{"id":5870,"date":"2013-05-05T17:08:39","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T00:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=5870"},"modified":"2021-06-02T00:02:45","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T07:02:45","slug":"review-startrek-tng-s3-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2013\/05\/review-startrek-tng-s3-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Three Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d Season Three<\/b> is a fantastic entry into the \u201cTrek\u201d universe with masterful storytelling, excellent character development and solid performances from the main cast… yes, even Wil Wheaton\u2019s Crusher wasn\u2019t as annoying as he had been the season before. The season featured some incredible episodes headlined by \u2018Best of Both Worlds Part 1\u2019.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
\n“Star Trek: The Next Generation”: Season Three (1989-90)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Genre(s): <\/b>Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama
\nParamount | NR \u2013 1181 min. \u2013 $129.99 | April 30, 2013<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/span>Directed by: <\/b>Various
\nWriter(s): <\/b>Gene Roddenberry (created by)
\nCast: <\/b>Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:
\n<\/span>Features: <\/b>Episode Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, Episodic Promos
\nNumber of Discs: <\/b>6<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/b>English (DTS-HD MA 7.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 1.0), German (Dolby Digital 1.0), Castilian (Dolby Digital 1.0), Italian (Dolby Digital 1.0), Japanese (Dolby Digital 1.0)
\nVideo: <\/b>1080p\/Full Frame 1.33
\nSubtitles: <\/b>English SDH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Castilian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Swedish
\nDisc Size: <\/b>Various
\nCodec: <\/b>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/b>A, B, C<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

THE SEASON <\/strong>\u2013 4.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d <\/b>was an amazing series that, even with chaotic quality in its episodes through the first two seasons, has stood the test of time but for myself, and as a novice and not a Trekkie, the third season really took science fiction to new levels with incredible storytelling and a cast that continued to further coalesce.<\/p>\n

Season three offers some amazing storylines throughout and even what I considered \u201cfiller\u201d episodes presented some wonderful internal conflict between the main cast. Some of the highlights of this season were headlined by \u2018The Offspring\u2019, one of the more emotional episodes finding Data creating a new, sentient, being that he calls his own and develops her own consciousness. The episode especially showed how good of an actor Brent Spiner was as Data having to play an android with no human emotions and yet get across his \u201clove\u201d, for what it was, for his daughter.<\/p>\n

Another standout came out only 4 episodes later with \u2018Tin Man\u2019 as the Enterprise<\/i> and her crew take on a Federation emissary who has incredibly powerful telepathic capabilities to the point he can hear the thoughts of every single member on board. The episode explores the idea of loneliness as this telepath finds a kinship with a nearly extinct species that had been wondering the galaxy, and beyond, for thousands of years attempting to find companionship only to finally wanting to die in front of an unstable star that is set to explode.<\/p>\n

Of course, however, the stellar and arguably breakout episode, is the season three finale, \u2018The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1\u201d in which the Starship Enterprise<\/i> go up against The Borg. The cubed-shaped ship has entered into Federation Territory and has an ultimatum for the Enterprise<\/i>: Picard must go to them or else be destroyed. No negotiating. Captain Picard attempts to fight but ultimately is taken forcing Riker, promoted by the Federation to Captain, to stop the Borg as it pushes its way to Sector 001: Earth. It\u2019s a great start to the two-part episode which concluded in the fourth season premiere.<\/p>\n

But on the whole, even the \u201clesser\u201d episodes, are fantastic filled with great conflict, some wonderful character moments and stories which are at least compelling if not fun (see \u2018Hollow Pursuits\u2019). Where the stories might\u2019ve been weak in the first two seasons, this year they were mostly strong and were the beginning of the rise of \u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d<\/b> turning it into the cult classic television series it\u2019s known today.<\/p>\n

Episode List (favorites with an asterisk):
\n<\/b>1. Evolution
\n2. The Ensigns of Command
\n3. The Survivors
\n4. Who Watches the Watchers
\n5. The Bonding*
\n6. Booby Trap*
\n7. The Enemy
\n8. The Price
\n9. The Vengeance Factor
\n10. The Defector
\n11. The Hunted*
\n12. The High Ground
\n13. D\u00e9j\u00e0 Q*
\n14. A Matter of Perspective
\n15. Yesterday\u2019s Enterprise*
\n16. The Offspring*
\n17. Sins of the Father
\n18. Allegiance
\n19. Captain\u2019s Holiday
\n20. Tin Man*
\n21. Hollow Pursuits*
\n22. The Most Toys
\n23. Sarek
\n24. Menage a Troi
\n25. Transfigurations
\n26. The Best of Both Worlds Part 1*<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As with seasons one and two, this release comes with a matted slip cover<\/b>. The 6-disc set is housed in an HD Keep Case (wider than a standard Blu-ray case).<\/p>\n

