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Original entry: 12/03/2012 (the day before release)
-----------------------------------------------------
TNG season 2 is where the show really begins, even if half of season 1 remains remarkably watchable.
Cast additions are made, existing cast roles are refined and honed, and the season takes on a darker tone. "Contagion" deals with computer viruses (a new concept at the time), "Q Who" has the Borg, "Time Squared" deals with seeing a dire future and trying to prevent it, "The Icarus Factor" has Riker meeting up with his estranged father, "Loud as a Whisper" deals with a unique situation involving a mediator's assassination, all instantly come to mind.
Season 2 is still varied in terms of episode tone and quality, but the producers did look at what went right in season 1. All remaining hurdles would be dealt with by season 3, which is pretty much revered as TNG's finest and for all the right reasons...
I'd love to give this 5 stars, especially as season 2's stronger episodes are fantastic entries into the canon. But there are some problems, which have been discussed, and should be made known as caveats...
A couple professional reviews, and a surfeit of information and visual samples from the site known as "Trekcore" has prompted me to post early. I will update this review as, despite the cost of $64.99, I will splurge. At which point I will give individual grades for each episode. I'm hoping the actual discs fare better than what has been put on display so far...
The remastering of season 2 was handed out to an outside agency by CBS. And the results reported by Blu-Ray reviewers so far?
PROS:
------
* fantastic sharpness and detail for many scenes
* fantastic color gamut for live action footage (from the pics I'd seen, which were numerous, but as the whole of the series was shot on over 25000 reels of film, averaging to be 3571 per season (maybe 3000 for season 2), I suspect some of the cons will be apparent in the live action footage as well as the "remastered" f/x work:
* a matte painting for "Q Who" for the zoom-out scene had to be re-created. The original matte, a painting, still exists, but brush strokes would have been visible. The new version blends slightly better and has a more detail. The only nitpick is that, on the lower right, the same Borg model was used for two decks, despite surrounding alcoves on each deck being populated or empty. Spot this nitpick in the screencap but a still image is more revealing than motion video. All in all, it is FAR better than the original matte insert.
* a close-up of the Enterprise, in CGI, for "Where Silence Has Lease" looks more accurate than the midrange shot of the off-color Enterprise in "Hide and Q".
* in the same story, Nagillum's recompositing looks authentic to the original. At least as a screencap - the actual scene might be a tad different (e.g. shimmering effects).
CONS:
------
* poor shadow detail (uneven blacks, especially for recomposited f/x work - outer space is not supposed to be dark gray, with ship details being darker than outer space) - some of these bits take a moment to spot, but once you see it you're not going to get around it
* excessive noise and grain reduction, leading to a plastic look for the characters and a general blurry look. DO NOTE: Some scenes' softness (e.g. some from "The Child") are due to the pan and scan techniques used at the time (camera equipment), but if the camera is not moving and the image is soft and lacking detail, that's a giveaway that excessive DNR was used. It depends on the scene in question...
* inaccurate screen ratio: the aspect ratio is 1.35:1 and some scenes, including the Enterprise, disappear off the edge of the screen while the planet can be seen farther to the right
* poor compositing - in a couple of scenes, layers were put on backwards (e.g. shadow detail over the Enterprise hull)
* poor color timing - one scene has an overly bright Borg cube, and the Enterprise warp nacelles are a bright turquoise (despite the reflection from the hull being the appropriate blue.) The bussard collectors are a purplish-red instead of pure red. Another scene has a shuttlecraft with bright turquoise warp nacelles as well.
* poor f/x - CGI planets are often soft and blurry, and sometimes shadow detail and light sources don't match between elements
UNKNOWNS:
---------
* certain effects, like the morph effect in "The Dauphin" had to be redone from scratch. They may be better than the original or they may fall flat.
Now it's true, some of the original footage used a poor quality 2' model for the Enterprise and its issues can be seen with perfect clarity now. That doesn't bug me.
True, the original footage was made on numerous types of film stock - different exposure settings and darker sets show more grain. That does not bother me.
But there are definite differences between original film source issues and improperly-handled remastering. I've restored film in the past and these issues of excessive noise reduction, color timing, et al, are visible from a mile away. Maybe the company was rushing, but their efforts make themselves look bad, and it doesn't reflect well on CBS either.
