Star Trek: The Original Series: The Complete 3rd Season (DVD)

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The ratings for Years 1 and 2 of "Star Trek" were so bad that Gene Roddenberry moved off of the Paramount lot and began trying to sell other shows to the TV networks. NBC actually canceled the show, only to receive thousands of fan letters asking for a renewal. NBC put the show back on the air at Fridays at 10 PM. Without Roddenberry´s passion and without a time slot that actually had sizable numbers of viewers, Season 3 signaled the end of "The Original Series". Even fans consider Season 3 to be a serious low point--laughable episodes, uninspired acting, recycled sets and props, etc. To be fair, there were additional moments of fun with the Klingons and the Romulans, and there was that historical interracial kiss between William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols, but "The Original Series" needed an early death--it had to get off the air before additional damage could be done, and it had to get off the air so that the phenomenon could begin.

Video:
The 1.33:1 (full-frame on 4:3 monitors) video transfers aren´t very good. No one bothered to restore the film elements, so while the show looks fairly sharp and clear, it is not clean. In fact, in some special effects shots and stock footage (footage that was re-used several times for generic moments), you can see a lot of dust, fading, and general disrepair.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English audio tracks are pretty impressive. You can hear space vessels zoom around your home theatre, and there is a surprising amount of bass presence during explosions. While music can sound a tad wobbly sometimes, dialogue is always clear and sharp. In fact, the actors´ voices don´t sound thin the way that others´ voices do with TV shows and movies from the pre-1975 era.

You can also watch the DVDs with DD 2.0 surround English tracks. (I´m not sure if they´re the show´s original audio presentations, however.) Optional English subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
On Disc 6, there are text commentaries for "The Savage Curtain" and "Turnabout Intruder". On each disc, you´ll find a preview for each episode. These previews were the only extras on the original forty discs.

The remaining extras are all found on Disc 7. "To Boldy Go..." is an overview of Season 3. "Life Beyond Trek: Walter Koenig" yields the floor to a shy, often-in-the-background co-star. "Chief Engineer´s Log" features old and recent interviews with James Doohan. "Memoir From Mr. Sulu" showcases George Takei, someone who´s very active in the Asian-American community. "Star Trek´s Impact" takes a hagiographic look at the franchise´s influence. "A Star Trek Collector´s Dream Come True" examines how props are made. "Production Art" provides additional glimpses of behind-the-scenes work. Finally, you´ll find six Easter Eggs if you move your remote cursor around the menus.

--Miscellaneous--
The discs are held in square plastic trays that are bound together like the pages of a book. The tray-book is enclosed within a cardboard slipcase. There´s a fold-out booklet that provides information about the episodes, Engineering departments, and the Klingons. Everything is housed inside a plastic shell that looks like a prop from The Original Series.

Film Value:
The Extras for Season 3 are surprisingly candid in their coverage of what went wrong business-wise with "Star Trek". However, no one directly criticizes the episodes themselves. A lot of blame is directed at various people and groups, but this set really should´ve looked at what went wrong internally, too.