Even though I was not a major fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine having limited experience watching the series, What We Left Behind is still a compelling enough documentary.
What We Left Behind
– Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine –
(2019)
Genre(s): Documentary
Shout Factory | NR – 116 min. – $22.99 | August 6, 2019
Date Published: 08/02/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.5/5 |
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Synopsis: What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine celebrates the 25th anniversary of the self-proclaimed “black sheep” of the Star Trek spin-off series. Often described as dark and edgy, Deep Space Nine was maligned by many fans and critics at the time as a show that did not fit into Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future. But now, two decades after it left the airwaves, Deep Space Nine is being rediscovered by new, younger fans through streaming services, and championed by those who stuck by it from the start. Quick Hit Review: Must admit up-front, I’ve only seen a few episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (via Amazon Prime) and don’t even own it on home video (I do own The Original Series and The Next Generation on Blu-ray, and Voyager on DVD). That being said, I do like these sort of documentaries and although I’m not entirely familiar with the subject matter outside of the basics, this was quite entertaining and done more like some television special, which is not a bad thing. It does include interviews, some conducted in 2015 and 2017) with the main players, with the occasional archive footage to round things out. There are parts more interesting the others, for instance I found the origins and fan reactions to the show back in 1993 to be engaging versus the writers’ room segment where Ira Steven Behr and other Deep Space Nine writers sit in a room coming up with a story for a theoretical season eight debut episode. Whether you’re a fan of Deep Space Nine or just a casual viewer like myself, this is still a fascinating documentary with a different style compared with others in the genre. It’s nothing profound or anything and probably don’t place it with some of the best, but still worth checking out. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover. Features include an Introduction (1:43) by Ira Steven Behr, A Brief History of Deep Space Nine (3:19) featurette giving a primer of the series, many Deleted Scenes (47:43) that didn’t make it into the final film, Filmmaker HD Discussion (15:21) featurette, More from the Fans (12:40) is some extra footage of fan reactions to the show, Behind the Scenes at the Variety Photoshoot (1:44) and the Theatrical Trailer (2:25). |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| Shout Factory releases the film presented in 1080p high-definition transfer, and shown with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio. The picture looks fine, detail is sharp and even the inserted clips of the show were remastered in HD by the documentary team. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds good though of course the vast majority is dialogue so you’re really not going to all that much depth or usage of the front and rear channels outside of some music or ambient noises. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Even though I was not a major fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine having limited experience watching the series, What We Left Behind is still a compelling enough documentary that at the hands of Ira Steven Behr and David Zappone, this is well worth checking out. |