STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION MOTION PICTURE COLLECTION ON BLU-RAY (1994-2002 / 2009)
Released by Paramount Home Entertainment
Reviewed for TrekWeb.com by Bill Williams
5 discs, MSRP $69.99
Date of release: September 22, 2009
Introduction:
As far back as 1991 it was suggested that the cast and crew of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION would transfer their popular syndicated television series to the movie screen. After six theatrical outings with the Original Series cast, their time had come and gone with a fitting sendoff in STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. Now it was time for Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and the TNG cast to make the leap. Of course, there was the question: could they be successful in their theatrical outings as the original cast was and endure as long? Over the course of the next decade, the answer would be revealed. Invariably, the focus of each of the four films to come would center on Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Stewart) and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), to the expense of the remaining TNG cast members. Invariably, the TNG feature films would bear the "odd-even" curse of critical and/or commercial success until the end. Invariably, each succeeding installment was deemed by numerous fans as large-scale TV episodes with not much theatrical feel and look to it. And invariably, the TNG movies got long in the tooth and ran out of gas, only contributing to the overall glut of TREK product by the turn of the 21st century.
Their first theatrical offering, GENERATIONS, came a very short six months after the end of TNG's highly successful seven-year run in 1994 (as opposed to STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, which came ten years after the end of the Original Series). Termed by some in the Hollywood community as "the corporate STAR TREK movie", it contained all of the elements that Paramount executives hoped would cater to both TREK fans and general moviegoers. Suddenly, the budget looked larger, the sets were bigger (meaning that what you saw on screen of the Enterprise-D bridge was what the bridge should have looked like on TV), and the film had a certain theatrical feel to it, thanks in part to first-time movie director David Carson (who had previously helmed one of TNG's most popular episodes "Yesterday's Enterprise" as well as the DEEP SPACE NINE pilot film "Emissary").
But GENERATIONS would have a certain twist to it. Up to this point throughout its run on television, TNG began to slowly integrate characters and situations from the Original Series into its own tapestry, bringing back McCoy, Spock, and Scotty into the 24th century. The one character whose fate concerned many fans was that of James T. Kirk; what had happened to Kirk by Picard's time? Two scripts had been developed, one by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, the other by Maurice Hurley, both of which focused on Kirk and Picard's encounter in the future. Going with the more obvious choice for a corporate movie, the Moore-Braga script centered around a mysterious Macguffin called the Nexus, which brought Kirk and Picard together to stop a mad scientist (Malcolm McDowell, who always seems to have a penchant for wearing black to offset his shockingly white hair) from destroying a neighboring world to get back to the Nexus.
Unfortunately, through three versions of the movie, it also bore an ugly mark on TREK fandom that, 15 years after its release, hadn't been corrected: the cheapness of Kirk's death by falling off a bridge or getting shot in the back by a second-rate villain, whichever you prefer. (William Shatner, along with Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens, would have a small measure of revenge, bringing Kirk back from the dead in a series of novels over the next ten years). Nonetheless, GENERATIONS had a good opening weekend and brought in a decent $75 million intake at the box office, ensuring that a sequel would be in the works. GENERATIONS would also set a trend for movies that continues to this day, being the very first movie to have an Internet web site designed to market the film's release. And of course, there's the case of the two early work print versions of the film that would later surface to fan interest across the world (for more information, read my analysis "The Evolution of STAR TREK: GENERATIONS" on this site, which compares and contrasts the two work prints to the final theatrical release).
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the STAR TREK franchise, Paramount released FIRST CONTACT, the second TNG feature film (and the most critically and commercially successful of the four TNG installments). This time around, with a brand new Enterprise-E to play with, Picard and company squared off against a movie-worthy foe: the Borg. With a vendetta to go back into the past to alter history forever and prevent a crucial moment in Earth's history from occurring, it's up to Picard to put a stop to their sinister plans. Throw Zefram Cochrane (Oscar nominee James Cromwell) into the mix, along with a good dose of humor, and a hilarious drunken turn for Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and you have a recipe for a hit. (And to think that earlier this year we found out that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks was first considered for the Cochrane role! Imagine what kind of portrayal he would have given it - "There's no crying in Starfleet!")
