Project-Blu Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2, by M. Enois Duarte

Star Trek: The Original Series: Season Two

By: M. Enois Duarte, 9.13.2009

The Movie Itself:

"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."

When it originally aired on television, the "Star Trek" series didn't enjoy the strong following it does now, similarly to other programs cancelled before finding an audience. When it initially premiered in 1966, the Sci-Fi adventure seemed doomed to fail from the very beginning, receiving cancellation threats by the network before even finishing its first season due to low ratings and poor advertising revenue. The show can now be looked at in hindsight as a television series way ahead of its time, being hugely influential in different areas of the arts and sciences, and quickly becoming an enormous cult phenomenon after its untimely third season demise.

Despite only filming 79 episodes, "Star Trek" went on syndication during the 1970s and evolved into one of the best known television programs ever. The show's popularity has also lead to several televised spin-offs, including an animated series, and eleven theatrical sequels, with the latest installment being the most successful. The show's first year, as part of a five-year voyage to discovery new worlds (which unfortunately lasted only three), displayed great ingenuity and originality with campy storylines about alien planets and their strange inhabitants. It was unlike anything seen before, but thanks to Lucille Ball and Desilu Productions, the show continued.

For the second season, writers carried on with the same fantastical premise and exciting plots, but with a keener eye on the friendship shared between Captain James T. Kirk, his First Officer Spock, and Chief Medical Officer "Bones" McCoy. While also introducing a new crew member, Russian navigator Pavel Chekov, the series took more directly as its influence Gene Roddenberry's allegorical intentions of a future coexistence with people of various cultures. Within this sci-fi template, the series acts as a deeper exploration of larger intellectual concerns and philosophical questions about our universe, human behavior, and our shared existence.

The second season commences with quite an opener, as we visit Spock's home planet and learn about Vulcan mating rituals ('Amok Time'). Fans made it clear by this time that they wanted to know more of his culture, so writers brought the character to the forefront and introduced a syndrome called Pon farr, a condition in which Vulcan males endure an agonizing desire to mate or die. (It's not until the third season, we learn that the cycle occurs every seven years.) In later episodes ('Journey to Babel'), Spock's parents, Sarek and Amanda, are featured, and we discovery a controlled relationship with his father and a bit of rebelliousness in Spock's personality.

The remaining season contains some of the show's popular chapters, as well as what could be argued as the most memorable episode of the entire series: the lighthearted, strictly comedic, and downright silly 'The Trouble with Tribbles'. This collection not only introduces Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the warp drive, for the first time, but many episodes display secular concerns on the origins of God ('Who Mourns for Adonais?') and the relationship between religion and human rights ('The Apple'). Other serious issues are also illustrated, such as the existence of parallel universes ('Mirror, Mirror'), technology run amok ('The Doomsday Machine', 'The Ultimate Computer'), and the dangers of personal loyalty to nationalism and single-minded ideologies ('Patterns of Force').

No matter how one wishes to view the series or the subtleties of each episode --- there are different levels of appreciation for the show, after all --- there is no denying that what Gene Roddenberry created has added enormous impact and significance to our culture. The immensely influential series arrives for the time on Blu-ray, newly remastered in high definition and a digital makeover to update the show's many special effects. As with the first season release earlier this year, the CGI work actually seems to revitalize the show with believable shots of the SS Enterprise flying through space and orbiting various alien planets. The new effects take nothing away from the show's familiarity and will be greatly appreciated by fans everywhere.
Rating: 8/10

The Presentation:
Considering it age, origins and film stock as a television program from the 1960s, Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2 materializes onto Blu-ray with extraordinary results, almost as if watching it for the first time. The show has been released for repeated home viewings a few times, but the crew members of SS Enterprise have never looked so refreshed and invigorated. Retaining the show's original 4:3 aspect ratio, the VC-1 encode is amazingly sharper than ever and appreciably revealing. Although not perfectly consistent (expected for a forty year old recording), the picture displays terrific details and texture in various objects. From uniforms and set-pieces to facial complexions and special make-up effects, resolution and definition is clear and precise, giving fans much to look at from one scene to the next.

If there is one thing The Original Series is best remembered for, it has to be the flashy, oft times tacky, set and costume designs. Very much a product of its time, the psychedelic color palette is bolder than ever, animated, and richly saturated. Not only is this noticeable in the fleet's uniforms and foreign costumes, but also in the lightning methods proposed for the variety of planets visited. Unfortunately, there are several instances where these colors lose a bit of their vibrancy and fullness. While not a hugely nagging problem, it is something to take note of when watching the program in its entirety. The reason for this, I'm sure, is likely related the quality of the original master and not an issue with the transfer into digital media or the encode. No matter, colors are nicely resolved and full-bodied, giving the show a new youthful appearance.

As for the rest of the photography, contrast has obviously been adjusted to provide better clarity and visual acuity. Thankfully, the boost is nothing hugely detrimental or hazardous, and in fact, generates great visibility, particularly in the very few outdoor sequences. Black levels are also augmented for the better and mostly well resolved and accurate. In addition, the image gains dimension and spatial depth, which is surprising for a show of this vintage. Regrettably, shadow delineation suffers the brunt of this fine-tuning with the darker areas of the picture coming off a bit too strong. The grain structure too is more pronounced, but generally mild and unobtrusive. A few folks may find it somewhat distracting, as it is inconsistent and appears heavier in low-lit interiors or when the camera suddenly pushes in for dramatic effect.

