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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
- To Boldly Go...Season 2 featurette
- Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy featurette
- Kirk, Spock and Bones: Star Trek's Great Trio featurette
- Designing The Final Frontier featurette
- Star Trek's Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols featurette
- Writer's Notebook: D.C. Fontana
- Production Stills gallery
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It's easy now, with 5 television series and
a franchise of movies, to take Star Trek for granted, but the
original series really had to fight for every minute of air
time. Season 1 almost never got past the pilot, and then almost
never got to a season 2.
However, the persistence of Gene Roddenberry
and the faith of a growing fan base paid off and the crew of
the Starship Enterprise was back for another classic run of
stories.
The first season established the characters
and their professional friendship. Season 2 looked to explore
their personal devotion to one another. Right out of the gate
we're treated to Amok Time, in which Spock
(Leonard Nimoy) enters a rare mating cycle, which brings forth
his emotions and forces a fight to death between him and Captain
Kirk (William Shatner). This episode showcases the power of
Kirk, Spock and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) as a team, a theme that
would run through the remainder of the series and films.
Season 2 also took some more experimental
chances with its storytelling, which works exceptionally well
in some episodes (such as Mirror Mirror, which
finds the crew in an alternate evil universe) and falls ridiculously
flat in others (the ill-conceived Who Mourns for Adonais?
comes to mind).
Many episodes in season 2 carried a distinct
social message that was, at times, a bit heavy-handed, as in
Patterns of Force, in which Kirk and crew find
themselves on a planet patterned after Nazi Germany.
Star Trek also attempted to appeal to the
less science fiction minded crowd with more comedic episodes,
like the infamous The Trouble With Tribbles.
All in all, season 2 didn't manage to be quite
the home run that was season 1, but there was still filled with
some good storytelling.
:::back to
top |
Season 2 received much of the same
video treatment as season 1 and thus looks very similar. Production
values hadn't really changed much between the 2 seasons, so they
look very similar. In fact, perhaps the only thing that visually
separates season 1 from 2 is the addition of Pavel Chekov (Walter
Koenig) to the cast.
The digital restoration once again
reveals lush colors and a picture that is better than you've ever
seen before for this series. Digital problems are very minimal.
:::back to top |
The digital 5.1 recreation again
carries over to season 2 and serves the episodes well. There is
a clarity to the dialog that was missing from the original soundtrack
and the dynamic range has been much improved..
:::back to top |
Once again, there are preview
trailers for each episode. And again, these were previously
available on Paramount's first release of the series.
Season 2 only features 2 text
commentary tracks this time around. Michael and Denise
Okuda again serve up bits of trivia from their vast wealth of knowledge
about all things Trek. This time, Amok Time and
The Trouble With Tribbles are the featured episodes.
Once again, the remaining extras
are mostly in the form of featurettes. First up is To Boldy
Go...Season 2. Picking up where the season 1's featurette
left off, To Boldly Go features interviews with cast and crew and
their perspective on the best that season 2 had to offer.
Next is Life Beyond Star
Trek: Leonard Nimoy. Once again, there is little here that
has much to do with Star Trek. Nimoy discusses his current career
and projects in this 10 minute feature.
The very brief Kirk, Spock
and Bones: Star Trek's Great Trio focuses, as you might
have guessed, on the emerging relationship of these three pivotal
characters.
Star Trek's Divine Diva:
Nichelle Nichols takes a look at the famous communications
officer, Lt. Uhura. Nichols remembers her casting process, as well
as the responsibilities and pressures surrounding her groundbreaking
character.
Designing the Final Frontier
features an interview with Matt Jeffries, the production designer
responsible for much of the look of Star Trek.
The final featurette is Writer's
Notebook: D. C. Fontana and is a short look at her contributions
to the Star Trek universe.
Once again, finishing things off
for this set is a production stills gallery and a few Easter Egg
features.
As with the season 1 set, the extra
features seem to leave you wanting for more. Still, what is here
is decent.
:::back to top |
Season 2 of Star Trek didn't carry quite the
punch as the first, but is still good stuff. And presenting the
series in these season packs is certainly a much more friendly way
to own Star Trek than Paramount's original release.
:::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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