Star Trek The Original Series: Complete [DVD]

If you consider that the Classic Star Trek is a 60's television show... A very cheaply made 60's television show then you might wonder (perhaps quite rightly) if there's even much point in CBS applying all the effort and expense dusting off all that old footage and rescanning it all to Hi-Def; I mean all the releases on DVD looked pretty good didn't they? - Sure they did! Well I'm here to assure you that the answer is YES! -- Yes it was definitely all worth it. The picture quality of the Blu-Ray release of this series IS a whole world of amazing, perhaps a little too amazing for a show that was shot in the 60's on a shoestring budget; you see everything with fantastic clarity, the colours are great, the weave in the costumes, the texture of peoples faces, the colour of their eyes, the displays and signage on the Enterprise are screaming out at you for your attention; but then so is the coffee stain on the bridge carpet! One of the special features introduces you to the scan and clean up processes applied to the original shooting film, which is quite interesting although if you're really nitpicky when watching the episodes you can still catch this process out but trust me, 99.9% of the frames are gorgeous... It's unbelievable to me that footage this old looks this clean. Be aware that like the remastered issue DVD's, these Blu-Ray releases include the revamped CG special effects, a controversial choice for sure but take it from an amateur 3D artist, for the average Joe these revamped special effects do look quite cool, presenting themselves as a problem to only the Trek purists (even though I consider myself an ardent fan!) and possibly veterans of CG modelling and animation that probably would have done it all differently. My only critique with a lot of the CG shots of the Enterprise is that the ship can look a little too light on it's feet for what is apparently a million gross tonnes of vessel. To all the sceptics and the critics of the CG meddling I offer you the words of salvation that fans of Star Wars didn't get prior to the purchase of their remastered releases. The original stock shots and special effects shots are all present and accounted for (viewable via menu choice or camera angle feature) with these Blu-Ray releases, which was an extremely smart move on the part of the team responsible for this re-release and you're given the option to view the episodes with the original effects (or not) prior to hitting play on all the episodes; it's then you'll appreciate that the original stock shots of the Enterprise have not aged very well nor has their transfer to the world of Hi-Def been particularly successful, especially if you watch these episodes on say a 46" (or larger) screen on which all this footage is blurry, washed out and lacking in any kind of detail even when the camera's right near the ship; I appreciate now more than ever why the powers that be opted to manipulate the episodes in this way. The sound has been remastered to 7.1 DTS-HD (wasted on me as I don't own a surround system) or you can use the original Mono track, again to keep the Trek-puists happy! Watching the features you actually get to sit in on a 28-piece orchestra faithfully re-recording the theme music using the original sheet music, arrangements and of course a soprano where appropriate, all of which scored my approval and had me grinning from ear to ear. And for the fanboy's amongst us I can tell you that they were even able to locate and apply the original 60's master recording of Shatner's famous opening monologue. My only disappointment was that the discs come in these foldout cardboard slip cases, which I've never been a fan of as they're going to deterioate the more I use them which'll probably be a lot since I like to watch these episodes in production order; I really wouldn't have minded if they had been packaged the same as the DVD releases. But packaging aside my verdict remains A*, ten out of ten, five stars... This is a true gem in my Blu Ray collection which is really saying something as I experienced some kind of climax when I played through my Back to the Future and Matrix sets for the first time! I invite you to check out some Hi-Def screen stills over at Trek Core: http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/ - After viewing some of these stills you'll be dropping this in your basket right away, I'm almost certain of it!

Great

SUPERB. A definite MUST for anyone who appreciated, and still appreciates, Star Trek as it was always meant to be. I was a bit concerned at first about purchasing, having read some negative comments from one or two other buyers about its packaging ... however I took a risk and bought it anyway. I don't regret it, and I'm still enjoying watching the episodes one month later. ( I've not gone through them all yet ... although resisting the temptation to sit there and pig myself on them has been difficult ;-) ). On packaging ... the presentation box is very tastefully done and houses three gloss cardboard wallets which open out to allow access to the DVDs. The "open out" wallets are colour illustrated with scenes from episodes and show an index of episodes and other ( non-episode ) features on the DVDs for that wallet. There can be up to 8 DVDs per wallet, and yes, you DO have to handle with care when extracting them. However, this is only a minor downside to what you actually get :-) . The wallets are about the same size as a conventional DVD case, although slightly thicker. On DVD content ... everything you ever wanted to know is there, and MUCH more ... right from the original pilot with Captain Pike ...and you can even have that in its completely original uncut form with some monochrome footage :-). There are not only lengthy contributions from the actors, but also from all of the people who worked so hard to make it all happen, including Gene Roddenberry himself of course. The digital restoration is magnificent :-), the "additional data" selections describe what was done in the restorations by the people who did it. The scenes of the Enterprise in space and in orbit etc. have been re-done, and some scenes have been augmented ... but brilliantly, and seamlessly. In fact, although a Star Trek "purist", I wish they'd gone even further. I was a schoolboy in 1966, and we couldn't get BBC2 on our telly then :-( ... so the first time I started watching Star Trek was when I was 17, and with my Granddad who back then really appreciated it too. ( Mind you he was a lifelong seafarer who'd experienced many long voyages of his own on THIS planet ... from West to East and pole to pole ). I could wax on about this set for ages :-) .... so I'll just sign off with ... BUY IT, NOW .... you won't regret it ! ;-)

