In one month the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation will arrive on Blu-ray. Season 2 is due in the Holiday season. And it appears that one of the cool bonuses for set being considered is an extended version of the courtroom drama episode "Measure of a Man." This news was revealed by the original writer of the episode, Melinda Snodgrass. Details below.

Writer: Measure of a Man to get 20 extra minutes

A few days ago, screenwriter Melissa Snodgrass dropped this little nugget on Twitter.

Need to send first cut of The Measure of a Man back to CBS today. Version is 20 minutes longer than broadcast. Will be on DVD’s. — Melinda M. Snodgrass (@MMSnodgrass) June 20, 2012

Apparently Snodgrass was talking about the new Blu-ray release (there are no new DVDs planned). As of now, CBS is not confirming details on the S2 set, so it is too early to say for certain if this extended version will end up in the final release.

If CBS is looking for Snodgrass’ cut (presumably on tape) they are likely considering trying to reconstruct an extended episode by trying to find all the additional scenes in the archives, which would then be remastered in HD. This would likely be a bit more complex than the (already complicated) process for the regular episodes.

Even though it was produced during a WGA strike, "Measure of a Man" is considered one of the best Star Trek: TNG episodes and it ended up getting nominated for a WGA award. What makes this even more surprising is that it was based on a spec script and was Snodgrass’ first television credit. Her experience as an attorney showed in the episode which put Data’s rights as a sentient person literally on trial.

TrekMovie reader Justin who sent in a tip on the tweet has taken a look at the original teleplay and noted there are a number of scenes that did not end up in the final cut, including a scene with Picard and Riker fencing. It is unknown what scenes were actually filmed though, but (fingers crossed) we will get to see them by the end of this year, in HD.

Here is a pivotal scene in "Measure of a Man" where Picard argues for Data’s sentience.

It’s also worth noting that the special TNG events on July 23rd (tickets available now FathomEvents.com) promise to also include an unseen sneak-peak of “Measure of a Man.”



Peak of "Measure of a Man" part of July 23 screenings

REMINDER: Star Trek Season 1 Pre-order available now

The first Blu-ray season for Star Trek: The Next Generation comes out July 24th. The six-disc set includes HD remasters (in 1080p and 7.1 DTS audio) of all 26 episodes, plus brand new special features (see below for full details). The official retail price is $118.00 in the US (which is actually a little less than the MSRP for Star Trek: TOS Blu-ray Season 1).

You can pre-order the set at discounted prices. Walmart is selling it for $78.86. UPDATE: And Amazon has matched the Wal-mart price of $78.86.

The set is also available for pre-order at Amazon sites around the world.

Canada UK Germany

Thanks also to Mike who sent in a tip on this.