Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelly, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 7
• Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
• DVD Release Date: November 2, 2004
• Run Time: 1307 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002JJBZE
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,721 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #8 in	Movies & TV > Television > Classic TV > Star Trek: The Original Series
  #48 in	Movies & TV > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Star Trek
  #58 in	Movies & TV > Boxed Sets > Classics

• For more information about "Star Trek The Original Series - The Complete Second Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 2 in The Star Trek: The Original Series Complete Season Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The most famous episode in franchise history, "The Trouble with Tribbles," is one of the highlights of the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series. A deserved classic, the humorous story centers on an ever-expanding mass of furry creatures that memorably rain themselves down on top of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and into the middle of a Federation-Klingon showdown. It inspired one of the most memorable episodes in the spin-off series Deep Space Nine, "Trial and Tribble-ations." Also in the second season, the Vulcan culture of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is fleshed out in "Amok Time" (in which Spock is faced with the possibility of killing his captain and friend) and "Journey to Babel" (introducing Spock's father, played by Mark Sarek, in what would turn out to be a long-recurring role). A new character, navigator Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), was introduced; his Monkees haircut was intended to appeal to the younger audience, but he was also a Russian, which at the height of the cold war reflected Gene Roddenberry's optimistic vision of a more enlightened future. Other social-commentary opportunities presented themselves in "The Omega Glory," "The Doomsday Machine," and "Assignment: Earth," the last also one of those periodic opportunities to scrimp on the budget by time-traveling to an earlier version of Earth. Another example was "A Piece of the Action," a comic episode set in the Roaring Twenties and memorable for, among other things, Kirk's teaching a made-up card game called Fizzbin. In other significant episodes, "I, Mudd" saw the return of the bounder from season 1, "The Changeling" was the original inspiration for the first Trek feature film a decade later, "Wolf in the Fold" (penned by the author of Psycho) provides an example of the series' great writing, and "Mirror, Mirror" introduced the concept of the parallel universe inhabited by vicious, amoral counterparts of the regular crew, another theme later borrowed (more than once, and to good emotional effect) by DS9.

Special features are a bit lighter than on the season 1 set, but they do feature such contributors as Shatner, Nimoy, George Takei (Sulu), Koenig, Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and editor-writer D.C. Fontana. Of chief interest are "To Boldly Go," a 20-minute season recap; " Kirk, Spock & Bones: The Great Trio," discussing the interplay among Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley); "Star Trek's Divine Diva," shining the spotlight on the development of Nichols's character (she was originally considered to play Spock); and "Writer's Notebook: D.C. Fontana," discussing her various roles in the series (she used her initials to avoid the anti-female bias in science fiction at the time). --David Horiuchi

Product Description
STAR TREK: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON features many exciting adventures with the Enterprise crew, including Spock experiencing the Vulcan mating drive, the crew being captured by a powerful alien once worshipped on Earth as the Greek god Apollo, the return of an ancient space probe launched centuries ago, aging at an incredible rate after exposure to an unknown form of radiation, and other episodes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

134 of 147 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic series., September 12, 2004

By	cyclista (the Midwest) - See all my reviews

I was in high school when Star Trek originally ran. Even with the cheesy special effects and overacting, it was a show that we looked forward to every week. With the US in a foreign war, it was no wonder that a show would be so popular with a Prime Directive of non-interference. Here is a synopsis of the episodes in the second season.

