Spectre of the Gun

Circumventing the Melkotian Probe (which resembles a Horga’hn in space).

 

78)  “Spectre of the Gun”  Original Airdate: (10/25/68)  Remaster Airdate: (07/19/08)

 

Evaluation:

The bulk of the RM edits for this episode appear in the teaser and Act V, and most of those shots involve the Melkotian probe.  While maintaining the same general size and shape of the original, the new probe features better definition and clarity in its CG render, glows in alternating primary colors and now has top and bottom sections that rotate in different directions at a slightly slower rate than the original.  If there’s a downside here it’s that the new probe looks like previz CG.  The shots where the Enterprise tries evading the probe, which moves to block the ship at every turn, are much more dynamic in the RM edition—the standout shot depicts the Enterprise turning hard to port in an effort to circumvent the interdicting probe, which falls off the right side of the main viewer only to reemerge seconds later.  The exceptionally fluid shot of the Enterprise passing the probe and veering to starboard near the end of the teaser is a visual quantum leap ahead of the original show’s slow-moving model and static probe.  Once the ship has achieved orbit around Melkot, we’re treated to an extreme close-up shot that pivots over the top of the Enterprise’s secondary hull (a truncated version of a shot seen in “The Return of the Archons”)…a considerable departure from the standard orbit shot in the original.  The major disappointment with RM efforts for this show is the unaltered Melkotian creature, which appears as a hovering, bulbous head with two glowing eyes and multifarious tendrils for legs.  The fact that the RM team ignored this puppet-like entity is a bit distressing.  The green force field, which traps the landing party within the confines of the proxy Tombstone, has also managed to escape RM attention.  There’s a spectacular new cloud-like disbursal of energy and debris after the probe explodes near the end of the episode; this shot has replaced the original superimposed firework-like fulmination.  Another superimposed image in the original show was the viewscreen image of the Melkotian in space.  The RM rendering features a solid image of the creature similar to the way it appeared earlier in the show (sans the veil of fog).  The final shot, a ninety-degree pan of the Enterprise falling into orbit of the molten red planet, is the unique way to close out an episode since the default ending features the ship leaving orbit and heading out into space.

 

Money Shot:  The shot of the Enterprise circumventing the spinning probe.

 

Wish List:  A CG Melkotian and improved FX on the force field.

 

Remaster Grade:  A-

 

Screencaps:

 

Original                                                                             Remastered