FIRST CONTACT had a lot going for it, which in this case turned out to be in everyone's favor. Sneak previews with test audiences resulted in one of the highest ratings at the time ever for a Paramount movie (the only test audience rating that scored higher was FORREST GUMP.) With a top-notch villain in the Borg Queen (Alice Krige, who made one of the creepiest and most memorable entrances in recent movie history), action, stellar visual effects, a dark yet exciting musical score from Jerry Goldsmith, and sturdy direction from TV-turned-movie director Jonathan Frakes, FIRST CONTACT reaped over $92 million in its release. (Until this year, it remained the only TREK feature film to even approach the box office grosses of STAR TREK IV.) You'd have thought that with success like this, the future of STAR TREK on the big screen would have been as bright. Wrong.
In 1998 we got the third TNG installment INSURRECTION, written by the late Michael Piller and again directed by Jonathan Frakes. By this time TREK was beginning to suffer from overload. DEEP SPACE NINE was nearing its completion, while VOYAGER sailed on TV with a mixture of decent scripts and recycled plots. Going to the well one too many times was starting to wear on TREK fans, and this film's box-office performance seemed to indicate so. INSURRECTION focuses on a combined plot by a turncoat Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe) and a vengeful alien (Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham, with more facelifts than Elizabeth Taylor and more wrinkles than a Shar-pei dog) bent on capturing the secret of eternal life. Instead of looking for the Holy Grail, they think that moving a group of eternally young colonists off-world is going to do the trick. Enter Picard and company to stop their plans, at the risk of Picard defying a superior officer to do so.
I'll give INSURRECTION this, it's got a good share of character moments that build upon the TV series, and the visual effects continued to become more and more impressive. However, the paper-thin plot just wasn't enough to sustain itself on the big screen, the villains aren't as convincingly intense (after Khan and the Borg Queen, nobody measured up at all), and both main and supporting cast members appeared to phone in their performances. And whose idea was it to equip the Enterprise-E with a frakkin' joystick, of all things, and turn the ship into one big videogame? INSURRECTION looked nothing more than a nice two-part TNG episode, and with a $67 million domestic gross barely making back its production budget, the future of STAR TREK on the big screen really seemed in jeopardy, proving once again the "odd-even" success/failure ratio of TREK films.
If anything, the tenth film should have turned things around and proven the "odd-even" curse true once again, right? Not even close. By 2002 NEMESIS, the fourth (and ultimately final) TNG film, premiered in theaters, the playing field had changed where STAR TREK was concerned. In 1987 TNG had no competition in the market; by 2002 STAR TREK was the competition against scores of different series all over the place - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, THE X-FILES, STARGATE, SMALLVILLE, and there were even rumblings at the time that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was about to be revisited. Add to the mix yet another TREK television series, ENTERPRISE, which constantly struggled in the ratings to hold onto its slipping audience. Like Hawkeye Pierce griping about constantly eating liver or fish on MASH, STAR TREK fans had grown tired of the same thing over and over and wanted something else.
NEMESIS had potential in that it was touted as the final adventure for Picard and company, and long-time TREK fan John Logan (of GLADIATOR fame) had a script that would have given a fresh turn to the Romulan culture. But there were too many strikes against NEMESIS - a film editor-turned-director in Stuart Baird who knew nothing of TREK; the cutting of 45 minutes of footage from the film's original 160-minute running time; a recycled plot that borrowed from WRATH OF KHAN where one character was concerned; the continually falling ratings for ENTERPRISE; releasing the film at the same time as the highly-anticipated second LORD OF THE RINGS installment; and a polarized fan base that either liked or absolutely hated the film - all this and more spelled a dismal box-office performance for the only TREK feature film to not make back its production budget, ending in the red as a result (by comparison, STAR TREK V, the lowest-grossing of the Original Series movies, made its budget back and then some a little bit, though still half of the grosses from STAR TREK IV). With that, followed by the final nail in the coffin with ENTERPRISE's cancellation in 2005, it spelled the end of the STAR TREK franchise - that is, until J.J. Abrams came along (another story for another time).
