Just in time for it’s 25th anniversary, CBS has released the first season of Star Trek The Next Generation on Blu-ray. While I haven’t seen the full season in high def, I do own Star Trek The Next Generation – The Next Level
sampler, and it looks fantastic.
It’s hard to believe that a TV series from the 80s could look this good. The series was shot on 35mm film, which transfers well to high-def, but all of the effects and compositing were mastered on standard definition video. So, there is a massive amount of work necessary to essentially recreate each episode from scratch – and the end result is well worth it. Yeah, some of the sets of the first couple of seasons look like they would be at home in a low-budget soap opera, and Worf’s makeup is a bit too obvious in Encounter at Farpoint, but overall the final product is excellent.
The Digital Bits has done an excellent review of the season one box set:
There’s something that just draws you in about TNG in high-def in a way I couldn’t have expected. Even given their 1.33:1 TV aspect ratio, the A/V quality here is just so good – the colors so lush, the detail so engrossing – that you’re drawn in as though you’re watching a movie. And the bigger your screen and better your surround sound system, the more you’re sucked in.
…
Count me in. Star Trek The Next Generation on Blu-ray is stunning, the restoration is surprising beyond expectation and the set and its extras are more enjoyable than I could possibly have imagined. Here’s looking forward to six more seasons like this!
It’s a bit pricey at $80, but for 26 one-hour episodes, that’s not bad at all.
Buy Star Trek The Next Generation – Season One [Blu-ray]
at Amazon.