Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1 Blu-ray

Firstly, hats off to CBS and Paramount for embarking on this huge project of remastering all seven seasons of ST:TNG onto Blu-ray. That's 178 episodes altogether! It's a monumental task (and no doubt a costly one too!) but the outcome is guaranteed to delight sci-fi fans around the world. At the beginning of 2012 we had the three episode sampler Blu-ray "The Next Level" which I loved, and now the restoration of entire Season 1 is complete. Great way to celebrate TNG's 25th anniversary!

While I'm a fan of the original Star Trek series, and I liked Voyager, DS9 and even the recent Enterprise, it's The Next Generation where my interest in Star Trek began, and as such it will always have a special place in my heart. I watched it as a little boy when it first aired and have always gone back to it, whether through repeats on TV or the pile of VHS tapes and DVDs I've collected over the years. The quality of the material varies throughout the seven seasons, there are a few duff episodes here and there, but for the most part this is a well written science fiction series with a memorable ensemble cast, led by the legendary Sir Patrick Stewart.

Season 1 may have suffered a little bit from inconsistency, underdeveloped characters and occasionally some stiff dialogue, but overall it's a solid first season with some great storylines. Both cast and crew were still finding their feet and getting to know each other, as well as their own characters, so teething problems were to be expected. Still, it got off to a good start with the double pilot episode Encounter At Farpoint, which introduced the all-new cast and also featured the wonderful John de Lancie as Q. Fans will pick different episodes as their highlights but one thing's certain, you've never seen any of the them looking this good!

All 25 episodes from Season 1 (first broadcast in 1987 and 1988) are included on this six-disc set, all newly transferred from the original film elements (not upconverted from video!). With the restoration complete, comparing the old video with high definition Blu-ray, your jaw will hit the floor (see video clip below). The difference is amazing, and I don't use that word lightly. Though it may look a bit grainy in places, the vivid colours and the overall picture clarity are impressive, considering the technological limitations of when the show was filmed. Where the old broadcast versions may have looked faded and murky, here there is noticeable sharpness, texture and detail in 1080p resolution. A feast for the eyes!

Digitally recreated from the source material, the visual effects are just awesome. Thanks to advances in software in recent years, everything looks so damn beautiful, from the phasers, photon torpedoes, the shimmering transporter lights, to the stunning Crystalline Entity (see pic below). Star Trek expert Mike Okuda points out that nothing was changed, respecting the decisions made by the original effects team. Back in '87 when the series began there were no widescreen TVs and the show was presented in full frame 4:3 ratio. Rather than giving us a fake widescreen presentation by zooming in on the full frame and re-imagining the shots, producers wanted to keep true to the original and preserve everything as intended by the filmmakers. I'm so used to seeing TNG in 4:3 anyway, so it's not an issue at all.

The remastered 7.1 audio sounds pretty sweet too. Just listen to the crisp opening title theme, and little things like the whoosh of the turbo lift doors, the ambient hum of the engines, the clicks and bleeps in the background, Worf's deep voice, etc. Going through the whole season's worth of remastered sound effects will be a voyage of discovery in itself. You may need to adjust your audio settings to get the best results depending on your home cinema set-up.

The six discs come packaged in a standard sized slim Blu-ray case with a slipcover (artwork is identical on both). Menus on all discs are styled to resemble the LCARS computer interface as you see on the show. Original air date and stardate are shown for each episode too. I like that a lot! Each disc contains original episodic promos and there is also a teaser promo for Season 2 Blu-ray, showing the TNG cast reunited for the first time since Nemesis to film a group interview (this will be one of the extras on S2 box set).

Aside from the technical upgrade, what I really love about this Blu-ray are the special features (found on Discs 1 and 6).

On Disc 1, Energized! shows the restoration team at work, and it's a real eye opener. The amount of effort put in is incredible, when you hear what each team member was responsible for. Just finding the original reels for each scene was a huge challenge considering there are literally thousands of boxes of TNG footage in a giant warehouse to go through. For those of you who bought The Next Level Blu-ray I'm glad to report the 13 seconds of missing footage from Sins of the Father have been found so when they get around to remastering Season 3, that episode will be complete. Also on Disc 1, from the TNG archives we get the launch footage and several promos from '87 although some of this may have been previously included on DVD box sets.

