Star Trek TNG - Season One July 24 Review

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by dbenton22

So is the version sold by deep discount and other retailers (like best buy) the newest version (non-defective) or do you have to get the discs replaced no matter what? I received season 2 for Christmas and would like to go back and get season 1.

thanks

All of the old versions should have been sent back to Paramount so DD should have the corrected version.

[Aatrek]

Go ahead and buy the one you see, if you want it. When you get it, the UPC code on the back of the package should be yellow - if it's white, send it back and have them send you a replacement (white UPC packages are the old, defective ones).

[dbenton22]

great!, thanks for the info...

[DaFrenk]

I've bought 1st season in The Netherlands (Bol.com) however the barcode is white. It does feature a red TNG shield on the spine. Is this then also the corrected version?

[Brown750]

Originally Posted by DaFrenk

I've bought 1st season in The Netherlands (Bol.com) however the barcode is white. It does feature a red TNG shield on the spine. Is this then also the corrected version?

Only the corrected version, has been released in The Netherlands

[DaFrenk]

Originally Posted by Brown750

Only the corrected version, has been released in The Netherlands

Ah great! Thanks!

[Youngbus46]

Can anyone confirm if amazon has the fixed versions now? Thinking of finally picking the first 2 seasons.

[Indiana Jones]

Originally Posted by Youngbus46

Can anyone confirm if amazon has the fixed versions now? Thinking of finally picking the first 2 seasons.

They have had the fixed versions since August.

[KaineKinetic]

Good.
I just bought the 1 remaining coopy last night of season 1.

What was wrong with season 2 that needed to be fixed?

[Indiana Jones]

Originally Posted by Kinetic_Blue

Good.
I just bought the 1 remaining coopy last night of season 1.

What was wrong with season 2 that needed to be fixed?

The issues with Season 2 are down to sloppy work by HTV not authoring or disc errors like with Season 1 so there was never a replacement.

[atexp80]

Originally Posted by Kinetic_Blue

What was wrong with season 2 that needed to be fixed?

No faults as such, simply that the team responsible for the visual effects work on season two did a very average job not only in comparison to season one but in general.

[djchaseb]

Just scored season 1 on eBay, just waiting to see whether or not it's the white or yellow UPC.

Watching them on Netflix just isn't cutting it.

[SethRex]

Just got season 1 in the mail from Amazon. I'll probably watch it after I finish TOS season 1.

[Gone2HiDef]

I got this from Amazon too last week. Loved TNG but it did take slogging through the first two seasons before it finally hit its stride.

Slowly going through this now (in between other Blu-rays and my Wild Wild West complete series set). Halfway through disc two now. Seeing it now, without the rose-colored glasses of the day, it's clear how much this season is closer to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century than what it would eventually become, intelligent science fantasy entertainment. Wesley never really bothered me; it was the people who wrote his stories that bugged!

I picked up S3 and BOBW today. I'll shelve them until I get through this season before I crack those open. I'm skipping S2 for now. Someone on another thread mentioned "Shades of Grey" and that was enough to remind me that season can wait a long time before I need to complete my set.

***

UPDATE: In a week, I'm almost halfway through. Just have "Angel One" on Disc 3 to suffer through.

Some thoughts from a TOS/TNG fan as I revisited these episodes:

I suffered through as a loyal fan from day one watching these episodes when they first aired, glad to see Trek back on TV. But it is weird to see how two-dimensional and undeveloped these characters are now in this freshman season. It wasn't until "Haven" and then "The Big Goodbye" that the characters started to breathe, and "Datalore" was great too UNTIL the line "Shut up, Wesley!" That moment and all the related Wesley moments that followed were like crapping on an otherwise fine episode.

I know "Angel One" will suck, but I'm looking forward to getting over the hump with this set. Then, like I said, on to Season 3 next!

[Gone2HiDef]

Well, I stayed up late to finally finish watching final episodes of Season One as well as tear through all of the new HD bonus material on disc six.

Regarding the bonus features, I'll be candid. I've become one of those Berman haters, so I did get distracted with having to hear him whenever it was his turn to be a talking head. But he did offer a lot insight about what happened at the beginning that I didn't know, and that's something. He also appeared more open and less business-like as I tend to feel he usually is in every past interview I've seen with him. And by the end, he made me feel more open to looking forward to hearing what he has to say on future BTS interviews.

As for re-watching the season all over again, I found myself more often frustrated than not by the way the writers of the time essentially writing for the sake of having to hit the story points, with too many cases of the Enterprise crew more judgmental and insensitive than I originally realized. Situations of conflict and the reactions of characters were contrived and/or unrealistic than if the scenes were written today, where audiences in general are a LOT more sophisticated by virtue of sci-fi and action fantasy films (Marvel Studios, The Dark Knight for example) than of the 80's. Also, it's so apparent how each of the main characters were still developing this season. Even back during '87, Picard's awkwardness at having to deal with children was just awkwardly presented; during the end of the season it's obvious Picard, as Stewart was playing him, had too much compassion to be an idiot man who hated children. The Riker-Troi history was all over the place too at the start, especially when the writers wrote episodes where Riker plays the Kirk part to bed alien or holographic females.

