Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 – Blu-ray Disc Review

The Show Itself was a science fiction series created by Gene Roddenberry. The first season of the show (29 episodes) originally had aired from 1966 – 1967 on CBS. In 1967 – 1968 the show ran returned with it’s second season (found here) with a total of 26 episodes. The show in 1967 was already considered extremely innovative and imaginative for it’s time. “Star Trek” (The Original Series) told the story of a ship (”The Starship Enterprise“), it’s Captain “James T. Kirk” (played by William Shatner), his second officer “Mr. Spock” (played Leonard Nimoy), along with his main crew members that became regular faces on the bridge “Dr. McCoy” a.k.a. “Bones” (played by DeForest Kelley, “Chekov” (played by Walter Koenig), “Sulu” (played by George Takei), “Scotty” (played by James Doohan) and “Uhura” (played by Nichelle Nichols).

The second season picks up right where the first season left off with the Starship Enterprise and it’s crew continuing their “5 year mission to boldly go where no man has gone before.” The episodes just started getting better and better as you could tell if you have seen the first season and the very same could be true (continued) with season two of the show. Some favorite episodes of mine personally include “Amok Time“, “The Apple“, “Who Mourns for Adonais?“, “A Private Little War“, “The Gamesters of Triskelion” (as cheesy as it may be) and speaking of cheesy, obviously the fan-favorite “The Trouble with Tribbles“.

All 26 Episodes of the second season of the show are included. They are as follows.

NOTE: By clicking on an episode title below you will be redirected to watch the full episode over atTV.com and I hope you enjoy this sort of “lo-fi try before you buy” approach to the synopsis of my review.

Episode 1 – “Amok Time“
• Stardate: 3372.7
• Originally Aired: September 15th, 1967
Episode 2 – “Who Mourns for Adonais?“
• Stardate: 3468.1
• Originally Aired: September 22nd, 1967
Episode 3 – “The Changeling“
• Stardate: 3541.9
• Originally Aired: September 29th, 1967
Episode 4 – “Mirror, Mirror“
• Stardate: Unknown
• Originally Aired: October 6th, 1967
Episode 5 – “The Apple“
• Stardate: 3715.3
• Originally Aired: October 13th, 1967
Episode 6 – “The Doomsday Machine“
• Stardate: Unknown
• Originally Aired: October 20th, 1967
Episode 7 – “Catspaw“
• Stardate: 3018.2
• Originally Aired: October 27th, 1967
Episode 8 – “I, Mudd“
• Stardate: 4513.3
• Originally Aired: November 3rd, 1967
Episode 9 – “Metamorphasis“
• Stardate: Unknown
• Originally Aired: November 10th, 1967
Episode 10 – “Journey to Babel“
• Stardate: 3842.3
• Originally Aired: November 17th, 1967
Episode 11 – “Friday’s Child“
• Stardate: 3497.2
• Originally Aired: December 1st, 1967
Episode 12 – “The Deadly Years“
• Stardate: 3478.2
• Originally Aired: December 8th, 1967
Episode 13 – “Obsession“
• Stardate: 3619.2
• Originally Aired: December 15th, 1967
Episode 14 – “Wolf in the Fold“
• Stardate: 3614.9
• Originally Aired: December 22nd, 1967
Episode 15 – “The Trouble with Tribbles“
• Stardate: 4523.3
• Originally Aired: December 29th, 1967
Episode 16 – “The Gamesters of Triskelion“
• Stardate: 3211.7
• Originally Aired: January 5th, 1968
Episode 17 – “A Piece of the Action“
• Stardate: Unknown
• Originally Aired: January 12th, 1968
Episode 18 – “The Immunity Syndrome“
• Stardate: 4307.1
• Originally Aired: January 19th, 1968
Episode 19 – “A Private Little War“
• Stardate: 4211.4
• Originally Aired: February 2nd, 1968
Episode 20 – “Return to Tomorrow“
• Stardate: 4768.3
• Originally Aired: February 9th, 1968
Episode 21 – “Patterns of Force“
• Stardate: Unknown
• Originally Aired: February 16th, 1968
Episode 22 – “By Any Other Name“
• Stardate: 4657.5
• Originally Aired: February 23rd, 1968
Episode 23 – “The Omega Glory“
• Stardate: Unknown
• Originally Aired: March 1st, 1968
Episode 24 – “The Ultimate Computer“
• Stardate: 4729.4
• Originally Aired: March 3rd, 1968
Episode 25 – “Bread and Circuses“
• Stardate: 4040.7
• Originally Aired: March 15th, 1968
Episode 26 – “Assignment: Earth“
• Stardate: Unknown
• Originally Aired: March 29th, 1968

In closing, “Star Trek The Original Series Season 2” was a really good season of the show that included some very popular episodes. It’s great to see it finally come to Blu-ray Disc with the third season already announced for release later this year, it’s safe to say every “Trekkie” will be happy to have the chance to own the entire series in Hi-Def by year end.

Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the VC-1 codec on SEVEN BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Discs) in the 1.33:1 (4×3) aspect ratio. Keep in mind because of this aspect ratio there are of course black pillar bars on the left and right sides. This is how the show was shot and is preserved by keeping that aspect ratio. Below you will find full disc usage statistics for this release.

Disc 1 uses 41.7GB total. Disc 2 uses 43.8GB total. Disc 3 uses 43.8GB total. Disc 4 uses 27.4GB total. Disc 5 uses 37.4GB total. Disc 6 uses 36.9GB total. Disc 7 uses 31.7GB total.

Just like as on the first season, this gives viewers the option to choose new or old visual effects for each episode by either at the start from the menu or during an episode during an effects shot using the “Angle button on their Blu-ray Disc Player remote control. This is using seamless branching to deliver the special effects. One thing to note, that I’ll discuss further in my audio section is that when you start an episode in the original visual effects it will default the audio to the original Mono instead of the DTS-HD 7.1 MA mix. All original content exhibits obvious film grain and noise, as we should expect, showing that the content has not gone under too much tampering, and accurate fleshtones are present, as well as a very solid black level, making for a color palette that is quite vibrant throughout. There is actually a large amount of detail present in this release, definitely much more definition than ever presented in the original broadcast and DVD’s of the series. Just like the previous season released, this earns a solid “4 Star Rating” for overall video quality.

One last note I felt worth mentioning. Purists will be happy to know that no DNR (digital noise reduction) or EE (edge enhancement) filters appear to have been used as the amount of film grain and noise is very heavy here at some times more-so than others. If you find it bothersome, do like I do and enable DNR on your HDTV if it has the option. I found on my Samsung LCD that DNR on the medium setting cleaned up things without turning people’s flesh into a plastic type look. There’s other ways to use DNR or various filters such as on the Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player which has the Anchor Bay video processor unit. Again though, this is only if you are annoyed by the film grain that you would ever want to use DNR on the source material found on these discs.

Audio Quality on this release is presented in both new DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio & the originalMono recordings in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo @192kbps. One thing to note as mentioned above in the video quality section, when you select an episode in the original visual effects mode it will default the audio to the DD 2.0 Mono mix. Just go to “Communications” in the sub-menu and then “Audio Options” to switch back to the DTS-HD 7.1 MA mix if you prefer it. Speaking of the DTS-HD MA mix, this 7.1 mix mostly bares presence in the front three channels, with mostly discrete rear channel presence — only really used during exterior scenes of the U.S.S. Enterprise when it swoops by with panning between the 4 rear channels. The dialogue is delivered perfectly, primarily through the front center channel, and the original music sounds great as well, coming mostly through the front left and right channels with discrete presence in the rear channels at times. Only a handful of episodes involving action outside of the U.S.S. Enterprise (as mentioned above) have a fulfilling use of the entire soundscape, as these scenes also give the highlight of subwoofer use as well.

As far as special effects go, the use of the phaser sounds are notable. The 7.1 mix is impressive at times and is worth listening to over the original Mono recordings not only if you have a full 7.1 speaker setup but also even a 5.1 setup. If you aren’t too found of Surround or are a purist, I’d probably suggest listening to the original Mono recordings. I was especially happy the original mono recordings existed, when on the first episode of this season, there’s about 20 minutes it seems where a constant ringing of bells is present in the soundfield which almost gave me a headache in 7.1 — so, I switched to the Mono mix which was less annoying from the sound of the constant rattling of the bells.

Overall, the new 7.1 mix here is impressive at times and solid for the most part, as is the original Mono track as well. This scores a solid “4 Star Rating” for overall audio quality. Fans will be pleased, especially if they enjoyed the 7.1 on the first season.

Bonus Materials are presented in both Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) video using the VC-1 codec and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound — unless otherwise noted. Because of the variety in video quality I’ll be noting which format they are in beside the runtimes below.

• “Starfleet Access” is an on-screen graphical interface (using Bonus View) that allows the viewer to access Picture In Picture video commentaries that feature comparisons of the original to the newly restored footage as well as interviews, episode specific trivia, an encyclopedia of sorts of “Star Trek” information and more. This does require the user to be on a “Profile 1.1” or higher Blu-ray Disc Player since it uses Bonus View. The only real complaint I have that is that this feature is only available on 2 of the 26 episodes included in the second season where-as we got roughly 6 episodes with the feature on the first season. The two episodes that include “Starfleet Access” are listed below:
  “Amok Time” – Disc 1
  “The Trouble With Tribbles” – Disc 4

  Each Disc of this Seven Disc set contains Preview Trailers for the episodes found on that disc. These are in Standard Definition (SD) in the original format they ran at the end of each episode as a preview of what to expect next week. This feature proves useful to find out if the episode you think you want to watch is for sure that episode, you can get some brief clips and such.