Disc 6 has the new three-part documentary Stardate Revisited, roughly 94 minutes long and featuring all new cast and crew interviews combined with never before seen moments discovered on the reels.

In Part 1 (Inception) we find out how Patrick Stewart was chosen to be the new Captain (and how he auditioned wearing a wig!), how the new Starship Enterprise design was chosen from original illustrations by Andrew Probert, and how Roddenberry even briefly considered not having a Starship at all.

Part 2 (Launch) continues with original wardrobe and makeup camera tests (choosing LeVar Burton's visor, Data's facial colour, Troi's outfit, etc), and various cast members talk about their auditions and first days of filming. It's truly fascinating stuff! We find out that Jonathan Frakes wasn't the first choice for Commander Riker, why Michael Dorn thinks they cast an African-American as a Klingon, why Patrick Stewart signed his contract and how he beat the feeling of insecurity he felt first day on set, etc. Marina Sirtis is very funny talking about her hair and costume, Brent Spiner explains how the pronounciation of "Data" was decided on, and LeVar Burton tells us about The Perceivers!

Part 3 (The Continuing Mission) delves into the pressures of doing a TV show within the budget, Gene Roddenberry's conflict with various script writers, cast members leaving the show (Gates McFadden, Denise Crosby), and the challenges the visual effects team faced when building different ship models (look out for the Enterprise conference room pencil animation during the title sequence!).

The 8-minute gag reel on Disc 6 is also pretty good, with cast members fluffing their lines, giggling, swearing, falling over, getting caught in turbo lift doors, etc. Brent Spiner's brief James Stewart impersonation is a gem. Some clips are of poor quality here and some have no sound but generally it's enjoyable to watch. Then there's some more old previously released footage in Archival Mission Logs, roughly an hour altogether, of cast discussing the show, their characters, favourite episodes and anecdotes.

In conclusion, this is an excellent Blu-ray I would recommend wholeheartedly. To see The Next Generation in all its glory, in true HD is an absolute delight and the extras are really good. If you're already a TNG fan, this is a must purchase. Make it so!

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 Blu-ray is released on Monday July 23rd (CBS/Paramount, rated 12).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Trek-Generation-Season-Blu-ray/dp/B007Q1GK0A

http://www.play.com/DVD/Blu-ray/3-/31619272/0/Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation-Season-1-Box-Set/ListingDetails.html

P.S. - Watch out for the flyer inside the case for your chance to win tickets to Destination Star Trek London. www.startreklondon.com

Ted

As a lonely Boston child growing up in the '80s, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) makes a Christmas wish that his teddy bear Ted would come to life. His wish comes true and they become best friends ("thunder buddies") forever. Ted (CG animated and voiced by Seth MacFarlane) briefly becomes famous before fading into obscurity. Fast forward to present day, and Ted and John are still living together. Ted has become a lewd, irresponsible pot-smoking layabout, while John (now an immature 35-year old) struggles to maintain his 4-year relationship with the girl of his dreams Lori (Mila Kunis). Things come to a head when Lori gets fed up with Ted and John's lifestyle and asks John to choose between her or his best friend!

This is a directorial debut for Seth MacFarlane and if you've ever watched Family Guy, you will know what kind of crude, boundary-stretching, politically incorrect style of comedy to expect. No-one is safe, and the script pokes fun at various religious groups, races, celebrities, pop singers, gay people, fat people and even children, inducing a few gasps from the audience along with the laughter. Admittedly, a lot of it is just very funny and you can't help but laugh.

Underneath it all however is a surprisingly sweet story of childhood friendship, with John still holding on to his teddy bear and refusing to grow up and act like an adult. Mark Wahlberg plays it brilliantly, with great support from Mila Kunis as the unhappy girlfriend whose patience is running out. The film zips along at a steady pace, only faltering towards the end when the creepy father (Giovanni Ribisi) and son subplot comes into play. But this is a minor quibble.

Already a huge hit in the US, this looks set to be one of the comedies of the year and is perfect for a fun night out at the cinema with your friends. Not suitable for the prudish and easily offended though! Look out for nostalgic nods to various 80s films/songs, some fantastic cameos (including Sam Jones of Flash Gordon fame) and the excellent voiceover intro from Sir Patrick Stewart.

UK release date: 1st August 2012