I’ve always come down strongly on the Star Wars side in the ultimate battle of sci-fi franchises, but getting acquainted with the origins of Star Trek has given me a respect for the series and the melding of thought and entertainment that was so deftly pulled off by Roddenberry and company.
The Star Trek Season 1 Blu-ray set includes all 29 episodes from the first season on seven discs.
The Blu-ray Disc
Star Trek is presented in 1080p high definition with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The remastering process that took place for these episodes several years ago has left us with an image that belies its age. For the most part, these episodes look fantastic, with extremely sharp detail and a bold color palette. The image is almost always crisp and clean, with blacks, skin tones, and colors looking distinct. The prints have been cleaned up nicely, with only small occurrences of dirt or damage showing up occasionally. The gaudy color scheme of both the uniforms and the sets is a strong visual attraction, with greens and reds especially vibrant.
Strangely, there do appear to be some shots that were not remastered or cleaned up at all, showing a huge contrast between the preceding and following shots. This takes place in several episodes, including “Mudd’s Women” and “Miri,” and apparently, it’s just an oversight. Seeing these fuzzy, distorted, and pale images only reinforces how well the visuals have been improved.
Also included are enhanced visual effects, which were recently created and most often replace exterior shots of the Enterprise, as well as images on the monitors inside the spacecraft. Smaller details like phaser blasts have been enhanced as well. In a great move by the distributors, every episode can be viewed either with the enhanced effects or the original ones, and it can be switched in-episode by virtue of the angle button.
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