Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 3 (Remastered Edition)

The Program:

Since the A/V quality of the episodes is quite similar to the previous two sets, I will spend a little more time on the episodes in this set. Season 3 is generally regarded as the weakest of the Original Series (TOS), and I won't offer much argument. Several episodes have rather silly premises. But that said, there are still several gems, the actors all still give it an earnest go, and the characters they have created carry the day. Season 3 is still entertaining and charming, if not as cerebral as the prior two seasons. Here are the episodes you get, with my own humble opinion and ratings (out of 5).

Disc 1
Spock's Brain - a decent SF premise marred by silly execution. Spock as a radio controlled automaton is just a bit hard to take seriously. 2/5
The Enterprise Incident - A classic show in which Kirk and Spock infiltrate a Romulan vessel to steal vital technology. 5/5
The Paradise Syndrome - Kirk loses his memory on a planet with a "Native
American" style culture. A decent show. 4/5
And the Children Shall Lead - Ugh, what a stinker. A very annoying alien uses children to do his bidding. 1/5
Is There in Truth No Beauty? - Diana Muldaur in her 2nd TOS appearance. A decent show. 3/5

Disc 2
"Spectre of the Gun" - Some love it, some hate it. I love it. The sparse design is visually stimulating, and the "western" setting is a precursor to later 'holodeck' shows. 4/5
"Day of the Dove" - A pretty good show featuring the Klingons and a rage-inducing alien presence. 4/5
"For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" - Good sci-fi concept, but one TOS has done before, a society controlled by a computer. 3/5
"The Tholian Web" - Kirk trapped in another dimension while aliens attack. Decent, but the pacing is a little sluggish. 4/5
"Plato's Stepchildren" - Absolute telepathic power corrupts a race of beings who once visited ancient Greece. Decent concept, but what of "Apollo?" 3/5

Disc 3
"Wink Of An Eye" - Some fun bits with an alien race that is sped up beyond our ability to see. 3/5
"The Empath" - a weird, sluggish, kind of boring show about a trapped telepath who is the subject of alien experiments. 2/5
"Elaan of Troyius" - A royal alien irritates the crew with her demands. She irritates the viewers, too. 2/5
"Whom Gods Destroy" - an ex-captain attempts to escape an insane asylum. 4/5
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" - one of Trek's most hackneyed attempts to address a 'Big Issue,' that of racism. 2/5

Disc 4
"The Mark of Gideon" - An overpopulated planet concocts a crazy scheme to use the Enterprise to depopulate. Creepy and interesting. 4/5
"That Which Survives" - a rather pointless episode about the last survivor of a dying race. 2/5
"The Lights of Zetar" - a strange cosmic storm attacks the Federation library world. 3/5
"Requiem for Methuselah" - Interesting show about an "immortal" man from earth's history. 4/5
"The Way to Eden" - Space hippies. One of the worst Trek episodes ever. 1/5

Disc 5
"The Cloud Minders" - One of the most overtly political shows in TOS, a race of aristocrats in the clouds subjugates a race of workers down below. 3/5
"The Savage Curtain" - I don't know how they made "Abraham Lincoln in Space" work, but somehow it does. 3/5
"All Our Yesterdays" - a great s/f premise, in which a dying world sends its inhabitants back in time. 5/5
"Turnabout Intruder" - an almost unbearably sexist show in which an ex-girlfriend of Kirk's envies his job and his gender. 2/5

Disc 6
"The Cage" (2 Versions) - What Trek could have been. Amazing to see in HD. The original adventures of Captain Pike, Number One, and Spock. Quite a brainy show, with many interesting characters. 5/5
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Alternate) A slightly different edit of the classic 2nd pilot. This cut has a voice-over intro, a few extended scenes, a different theme song, and title cards that say "Act 1" etc. While it was transferred in 1080p from an original film print, it has not undergone the cleaning and color restoration that the other episodes have. All the effects are original as well. Definitely one of the top 5 TOS episodes ever, so it's nice to have this additional stuff. 5/5

The Blu-Ray:

Like the previous 2 sets, the HD transfers of these shows are absolutely sparkling. Detail is through the roof, making every smile line, button and dial, star, and ship detail just pop right off the screen. Black levels are rock solid, especially in space scenes. Color saturation is deeper than deep, and bright colors are radiant in a way that the previous DVDs just can't replicate. The show is presented in its original 4:3 aspect ratio.

The only shots that don't enjoy the same quality are shots with original optical effects in them (e.g. a phaser blast, the transporter). These shots are blurrier and grainier, because the film elements were scanned twice or more back in the 60s to introduce optical effects. These account for maybe 5% of each broadcast.

