There were quite a few firsts with Star Trek: The Next Generation . It was the first sci-fi sequel series to become a hit. It was the first made-for-syndication TV series. And it was the first sequel series to run longer than the original series that inspired it.

No one thought Star Trek: The Next Generation would work. Even while watching the new retrospective documentary on this Blu-ray, you still get a sense of shock and amazement that it turned out as successful as it did. Patrick Stewart took the gig thinking he wouldn't even work on the show for a whole season. And even one or two cast members, with delusions of grandeur, wanted out of their contracts after the show proved a success.Even Gene Roddenberry, the lightning rod that harnessed the first series (and launched the second) didn't seem as positive as you'd expect. And, to be honest, the first season of the show reflects everyone's general lack of confidence.If you're a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, you know that the first season of the hit series was, well, not the show at its finest. It's true, TNG was a bit of a mess at times. The actors had yet to fully find their groove, and the tone was often spotty, shifting between episodes. The characters weren't always themselves, either. It's not until the second and third season where things really mesh and TNG starts to get really good.But revisiting the first season for this review was a fun experience. The show has aged well, especially with this new restoration driving the visuals and bringing new details to life (more on that below). And even some of the bad episodes have their charm.“Encounter at Farpoint” starts the series off well with a theatrical experience that sets the moody, less campy tone of TNG as a whole. It also firmly establishes the rules and more naval quality that TNG exhibits for the remainder of the series. While the characters are often a little shaky, the performances are generally pretty great, save for a few humorously wobbly lines every now and then, most of them uttered by an admittedly nervous Marina Sirtis, who explains in the new documentary on the disc that her screen tests are always better than her final performance.Among the season's 25 episodes, there are some gems. Truth be told, nearly half the season is actually pretty good, holding up much better than you probably remember. In the coming days, we'll take a look at each episode of this first season. Be sure to check back!Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season One comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Paramount and CBS Home Entertainment. The season's 25 episodes are spread out among six discs. Each episode is encoded in 1080p/AVC, mixed in 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Packaging is similar to the third season of Star Trek: TOS on Blu-ray. The six-discs are housed in a slim BD case. There's also a slipcover for the set.It's hard to put into words the amount of time it took to bring Star Trek: The Next Generation to Blu-ray. Imagine if you bought a car 25 years ago, and because you love that car so dearly and wanted it to survive another 25 years, you decided to take the entire vehicle completely apart to rebuild and convert it into a gas-electric hybrid. Now you've got that same car you always loved, but it runs better than ever before. That's the kind of undertaking TNG has gotten with this Blu-ray.The show has been rebuilt from the ground up. Effects have been meticulously re-crafted and re-composited using the original film elements. Models, plates, mattes and other effects have been painstakingly redesigned to bring Trek to hi-def standards. To be frank, there has never been a restoration project this immeasurably daunting – not even the vintage Trek series remasters, which swapped real models for effective, but cheaper-looking CG. The love for this show is infectious, and it shows. The results bring TNG to near theatrical quality. In fact, the effects here top some of the theatrical features, especially Trek V and VII.The 4x3 full frame 1080p transfers are quite remarkable. Depth and detail comes straight to the surface, allowing fans to see this show in a quality like never before, flaws and all. Film grain is naturalistic and moody, though DNR scrubbing is rather noticeable. Colors are incredibly bold, popping off the screen. Flesh tones are cleaner and less pasty than ever before. Blacks are inky, though some bleed is detected.The print itself sports a few minor quibbles, though none are very disheartening. Nearly every episode contains a smattering of white dust specks. It's never distracting, but it's puzzling as to why these weren't removed when prepping this presentation. With frame-by-frame detail everywhere else, it seemed an odd corner to cut.Other unavoidable print damage (blue lines, film degradation, blotches) was also noted every now and then. When you head back to 25-year-old film stock, you're bound to run into some ugly prints and heavy damage, so I'm willing to forgive a blemish on the print every now and then. Sometimes it's repairable, but most of the time the damage is done. Lastly, the episode “We'll Always Have Paris,” is missing two seconds of film footage. Because of this, the disc's producers had to resort to using up-converted footage. Thankfully, it's just two seconds so it doesn't ruin the flow of the episode.Many fans have also asked about why TNG isn't being presented in 16x9. That question, surprisingly enough, is answered on one of the disc's new documentaries. Basically, the show was shot with full frame in mind, so the open frame often has lights and camera equipment in the frame. Visual effects were also completed in full frame, meaning they are sometimes cut off in the open matte. The disc's producers also made a conscious choice not to zoom in on the full frame and fake a widescreen presentation as it recomposes the shots against the intention of the original filmmakers, and you lose image quality.Now, despite the love for the fresh look of this Blu-ray, there are some minor problems with the encode that should be noted. No damning image issues were spotted, but banding, especially on deep oranges, blues and reds (some backgrounds are especially troublesome) are noticeable, along with a hint of artifacting, most notable on red uniforms and low-light settings. Ultimately, while the presentation is nothing short of positively stunning (and light years above and beyond the previous DVD set), it would seem a seven-disc presentation would have better suited compression quality on the transfers. Hopefully