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copyright 2006-2010 by Star Traveler Publications
copyright 2006-2010 by Star Traveler Publications
There are two things which Trekkies know about Paramount: they have no idea why the
franchise is still popular after 43 years, and they will never let an opportunity pass to
try to sell Trekkies some new version of the same Trek merchandise they have already.
As this new spring rolls around Star Trek is once again in theatres, so fans were already
braced for the onslaught of new collectibles - even dieting as they saved up their
“Kellogg’s” and “Burger King” coupons in anticipation.
With a new cast in the familiar TOS roles and a completely re-imagined universe for
them to bound around in the sweeping variety of merchandise was inevitable. What was
not inevitable, and what comes as a welcome surprise, is that the studio is still reaching
out to the original series fans that have kept the franchise alive for all these decades
with new tempting treats to feed their long running obsession with Star Trek and the
original cast. Given Paramount’s misunderstanding of what drives Trekkies and their
obsession with milking the cash cow the question that looms is...
“Is any of this worth it?”
READ ON>>>>
franchise is still popular after 43 years, and they will never let an opportunity pass to
try to sell Trekkies some new version of the same Trek merchandise they have already.
As this new spring rolls around Star Trek is once again in theatres, so fans were already
braced for the onslaught of new collectibles - even dieting as they saved up their
“Kellogg’s” and “Burger King” coupons in anticipation.
With a new cast in the familiar TOS roles and a completely re-imagined universe for
them to bound around in the sweeping variety of merchandise was inevitable. What was
not inevitable, and what comes as a welcome surprise, is that the studio is still reaching
out to the original series fans that have kept the franchise alive for all these decades
with new tempting treats to feed their long running obsession with Star Trek and the
original cast. Given Paramount’s misunderstanding of what drives Trekkies and their
obsession with milking the cash cow the question that looms is...
“Is any of this worth it?”
READ ON>>>>
The answer is: “uh... maybe”
Simply, here’s why:
This set has all The Original Series feature films upgraded to 1080p HD, but it
seems that they were rushed to meet the deadlines for this release and some of
the films suffer for the upgrade. There are, however, tons of new features
which are probably a “must have” for most die-hard Star Trek fans.
THE CONTENT:
This seven disc set includes all six of the Star Trek: The Original Series feature
films, starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as
Commander Spock, DeForest Kelley as Doctor Leonard McCoy, James Doohan as
Chief Engineer “Scotty”, Walter Koenig as Ensign Chekov, George Takei as Lt.
Sulu, and Nichele Nichols as Lt. Uhura in 1080p HD. Every one of these discs
contain hours upon hours of extra features...almost a dizzying amount, who’s
running time is far longer than the movies themselves. The seventh, bonus, disc
“Star Trek: The Captains’ Summit” is a remarkable addition in of itself.
Although the detail on all the movies is definitely increased in this set, upgrading
them for Blu-ray involved digitally scrubbing the footage (DNR) and this gives
many of them a “digital” look rather than the look of being on film. On “The Motion
Picture”, this results in a darker look with over-saturation of color. “The Wrath of
Khan” is the only movie that was completely remastered for this set, and it has -
by default - the clearest and most enjoyable picture. “The Search for Spock” and
“The Voyage Home” both have sharp pictures on this Blu-ray set, but there is an
over-sharpening which is distracting when looking at the faces of our crew. “The
Final Frontier” probably suffers the most in this set, with a darker contrast that
outright “blows out” many of the details in the most important scenes - it is
almost impossible to make out “the face of god”. “The Undiscovered Country”, in
addition to the “digital” look has the annoying habit of the film grain freezing and
changing visibly before your eyes.
The audio for all six movies is in Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and the dialogue, sound
effects and score have never sounded better.
The bonus disc, “Star Trek: The Captains’ Summit” is a roundtable between
Shatner, Nimoy, Stewart and Frakes with Whoopi Goldberg moderating. This 70
minute feature is a voyeur look at a inside discussion of what it’s like to be a Star
Trek actor. While we watch, they chat with each other about fans, on-set high-
jinx, costumes, conventions and being a celebrity. A fun 70 minutes, it’s probably
the best reason to purchase this set.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The extras from the previously released DVD’s are here (in their original SD
format), and each movie comes with an amazing amount of new extra features
done in HD. There are so many hours of extras, in fact, that it is impossible to
review them all.
On All Discs:
* “Commentaries” and “Captain’s Logs” - old, new... they are all here. There is
enough commentary by different folks to give even the most earnest fans plenty
of useless new trivia to memorize in order to prove they are, indeed, Trekkies, to
their embarrassed family.
