DVD… the current frontier. These are the complete adventures of the crew of the Enterprise-D. Paramount brings out the entire run of the next generation of Starfleet officers in this 49-disc set that will make fans of the show drool.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is the commander of the galaxy class starship Enterprise. His second-in-command is Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes). His crew consists of the empathic counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), the android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), the Klingon Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn), Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and her son Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton).
Their voyages lasted from star date 1987 till 1994 and consisted of seven seasons and 176 episodes. Paramount had released each season on separate sets and this new 20th anniversary edition collects those seasons into a complete collection. They’ve also added some new content and put some content that was exclusive to a particular big box retailer in the set.
Next Generation wasn’t exactly my introduction to the voyages of a ship called Enterprise, but it was the first time that I had the opportunity to watch a Star Trek from the first broadcast episode till the last. The original series only lasted three seasons (1966-1969).
The “Great Bird of the Galaxy” Gene Roddenberry had tried to revive Star Trek with an animated series, but it only lasted one season and 22 episodes. His other idea for a revival of the series (Star Trek: Phase II) evolved into a film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In 1987, his vision of reviving the show would finally materialize with a new set of characters, much to the chagrin of some original series fans. However, that seemed to be short-lived when the series hit the air and it was just grand to have any sort of Star Trek on the air.
The first two seasons did have their hurdles and some silly stories, but by season three the series had hit its stride (and one helluva cliffhanger in season three). However, in 1991 the Great Bird of the Galaxy became a part of it as Roddenberry died and the first show of the fifth season is dedicated to the creator. The Next Generation began to assume the mantle of the original series cast as they aged and died off and eventually took over the film series as well.
Some of my favorite moments on Next Generation came as some of those elder statesmen appeared on the show; most notably DeForest Kelley as the 134-year-old Dr. McCoy (my favorite character) in the series opener “Encounter at Farpoint,” James Doohan’s appearance as Scotty on “Relics,” which is one of my favorite episodes, and Spock himself on “Unification” and Mark Lenard as Sarek, Spock’s father. Being a poser of a Sherlockian, I loved the two shows where Data plays the master detective and Professor Moriarty (Daniel Davis) pops up. As my generation watched this crew became as beloved to them as the original series was to the first generation of Trekkies (well, for the most part).
The Next Generation series ended on a high note with one of the best episodes in the series, unfortunately the last (possibly last ever) Star Trek show, Enterprise, was not allowed such a grand sendoff. What’s interesting about this series is that Roddenberry put the series into syndication so it wouldn’t be under the thumb of a network (although Paramount still had a say). As with all DVD series, this one follows a similar path. Release the series in season sets and them collect them into a complete set.
Next Generation is presented in fullscreen. Special features are mostly what had been produced when the series sets were first produced but this complete series and appear on the last disc of each season. Season one has the featurettes “The Beginning” (18 minutes, chronicling the creation of the series), “Selected Crew Analysis” (15 minutes, which has the actors and crew talking about some of the characters on the show), “The Making of a Legend (15 minutes, about the revival of the Trek television franchise), and “Memorable Missions” (17 minutes, favorite episodes of the cast and crew).
Season two has the featurettes “Mission Overview Year Two” (14 minutes, covering the events of this season), “Selected Crew Analysis” (13 minutes), “Starfleet Archives” (17 minutes, Penny Juday about the props she’s collected), “Departmental Briefing: Production” (17 minutes, about making this season), and “Memorable Missions” (16 minutes).
Season three has the featurettes “Mission Overview” (17 minutes), “Selected Crew Analysis” (13 minutes), “Departmental Briefing: Production” (20 minutes), and “Memorable Missions” (13 minutes). Season four has the featurettes “Mission Overview” (16 minutes), “Selected Crew Analysis” (17 minutes), “Departmental Briefing: Production” (16 minutes), “New Life and New Civilizations” (13 minutes, about the creation of alien life forms and landscapes for the show) and “Chronicles from the Final Frontier” (17 minutes, about the change in the show’s direction this season). Season five has the featurettes “Mission Overview Year Five” (18 minutes), “Departmental Briefing: Production” (15 minutes), “Departmental Briefing: Visual Effects” (17 minutes), “Memorable Missions” (18 minutes) and “A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry” (28 minutes, where the late creator is paid tribute).
Season six has the featurettes “Mission Overview” (17 minutes), “Bold New Directions” (17 minutes, about Patrick Steward and LeVar Burton making their directorial debuts), “Departmental Briefing: Production” (15 minutes), “Departmental Briefing Profile: Dan Curry” (19 minutes, all about the visual effects producer), “Special Crew Profile: Lt. Commander Data” (18 minutes, all about everyone’s favorite cyborg), and trailers for Star Trek Nemesis and Deep Space Nine DVD. Season seven has the featurettes “Mission Overview” (14 minutes), “A Captain’s Tribute” (16 minutes, a tribute to the other cast members by Patrick Stewart), “Departmental Briefing: Production” (15 minutes), “Starfleet Moments and Memories” (29 minutes, a look back at the show), “The Making of “All Good Things…”” (17 minutes), and a preview for the Deep Space Nine DVDs.
Whew, I’ve got carpal tunnel and that’s just with what was on the old releases. This new collection adds a final disc with three new featurettes. The first is the 28 minute “The Next Generation’s Impact: 20 Years Later” where host John De Lancie (“Q”) takes us through a roster of Generation crew to see the impact of the show.
Next is the 26 minute “The Next Generation’s Legacy: 2007” where host Wil Wheaton examines the current technology that has been inspired by the show. Finally, the 24-minute “Star Trek Visual Effects Magic” is a roundtable discussion with effects wizards Howard Anderson (who invented the beaming effect on the original series), Robert Legado (NG, DS9), Ron Moore (NG, Voyager, Enterprise), and hosted by Dan Curry (who has worked on every show since Next Generation).
The next collection of featurettes isn’t new but they were only available as bonus discs if you got your season 4-6 sets at Best Buy. They include “Select Historical Data I” (10 minutes, about the first use of CGI on the show and who they made the ship models), “Inside the Star Trek Archive” (10 minutes, Emmys, hiding Gates McFadden’s pregnancy, and gumshoe Dixon Hill are some of the highlights), “Intergalactic Guest Stars” (15 minutes, about the famous faces and some that got their start on the show), “Alien Speak” (12 minutes, about developing alien languages for the show), “Select Historical Data II” (17 minutes, highlights include bits about Geordi’s visor, music of the show, and Data’s stunt double), “Inside Starfleet Academy Archives” (13 minutes, about sets and props), “Special Profiles” (14 minutes, about Q and Lwaxana Troi), and “Dressing the Future” (10 minutes, about costume design on the show).
There’s also a poster that summarizes the events of the different seasons as well as special collector’s packaging. It will look nice on your shelf (and take up less space than the other sets), but that bright green gives me a headache.
It goes without saying that if you’re a dedicated Star Trek fan that you’ll already have about 90% of what is on this set (especially if you bought the last few seasons at Best Buy). However, this is an excellent way to pick up the entire series and get some extra special features if you’ve not been buying the show.
The color of the disc’s housing is my only complaint as one that hasn’t bought a season of the show (however, you just know that they’ll be coming out in high-def one day). This set offers a wonderful way to get one of television’s best shows.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Complete Series is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)