Star
Trek: The Next Generation - Season 5 (1991-1992
CBS/Paramount Blu-ray) + Star Trek
Federation - The First 150 Years (David
A. Goodman; Published by Titan Books)
Picture: B+
Sound: B+ Extras: B+ Episodes: B+ Book: B
By the time Season
5 hit the airwaves, Star Trek: The Next Generation had a
firm grip on what it wanted to be. From Seasons 3-7 we are
delivered some of the most detailed and engaging Star Trek
adventures to date. Whereas Seasons 3 & 4 saw drastic
changes in tone for the series, Season 5 (smartly) maintains
the status quo with many self contained episodes, with the occasional
overarching storyline or cross over.
As previously
mentioned Season 5 emphasized stand alone episodes such as The
Game and Conundrum, but never sacrificed storyline for
cheap thrills associated with the deep space backdrop. That is to
say (as Gene Roddenberry established) storyline, good acting, and the
Star Trek vision as a whole took prescience over shock and
awe. Whereas there may not have been many multi-part episodes this
season, continuity and referencing of former episodes took center
stage. Political strife, emotional exploration, and past missions
come up time and time again throughout the series with Season 5
being no different; often harkening back to previously
discussed/acted upon topics.
A two part episode
(that is NOT a cliffhanger) does occur this season in the form of
Unification; guest starring Leonard Nimoy. The highly
political driven episode has Picard and crew searching for a missing
Ambassador Spock; who is believed to have gone missing during
diplomatic talks between the Romulans and Vulcans. Though a fan
favorite due to being one of the only and last appearances of Spock
on the small screen (outside of the Original Series) the
episode overall feels uneven; having a direct mission for the likes
of Picard and Spock, but the rest of the crew bumbles around to fill
time and space. In the end, Unification is certainly not a
bad episode, but not the best this season. Other fan favorite
moments involve the return of The Borg, as well as references to the
(often referenced) First Contact plot device.
Episodes this season
include:
Redemption:
part II
Darmok
Ensign Ro
Silicon Avatar
Disaster
The Game
Unification:
part I
Unification:
part II
A Matter of
Time
New Ground
Hero Worship
Violations
Master Piece
Society
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The Outcast
Cause and
Effect
The First Duty
Cost of Living
The Perfect
Mate
Imaginary
Friend
I, Borg
The Next Phase
The Inner Light
Time's Arrow:
Part I (Season 5 Finale/cliffhanger)
With Season 5 we
are again treated to same beautiful restoration that the previous 4
seasons received from CBS/Paramount. Granted they are not perfect,
but continue to make the futuristic series look better than ever
before. The picture again is a stunning 1080p 1.33 X 1 image
restored in-house leading to beautifully brilliant colors, solid
contrast, inky black levels, and amped up visual effects. Somewhat
like George Lucas before them, restoration experts made the conscious
decision this season to install a CG created ship in certain shots
that were deteriorated or poorly filmed from the start. Whereas
noticeable, it is not a bad thing and the series continues to look
great. The sound is equally impressive in its 7.1 DTS-HD Master
Audio that surrounds the viewer with full immersive sound. Being
heavily dialogue driven the sound comes much of the time from the
front, but as the crew moves about the ship of action sequences occur
the surrounds kick in with booming base and solid panning effects.
Extras are detailed
and plentiful, giving fans plenty to look into ranging from
retrospectives to what the series means to fans today. The extras
include the following:
Episodic Promos
Archival
mission Log: Mission Overview Year 5
Archival
Mission Log: Departmental Briefing Year 5 - Production
Deleted Scenes
Archival
Mission Log: Departmental Briefing Year 5 - Visual Effects
Archival
Mission Log: Memorable Missions
Audio
Commentary on Cause and Effect
Audio
Commentary on I, Borg
Audio
Commentary on The First Duty
Archival
Mission Log: A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry
Archival
Mission Log: Intergalactic Guest Stars
Archival
Mission Log: Alien Speak
Audio
Commentary on Inner Light
Gag Reel
In
Conversation: The Music of Star Trek - The Next Generation
Requiem: A
Remembrance of Star Trek - The Next Generation
Star
Trek Federation - The First 150 Years
(David A. Goodman; Published by Titan Books)
An excellent
addition to any Star Trek fans collection; concurrently acting
as a great reference piece as well as beautiful collectable.
Star Trek
Federation: The First 150 Years probably isn't for your casual
viewer/fan, but instead is a compendium of information for the Star
Trek universe catering to the biggest fans. What may seem
tedious to the casual fan, will have hardcore Trekkies jumping for
joy as David A. Goodman's book chronicles the Star Trek Federation;
using excerpts from Starfleet records and intergalactic intelligence
to paint a picture of what Starfleet was and has evolved into.
The highly detailed
Hardcover book discusses a variety of topics ranging from First
Contact to intergalactic war and battles. Also readers are treated
to an intensely researched and finely detailed account of Alien
races, art, field sketches and much more.
Never for a moment
dull, Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years allows fans to
explore a nicely chronicled series of events as Starfleet evolved
from first contact through the next 15 years with plenty of
peripheral information to flesh out the universe as a whole.
A truly wonderful
addition to any collection that can be used in conjunction with newly
released Blu-ray TV series and films.
- Michael P. Dougherty II