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Star Trek - The Original Series - Series 1 - Complete - Remastered [DVD] [1966] | ![Star Trek - The Original Series - Series 1 - Complete - Remastered [DVD] [1966]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41soOHVObWL._SL160_.jpg) | Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £39.99
Buy New: £29.48
as of 22/11/2009 01:37 GMT details
You Save: £10.51 (26%)
New (6) Used (1) from £24.98
Seller: Amazon.co.uk
Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 815
Format: PAL
Languages: French (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), Italian (Subtitled), Catalan (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Region: 2
Number Of Discs: 8
Running Time: 1402 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.5 x 1.2
EAN: 5014437102133
ASIN: B001S3GDTK
Theatrical Release Date: 1966
Release Date: April 27, 2009
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 36
 A REVIEW OF THE BOX SET ITSELF. April 27, 2009
B. Pritchard (Manchester, U.K.)
82 out of 85 found this review helpful
Let's face it, the stories and subject matter of the episodes themselves have been discussed and reviewed at length in reviews of the previous releases of the series, therefore I shall concentrate this review on just the new box sets themselves, and of course on the new remastered and completely re-worked CGI effects (FX) contained in them.
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br /First of all the box set packaging: The unbelievably slimline sets arrive in fancy steel cases, with artwork as pictured in this listings. Inside the steel case is a plastic DVD case the likes of which I'm starting to see a lot more often, of which I believe they refer to as a Scanavo 'brick' style case. Basically it is like a very fat version of an Amaray case that can hold up to 8 DVD's in a very small amount of space - two discs each set inside both the front and back of the case, and a fold out 'leaf' that can hold up to two discs on either side of it - in the case of season 1 there are the full 8 discs. The actual spindle/lock mechanisms that keep the discs in place are very strong, and it is quite hard to get the discs out without bending them....it can be quite fiddly at first, and somewhat of a strain. I believe after a little bit of use they should loosen up a bit, making it easier to get at the discs.
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br /Now the episodes themselves have never looked better. I believe Youtube is a great source of side-by-side comparisons of the original FX and this all new, completely re-worked CGI FX. But let me tell you what I think...the new CGI looks astonishingly good. I believe CBS Digital purposefully never utilised the full capability of today's CGI wizardry, as if it came out looking 100% photo realistic, it would be jarring for the viewer when it went from space CGI FX to the live action sequences...which let us not forget was all shot in the late 1960's. So they had to strike a balance, and for me they got it spot on. The new CGI blends beautifully with the live scenes. So, gone are the slightly wobbly models of old, hello to stunning new CGI ships with their fluid and more realistic animation. Gone are the old star fields and planets, hello to new CGI based star fields and planets - both of which actually do look photo real to me. Space and the ship models are not the only area to benefit from the new CGI - some of the the old flat matte painting backdrops that feature cityscapes and what-have-you have been replaced with new CGI ones. These CGI backdrops have much more depth and detail to them. They are very welcome indeed. Elsewhere you will spot other subtle touch ups, one of which I liked was the ending of the season 2 episode 'Catspaw'...where no longer are the alien creatures dancing around on string....the string is no more. For me that typifies why they have done this work...as quite simply it makes the series look better. Simple as that. Let us not take anything away from what was achieved back then, as I love Star Trek just the way it was, as I'm sure do you, but let us also not kid ourselves.....Star Trek The Original Series has never looked better than this.
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br /All in all the work compliments what they achieved back in the 60's, and let us not forget that what they achieved back then was stunning and state-of-the-art for its time, but I firmly believe that had Gene Roddenberry been able to use today's technology, he would. Therefore I would like to think he would approve of the work done here. After all, nothing of the stories and subject matter have been changed, as George Lucas did with his restoration of Star Wars...it is purely a lick of digital paint. And if this is what it takes for the series to appeal to a younger generation of fans raised on mindboggling CGI, then I for one approve whole-heartedly. I've heard of dads trying to get their kids into TOS, only to see them giggle at the FX of old. No longer will that be the case, and TOS is now ready to accept a whole new legion of young fans that will no doubt have their interest sparked by JJ Abrams new movie. If purists do not like the FX, then by all means....go to eBay and buy the previous DVD releases if you don't already own them. Personally I now own both versions, and I am a huge fan of both. If I could only take one version of the sets on a desert island with me, however, these are the sets I would take.
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br /Aside from the new CGI FX, the actual prints themselves have been cleaned and restored to beautiful effect. The true colours of the show are now very much in evidence...including a subtly green skinned Mr Spock, which comes as a big surprise to a lot of people...as this just never came through on TV or on previous releases. Kirk's once dull mustard coloured uniform shirt is actually a subtle lime green colour, for example. Nothing has been falsely created to acquire these colours....they have always been hiding away waiting to be revealed. At first I was worried this all wouldn't come through so much on the DVD versions, as they had first been reported in the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD reviews, but I can attest that the standard definition sets also benefit greatly. Of course the details will sing and dance a lot more in HD, but for SD DVD prints these are simply stunning. All hairs, dust and whatever else have been laboriously removed to leave them literally gleaming. The prints are, in a word, immaculate. If you use an upscaling DVD player with a HDMI connection, as do I, they look even better still. A great halfway house between bog standard SD and full HD.
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br /Some fans may be a little sore that once again the episodes are presented in air date order, as many fans seem to prefer production order...but as TOS has always been episodic in nature, with no particular story arc to speak of, this doesn't bother me at all. I've always found watching in production order to be quite novel....but the novelty soon wears thin.
