The Blu-ray Blog » Star Trek

Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-ray in 2012

Brenden — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:24:45 +0000

It’s been rumoured for a while now, but this past week, Paramount and CBS finally confirmed that Star Trek: The Next Generation will be making its way to Blu-ray in 2012! Just in time to celebrate the series’ 25th Anniversary, the entire run of 178 episodes is being transferred to HD from the original negatives, recut to resemble the original broadcast versions with digital special effects, “painstakingly recompositioned, not upconverted from videotape.” This is incredible news and an unbelievable undertaking by the studios. A four-episode “preview” will be released in January to show off the studio’s work and to tease the full season sets that will begin shipping later next year. It’s a pretty good time to be a Trek fan, that’s for sure. For more detail, see the full press release and details below and the official trailer above.

LOS ANGELES – September 28, 2011 – The beloved series STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® will be transferred to high-definition for the first time ever and released on Blu-ray™, it was announced today by Ken Ross, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Home Entertainment.

All 178 episodes from seven seasons will be transferred to true high-definition 1080p for release on Blu-ray and eventual runs on television and digital platforms both domestically and internationally.

“Fans have been clamoring for a high-definition release of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® for years,” said Ross. “Transferring the series to high-definition presented difficult technical challenges, but our team has come up with a process to create true 1080p HD masters with true HD visual effects. We can’t wait to show fans how pristine the series looks and sounds with our upcoming Blu-ray releases.”

Transferring STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® to high-definition presented numerous challenges – The series was originally shot on film and then transferred to videotape, which was used to edit episodes together. In order to create true HD masters, CBS is going back to the original uncut film negative – all 25,000 plus film reels of it – and cutting the episodes together exactly the way they originally aired. The visual effects were all shot on film and will be painstakingly recompositioned, not upconverted from videotape. The newly cut film will then be transferred to true high-definition with 7.1 DTS Master Audio. Denise and Mike Okuda are consulting on the project.

While the first full season won’t be available until later in 2012, CBS Home Entertainment is releasing STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® – THE NEXT LEVEL, a single Blu-ray disc to give fans a taste of the series in HD, on January 31, 2012. The disc will include the feature-length pilot – “Encounter at Farpoint” – as well as two more “fan favorite” episodes, “The Inner Light” (Season 5) and “Sins of the Father” (Season 3). The single disc will be available for a suggested retail price of $21.99.

One of the most popular series in the STAR TREK franchise, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2012. It premiered in first-run syndication during the week of September 28, 1987 and ran through 1994.

Set in the 24th century on the Starship Enterprise, about 100 years after the original STAR TREK series took place, the series starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker, LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge, Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher and Wil Wheaton as her son Wesley Crusher.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – THE NEXT LEVEL
(January 31, 2012 – MSRP $21.99)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

Blu-ray Deal of the Week: The Twilight Zone season sets

Brenden — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:05:16 +0000

After a slight bit of controversy which saw prices bopping up and down, Amazon.com has finally settled on their Blu-ray Deal of the Week. You have until this Saturday night to pick up the first three seasons of The Twilight Zone on Blu-ray for $46.49 each, a discount of 54%! While the price still seems a bit steep on the surface, consider that each set normally retails for around $100 and provides 5 discs (4 in the case of the Season 2 set) packed with brilliantly restored episodes available for the first time in HD along with a shit-ton of bonus content. This is the lowest price any of these boxed sets have seen as yet so grab them up while you still can!

The Twilight Zone: Season 1 - $46.49 (54% off)

The Twilight Zone: Season 2 - $46.49 (54% off)

The Twilight Zone: Season 3 - $46.49 (54% off)

The Twilight Zone: Season Two Blu-ray announced

Brenden — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:20:04 +0000

What?! Huh?! Another season set of Twilight Zone episodes announced for release on Blu-ray already?! We only just found out about Image‘s upcoming season one boxed set a few weeks ago and now we have the full details of the follow up release. Much like the first batch, I think this set looks like the bomb but I have my reservations about it. I don’t want to work myself up into too much of a lather before seeing an example of these new high-def transfers. But if they manage to live up to my wild imaginings, I’ll be frothing at the mouth, desperate to get my grubby hands on Season 3!