In the end, the high-definition version of the famous Sci-Fi series is far from perfect, but any extensive damage the original footage has sustained over the last five decades is practically non-existent here. In spite of a few weak episodes (such as 'Metamorphosis' and 'Friday's Child'), this Blu-ray edition of Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2 is without a doubt the best presentation of the show ever seen by fans.
Rating: 8.2/10

Being a video and audio purists, I was hugely hesitant about this new-fangled digital remix of the show's mono recording. To my amazement and satisfaction, my reluctance and uncertainty quickly disappeared the moment the show's iconic theme music filled the sound system. Engineers have done an exceedingly wonderful job with this 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, keeping to the fundamentals of the original sound design and giving great priority to the dialogue.

Character interaction is intelligible and centered in the middle of the screen, while the rest of the mix maintains a mostly front perspective. Although the music and discrete effects spread into the other two channels for an enjoyable stereo presence, there are a few instances where sound bleeds into the background for envelopment and enhanced by some pleasantly convincing movement to the rear speakers. Most notable is when the Enterprise flies from the front of the screen to the back and as the voice of the "Redjac" entity moves about the room in the episode 'Wolf in the Fold'. The mix also exhibits clean dynamics and an adequate low-frequency response for 1960s television programming. Ultimately, the remix is nothing spectacular compared to newer releases, but it shows greater fidelity and dimension than its legacy codec equivalent (also included in the set), which serves this audio purist just fine.
Rating: 7.4/10

Overall Presentation: 8/10

** 9 - 10 = Reference / 8 = Excellent / 7 = Good /
6 = Satisfactory / 5 = Average / 4 & under = Below Average **

The Extras:
Much like its first season predecessor, the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series on Blu-ray lands with a plethora of bonus material, most of which are exclusive to the format and presented in a mix of HD and standard definition. Each disc arrives BD-Live Enabled, which allows viewers access to CBS's online portal known as dynamicHD, and a new feature called Mobile Blu, where Trekkies can download Blu-ray exclusives to their iPhones and even use it as a Blu-ray player remote.

Starfleet Access
A Picture-in-Picture commentary from various cast and crew members, as well as experts of the Star Trek universe. Accompanied by trivia pop-ups, the track is featured on episodes 'Amok Time' and 'The Trouble with Tribbles'.
Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Videos and Special Memories Part 2 (HD, 12 min)
A continuation to another featurette in the Season One box set where Billy Blackburn, who has been played various roles within the Enterprise world, shares his 8mm home movies recorded on the set during production.
"To Boldly Go . . . " Season Two (SD, 20 min)
Original members of the cast and crew reminisce about the more popular episodes in the season.
Designing The Final Frontier (SD, 22 min)
A lengthy and insightful segment about the work done by art director Matt Jefferies, with interviews of the crew, footage of the show, and storyboard comparisons.
Star Trek's Favorite Moments (SD, 17 min)
Actors and various people who were involved with Deep Space Nine and Voyager relate their favorite episodes and the show's influence.
Writer's Notebook: D.C. Fontana (SD, 8 min)
An interview with D.C. Fontana, who worked as story editor and writer for the show.
Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy (SD, 12 min)
The popular actor discusses his interests, hobbies, and the work he does today.
Kirk, Spock & Bones: Star Trek's Great Trio (SD, 7 min)
A look back at the chemistry and friendship between the three characters and its success.
Star Trek's Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols (SD, 13 min)
Much like the above featurette, but chiefly focused on the lovely actress who played Uhura.
Preview Trailers
Every disc contains the original television spots for promoting each episode.

Disc 4

The fourth disc is dedicated to everything surrounding those cute and cuddly hairballs, Tribbles, from 'The Trouble with Tribbles'episode, arguably the show's best known and most popular.

Audio Commentary
The disc comes with a brand new commentary track by the episode's creator David Gerrold.
'More Tribbles, More Troubles' (HD, 24 min)
This is the first episode of the cartoon show Star Trek: The Animated Series, seen as sequel to the famous episode, and with optional commentary by its writer David Gerrold.
'Trials and Tribble-ations' (HD, 46 min)
Another sequel to those fur-balls from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, episode #503.
Trials and Tribble-ations: Uniting Two Legends (SD, 17 min)
A making-of piece interviewing various cast and crew about the Deep Space Nine episode and the story's origins, with behind-the-scene footage.
Trials and Tribble-ations: An Historic Endeavor (SD, 17 min)
Essentially, a continuation to the above featurette, but more attention is given to the set design and visual effects team which made the revolutionary episode possible.
Star Trek: The Original Series on Blu-ray (HD, 10 min)
A panel discussion with visual producers of Star Trek remastered Niel R. Wray, Denise Okuda, Michael Okuda, Dave Rossi, and hosted by Marc Zicree, where they talk about the work that went into bringing the original series to the universe of high definition.

Rating: 10/10

Final Thoughts:
As with the first season release earlier this year, the CGI work done to Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2 adds new life and vitality to the classic and immensely influential series. Forty years later, the show maintains its same charisma, interest, and campy fun, and an easy watch for any occasion. This hi-def presentation of the Gene Roddenberry creation lands with terrific video, nice audio quality, and a wealth of supplements, making this the best Star Trek package ever released. Fans will be absolutely pleased with it.
Rating: 9/10