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br /As regards special features (as listed on the packaging of Season 1):
br /They include: 'Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest' (rare home movies and special memories), 'Spacelift' (transporting Trek into the 21st century), 'Life Beyond Trek' (William Shatner), 'Reflections as Spock', 'Sci-Fi Visionaries' and 'Star Trek Beyond the Final Frontier'...and "much more" (which I guess means that there are more features than this, although that is all it actually lists on the box). So it appears that the bulk of the features included on the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray sets have remained intact for their DVD counterparts. One thing that never made it over would have actually been impossible given the capacity restrictions of the DVD format, and that was having a choice of both the original FX and the new CGI FX, which I know the Blu-Ray format gives you via fancy seamless branching. I am sure there are a small few other features that Blu-Ray has that would have been impossible on DVD, but rest assured that all the important stuff (documentaries, featurettes, interviews and what-have-you) from the HD releases are all present and correct. This is excellent news to those fans, like myself, not ready to make the jump to HD.
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br /As regards audio and language specifications:
br /The audio languages are: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The bad news however is that only English is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and the rest are mono. I have run it through my amp to test that it isn't a misprint...I'm afraid not, it is Dolby 2 channel mono on all but the English track. This will be a shame to many as I know that lots of German fans in particular bought the slimline sets of TNG, DS9 and VOY here on Amazon UK (cheaper)....which I believe all contained a German 5.1 Dolby track. Subtitled languages on these new sets are: English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.
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br /So there you have it. A fantastic DVD release. Easily the definitive DVD release of the original series. I bought all three seasons, and I am so glad I did. I had already managed to see a few of the restored episodes before now, but to own them all in my own collection is quite a feeling. I whole-heartedly recommend that you order all three. I can assure you, you will not be dissapointed.
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Amazingly remastered. March 2, 2009
VC (london)
28 out of 30 found this review helpful
The remastered original trek episodes are fantastic, so much attention and love has gone in to them and it shows when you watch them, the new added effects look amazing and yet still look like they belong.
br / The negative reviews are unfair as they are not reviewing these box sets but are un happy with the fact that the HD ones are no longer in production because blu ray has won the war. I also bought the HD box set but I chose to do so before the victor came through now that's my fault and no one else's. I have not got money to throw away and am upset at having to now try to sell my other set but I will be buying these sets with out fail.
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Lovingly And Respectively Remastered - Adds A Whole New Dimension To Star Trek April 28, 2009
Jervis
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I think it's fair to say i'm a traditionalist, which pretty much means i'm stubbornly of the opinion that Star Trek worked best in its original sixties format whether that may be style, colour, dramatic storylines, choice of music, etc. and even down to the special effects - well certainly those relating to the look of the Enterprise. True, the Next Generation's effects were far more elaborate and fancy, but for me their Enterprise never really had the kind of gravitas afforded it, it was so wrapped up in effects, almost to the point of appearing just a touch cartoonish (in my opinion). Maybe this is the reason i felt a little wary of the new remastered version of the original series, especially considering many the old effects had been replaced by more up to date technology. I really needn't have worried, however, because these new features only seem to enhance what the original effects could only have dreamed of, because ultimately they stay true to the spirit of the original series. The stock scenes of the original series which were repeated time and time again have now given way to fresh more state of the art scenes which are pretty much exclusive to each of the storylines individually. This adds no end to the scope of the show, especially in the episodes where special effects appear prominantly, and it gives Star Trek that extra dimension it could only ever have dreamed of at its sixties outset. Even the music has been re recorded, but again it has been done so with a great deal of love and respect for its original style. In fact the new music aspect is hardly noticeable aside from the fact the music has a much fresher and cleaner feel to it.
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br /Aside from the new effects, the first season of the original Star Trek series is arguably the best in terms of possessing consistently strong storylines (Season two was perhaps the greatest in terms of developing the characterisation more fully). There's a greater attention to detail within the scripts than what was to come later (season three).
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br /Generally this DVD set opens up a whole new dimension to Star Trek without ever jeapodising the original vision of the show. The show has been handled with genuine love and affection by those who have been assigned to work on its upgrade, and also with considerable respect. For that i cannot voice my appreciation enough.
Finally the remastered trek on standard dvd, no mucking around having to get a HD or Blue ray palyer April 1, 2009
Lurker (UK)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
Ignore the negative reviews here, its just people bitching and whining about the DVD\HDDVD versions that were originally released, if you want that quality just buy a blueray player and buy the blueray versions for twice this price.
some people are just never satisfied April 20, 2009
tell it like it is (UK)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
One of my fave SF tv shows of all time, the first series of trek along with "the prisoner", "red dwarf", and "babylon 5"
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br /When i first heard that they were going to add new CGI amd remaster these shows (yet again) i was cynical about it all.
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br /I was wrong.
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br /This dvd set is great, the new cgi is tastefully and seemlessly done. It segs in nicely with the old footage. I have a lot of these episodes on previous incarnations, but to be honest if i want to watch any episodes i dip into these newly mastered discs instead.
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br /In comparison the new CGI fits in beautifully and there is no self conscious extra footage so the pace of the episodes is not interrupted. The remastered normal footage looks cleaner and less grainy with more detail, scrathes have been removed and there is a better contrasting color balance, the sound is slightly improved over older versions. The opening sequence has been re recorded and Shatner's opening line remastered. The remastered segments are mainly matte backdrop effects ie cities, planets and shots of ships, the rest is intact, so all the rubber monsters and often shaky sets are retained whether good or bad.
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br /The remastering is a big improvement over the previous one and the new CGI pays great homage to the original team that designed and made the show. Forget the negative nay sayers, this is how the show should have been remastered in the first place. The standard definition version looks good, but it is well worth forking out the extra money if you want blu ray definition. The old cgi footage is there if you really want to watch it. The episodes which gain most from the new cgi are "Galileo 7" "where no man..." "a taste of armageddon" and "corbomite maneover"
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br /The show has never looked better. Recommended.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 36
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