THE TWILIGHT ZONE: SEASON TWO
(November 16, 2010 – MSRP $99.98)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: LPCM Mono

Special Features:

Suspense: Nightmare At Ground Zero (TV episode)
George T. Clemens Audio Interview (1978) Part 2
William Tuttle Audio Interview

New, Blu-ray exclusive features:

Rarely-seen, unofficial Twilight Zone pilot, The Time Element, starring William Bendix and Martin Balsam. Written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz for Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse.
19 new commentaries, featuring The Twilight Zone Companion author Marc Scott Zicree, author and film historian Gary Gerani (Fantastic Television), author and music historian Steven C. Smith (A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann), music historians John Morgan and William T. Stromberg, writer/producer David Simkins (Lois and Clark, Dark Angel), writer Mark Fergus (Children of Men, Iron Man), actor William Reynolds and director Ted Post Interviews with actors Dana Dillaway, Suzanne Lloyd, Beverly Garland and Ron Masak
Tales of Tomorrow episode “What You Need”
Vintage audio interview with Director of Photography George T. Clemens
1977 syndication promos for A Stop at Willoughby and The After Hours
18 Radio Dramas
34 Isolated Music Scores

The Twilight Zone: Season One comes to Blu-ray

Brenden — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:32:17 +0000

I started this post days ago, just before all this hack garbage shut The Blu-ray Blog down for a while. I’m so happy to get back to it and tell you all about this new Blu-ray edition of The Twilight Zone: Season One boxed set. Those of you who own the DVDs might feel a little pissed off about this set, as you were led to believe that you purchased the “The Definitive Collection” of the episodes on home video, suggesting that the elements would never look or sound any better on disc. Well, Image is going the extra mile here to prove that this new high-def package is worth the upgrade!

In addition to a new HD remaster of the episodes, billed by the studio as “a huge step up even from The Definitive Collection, mastered from new 1080p film transfers using the original camera negatives and magnetic soundtracks“, this set contains all new exclusive bonus material including 19 new commentary tracks, isolated music scores by composers like Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Herrmann and “The Time Element” – an unofficial, never before released Twilight Zone pilot written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz.

Sold. Sounds brilliant to me. If the A/V remaster even approaches the quality of the Star Trek Blu-ray releases, this upgrade should be a no-brainer for fans.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE: SEASON ONE
(September 14, 2010 – MSRP $99.98)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: LPCM Mono

Special Features:

Audio Commentaries by actors Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Milner, Kevin McCarthy, and CBS executive William Self.
Vintage Audio Recollections with actors Burgess Meredith and Anne Francis, directors Douglas Heyes and Richard L. Bare, producer Buck Houghton and writer Richard Matheson.
Rod Serling Audio Lectures from Sherwood Oaks College.
Rod Serling Promos for “Next Week’s” Show.
Original Unaired Pilot Version of “Where is Everybody?” with Rod Serling’s Network Pitch.
Footage of the Emmy Award wins for the series.

EXCLUSIVE NEW BONUS FEATURES:

Extremely rare, never-before-released unofficial Twilight Zone pilot, “The Time Element,” written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz – presented in glorious high definition!
19 New Audio Commentaries, featuring The Twilight Zone Companion author Marc Scott Zicree, author and film historian Gary Gerani (Fantastic Television), author and music historian Steven C. Smith (A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann), music historians John Morgan and William T. Stromberg, writer/producer David Simkins (Lois & Clark, Dark Angel), writer Mark Fergus (Children of Men, Iron Man), actor William Reynolds and director Ted Post.
Interviews with actors Dana Dillaway, Suzanne Lloyd, Beverly Garland and Ron Masak.
Tales of Tomorrow episode “What You Need.”
Vintage audio interview with Director of Photography George T. Clemens.
1977 syndication promos for “A Stop at Willoughby” and “The After Hours.”
18 Radio Dramas
34 Isolated Music Scores featuring the legendary Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith and others!

The 82nd Oscar Winners on Blu-ray

Brenden — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:46:23 +0000

I hate award shows. I was almost able to avoid the whole Academy Award fiasco last night. Sadly, I caught the opening few minutes of this years self-congratulatory Hollywood travesty, like a stray botox-bullet to the face. I’ll no doubt spend the rest of the week recovering.

I caught up on all the Oscar award winners afterward and I can’t say I was surprised or delighted by much of the news. I am happy to tell you though, that most of the films that took home a statue are either already available on Blu-ray or have been announced to be released on the format soon. Are you more apt to pick up any of the following titles, now that they are Academy Award winners?

