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Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season Three
Studio: Paramount
Year: 1989
Rated: NR
Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
Welcome to the 24th Century
October 10, 1986, seventeen years after the
cancellation of the original Star Trek series,
Paramount launched a new generation of Star
Trek with an all-new cast of characters. The
show went on to have an Emmy award-winning
seven-year run. It has become the best Star
Trek series of all time.
On July 2nd, Paramount will release
the third season set of Star Trek The Next
Generation, on their way to releasing all
7 seasons by year's end. Thus far, the release
of these sets has been a rousing success for the
studio, and they seem to improve with each release.
Star Trek TNG Season Three arrives as
the previous two seasons arrived, in a deluxe
boxed 7-pane gatefold package that opens up to
an impressive span, holding the entire second
season laid out across 7 DVDs placed in plastic
hub housing. A total of 26 episodes span this
series, with each of the 6 discs containing four
episodes each and the 7th disc containing two
episodes + supplements. Paramount has also
given the set its own unique appearance by giving
the packaging a predominantly tan color scheme so
that it can easily be differentiated from other
seasons.
On the flip side gatefold's end pocket sits a
small pamphlet that opens to a 17 1/2" 2-sided
fold-out. The one side features artist renderings
of all the main Star Trek characters. On the
opposite side, there's a look at the Borg who
become the most memorable villains of Star Trek
history. On the opposite pages, Episodes are
listed in alphabetical order, complete with airdate,
stardate, and what disc that episode appears on.
Season Three is highly regarded as the
absolute best of the Next Generation series
for several reasons. First, the show had finally
hit its stride, producing consistent quality shows.
It was here that many of the shows started to relate
back to other episodes in storyline. This season
also started fleshing out the Klingons. Of course,
the season episode finale was the most talked about
episode in Star Trek history to that date. Last
but not least, each episode began with a newer and
slicker title sequence
I watched three complete episodes from this boxed
set in order to get an idea of how good the
audio and video quality presentation is. I picked
perhaps the three best episodes of that season....
Yesterday's Enterprise is one of those
great Star Trek time travel stories. The Enterprise
happens upon a time-rift, and when the U.S.S.
Enterprise-C (the last ship to bear the name) comes
through it, things have suddenly changed, most
notably the return of Lieutenant Yar. The ship's
Captain Garrett and bridge officer Lt. Castillo
are rescued and brought back to Enterprise-D. They
soon learn they have come 22 years into the future.
But how will the events of the future affect the
events of the past and thus affect the events of
the future? A terrific Star Trek episode with
the appearance of the Klingon in a battle sequence.
Tin Man has become a favorite of Star Trek
fans over the years. While the Enterprise is on a
routine mission, the Hood shows up unexpectedly.
Capt. DeSoto tells Picard about new orders that
will be issued by a passenger to be brought aboard,
Tam Elbrun ("of the Garushta disaster"). Tam
possesses a gift of enhanced ESP. The orders are
for the Enterprise to intercept "Tin Man", which
they think is some form of living spaceship, and
Tam has to go talk to it.
The Best Of Both Worlds, Part 1 is one of
the most highly regarded episodes in the entire
Next Generation series. The episode was nominated
for Emmys based on its visual effects. When the
Enterprise comes to take a look at the Jure Four
colony, one of the outermost colonies of the
Federation, with about 900 residents - they find
that the entire colony has been lost. Admiral
Hansen and Lt. Cmdr. Shelby have come to view the
evidence, very worried that this might be the
beginning of the Borg invasion. Their worst fears
soon materialize as the Borg cube appears in space
before them. The Borg, amazingly, hail Picard
specifically and demand he beam over to them,
saying that if he resists, the Enterprise will be
destroyed. When Picard resists, the Borg come to
the Enterprise, kidnapping Picard. When a rescue
team beams on board the Borg ship, they are in for
the shock of their lives.
How is the transfer?
Basically, this set is on par with the former
already released season sets. It does look as
if the transfer of these episodes has slightly
improved, but my guess it is due to the more
seasoned production values. Colors are very
accurate and the transfer looks as good as
something you would expect from broadcast
television.
The most impressive aspect of these episodes
still remains the 5.1 mix, though its not perfect.
Don't get me wrong -- there is a tremendous sense
of thunderous audio throughout, most noticeably
in the LFE channel that packs the power of the
rumbling engines of the Enterprise. The problem
I found is that now that we are in the third
season, there are a lot more high-caliber action
sequences with the Romulans, Klingons and the Borg.
What I really don't sense is any elaborate surround
support during battle scenes. There doesn't seem
to be any direction for the firing effects that
should be coming from all directions, but doesn't.
Still, I must remind myself of the production values
on a television show compared to film. I'm just
happy to hear the constant noise of the Starship
engines rumbling in my rear speakers.
Special Features
The DVD begins exactly as Season One and Two
began with an animated sequence that features
the planet Saturn, as character faces dissolve in
and out of the planet surface. Slight modifications
have been made to this introduction that now features
the return of Dr. Crusher.
A computer seemingly loads the episode retrieval
log....
Welcome to the Main Menu that has been replicated
to look like the ship's computer mainframe.
The initial menu lists all the episodes and
features appearing on that particular DVD.
Once you select the episode, you have several
options laid out before you. ENGAGE will
immediately start the episode. COMMUNICATIONS
lets you select either ENGLISH STEREO or ENGLISH
5.1 SURROUND. It is here that you can also turn
subtitles on, if you wish. CHAPTER LOG
breaks the episode down by scenes, with individual
picture stills allowing you to quickly access your
favorite points in the episode.
SURPRISE: THE MENU FOR BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
HAS BEEN ALTERED FROM ALL THE OTHERS. I WILL NOT
RUIN THIS SURPRISE
Disc 7 holds the DVD's extra content. Let's take
a look at it....
Labeled as Mission Logs, there is an
interesting blend of added material here for fans.
Stardate 43125.8. Welcome to Mission Overview
Year Three. From an interview in October 2001,
Associate Producer Peter Lauritson explains that
an entirely new writing staff was on hand, which
proved to be fruitful. Exececutive Producer Michael
Piller explains the stress the writers had in
literally writing new episodes the night before
they were filmed giving the cast limited time to
learn them. That sort of unrelentless pressure
produced some of the best shows of the series.
Denise Crosby (Tasha) explains her coming back
to do Yesterday's Enterprise. Due to
scheduling problems, the entire episode was put
together in a very crude jigsaw puzzle manner, but
somehow came together fine. The topic of bringing
back Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher) is brought to
light. Gates tells us the reasons why she was
let go, and the reason why she came back. This
comes with a supported interview of Wil Wheaton
(Wesley Crusher). The cast talks about Jonathan
Frakes directing his very first episode, The
Offspring. The cast was impressed with how
prepared Frakes was in putting all the elements
together. Finally, Michael Piller talks about
wanting to leave Star Trek at the end of Season
Three. He had just read the screenplay for The
Best Of Both Worlds, and Roddenberry had
personally approached him and asked him to stay
on another year. He decided to stay, but was
struggling with the last episode of the season
not knowing how he was going to defeat The Borg.
(length: approx. 17 minutes)
Selected Crew Analysis begins with
Patrick Stewart taking us on a tour of the
bridge set, which he refers to as being a
very personal little theater. Gates McFadden
talks about her incidental absence from Star
Trek for the entire past season. After an
entire year of being away from each other, both
Gates and Wil Wheaton feel very comfortable
about being back with each other. Jonathan
Frakes talks about the Riker and Troi relationship
that they made sure didn't die within the series.
The character of Worf, the only Klingon in the
Federation rank is explored -- particularly his
loneliness of being separated from his people and
not fully integrated with his shipmates. Finally,
Levar Burton talks about his character, Geordi La
Forge, who was promoted to Chief Engineer and had
a lot more prominence in series three.
(length: approx. 13 minutes)
Production begins with a very interesting
story of how then freelance writer Michael Piller
walked on the Paramount lot and first came upon
Gene Roddenberry in a very strange manner. The
featurette goes on to talk about the lack of
scripts that were available at the start of the
season, and the fact that Piller brought in a slew
of fresh young writers to flesh out the season.
Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Curry, Scenic Artist
Supervisor Mike Okuor and Production Designer
Richard James talk about some of the elaborate
visual effects and production values of Season
Three, exploring individual episodes. One of
the highlights is the creation of Tin Man.
Model Maker Greg Jein talks about the art of
making models for the show -- most of which were
smaller than previous seasons. Music Composer
Jay Chattaway talks about how he brought some
new musical direction to the series, based upon
his past experiences.
(length: approx. 20 minutes)
Memorable Missions has the cast and crew
reminiscing about their favorite episodes. Patrick
Stewart fondly remembers a camera shot in Sarek
and the repeated emotional breakdowns that had
to be done to create this shot. Make-up Designer
Michael Westmore reflects upon his most memorable
character, an android from The Offspring,
where a headpiece was created to cover the entire
head of the actor. Marina Sirtis (Troi) remembers
the heavy wool costumes worn in the hot outdoors
in Who Watches The Watcher?.
(length: approx. 13 minutes)
You will be pleased to know that all these
supplements can be played back with the option
of SUBTITLES. Go to COMMUNICATIONS and select
the subtitle option before watching.
Final Thoughts
Why do I become more excited with each new
season of STAR TREK TNG? Though I have seen
many episodes over the years, most of them are
being seen fresh in these reviews. I notice
how well this series has progressed in just
three seasons, and I think that if any one
season truly kicks the series into a higher
gear, it is this one.
Release Date: July 2, 2002
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season Three
Studio: Paramount
Year: 1989
Rated: NR
Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
Welcome to the 24th Century
October 10, 1986, seventeen years after the
cancellation of the original Star Trek series,
Paramount launched a new generation of Star
Trek with an all-new cast of characters. The
show went on to have an Emmy award-winning
seven-year run. It has become the best Star
Trek series of all time.
On July 2nd, Paramount will release
the third season set of Star Trek The Next
Generation, on their way to releasing all
7 seasons by year's end. Thus far, the release
of these sets has been a rousing success for the
studio, and they seem to improve with each release.
Star Trek TNG Season Three arrives as
the previous two seasons arrived, in a deluxe
boxed 7-pane gatefold package that opens up to
an impressive span, holding the entire second
season laid out across 7 DVDs placed in plastic
hub housing. A total of 26 episodes span this
series, with each of the 6 discs containing four
episodes each and the 7th disc containing two
episodes + supplements. Paramount has also
given the set its own unique appearance by giving
the packaging a predominantly tan color scheme so
that it can easily be differentiated from other
seasons.
On the flip side gatefold's end pocket sits a
small pamphlet that opens to a 17 1/2" 2-sided
fold-out. The one side features artist renderings
of all the main Star Trek characters. On the
opposite side, there's a look at the Borg who
become the most memorable villains of Star Trek
history. On the opposite pages, Episodes are
listed in alphabetical order, complete with airdate,
stardate, and what disc that episode appears on.
Season Three is highly regarded as the
absolute best of the Next Generation series
for several reasons. First, the show had finally
hit its stride, producing consistent quality shows.
It was here that many of the shows started to relate
back to other episodes in storyline. This season
also started fleshing out the Klingons. Of course,
the season episode finale was the most talked about
episode in Star Trek history to that date. Last
but not least, each episode began with a newer and
slicker title sequence
I watched three complete episodes from this boxed
set in order to get an idea of how good the
audio and video quality presentation is. I picked
perhaps the three best episodes of that season....