Now Paramount Home Entertainment has issued the four TNG movies in a new Blu-ray box set entitled STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Motion Picture Collection. Like the Original Motion Picture Collection before it, the NEXT GENERATION collection brings together all of the films in its respective series on four discs, as well as a brand-new fifth disc entitled "STAR TREK: Evolutions" and a host of all-new bonus features to complement the set. Now I'll bet you're wondering, should I double-dip for this set? Hang with me for the ride, and I'll give you my thoughts. For the purpose of this commentary, I will review the Blu-ray version of the set.
Technobabble of a Different Kind:
Like its Blu-ray predecessor, each film in the NEXT GENERATION collection is presented in anamorphic widescreen format preserving the original 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio of each respective film, all rendered in 1080p HD quality, ensuring a cleaner and crisper picture on Blu-ray. Colors are incredibly vibrant, especially on GENERATIONS and NEMESIS, and details are more vibrant than I recall seeing in each of the films in any previous format. This is the sharpest looking presentation of these films ever!
The sound quality is just as exceptional, with each film rendered in English Dolby Digital 5.1 TrueHD, giving you a fuller surround experience like never before. In addition, each film has French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, along with English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles.
Packaging and Menus:
The packaging for the TNG collection is similar to the Original Motion Picture Collection, with all five discs housed in a sturdy cardboard package with a lenticular design of the Enterprise-E on the front and a plastic slipcover surrounding the package itself. And like the Original Motion Picture Collection, each disc is packaged individually, so you can choose which film you would like to watch. For the NEXT GENERATION movies, we have imagery of Picard on GENERATIONS, Riker on FIRST CONTACT, Worf on INSURRECTION, Data on NEMESIS, and Geordi LaForge on the EVOLUTIONS disc. You'd think that they would have had room for Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi somewhere; apparently not.
The menu design for the Blu-ray set is comparable to the Original Motion Picture Collection. It's very basic animation as with the previous movie collection, with four main features: Play, Scenes, Set Up, and Extras. During the movie you can use the pop-up menu to bookmark scenes, access the audio commentaries, or go back to the main menu and select extra features.
The Extras:
Many of the extras included in the Blu-ray release have been ported from the previous two-disc Collector's Edition DVDs, which means all of the previously released deleted scenes, audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes features, trailers, and Easter eggs (yes, they're all there!) are included in this new release in standard definition format. All of the new features are presented in HD format, running approximately three hours in total, which further explores each of the films in detail. There's no need for me to rehash my thoughts on the latter three DVDs from my previous reviews, so let's jump right into what is newly included on this set.
First off, on the GENERATIONS disc, the teaser and theatrical trailers have been included on the disc, presented in standard definition format and Dolby 2.0 sound. This is a nice addition, as I particularly enjoyed these two trailers when first seen in theaters (look carefully, and you will see cut scenes from the film's original 150-minute print included in the trailers). Originally promised for inclusion on the two-disc Collector's Edition in 2004 and listed as such on the initial package, they were sadly left off because of apparent licensing rights issues with some of the music used in the trailers - among them an alternate Jerry Goldsmith track from STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE not previously heard or released until the teaser (and later included as part of the underscore for Robert Wise's director's cut of TMP in 2001), and part of Gustav Holst's "Neptune" suite from his PLANETS symphony at the head of the theatrical trailer. Now they are included on the Blu-ray, and all I can say is, it's about time!
From there we have a new audio commentary with director David Carson and ENTERPRISE writer/producer Manny Coto. Oddly enough, their commentary begins with discussion of their work on ODYSSEY 5, which Carson shot the pilot for. Coto has praise for Carson's work on GENERATIONS, particularly the mysterious champagne bottle opening of the movie. A lot of the commentary then proceeds into a basic descriptive commentary, which lags at times. Carson offers up thoughts about how the rehearsal of the prologue was plagued with problems because the younger actors were all in awe of William Shatner and their memories of growing up on the Original Series. Both Carson and Coto have high praise for the late cinematographer John Alonzo, who knew how to light the sets from the inside and give them a very natural look. Carson then discusses the film's development, its myriad changes, the concept of the Nexus, and the amount of input from Shatner and Patrick Stewart. The commentary is detailed and pretty interesting.
