When
the seventh season rolled around, everyone knew that STAR TREK: THE
NEXT GENERATION was coming to the end of its television run. As a
fan of the show, I was sad to see it go, even though I knew that the crew
of the Enterprise was heading for the movie screen. However, to be perfectly
honest, I never thought that getting a movie every few years was as satisfying
as having twenty-six episodes being broadcast into my living room each
and every season. As for the seventh season itself, the cast and production
team took full advantage of the series swan song to push the envelope
and produced some of the show’s richest episodes, which offered some great
sci-fi, as well as exploring the characters and the depth of their relationships.
Completing the release of all seven seasons in less than a year, Paramount
Home Entertainment has made all twenty-six episodes of STAR TREK: THE
NEXT GENERATION SEASON SEVEN available on DVD in a seven disc boxed
set for an approximate retail price of $149.98.
Disc
one contains the episodes Descent, Part II, Liaisons,
Interface and Gambit, Part I. In Descent,
Part II, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), Chief Engineer LaForge
(LeVar Burton) and Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) find themselves prisoners
of the evil android Lore, who has also subjugated a group of Borg drones
and his own brother Data (Brent Spiner). Liaisons finds
Picard marooned on barren planet with a beautiful woman, while the Enterprise
plays host to an unusual alien diplomat. Interface has LaForge
experimenting with some new technology, which allows him to remotely control
a probe, in an attempt to rescue a ship from a decaying orbit. Strangely
enough, interfacing with the probe puts LaForge in contact with his mother,
who went missing in another sector of space and is believed dead. Gambit,
Part I finds the crew of the Enterprise investigating the supposed
death of Captain Picard in a bar fight.
Disc
two contains the episodes Gambit, Part II, Phantasms,
Dark Page and Attached. Gambit, Part
II concludes the story with Picard and Commander Riker (Jonathan
Frakes) posing as mercenaries to investigate a potentially dangerous artifact.
In Phantasms, Data’s dream program first gives rise to nightmares,
and then to a series of waking dreams that may endanger the rest of the
crew. Dark Page finds Counselor Troi’s visiting mother Lwaxana
(Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) falling into a coma, thus forcing Deanna to
use her telepathic abilities to discover the cause of her mother’s strange
malady. Attached explores the hidden feeling of Captain
Picard and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), when the two are linked by an
alien device, which allows them to read each other’s mind.
Disc
three contains the episodes Force of Nature, Inheritance,
Parallels and The Pegasus. Force of
Nature brings the Enterprise crew into a confrontation with two
alien scientists that claim that warp speed travel is unraveling the fabric
of space. Inheritance introduces Data to a woman claiming
to be his "mother," or at the very least, the ex-wife of his
creator, Dr. Noonian Soong. One of the series very best episodes, Parallels
finds Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) discovering the true meaning of the road
not taken when he begins randomly shifting between alternate versions
of reality. The Pegasus is another standout episode that
brings Riker face to face with his first commander, and places him on
a secret mission that drives a wedge between him and Picard.
Disc
four contains the episodes Homeward, Sub Rosa,
Lower Decks and Thine Own Self. Homeward
provides Worf with a bitter reunion with his adopted human brother, who
violates the Prime Directive in order to same a primitive race from certain
destruction. Sub Rosa finds Dr. Crusher saying goodbye to
her recently departed grandmother and hello to a handsome ghostly apparition,
who would seem to be a family legacy. Lower Decks turns
its focus away from the series main characters, and onto a group of junior
officers, one of whom is selected for a dangerous assignment. In Thine
Own Self, Data endangers a pre-industrialized culture, after his
memory wiped clean while retrieving a dangerous radioactive cargo from
their planet.
Disc
five contains the episodes Masks, Eye of the Beholder,
Genesis and Journey's End. In Masks,
an alien archive begins remaking the Enterprise in the image of its home
world. Eye of the Beholder finds Troi investigating the
cause an Enterprise crewmember’s suicide, which turns out to be something
completely unexpected and potentially hazardous to the empathic Counselor.
In Genesis, Picard and Data return to the Enterprise to
discover the ship disabled and the rest of the crew de-evolving into lower
life forms. In Journey's End, a visiting Wesley Crusher
(Wil Wheaton) begins to question his choice of a Starfleet career, while
Captain Picard is being forced to uproot a Native American tribe that
colonized a world that now falls under Cardassian jurisdiction.
Disc
six contains the episodes Firstborn, Bloodlines,
Emergence and Preemptive Strike. Firstborn
finds Worf and his son Alexander facing a potential threat from old family
enemies, and a shocking secret from the Klingon warrior who brings them
the information. In Bloodlines, a bitter Ferengi adversary
tries to take revenge on Picard by killing a son the Captain never knew
he had. Emergence leaves the crew of the Enterprise perplexed,
when the ship’s computer system begins exhibiting signs that it is becoming
sentient. Preemptive Strike marks the return Ro Laren (Michelle
Forbes), who is given an undercover assignment by Picard to infiltrate
a group of Federation dissidents, known as the Maquis.
