Speaking as a mere casual fan (for shame!), Star Trek Beyond is a solid entry in the Trek franchise that in some ways matches with the 2009 semi-reboot and excels primarily with this young cast that I hope get at least one more shot as the marketing on this one really did not do it justice
50 Years of Star Trek isn’t a bad documentary but by the same token, nothing overly special outside of that it features the final interview with the late Leonard Nimoy and perhaps that alone is worth the price admission.
Star Trek Into Darkness is a sometimes fun summer blockbuster featuring a great cast, decent story (even with some of the lazier plot points) and amazing visual effects. It’s a nice addition to the Star Trek franchise though my hopes any problems with the plot, or lack of originality, is corrected with the upcoming Star Trek Beyond.
Star Trek (2009) is an incredibly fun and innovative way to reboot the long-running franchise. The story is interesting enough but what makes the movie excel is with the ensemble Abrams and company put together from Pine to Quinto to Urban, who often steals the show.
Star Trek: The Next Generation”: The Complete Series would make the perfect set… for the few who don’t already own the individual releases. While it is nice to have the series in one box, I actually kind of prefer the season sets as they are easier to handle, but as it is, and if you can get it at a good price, it might be worth picking up.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is not only the best film among the Trek franchise but one of the best science fiction movies below The Empire Strikes Back. The performances are all great but Ricardo Montalban easily steals the show. This new release finally includes The Director’s Cut which should’ve been with the original collection.
“Star Trek”: The Original Series is a cheap option for those non-Trekkies to get a few solid episodes from the three seasons the show aired. Of course, if you are a fan, you already have all of these, even in high-definition for the Blu-ray releases, you get nothing out of this “best of” collection.
While this season, and the series as a whole, had a few clunkers, the vast majority of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was a fun ride culminating with a satisfying quasi-series finale (Star Trek: Generations would be released 6 months later) thanks to a stellar cast who had wonderful chemistry with one another.
This Star Trek “The Compendium” 4-disc set is certainly a cash-grab by Paramount but with a low SRP, those who don’t already own either set might be swayed to get this one as it contains a plethora of bonus features and for big fans, about 30-minutes of IMAX footage on Star Trek Into Darkness. However, if you already own either movie, skip this altogether especially since I’m sure there will be a trilogy set once the third film is released on home video.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation”: Chain of Command is a solid two-part episode highlighted more by the performances and plot than the set-up which was at best forced. Still, Patrick Stewart’s acting is some of his best ever on the series and Ronny Cox’s appearance gives that storyline some weight and decent drama.
The sixth season of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is one heck of a ride and provides a wide variety from intense drama (‘Chain of Command’), nostalgia (‘Relics’), psychological thriller (‘Frame of Mind’), romance (‘Lessons’) and even comedy (‘Rascals’). It’s not a perfect season as there are a couple episodes I didn’t care for, but on the whole the writing is sharp and the acting top notch.
“Enterprise”: Season Four was a big step forward for the series producing some of the best and most memorable drama maybe through all of the “Trek” series. Unfortunately, thanks to so-so ratings and a floundering network, it was too little too late; at least now it’s memorialized on Blu-ray high-definition and filled with a plethora number of features.
“Star Trek: Enterprise”: Season Three is the “Star Trek” fans wanted providing for some amazing stories and a season-long story arc to go along with remarkable performances from the core cast.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation” continues to find its footing and one can see its progression from season one to season five. While there are a few iffy episodes this year, the greats easily outweigh them.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation”: Unification is a highlight in the fourth and fifth seasons of the series featuring the, at the time, long-awaited appearance of one of the main cast members of the original series (yes, I know Deforest Kennedy had a cameo in the pilot). The two-part episode isn’t as intense as “Best of Both Worlds” but they’re still an excellent inclusion in the series.