Episode Commentaries
\n<\/span><\/b>\u2018The Bonding\u2019 \u2013 Ronald D. Moore (writer\/producer) and Mike & Denise Okuda
\n\u2018Yesterday\u2019s Enterprise\u2019 \u2013 Ronald D. Moore, Ira Steven Behr and Mike & Denise Okuda
\n\u2018Yesterday\u2019s Enterprise\u2019 \u2013 David Carson (director)
\n\u2018The Offspring\u2019 \u2013 Rene Echevarria (writer) and Mike & Denis Okuda
\n\u2018Sins of the Father\u2019 \u2013 Ronald D. Moore, Dan Curry (visual effects supervisor) and Mike & Denise Okuda<\/p>\n

Disc 1:
\nMission Overview: Year Three (17:41; SD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 This featurette takes us on a trip showing some of the highlights of the third season from the perspective of the producers and others.<\/p>\n

Disc 2:
\nSelected Crew Analysis: Year Three (13:51; SD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 In another archival featurette, we get more interviews with the cast talking about the characters, stories, etc. and others involved with the series.<\/p>\n

Disc 3:
\nDepartment Briefing Year Three: Memorable Missions (13:25; SD)<\/span><\/b> finds the cast and crew chatting about some of the highlight missions of the third season.<\/p>\n

Disc 4:
\nDepartment Briefing Year Three: Production (20:04; SD)<\/span><\/b> shows the behind-the-scenes aspect of season three with on-set and sit down interviews with members of the crew.<\/p>\n

Disc 5:
\nGag Reel (8:37; SD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Line flubs and on-set antics adorn this reel.<\/p>\n

Disc 6:
\n\u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d, Inside the Writer\u2019s Room (1:10:52; HD)<\/span><\/b> gives incredible insight into the writing process that took place over the course of the season with a reunion with four of the writers with Seth MacFarlane serving as moderator. It\u2019s an amazing featurette that shows the comradery of the writers as they recall the series and its cultural impact.<\/p>\n

Resistance is Futile: Assimilating \u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d (TRT 1:30:00; HD)
\nPart One: Biological Distinctiveness (30:02; HD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 This new featurette explores the series and the expansion of the storytelling and character development.<\/p>\n

Part Two: Technological Distinctiveness (29:54; HD)<\/span><\/b> continues the exploration of the series with more new interviews with the writers and producers as they look back and talk about some of the internal conflict on and off the set.<\/p>\n

Part Three: The Collective (30:04; HD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 The final chapter has the interviewees, including Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn and others in the cast, talking about how the series really came together, especially the third season. It\u2019s really cool to see the new interviews with the cast as they chat about the characters and experiences on the show.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Tribute to Michael Piller (13:50; HD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 This featurette finds the cast\/crew talk about the late Michael Piller who served as one of the major influential writers in the franchise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Paramount once again releases \u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d Season Three<\/b> on Blu-ray presented in brilliant 1080p high-definition. The restoration work done here is just as amazing as the first two seasons. The picture itself shows no signs of specs or artifacting, the color array is nicely balanced, especially noticeable on the uniforms, and the detail work on the Enterprise exteriors is remarkable. While the first two seasons also looked brilliant, the season three transfer might be slightly ahead. Simply put, restoration work on a series of its age, and issues not foreseeing high-definition, is astounding.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

AUDIO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On a similar front, each episode once again receives a robust 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which comes through with excellent clarity from one episode to the next. You can clearly hear each beep and boop of the Enterprise<\/i> computer, the dialogue levels are deep but not overbearing and any time we do get action, it really helps fill out each and every available channel. Again, seeing the limitations, the work done here is amazing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OVERALL \u2013 4.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, \u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d Season Three<\/b> is a fantastic entry into the \u201cTrek\u201d universe with masterful storytelling, excellent character development and solid performances from the main cast… yes, even Wil Wheaton\u2019s Crusher wasn\u2019t as annoying as he had been the season before. The season featured some incredible episodes headlined by \u2018Best of Both Worlds Part 1\u2019. The Blu-ray released by Paramount once again has amazing video\/audio transfers and features which are more than satisfying for Trekkies and novices alike.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

The Movieman
\n<\/i>Published: <\/b>05\/02\/2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cStar Trek: The Next Generation\u201d Season Three is a fantastic entry into the \u201cTrek\u201d universe with masterful storytelling, excellent character development and solid performances from the main cast… yes, even Wil Wheaton\u2019s Crusher wasn\u2019t as annoying as he had been the season before. The season featured some incredible episodes headlined by \u2018Best of Both Worlds … Continue reading “Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Three Blu-ray Review”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[801,2181,2177,2178,2180,2179,1769,2046],"class_list":["post-5870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-brent-spiner","tag-gene-roddenberry","tag-jonathan-frakes","tag-levar-burton","tag-marina-sirtis","tag-michael-dorn","tag-patrick-stewart","tag-star-trek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5870"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26474,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870\/revisions\/26474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}