[.ca] Star Trek - The Original Series: Season 1

From Amazon.com:
In 1965, Star Trek set out to boldly go where no series had gone before, beginning a three-year mission that led to a franchise that would last decades. Here at last is the first season of the original series all in one box, 29 episodes in their original broadcast order. That means starting with "The Man Trap," and soon followed by "Where No Man Has Gone Before," the second pilot filmed and the first one starring William Shatner as Captain Kirk. The many highlight episodes include "Balance of Terror" and "Errand of Mercy" (introducing, respectively, the Romulans and the Klingons), the two-part "The Menagerie" (which recycled footage from the original pilot, "The Cage," which featured Christopher Pike as the captain of the Enterprise and is not included in this set), "Space Seed" (introducing Ricardo Montalban's Khan character), and "The City of the Edge of Forever" (written by sci-fi giant Harlan Ellison and considered by many the best-ever episode of the series). The first-season DVD set is supplemented by 80 minutes of featurettes incorporating 2003-04 interviews with Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, other cast members, and producers, and some 1988 footage of Gene Roddenberry. The longest (24 minutes) featurette, "The Birth of a Timeless Legacy," examines the two pilot episodes and the development of the crew. Slightly shorter are "To Boldly Go... Season One," which highlights key episodes, and "Sci-Fi Visionaries," which discusses the series' great science fiction writers (most famously in "The City of the Edge of Forever"). Shatner shows off his love of horses in "Life Beyond Trek," and, more interestingly, Nimoy debunks various rumors in "Reflections of Spock." As they've done for many of the feature-film special editions, Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda provide a pop-up text commentary on four of the episodes filled with history, trivia, and dry wit. It's the first commentary of any kind for a Star Trek TV show, but an audio commentary is still overdue. The technical specs are mostly the same as other Trek TV series--Dolby 5.1, English subtitles--but with the welcome addition of the episode trailers. The plastic case is an attempt to replicate some of the fun packaging of the series' European DVD releases, but it's a bit clunky, and the paper sleeve around the disc case seems awkward and crude. Still, the set is a vast improvement both in terms of shelf space and bonus features compared to the old two-episode discs, which were released before full-season boxed sets became the model for television DVDs. --David Horiuchi

Paramount sucks:
I love Star Trek. I always will in spite of Paramount's barely concealed contempt for the Star Trek fan. They seem to think ST is a joke. This DVD release is yet another attempt to cash in on the loyalty of ST fans. I thought they were making good progress in releasing the movies with extra features and great prices. The new releases of the movies is great value and they are decently presented. But this DVD set is a joke. The packaging is embarassing. The price is too high for what you get to take home. The audio is impressive, but it looks like a straight video to DVD transfer without any polishing. I have the "Lost in Space" season one DVD and the video is clean without dropouts or other visual distractions. I know ST isn't going to look as good as ST:TNG but I was hoping for better then this. I really don't think they were trying when they put this together. They know we love ST enough to put up with this foolishness. They know ST:TOS fans are particularily loyal. Paramount knows they are going to make money no matter what they do. This should have been a monumental release instead of the bittersweet non-event that is truly is. ST:TOS has impacted pop culture in ways that will be studied for decades and this release isn't up to the hype. I could forgive the idiotic packaging but doing next to nothing to clean up the video portion of the DVD is really pushing it. I was hoping for so much more. This looks no different from 5th generation videos that your local TV played when ST was just another syndicated show. I don't think Paramount put in the effort that ST deserves. But they will make their money. After all they have turned ST into a 'franchise'. It's nothing but product to them. ST means so much more. Too bad they don't get it.

Best TV Series Ever:
All Right! In mere months we will be able to have the entire Star Trek original series in DVD boxed sets, not unlike the data chips used by Mr. Spock! It will be great to be able to quickly look and pick a favorite episode and plug it in. I've adored this series (and the sequels) since I was a child, and I look forward to watching them all over again using the latest technology. My favorite episode has to be City on the Edge of Forever, with Doomsday Machine number 2. Also terrific are the episodes with the spores and Spock's parents. Live Long and Prosper!

Good Shows, Poor Packaging, Price Too High:
The content is as it always was, so if you liked the original Star Trek series, you will like these. We have been fans for years, and these old shows never seem to be out-of-date; as time passes, the issues that some of the shows depicted and examined are as relevant now as they were in the sixties. The video and sound quality are considerably improved over what one commonly sees on cable or satellite re-runs. However, the packaging leaves much to be desired. It seems that their folding plastic disc carrier is meant to come apart with repeated use, and the paper sleeve doesn't look too durable, either. Lastly, wherever you buy this package, you can't avoid paying the high price. It's unfortunate that Paramount sees fit to gouge customers repeatedly. Surely DVD technology will eventually be replaced, at which point they will likely release another over-priced package, if they even wait that long.

Very well done re-issues.:
There's no pleasing some people... various "reviewers" are content to whine, complain and nit pick about packaging. The episodes in the ST:TOS box sets look FAR better than the TV re-runs, and the Dolby Digital audio is miles above the original Mono VHS soundtrack. You have to remember that this show is pushing 40 years old now. There's only so much the engineers can do to clean up the original source video and audio. The Okuda commentaries, bonus features and interactive menus are very well done, however the menus can be a little clumsy to navigate. That being said, you get used to them fairly quickly. The original TV previews for each week's episode are a nice touch. These sets are a little expensive, and the packaging isn't the best, but a couple of $1.99 Ikea CD-Wallets solves that issue. It's still FAR cheaper than buying the original 2-episode per DVD issues.

Too pricy....:
Too pricy for what is being offered, especially considering that the episodes are still aired regularly on many networks. I didn't find the video quality very good. There was alot of fancy packaging but not enough substance. I would have maybe paid one hundred Canadian for this particular item. No more than that. Other seasonal sets I've seen in the past have retailed for much less. I will seek Asian copies instead for much less.