Season 2 of STAR TREK: The Original Series reviewed on Blu-ray by Dean Winkelspecht

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To Boldly Go... Again.

—> STAR TREK: The Original Series Season 2 Blu-ray Review by Dean Winkelspecht »
EXCERPT: The second season of the original "Star Trek" series contains perhaps the most beloved episode in the history of the franchise. This episode, "The Trouble with Tribbles" is one of the quickest to come to mind when you think of James T. Kirk and the low budget show. How can you not love William Shatner with a plethora of round furry critters? The original series ran for three seasons and the iconic episode appears roughly midway through the season, but there are still a few other notable episodes contained in the second year. The first season is generally considered the strongest. However, in a January 1995 article, Entertainment Weekly named five episodes from the second season among the best ten episodes from the original series. Aside from Tribbles and the Vulcan home world, the introduction of Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) is another important introduction in season two.

In a few brief words for those two people who have lived under a rock and have no clue about "Star Trek," it is a creation by Gene Roddenberry that tells the story of the Starship Enterprise as it boldly goes where no man has gone before. The ship is commanded by James Kirk (Shatner) and his science officer and pointy eared Vulcan friend Mr. Spock (Nimoy). The third most important member of the crew and show is the ship's chief medical officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Kelley) as Kirk, Spock and Bones are the backbone of the show. Scottish engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (Doohan) provides the technical support for the ship and the ship is guided by navigator Pavel Chekov (Koenig). The Enterprise's weapons are controlled by Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) and communications controlled by Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nicols). The Enterprise is an exploratory vessel that sometimes requires a little military force against Klingons and Romulans.

In my humble opinion, the second season of "Star Trek" is not far off in quality when compared to the first season. There are a few gems in the twenty six episodes and "The Trouble With Tribbles" remains one of my best loved episodes. The show would see a serious drop in quality during the third season due to budget cuts and less than impressive writing, but there are some very good moments during this second season. Ratings for the show did fade and NBC had decided to cancel "Star Trek" after two years, but the story of the third season will have to wait until I review it on Blu-ray at a later date. Some could say that the show should have ended after this second season and the first two seasons of "Star Trek" are easily the best years of James T. Kirk and company on the small screen.

A few years ago, "Star Trek" the Enterprise and her show underwent a modernization program. Paramount has included both the CGI retouched "Enhanced" versions and the "Original" televised versions of each episode. While some purists may find argument with the changes made by Paramount, "Star Trek" has not received the George Lucas treatment and the original integrity of the show has been retained. The most obvious changes are the new planets and Enterprise that inhabit nearly every space scene. The starship no longer looks like a small model dangling from a wire against a drab black starscape. The planets no longer look like poorly animated spheres or marbles and have been replaced with beautiful high definition digital worlds. A few matte paintings and other items have been touched up to make the special effects look a little better in the digital world and create a few minor flaws. Thankfully, they all blend seamlessly and look perfectly fine as the first season plays out its twenty six episodes.

(Click thru the Link above for the full review)

UPDATE to our earlier report (below):
September 21...
It's official: the final season (3rd) of STAR TREK will be released on Blu-ray in less than three months (December 15). Also, a complete "Three Season Blu-ray Pack" debuts the same day (price not yet determined). See links to the various editions (and details on bonus features) further below.
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(Previous DVDTOWN News Report, from July 12):

Paramount Home Entertainment & CBS DVD releases Star Trek: The Original Series — Season Two on Blu-ray Sept. 22 (at $129.99 SRP). The seven-disc set includes all 26 episodes from the 1967-68 season, with both the original broadcast version and a remastered version with new special effects. Viewers can toggle between both versions as they watch an episode. The studio provided an early preview of Season 2 thru their BD-Live portal, for those who own Season 1 on Blu-ray.

The success of the original STAR TREK TV series was followed by five additional television series and eleven theatrical films, including the most recent film Star Trek (released in May 2009). Guinness World Records lists the original "Star Trek" as having the largest number of spin-offs among all television shows in history!

Going boldly where no man had gone before, Gene Roddenberry's cult phenomenon STAR TREK debuted in 1966 and reflected that decade's optimistic preoccupation with space travel. Set in the 23rd century, the series chronicled the intergalactic adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise on its five-year mission to explore the outer reaches of space.

Encountering a now-iconic assembly of inventive alien life-forms such as the Klingons, Romulans, Tribbles, and Khan Noonian Singh, the ship's jumpsuited crew was a then unheard-of font of multiculturism: Asian Sulu (George Takei), African-American Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Scotsman Montgomery Scott (James Doohan). But it was the contrasting personalities of cooly logical Vulcan Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), emotionally intuitive medical officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and womanizing ship captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner in definitive overacting mode) that lent the series much of its charm—and spawned a rabid cult following that continues to fuel costume sales and convention bookings to this very day. This collection includes every episode of the series' second season. Beam me up, Scotty!

—> For tons of info about this classic show, visit the series' official website: STAR TREK »

"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."

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