Do note, CBS did remaster season 1, with spectacular results, and the work CBS has done on season 3 so far shows their efforts being top-notch. So season 3 is going to be a big WIN. Season 4 has been handed out to another agency, however. May season 4 have better results than the poor handling of season 2. If you're a fan of season 2 like me, be prepared for a shock.
UPDATE 001: (12/04/2012)
------------------------
Before popping in the blu-ray, I rewatched "Q WHO" and "Pen Pals" on the original DVD. The borg ship was oversaturated in many spots (not the chroma noise present with the ship and stars in outer space, but garish greens, blues, and reds on the borg ship hull). Many scenes had visible scan line distortion from the original editing process. I knew that this Blu-Ray would be better in many ways, but given the standards season 1 had set, that was my focal point for this exercise... so, onto the show:
I watched:
"Q Who" - 5/5 for story, 4/5 for f/x. All live action film blows away all of the problems one could find in the original SD release. The lack of scan lines (especially the transporter room scene when they beam off the Enterprise) is refreshing, especially with the far-more-accurate color palette. While the Borg ship is a massive improvement overall (green and other color tones/glows are subdued and look more natural), there are some angles where the cube was given too much brightness and stands out for the wrong reasons. One scene had a poorly re-composited Enterprise, but it was fairly brief. The existing clips of the 2' model with the turquoise nacelles are bothersome, but brief and therefore minor. Oh, I did like the borg shield effect when the security guard's phaser hit the borg. The 3D borg interior does not show the defect I found in the released still image with the duplicate model on two levels, and the animation seen during this pullback scene of individual elements really hits a home run. Kudos to the production team involved! (I refuse to be anything less than objective. There are times they did a, pardon the pun, stellar job.)
"Pen Pals" - 4/5 for story, 3/5 for f/x. Hannah Louise Shearer always brought something new and fresh to TNG, and usually in very good ways, though the ending of this story is what knocks down 1 point - because it wrecks the story's point of noninterference and repercussions in an attempt to be too sentimental. But it's not unforgivable. As for the f/x: Most f/x shots are easy on the eyes. The main planet for the story IS soft, but not as distracting as I had originally thought.
"The Dauphin" - 4/5 for story, 4.5/5 for f/x and restoration. This story proves Wesley is, oh my, a human and not a wonderboy on par with the wonder twins... Most f/x scenes work, all look nice, and the new morph effect boosts the score. I loved the original f/x, given the time they were made in, but this is a case of getting the revamp right. It's not overblown or excessive and feels true. It's not the same, but it gets a pass. The scenes with Selaya in the holodeck are sumptuous; the original footage intact. Some DNR is present, but it wasn't as bad as the screencap I had seen prior to the official release. The only letdowns are some exterior shots, but it's minor.
"Contagion"- 5/5 for story, 3/5 for f/x. Another great season 2 storyline has many f/x scenes featuring dark gray outer space instead of, you know, black. Once again, some DNR is obtrusive, but it's not beyond redemption. as usual, some exterior shots look a little off with bussard collector and impulse engine color, but it's minor. And the nice touch of showing the white blip when the probe was launched from Ikonia was top-notch as well.
So far, the season 2 Blu-Ray set DOES look better than many critiques of posted screencaps were suggesting. Mostly because motion video hides flaws that still photos will otherwise proverbially shriek to the viewer. One still photo represents 1/24th of a second, after all.
-----
UPDATE 002: (12/06/2012)
------------------------
I rewatched "Q Who" to be sure.
One scene between Q and Guinan has its incidental music a tad loud. Not enough to drown out dialogue, but almost...
And some of Data's dialogue later on in the episode almost seems sped up. Something about his voice seems slightly off. I'm still on the fence with this bit, though.
"Time Squared" - story: 5/5, f/x: 4/5
The Enterprise finds an abandoned shuttle, with another Picard inside, that came mysteriously from the future! It's a great episode, focusing on Picard and Troi (who gets some halfway decent dialogue.)
Dark typical gray outer space shots aside, kudos to a fairly great job with the original cloud/vortex f/x.
