DVD
Review | Star Trek: The Original Series (Season 2)
Written by: Kage
Alan
Ah, the final frontier… If only the show or
films could have gone on a bit longer for the original cast. One
thing that has attracted fans to the show for so many years is that it
has heart, something that future casts shared with each other, but
that the writers weren’t always successful in translating to the
screen. This is a welcome return to the days of simpler times and
better stories. Truly, it doesn’t get much better than this. I’ve
even had the pleasure of meeting some of the original cast members and
one of my favorites is George Takei. Talk about a man who has a
neverending source of energy! I could only hope to have half of his
spirit one day.
So, Season 2. We start off with a bang and a trip
home to Spock’s home, Vulcan. Why? The man needs to mate!
Unfortunately, his promised woman develops a kink in her ear and invokes
a ritual that pits Spock against Kirk. Women… And speaking of women,
Harry Mudd is up to his eyeballs in them and so is the rest of the crew
when they’re lured down to the planet and taken prisoner. Some days,
you just can’t win, which is certainly what “The Doomsday Machine” makes
those who come up against think. Fortunately, Ambassador Sarek is along
for the ride in “Journey To Babel” when murder stalks the corridors of
the Enterprise. However, it’s a good thing he’s not when there’s “The
Trouble With Tribbles.” Fun for us. Not so for Vulcans.
And what would a Science Fiction show be without
throwing in at least one arena-style fighting episode (“The Gamesters of
Triskelion”), another yarn involving time travel (“Assignment: Earth”)
and a computer that would be God (“The Ultimate Computer”). On just
about any other series, episodes like these would induce severe
eye-rolling. On “Star Trek,” the Original series that is, those eyes
will never shift from the screen because we know the good guys will
prevail. It’s just a matter of how. Furthermore, we care about them.
See? It all goes back to heart.
Paramount has released “Star Trek: The Original
Series (Season 2)” in its original Full Screen format. Video and audio
quality are exceptional, as good as we’ll ever see them. As for extras,
they include “To Boldly Go…Season Two” (19 ¾ min), “Life Beyond Trek:
Leonard Nimoy” (12 ¼ min), “Kirk, Spock & Bones: Star Trek’s Great Trio”
(7 ¼ min), “Designing The Final Frontier” (22 ½ min), “Star Trek’s
Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols” (13 ¼ min), “Writer’s Notebook: D.C.
Fontana” (7 ¾ min), “Production Art” and a “Photo Gallery”. Red Shirt
Log hidden areas found throughout the extras include William Shatner on
“A Private Little War” (1 ½ min), Leonard Nimoy on “The Naked Time” (2 ¾
min), Bjo Trimble on several of the more controversial episodes (1 ¾
min) and Penny Juday on “The Trouble With Tribbles” (1 ¾ min). There
are also two text commentaries provided by Michael and Denise Okuda.
Fans were thrilled when “Star Trek” was first
introduced on the DVD format, though the price for each disc, which
contained only two episodes each, was a bit high. The only thing more
annoying than that was when the studio announced they were going to
release entire seasons at a time that would ultimately cost a fraction
of what the single discs did. Fortunately, we’ve been given such a
plethora of extras that it’s made it very much worth the time and
money. This is a show worth preserving and these box sets are the
ultimate way of doing so.
Season
Rating: A-
DVD Special Features: B
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