As a fan of Star Trek, I was thrilled when I learned that the original series would be arriving on Blu Ray with alll of the high definition sound and picture that the format offers. I was thrilled to learn that the impressive set not only features the new versions of the classic episodes with updated visual effects, but also contains the original versions of the episodes.
The set chronicles the now legendary exploits of the Star Ship Enterprise under the command of Capt. James T. Kirk, (William Shatner), as the ship travels to strange and exotic new worlds on a mission of peace and exploration. The second in command, the half human half Vulcan Spock (Leonard Nimoy), provides a solid contrast to the human crew as his race has shunned emotion and his cold and calculating manner makes him ideal in pressure situations but tends to irritate the ships doctor Leonard Mc Coy (Deforest Kelly), whose abrupt emotions belies his gracious Southern charm and brilliant skills.
While the show was not a success during its initial three year run, it thrived in reruns and spawned a very successful film series as well as four spin off television series in its 35+ years of existence and became a deeply imbedded part of Pop culture and spawned legions of fans the world over.
The show was unique for its time as it was the first to present a multi-ethnic crew where characters were on an equal footing with one another showing audiences a hope for a future where racial harmony was possible and a world where war, hunger, poverty, and wants had been eliminated.
The writing of the show is often heralded as some of the best ever for science fiction as the shows blended action, romance, comedy, with stories that tackled some of the larger issues of the day. The show was able to get by censors due to its science fiction nature and readily explored topics that were not allowed in the era such as racial relations, spirituality, and strength via diversity.
Not only does the season one set introduce some of the greatest villains in science fiction such as The Klingons, Romulans, The Gorn, and Khan, but also it contains some of the best episodes ever written including “Space Seed”, “Balance of Terror”. “The Devil in the Dark”, and the award winning “The City on the Edge of Forever” and “Errand of Mercy” to name just a few of the classic episodes contained within.
The set also includes a very impressive menu system and some of the episodes contain an option to see pop up text which is filled with fascinating information regarding the creation of the show and episodes. There was a great segment that detailed how Kirk’s use of a computer was showing concepts that were at best theoretical when they made the show and yet now we do everyday.
Special Features on the set include A treasure chest of home movies that show the cast behind the scenes, a feature on the updating of the shows visuals, an interactive tour of the Enterprise, Picture in Picture interviews and trivia and much more. I really loved the feature that allows viewers to alternate scenes between their original and enhanced versions so you can instantly see the “then” and “now” of the scenes.
The clarity of the visuals really shines as I was not sure how a 40+ year old show would look in Blu Ray HD but the visuals like the sound quality soar. For those wanting to be purists, you can also hear the audio in the original sound format.
A fantastic set and a must for fans everywhere.
5 stars out of 5.