  Also worth noting if you didn’t notice mentioned above, this contains not only both the original version of special visual effects and the controversial new special visual effects but also gives the viewer the ability to choose which version they want to watch by hitting the “Angle” button on their Blu-ray Disc Player remote control during an action sequence or so forth to switch between new and old visual special effects. This is a really cool feature and I’m sure the fans will love it.

• BD-Live is included on each disc of this 7-Disc set which allows users on a “Profile 2.0” capableBlu-ray Disc Player” to access online content from Paramount in the “dynamicHD” content format. Once online you’ll be able to access new bonus videos available for download and picture galleries of the cast & crew members. This BD-Live effort is one of the first to really show some unique and usefulness that makes it something to keep an eye on, as well as future BD-Live efforts from Paramount using this “dynamicHD” content format. Very sleek and fast interface. Title specific downloadable content is available here in both the BD-Live interface for CBS as well as the new feature listed below.

Users with portable mobile devices such as iPod Touch, iPhone and such are able to access a new unique feature on this release called “Mobile-Blu“. This allows you to control your playback of your episodes much like your Blu-ray Player’s remote but it also contains some exclusive bonus content as well. I can’t tell you the exact contents other than what is listed on the inside of the packaging, as this feature didn’t seem to want to work with me using an iPod Touch and PS3. The content is as follows for “Mobile-Blu“:

• “Disc 1: Writing Spock“
• “Disc 2: Creating Chekov“
• “Disc 3: Listening to the Actors“
• “Disc 4: Spock’s Mother“

Disc 1 bonus content:

• “Billy Blackburn’s Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories Part 2” (12:07 – HD) is nice to see presented in Hi-Def and back on this season as well.

Disc 4 bonus contents:

• “More Tribbles, More Troubles” Star Trek: The Animated Series Episode #1” (24:13 – HD) with optional audio commentary by David Gerrold. This is presented in 4×3 (1.33:1 aspect ratio) Hi-Def video quality with DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound.
• “Trials and Tribble-ations” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episode #503” (45:30 – HD) is presented in 4×3 (1.33:1 aspect ratio) Hi-Def video quality with DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound. I will admit the video quality does look rather shoddy, almost like a VHS transfer upconverted to Hi-Def.
• “Trials and Tribble-ations: Uniting Two Legends” (16:53 – SD)
• “Trials and Tribble-ations: An Historic Endeavor” (16:32 – SD)
• “Star Trek: The Original Series on Blu-ray” (10:04 – HD) is just a promotional piece for the entire series on Blu-ray Disc, including the upcoming third season set to come out by year end. Here you will find a panel of visual effects folks discussing working on the remaster of this series and it coming to Blu-ray Disc.

Disc 5 bonus content:

• “To Boldly Go… Season Two” (19:32 – SD) takes a look back with the cast and crew on key episodes such as “The Trouble With Tribbles“. You’ll soon find out that George Takei andWalter Koenig started out here having a rivalry that soon turned into a friendship. This featurette is a definite must-watch for any fan of the original series, but especially to those who are fans of the second season specifically and/or equally.

Disc 6 bonus content:

• “Designing the Final Frontier” (22:19 – SD) gives you a behind-the-scenes glimpse at original set sketches and designs and discussion about such by the art director on the second season.

Disc 7 bonus contents:

• “Star Trek’s Favorite Moments” (17:10 – SD)
• “Writer’s Notebook: D.C. Fontana” (7:35 – SD)
• “Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy” (12:02 – SD)
• “Kirk, Spock & Bones: Star Trek’s Great Trio” (7:10 – SD)
• “Star Trek’s Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols” (13:04 – SD)
• “Enhanced Visual Effects Credits” (0:30 – SD)

Overall, the bonus materials we get here are excellent just like with the first season. They do contain less episodes with the Picture-In-Picture “Starfleet Access” feature, only 2 out of 26 episodes in fact; where-as the first season contained roughly 6 episodes with the feature. There are some new unique features like “Mobile-Blu“, which is pretty impressive — I can only assume that is, if you can actually get it to work, unlike myself. Regardless any “Trekkie” should be happy with the supplemental materials they get here. I mean after all, you get two episodes of “Star Trek” spin-off shows in Hi-Def. I will however say it is a shame the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” episode quality isn’t too great, even to be in Hi-Def. Hopefully the show will look much better if it ever comes to Blu-ray in seasons like the original series here.

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

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