A flashback sequence with TNG designer Andrew Probert (5:04) is featured, as he discusses his work on TNG and his start on TREK in the late 1970's, when he worked on the first TREK feature film designing the various ships and stations. He also discusses the saucer separation in GENERATIONS and its origins in TMP, in which he had created his own ending to the film that wasn't filmed. Next up is "Stellar Cartography on Earth" (7:39), which compares the stellar cartography set in GENERATIONS with astronomers‘ real-life map work in studying the universe. Satellite systems such as CHANDRA and FERMI, launched in recent years, have given us incredibly detailed looks at the universe beyond. Scientists at the Palomar Observatory admit their down moment in the discovery of a planet larger than Pluto which led to Pluto's planetary demotion in 2007. But astronomers are optimistic in discovering worlds hospitable for life similar to Earth down the road. We also have a new feature in "Scoring TREK" (8:57), which looks at composer Dennis McCarthy's work on scoring GENERATIONS. McCarthy discusses his ease in working with Rick Berman and David Carson, having worked on TNG and DS9 previously, but describes his greatest challenges in being told to simply go for it, follow in the footsteps of James Horner and the late Jerry Goldsmith, and then rewrite the music for the entire ending in one day.
From there we go to the first of a four-part series, "Brent Spiner: Data and Beyond", which looks at the actor's involvement on the series and the direction he took Data in. In this first segment, running 10:21, Spiner describes himself as a successful class clown who was a fan of classic TV comedy. He credits his teacher Cecil Pickett as a true teacher in showing Spiner, along with Randy and Dennis Quaid, how to handle different forms of acting. TNG came along at the right time in his career, having done guest shots on different series, and being offered the series - Spiner wasn't initially interested in the concept, and at one point Spiner was even offered the role of Riker, but when he picked up on the Pinocchio connection, he went for it. Oddly enough, the producers wanted to end the emotion chip plot point at the end of GENERATIONS, but Spiner and others pressured for the plot point to continue. We also have another four-part series, "TREK Roundtable", which is a discussion of the four TNG movies. In this first installment on GENERATIONS, which runs 12:23, writer Larry Nemecek (who authored all three editions of the TNG Companion), Anthony Pascale of TrekMovie.com, Charlene Anderson of the Planetary Society, and Jeff Bond of Geek Monthly magazine (who also wrote and edited "The Music of STAR TREK") discuss, debate, and dissect GENERATIONS, its origins in the spring of 1994 (which Rick Berman defined as hell), the development of the Hurley and Moore/Braga scripts, the concept of the Nexus and time-travel storytelling, and the handling of multiple character and story arcs within a single movie. And the Starfleet Academy series returns with a look at trilithium, running 3:06 in length, which amounts to not much more than a future history lesson at the plot point of trilithium in the film.
Moving onto the FIRST CONTACT disc, we start off with a new audio commentary with STAR TREK producer Damon Lindelof and TrekMovie.com editor Anthony Pascale (the latter of whom is decked out in full Klingon attire for the commentary!). Pascale argues that NEMESIS broke the even-odd numbering rule for the NEXT GENERATION movies but agrees with Lindelof that FIRST CONTACT is the best of the series. Lindelof became a fan of TREK through TNG but became a fan of the Original Series later on. Lindelof and Pascale reveal that the opening scene of the pullback was the last scene shot for the film, later revealing that the eye reveal was also used for LOST and other series. Lindelof discusses the differences between Picard being a traumatized captain and Kirk never appearing traumatized in the Original Series, while Pascale mentions that FIRST CONTACT is the first true TNG film as opposed to GENERATIONS. They both agree that the Borg are the premiere TNG villains that crossed over into the mainstream society, becoming the Klingons are TNG. Where the Klingons are concerned, both agree that Worf's appearances in the TNG films have to be explained, given Michael Dorn's appearance in DS9. They further discuss the inherent problems in the usage of time travel in the movie and have fun discussing the various time travel paradoxes in the movie. And that's just for starters! Lindelof and Pascale are a good listen, making for a great commentary throughout.
