Hi-Def Preview

Star Trek: The Original Series

–The Complete First Season

Paramount Home Entertainment

Released: 11/20/07

Review By: Ryan James

Picture Quality – 4/5

Audio Quality – 4.5/5

Special Features - 4/5

Overall – 4.25/5

Comments: This new release of Star Trek TOS is solid. It comes in by far the best packaging we have seen thus far in the HDM world. The set contains 10 individual Combo DVD/HD-DVD discs with a nice booklet of information all housed in a nice clear case.

This set is presented in 4x3 and I listened using the Dolby TrueHD option. After an exhaustive day watching this set, I have to say I was a bit letdown by the picture quality. The image was VERY grainy, almost to the point where certain people/objects seemed slightly out of focus. I also felt the colors; especially the reds were over saturated. The colors seemed artificial at times. I do however feel the updated special effects shots looked natural and not artificial. They seemed to fit the style of the filming. Since this release is of a 40 year old television show the best I have to compare it to was “The Searchers” which was released earlier this year. I really feel that “The Searchers” has superior picture quality to this Star Trek release. This is probably due to what Paramount had to work with, with Star Trek. I by no means feel Paramount skimped in effort with this release, in-fact it is clear they put in a lot of effort to make this the best it can be. However it just did not meet my expectations for picture quality.

As mentioned earlier, I listened using the Dolby TrueHD option and simply put, Star Trek TOS has never sounded even near this good! The dialog sounds wonderful and completely dominates the center channel. The surrounds also get a nice bit of action, albeit not as frequently as one may have hoped for. From time to time the surrounds created the feel of objects heading in your direction, to the point where you felt like you had to move out of the way. I also feel the Left and Right channels were used to perfection as they completed the overall surround feel with various echo’s and sound effects which were perfectly presented. I am very surprised by the sound quality of this release, especially considering it is from 40 years a go. Paramount worked some magic here!

This set is also full of some great special features. My personal favorite was a special feature called “Starfleet Access Feature.” With this feature turned on, small icons appear on the right side of your screen and you can click on these icons during the viewing of the show and receive additional information and even trivia about what you are seeing on screen. This really is a nice special feature.

There is also a nice feature of Billy Blackburn’s home movies, which show a lot of behind the scenes footage with narration from Billy, of the original series. Finally there is a nice featurette of the making of this set and the restoration process used in the process. Again it proves that Paramount placed A LOT of effort in to this release.

All in all this is a very nice overall presentation from Paramount. All though I was a bit letdown by the picture quality, the rest of the release was EXCELLENT. It truly is an entertaining and history-filled trip through the world of Star Trek. If you are a fan of Star Trek, especially Star Trek TOS, I highly recommend this purchase, even considering its hefty price tag.