Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

( Max score: 100 )

82

Film Synopsis:

Space. The Final Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to explore the galaxy. The Enterprise is under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. The First Officer is Mr. Spock, from the planet Vulcan. The Chief Medical Officer is Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy. With a determined crew, the Enterprise encounters Klingons, Romulans, time paradoxes, tribbles and genetic supermen lead by Khan Noonian Singh. Their mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

My Take:

I LOVE Star Trek the original series. I watched it with my parents as a child and grew up watching the reruns. I have seen all of the films that starred the original crew and while I like the Next Generation as well, the original is by far my favorite. I have seen every one of Season one's episodes and was excited when I saw the press release announcing this set. Season one includes some of the show's best episodes and includes but is not limited to, Mudd's women, The Menagerie Parts 1 &2, Balance of terror, Arena, Space seed and The city on the edge of forever. Creator Gene Roddenbury's vision was not only brought to life but has grown beyond his wildest expectations. Even though the show only ran for three seasons it has garnered a fan following that is pretty much second to none. It has gone on to spawn an animated TV show (which featured the voices of the original cast), 11 feature length movies, and 6 different television series. The show's balance of great writing, action, and drama is simply addicting. Watching it today its appeal is still fresh as I find the story lines to be well conceived and enacted. All thirty episodes from the 1966-67 season are spread out over 7 dual layered BD-50 Blu-ray Discs. Several years back the series was technically made over/redesigned with a remastering of the video and audio as well as updating many of the special effects. Whether or not you agree with this is up to you but I found the results to be impressive. Paramount has included both the enhanced/re-mastered and original versions which can be toggled on the fly via seamless branching. The disc menus are intuitive, cool, and logically assembled. The superlative bonus supplements are spread over the seven discs and, is the most comprehensive set I have seen for the series. I am thrilled at the extent Paramount has gone to in order to make this collection not only special but worthy of this ground breaking TV series.

Parental Guide:

The set is unrated. The show contains thematic material and mild violence and sci-fi action.

Audio: 78

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Video: 86

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Star Trek - The Original Series: Season One comes to Blu-ray featuring VC-1 encoded video that has an average bitrate of 16 mbps and lossless DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 4 mbps.

The show's original aspect ratio and film based video is intact and looks spectacular in high definition. The newly restored elements boast vivid, resplendent colors, punchy blacks, and sparkling clarity. Fine rendering is especially appreciable during close ups however detail in objects, costumes and peripherals is clearly distinguishable. Sharpness wavers on occasion however it appears to be innate to the original photography and not the encoding. Grain is present in fine, even layers that rarely draws attention to itself. I have NEVER seen this TV series looking this good. The audio options include the original mono track and a lossless surround mix. The 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack would seem to be a bit much for a 40 plus year old TV series (perhaps it is) but I was impressed with the results. Dialogue is well articulated with discerning characteristics and fair room penetration. The front soundstage is narrow but sounds are clearly defined and free of strain or harshness. Surround activity is limited to low level ambience that extends the front sound stage and fills in panning effects. The show's classic theme and opening montage sound great and make the best use of the entire soundfield. I thought this surround mix was appropriately done as it avoided sounding artificially enhanced or gimmicky. Fidelity appeared to be intact as the original elements in the recording sounded excellent.

Bonus Features:

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• Previews and trailers for each episode
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• Starfleet Access - Trivia based text and pop-up interviews during select episodes (as indicated below)
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• Disc 1:
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  2. (HD) Spacelift: Transporting Trek into the 21st Century - 20 minute documentary
     
  3. Starfleet Access episode: Where no man has gone before
  
  
• Disc 3:
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  2. Reflections of Spock - 12 minute featurette
     
  3. Starfleet Access episode: The Menagerie parts 1 & 2
  
  
• Disc 4:
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  2. Life beyond Trek: William Shatner - 11 minute featurette
     
  3. Starfleet Access episode - Balance of terror
  
  
• Disc 5:
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  2. To Boldly GoSeason One - 19 minute retrospective
     
  3. The birth of a timeless legacy - 24 minute documentary
  
  
• Disc 6:
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  2. Interactive Enterprise inspection
     
  3. Sci-Fi visionaries - 16 minute featurette
     
  4. Starfleet Access episode: Space Seed
  
  
• Disc 7:
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  2. (HD) Billy Blackburns Treasure Chest: Rare home movies and special memories - 13 minutes
     
  3. Kiss N Tell: Romance in the 23rd Century - 8 minute featurette
     
  4. Starfleet Access episode - Errand of Mercy
  
  
• BD-Live enabled

Final Thoughts:

Star Trek the original series was a groundbreaking, thought provoking series that seemed ahead of its time in 1966. It transported viewers to new worlds and adventures along with the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Season one contains some of the show's best/memorable episodes, among them is Space Seed which spawned the 1982 Star Trek motion picture Star Trek II: The wrath of Khan. While the show may seem dated by today's standards it retains much of its original appeal which includes great characters (both regular and guest starring roles), thought provoking/socially pertinent themes, excellent writing, an ethnically diverse cast, cheesy but lovable special effects, and one of the most cohesive and memorable core casts ever assembled. Its legacy can be seen and heard in society today as well as in many of today's TV shows and films. Pretty impressive for a 40 year old TV series that only lasted three seasons. Paramount is to be commended on their efforts to make the show's first season release on high definition Blu-ray a special one. This is a superb offering that includes excellent high definition video and great lossless sound quality. The plethora of bonus material, viewing options and Trek themed fun stuff rounds out a wonderful package that I just can't recommend enough. Enjoy!