AVATAR – ART DIRECTION, CINEMATOGRAPHY, VISUAL EFFECTS

Available now in 2D movie-only Blu-ray and DVD and 4-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray sometime in November (unofficial) from Fox.

THE BLIND SIDE – SANDRA BULLOCK – BEST ACTRESS

Available now from Warner.

THE COVE – DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Available on Blu-ray only in France and Germany with no domestic release pending from Lionsgate.

CRAZY HEART – JEFF BRIDGES – BEST ACTOR; ORIGINAL SONG – “THE WEARY KIND (Theme from Crazy Heart)”

Available now from Fox.

THE HURT LOCKER – DIRECTING; FILM EDITING; BEST PICTURE; SOUND EDITING; SOUND MIXING; ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Now available on Blu-ray from Summit.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – CHRISTOPH WALTZ – BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Now available on Blu-ray from Universal.

PRECIOUS – MO’NIQUE – BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS; ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Available now from Lionsgate.

EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS – BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM (Argentina)

Blu-ray announcement pending from Sony. Available in Spain now.

STAR TREK – MAKEUP

Now available on Blu-ray from Paramount.

UP – ANIMATED FEATURE; ORIGINAL SCORE

Now available on Blu-ray from Disney.

THE YOUNG VICTORIA – COSTUME DESIGN

Available now from Sony.

With thanks to Blu-ray.com.

BLU-RAY DEAL: 'Star Trek (Three-Disc Edition)'

Brenden — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:45:25 +0000

BLU-RAY DEAL: ‘Star Trek (Three-Disc Edition)’ – $16.99 (58% OFF!) http://bit.ly/4CSV5R

Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:02:12 +0000

STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES SEASON THREE (1968, Blu-ray released December 15, 2009 – MSRP $129.99)

I wish I could tell you that the Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three Blu-ray disc set is as wonderful and virtually flawless as its two predecessors but I can’t. Relative to those first two outstanding efforts, this set falls short. On its own merits, however, it’s absolutely wonderful and a must own for any Star Trek collector!

Spock’s Brain…sigh… The first episode on disc one of this Third Season set. Spock’s Brain is not a very good episode. It’s pretty laughable, in fact. And it’s also, sadly endemic of the entire season. Don’t get me wrong, there’s great stuff here. There are some amazing episodes to be experienced in the set. And they’ve all been enhanced with new HD special effects shots and gorgeous, radiant new transfers. Everything looks and sounds fantastic here. It’s just that the quality of the shows themselves, the writing, directing, the general take on the franchise is left wanting through most of the season.

But this is common knowledge, when it comes to season three of the original Trek. The cast and crew acknowledge as much in the featurette, ‘To Boldly Go…Season Three‘. There were production problems, disagreements and network in-fighting. And creator Gene Rodenberry had stepped away amidst it all, to work on new projects and to escape an unhealthy, combative environment. All the while, the fans on the outside were writing letters and doing their best to keep the Enterprise in orbit. To keep the show on the air. But it wasn’t to be. Season three features some incredible bright spots like The Enterprise Incident and Let That Be Your Last Battlefield but is otherwise a vestige of its former self. Spock’s Brain, where the Vulcan first officer has the contents of his skull stolen to be ‘The Controller’ at the center of a simplistic civilization, is evidence of this. Nevertheless, this season is the last of the original series and is therefore a necessary purchase for collectors and fans alike.

Like I said, the episodes look and sound as great as in previous seasons on Blu-ray. Wonderful! My greatest disappointment lies in the complete lack of Starfleet Access episodes – episodes with Picture-in-Picture commentary from creators and producers. This was my favourite feature of the previous two sets and I’m sorry to see that it wasn’t carried over to the final entry. There are, however, a ton of featurettes and documentaries to pick up the slack. More features are available over BD-Live and Mobile Blu.

The greatest part of the Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three Blu-ray disc set is the inclusion of the original pilots – both newly enhanced and extended versions of the first pilot, The Cage and the never-before-seen, unaired alternate cut of the second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before. This is the holy grail of unseen episodes for Trek nerds like me. It might not be as clean and gorgeous in presentation as the finished version found on the Season One set but it’s so incredible to be able to see it here, in any condition. Well done, Paramount/CBS-FOX video!