Next up is the feature "Industrial Light and Magic: The Next Generation" (12:17), which looks at ILM's work on the TNG movies. They discuss their evolution from model work to CGI usage, their problems in upgrading the Enterprise-D and shooting the saucer crash for GENERATIONS, building the Enterprise-E in FIRST CONTACT from scratch, developing CGI versions of the Enterprise-E and other ships for battle scenes, building the Borg cube (interesting what you can build with machine screws, paper clips, and automotive primer!), and modifying a real Titan II missile with a fake bridge cap. Science fiction's transformation into science fact has always been fascinating, no matter what franchise you enjoy, so we have two features that explore the blend between fiction and fact. First up is "Greetings from the International Space Station" (8:31), which features Commander Mike Fincke, who discusses the preparations to transition the station from three to six people. He shows one of the things that STAR TREK scarcely showed, micro-gravity, as well as discusses Gene Roddenberry's original intentions of multiple nations (and planets) working together to explore outer space. Teamwork and patience are the keys to success for any astronaut, and Fincke describes the importance of working together, as well as the problems with radiation, weightlessness, and just the ability to get to space to begin with. (By the way, did anyone happen to see it last week in the night-time sky? It was a really beautiful sight to see even as a mere speck with the naked eye! Had my friend Amanda not informed me about it, I would have completely missed it!) Next is "SpaceShipOne's Historic Flight" (4:41), which spotlights Mike Melvill's pioneering mission of piloting the first privately funded independent space flight into space. He describes the excitement of piloting his ship into space, as well as how the colors change from blue to gray to black in accelerating into space.
The Brent Spiner commentaries continue with the second of a four-part look at Data's development and growth in FIRST CONTACT. This second feature, running 7:30 in length, finds Spiner agreeing that FIRST CONTACT was the best of the four feature films, that the Borg and the holodeck were the best qualities of the then-two TV series. He was a little concerned about the film's initial draft that Data was out of much of the action in the story, but with the casting of Alice Krige he enjoyed the Data-Borg Queen subplot (and romantic liaison) of the movie. He also discusses the combination of Data's nice qualities and romantic unavailability into an ideal character. He further likens participating in the franchise to popular sports and bashes the notion that STAR TREK had been given a bad rap by some people. The TREK roundtable discussion continues with Nemecek, Pascale, Anderson, and Bond discussing the making of FIRST CONTACT, running 12:51 in length. Bond describes the audience's immediate relation to the movie by using the often-used element of Earth under attack, the contemporary nature of Earth, and making Zefram Cochrane a relatable character. Nemecek parallels the movie to WRATH OF KHAN with a memorable villain, and Pascale agrees that the movie works well because of the Borg Queen and the horror movie aspects. Nemecek discusses the script's original intention of Picard in space and Riker fighting the Borg and the eventual switch, making for a stronger script, and he relates his first-hand knowledge of seeing the film in production. Anderson counters with the Picard-Lily relationship because of how Lily could stand up to Picard and make him face his inner demons. Finally, the Starfleet Academy segment (2:36) focuses on the Borg-created temporal vortex.
On the INSURRECTION disc, we start off with the first-ever audio commentary for the film (it‘s about time!), from director/star Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis. These two are a joy to watch and listen to! Mr. and Mrs. Riker discuss their work on INSURRECTION, the Riker-Troi relationship as seen throughout TNG, and the renewal of said relationship in INSURRECTION. Their thoughts are hilarious, spot-on, and quite fun. That's all I need to really say about it, so give it a spin! Next up is "Westmore's Legacy" (12:45), which spotlights the makeup work of Michael Westmore, longtime TREK makeup man throughout the various series and four feature films. Westmore and his cousin Christina Benson reflect on George Westmore, who began working in Hollywood a century ago designing wigs for the then-blossoming realm of movies, and who passed the trade on to Michael's father Monte and his brothers Perc, Ernest, Wally, Bud, and Frank, who then passed the trade on to Monte Jr., Marvin, and Michael. The tradition continues with Marvin's children Kevin and Kandy; Wally's granddaughter Pamela; and even Michael's son Michael Jr. (the latter of whom worked on the Borg costuming for FIRST CONTACT!). Michael discusses the development of latex, hair implants, and facial makeup, as well as the make-ups sold at the House of Westmore on the Sunset Strip, and the makeup used for NEMESIS. McKenzie Westmore, Michael's daughter, also shares her thoughts on starting out as a makeup test, then an extra, then a brief role in INSURRECTION. In "Marina Sirtis: The Counselor is In" (8:26), we get a look at, obviously, Marina Sirtis and her thoughts on portraying Deanna Troi throughout the series and four feature films. She expresses her love for TNG, her sadness at the wrapping of GENERATIONS, and her feeling of doing comedy in FIRST CONTACT. She also talks about the running spoon gag in INSURRECTION and about Michael Dorn's running joke on Patrick Stewart doing MOBY DICK, as well as the feeling of NEMESIS being the final TNG movie and the sadness she felt that Stuart Baird didn't "get" the cast's way of working.
