Being a self professed nerd, I had always wanted to watch the original series of Star Trek but I kept postponing watching it. This summer I was finally able to watch the entire series and while the show isn’t the best show ever, it is still a very good show. Having watched season two this summer in normal definition gave me a good comparison for the Blu-Ray version. While the Blu-Ray is not perfect, fans of Star Trek should get their money’s worth with the second season on Blu-Ray.

For those few of you who don’t already know, Star Trek follows the crew of the Starship Enterprise as they journey across the galaxy exploring new worlds while trying to keep the galaxy safe. Each week the crew would journey to a new world where they would face a new challenge.

The first season of Star Trek was pretty good but took a while to get going in my opinion. The second season on the other hand is where Star Trek really shined. The second season of Star Trek was the best season in the series’ history. The second season of Star Trek had some of the series’ best episodes including “Trouble With Tribbles” which in my opinion is the best Star Trek episode of all time. Some of the episodes of the second season are a little repetitive but is it not a huge problem.

This being a Blu-Ray review, I had to address the video quality. If you take into consideration that the show is over forty years old, the video quality is quite satisfactory. That doesn’t mean that the video quality is bad but no one should expect it to compare with current television and movies. I did notice that the video quality is sharper than it was in normal definition. The video is still in fullscreen format though so if you have a widescreen television you will end up having black rectangles on both sides of the screen.

Along with better video quality, the Blu-Ray release has improved special effects. The show is forty years old and without the improved special features the show does look quite dated so I welcomed the improvements. I think the improved visuals are the same effects that were redone in the most recent DVD releases. Even though the new special effects were an improvement in my opinion, some people want to watch the episodes with the original effects. The Blu-Ray release also allows you to watch all the episodes with their original effects.

Some TV sets skimp out on special features. That is far from true in this Blu-Ray set. I honestly don’t think fans could really ask for much more. There is over five hours of special features in this Blu-Ray set. I am not sure which ones are exclusive to the Blu-Ray release so fans that have one of the DVD releases might have compare lists of special features. While none of the special features were great, several are good and the rest are at least average. I can’t imagine Star Trek fans not liking the special features. A more detailed look at the special features follow:

Preview Trailers-The commercials that previewed upcoming episodes of Star Trek. These are provided for every episode of season two. This feature wasn’t very entertaining since you can just watch the next episode right away so there really is no need for a teaser of the next episode.
Starfleet Access Episodes-A more detailed commentary featuring picture in picture for episodes “Amok Time” and “Trouble with Tribbles”. These features are good since they contain interviews from the cast and crew along with trivia interspersed throughout the episodes. If you like commentaries you will really enjoy this feature.
Billy Blackburn’s Treasure Chest: Part Two-This feature follows Billy Blackburn’s experiences on set. Length: 12 Minutes
More Tribbles, More Tribbles-The first episode of the Star Trek animated series. The episode is in HD but like the original series it doesn’t look great in HD. It is a good glimpse of the animated series though if you have never seen it before.
Trials and Tribble-ations-The dvd collection includes the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode from season five that dealt with Tribbles. This episode looks better than the original series and animated series in HD but that is mostly since it is the most recent series.
Trials and Tribble-ations: Uniting Two Legends-A feature that deals with the process of creating the Deep Space Nine episode based on Trouble with Tribbles. Not a bad feature overall. Length: 17 Minutes
Trials and Tribble-ations: A Historic Endeavor-A feature that is very similar to the Uniting Two Legends feature. Length: 16 Minutes
Star Trek TOS on Blu-Ray-A look into creating the Blu-Ray of the second season. Length: 10 Minutes
To Boldly Go…-A group of interviews with the cast and crew that discuss the second season. Some topics discussed include episodes “Trouble with Tribbles”, “Amok Time” and “Mirror, Mirror” as well as the character of Chekov and how the show infused 1960’s issues into episodes. One of the more interesting features in my opinion. Length: 20 Minutes
Designing the Final Frontier-A look at the set designs for all three seasons of Star Trek. Length: 22 Minutes
Star Trek’s Favorite Moments-A look at the cast, crew, and fans’ favorite episodes and how the Star Trek series impacted their lives. Length: 17 Minutes
Writer’s Notebook D.C. Fontana-A look at the writers, editors, and the scripts of Star Trek. Length: 7 Minutes
Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy-A feature that looks into what Leonard Nimoy has done since Star Trek. Length: 12 Minutes
Kirk, Spock and Bones: Star Trek’s Great Trio-A look at the chemistry between Kirk, Spock and Bones. Length: 7 Minutes
Star Trek’s Divine Diva Nichelle Nichols-Nichelle Nichols looks back on her career as Uhura. Length: 13 Minutes
Commentaries-Commentaries are provided for a couple episodes.

Being a self professed nerd, it is not much of a surprise that I am a Star Trek fan. If you have never seen the original Star Trek before and don’t hate sci-fi I would highly recommend checking out the show. The Blu-Ray set gives fans so many special features that none can really be disappointed. The only thing that keeps this Blu-Ray set from being perfect is the fact that the show doesn’t look fantastic in Blu-Ray. What do you expect from a forty year old show though? If you are a fan of Star Trek and have a Blu-Ray player I would recommend picking up the second season of Star Trek.

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Star Trek The Original Series Season Two Blu-Ray Review

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