Blu-ray Picks for the Week of December 15

Brenden — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:52:42 +0000

I’m a day late getting my Blu-ray picks posted. Sorry ’bout that. Yesterday was pretty packed with news and with the limited time I had, I could only squeeze so many posts in. But here we are now, a little light on titles overall but with some quality Blu-ray discs nonetheless. Guess which boxed set I’m most excited about this week…

All right, this isn’t really my top pick. But it’s probably the biggest release of the week so it seemed right to shine the spotlight on it. I still haven’t seen The Hangover yet (WHV sent me the DVD to review…Still trying to explain to them that the site is about the Blu-ray format…sigh…) but I’m really looking forward to it. My pals tell me it’s one of the best comedies they’ve seen in a long while. And I always believe my pals. Read all about the Blu-ray release in our post here: The Hangover Blu-ray announced and detailed

Amazon: $15.99

And yet another film I missed out on in the cinema. Word on the street is that this Blu-ray edition of Tarantino‘s Inglourious Basterds is not to be missed. I’ll be picking up a copy today. I’m pretty excited to finally get a chance to see it. Tarantino doesn’t always knock it out of the park for me but as a fan of the original Inglorious Bastards and the Dirty Dozen, I can’t wait to check out what he does when he sinks his teeth into the genre! Read all about the Blu-ray release in our post here: Inglourious Basterds announced and detailed!

Amazon: $17.99

This is the biggest release of the week for me. I’m constantly amazed at the quality of these Star Trek: The Original Series Blu-ray disc sets. They’re absolutely beautiful! I never thought these old episodes could possibly look or sound this good. Yeah, this set contains the worst episodes of the series but if you’ve picked up the first two seasons (and I really hope you have…they’re some of the best Blu has to offer!) you’ve got to grab this up to complete the set. If you don’t have any of the season sets yet, Paramount is offering a bundle with all three together, the entire series for a slight discount.

Highly recommended!!

Amazon: $52.99

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

Star Trek (2009) Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:02:01 +0000

STAR TREK (2009, Blu-ray released November 17, 2009 – MSRP $39.99)

This is probably my favourite new title of the year. Yes, I’m a nerd. But while my Trek-loving tendencies may be to blame in part for my enthusiasm, this new film is so all-around entertaining that everyone I know who had a chance to see it enjoyed J.J. Abrams‘ re-imagining of Star Trek immensely. I just watched the new Blu-ray edition of it and to be honest, I can’t wait to watch it again!

I know some Trek-haters. Only a couple, really. A lot of people with Trek-apathy, though. And yet all of them, every single one dragged kicking and screaming into the theatre, walked out singing the praises of Star Trek. Some even curious to watch episodes of the old TV show. And that, to me pinpoints the success of the film. J.J. Abrams took everything that ever made Star Trek great, distilled it to a couple of hours, packaged it in lightning and unleashed it on an audience who didn’t know they were craving it all along.

Most fans had given up on the franchise long ago. It had been ages since I cared about Star Trek, I know that for sure. I recall starting to feel worn out by the franchise around the time of Deep Space 9. Voyager, Enterprise and a handful of less-than-fantastic Next Gen feature films were the final nails in the coffin for me. By the time the early 2000s rolled around, I barely had a Trek-care left. I’d be happy to watch the odd episode of the original series when they came on TV and Wrath of Khan remained a treat, but aside from that I had little interest left. This new Trek film has managed to turn all of that around. It reminds me of the things that made me fall in love with the franchise to begin with. It manages to do that and so much more, bringing a new, fast-paced action feel to our beloved tale of space exploration. Along the way we’re introduced to younger versions of our favourite characters, all perfectly cast and embodying everything we came to love about them in the TV show and films. Now, I’m not saying that this Chris Pine fellow is any replacement for the legendary William Shatner in the role of Captain Kirk. But he does a fantastic job and even manages to make the character his own, while maintaining a little of the James Tiberius we know and love. A cheeky smile. Commanding authority. Even a hint of classic Kirk conversational cadence. Perfect! A quality indicative of the rest of the film. Damn-near note perfect.

There isn’t another Blu-ray disc in my collection that I want to watch with such frequency as I do Star Trek at the moment. I can’t wait to have a chance to put it on again! It looks damn-near perfect, it sounds damn-near perfect and is a great sci-fi adventure on top of that. It’s a wonderful demo disc that’s going to sell set-top players and PS3s all holiday season.