Disc
seven contains the series finale All Good Things, which
ran originally as a two-hour movie and in later syndication as a two-part
episode. All Good Things ended the series on an incredibly
high note. Not only was this episode entertaining drama, it was great
science fiction. Taking the series full circle, All Good Things
finds Picard standing before omnipotent Q (John de Lancie) yet again;
with the fate of humanity hanging on the outcome of this seven-year long
trail. The plot of All Good Things follows Picard as he
becomes displaced in time; randomly shifting back and forth between three
separate time periods. At any given moment, Picard may finds himself seven
years in the past; when he took command of the Enterprise, or back in
the present, or even twenty-five years into the future, at a time when
he and his crew have all gone their separate ways. While standing before
Q Picard learns the reason for his shifting through time, as well as the
news that he will be personally responsible for extermination of the human
race.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made all of the episodes from STAR TREK: THE
NEXT GENERATION SEASON SEVEN available on DVD in their proper full
screen aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. Again, Paramount’s
DVD presentation greatly outshines the look of broadcast, although there
are certain production limitations inherent to these episodes that cannot
overcome, without redoing all of the postproduction work at the high definition
level. On the positive side, filmed sequences appear cleaner and crisper
than they do during any syndicated rerun. On the negative side, special
effects work that was completed on video does show some anomalies of its
analog NTSC origins.
Still,
I find the video presentations to be exceedingly pleasing, especially
since season seven show had the highest production values, which translated
into a very good-looking television show. Colors tend to be strongly rendered
with solid, stable hues and minimal noise or fuzziness. Blacks appear
highly accurate, whites are clean and shadow detail is good for a television
production. Contrast is a tad flat, but that is because of a lighting
design necessitated by the broadcast television realm. Digital compression
artifacts never become a concern, even when four forty-six minute episodes
are encoded onto the dual layered discs.
As
with the previous sets, all the episodes releases here have been upgraded
to Dolby Digital 5.1 channel mixes, and as such, continue to be impressive
for television fare. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION was a well
recorded and mixed television show for its time, which is evidenced by
the quality of these 5.1 channel tracks. Transcribing the pre-matrixed
surround stems to the discrete format provides stronger channel separation
and an even better sound than what was present on the Laserdisc release
of the show. Originating as a television mix, the episodes tend to be
front heavy, but the surround channels are effectively deployed for, engine
rumble, occasional active effects and musical fill for each episode’s
orchestral score. Dialogue is always crisply rendered and features excellent
intelligibility. The bass channel is impressively solid for television
fare and offers a nice deep rumble for the ship’s engines. English Dolby
Surround soundtracks are also encoded onto the DVDs, as are English subtitles.
Full
motion video, 3-D animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus, which utilize an interface reminiscent of a Starfleet computer
system. Through the menus, one has access to individual episodes and scene
selection within the episodes, as well as each disc’s set up features.
The menu system on disc seven also provides access to season seven’s supplemental
materials, which offer fairly similar content to what is found in the
previous box sets. In Mission Logs: Year Seven we find Mission
Overview, A Captain's Tribute, Departmental
Briefings: Production, Starfleet Moments And Memories
and The Making Of All Good Things.
Mission
Overview is a fourteen minute look at the chaotic final season
of the show, the segue to motion pictures, starting up a new StarTrek franchise, as well as the emotional final episode. A
Captain's Tribute is a sixteen-minute program that allows actor
Patrick Stewart to reflect back on the cast and crew of the show and share
his fondness and respect for everyone he worked with. Departmental
Briefings: Production details the difficulties involved with some
of the more challenging episodes, including one featuring first time director
Gates McFadden. Starfleet Moments And Memories is a thirty-minute
program that offers cast and crewmembers a fond look back on the past
seven years, as well as the continuing sense of family that grew out this
StarTrek franchise and playful atmosphere that developed
on the set of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. The Making
Of All Good Things provides a seventeen-minute look at the production
of the series final episode, including the challenges of depicting the
cast at different ages. Closing out the supplements is a video trailer
for the upcoming DVD release of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE in 2003
(I know I can't wait!!!).
Having
reviewed all seven seasons of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION on
DVD, I want to say bravo Paramount for a job very well done, as well as
sticking to an accelerated release schedule, which gave me more than a
daily dose of a television series that I love. The season seven box set
looks and sounds great for a television show produced in direct syndication,
and certainly provides a presentation that greatly exceeds the original
broadcasts. Not only that, but also this box set offers some of the series
very finest moments, making it something every fan will want to snatch
up instantly.
