MovieChat Forums > Star Trek (1973) Discussion > this show was horrible in execution

this show was horrible in execution

posted 17 years ago by maoliceous
31 replies | jump to latest

I can't believe a series of 23 minute long cartoon segments got a 7.4 rating. I'm just seeing this show for the first time, and having seen all episodes of all other star trek series, including ENT, I had higher expectations. The animation was egregiously bad. I thought japanese anime had really static animation, but this show is even worse. The only things that move are the eyes, mouth, and background; it's like watching a comic. The movements and motions are so choppy they remind me of southpark. The 23 minute plots don't exact give time for development either; the plot climaxes in the last 60 seconds and the resolution takes like about 10 seconds worth of dialogue. There must be a lot of old school nolstagia going on, cause even I think this can't compare to ENT, and I'm not exactly the biggest fan of that show.

The quality of the show felt so bad compared TOS, and combine that with 20 minute plots with extremely campy animation....

[–] MrBlondNYC 13 years ago

Isn't this like saying the special effects and sets of TOS were campy? Duh! It was a 60's low-budget show. TAS was a 70's low-budget cartoon show. The animation is maybe a little worse than your typical Hanna-Barbera cartoon but not by much. TOS did the best with they had and the show's strength is in its writing. The same goes for TAS. I think the biggest drawback is the voice acting is very stiff. Shatner's unique charisma does not come through here.

George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.

[–] Spifflock_Holmes 13 years ago

I think the biggest drawback is the voice acting is very stiff.

I agree. And I think that's in large measure because the actors almost literally phoned in their performances: they weren't together in the studio interacting, they were at different locations recording their lines separately (or at least in the studio at different times).

----

Lazy + smart = efficient.

[–] grendelkhan 13 years ago

As I stated before, Filmation didn't have good voice directors. Like anything else, a good voice direcyor can get a better vocal performance. Look at Andrea Romano on the Warner stuff. She gets amazing performances from a variety of performers, many of whom are terrible on other animated series.

I believe Lou Scheimer did a lot of the vocal directing and voiced some characters. If you watch any of the featurettes of Filmation work, then watch the programs, you can always spot his voice (usually by its flat delivery). Even his kids got in on the act in the Brady Kids show, after some of the actors bailed. he was also the annoying voice of Orko, on He-Man.

"Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!"

[–] tr47 12 years ago

I recall reading Shatner's lines were recorded when and whereever they could get them-meaning they would haul a portable recorder out to meet him at a hotel or a restaurant and record while he read from a script. That's why his dialogue often times sounds somewhat off or has different acoustics than the other actors.

[–] pcqgod 12 years ago

I like the animation fine. It's limited animation due to budget limitations and the prevailing production values of the time, certainly. However, the actual artwork is excellent, the detail is exact, and the shots of the Enterprise could almost pass for live action. If it seems quaint now, so does a lot of the original live action series. The animated series was ostensibly a childrens' show, but never condescended to its audience, and the continuity with the original series (and even later series) was good. We could have gotten something much, much worse -- lazy backgrounds with none of the detail of the original series, silly stories written to specifically appeal to children, a cute talking animal (it was practically mandated that all "action" cartoons of the 70's include teenagers and cute animals), etc. Or, they could have just gotten cheap voice actors to do the parts. The best thing about the animated series is that the actors and writers of the original series were involved, and it captured the mood of the original series admirably. You could almost imagine that these were episodes that were filmed and reconstructed with animation, as happened with some famous "Doctor Who" stories.

Which time tunnel did you come through?

[–] TVholic 11 years ago

It wasn't horrible. Not great, admittedly. It had a lot of flaws, but it was a Saturday morning kids' show, no matter how much the people involved claimed it wasn't for kids. The scripts were rushed into production and there really wasn't much of a budget. I still like it a lot more than ENT. I'd give it a 7. Heck, I like it more than the Abrams movies. At least we're not being bombarded with lens flares and nonsensical action.

Maybe in twenty years or so, somebody will do a proper animated Trek. I'm sure there are talented voice actors out there who can do justice to the original characters, and the Abrams movies will be a faded memory by then, so they can bring back the original appearance of the ship and crew, with a few judicious tweaks, unlike the current movies, where virtually everything has been so changed that they're barely recognizable.

[–] 11 years ago

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