Perfect 👌 brought back my childhood watching this xxx

The high-def picture restoration is a sight to behold. And, personally, I like the sympathetically updated effects. But for the purists who don't, there is the option to watch the episodes with the original effects only, via seamless branching. (However, this option is on the blu-ray editions only, not the DVDs, and may require firmware updates to work smoothly, apparently.) However, there is a big 'BUT': I don't have, or want, a 7.1 surround sound knock-your-socks-off amplifier and speaker system. I am playing the audio through the TV stereo speakers, and like many who have already commented, the audio mix is less than desirable. Switching to the 2.0 Mono audio mix helps slightly, but only slightly. The problem is this: The dialogue is so quiet, I have to turn the TV volume up to halfway to hear what is being said. (The most I have ever needed to turn it up to before is about a quarter or third.) But then the music and effects track blasts me out of my seat and I keep having to toggle the volume back-and-forth on the remote control. If the audio was satisfactory I would have given this set 5 stars, as the restoration and extras are blu-ray reference material. I have therefore deducted one-and-a-half stars for the poor audio mix and another half-a-star for the cheap cardboard sleeves packaging. When will the distributors learn that all we really want are slim Amaray cases in a box - they store the discs safely, don't take up much space on the shelf and are easily accessible. For a large distributor like CBS/Paramount, this slip in quality-control is poor. I haven't watched all the discs yet, so cannot comment if the audio is a problem across the whole set. I will update this post accordingly in the future, Stardate 1312.4 UPDATE: Having watched the second disc, I am pleased to announce that the problem with the audio seems to iron itself out over the course of the disc. I have even switched back to the remastered surround sound mix for the last couple of episodes. All the remaining discs are fine. The only, arguably negligible, caveat is that Seasons 2 and 3 picture quality isn't quite as good as Season 1 (the grain is more noticeable and the picture is not always as sharp) but this is probably due to the source material because the budgets were reduced for these seasons. Some viewers have also reported the picture occasionally freezing/jumping for a few frames during Seasons 2 and 3. This seems to be a problem on some blu-ray players, including mine, and is attributable to the 'BD LIVE' function. Once I went into my player settings and turned off anything to do with 'internet connection' and 'BD LIVE' the problem was resolved. In summary, aside from the early audio issues and packaging gripes, this is an exemplary set of transfers of cult classic catalogue TV shows. I would particularly recommend the 'Trouble With Tribbles' disc from Season 2 due to the extras. (4 and a half stars out of 5.)

Good value for money; three season in a box set. Only just started watching the episodes., and they bring back all the memories of when they first aired. Pleased with my purchase.

This wonderful box set contains the original three iconic Star Trek TV series from the sixties together with the original pilot episode. Star Trek has since become a cultural phenomenon, spawning multiple series of prequels and sequels together with over a dozen movies and the original actors are lauded at annual fan conventions. The series reflects the optimism of the era it was made in, before the moon landings, when space was still the final frontier. The starship Enterprise and its crew represented all that is good about humanity as it set out to explore the universe. It made a lasting impression on a generation and now this box set is available for a new generation of fans. All the episodes have been digitally remastered from the original film stock and the exterior model shots have been lovingly recreated using modern CGI. The sound has been spruced up and rerecorded and the overall effect brings the episodes to life again in sharper focus while respecting the original production. The 23 DVDs are contained in three slip folders with a slot for each DVD. This keeps the overall box footprint very small but care has to be taken when taking out or replacing the disks. There are extras included on each disk and the episodes are not in chronological order but the order of each episode is noted within the menu. The stories are as good as ever and it has been a pleasure reacquainting myself with the early adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Highly recommended.

I had never really seen any of the Original Series of Star Trek before I bought this Boxset, but I found that I already knew most of the characters by name and mannerisms. That is the cultural impact this series has had. I have seen most of Star Trek: Voyager, though, so I was curious to see where the whole franchise began. I have only watched a handful of episodes so far out of this vast collection, but they are all very entertaining. The first thing that struck me, however, was that something seemed amiss. As soon as I saw the Enterprise, I noticed that something seemed wrong. It then occurred to me that the space scenes were in fact CGI rendered animations, rather than models on strings. My feelings about this were mixed, because although the new scenes look very nice, and are more visually consistent with later series in the franchise, I am a long-time fan of Classic Doctor Who, and have become very attached to old-fashioned visual effects. When I bought this, I wanted to see Star Trek as it appeared in the 60s, complete with model shots. I have now gotten used to these effects, however. They do look a lot better. The real upside of this remastering is that the picture quality is astonishing, at least on my small CRT TV which I still use. The colour and details have been painstakingly touched up, as you can see in the short documentary on the first disc, which also shows a side-by-side comparison of before and after. The theme music has also been re-recorded, but with complete faith to the original arrangements. I didn't even notice until I was told, but the sound quality has improved as a result. One thing people don't seem to like about this set is the cardboard box it comes in. I, on the other hand, think the cardboard box is really nice. It accompanies (and complements) my limited edition Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword bundle on my shelf, which now looks like a nerd shrine. The card feels much nicer than plastic, and, although there were no home media such as DVD or VHS in the 1960s, I am certain that they would have used cardboard packaging if they had released them then. My only complaint is that the discs are slightly difficult to put back into their cardboard slots. Also, cardboard is less durable than plastic, but if handled with appropriate care, this should not become a problem. By the time it does, I will have bought an HDTV, a blu-ray player, and realising how awful non-HD media look on HD displays, I will have replaced as much of my library as possible with Blu-Ray, and since Star Trek has also been released there, that will be my next port of call eventually.

Amazing series , just loved it.. all CD's are of high quality and very clear .. great reliving my childhood favourite serieal

Durante bastante tiempo estuve buscando esta serie completa a un precio asequible, y la verdad es que me sorprendió ver ésta en Amazon por este precio, de ahí que pensara que no sería lo que se anunciaba. Me alegra decir que estaba equivocada. Para empezar, estoy muy contenta con la rapidez en el envío, pues soy bastante impaciente, y llegó un día antes de lo anunciado (tardó dos días en total). Llega en un embalaje típico de Amazon, bastante protegido, y el pack en sí viene plastificado. Dentro, hay tres estuches conteniendo una temporada cada uno. Al arrancar te da la opción de verlo en varios idiomas, entre ellos, el original en inglés y también en español (castellano, y no latino, que era la duda que yo tenía). Pero no, que es español de España (para que nos entendamos). La calidad de imagen y de audio es estupenda. Me esperaba una remasterización cutre, pero la verdad es que se ve y oye bastante bien. La única pega es que han desordenado los capítulos. No es que sea importante, ya que son autoconclusivos, pero sorprende que hayan sido tan poco cuidadosos con eso. Otro defecto que le veo es la presentación. OJO al abrir los estuches, porque los discos salen con mucha facilidad, y de hecho, del viaje algunos vienen sueltos. Supongo que es la diferencia entre comprar un pack deluxe y otro normal, pero teniendo en cuenta que para un Trekkie lo fundamental es que la serie esté completa, que traiga el audio original y que tanto imagen como sonido sean óptimos, yo a este producto le doy un 9 (y no un diez, por los defectos señalados). La relación calidad-precio es estupenda. Lo recomiendo vivamente.

Simplemente excelente... ¿lo mejor? que viene con doblaje al español latino de la época. Lo recomiendo al 100% indudablemente de lo mejor.

Excelente produto. Chegou perfeitamente embalado, muito bem protegido e muito rápido. O único porém é sobre a caixa em si, que empilha os discos e é um pouco inconveniente mas o produto em si é excelente.

Er zit geen inhoudsopgave bij de set. Van 20 BluRay schijfjes kun je tevoren niet zien wat erop staat. Erg onhandig en vreemd. Op diverse snapshots van de set uit Duitsland en UK is duidelijk te zien dat er een inhoudsopgave is afgedrukt aan de binnenzijde, maar niet bij deze set (afkomstig uit Frankrijk - in het Frans).