And aside from just being a wonderful technical showpiece for your home theatre, the Star Trek Blu-ray will provide you with countless hours of additional entertainment, as it’s packed to the gills with special features! I literally spent hours wading through the bounty of HD featurettes on the second Blu-ray disc. They cover every aspect of the film, from the concept, the casting, shooting, make-up, music, sound effects…the list goes on. And almost every little doc can be viewed with or without the ability to see additional branching content. If I have a single gripe with the special features, it’s a common one I have with most modern discs – if given the chance, I’d rather watch all “making-of” featurettes as one lengthy documentary, as opposed to little bits and pieces. To be honest though, I’d happily settle for a “Play All” option.

The commentary track with director Abrams, producers Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof, and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci is one of the highlights of the Blu-ray disc set. Listening to it makes you feel like you’re at a production party or an exclusive gathering. It’s equally as enthralling and as frustrating as a commentary track can be! The former, obviously, because it’s so candid and jovial and the latter because there are so many of them with so much to say that they’re constantly cutting each other off! I can’t tell you how many times I felt like we, the listeners were just about to learn another production secret when one of the participants jumps in, cutting off the speaker only to point out something inane onscreen or offer some Trek-based fact. Like I said, frustrating. But a really great listen, nonetheless.

Rounding out the Blu-ray package are some incredible deleted scenes, a gag reel, trailers a digital copy of the film and some HD exclusive Vessel Simulations of the Enterprise and its enormous enemy ship, the Narada!

Super-extra-mega recommended!

Galaxy Quest Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:20:05 +0000

GALAXY QUEST (1999, Blu-ray released November 17, 2009 – MSRP $29.99)

Released this week to coincide with the arrival of the new Star Trek film on Blu-ray, Galaxy Quest is the ultimate love letter to the television adventures of the crew of the starship Enterprise. If you’re a fan of Captain Kirk and crew you’re bound to love this film. Even if you’re not, you’re bound to get a kick out of it. And it’s never looked or sounded or better than on this fine, new Blu-ray disc.

It must have been easy to overlook Galaxy Quest in 1999. I remember that year being all about the return of Star Wars and the coming of The Matrix. How was a little sci-fi adventure comedy like this supposed to stand out in a crowd as auspicious and legendary as that?! Luckily, we’ve got home video to rescue little gems like this. Galaxy Quest is a fun film following the post-series life of a group of actors working the convention circuit years after their famous sci-fi television show has gone off the air. Everything changes for the team when a starship full of honest-to-goodness real aliens recruit them to help them save their world from an evil, reptilian dictator!

It’s a pretty silly story. But manages to also be a fantastic commentary on the reality of struggling has-been actors forgotten by the Hollywood machine. Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman lead the gifted cast, all delivering fantastic comic performances. But for my money, it’s all Sam Rockwell all the way. That guy is hilarious! I remember that his performance was the one that stuck out for me when I had first caught the movie in ’99. And it was Rockwell that made me laugh once again through this viewing of the film on Blu-ray.

Galaxy Quest looks better on this new Blu-ray disc than it ever has on home video. It’s a bit soft in places and you might be able to spot the slightest hint of DNR smoothing things out a little too much here and there, but over all you won’t be disappointed with the presentation. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is also more than serviceable for the film.

The Blu-ray disc really shines in the area of its special features. I spent an afternoon enjoying the many documentary featurettes, most of which combine old interviews from 1999 with new, ten-years-later conversations (check out a little piece on Alan Rickman below!) There’s a disturbing clip of Sigourney Weaver leading members of the cast in a rap she’s written for her agent’s birthday. Funny but just so wrong…and awkward. Moving from awkward to just plain awful is the “Thermian Audio Track” – the entire film dubbed into the shrieking dying-dolphin language of the films aliens. I made it through about five seconds of that one and instead switched on the deleted scenes! Eight scenes totaling around 12-minutes, all fairly entertaining with one in particular providing a few laughs at the expense of Rickman’s exasperated character. The disc is rounded out by the exhaustive and hilarious “Galactopedia” – a text fact/fiction/triva track crafted by Michael and Denise Okuda, the Star Trek experts who created similar tracks for those discs.

GALAXY QUEST: DELUXE EDITION (EXCLUSIVE): Movie Trailer – Watch today’s top amazing videos here

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