Yesterday's Enterprise is one of those
great Star Trek time travel stories. The Enterprise
happens upon a time-rift, and when the U.S.S.
Enterprise-C (the last ship to bear the name) comes
through it, things have suddenly changed, most
notably the return of Lieutenant Yar. The ship's
Captain Garrett and bridge officer Lt. Castillo
are rescued and brought back to Enterprise-D. They
soon learn they have come 22 years into the future.
But how will the events of the future affect the
events of the past and thus affect the events of
the future? A terrific Star Trek episode with
the appearance of the Klingon in a battle sequence.
Tin Man has become a favorite of Star Trek
fans over the years. While the Enterprise is on a
routine mission, the Hood shows up unexpectedly.
Capt. DeSoto tells Picard about new orders that
will be issued by a passenger to be brought aboard,
Tam Elbrun ("of the Garushta disaster"). Tam
possesses a gift of enhanced ESP. The orders are
for the Enterprise to intercept "Tin Man", which
they think is some form of living spaceship, and
Tam has to go talk to it.
The Best Of Both Worlds, Part 1 is one of
the most highly regarded episodes in the entire
Next Generation series. The episode was nominated
for Emmys based on its visual effects. When the
Enterprise comes to take a look at the Jure Four
colony, one of the outermost colonies of the
Federation, with about 900 residents - they find
that the entire colony has been lost. Admiral
Hansen and Lt. Cmdr. Shelby have come to view the
evidence, very worried that this might be the
beginning of the Borg invasion. Their worst fears
soon materialize as the Borg cube appears in space
before them. The Borg, amazingly, hail Picard
specifically and demand he beam over to them,
saying that if he resists, the Enterprise will be
destroyed. When Picard resists, the Borg come to
the Enterprise, kidnapping Picard. When a rescue
team beams on board the Borg ship, they are in for
the shock of their lives.
How is the transfer?
Basically, this set is on par with the former
already released season sets. It does look as
if the transfer of these episodes has slightly
improved, but my guess it is due to the more
seasoned production values. Colors are very
accurate and the transfer looks as good as
something you would expect from broadcast
television.
The most impressive aspect of these episodes
still remains the 5.1 mix, though its not perfect.
Don't get me wrong -- there is a tremendous sense
of thunderous audio throughout, most noticeably
in the LFE channel that packs the power of the
rumbling engines of the Enterprise. The problem
I found is that now that we are in the third
season, there are a lot more high-caliber action
sequences with the Romulans, Klingons and the Borg.
What I really don't sense is any elaborate surround
support during battle scenes. There doesn't seem
to be any direction for the firing effects that
should be coming from all directions, but doesn't.
Still, I must remind myself of the production values
on a television show compared to film. I'm just
happy to hear the constant noise of the Starship
engines rumbling in my rear speakers.
Special Features
The DVD begins exactly as Season One and Two
began with an animated sequence that features
the planet Saturn, as character faces dissolve in
and out of the planet surface. Slight modifications
have been made to this introduction that now features
the return of Dr. Crusher.
A computer seemingly loads the episode retrieval
log....
Welcome to the Main Menu that has been replicated
to look like the ship's computer mainframe.
The initial menu lists all the episodes and
features appearing on that particular DVD.
Once you select the episode, you have several
options laid out before you. ENGAGE will
immediately start the episode. COMMUNICATIONS
lets you select either ENGLISH STEREO or ENGLISH
5.1 SURROUND. It is here that you can also turn
subtitles on, if you wish. CHAPTER LOG
breaks the episode down by scenes, with individual
picture stills allowing you to quickly access your
favorite points in the episode.
SURPRISE: THE MENU FOR BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
HAS BEEN ALTERED FROM ALL THE OTHERS. I WILL NOT
RUIN THIS SURPRISE
Disc 7 holds the DVD's extra content. Let's take
a look at it....