"The Schizoid Man" - story: 4/5, f/x 2/5:
It's the typical sci-fi trope of putting a soul into a machine, but the dialogue and cast make its presentation very engaging.
As for the f/x, it's pretty much standard fare. Keep in mind that f/x is more than just the model work, it includes anything superimposed. Every episode often had multi-pass shots to mask out background details, including bluescreen glow... But for one scene, the viewscreen has a blue glow in the upper-right corner. This is due to one of the scene mask elements not being applied in the remastering. A season 2 promo also had a blue viewscreen glow (for a different episode, which I did not yet find on the released set.)
As usual, outer space is shown in varying shades of grays or black, defying the top-notch standard season 1 gave.
The same episode has the Enterprise saucer cutting off at the right end of the screen, with the un-distinct blue planet still trailing through (CGI was framed at 1.35:1 and the model was framed at 1.33:1. It's fairly unobtrusive, but it should not be there. Blu-Ray has various expectations, and never mind that - on a professional level - any number of college grads could do better than this. The same scene also reveals the (2' model) Enterprise looking somewhat squished (a random problem according to other viewers, caused during the remastering process).
But color timing and framing issues should be the easiest to spot. Even the uneven outer space grays could have been more easily overlooked, but CBS and zillions of other entities that restore films for professional releases have done this sort of thing right, and consistently...
"Unnatural Selection" - story: 3/5, f/x: 2/5
It's a half-remake of "The Deadly Years" (TOS). Some love the episode, some hate it.
As for the f/x, the green planet is just a blob, though the green shadow on the Enterprise is nice. Unfortunately, shadows are a bit off (but could this be due to the original filming?). But when the shuttle returns to the Enterprise, its nacelles are bright turquoise. This color doesn't stand out when the shuttle reaches the planet as badly, but come on - the glow is entirely wrong. The color timing is off. And, as usual, outer space is shown in varying shades of gray.
One of the beauty passes for the Enterprise's deflector dish was a slightly greenish-blue... it's subtle, but the deflector glow has historically been the same color, so it is noticeable, and one of the extras did show the deflector having its own separate film pass, so - for this instance - the color timing was off.
The Lantry's shuttle bays had a slight teal tinge to them as well...
-----
(FINAL) UPDATE 003: (12/07/2012)
--------------------------------
"Where Silence Has Lease" - f/x: 3.5/5
The CGI probe isn't worse than the original 1988 work...
The effort put into Nagillum's editing is fantastic.
As always, inconsistent outer space (from black in one scene to gray in another are prevalent.) There is some bluescreen bleed in many viewscreen scenes early on, and it's amazing that only this one episode would be replete with those instances.
One scene, with the self destruct being programmed, has the background music a tad low...
"Elementary, Dear Data" - f/x: 3/5.
As usual, the inconsistency of outer space annoys, as is the use of teal in the deflector dish, instead of the original blue, in an opening shot. But I'm increasingly used to these issues...
It's a great story, though, and picture quality - as with most episodes' live action footage - is sharp.
"Peak Performance" - f/x: 0/5
The Hathaway, when first seen, had a distinctly different color (too warm a shade), and a later scene shows it being a different shade (the correct shade).
Many viewscreen shots of Picard talking to Riker have the inserted footage having too little contrast and look somewhat faded and lacking the same color vibrance. The inconsistency doesn't get much more obvious with these scenes.
As for the outer space bits, let's rename this episode to something it deserves to be called: Try "Teal Performance" instead; so many scenes had every nacelle, deflector, etc, from both Enterprise and Hathaway, being a defiant teal hue -- as a result, a great story ends up annoying to look at due to the poor quality of these ships' details. Yes, teal/orange is a pretty combination and especially for explosions, but it's not the correct combination.
-----
As the days go by, more criticisms of this season 2 Blu-Ray set have become available to read.
There are a sheer number of consistency issues that - long term - will make season 2 stand out poorly, and they are not limited to the episodes I've outlined in my review here. The color timing, overly-bright outer space, the Enterprise model stretched/squished in various scenes, the Enterprise vanishing off the screen edge when they shouldn't, stuttering space while the ship is moving, stuttering explosion, etc... TNG was given some great time for filming in the 1980s, and edited on videotape for financial reasons. They took the time to film some great visuals back then, so fans of the show (and general viewers) should see a similar amount of effort made in this restoration.
