Star Trek The Original Series - The Complete Second Season (Remastered)

Note to owners of the Season 1 Remastered (HD/Standard DVD) set. Season 2 doesn't come close to the quality of Season 1 Remastered, even when compared to the Standard DVD Side presentation of that set.

Apart from the digitally recreated special effects / exterior shots, the only 'remastering' that I can detect in the new Season 2 Remastered set is a garish increase in color saturation, along with a harsh increase in contrast levels. Facial skin tones that appeared washed out due to color fading in the Standard Season 2 set released a few years ago, now look even more bleached out in this edition, especially when viewed against the darker shadows which were introduced by the increase in contrast levels.

Unfortunately, the increased contrast also sends a lot of subtle visual shadow detail into complete darkness. The effect is pervasive. Here are a couple of examples. Compare for yourself each of these scenes in the Remastered Edition vs. the Standard Edition released in 2004:

- The Ultimate Computer, @ 2mins:47secs. Note the actor in the foreground. The increased level of shadowing now almost completely covers the left side of his face in darkness. The outline of the actor's chin against the black collar of his Starfleet uniform is now practically indistinguishable. Meanwhile, in the background, Spock's facial coloring looks much more bleached than in the Standard edition, where his skin tone exhibits much warmer huma-, er, um, I mean Vulcan coloring.

- Catspaw, @ 0mins:10secs. The upholstery piping on the top edge of Uhura's chair, clearly visible in the 2004 Standard Edition is now completely hidden in shadow. Furthermore, the subtle visual shades of black delineating the edge of her chair against Kirk's black pants have been lost. Now we see just a big indistinguishable blob of black on the TV screen. (Hey! Can someone turn the lights back on?? I feel like I'm on the bridge of Voyager!)

Wow, I am soooooo disappointed, especially after having been so blown away by the fantastic job that was done with the Remastered Season 1 edition (and again, I'm referring strictly to the Standard DVD presentation, not HD). Clearly, the same level of care that went into the Season 1 remastering effort was not duplicated for Season 2 (and probably won't be for Season 3, either?). To me, it looks like the source material used for this season set was the same as what was used for the previously released 2004 Standard Season set.

And yes, some of the same video blemishes present on that set are still present in the remastered edition: Take a look at the Patterns Of Force episode, in between the1min:35sec and 1min:40sec marker. At the moment Kirk says `Fire!', a rather blatant film scratch momentarily appears across one side of his face. The fact that a blemish such as this is still present in this remastered edition points to a relaxing of the quality standards set with Season 1. Ironically, I am reminded of one of the special features in the Season 1 Remastered set, where exactly this type of digital touchup was being touted and demonstrated on original footage from The Cage / The Menagerie.

As with Season 1 Remastered, this season also includes Spanish & French audio with subtitles. Kudos to the production team for finally adding this. I recall reading a review here on Amazon from a frustrated native Spanish speaking fan, lamenting the lack of attention to this detail on the earlier releases.

If all you're after are the updated special effects, then this is definitely the version for you. Many of the updated digital exterior shots in the Season 2 Remastered set appear to be even closer replicas of the original 1960's effects than what was presented in Season 1 Remastered. They really are very cool (although on some level, I still prefer the monotone disc planets of old). If, on the other hand, you're more interested in watching a pristine video print of the same caliber as you saw in the Season 1 Remastered set, you're probably going to have to wait for the inevitable BluRay transfer, and hope that the High Def remastering effort for that edition includes the same folks who worked on the The Cage / The Menagerie episodes.

Meanwhile, I think I'll take a pass on the upcoming Season 3 release...

It cracks me up when people are posting reviews on the remastered 2nd season of Star Trek before it was even available. I just finished watching the last episode. All I have to say is wow! The new effects really inject new life into my favorite TV show of all time. Everybody is raving about "The Doomsday Machine," but other episodes that have benefited are "Journey to Babel," and "The Ultimate Computer," also "The Immunity Syndrome" is actually watchable now. Pity Gene Roddenberry didn't live to see how great his show could look. My recommendation.. buy it! and rediscover the best of all three seasons of TOS.

I recently picked up Season 2 remastered. After the glowing reviews of others, and how much I liked the HD-DVD remastered release of season 1, I thought I couldn't go wrong. Ok, I own the original DVD Season 2 release already, but being a big trekkie fan and never seeing the remastered shows of season 2 on broad cast, I picked it up. P.S. I'm no purist, and I love the new CGI space scenes. (personally, I wish they had pushed it further).