In the third Brent Spiner commentary (8:17), we find Spiner talking about the decision to return Data to his more childlike nature in INSURRECTION. He talks about the joy in playing Data as a wide-open character without any blueprint from previous films and TV series. He shares his thoughts about doing comedy on TREK and his ability to play serious moments with the thought of comedy in the back of his mind. Spiner relates how TREK attracts actors from a theatrical stage background and likens TREK to a cross between Shakespeare and Superman. Looking for a new game to play? Try "Six Degrees of Brent Spiner" or "Six Degrees of STAR TREK"! In the third TREK roundtable segment (10:50), Bond, Pascale, Anderson, and Nemecek offer their thoughts on INSURRECTION. All agree that the movie worked as a nice two-part episode and not as a movie altogether. Anderson points out the themes of the fountain of youth and cosmetic surgery gone amok in the film. They agree that more comedy could have been brought out in the context of the film, that Data's childlike exploration worked in the film, and that Michael Piller took a huge risk in portraying Starfleet as the bad guys in the movie. Nemecek mentions the Quark cut scene that didn't make the final film, or the previous DVDs, or this Blu-ray for that matter - hey, Paramount, where is it? Finally, the third Starfleet Academy segment (3:00) focuses on the origins of the Ba'ku/Son'a conflict.
From there we turn our attention to the NEMESIS disc in the set, beginning with a brand-new audio commentary with Mike and Denise Okuda. These two are a fun listen, as they discuss their knowledge on everything related to the TREK franchise and NEMESIS in particular. Their encyclopedic knowledge of STAR TREK is evident in this commentary, and having chatted with them previously upon the release of the first Original Series Blu-ray set (which, by the way, is on the Season One Blu-ray as a BD-Live extra!), they're also true fans of the franchise. This is followed by the first of the six new features on the disc, the ten-minute "Reunion with the Rikers", featuring Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis. Their humor and on-screen relationship is highly evident here as they pitch "Rikers in Space", complete with their son Data and their pet dog Worf! Seriously, they talk about how their on-screen relationship had grown so much in INSURRECTION and NEMESIS where at some overseas fan conventions they are treated like the Beatles. Frakes discusses how he and his wife Genie Francis, and Sirtis and her real-life husband, are all friends and enjoy hanging out together, as well as how he and Sirtis and the entire TNG cast have all remained friends after the end of the series and feature films. We then have a five-minute feature, "Robot Hall of Fame", which recognizes Data's contributions alongside Robby the Robot and R2-D2, as well as the real-life technology of robotics in the world today. We also have "Today's Tech, Tomorrow's Data" (4:23), which further addresses the advances of technology in cybernetics and the creation of more advanced robots that may one day emulate everyone's favorite android.
Continuing with the fourth Brent Spiner installment (9:18), he shares how he met with John Logan after a performance of "1776" and how they developed a spec story together for a fourth film about alternate realities. He mentions Patrick Stewart's misgivings about the initial script and the evolution of the character Shinzon, and how he developed some of the more exciting action pieces for the script. Spiner concludes his discussion of how his aging just doesn't correlate with Data's character anymore and of how he doesn't regret one moment of feeling cheated out of the progress of Data's character from start to finish. In the final TREK roundtable (10:26), Nemecek, Pascale, Anderson, and Bond discuss their thoughts on the darkness of NEMESIS, the final focus of the Romulans as the villains and the introduction of the Remans in the film, the excitement of the Enterprise-Romulan-Reman space battle, the comparisons to the King Arthur saga in the Picard-Shinzon showdown, and John Logan's plans for a sequel that never materialized. The panel agrees that TNG deserved a final big adventure a la STAR TREK VI and didn't get it. The final Starfleet Academy segment (2:27) focuses on the development of thalaron radiation and its use as a Romulan/Reman weapon.
