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Respective Links Below!
Title:
The Best Of Star Trek: The Original Series & The Best Of Star Trek: The Next
Generation
Region:
One
Genre:
Science Fiction TV Series
The
Original Series Episodes: “The City On The Edge Of Forever”, “The Trouble
With Tribbles”, “Balance Of Terror”, “Amok Time”
The
Next Generation Episodes: “The Best Of Both Worlds (Part I)”, “The Best Of
Both Worlds (Part II)”, “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, “The Measure Of A
Man”
Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Majel Barrett/ Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Wil Wheaton, and Gates McFadden
Guest Stars: Joan Collins, William Campbell, Charles Brill, Stanley Adams, Celia Lovsky, and Mark Leonard/Elizabeth Dennehy, George Murdock, Tricia O’Neill, Christopher McDonald, Whoopi Goldberg, Denise Crosby, Brian Brophy, Clyde Kusatsu, and Amanda McBroom
Writers:
Harlan Ellison, David Gerrold, Paul Schneider and Theodore Sturgeon/ Michael
Piller, Ira Steven Behr, Ronald Manning, Hans Beimler, Ronald D. Moore, and
Melinda M. Snodgrass
Directors:
Joseph Pevney, and Vincent McEveety/Cliff Bole, David Carson, and Robert
Scheerer
Based
On Star Trek Created By Gene Roddenberry
Executive
Producer: Gene Roddenberry
Feature
length: 3 hours and 21 minutes/3 hours and 1 minute
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish and Portuguese Language
Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and English, Spanish, and Portuguese Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Year
of DVD Release: 2009
Home
Video Distributor: CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
With
the new J.J. Abrams feature film Star Trek opening Friday, May 8, 2009,
CBS Video and Paramount Home Entertainment are releasing a number of Star
Trek related products on DVD and in some cases exclusively on Blu-ray Disc.
Two of the items to be released on standard definition DVD and therefore
compatible on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc player are The Best Of Star Trek: The
Original Series and The Best Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both
volumes feature four acclaimed and beloved episodes from each series. There are
no bonus features included on either disc other than a reel of previews for Star
Trek: The Original Series: Season 1 Blu-ray Disc Set, The Star Trek:
Movie Collection on Blu-ray Disc as well as the trilogy set that is being
released on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc and a trailer for Charmed: The Final
Season on DVD (2:42). The menus are standard still frames that are extremely
simplified, but do feature nice artwork. These two volumes are more like an easy
way to get a quick fix on Star Trek without having to shuffle through
season box sets and fan collectives. They are not meant to replace any of the
other DVDs and Blu-rays available, but rather provide a simple way for fans and
newcomers alike to watch some classic episodes of the original Star Trek
as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation and they are both handsomely
packaged too with the Star Fleet insignia on each within a standard DVD keep
case that looks handsome when placed together on one’s media shelf.
I
hope there will be a Best Of DVD release in the future for Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise
because I think all five live action series deserve this treatment to complement
or build upon the existing libraries now available on home video. The Best Of
Star Trek: The Original Series features the remastered versions of the
classic episodes “The City On The Edge Of Forever,” which won a Hugo for
both the dramatic presentation and a Hugo for Harlan Ellison’s original
teleplay. Arguably the most popular episode from the classic series, “The
Trouble With Tribbles,” the first episode to introduce the Romulans “Balance
Of Terror,” which stars Mark Leonard before he was cast as Spock’s father in
the original series, and fans and newcomers alike will also get to visit the
planet Vulcan like they have never seen it on television before with “Amok
Time.” As noted above, these episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series
have been digitally remastered for brilliant picture quality and enhanced
digital effects too.
The
classic fan favorite "The Trouble With Tribbles" features William
Campbell in his second appearance on Star Trek. This time he appears as
the Klingon Captain Koloth. He reprised the role nearly 30 years later in the Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath." Actor Charlie Brill
also reprised his role as Arne Darvin in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine where the main characters of the Deep Space Nine television
series travel back in time the 23rd Century and through the use of digital
technology, we see the cast of the original Star Trek and Deep Space
Nine interact in the same episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," but
we see the events from the point of view of the Deep Space Nine
characters.
The
entertaining episode "Amok Time" has Kirk rushing Spock back to the
planet Vulcan within 8 solar days or Spock will die. It is the Vulcan mating
cycle known as Pon Farr and upon arriving to Spock's home world, we find out
that Spock's arranged bride has an agenda of her own, choosing the right of
combat and forcing Spock to fight to the death with her chosen champion, Captain
Kirk. The episode features a well-written teleplay by noted science fiction
author Theodore Sturgeon and we also get our first glimpse at Spock's planet.
The Vulcan mating cycle of Pon Farr would be visited again in Star Trek III:
The Search For Spock and we would also see the surface of Vulcan once again
in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Star
Trek IV: The Voyage Home and in the 2009 feature film Star Trek.
“The City On The Edge Of Forever” features Joan Collins in a guest-starring
role where Kirk must make a difficult decision if he is to save the future, as
he knows it.
The
Next Generation shows
included on the other DVD feature the two-part episode that served as the
exciting third season finale and fourth season premiere, The Best Of Both Worlds
(Parts I & II)” The episodes are presented in their original broadcast
version and have not been edited together to make one feature length episode as
has occurred on early home video releases many years ago. This two-part story is
widely considered to be the best or among the best of the entire “Next
Generation” series. It features The Borg and their first attack on Earth.
Events in this episode would be revisited in the premiere episode of Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine, where we actually get to see the Battle of Wolf 359.
It also sets up the Borg for their second attack on Earth and Picard’s
connection with them in the film Star Trek: First Contact and a possible
way to defeat The Borg using nanotechnology will eventually be put into place in
the series finale of Star Trek: Voyager. Though in this episode we do not
know how The Borg are able to travel into Federation space so quickly, we
eventually learn that they use Trans-Warp Technology, an advanced for of space
travel that the Federation was never able to perfect. The Excelsior as
first introduced in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock was to have
featured Trans-Warp technology, but a certain engineer made certain they would
not follow when the Enterprise began it’s unauthorized journey back to
the planet Genesis.
“Yesterday’s
Enterprise,” which gives information on the act of sacrifice that would assist
in the alliance the Klingons and Federation share in the 24th
century, the return of Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) in an alternate Star Trek
Timeline, as well as a look at the Enterprise-C. “The Measure Of A
Man,” has Data put on trial to prove he is not just an android, but rather a
sentient being while his friend Commander Riker is forced into a position to try
and prove the opposite.
All
four episodes in each respective volume are presented in their original (1.33:1)
broadcast aspect ratio with English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish
and Portuguese Language Two-Channel Monaural Sound as well as English Closed
Captions for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired and English, Spanish, and Portuguese
Language Subtitles encoded on to the discs as options.
The
Best Of Star Trek: The Original Series
and The Best Of Star Trek: The Next Generation will debut on DVD-Video,
but sold separately at retailers on and offline on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
courtesy of CBS Video and Paramount Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2009 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Own Them On DVD By Clicking On The
Respective Links Below!