But the frustration also comes from knowing how brilliantly well it all turns out by the time the later seasons are produced.

I skipped buying Season Two, due in part from a lot of the negative reactions I've read about it here from posters and also by me knowing it wasn't much better than Season One save for a few episodes like "Elementary, Dear Data", "The Measure of a Man", "Q Who" and "The Emissary". I couldn't help cracking open Season Three before going to bed to see a bit of the season opener, and it's just as folks have said. The PQ is brilliant!!

I bought the full series of TNG on DVD, but there came a point where it was hard to watch them. It came after I'd bought several of the Fan Collective sets, and the TNG episodes on those looked better than they did on the season sets. Season One in HD was definitely worth the investment!

[Aatrek]

The VAM on Season 2 is totally worth the purchase alone.

[KaineKinetic]

Originally Posted by Aatrek

The VAM on Season 2 is totally worth the purchase alone.

It so TOTALLY is!
The Reunion was great.

[benbess]

Originally Posted by Gone2HiDef

Well, I stayed up late to finally finish watching final episodes of Season One as well as tear through all of the new HD bonus material on disc six.

Regarding the bonus features, I'll be candid. I've become one of those Berman haters, so I did get distracted with having to hear him whenever it was his turn to be a talking head. But he did offer a lot insight about what happened at the beginning that I didn't know, and that's something. He also appeared more open and less business-like as I tend to feel he usually is in every past interview I've seen with him. And by the end, he made me feel more open to looking forward to hearing what he has to say on future BTS interviews.

As for re-watching the season all over again, I found myself more often frustrated than not by the way the writers of the time essentially writing for the sake of having to hit the story points, with too many cases of the Enterprise crew more judgmental and insensitive than I originally realized. Situations of conflict and the reactions of characters were contrived and/or unrealistic than if the scenes were written today, where audiences in general are a LOT more sophisticated by virtue of sci-fi and action fantasy films (Marvel Studios, The Dark Knight for example) than of the 80's. Also, it's so apparent how each of the main characters were still developing this season. Even back during '87, Picard's awkwardness at having to deal with children was just awkwardly presented; during the end of the season it's obvious Picard, as Stewart was playing him, had too much compassion to be an idiot man who hated children. The Riker-Troi history was all over the place too at the start, especially when the writers wrote episodes where Riker plays the Kirk part to bed alien or holographic females.

But the frustration also comes from knowing how brilliantly well it all turns out by the time the later seasons are produced.

I skipped buying Season Two, due in part from a lot of the negative reactions I've read about it here from posters and also by me knowing it wasn't much better than Season One save for a few episodes like "Elementary, Dear Data", "The Measure of a Man", "Q Who" and "The Emissary". I couldn't help cracking open Season Three before going to bed to see a bit of the season opener, and it's just as folks have said. The PQ is brilliant!!

I bought the full series of TNG on DVD, but there came a point where it was hard to watch them. It came after I'd bought several of the Fan Collective sets, and the TNG episodes on those looked better than they did on the season sets. Season One in HD was definitely worth the investment!

Good observations on S1. It was a rough start to what became a classic show.

S2 is better, and I think the concerns about the few problems with the fx scenes has been overdone. It looks better than it's ever looked before, and is well worth getting imho. The VAM for S2, as has been mentioned, is also quite good.

Here are the episodes from the second season that imho are pretty good or better:

Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Q Who
Samaritan Snare
The Emissary
Peak Performance

The extended edition of the classic The Measure of a Man is worth quite a bit for a Star Trek fan. I've watched it 3 times since I got the set. It has good replay value as almost a mini Next Gen movie. It's emotional and thought provoking at the same time...

[Gone2HiDef]

Originally Posted by Aatrek

The VAM on Season 2 is totally worth the purchase alone.

Yeah, that reunion feature is enticing. It's encouraging to see someone saying they feel that strongly about it.

Originally Posted by benbess

Good observations on S1. It was a rough start to what became a classic show.

S2 is better, and I think the concerns about the few problems with the fx scenes has been overdone. It looks better than it's ever looked before, and is well worth getting imho. The VAM for S2, as has been mentioned, is also quite good.

Here are the episodes from the second season that imho are pretty good or better:

Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Q Who
Samaritan Snare
The Emissary
Peak Performance

The extended edition of the classic The Measure of a Man is worth quite a bit for a Star Trek fan. I've watched it 3 times since I got the set. It has good replay value as almost a mini Next Gen movie. It's emotional and thought provoking at the same time...

I did plan on picking up Season Two at some point. "The Measure of a Man" and "Q Who" are probably my favorites of Season Two. And perhaps the extended version of "Measure" and the reunion feature will be worth the price if I can get it for a good deal now. Price point is definitely a consideration for me. I finally picked up Season One when Amazon's price hit below $60 a couple of weeks ago, and I used a $50 gift card on it that I had to burn. For Season Three & BOBW, I used about $40 in gift cards and took advantage of Target's Week one combo sale price. I have some gift cards to FYE that I may just use towards S2, maybe after I'm done watching what I have on deck. Thanks for twisting my arm, guys.