The final disc in the set, STAR TREK: Evolutions, is a mixed bag at best, though it's meant to compare with the bonus disc on the previous movie collection set. Unlike the aforementioned disc on the previous set, which featured a good roundtable discussion, this disc combines several assorted features on the franchise itself. We start off with the 14-minute "The Evolution of the Enterprise", introduced by Leonard Nimoy and "future" historian John Eaves, who discusses the development of the various starships over 200 years. Next, in "The Villains of STAR TREK" (14:04), director Nicholas Meyer and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman discuss the strength and power of villainy within the feature films, profiling Khan, Kruge, General Chang, Sybok, Soran, the Borg Queen, Shinzon, and the most interesting unsung villain of the entire movie series (think BAMBI!). In "I Love the STAR TREK Movies" (4:34) Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Bryan Fuller, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Terry Erdmann, and Mike Fuller discuss the fun factor of watching the movies - this one's pretty much a geek piece at best. This is followed by "Farewell to STAR TREK: The Experience" (28:06), which closed on September 1, 2008 at the Las Vegas Hilton. This feature follows around the actors getting into costume for what will be their last day. It's a rather overly long piece, to be sure. Continuing in this thread are two additional spots on the Klingon Encounter and the 4-D Borg Invasion adventures, at 3:29 and 5:12, respectively, which give viewers an idea of what those audience adventures were like. Rounding out the disc is "Charting the Final Frontier", hosted by Geoffrey Mandel, author of the STAR TREK Star Charts trade paperback. This interactive feature spotlights the various locations seen in the feature films.
At the head of each of the first four discs are two trailers. The first is for J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK, which, quite interestingly enough, touts the film as "now available on DVD and Blu-ray" - and it's not coming out until November! Go figure. The other trailer is an updated version of the previous movie collection trailer, now with the NEXT GENERATION movie set listed, as well as Seasons 1 and 2 of the Original Series on Blu-ray. Each of the four discs also has the Starfleet library computer access, developed by Mike and Denise Okuda - basically a pop-up trivia track on the various characters, ships, locations, items, etc. used in each of the feature films. This essentially replaces the trivia tracks seen on the previous DVD releases, but they are also comparable to what can be found in the STAR TREK Encyclopedia. It's a nice added feature that takes you further into the film. Furthermore, each film has BD-Live capacity, which means you can log onto the Internet while watching the movie and test your knowledge of all things TREK in several different STAR TREK I.Q. tests.
Missing in action are the remaining deleted scenes from GENERATIONS, INSURRECTION, and NEMESIS, which provide further interesting bits of character byplay and action from each of the respective films. Also missing are the TV spots for each film (at least ten spots for each film) as well as the HBO First Look special on FIRST CONTACT, and the 2003 German teaser trailer and Showtime special on the making of NEMESIS (the latter of which really isn't much of a loss considering all of the footage in the program can be found on all the various NEMESIS bonus features). It amounts to fluff for the most part, but it would still have been nice to have them included for completion's sake.
One problem I encountered came with loading in the NEMESIS disc. For some reason the disc wouldn't play at all. This turned out to be an issue of my Playstation 3 system needing an upgrade from version 2.42 to the current version 3.01. After doing some checking around it required getting a $20 Ethernet cable from Wal-Mart, installing it onto the PS3 and my computer, and voila! I was up and running again. You shouldn't have any such systems issues depending on the Blu-ray player or system version on your PS3 - just make sure that your PS3 is using version 3.01.
Final Thoughts:
Like the previous movie collection, the NEXT GENERATION movie collection is a nice upgrade from the previous DVD releases with some pretty good additional features of its own. (The TNG collection is also available in a five-disc DVD set with just the new extras accompanying each film, along with the Evolutions disc in the set. In addition, FIRST CONTACT is also individually available as a single-disc release on Blu-ray.) The visual quality of the films alone is well worth the price. If you haven't picked up the films in their previous incarnations and want the best-looking prints around, this is your cup of Earl Grey. And since everything has been carried over to this new set, it may be worth the upgrade. For those who have not yet or don't prefer to take the Blu-ray plunge, the DVD versions may suit you just fine.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
http://trekweb.com/articles/2009/10/16/BluRay-Review-nbsp-The-Next-Generation-Motion-Picture-Collection.shtml
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