By David Wharton | 8 years ago

The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming to Blu-ray on July 24th, and the show’s had one heck of a makeover. I’m currently in the midst of rewatching the series on Netflix, and the show hasn’t aged well when viewed against the shiny HD standards we take for granted these days. Thankfully the show has undergone major restorations and improvements, following in the footsteps of The Original Series with brand-new special effects and a general overall spit-polish. The results? Just take a gander at this shot of the Crystalline Entity, the life-devouring creature first introduced in the episode “Datalore.”

The image was posted on the official Star Trek Facebook page earlier today, along with a pair of comparison images showing that the visual improvements aren’t limited to snazzier special effects. Sure, there’s only so much you can polish a show that’s a quarter century old, but while the changes are subtle, you can definitely see a difference in the flames, the reflection on the wall panels, and even the textures on Picard’s uniform.

Aside from the newly restored episodes, the set will include plenty of other attractions for Trek fans. You’ll get mission logs, a gag reel, archival footage, and two brand-new documentaries, including a massive, three-part documentary looking at the show’s creation and early days. Here’s the description from the press release: