Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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237 of 256 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, A Season Set Of The ORIGINAL Series!, June 29, 2004
With practically all of the Star Trek spinoffs now available as season sets, Paramount Home Entertainment FINALLY delivers the highly anticipated Star Trek - The Complete First Season on DVD this August 31, in an 8-disc collectible box set. The box will contain all 29 episodes - in airdate order - from Season One of the original Star Trek series, along with newly produced bonus features exclusive to this DVD release. The contents of the DVDs are as follows:
Disc 1: "The Man Trap," "Charlie X," "Where No Man Has Gone Before,"** "The Naked Time"
Disc 2: "The Enemy Within," "Mudd's Women," "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" "Miri"
Disc 3: "Dagger of the Mind," "The Corbomite Maneuver," "The Menagerie, Part I,"** The Menagerie, Part II"**
Disc 4: "The Conscience of the King,"** "Balance of Terror," "Shore Leave," "The Galileo Seven"
Disc 5: "The Squire of Gothos," "Arena," "Tomorrow is Yesterday," "Court Martial"
Disc 6: "The Return of the Archons," "Space Seed," "A Taste of Armageddon," "This Side of Paradise"
Disc 7: "The Devil in the Dark," "Errand of Mercy," "The Alternative Factor," "The City on the Edge of Forever"
Disc 8: "Operation: Annihilation"
** These four episodes have text commentary by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda
Disc 8 of the DVD also includes the following special features:
"The Birth of a Timeless Legacy": The definitive telling of how it all began: from the first pilot, "The Cage," (which will be included on the Season 3 set, and will be the same two versions released before) to reshooting the pilot with William Shatner, to the many challenges leading up to its premiere on NBC in 1966. Included are interviews with cast and network executives and producers. Also featured are new interviews with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Robert Justman.
"Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner": Featured on each volume, this featurette follows one principal cast member around on their most current film and TV projects, charity events, conventions, trips, or hobbies. In Season One, William Shatner gives viewers an exclusive invitation to his ranch to discuss his love of horses.
"To Boldly Go .": Includes discussion of "The Naked Time," "The City on the Edge of Forever," "The Devil in the Dark" and "The Squire of Gothos" by cast and production crew members.
"Reflections on Spock": Leonard Nimoy discusses his character in depth, and explains why he chose to write two different books on the subject: "I Am Not Spock" and "I Am Spock."
"Sci-Fi Visionaries": A look at Star Trek's famous writers, featuring interviews with Gene Coon, Harlan Ellison, George Clayton Thomas, Richard Matheson, D.C. Fontana, Gene Roddenberry, Bob Justman and John D.F. Black.
Original Preview Trailers
Photo Log
Here are the official release dates of the original Star Trek season sets:
- Season 1 on 8/31
- Season 2 on 11/2
- Season 3 on 12/14
- The Complete Series on 12/14
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68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bowing In/Bowing Out, December 17, 2001
In 1964 Gene Roddenberry pitched his Star Trek idea to NBC executives as "Wagon Train to the Stars." Expecting a western set in space, they gave Roddenberry the go-ahead and set him to work. When they viewed The Cage in early 1965, they must have been surprised. After complaining it was "too cerebral," the suits issued a litany of other complaints: the female second in command (Number One) was unacceptable, and there were too many females in general on the ship ("people will think there's a lot of fooling around going on up there"); the presence of minorities would offend NBC affiliates in the South, who would refuse to air the program; and "that guy with the ears" had to go. Roddenberry was willing to concede the female second in command, but thereafter he dug in his heels: minorities and aliens continue to be a presence in Star Trek to this day.Watching The Cage from a 21st Century perspective, one wonders what the NBC suits were in a ringer about. The episode is not appreciably higher in concept than many original series episodes, and the whole affair has an appealing "New Frontier" Kennedy-esque flavor. Somewhat like an Ed Wood movie, Turnabout Intruder is unintentionally humorous. The story idea is ludicrous, the dialogue cringeworthy, and the acting has to be seen to be believed. William Shatner's realization of Kirk's body under the control of Janice Lester (which includes filing his nails and walking with a mincing gait) is the single most over the top performance in all of Trek. He comes across as Joan Crawford on Psilocybin. How his intensely homoerotic moments with guest actor Harry Landers got past the network censors will forever remain a mystery. This story is the greatest camp masterpiece since Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. How does this DVD look? The full color version of The Cage is a true restoration, not merely a remastering. The print has been carefully cleaned and color corrected, and various sound elements (dialogue, music, and sound effects) have been remixed from the original sources. Generally it wears its age well, although portions of the dialogue sound fuzzy. The Black & White/Color amalgamation of The Cage is also included. This version has had no rework done, which makes the restoration of the all-color version all the more stunning. Gene Roddenberry's introduction from 1986 is also included, a nice touch.
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Review of product presentation, not the show itself, September 9, 2004
I'm guessing few people want to read another opinion about the show. If you do, skip this review. Instead, I'll share my opinion and rating of this DVD collection from a physical product standpoint, as well as some of the DVD-collection/presentation elements.
PHYSICAL PRODUCTION
PROS:
- comes in a single hard shell case instead of a cardboard fold-out box
- each disc label has a photo of an original cast member as their character
CONS:
- each of the 8 DVDs is stored on a single, clear plastic, uncovered disc-holder. All 8 are held together with a piece of clear tape.
- the taped bundle of 8 discs fits inside a tight-fitting paper sleeve
- booklet for the DVDs is just a flimsy long fold-out with little informative value
DVD PRESENTATION:
PROS:
- good sound
- decent image quality
- episode preview trailer included for each episode
- some episodes have text pop-up commentary
- all episodes have chapter logs
- original broadcast date included
- a few extras included
CONS:
- being forced to sit through the credits of every episode
- being forced to sit through the bridge animation sequence to get to the main menu
- bad quality control process on some of episode selection/nav console sequence (for example, I always experience stuttering and visual errors when loading the episode nav console for "What Are Little Girls Made Of?")
- use of prints apparently remastered in 1978 (unless the closing copyright date is simply a studio copyright and not print-related).
OTHER STUFF:
Price: I bought it new and discounted at $79.99 and thought that should have been the *list* price. Pretty poor value if you pay much more than this.
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