Some have said some episodes look better than others because of fan-regarded status. Is that really a fair reason? Name one episode from season 1 and tell me it was given sub-par time and effort because it wasn't well-received by fans? Which could be any one of 26 episodes, since most people state season 1 is weak and full of poorly written stories. Yet it received consistently applied, professional treatment.)
Another point of view: Let's say you dislike season 2; if you heard that one of your favorite shows was going to be restored and released, would you want uneven, inconsistent, and sloppy treatment applied to it? I doubt it.
This set is still - by no means - a consistently professional effort, given the high-profile nature of this series AND for all of the work being done to make it HD in the first place.
Could the picture quality be better and more consistent? Absolutely! But does the DVD original excel in any scene compared to the Blu-Ray? Not really, apart from color timing for the f/x shots.
What excels in this set, by and large, are the extras, and for the overall quality of the live action footage. The latter is inconsistent at times, but most of those issues are due to source material (grain) and not the remastering process. 90+% of the season is comprised by live action footage and I've virtually no complaints for those.
But the f/x shots were definitely not paid attention to. Maybe if the agency had more time to properly do the remastering, CBS is keen on having the entire show out by 2014 (rather than the original 2015 timeframe). But I'd rather see these releases come out right; imposed timeframes for delivery, when the delivery consists of so many problems, doesn't help anyone in the end. This isn't a marathon, and cutting corners to win doesn't make it much of a victory.
As a result, I would probably rent this season and then purchase afterward if the material met my qualifiers, but do rent and judge for yourself.
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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Two Blu-ray Review
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season TwoYear: 1988 | Rating: N/A | Runtime: 16 HR 39 MINAspect Ratio: 1:33.1 | Video Resolution: 1080PAudio: Eng 7.1 DTS-HD MA, 2.0 English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese| Subtitles: English SDH, assorted foreign subtitlesDirector: VariesWriter: VariesStarring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathon Frakes, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, and Diana MuldaurFilm Rating: 3 out of 5 starsVideo Rating: 4 out of 5 starsAudio Rating: 4 out of 5 starsExtras Rating: 5 out of 5 starsOverall Rating: 4 out of 5 starsThe first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation wasn't a complete success but it proved one thing... that lightning could strike twice. Something many people thought was impossible, a new Star Trek series could survive in syndication. The question from there was whether the second season of voyages of the USS Enterprise and her crew could eclipse the success of the first season.Season one of TNG was unevenly written due to a revolving door of writers and the second season is even more uneven because of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike. That strike led to scripts from the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II to be rewritten for the TNG characters and also led to Star Trek's one and only clip show. The ratio of good to bad episodes leans more towards the bad than season one which makes working through the season more of an arduous journey than some fare weather fans may be willing to invest in.Even with the higher amount of `bad' episodes the character development in season two is much improved. The entire cast is given more breathing room; Picard is less stiff, Riker and Worf were injected with more humor, Wil Wheaton is less annoying, Marina Sirtis becomes a little less crazy, and Levar Burton is given a more prominent position. Diana Muldaur replaced Gates McFadden as the Chief Medical Officer, something that would only last one season. The cast is more comfortable with one another and play off each other more naturally, something that would be expanded on more in season three.Season Two highlights include: Elementary, Dear Data, Loud as a Whisper, A Matter of Honor, The Measure of a Man, The Icarus Factor, Q Who?, and The EmissarySeason Two low points include (but are not limited to): The Child, The Outrageous Okona, The Royale, Pen Pals, Up the Long Ladder, and Shades of GreyVideo and audio quality are much improved over the original broadcasts, DVD releases, and what's being shown in current syndication. The series' original aspect ratio of 1:33.1 is maintained instead of trying to reformat the show for 16:9 HDTVs. Colors and clarity have been improved by re-scanning the original camera negatives into high definition and completely reassembling the episodes. The 7.1 DTS-MA audio track is encompassing. There's a good amount of ambient sound effects, phasers and torpedoes rip across the sound field, the warp engines provide an underlying hum while on board the ship, and the dialogue is always clear and centralized. Jerry Goldsmith's opening score sounds as timeless as ever, the same goes for the episode scores of Ron Jones.All the special effects including the model shots, matte paintings, early CGI, and effects done on video have been