Q: Why are you doing this?
A: The short answer is because we are fans and have fond memories of the show, and this is fun. The somewhat longer answer is becuase we have all been involved in the video and audio restoration world in various capacities for some time and want to put our skills to the test and see how good we really are. The much longer answer is that while there are various other people doing restoration projects of their own, what we don’t see out there is anyone committed to creating a frame-accurate reconstruction of the episodes as they were originally broadcast. That means accurately recreating commercial breaks, opening and closing credits, teasers, and whatever else may be required. It also means manual frame-by-frame restoration to remove even the smallest dust, dirt, sparkle, and scratches from the original film prints, as well as whatever defects might be introduced by the distribution medium, whether it be VHS, CED, laserdisc, or off-air recording. In short, we believe we are the most detail-oriented project in existence.
Q. Can I get copies of your work?
A. No, not at this time. For one thing, there’s nothing to actually share with you at this early stage. We’re just getting started. This is an unofficial project not sanctioned by Marvel, and as such we do not have distribution rights for the show. If things can be worked out, there may be a release as a fan preservation project in the future once there is something to release. However, we do release clips and teasers on our partner YouTube site. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMg-Jrr1TnvaqTeU29wRTGg
Q. I want to help. What can I do?
A. The best way that fans can help is by helping us locate high quality source material to work with. We are always on the lookout for new and better sources, so if you have something or run across something that you think may be better than what we have, please drop us a note.
Q. What program do you use for the restorations?
A. We use a wide array of tools for different aspects of restoration. Unsurprisingly, we make heavy use of the Adobe CC suite of applications, principally Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Audition. However, for most types of film repair such as replacing damaged frames, interpolating new frames, noise reduction, and deinterlacing, we tend to prefer AviSynth. Its non-linear nature allows us to easily do things that are difficult or impossible in a linear application, and its robust suite of functions and plug-ins offers many tools that simply have no counterparts in the Adobe world, even with expensive plug-ins like Boris FX and Red Giant. Essentially, film damage is repaired in AviSynth, spot repairs and stabilization are done in After Effects, color correction and compositing are done in Premiere Pro, and audio is cleaned up in Audition. Titles and other graphics are created in Photoshop.