Alright, well the picture quality for me in this set is no where near as good as Season 1 HD-DVD remastered. I'm sure all of it is due to the difference in formats. But,= still, for me it's a big drop off, and compared to many of other recently release DVD's , it doesn't really look as good. I only really see a marginal difference between the original DVD season 2. Further, the special features aren't any different that the original DVD set, and is the area I'm really disappointed. I would have loved some sort of fan commentary track or critic track. There is so much history to these episodes, added commentary tracks would have made it a must buy for me.

So bottom line, if you don't own the first Season 2 DVD's already, and want to see your star trek now...well I recommend. But if your someone who really sees the different in HD over standard pictures and/or own the original DVD season 2 set, then just wait for the inevitable bluray version or for season two to completely come to xbox-live/i-tunes, where you can cherry pick the remastered eps you want.

Within this set of DVD's are the episodes that constitute the second season of the original Star Trek, each beautifully restored and enhanced in the visual effects department. In certain episodes, such as 'The Doomsday Machine', the effects are readily apparent.

Take for example 'The Doomsday Machine', in which the battered wreck of the 'Constellation' has been given a complete face lift. Gone is the 'cigarette-burned plastic model kit' look, now replaced with a seemingly twisted hulk of metal which continuously sheds spinning shards of debris into the void. And the 'Planet Killer' itself looks truly menacing and 'miles long' now, with a pitted, blackened surface that comes as a result of eons of travel across extragalactic space.

Everything from phaser fire to planetside vistas has been given an enhanced appearance. Look closely, and you'll see a moon in the sky where none had existed in the original. Pay attention to the Gorn in 'Arena', and you'll see his eyes blink for the first time. Planets and alien spacecraft are given true physical form, as opposed to being anonymous blobs of light. These are just a few of the changes you'll encounter when watching 'Star Trek: Remastered'. So sit back and enjoy these sci-fi classics as they've never been presented before.

The addition of 'More Tribbles, More Troubles' (Star Trek: The Animated Series), and 'Trials and Tribble-ations' (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) is pure icing on the cake. Look for these bonus episodes in the Season Two set.

Skeptics take note, over 90% of the CGI-enhanced effects deal primarily with the 'Enterprise' within the interstellar medium. The story and dialogue are left intact. You need not worry about a 'fake moustache' being planted on Scotty where there was none before.

As an aside, I've heard the tale that when Gene Roddenberry saw the model of the Enterprise refit prior to 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture', he had made an observation to the effect that he had always envisioned the 'Enterprise' to appear that way, even back in 1966 -- and how they were limited by the special effects and budgetary constraints of the era.

I find this amusing in light of how many people slam the remastered version for being too 'modern-looking'.

Think of how many people back in 1966 watched 'Star Trek' for the first time, and thought of the effects as being 'too flashy' when compared against 'The Twilight Zone' or 'The Outer Limits'

I believe Gene would have approved of remastered 'Star Trek'


Recommended for all fans, both new and old.

I reviewed most of The Original Series episodes during the initial DVD release which began in 1999. So, the comments here focus on the new edition.

Doubtless, Paramount will eventually release these episodes on Blu-ray. But even at standard definition, the picture has never looked better. The colors pop off the screen, scratches have been removed, and grain, while noticeable, has been reduced to a bare minimum. Unfortunately, with the improved picture, flaws in the original production are also more noticeable: shadows from boom microphones are detectable, zippers can be clearly seen in many of the uniforms, and 20th Century buildings can be seen in the background of "A Private Little War." Still, the picture shows the obvious care taken with the lighting and composition of the original shots (very different from today's flatly-lit, smash & grab style of television filming).

Of course, the primary focus of this new release is the new CGI visual effects. Season Two had a number of effects heavy episodes, including "The Doomsday Machine" and "The Immunity Syndrome," and they benefit the most from the new effects. Most of the new space shots are very convincing, remaining in the original spirit of the series. Only a few of the shots are major deviations from the originals, such as when the shuttle is seen exiting the Enterprise from the outside. Restraint seems to be the watchword here, and I would have liked to have seen a little bit more done, such as the replacement of some very dated view screen graphics in "The Changeling," and correction to faulty composite shots, such as in "Bread & Circuses." But the enhanced background plate in "By Any Other Name" is simply stunning, and the expanded castle front seen in "Catspaw" (an otherwise weak episode) is subtly done.

The discs also include audio tracks in Spanish and French, although my partner (fluent in Spanish) tells me many of the Spanish translations are not faithful to the English originals. As for bonus features, the real highlight is Billy Blackburn's behind the scenes movies, which show the actors in costume but out of character - a real treat.

Bring on Season Three!