Special effects sequences have been redone with modern CGI and in high definition. They look uniformly great, and they respect the original design aesthetic of the 1960's material. All the original effects are on the same disc, and you can either watch the show with either set of effects all the way through, or switch on the fly with the "angle" button on your remote.

Also included are several extra features. Several mini-documentaries, mostly reprised from the previous DVD set, are included on the final disc. New features include include several panel discussions from a recent convention, and a set of "home movies" from an extra on the Trek set. Unfortunately, there are no text or video commentaries on any of the episodes.

The packaging has its issues. It doesn't match the previous two sets in size, though it does in design. Again, my main beef is the fact that episode information is placed INSIDE the liner of the case. This means that ALL of the episode information is covered by the two discs in front and back. Having to pop out discs just to see what's on them is really dumb. Why not put the episode titles on each disc's face? Instead, I flipped the insert around so I could read it more easily.

*****
Even though the content is not as strong as the previous 2 sets, the quality is still stellar, and the extras (especially the "Cage" episode) are very good. There are several classic shows, and even the ho-hum shows still have that Shatner-rific and Nimoy-tastic character magic.

For a Trek fan with a Blu-Ray player, this is a no-brainer. It's essential to any HD Trek collection, and the quality of the presentation is top-notch. For everyone else, try the first set instead, see if you like it, and come back to this later.

Though I've never been a huge fan of the third season, I must say that watching them in beautiful blu ray really makes it an entertaining experience. The transfer, like the previous seasons, continues to impress. You can tell whoever worked on the show really loved what they were doing when they made the blu ray, as it looks spectacular. In fact, its so clear, little nuances can be notice that weren't seen before, details in aliens skin, or special effects that were little more than blurry are now easy to see, and so clear you'll never want to stop watching.

As to the season, it was pretty evident that budget cuts had severly limited certain episodes, but were still largely good. What makes up for the clunkers (spock's brain comes to mind) are the amazing special features, which include no less than three versions of "The Cage" and a never-before-seen variation on "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Even if you have reservations for getting the "weaker" star trek season, the gorgeous picture, the great special features make it a must have for any star trek fan. If you have the first two seasons, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection. Highly Recomended

I reviewed most of The Original Series episodes during the initial DVD release which began in 1999. So, the comments here focus on this new, remastered, edition.

Doubtless, Paramount will eventually release these episodes on Blu-ray. But even at standard definition, the picture has never looked better. The colors pop off the screen, scratches have been removed, and grain, while noticeable, has been reduced to a bare minimum. Unfortunately, with the improved picture, flaws in the original production are also more noticeable: shadows from boom microphones are occasionally detectable, and the 3rd Season budget cuts show in some of the temporary sets. Still, the picture shows the obvious care taken with the lighting and composition of the original shots (very different from today's flatly-lit, smash & grab style of television filming).

Of course, the primary feature of this new release is the new CGI visual effects. Season Three had a number of effects heavy episodes, including "The Tholian Web" and "The Enterprise Incident," and they benefit the most from the new effects. Most of the new space shots are very convincing, remaining in the original spirit of the series. Only a few of the shots are major deviations from the originals, such as when the shuttle is seen exiting the Enterprise from the outside. Restraint seems to be the watchword here, and I would have liked to have seen a little bit more done, such as the replacement of some very dated tricorder screen graphics in "The Empath", and some faulty dialog looping in "The Cloud Minders." But the enhanced castle in "Requiem for Methuselah" is simply stunning, and the expanded backgrounds seen in "Spock`s Brain" and "The Way to Eden" (two otherwise weak episodes) are subtly done. By the way, my uncle, James Drake, was a background extra and can be seen in "The Way to Eden" as an orderly in sickbay. Blink and you'll miss him as a red shirt in "Turnabout Intruder".

Also included here is a totally remastered and restored version of "The Cage", the original, rejected, pilot which was shot in 1964 and starred Jeffrey Hunter. 64 minutes in length, it almost looks like a feature film, and in tone is more like an episode of The Next Generation than the Original Series. The new CGI visuals feature a slightly different version of the Enterprise (based on the original pilot model) than seen later in the series. The unrestored version, in alternating color and black & white, is also included.

With the exception of The Cage, the episodes also include audio tracks in Spanish and French, although my partner (fluent in Spanish) tells me many of the Spanish translations are not faithful to the English originals. As for bonus features, most are carried over from the 2004 reissue, but the real highlight is Billy Blackburn's behind the scenes movies, which show the actors in costume but out of character - a real treat.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 111 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars