The Show
Spared from cancellation thanks to a groundswell of unsolicited fan support, Star Trek began Season Three with two profound changes that would be its final undoing. The creator and guiding force behind Trek, Gene Roddenberry, distanced himself from the production amid the seemingly nonstop behind-the-scenes tumult, while NBC moved the show from its family-friendly 8 p.m. Monday slot to a suicidal Fridays at 10, when the kids were asleep and none of the open-minded hipsters were home watching TV. We can almost feel the budgets constricting all around them as well, as a Romulan attack is undertaken with Klingon ships, and one episode, "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky," is about the limitations of a faux planet set!
Despite some just plain weird moments (Spock and Abraham Lincoln teaming up to battle Genghis Khan...?), Trek's writers stepped up their game to pick up the slack with new directions and ideas. And even in the midst of a downward spiral, they managed to make history with the first inter-racial kiss, in "Plato's Stepchildren." Nichelle Nichols' anecdotes about the kiss, in the extras on Disc Six, are priceless, as is the rest of the season, a brilliantly imperfect conclusion to a television legend.
The Picture
Following the two previous seasons on Blu-ray, there are few surprises and only one disappointment in this new 4:3 high-definition presentation. There's a slight haze across the picture at times but more detail than we have ever seen before on these episodes, despite an occasional, undeniable noise in the backgrounds, and the culprit here might be the same as to blame for the mushy blacks, which is the real letdown. Despite a full season and lots of extras, this set is given only six discs versus the seven for the previous two, and compression appears to have been increased, to undesirable effect. But the colors are still gorgeous and the quality is enjoyable for a 40-year-old TV show.
The Sound
Yet again, the new high-resolution DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 impresses, a welcome match for the newly enhanced visual effects but also simple enough not to distract from the original 1960s editions of the episodes. Spaceship flyovers/flybys offer solid back-to-front/side-to-side directionality and the music is now mixed across the entire soundstage. Shipwide alarms make excellent use of the surrounds, as do the buzzing voices of the accelerated, unseen foes in "Wink of an Eye." And super-powered beings playing their arrogant games with The U.S.S. Enterprise display some great bass effects. The ambitious remix/remaster works remarkably well.
The Extras
More recently, "The Trouble with Tribbles" writer "David Gerrold Hosts '2009 Convention Coverage,'" which joins "'The Anthropology of Star Trek' Comic-Con Panel" and "'The World of Rod Roddenberry' Comic-Con 2009," chaired by Eugene ("Rod"), son of Gene. He also shares his personal interpretations of "Star Trek's Impact" (nine minutes). "Collectible Trek" (14 minutes) provides insights into the hobby, with collectors showing off their pride and joy.
All six discs in the set are BD-Live-enabled, with dynamicHD online content that gives further information on the Cast, Creative Team and Characters, plus a more general Starfleet Database, and exclusive BD-Live interviews and other videos. The mobileBLU feature is also supported, with any available bonus "Content to Go" clips listed in the liner notes. Surprisingly, none of the episodes offer the "Starfleet Access" Picture-in-Picture mode as seen in the previous sets.
Quite welcome in HD are the legendary rejected pilot episode "The Cage" (63-and-a-half minutes, with DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, looking and sounding wonderful) as well as "'The Cage' Extended Version" (a.k.a. "The Unseen Pilot"). The latter includes an introduction and epilogue by Gene Roddenberry from 1986, 71 minutes total, a best-possible combination of black-and-white and surviving color footage, in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and lesser HD video. "'Where No Man Has Gone Before' (Rare and Unaired Alternate Version)" runs 52 minutes with its intro, a new HD master of the second pilot, shot by Ernest Haller, who also photographed Gone with the Wind. This subtly alternate version is notable for its different prologue/main title sequence and old-fashioned "Act I," "Act II" breaks
Final Thoughts
Only the staunchest Trekkers would embrace Seasons One and Two but not the third, despite the various evolutions that ultimately meant the permanent demise of The Original Series. While the extras (and the blacks!) could have been a little stronger, overall this is another outstanding set from Paramount Home Video.
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