* “Preview trailers, Televison Spots” and “Press Conferences” - included for each
episode are the original trailers that aired in theatres, television, and a couple of
the films feature Press Conferences. They were boring the first time we saw
them.
* “Storyboards” and “Photo Galleries”- included for each movie are behind the
scenes looks at the visual development of the story. This gives fans a good idea
of how a story moves from page to film.
* “Library Computer” - is an on-screen, interactive feature with a visual catalogue
of optional background information for the scenes as they play... the Blu-ray
version of VH1's “pop up videos”. A good feature for the fan that can already
recite the movie..
* “BD Live: Online Extras” - a feature included in all Trek Blu-ray releases, this is
an option taht allows access to extra content on high-speed internet.”.
* “Deleted Scenes”, “Original Interviews”, “Tributes” and “Features On” - There
are a host of these available spread generously throughout the set.
Other Features on Discs:
There are simply too many features to talk about individually. The sheer range of
them ensures that fans will find something new to interest them no matter what
aspect of Star Trek fandom is their passion. Of special note to Star Trek New
Voyages: Phase II fans is the “Collecting Star Trek’s Movie Relics” on “Star Trek:
The Wrath of Khan”. Despite it’s odd name, this feature looks at folks who collect
props and costumes, and it includes a look at the Phase II costume collection
owned by our own James Cawley. “Pavel Chekov’s Screen Moments” on “The
Voyage Home” also gives Walter Koenig an opportunity for a down-to-Earth chat
about his character and the way Chekov is perceived. Appropriately, this feature
is on Koenig’s favorite “Chekov” movie.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• The Longest Trek: Writing the Motion Picture (HD)
• Special Star Trek Reunion (HD)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Collecting Star Trek’s Movie Relics (HD)
• Designing Khan
• Where No Man Has Gone Before: The Visual Effects of The Wrath of Khan
• The Star Trek Universe: A Novel Approach
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Terraforming and the Prime Directive
• Industrial Light & Magic: The Visual Effects of Star Trek (HD)
• Spock: The Early Years (HD)
• Space Docks and Birds of Prey
• Speaking Klingon
• Klingon and Vulcan Costumes
• Star Trek and the Science Fiction Museum Hall of Fame (HD)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Pavel Chekov’s Screen Moments (HD)
• The Three-Picture Saga (HD)
• Star Trek for a Cause (HD)
• Future’s Past: A Look Back
• On Location
• Dailies Deconstruction
• Below-the-Line: Sound Design
• Time Travel: The Art of the Possible
• The Language of Whales
• A Vulcan Primer
• Kirk’s Women
• From Outer Space to the Ocean
• The Bird of Prey
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek Honors NASA (HD)
• Hollywood Walk of Fame: James Doohan (HD)
• Harve Bennett’s Pitch to the Sales Team
• The Journey: A Behind-the-Scenes Documentary
• Makeup Tests
• Pre-Visualization Models
• Rockman in the Raw
• Cosmic Thoughts• That Klingon Couple
• A Green Future?
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• To Be Or Not To Be: Klingons and Shakespeare (HD)
• The Perils of Peacemaking
• Stories from Star Trek VI:
* It Started with a Story
* Prejudice
* Shakespeare & General Chang
* Bring it to Life
* Farewell & Goodbye
• Klingons: Conjuring the Legend
• Federation Operatives
• Penny’s Toy Box
• Together Again
WHY YOU NEED TO BUY THE BLU-RAY SET:
* The hours and hours of extra features. Even if you don’t watch the movies the
featurettes are worth owning the set and makes the set qualify as a “must have”
for all genuine “Star Trek: The Original Series” fans. If they improve the quality
of the DNR transfers, it’s a safe bet the even newer release sets, when they
become available, will not contain all the same features.
WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP HD DVD’s OF THE MOVIES:
* All of the movies in this set are the theatrical release version. The only way
you’ll see the “Director’s Cut” of the two previous HD releases, along with the
accompanying commentary of them, is to keep the HD DVD’s of “The Motion
Picture” and “The Undiscovered Country” that you already own.
* The Blu-Ray upgrade of some of these movies is, quite simply, painful to watch..
especially on larger TV’s.
STAR TREK: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE COLLECTION
Street Date: May 12, 2009
Pricing: $104.99 U.S. (Blu-ray)
| Star Trek The Original Series The Movie Collection 2009 |
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