Blu-ray Review Star Trek: The Next Generation Season One Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

"Oh, my aching wallet..."

Yes, James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock coming later this year. And Indiana Jones too!

 

[Scott D S]

A couple of posters on the TrekBBS are having problems with the audio on Encounter at Farpoint, stating that the dialogue is coming through both the center and right channels:
http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=147424&page=285
Skip to post 4272.

 

[Jason_V]

Originally Posted by Kevin EK /t/322473/star-trek-the-next-generation-season-one-blu-ray-review#post_3952861
I really do think that if you look at the final sweep of episodes of the 1st year, you can see them really settling into a nice rhythm - unfortunately the WGA Strike of 1988 derailed that when it came to starting up the 2nd season, but there was that run of eps that really showed the staff was thinking about what they were doing.

As maligned as the first season is, I don't think it's the weakest TNG season out there (I think S5 is a contender). There's a lot of good episodes for various reasons in addition to the ones you mentioned. Datalore, 11001001, Hide and Q (yup, it's goofy, but I like it), The Big Goodbye, Too Short a Season (certain parts I like, not the whole thing), The Last Outpost, Lonely Among Us, Where No One Has Gone Before.

It's a shame the beginning of S2 couldn't pick up with the missing outposts idea from The Neutral Zone. On the one hand, that would have been a kick ass way to begin the second season (the Borg); on the other, I don't know if the show was actually mature enough for it. A lot of changes happened between The Neutral Zone and The Child (new doctor, Worf and Geordi new uniforms/ranks, Wesley new uniform, Troi new uniform, Guinan, Ten Forward, new Ops and Conn chairs). Throwing all of it into one episode may have been too much.

Chances are I'm going to get time to watch one episode tomorrow night. All I have to decide is if I re-watch Encounter at Farpoint or skip to The Naked Now.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Originally Posted by Kevin EK /t/322473/star-trek-the-next-generation-season-one-blu-ray-review#post_3952861

-Conspiracy was just delirious - particularly that ending, which was never answered to my knowledge again in the series

Is that the one with the little bug like creatures ( reminded me a little of the bugs from Star Trek 2 that are put in the ears only bigger ) which leave a small tail protruding from the neck and they seem to be attempting to take over the federation, if so i loved that episode, i really wanted them to come back to it as they left it with a cliffhanger of sorts which made me think they might.

 

[Dave Vaughn]

The DTS-HD MA 7.1 track can sound funky at times, but for the most part it's pretty good IMHO. Also, the Dolby Digital stereo track is showing up as a French track on my Oppo BDP-95 (Disc 2). I need to check if this is the case with every disc or not.

 

[Kevin EK]

I'm curious about the sound issues also. Can anyone confirm if there really is an issue with the center/right channels?

The Conspiracy aliens were never seen again, to my knowledge. Episode ends in a kind of cliffhanger and the idea is never revisited. But, again, the big climax is just delirious - you definitely never saw THAT on the original series...

The beginning of Season 2 was a major scripting problem. They couldn't start working until August 1988, and they had been out since March of that year. So they were frantically grabbing any scripts or treatments already in house, including "The Child" from Phase Two and whatever quick pitches could be thrown into script form really fast - like "Loud as a Whisper". The design changes are definitely a factor, and likely things that the production had been considering since the end of Season 1, particularly the introduction of Guinan, which had to be shoehorned into the new scripts. Once they got past that initial problem, things got moderately better, and there were still a bunch of good episodes. But it was a rocky and disappointing opening to the new season after the first year had ended so well. Another thing to keep in mind is that Roddenberry really scaled back his involvement after the first year.

I would agree that Season 1 was not the weakest season of the series. That honor goes to Season 7, which holds the record for least number of watchable episodes. I think there's maybe five I would ever watch again, and two of those are the series finale. (Ron Moore has admitted that when they did the final season, they were totally out of creative gas - and this really showed, unfortunately.) It will be interesting how they deal with this when they get to the final season of the Blu-ray releases.

 

[Ockeghem]

"The Conspiracy aliens were never seen again, to my knowledge."
Kevin,
Correct you are. I for one wish that they had come back. The beacon was sent, but for whatever reason a follow-up episode did not materialize.

 

[Kevin EK]

That may be because the beacon told them exactly what Picard and Riker would do to them if they ever showed up again. They probably figured they didn't need that kind of headache.

 

[Ockeghem]

That may be because the beacon told them exactly what Picard and Riker would do to them if they ever showed up again.  They probably figured they didn't need that kind of headache.

Hey, I like that. I've never considered that before!

 

[Dave Vaughn]

I agree that Season 7 went downhill fast, but the finale was awesome. I think all of the creative energy was going into DS9, which ultimately was probably the best Star Trek series of the entire franchise (IMHO).

 

[Dave Jessup]

The Cinemark / Fathom Events theatrical screening this evening was an effective sales tool, to say the least. To see "Where No One Has Gone Before" and "Datalore" on screen, looking as if they'd been shot for theatrical release instead of "edited on videotape for 1987 syndication broadcast" was impressive. If my budget allowed, I'd be out for a more modern TV, Blu-Ray player, and NG S1 set tomorrow. As is - someday, someday; even though my loyalty is to the original series.

 

[Nelson Au]

I thought the season finale was okay too. It sort of bookends the series with Q putting them on trial again. Though exhausted the writers were, they were also conjuring up the story for Generations at the same time. And we know how that went.
I was curious how the Fathom event went as I didn't go, so that's good to hear Dave.
It just occurred to me, no one has made a comment about the release not being 16 x 9!

 

[Jason_V]

I just walked in from the theater. The show was packed: men, woman, young, old, parents with 5 year old kids, teenage kids with their parents, people in costume, people in their office clothes.

It was fantastic to be in a crowd of like-minded people. We all laughed at the same things, nodded at the same time, appreciated the experience in every way. (Sidenote: I never realized how unintentionally funny Where No One Has Gone Before is...and Datalore, to a lesser extent. Wesley's line about Beverly knowing how to turn Data on got the biggest laugh of the night.)

The acting and sets are showing their age (obviously), but like Dave said, the episodes looked so very good.

For the first time ever I saw the pieces of Data's ass when the away team sees Lore's body for the first time. It's the little stuff like that which makes me happy.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks for the report Jason! The show still has a solid following!

 

[Dave Corder]

Thanks for the review. I just got back from the Fathom Events thing as well...it was a good crowd and it looked stunning.
I grew up watching TNG almost every day after school as a kid and it holds a special place in my heart. I am thrilled beyond words by the care and attention to detail that's going into the Blu-ray releases (which is perhaps why my favorite thing in the review was your comment that the missing footage from Sins of our Father has been found and will be used).
Can't wait to get my hands on this set tomorrow.

 

[Kevin EK]

It's a sign of the attention to detail that they're noting that one episode has something like 2 seconds of SD footage.

 

[Glenn Curtis]

Just watched The Naked Now and the documentary on the work involved in creating the HD versions.
The result is fantastic and I am just sorry that it may take so long to get TNG, DS9 and Voyager done.
My only gripe would be that they shouldn't have replaced the Paramount logo at the end of the episodes. When I watch them, mentally as the theme plays I expect it to go into the Paramount music at the end. When it doesn't it jars. The should have left the Paramount one and then followed it by the CBS one.
I feel the same about the Universal one which is an integral part of any TV episode.

 

[Dave Vaughn]

I thought the season finale was okay too. It sort of bookends the series with Q putting them on trial again. Though exhausted the writers were, they were also conjuring up the story for Generations at the same time. And we know how that went.
I was curious how the Fathom event went as I didn't go, so that's good to hear Dave.
It just occurred to me, no one has made a comment about the release not being 16 x 9!

There's a bonus feature that explains why it wasn't done in 16x9 that did a very good job of convincing me that it wasn't a good idea.

 

[Joel Fontenot]

It just occurred to me, no one has made a comment about the release not being 16 x 9!

There's a bonus feature that explains why it wasn't done in 16x9 that did a very good job of convincing me that it wasn't a good idea.

I figured no one has commented on that yet because it's been beat to death already and we all knew it was going to be 4x3 anyway.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I figured no one has commented on that yet because it's been beat to death already and we all knew it was going to be 4x3 anyway.

Haven't seen the restoration featurette yet, but was anyone actually wanting the show to be reframed to 16x9?