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Technical Information
Studio: Paramount
Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release: N/A
Disc Format: 1
single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format: Full
Frame
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Region
Encoding: 1
Sound
Format: Dolby
Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time:
Approximately 45 minutes per episode
Director: Various
Stars: William
Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
MPAA Rating: NR
Disc
Supplements:
- Episode Trailers
- Text commentary on selected episodes
- Birth of a Timeless Legacy featurette
- Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner featurette
- To Boldy Go...Season 1 featurette
- Reflections on Spock featurette
- Sci-Fi Visionaries featurette
- Production Stills gallery
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At the risk of compromising my integrity in
the eyes of my following, I have to admit that when I was a
little kid, I didn't really like Star Trek. At about the age
of 6 I had been introduced to Star Wars and to my inexperienced
eyes, Star Trek just looked cheap by comparison.
The a funny thing happend about the time I
reached my early to mid-teens. I actually began to pay attention
to the stories. Suddenly, Star Trek was fresh and it was all
because of the writing. To say that I became hooked on the exploits
of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy),
Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and the rest of the crew of the
Starship Enterprise would be an understatement.
I would imagine that those trying to watch
the show for the first time today would be shocked by the blatant
cliches in episode after episode. What one must remember is
that these are cliches only because Star Trek made them cliches.
This is where it all began. Star Trek isn't the beginning of
science fiction, mind you, but it was the beginning of serious
science fiction for the masses.
I think what made the series great is that,
although special effects were a major part of the show, Gene
Roddenberry and his team knew that they could never create effects
as perfect as they envisioned them. Therefore, they didn't rely
on them. Yes, many shots are ridiculously low quality. Yes,
all of the planets look like the same soundstage covered in
foam rocks. But because the writing was so solid and the storytelling
was so engaging, the effects just don't matter. Our minds are
willing to simply accept it and fill in the details.
Paramount made an odd decision to release
Star Trek as individual packages, so I was excited to learn
that they were going to put the whole series into season box
sets. Having it all together in three box sets not only saves
on shelf space, but also illustrates just how much quality was
packed into a short 3 season run.
While there are gems all throughout the run
of the series, it could be argued that season 1 contains some
of very best Star Trek had to offer. My personal choice for
the best in season 1 is Space Seed. Fans will
recognize this as the introduction of Khan (Ricardo Montalban),
who is not only James T. Kirks greatest adversary, but after
his appearance in Star Trek II, perhaps one of the greatest
villains of all time.
Season 1 also contains The City on
the Edge of Forever, which also ranks high as a fan
favorite, and even won the show an award from the Writers Guild
of America. The first season also played around with the notion
of good and evil and the capacity for both in everyone with
the episodes Naked Time and The Enemy
Within. This is a concept the series would return to
many times.
Star Trek also routinely used its science
fiction backdrop as a canvas for social commentary on everything
from drug use, to prejudice, to government control. Some episodes
(such as Balance of Terror, which touches on
the fear of prejudice) handle this much better than others (like
Miri, which is a thinly veiled attack on the
oppression of the youth culture).
Above all, however, Star Trek was a brilliant
achievement and season 1 was strong right out of the gate, a
feat none of its predecessors have managed.
:::back to
top |
Let's face it, short of digitally
recreating the series, there is just no way that Star Trek is going
to look anywhere near as good as any modern production. However,
having said that, some extensive work has been done to clean up
and digitally restore the series. Much of the dust and scratches
that you will be used to seeing on the televised reruns are gone.
The colors are once again crisp and vibrant and I would venture
to say that the show now looks better than it ever has.
I didn't really notice any flaws
in the digital presentation other than some slight digital noise
here and there. Edge enhancement seems to be at a minimum.
Overall, the first season looks great.
:::back to top |
Obviously, Star Trek was originally
presented in mono sound for television broadcast. For the remastering,
this mix was upgraded to 5.1. This should best be considered an
interpretation of what the soundtrack might have been, had the technology
been available. The surround information isn't as natural sounding
as a true 5.1 mix, but it is still quite good. Some work has been
done to enhance the overall dynamic range, creating a much fuller
sound experience. Also, a lot of the hissing and audio inconsistencies
have been eliminated, making this the best the original series has
ever sounded.
:::back to top |
Kicking things off in the extras
department are the preview trailers for each episode.
These were previously available on Paramount's first release of
the series.
Next up are text commentary
tracks by Trek historians Michael and Denise Okuda. Only
4 episodes receive a commentary: Where No Man Has Gone Before,
The Menagerie Part 1, The Menagerie Part
2, and The Conscience Of The King. It's
possible that no other two people on this planet know more about
Star Trek than these two, and they are able to provide some interesting
insight into these selected episodes.
The bulk of the remaining extras
take the form of 5 featurettes. The first is The Birst of
a Timeless Legacy, which runs about 25 minutes and takes
a look at out the series came to be (or rather almost didnt).
Next is perhaps the strangest feature,
called Life Beyond Star Trek: William Shatner.
At about 10 minutes, there is really very little here that has anything
to do with with Star Trek. Instead, Shatner talks a lot about horses.
To Boldy Go...Season 1
is a retrospective of some of the season's best episodes It runs
about 20 minutes and discusses some of the production issues involved
with the creation of these timeless classics.
Much better than Shatner's segment
is Leonard Nimoy's Reflections on Spock. Nimoy
has an interesting history with this character. At one point in
his career, he wrote a book called I Am Not Spock, in which he tried
to understand and separate himself from the Spock character. He
followed his up later with a sequel, I Am Spock. Here, he talks
about his decision to write these books and the impact this iconic
character has had on his life.
Sci-Fi Visionaries runs nearly 20
minutes and takes look at the many famous writers who contributed
to Star Trek, including Harlan Ellison, D. C. Fontanta and Gene
Coon.
Finishing things off for this set
is a production stills gallery and a few Easter Egg features.
Star Trek fans will certainly wish
that this set had a little more to offer than this, but what is
here is presented well. Are there more materials out there? Certainly.
Perhaps Paramount is saving some of this for the shorter 3rd season.
But I can only review what is here.
:::back to top |
Star Trek is an undeniable classic and it looks
better than ever on DVD. Even though the extras are a bit lacking,
there is still some interesting stuff here and besides, the episodes
are the real reason to buy this set.
:::back to top |
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| Star Trek deals with some
mature themes, but it does so in such a television-friendly way that
nearly the entire series is appropriate for the entire family. |
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| -- By Robert Wurth. Copyright
© 2004. |
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