webdesign by Andriech, original graphics by Vengaurd.
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: “Yes”...or... “No”
Here’s why:
THE CONTENT:
This is a great box set featuring all of the Next Generation crew motion pictures:
“Star Trek: Generations”, “Star Trek: First Contact”, “Star Trek: Insurrection”,
and “Star Trek: Nemesis”. The set also includes a high def bonus disc called
“Star Trek: Evolutions” which contains seven new featurettes adding up to
seventy-seven never-before-seen footage. The 5-disc DVD collection is
presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English
5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround (plus Portuguese
Mono on Generations, Portuguese 2.0 Surround on First Contact and Insurrection
and Portuguese 5.1 Surround on Nemesis) and English, French, Spanish and
Portuguese subtitles.
The new 1080p transfers of these films make their clean definition and color
more delightful to watch than standard DVD’s, but they aren’t remarkable by any
means and are often inconsistent, with the Digital Noise Reduction noticeable. The
set contains Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound and, as to be expected, provide an
incredible sensory experience.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
On all discs:
Each disc contains a rather annoying preview advertisement of other “Star Trek”
products at both the start-up and in the main menu, as well as the expected
scene selections. In addition, the discs all contain a “Trek Roundtable” discussion
of the movie in question, where Larry Nemecek, Anthony Pascale, Charlene
Anderson, and Jeff Bond, who discuss the movie in terms of fandom and in the
context of TNG in general. There is also a “Starfleet Academy” feature which
contains a discussion of a film-specific scientific concept. Finally, an rather long
interview with Brent Spiner titled: “Data and Beyond” is broken up between all
four discs.
Other features on Discs:
Although the other features on the discs are unique, they, unfortunately, contain
an over-abundance of chat by Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner.
Although we love these folks, it honestly gets tiring to have the same people as
guests chatting to you in your living room hour after hour. There were other
people in this series, guys.
Star Trek: Generations
· “Commentary by director David Carson and writer Manny Coto” on the film’s
place in the both our and the TNG universe.
· “Next Generation Designer Flashback Andrew Probert”
· “Stellar Cartography on Earth”, which contains interviews with astronomers on
the map of the universe.
· “Starfleet Academy: Trilithium”
· “Scoring Trek”
The DVD for Star Trek: Generations contains a delightful thirty plus minutes of
deleted scenes, introduced by Rick Berman. They include Walking the Plank,
Christmas with the Picards, and an Alternate Ending. Also included is the original
opening Orbital Skydiving sequence, which is also introduced by William Shatner,
James Doohan, Walter Koenig, and Herman Zimmerman. This is probably the only
deleted scene I wouldn’t want to consider canon, as it shows Chekov talking Kirk
into attending the launch of the Enterprise-B and thus, in the end, ultimately as
responsible for his original captain’s death. Who would want to live with that?
Star Trek: First Contact
· Commentary by producer Damon Lindelof and “TrekMovieReport” celeb Anthony
Pascale, in which they discuss the place of J.J. Abrams Trek film’s place in the ST
universe.
· “Industrial Light & Magic—The Next Generation”
· “Greetings from the International Space Station” is a newly recorded feature
of an astronaut discussing what Gene Roddenberry might have thought of the ISS.
· “SpaceShipOne's Historic Flight” is an interview with the pilot who flew the
aircraft.
· “Starfleet Academy: Temporal Vortex”
Star Trek: Insurrection
· “Commentary by Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis” which is a wonderful
reunion piece.
· “Westmore's Legacy” is a historical retrospective of the family’s contributions
to the movie industry over the years.
· “Marina Sirtis: The Counselor Is In” examines Sirtis’ contribution to the TNG
universe.
· “Starfleet Academy: The Origins of the Ba'ku and Son'a Conflict”
Star Trek: Nemesis
· Commentary by series consultants Michael and Denise Okuda
· “Reunion with the Rikers”, another delightful conversation between Jonathan
Frakes and Marina Sirtis
· “Today's Tech Tomorrow's Data” examines the differences between current
tech evolution and the TNG science fiction version.
· “Robot Hall of Fame” is an interview with Brent Spiner about his inclusion in the
HOF.
· Starfleet Academy: Thalaron Radiation
This DVD also contains seven deleted scenes which add twenty plus minutes to
the disc: which is still far short of the 45 minutes that were cut from the film for
theatrical release. Some of the scenes are quite meaty, however, and fans are
treated to a look at “Martin Madden” (Steven Culp), a character who was left on
the cutting room floor.
Star Trek Evolutions (Bonus Disc):
· “The Evolution of the Enterprise”
· “Villains of Star Trek”
· “I Love the Star Trek Movies”
· “Farewell to Star Trek: The Experience”
· “Klingon Encounter”
· “Borg Invasion 4D”
· “Charting the Final Frontier”
WHY YOU NEED TO BUY THE DVD SET:
* Because you don’t own a Blu-Ray player. This set contains a horde of special
features that the original DVD set doesn’t contain, so if you have the other set
this is still worth the cash outlay if only to see the features. They also have
somewhat better picture and sound than the original set, but it’s not enough for
any but the hardest core Trekkies to invest in for that reason.
WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN THE BLU-RAY SET INSTEAD:
* To be honest, there are far more extra features on the Blu-Ray set than are
available on the DVD version of this collection. Let’s face it, Blu-Ray is here to
stay and it is probably time to invest in both a Blu-Ray player and the Blu-Ray
discs rather than adding yet another, soon to be/already out-dated DVD set.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION PICTURE COLLECTION
Street Date: September 22, 2009
| Star Trek The Next Generation The Movie Collection 2009 |
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION THE MOVIE COLLECTION |
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES The Original Series on Blu-Ray |
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION THE BEST OF COLLECTION |
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES THE MOVIE COLLECTION ON BLU-RAY THE MOVIE COLLECTION ON DVD |