he would sit down (after being told by his superior office several times) .

Yes, BionicBob, I thought your flashback of Spock on Vulcan was perfect. Gives the audience the reason why Sock was absent form the Enterprise and why he returned without slowing down the edit. Bravo. And another favorite of mind is the re-working of Spock’s mind meld with the digital Ilea/V’ger. Great use of scenes form the original series. I wasn’t prepared for that and loved it.

There are several other areas of the edit I would like to mention, but then this review would be as long as a Stephen King book.

One final thing I would like to mention, sort of, is the new ending. I am am ABSOLUTELY NOT going to mention exactly how this edit ends. I think everyone should watch this edit and get the surprise I did. I hope that other reviewers of this edit will follow my lead and not be specific about the ending.

I had never read/heard any theories of what the ending of the original movie meant in relation to future series/plots/movies etc, so I was thoroughly surprised and excited as to how BionicBob ended this movie. Not only technically wonderful but exciting in how he transitioned from the boring let down of the original dialogue/ending of the original movie to this edit. A great new ending to a new version of “a tired science fiction movie” (BionicBob’s words).

Again, I implore other reviewers not to put in print how the edit ends. Please give others the thrill of the surprise and masterful new way BionicBob ends his edit.

Overall, a 5 out of 5 edit (or 9 stars using the fan edit rating). I don’t rate it a “perfect 10″ because of some minor points I mention above.

BionicBob, this is the sort of edit I have been wanting to see for a long time. Not just a “scene cut” of existing material, but a new vision of a movie as well. Your love and knowledge of Star Trek erupts from the screen of this edit. Good job.

You have set the bar very high for yourself and, possibly, fan edits on this site as a whole.