re-scanned or in cases where the effects could not be salvaged have been redone. All of this work was done in house by CBS for the first season; for season two some of the work was outsourced to another company. Unfortunately, that has lead to some of the effects shots not looking as great. Some planet flybys and effects involving the Enterprise look out of place when compared to the work done by CBS. Most of these shots are still an upgrade over the standard definition effects from the show's original run but it would have been nice to have these effects be consistent throughout the show. Hopefully this is something that will be corrected for TNG's third season.If getting a TNG restored in 1080P High Definition wasn't enough the Blu-ray sets also include some great special features. Episode promos are available before the start of every episode, I think this is a great touch because it gives you a great glimpse of what the show resembled before the restoration. LeVar Burtons 1988 Reading Rainbow segment from when he visits the set is included, I believe this is the first time it has been made available to the public outside of reruns or viewing it on YouTube. There's also a ten minute gag reel and audio commentaries available on The Measure of a Man and Q, Who?. The best special features are available on the final disc; Reunification: 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation (1 hr, 2 min) and the two part documentary Make it So: Continuing Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part 1: Strange New Worlds (39 min) & Part 2: New Life and New Civilizations (42 min). There's some overlap between them but they offer an intriguing look look at the series from both behind and in front of the camera. Reunification offers viewers a rare look at TNG with the entire cast discussing the series together while Make it So looks more at individual issues or episodes. If you watch all three you're in for a treat and and it hardly feels like two plus hours have gone after watching them.Before wrapping up the special features section, two versions of the heralded episode The Measure of a Man are available. A 57 minute extended cut and a 55 minute `hybrid' cut that intermixes HD footage with SD footage. There's been a lot of talk about the extended cuts of this episode and while I think a lot of the footage is interesting some of it is a little too on the noise. I still prefer the broadcast cut of the episode over either extended version.Season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation should be an easy sell on Blu-ray for most fans but it's not without its problems. The cast and crew start to find their `sea' legs by this point but the writer's strike really hurt this season. There are some very memorable moments in season two; TNG's signature villain is established, Whoopi Goldberg joins, and Riker grows his iconic beard but there's also the clip show, an episode with Joe Piscapo, and the one where Data wears the cowboy hat just to name a few. This is not a season I'd revisit very often but the completist in me has to have it but I'd be lying if I didn't say I sorta wish I could have skipped straight to season three.
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2013
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2012
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 10, 2013
Year: 1988 | Rating: N/A | Runtime: 16 HR 39 MIN
Aspect Ratio: 1:33.1 | Video Resolution: 1080P
Audio: Eng 7.1 DTS-HD MA, 2.0 English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese| Subtitles: English SDH, assorted foreign subtitles
Director: Varies
Writer: Varies
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathon Frakes, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, and Diana Muldaur
Film Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Video Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Audio Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation wasn't a complete success but it proved one thing... that lightning could strike twice. Something many people thought was impossible, a new Star Trek series could survive in syndication. The question from there was whether the second season of voyages of the USS Enterprise and her crew could eclipse the success of the first season.
Season one of TNG was unevenly written due to a revolving door of writers and the second season is even more uneven because of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike. That strike led to scripts from the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II to be rewritten for the TNG characters and also led to Star Trek's one and only clip show. The ratio of good to bad episodes leans more towards the bad than season one which makes working through the season more of an arduous journey than some fare weather fans may be willing to invest in.
Even with the higher amount of `bad' episodes the character development in season two is much improved. The entire cast is given more breathing room; Picard is less stiff, Riker and Worf were injected with more humor, Wil Wheaton is less annoying, Marina Sirtis becomes a little less crazy, and Levar Burton is given a more prominent position. Diana Muldaur replaced Gates McFadden as the Chief Medical Officer, something that would only last one season. The cast is more comfortable with one another and play off each other more naturally, something that would be expanded on more in season three.