1. Amok Time: Spock must return to Vulcan to complete a mating ceremony.
2. Who Mourns for Adonis?: The God Apollo invites the crew to his planet. One female crew member falls in love with him.
3. The Changeling: A probe has changed from its original purpose to seek out life to a new purpose of destroying all imperfect life forms.
4. Mirror, Mirror: A transporter malfunction send Kirk, Scott, McCoy, and Uhura into an alternate universe where the Galactic Empire is based on terror, treachery, and force.
5. The Apple: A planet is beautiful but the plants shoot deadly needles and rocks explode. The peaceful inhabitants feed a computer that oppresses the culture of the planet.
6. The Doomsday Machine: When the Enterprise responds to the distress call of the U.S.S. Constellation, a Doomsday machine that has already destroyed several planets targets the Enterprise.
7. Catspaw: Kirk, Spock, and McCoy visit a Halloweenish planet with witches, black cats, fog and dungeons. An alien uses magic to persuade Kirk to leave without Scott and Sulu.
8. I, Mudd: Harry Mudd has declared himself the king of a planet populated with androids. The androids won't let him leave, so he wants someone to take his place.
9. Metamorphosis: A man thought long dead has been kept alive by an entity called "the companion". The Enterprise is brought to the planet by the entity to keep the man company.
10. Journey to Babel: The Enterprise transports a group of ambassadors that include Spock's parents. Spock's father, Sarek, is accused of the murder of another ambassador.
11. Friday's Child: The Enterprise completes with the Klingons for a mining treaty with the tribes of Capella. The tribal leader is killed and the new leader favors the Klingons.
12. The Deadly Years: After delivering supplies to a colony, the crew begins to rapidly age.
13. Obsession: Two crew members die from what Kirk believes is the same cloud-like creature that killed half of the crew of the U.S.S. Farragut.
14. Wolf in The Fold: Scott has a head injury and Kirk and McCoy take him to a planet for recovery. Three people are killed, and Scott is the only suspect.
15. The Trouble With Tribbles: The small purring balls of fur are irresistible pets but a few on board the Enterprise turn into a horde. Worse yet, they invade a shipment of grain.
16. The Gamesters of Triskelion: A civilization known as "The Providers" enslave the crew of the Enterprise with pain-inflicting collars to be gladiators.
17. A Piece of the Action: The inhabitants of a planet have been contaminated with items from Earth and the Enterprise is sent to investigate. They discover a culture similar to 20th Century USA, complete with mobsters.
18. The Immunity Syndrome: The Enterprise investigates the loss of contact with the solar system 7A. They find the solar system gone and then are trapped themselves.
19. A Private Little War: Kirk is unhappy to find that the previously peaceful natives of a planet that he had visited several years ago are now at war. One side has flintlock firearms and the witch doctor asks the Enterprise crew for phasers.
20. Return to Tomorrow: On a long dead planet, three have survived inside "globes". They ask for help to build androids, but then decide that they would rather use human bodies.
21. Patterns of Force: The Enterprise checks on a historian on a planet, and find a society similar to Nazi Germany.
22. By Any Other Name: The Enterprise responds to a faked distress call and are overtaken by the Kelvans, whose goal is to conquer other galaxies. They are forced to take human form.
23. The Omega Glory: The Enterprise discovers that the crew of a missing starship have been killed by a virus. They find the captain alive and violating the Prime Directive. The captain believes that the villagers are immortal.
24. The Ultimate Computer: The Enterprise has been assigned to test a new generation of computers. After the computer destroys a freighter, it refuses to relinquish control of the ship.
25. Bread and Circuses: The Enterprise has found the debris of the missing S.S. Beagle near a distant planet. The culture on the planet is similar to ancient Rome. They find that the captain beamed the crew to the planet. Those that couldn't survive died in the arena games.
26. Assignment: Earth: The Enterprise is sent back in time to the year 1968 to the planet Earth to find out how the arms race was survived. The ship intercepts a transporter beam with a space traveler headed for Earth.