future seasons will address that.Just as the disc's producers spent the time to restore the transfers, the original stereo audio has been rebuilt and organically expanded to a 7.1 sound field. While very impressive, the audio does show its age on more than one occasion. Mixing is immersive without proving distracting or annoyingly expanded. That said, a stereo track is a stereo track, and a dated one at that.Dialogue comes off a bit tinny, with noticeable crackles in every episode and a modest bit of hiss throughout, most notable in “Encounter at Farpoint.” This is no fault of the new sound design per se, but rather the result of dated, old sound elements. Some episodes are worse than others, too, which suggests audio elements may have been damaged. Another indicator that the crackles are inherent in the audio elements, and not a fault of the design, is that no matter how the volume was raised or lowered, these crackles were always present.Even with audio technology as advanced as it is, only so much can be done to rework and remaster dated tracks. The hiss is removed as much as possible, and the crackles are kept to a minimum. What has been done to liven this mix is nothing short of great, though. Make no mistake, TNG sounds eons better than it ever has. Surrounds are lively, bass is effective and mixing is just outstanding.Note: Due to front surround separation issues (dialogue creeping into front channels on a few episodes), CBS is offering a replacement program on the defective discs. More detailsFor extras, we'll break down the goodies by disc.The set opens with a trailer for season two, which features a rather lovely sneak peek at an exclusive 75-minute cast conversation to be included in that set. Disc one also includes archival bonus features, previously found on the DVD sets. Fans are treated to the original 1987 series introduction trailer (I still remember seeing this on a Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home VHS tape from long, long ago). The archives also include a season one vintage promo, three additional launch promos and three episode promos.Next up, there's an awesome, brand-new 25-minute documentary titled “Energized: Taking The Next Generation to the Next Level” (HD) detailing the show's genuinely remarkable effects recreation and restoration, complete with interviews from the men and women who are working hard to bring TNG into the 21st century. No stone is left unturned here. The documentary even openly addresses some of the concerns and/or issues fans had with sample disc released in 2011.The work these folks have put into bringing TNG to life in HD is just remarkable. Of all restoration projects I've encountered over the years, there is no doubt that TNG is the single most daunting, and downright admirable project of the lot. The crew behind this set are not phoning their efforts in, and their work, love and dedication to this series is simply wonderful, not to mention invaluable and inspiring. To be frank, if you're a fan of Trek, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice if you skipped this bonus.The only real bonus material here are the episode promos. Like disc one, you can watch these separately, or in front of each corresponding episode – a neat touch.The bulk of the extras for this set are found here. Included are the original four featurettes found on the previous DVD set. They include: “The Beginning” (17 minutes, SD) “Selected Cast and Crew Analysis” (15 minutes, SD), “The Making of a Legend” (16 minutes, SD) and “Memorable Missions” (17 minutes, SD).The vintage extras are perfectly complemented by an impressive three-part 95-minute documentary titled “Stardate Revisited: The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation.” This bonus is meant to be part of a longer, expansive documentary that will chronicle the entire series, with parts being broken up over the course of every single season Blu-ray of the show.“Inception” (part one) outlines the show's origins, featuring fresh interviews with the men and women behind the series, as well as vintage interviews and TV news footage filling in the blanks. You'll get to hear from pretty much everyone here, even the late, great Gene Roddenberry (via archival footage).“Launch” (part two) details casting, production design and shooting. Here's where you get introduced to the crew of the Enterprise. Expect a healthy dose of candid interviews from pretty much everyone involved, including the rejected Captain Picard (Stephen Macht). The only missing piece is Trek regular John de Lancie.“The Continuing Mission” (part three) explores the first season's success, struggles and creative difficulties, including the exit of some of the production crew, as well as Denise Crosby. This final part even includes a tasty post-credit tease for the season two Blu-ray documentary. Don't miss it.Extras conclude with an 8-minute gag reel. There are some hearty laughs here, especially a quick bit with Data (Brent Spiner) acting like Jimmy Stewart. Fun stuff!Is there anything missing from this set? Other than maybe the option to toggle between the original DVD masters, not really. And to be honest, there's no reason to ever return to the show's standard definition counterpart, other than comparison. But if you have Netflix or Amazon Instant Video (or the DVDs), comparison should be easy enough.It would have cool to see a few text-based commentaries as well. Michael and Denise Okuda did them on the first non-remastered DVDs of TOS, the movies and a few other sets, but never again. They were filled with wonderful trivia and insight, and were always a welcome treat. The Season One Blu-ray is also missing any audio commentary tracks, though the disc's producers largely make up for that in bonus material. Perhaps we'll see some director/cast commentary tracks, a fan track, a critic track, or maybe even a commentary with the Blu-ray producers down the line. Fingers crossed.We all know that the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation isn't the series at its very best. But that doesn't make this Blu-ray any less valuable. Even at its worst, TNG is still pretty damn good TV. And with gloriously restored, finely crafted HD transfers, booming 7.1 audio and a fine assortment of terrific extras, there's little reason to skip this set, especially if you're a diehard lover of all things Trek. Even if you've watched the episodes a dozen times over, this set will feel like you're experiencing a brand-new show. Simply put, The Next Generation is reborn with this Blu-ray.

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