Star Trek Beams onto Blu-ray – Classic Series Materializes in Two Versions

The Blu-ray release of the original Star Trek TV series sees Paramount taking yet another dip into its product well. But rather than merely re-releasing the same old stuff, only in HD this time, the new version offers Trek fans some real meat.

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In fact, Season One, released on April 28, is truly a "must have" for collectors and fans of the series. It's also an interesting balancing act. "TOS" (The Original Series") uses the Blu-ray technology to offer not only the original series as it was shown originally (sans commercials, fortunately), but also a version featuring newly-created special effects that drags the classic Enterprise into the new millennium. Star Trek always told marvelous and upbeat stories that were big on imagination, yet appeared produced for about a dollar and a half an episode. Redoing the special effects smacks of painting a moustache onto the Mona Lisa, and when I first heard Paramount had done that I was a tad nonplussed, and a more than a tad apprehensive. I mean, part of Trek's appeal was its low budget, cheesy special effects and – as with the original Star Wars movies – I didn't think they needed messing with. On DVD, the cheapness didn't really matter; I remember reviewing the first DVD release (two episodes per package, which took up a whole shelf in the home theater) and remarking how great it looked – even down to noticing finger (or maybe nose) prints on the turbo lift doors. Ah, but 1080p high definition magnifies the flaws as well as it magnifies the good stuff and that may have been behind Paramount's decision to up the effects ante. That, and continued profitability… Regardless of the reason Paramount has handled it just as they should, providing both versions side by side and letting fans choose between the best of both worlds (to quote the title of my all time favorite Trek episode, though it's from The Next Generation series). So when you fire up the disc, you're greeted by a menu that offers you the ability to choose each episode "au naturel" or with the new effects, and also to hear either a newly-enhanced 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack or the original mono. Not only that, but you can toggle back and forth between the visual effects shots as they happen, which is pretty cool. Naturally, I toggled back and forth madly, as well as watching the same episode "unspoiled" and then again with its shiny new suit of clothes. And much to my surprise, I found that as much as I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, I preferred the new versions, grudgingly. The new effects are beautiful, they're true to the spirit of the original shots and they just plain look better in high definition. I thought I'd get struck by lightning when I realized that, but so far, so good. The producers appear to have bent over backwards to make the new shots fit, and they've done an excellent job. The old Enterprise looks better than ever, and the planets and planet surfaces are richer and more textured. I still find myself going back to the original sometimes (slumming, one might say), but I like the clean new look. Now if only they could digitally equalize Shatner's waistline so it doesn't change throughout the episodes and seasons… One thing that also comes through loudly and clearly, thanks to the 1080p high definition picture, is just how small the sets seem. I had never realized before just how much stuff they managed to cram onto those sound stages way back then; as with the effects, they accomplished a lot with very little. And it actually contributes to the feeling that the characters are in an enclosed space populated by hundreds of people. The picture overall is very good. It isn't consistently excellent – for instance, closeups look better than many wide shots, but Trek TOS has never looked as good as it does here. That's the good news. The bad news, well the "less good news" is the audio. While I'm a big fan of dts HD Master Audio, here it's just a bit too darn quiet. I ran it through audio systems of 250 and 500 watts per channel, either of which should have made the show pop right out of the respective home theaters, but instead I had to crank it a few positions farther up the volume knob than usual to get an acceptable level. Oh, the sound quality's good overall, and quite listenable (especially on the supplementary stuff that was recorded more recently) but I really would've liked a bit more "oomph". Season One comes on seven BD discs in a package that, at about inch in thickness, is much more "wall friendly" than those old DVD's (four of the original DVD episodes took up about the same space as the 29 episodes here). And of course they're loaded with special materials, some of which are new for the Blu-ray release. 
Each disc includes trailers of its episodes, but there's also an abundance of other stuff spread across the circular septuplets, including “Starfleet Access” bonus content on selected episodes, which lets you watch the show with special pop-up trivia and picture-in-picture video commentaries. There's some interesting stuff there, but it does get in the way of the episodes; of course if you're the type who memorized the shows decades ago this won't cause a problem. Also included is an interactive tour of the starship Enterprise which, while pretty lame, makes the Enterprise look fabulous in its CG glory. There's also a very interesting look at how they transported Trek into the 21st century (from the 23rd?). It covers the restoration of the film elements, the sound (they even re-recorded the original theme from the original arrangement!) and, of course, the new special effects. You also get a reasonably nifty "Sci-fi Visionaries" featurette (in which series movers and/or shakers reminisce about the sci-fi giants – names such as Theodore Sturgeon and Ray Bradbury – who either got involved or refused to get involved with the series) as well as featurettes on "Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner", "Romance in the 23rd Century" etc. Inside the package is a coupon for a collectible Sulu figure, supposedly from the "Where No Man Has Gone Before" episode – a.k.a. the series' second pilot. The figure itself is included in the price, once you shell out $7.50 shipping and handling. Figures. This is only Paramount's first kick at the high def Star Trek can, but all in all it's a good one. Next, in May, 2009, is what promises to be a marvelous collection of Trek movies – all the first six features in a deluxe boxed set. I can't wait for that one! Well, maybe except for Star Trek 5…