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The Movie: Paramount's DVD releases of the original "Star Trek" series offered remixed audio and pleasantly clean picture quality, but were only released two shows at a time. With the studio's releases of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", the studio has not only offered full-season sets at a suprisingly rapid rate, but also has included supplements and the kind of audio (remixed in 5.1) and picture quality (very nice full-frame editions) that one would expect from the studio. The way that television operates has changed greatly over the past ten years. Where shows often were promoted and helped along if they did not immediately connect in their first season (see "Seinfeld"), if shows now do not succeed in their first few weeks, they dissapear into the abyss. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" really had succeeded in its first few seasons - with the budgets increased in season four and the cast experienced in working with one another, the show really began to hit its peak. Season 4 definitely started off on the right foot with "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", a conclusion to the cliff-hanger from the prior season, where the crew of the Enterprise found themselves in a race against time to keep the Borg from getting to Earth. What continued to make the series compelling was not only the writing (which was occasionally fantastic, with interesting plots such as Picard seeing himself in "Time Squared" and the Data-on-trial "Measure Of a Man"), but the performances. While William Shatner's performance as Kirk was entertaining as he played off primitive effects, Patrick Stewart really created a far more commanding and complex character in Picard. There will always be the arguement over who was a better captain - Kirk or Picard; personally, I think they both had their merits. Shatner played against the campy surroundings in the original series well, but had the chance to be a bit more dramatic in the feature films. Stewart is a captain for, literally, the "next generation" - he is a more commanding presence and has created a more complex character. As someone who is not a "Trekkie", I can even find these episodes compelling thanks to the performances not only of Stewart, but of Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner and the other supporting cast members. This is really an example of a show that was perfectly cast; while it seemed as if the creators were unsure of possible success before the show started, they really sought out remarkable talent that were strong enough to continue their bold journey where many have gone before: the big screen. Another movie starring the cast of "The Next Generation" is in the works. 26 episodes on 7 discs: The Best of Both Worlds Part II, Family, Brothers, Suddenly Human, Remember Me, Legacy, Reunion, Future Imperfect, Final Mission, The Loss, Data's Day, The Wounded, Devil's Due, Clues, First Contact, Galaxy's Child, Night Terrors, Identity Crisis, The Nth Degree, QPid, The Drumhead, Half a Life, The Host, The Mind's Eye, In Theory, Redemption Part I. The DVD VIDEO: As with the prior and future editions of the show on DVD, all episodes are presented in their original 1.33:1 full-frame broadcast aspect ratio. As with the prior editions, the fourth season shows a small, but noticable increase in quality over the prior three seasons. There seems to be slightly less in the way of grain and noise, as well as a smoother and more defined image overall. Edge enhancement did not appear on this release, but there were still a few little rough edges - a tiny speck here, some slight grain there and a trace or two of pixelation. Yet, none of these flaws really caused much concern and only appeared very briefly. Colors also were visibly a bit crisper on this release, appearing consistently well-saturated, with no softness or smearing. Black level was also solid, while flesh tones looked accurate and natural. An excellent effort from Paramount - these releases keep looking better and better. SOUND: As with the prior "Next Generation" releases, Paramount has remastered the show's shoundtracks in Dolby Digital 5.1. While certainly not hugely active presentations, the ship flyovers and other sound effects are smoothly offered by the surrounds. While the audio didn't show the level of improvement that the video quality did, the soundtracks for these episodes did seem fuller and more dynamic than those for the releases of the prior seasons. Dialogue, sound effects and music remained crisp and clear, while solid low bass was also occasionally present. MENUS: As with the prior sets, Paramount has created nifty animated menus that look like the computers on the Enterprise. EXTRAS: As with the previous "Next Generation" box sets, there is about an hour and change of video supplements included, all of which seem to have been taken from original interviews from around the time of production. "Mission Overview", "Selected Crew Analysis", "Departmental Briefing: Production", "View Life and New Civilizations" and "Chronicles from the Final Frontier" are the included pieces about the show. Although those who are casual fans may want to take in the more general "Mission Overview" and "Selected Crew Analysis", the other three features are a little more technical and in-depth. Final Thoughts: "Next Generation" keeps zipping along with Season 4 and Season 5 to be released on DVD less than 2 months away. Season 4 certainly shows some of the prime moments of a terrific show, so it definitely is worth picking up by hardcore and casual fans alike. |