When
the seventh season rolled around, everyone knew that STAR TREK: THE
NEXT GENERATION was coming to the end of its television run. As a
fan of the show, I was sad to see it go, even though I knew that the crew
of the Enterprise was heading for the movie screen. However, to be perfectly
honest, I never thought that getting a movie every few years was as satisfying
as having twenty-six episodes being broadcast into my living room each
and every season. As for the seventh season itself, the cast and production
team took full advantage of the series swan song to push the envelope
and produced some of the show’s richest episodes, which offered some great
sci-fi, as well as exploring the characters and the depth of their relationships.
Completing the release of all seven seasons in less than a year, Paramount
Home Entertainment has made all twenty-six episodes of STAR TREK: THE
NEXT GENERATION SEASON SEVEN available on DVD in a seven disc boxed
set for an approximate retail price of $149.98.
Disc
one contains the episodes Descent, Part II, Liaisons,
Interface and Gambit, Part I. In Descent,
Part II, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), Chief Engineer LaForge
(LeVar Burton) and Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) find themselves prisoners
of the evil android Lore, who has also subjugated a group of Borg drones
and his own brother Data (Brent Spiner). Liaisons finds
Picard marooned on barren planet with a beautiful woman, while the Enterprise
plays host to an unusual alien diplomat. Interface has LaForge
experimenting with some new technology, which allows him to remotely control
a probe, in an attempt to rescue a ship from a decaying orbit. Strangely
enough, interfacing with the probe puts LaForge in contact with his mother,
who went missing in another sector of space and is believed dead. Gambit,
Part I finds the crew of the Enterprise investigating the supposed
death of Captain Picard in a bar fight.
Disc
two contains the episodes Gambit, Part II, Phantasms,
Dark Page and Attached. Gambit, Part
II concludes the story with Picard and Commander Riker (Jonathan
Frakes) posing as mercenaries to investigate a potentially dangerous artifact.
In Phantasms, Data’s dream program first gives rise to nightmares,
and then to a series of waking dreams that may endanger the rest of the
crew. Dark Page finds Counselor Troi’s visiting mother Lwaxana
(Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) falling into a coma, thus forcing Deanna to
use her telepathic abilities to discover the cause of her mother’s strange
malady. Attached explores the hidden feeling of Captain
Picard and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), when the two are linked by an
alien device, which allows them to read each other’s mind.
Disc
three contains the episodes Force of Nature, Inheritance,
Parallels and The Pegasus. Force of
Nature brings the Enterprise crew into a confrontation with two
alien scientists that claim that warp speed travel is unraveling the fabric
of space. Inheritance introduces Data to a woman claiming
to be his "mother," or at the very least, the ex-wife of his
creator, Dr. Noonian Soong. One of the series very best episodes, Parallels
finds Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) discovering the true meaning of the road
not taken when he begins randomly shifting between alternate versions
of reality. The Pegasus is another standout episode that
brings Riker face to face with his first commander, and places him on
a secret mission that drives a wedge between him and Picard.
Disc
four contains the episodes Homeward, Sub Rosa,
Lower Decks and Thine Own Self. Homeward
provides Worf with a bitter reunion with his adopted human brother, who
violates the Prime Directive in order to same a primitive race from certain
destruction. Sub Rosa finds Dr. Crusher saying goodbye to
her recently departed grandmother and hello to a handsome ghostly apparition,
who would seem to be a family legacy. Lower Decks turns
its focus away from the series main characters, and onto a group of junior
officers, one of whom is selected for a dangerous assignment. In Thine
Own Self, Data endangers a pre-industrialized culture, after his
memory wiped clean while retrieving a dangerous radioactive cargo from
their planet.
Disc
five contains the episodes Masks, Eye of the Beholder,
Genesis and Journey's End. In Masks,
an alien archive begins remaking the Enterprise in the image of its home
world. Eye of the Beholder finds Troi investigating the
cause an Enterprise crewmember’s suicide, which turns out to be something
completely unexpected and potentially hazardous to the empathic Counselor.
In Genesis, Picard and Data return to the Enterprise to
discover the ship disabled and the rest of the crew de-evolving into lower
life forms. In Journey's End, a visiting Wesley Crusher
(Wil Wheaton) begins to question his choice of a Starfleet career, while
Captain Picard is being forced to uproot a Native American tribe that
colonized a world that now falls under Cardassian jurisdiction.
Disc
six contains the episodes Firstborn, Bloodlines,
Emergence and Preemptive Strike. Firstborn
finds Worf and his son Alexander facing a potential threat from old family
enemies, and a shocking secret from the Klingon warrior who brings them
the information. In Bloodlines, a bitter Ferengi adversary
tries to take revenge on Picard by killing a son the Captain never knew
he had. Emergence leaves the crew of the Enterprise perplexed,
when the ship’s computer system begins exhibiting signs that it is becoming
sentient. Preemptive Strike marks the return Ro Laren (Michelle
Forbes), who is given an undercover assignment by Picard to infiltrate
a group of Federation dissidents, known as the Maquis.