Labeled as Mission Logs, there is an
interesting blend of added material here for fans.
Stardate 43125.8. Welcome to Mission Overview
Year Three. From an interview in October 2001,
Associate Producer Peter Lauritson explains that
an entirely new writing staff was on hand, which
proved to be fruitful. Exececutive Producer Michael
Piller explains the stress the writers had in
literally writing new episodes the night before
they were filmed giving the cast limited time to
learn them. That sort of unrelentless pressure
produced some of the best shows of the series.
Denise Crosby (Tasha) explains her coming back
to do Yesterday's Enterprise. Due to
scheduling problems, the entire episode was put
together in a very crude jigsaw puzzle manner, but
somehow came together fine. The topic of bringing
back Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher) is brought to
light. Gates tells us the reasons why she was
let go, and the reason why she came back. This
comes with a supported interview of Wil Wheaton
(Wesley Crusher). The cast talks about Jonathan
Frakes directing his very first episode, The
Offspring. The cast was impressed with how
prepared Frakes was in putting all the elements
together. Finally, Michael Piller talks about
wanting to leave Star Trek at the end of Season
Three. He had just read the screenplay for The
Best Of Both Worlds, and Roddenberry had
personally approached him and asked him to stay
on another year. He decided to stay, but was
struggling with the last episode of the season
not knowing how he was going to defeat The Borg.
(length: approx. 17 minutes)
Selected Crew Analysis begins with
Patrick Stewart taking us on a tour of the
bridge set, which he refers to as being a
very personal little theater. Gates McFadden
talks about her incidental absence from Star
Trek for the entire past season. After an
entire year of being away from each other, both
Gates and Wil Wheaton feel very comfortable
about being back with each other. Jonathan
Frakes talks about the Riker and Troi relationship
that they made sure didn't die within the series.
The character of Worf, the only Klingon in the
Federation rank is explored -- particularly his
loneliness of being separated from his people and
not fully integrated with his shipmates. Finally,
Levar Burton talks about his character, Geordi La
Forge, who was promoted to Chief Engineer and had
a lot more prominence in series three.
(length: approx. 13 minutes)
Production begins with a very interesting
story of how then freelance writer Michael Piller
walked on the Paramount lot and first came upon
Gene Roddenberry in a very strange manner. The
featurette goes on to talk about the lack of
scripts that were available at the start of the
season, and the fact that Piller brought in a slew
of fresh young writers to flesh out the season.
Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Curry, Scenic Artist
Supervisor Mike Okuor and Production Designer
Richard James talk about some of the elaborate
visual effects and production values of Season
Three, exploring individual episodes. One of
the highlights is the creation of Tin Man.
Model Maker Greg Jein talks about the art of
making models for the show -- most of which were
smaller than previous seasons. Music Composer
Jay Chattaway talks about how he brought some
new musical direction to the series, based upon
his past experiences.
(length: approx. 20 minutes)
Memorable Missions has the cast and crew
reminiscing about their favorite episodes. Patrick
Stewart fondly remembers a camera shot in Sarek
and the repeated emotional breakdowns that had
to be done to create this shot. Make-up Designer
Michael Westmore reflects upon his most memorable
character, an android from The Offspring,
where a headpiece was created to cover the entire
head of the actor. Marina Sirtis (Troi) remembers
the heavy wool costumes worn in the hot outdoors
in Who Watches The Watcher?.
(length: approx. 13 minutes)
You will be pleased to know that all these
supplements can be played back with the option
of SUBTITLES. Go to COMMUNICATIONS and select
the subtitle option before watching.
Final Thoughts
Why do I become more excited with each new
season of STAR TREK TNG? Though I have seen
many episodes over the years, most of them are
being seen fresh in these reviews. I notice
how well this series has progressed in just
three seasons, and I think that if any one
season truly kicks the series into a higher
gear, it is this one.
Release Date: July 2, 2002