Season Two highlights include: Elementary, Dear Data, Loud as a Whisper, A Matter of Honor, The Measure of a Man, The Icarus Factor, Q Who?, and The Emissary
Season Two low points include (but are not limited to): The Child, The Outrageous Okona, The Royale, Pen Pals, Up the Long Ladder, and Shades of Grey
Video and audio quality are much improved over the original broadcasts, DVD releases, and what's being shown in current syndication. The series' original aspect ratio of 1:33.1 is maintained instead of trying to reformat the show for 16:9 HDTVs. Colors and clarity have been improved by re-scanning the original camera negatives into high definition and completely reassembling the episodes. The 7.1 DTS-MA audio track is encompassing. There's a good amount of ambient sound effects, phasers and torpedoes rip across the sound field, the warp engines provide an underlying hum while on board the ship, and the dialogue is always clear and centralized. Jerry Goldsmith's opening score sounds as timeless as ever, the same goes for the episode scores of Ron Jones.
All the special effects including the model shots, matte paintings, early CGI, and effects done on video have been re-scanned or in cases where the effects could not be salvaged have been redone. All of this work was done in house by CBS for the first season; for season two some of the work was outsourced to another company. Unfortunately, that has lead to some of the effects shots not looking as great. Some planet flybys and effects involving the Enterprise look out of place when compared to the work done by CBS. Most of these shots are still an upgrade over the standard definition effects from the show's original run but it would have been nice to have these effects be consistent throughout the show. Hopefully this is something that will be corrected for TNG's third season.
If getting a TNG restored in 1080P High Definition wasn't enough the Blu-ray sets also include some great special features. Episode promos are available before the start of every episode, I think this is a great touch because it gives you a great glimpse of what the show resembled before the restoration. LeVar Burtons 1988 Reading Rainbow segment from when he visits the set is included, I believe this is the first time it has been made available to the public outside of reruns or viewing it on YouTube. There's also a ten minute gag reel and audio commentaries available on The Measure of a Man and Q, Who?. The best special features are available on the final disc; Reunification: 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation (1 hr, 2 min) and the two part documentary Make it So: Continuing Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part 1: Strange New Worlds (39 min) & Part 2: New Life and New Civilizations (42 min). There's some overlap between them but they offer an intriguing look look at the series from both behind and in front of the camera. Reunification offers viewers a rare look at TNG with the entire cast discussing the series together while Make it So looks more at individual issues or episodes. If you watch all three you're in for a treat and and it hardly feels like two plus hours have gone after watching them.
Before wrapping up the special features section, two versions of the heralded episode The Measure of a Man are available. A 57 minute extended cut and a 55 minute `hybrid' cut that intermixes HD footage with SD footage. There's been a lot of talk about the extended cuts of this episode and while I think a lot of the footage is interesting some of it is a little too on the noise. I still prefer the broadcast cut of the episode over either extended version.
Season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation should be an easy sell on Blu-ray for most fans but it's not without its problems. The cast and crew start to find their `sea' legs by this point but the writer's strike really hurt this season. There are some very memorable moments in season two; TNG's signature villain is established, Whoopi Goldberg joins, and Riker grows his iconic beard but there's also the clip show, an episode with Joe Piscapo, and the one where Data wears the cowboy hat just to name a few. This is not a season I'd revisit very often but the completist in me has to have it but I'd be lying if I didn't say I sorta wish I could have skipped straight to season three.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Two Blu-ray Review
By Nicholas R. Herum on February 10, 2013
[[ASIN:B0095XPZBC Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Two]]By Nicholas R. Herum on February 10, 2013
Year: 1988 | Rating: N/A | Runtime: 16 HR 39 MIN
Aspect Ratio: 1:33.1 | Video Resolution: 1080P
Audio: Eng 7.1 DTS-HD MA, 2.0 English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese| Subtitles: English SDH, assorted foreign subtitles
Director: Varies
Writer: Varies
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathon Frakes, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, and Diana Muldaur
Film Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Video Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Audio Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation wasn't a complete success but it proved one thing... that lightning could strike twice. Something many people thought was impossible, a new Star Trek series could survive in syndication. The question from there was whether the second season of voyages of the USS Enterprise and her crew could eclipse the success of the first season.
Season one of TNG was unevenly written due to a revolving door of writers and the second season is even more uneven because of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike. That strike led to scripts from the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II to be rewritten for the TNG characters and also led to Star Trek's one and only clip show. The ratio of good to bad episodes leans more towards the bad than season one which makes working through the season more of an arduous journey than some fare weather fans may be willing to invest in.
Even with the higher amount of `bad' episodes the character development in season two is much improved. The entire cast is given more breathing room; Picard is less stiff, Riker and Worf were injected with more humor, Wil Wheaton is less annoying, Marina Sirtis becomes a little less crazy, and Levar Burton is given a more prominent position. Diana Muldaur replaced Gates McFadden as the Chief Medical Officer, something that would only last one season. The cast is more comfortable with one another and play off each other more naturally, something that would be expanded on more in season three.
Season Two highlights include: Elementary, Dear Data, Loud as a Whisper, A Matter of Honor, The Measure of a Man, The Icarus Factor, Q Who?, and The Emissary
Season Two low points include (but are not limited to): The Child, The Outrageous Okona, The Royale, Pen Pals, Up the Long Ladder, and Shades of Grey
Video and audio quality are much improved over the original broadcasts, DVD releases, and what's being shown in current syndication. The series' original aspect ratio of 1:33.1 is maintained instead of trying to reformat the show for 16:9 HDTVs. Colors and clarity have been improved by re-scanning the original camera negatives into high definition and completely reassembling the episodes. The 7.1 DTS-MA audio track is encompassing. There's a good amount of ambient sound effects, phasers and torpedoes rip across the sound field, the warp engines provide an underlying hum while on board the ship, and the dialogue is always clear and centralized. Jerry Goldsmith's opening score sounds as timeless as ever, the same goes for the episode scores of Ron Jones.
All the special effects including the model shots, matte paintings, early CGI, and effects done on video have been re-scanned or in cases where the effects could not be salvaged have been redone. All of this work was done in house by CBS for the first season; for season two some of the work was outsourced to another company. Unfortunately, that has lead to some of the effects shots not looking as great. Some planet flybys and effects involving the Enterprise look out of place when compared to the work done by CBS. Most of these shots are still an upgrade over the standard definition effects from the show's original run but it would have been nice to have these effects be consistent throughout the show. Hopefully this is something that will be corrected for TNG's third season.
If getting a TNG restored in 1080P High Definition wasn't enough the Blu-ray sets also include some great special features. Episode promos are available before the start of every episode, I think this is a great touch because it gives you a great glimpse of what the show resembled before the restoration. LeVar Burtons 1988 Reading Rainbow segment from when he visits the set is included, I believe this is the first time it has been made available to the public outside of reruns or viewing it on YouTube. There's also a ten minute gag reel and audio commentaries available on The Measure of a Man and Q, Who?. The best special features are available on the final disc; Reunification: 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation (1 hr, 2 min) and the two part documentary Make it So: Continuing Star Trek: The Next Generation, Part 1: Strange New Worlds (39 min) & Part 2: New Life and New Civilizations (42 min). There's some overlap between them but they offer an intriguing look look at the series from both behind and in front of the camera. Reunification offers viewers a rare look at TNG with the entire cast discussing the series together while Make it So looks more at individual issues or episodes. If you watch all three you're in for a treat and and it hardly feels like two plus hours have gone after watching them.
Before wrapping up the special features section, two versions of the heralded episode The Measure of a Man are available. A 57 minute extended cut and a 55 minute `hybrid' cut that intermixes HD footage with SD footage. There's been a lot of talk about the extended cuts of this episode and while I think a lot of the footage is interesting some of it is a little too on the noise. I still prefer the broadcast cut of the episode over either extended version.
Season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation should be an easy sell on Blu-ray for most fans but it's not without its problems. The cast and crew start to find their `sea' legs by this point but the writer's strike really hurt this season. There are some very memorable moments in season two; TNG's signature villain is established, Whoopi Goldberg joins, and Riker grows his iconic beard but there's also the clip show, an episode with Joe Piscapo, and the one where Data wears the cowboy hat just to name a few. This is not a season I'd revisit very often but the completist in me has to have it but I'd be lying if I didn't say I sorta wish I could have skipped straight to season three.
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2022
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