Space. The Final
Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to
explore the galaxy. The Enterprise is under the command of Captain
James T. Kirk (William Shatner). The First Officer is Mr. Spock
(Leonard Nimoy), from the planet Vulcan. The Chief Medical Officer
is Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelly). With a determined crew, the
Enterprise's mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek new
life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone
before.
CRITIQUE
Star Trek: The
Original Series started it all in television, one could say.
The show reinvented storytelling by setting the characters and
stories in space, where anything and everything was possible. But
first and foremost, creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to tell a
story about a unified society, in this case the Federation, and
how that society has created an atmosphere of harmony, friendship,
loyalty, etc. Despite a very small budget, evidence of this are
some crude-looking sets, Star Trek does a fine job telling
its stories. This first season DVD boxed set features all
twenty-nine original broadcast episodes on eight discs.
Several episodes
stand out as classics in this first season, because the stories
are very well-done. They are The Menagerie, a two-part
episode in which Mr. Spock hijacks the Enterprise, Balance of
Terror, which introduces the Romulans as an alien race to be
reckoned with, Space Seed, the story that sets up Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan many years later, and The City
on the Edge of Forever, a really well done episode in which
Earth's timeline is changed, and Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy face
the consequences. Others include The Enemy Within, Arena,
The Devil in the Dark, and The Man Trap.
There are a handful
of inconsistencies and contradictions in this first season, yet
this fact doesn't distract from the overall enjoyment of the
episodes. Speaking of that, the first season also has its share of
weak episodes, and they include, among a few others, Charlie X,
The Galileo Seven, and The Conscience of the King.
THE VIDEO
Paramount presents Star
Trek in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. The show is certainly very
old, but this presentation makes it look very nice. Grain and
specks persist, but overall the image is cleaned up well enough.
THE AUDIO
Paramount presents Star
Trek English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. This is a pretty
decent presentation considering the standards of today. Dialogue
is clear and easy to understand, and the sound effects are
presented with enough clarity, although sometimes there's noise
in the presentation. The front speakers get nearly all of the
workout, the rear speakers hardly come alive that much. Overall,
though, nicely done.
THE EXTRAS
There is text
commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda on Where No Man
Has Gone Before, The Menagerie, and The Conscience
of the King. The text appears on screen and shares some
trivia about each episode.
The Birth of a
Timeless Legacy (24:14) explains how everything began. The
stories and trivia within this documentary are fun to hear (for
me it's the first time), and the new interviews with William
Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are pretty good.
Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner (10:27) reveals the
actor's love for horses. Not terribly interesting, rather weak.
To Boldly Go... (Season One) (18:59) discusses episodes
such as The City on the Edge of Forever, The Devil in
the Dark, The Naked Time, and The Squire of Gothos.
Reflections on Spock (12:13) features a new interview
with Leonard Nimoy who discusses his character at length, as
well as his two books.
Sci-Fi Visionaries (16:39) provides a retrospective on
the show's writers, such as Richard Matheson, D.C. Fontana, Gene
Coon, George Clayton Thomas, Harlan Ellison, and Gene
Rodenberry. This featurette includes new interviews with D.C.
Fontana, Bob Justman, and John D.F. Black.
And lastly there
are 40 photos that make up the Photo Log.
SUMMARY
Star Trek: The
Original Series is kind of a treasure to behold. The show spawned
several spin-offs, of which Deep Space Nine is the best in my
opinion, and has certainly inspired other science-fiction shows. The
first season here presents a mixed bag of episodes, some are decent,
others are not, but the classics are great to look at again. The
extras are good, but not great. Fans of the series may want to
consider picking it up, though the price tag is kind of steep. It's
recommended to everyone else, a rental may be best.
