Customer Reviews

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1 (Bilingual) [Blu-ray]

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I have been a long time Star Trek: The Next Generation fan so when it was announced that CBS was going to redo the entire TNG series on Bluray I was very excited. For years, I had to put up with lackluster video quality on my TNG DVDs, especially in the earlier seasons. The later seasons on DVD looked a lot better than say Season 1 but still I always just made the excuse that the show was made in 1987 and that was that.

Well oh my goodness this release on Bluray goes beyond my expectations.

Video Quality
If you own the TNG DVDs or have watched them on cable you will immediately realize that the jump up in video quality is SUBSTANTIAL! It is literally a night and day difference. The colors no longer look washed out or faded. Skin tones are natural. The level of detail in some shots is so impressive it almost looks like it was shot recently. Amazingly enough, some of the details that were unable to be seen in the DVDs can now be seen quite easily, such as computer readouts or text on doors, hallways, etc. The special effects were also re-composited and in some cases CG was used if they were unable to find the original film. For example, the Chrystalline entity was completely redone with CG and it looks VERY GOOD!! All episodes from Season 1 have been updated in HD except for 2 secs of "We'll always have Paris," because they couldn't find the original film. The 2 secs in upcoverted SD is noticeable if you're looking for it. The menu for the episode actually notifies you of this missing footage (a nice touch). Overall, the video upgrade is so good that it makes worth upgrading your TNG DVDs on that point alone!

Also, the show is in 4:3 not 16:9. If you wanna complain that the show should be done in 16:9 then you obviously don't understand that its just not possible (at least not without spending a fortune). Please google the reasons why, I'm not gonna go into them here.

Audio Quality
The entire audio track for each episode has been remixed and it sounds a lot better. It won't blow you away or anything since TNG is not a particularly booming soundtrack but the sounds definitely sound more clear. I think the 7.1 was a little overkill for this release because from what I've read the show was not recorded with anything more than stereo in mind so the surrounds on a 7.1 system do not really get used all that much. I guess CBS wanted to bring TNG into the 21st century so to speak so they made 7.1. Overall, Its a great sounding set for a show that was recorded in 1987.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The original release of this bluray on July 24 set had an audio error on several episodes (audio channels had been mixed incorrectly). CBS has since released that they are offering replacement discs for the affected consumers free of charge. Please google this information just in case you get some of the affected discs.

Special Features
There are some excellent new special features on this set and the original DVD special features are also included. The two new documentaries explain how the remastering process works (very interesting) and there is also a documentary on how the show got started and how the cast came together (also very interesting). The new documentaries are approximately 2 hrs total.

Packaging
I personally think the choice of packaging was a good move by CBS. I honestly do not like big honking boxsets that take up way too much space on my shelf. This bluray set keeps in simple with 6 discs in an expanded blu ray case with a slip cover overtop. My only gripe is that the episode list is behind disc one so you have to remove disc one to see the episode list. I wish they would have included a booklet or something for the episode list.

To be blunt this remastering project for TNG is AMAZING. The quality difference for the video is mind blowing. Sure, season 1 of TNG is the weakest season of the show but there are still some good episodes. However, the quality difference in the audio and video is reason alone to rebuy this set.

Please everyone, support these bluray sets so all Star Trek shows can go through this remastering process. I also really want DS9 on BluRay :)

The next generation has never looked better! While season 1 is campy the effects look like ship effects look like something from 2013

The quality is simply amazing. Sure, it's in 4:3 - even on HD widescreen tv's. But they had no choice because the original filming won't allow for widescreen. I owned the whole series on DVD and plan on replacing them with each season on blu-ray. If you're a Star Trek fan, you have to get it...and the better it sells, the more likely that they will come out with Deep Space Nine next!

Paramount did an amazing job of bringing Star Trek TNG to Blu-Ray. The upscaling is amazing. Colours pop and are bright and vivid. The sound is top notch. This is the way that Star Trek TNG was meant to be viewed!

I just received this in the mail yesterday, and it is simply amazing. Every episode looks as clear and spectacular as the most recent star trek movies minus the lens flares. If you are a trek fan, buy this. Period.

I'm not going to give an exhaustive guide featuring a synopsis of every episode in this set. Instead, I'll be focusing on the audio and visual presentation, and the overall quality of this first season.

For those of you who might not know, Star Trek Next Generation (STNG) ran for seven seasons, spawning 176 (mainly) 45-minute episodes, and five movies featuring the crew. This first season made its debut with a 92-minute episode, Encounter at Far Point, which introduced the new crew, and gave audiences a glimpse of a new entity named Q (John de Lancie).

Before I talk about the merits of the show, there's an important piece of information that you need to be aware of if you are considering a purchase. The initial pressings contained several audio issues on three of the discs. Paramount offers free replacements without the need to send in the defective copies. In order to avoid having to do that, look carefully at the set before you buy it. Corrected copies have a yellow bar code on the back and the red Star Trek symbol on the spine.

Let's talk about the show.

I believe STNG to be the strongest of the five live action series set in the Star Trek universe, and it's not close. The original Star Trek has a certain nostalgic value and it was the first of it's kind. Voyager is enjoyable, and ranks second in my list. Enterprise is watchable, but without the same level of interest. Deep Space Nine is a show that I could never get into, despite multiple efforts.

STNG holds the top spot in my rankings because it has the best acting, the most convincing relationships, the strongest characterization, and a large number of well-written stories. However, my memory of the show proved to be imperfect. I know what STNG eventually becomes, but this first season is quite weak for the most part. I can imagine many fans of the original series giving up on this crew before STNG developed into the wonderful series it became.

What's wrong with it? The acting in the early episodes is nowhere near as good as in later seasons. People rarely refer to each other by their first name, and it's odd to hear Troi refer to Riker as Bill rather than Will. Data uses contractions when he is not supposed to be capable of that, but such oddities become less frequent as the season progresses. Denise Crosby is totally wrong for the tone of the show and stands around grinning in early episodes. Riker spends most of his time striking a pose, rather than acting in a believable manner.

The first good episode is the fifth one in the season, Where No One Has Gone Before. It was directed by Rob Bowman, who had a hand in 13 episodes during the show's first four seasons. Bowman was also involved as producer and/or director in 92 episodes of The X Files, so I am not surprised that he was responsible for the first standout episode.

Other good entries in this inaugural season include The Battle (Bowman), Hide and Q, Datalore (Bowman again), 11001001, When the Bough Breaks, Home Soil, We'll Always Have Paris, Conspiracy, and The Neutral Zone.

Despite the faults I have mentioned, Season 1 is a must-own for fans of the series. It gives important background information about the characters, such as Picard's attitude toward children, and we see the crew gradually becoming used to each other. I mean that both in terms of the scenario on the ship, and the type of chemistry that the actors developed.

Most of you are reading this because you want to know whether the Blu-ray is worth the upgrade. My answer is a resounding yes. The show is presented in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and it looks spectacular in 1080p. If you thought that Star Trek looked good, this will blow you away. As with the original series, Paramount has given STNG the DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio treatment, and the audio matches the excellence of the visuals.

With more than three hours of special features, STNG shines on Blu-ray. I never expected to see shows this old looking so good. You probably won't even notice the two seconds of footage that could only be presented in standard definition.

Video presentation 4.5/5
Audio presentation 5/5

Overall score 4/5

Star Trek TNG Season 1 for Blu-Ray looks amazing. Totally worth buying if you want to watch TNG through a new lens. This time its in full 1080p HD with the exception of the fact its 16:9 it couldn't look better.

TNG Season 1 is new to me, because I watched the show as a child, I really only got to know seasons 3-4 on to the end.

I hope DS9 is released after they do the TNG series as well.

I purchased this as an Xmas gift for my Husband, but as were are avid geeks we decided to break it out early. Although we are not overly fond of the first few seasons of TNG, we are still very happy with the quality of this Blu-ray. The case & disc are in excellent shape and all the remastering is worth the money!

If this is the same quality as in "Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Next Level" while the DVD editions of this series will take a shot of old that will lead them right into the grave.

Français :
Si c'est la même qualité que dans "Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Next Level" alors les éditions DVD de cette série prendront un coup de vieux qui les mèneront droit dans la tombe.

Do yourself a favour and save your money. I've just finished watching a few episodes and they are terrible and not much better than the crap they released on dvd a few years back. The picture is still full of snow and video noise. They say they went back to the original 35mm film but the transfer sucks big-time. Not only did they fail to do a proper transfer but they also retained the 4:3 aspect ratio instead of taking advantage of the full range of the original negative. So what you get here is a sub-par transfer and a compromised 4:3 image instead of the 16:9 they could have done.

Paramount and CBS are using the lame excuse that this was originally released in 4:3 so they are maintaining its integrity. That is pure drivel and nonsense. Mark my words, after hordes of Trek fans have spent their good money on this, the studio will some 5 years down the line re-release a "digitally remastered" and cleaned-up print in HD 16:9. And at such time the herd will re-congregate and shell out the money again and pay for this series for the umpteenth time. The greed of this studio knows no bounds. The search for profits is relentless.

Save your money and buy something else. There is plenty of good stuff here on Amazon - unfortunately this title isn't one of them.