Disc
seven contains the series finale All Good Things, which
ran originally as a two-hour movie and in later syndication as a two-part
episode. All Good Things ended the series on an incredibly
high note. Not only was this episode entertaining drama, it was great
science fiction. Taking the series full circle, All Good Things
finds Picard standing before omnipotent Q (John de Lancie) yet again;
with the fate of humanity hanging on the outcome of this seven-year long
trail. The plot of All Good Things follows Picard as he
becomes displaced in time; randomly shifting back and forth between three
separate time periods. At any given moment, Picard may finds himself seven
years in the past; when he took command of the Enterprise, or back in
the present, or even twenty-five years into the future, at a time when
he and his crew have all gone their separate ways. While standing before
Q Picard learns the reason for his shifting through time, as well as the
news that he will be personally responsible for extermination of the human
race.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made all of the episodes from STAR TREK: THE
NEXT GENERATION SEASON SEVEN available on DVD in their proper full
screen aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. Again, Paramount’s
DVD presentation greatly outshines the look of broadcast, although there
are certain production limitations inherent to these episodes that cannot
overcome, without redoing all of the postproduction work at the high definition
level. On the positive side, filmed sequences appear cleaner and crisper
than they do during any syndicated rerun. On the negative side, special
effects work that was completed on video does show some anomalies of its
analog NTSC origins.
Still,
I find the video presentations to be exceedingly pleasing, especially
since season seven show had the highest production values, which translated
into a very good-looking television show. Colors tend to be strongly rendered
with solid, stable hues and minimal noise or fuzziness. Blacks appear
highly accurate, whites are clean and shadow detail is good for a television
production. Contrast is a tad flat, but that is because of a lighting
design necessitated by the broadcast television realm. Digital compression
artifacts never become a concern, even when four forty-six minute episodes
are encoded onto the dual layered discs.
As
with the previous sets, all the episodes releases here have been upgraded
to Dolby Digital 5.1 channel mixes, and as such, continue to be impressive
for television fare. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION was a well
recorded and mixed television show for its time, which is evidenced by
the quality of these 5.1 channel tracks. Transcribing the pre-matrixed
surround stems to the discrete format provides stronger channel separation
and an even better sound than what was present on the Laserdisc release
of the show. Originating as a television mix, the episodes tend to be
front heavy, but the surround channels are effectively deployed for, engine
rumble, occasional active effects and musical fill for each episode’s
orchestral score. Dialogue is always crisply rendered and features excellent
intelligibility. The bass channel is impressively solid for television
fare and offers a nice deep rumble for the ship’s engines. English Dolby
Surround soundtracks are also encoded onto the DVDs, as are English subtitles.
Full
motion video, 3-D animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus, which utilize an interface reminiscent of a Starfleet computer
system. Through the menus, one has access to individual episodes and scene
selection within the episodes, as well as each disc’s set up features.
The menu system on disc seven also provides access to season seven’s supplemental
materials, which offer fairly similar content to what is found in the
previous box sets. In Mission Logs: Year Seven we find Mission
Overview, A Captain's Tribute, Departmental
Briefings: Production, Starfleet Moments And Memories
and The Making Of All Good Things.
Mission
Overview is a fourteen minute look at the chaotic final season
of the show, the segue to motion pictures, starting up a new Star
Trek franchise, as well as the emotional final episode. A
Captain's Tribute is a sixteen-minute program that allows actor
Patrick Stewart to reflect back on the cast and crew of the show and share
his fondness and respect for everyone he worked with. Departmental
Briefings: Production details the difficulties involved with some
of the more challenging episodes, including one featuring first time director
Gates McFadden. Starfleet Moments And Memories is a thirty-minute
program that offers cast and crewmembers a fond look back on the past
seven years, as well as the continuing sense of family that grew out this
Star Trek franchise and playful atmosphere that developed
on the set of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. The Making
Of All Good Things provides a seventeen-minute look at the production
of the series final episode, including the challenges of depicting the
cast at different ages. Closing out the supplements is a video trailer
for the upcoming DVD release of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE in 2003
(I know I can't wait!!!).
Having
reviewed all seven seasons of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION on
DVD, I want to say bravo Paramount for a job very well done, as well as
sticking to an accelerated release schedule, which gave me more than a
daily dose of a television series that I love. The season seven box set
looks and sounds great for a television show produced in direct syndication,
and certainly provides a presentation that greatly exceeds the original
broadcasts. Not only that, but also this box set offers some of the series
very finest moments, making it something every fan will want to snatch
up instantly.