61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A preview of the special features on the second season, October 26, 2004

By	Wayne Klein "If at first the idea is not absu... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

With ratings that disappointed NBC, "Star Trek" quickly became targeted for cancellation by the end of the second season. The second season doesn't lack quality however it ranked in the ratings. Noted science fiction writers Theodore Sturgeon and Norman Spinrad along with fantasy and horror writer Robert Bloch turned in some of the finest episodes during season two. Sturgeon's "Amok Time" established a culture for Spock and established much of the mythology of the planet Vulcan. Spinrad's well written "The Doomsday Machine" proved a brilliant metaphor for the arms race when a machine that literally eats planets as part of its destructive pattern appears in our galaxy. While the optical effects were underwhelming at times (the USS Defiant which is destroyed is built from an AMC home model kit of the USS Enterprise and doesn't look at all convincing), the acting of guest William Windom was top notch and the taunt direction overcame these defects. Bloch's two contributions included the Halloween thriller "Catspaw" and the murder mystery "Wolf in the Fold". Both are top notch with strong performances from all the regular cast. Jerome Bixby ("Fantastic Voyage", the classic short story "It's a Good Life") contributed the alternate universe episode "Mirror, Mirror" where, due to a transporter accident Kirk, Bones, Scotty and Uhura are transported to an Enterprise whose mission is to conquer alien races, take what they want and kill those who get in the way. The late producer/writer Gene L. Coon contributes the terrific "Metamorphosis". Coon's humorous "A Piece of the Action" mined new territory for the series with its witty script and tongue-in-cheek tone. The talented writer Dorothy Fontana provides one of the finest episodes of the season with "Journey to Babel" about a meeting on the Enterprise between a variety of alien races and the discord one terrorist tries to create by murdering one of the delegates. Then of course there was neophyte writer David Gerrold's "The Trouble with Tribbles" (and his uncredited rewrite on the humorous "I Mudd"). Gerrold later became a Hugo and Nebula winning writer and his early career was nurtured by Roddenberry among many others.

There are many that felt that the second season didn't quite live up to the first but the characters had clear identities and the writing was just as strong with some of the finest episodes produced during season two. Certainly there were clunkers (Roddenberry's own "The Omega Glory" is among the worst the series ever produced) but the second season was every bit the equal of the first season. The optical effects also improved with fewer bad mattes (in some of the first season episodes the Enterprise appears transparent at times) and the acting became more self assured.

The picture quality is still stellar. Produced from the same master Paramount used for the Sci-Fi Channel debut and those produced for the individual sets released a couple of years ago, "TOS" looks exceptionally good with its rich day-glo 60's colors. The optical effects still look a bit dodgy but that's because they were produced using multiple exposures and, as a result, they're a bit less sharp with more grain (not a problem with the transfer per se)and also signficantly more analog debris.

The special features will be of particular interest to "Trek" fans and I've got a preview from my promo copy of the last disc of the set I received. "Life After Trek" focuses (as did the first) on a hobby of a cast member. This time Leonard Nimoy's hobby of still photography is examined. I don't know that I would call it a hobby based on the quality of the images we see. We also here Nimoy discuss his passion for photography and see some of his prints, his darkroom, etc.

"To Boldly Go" once again has Associate Producer Robert Justman, fan Bjo Trumble, Shatner and others dicuss their favorite episodes from season two. George Takei mentions his discomfort when Walter Koenig joined the show because he felt that Koenig might get some of his lines and screen time. Koenig points out that he never knew any of this and both comment on how they became good friends. The featurette focuses on the classic David Gerrold episode "The Troulbe with Tribbles" as well discussing how the producers wanted to experiment with the tone of the show more.

Walter Koenig also discusses his reception among the cast and why the show introduced his character (they were going after the "Davy Jones" look with his haircut). His character was designed to try and expand the audience as well. D. C. Fontana and the cast and crew also focus on their favorite episodes of season two as well.

"Kirk, Bones and Spock: Star Trek's Great Trio" consists of interviews of Shatner, Nimoy and D. C. Fontana discussing the chemistry of the trio of actors playing the main roles. Fontana mentions that Deforest Kelley wasn't original a top billed actor in the series but became so as the chemistry of the three actors became apparent. George Takei focuses on the presence that Shatner brought to the role of Shatner (without dishing on their differences in the past). John D. F. Black (former story editor and writer on the show), Mary Black as well as fan Bjo Trimble (who spearheaded the save Star Trek campaign that kept the series on the air for a third seasons) also comment on how the three interplay of the three actors brought the show its unique flavor that reached out and appealed to the broader audience that NBC couldn't bring to the show. There's quite a bit of discussion also about the late Kelley's unique southern charm and how he integrated into the role of McCoy.

"D.C. Fontana's Writer's Notebook" has former Trek story editor and writer Fontana expanding on the job of the story editor and what she brought to the table as both writer and editor expanding, revising and rewriting scripts with the participation of the show's writers. "Divine Diva: Nichelle Nicholls" focuses on the talented lady who played Uhura on the show. She discusses her beginnings in musical theater and how she ended up working on "Star Trek" Nicholls discusses how Roddenberry first cast her in his series "The Lieutenant" and how Roddenberry had the vision and guts to cast an African American actress in a prominent role on a prime time series that didn't fall into a stereotype. Evidently Nicholls suggested the name of Uhura for the character Roddenberry created for her (she actually read for Spock originally as the character didn't exist in the original series bible). It's a nice profile of one of Trek's most talented performers.

"Designing the Final Frontier" features designer Matt Jeffries discussing how he came to "Star Trek". Originally Jeffries was going to work on one of three new series "Mission: Impossible", "Star Trek" or a new western. "Star Trek" came up for production first. His unique designs are also highlighted in both this featurette as well as a stills gallery. Associate Producer Robert Justman highlights the unique qualities that Jeffries brought to the show and how he tried to give it a fantastic element that had just a touch of reality to make it something the audience of the 20th Century could relate to as well. Jeffries focuses on his collaborative efforts with the optical effects house Howard Anderson Company, how he interacted with the other production members and the difficulty of juggling as many as seven episodes at a time when it came to pre-production.

The set comes once again in the blue clam shell case (I believe it's designed to mirror the colors of the different shirts worn by the various crew members. If that's the case, it's ironic that the last season is red given that the red shirted characters frequently died and that the third season was the final one). Personally, I like the packaging but I also believe that the DVD holders should be more sturdy than they are here.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a few minor sound track issues, but...., November 5, 2004

By	euphorik6 (camano island, WA) - See all my reviews

the DVD boxes have, in my estimation, been pretty good so far. the only thing that has been bugging me (besides the lack of a deforest kelley close-up in the <rather slapped-together> bonus features) is the screwing around that has been done with the sound effects. the "rocket" noises dubbed in to the enterprise fly-bys were NOT on the original episodes past the mid-first season (i think 'arena' or 'the alternative factor' was the last episode to feature them in the 'real' version), and the bridge sound effects have clearly been redubbed from the star trek sound effects CD...you can just sort of tell b/c there are "what i can only call "first-season" sound effects in much later episodes....i mean, this is VERY minor stuff, and nothing that anyone who hadn't these episodes hundreds of times wouldn't notice, but still...i HAVE seen these episodes hundreds of times, and i DID notice ;)

otherwise, this is a fantastic set. as far as the quality of the episodes themselves, you just can't get any better than this. "classic" is an overused term these days, but if stuff like "mirror mirror," "amok time," "journey to babel," "a piece of the action," and "the trouble with tribbles" doesn't qualify as classic, nothing does.

one great thing about the second season is the breadth of style displayed not only by the cast, but by the writers. there's straight-up action/adventure this season ("the doomsday machine"), more subtle, gentle character pieces ("metamorphosis"), topical drama ("a private little war"), some really fun b-grade SF material ("the deadly years," "the gamesters of triskelion") and flat-out comedy ("the trouble with tribbles," "a piece of the action," "i mudd"). i really think that it was the second season of the original series that best displayed the broad range of possibilities inherent in roddenberry's original series premise. every time i read some clueless critic complaining about star trek being "stiff" or "humorless" or how it takes itself too seriously, i think of this season and the incredibly broad spectrum of adventure and fun.

and the chemistry between the cast - particularly shatner, nimoy, and kelley - is something that no subsequent trek series has ever come close to matching.

as far as trek goes, the is the real thing.