The voyages of the Starship Enterprise continue with Season 6 of The Next Generation coming to blu-ray. These 24th Century adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and co. originally aired back in 1992/93 and are released this week as part of CBS’s ongoing remastering and restoration program of the original 35mm prints. Widely regarded as the peak era for the show, the season was consistent in its quality and brought to screens some of the most celebrated episodes of Trek ever made. Does this release do it justice?
Season 6 saw a very diverse array of episodes. With the death of Gene Roddenberry, the shows strict adherence to presenting an idealized version of humanity waned slightly allowing for some grittier, disturbing and even violent episodes such as Chain of Command, Frame of Mind and Descent. This of course was balanced with more playful fare such as Rascals, where four crewmembers are reverted to childhood in a transporter accident and A Fistful of Datas, where a holodeck program gets corrupted after Data interacts with the computer giving us a Wild West romp with an android flavor.
The show also hit a great balance amongst the excellent cast giving each character a chance to shine and offering much needed depth. Picard himself perhaps gaining most development from falling in love (Lessons), reflecting on his life choices (Tapestry) and even having a chance to go “Full John McClane” in Starship Mine. Of course there are a few iffy episodes sprinkled through the Season (Aquiel anyone?) but overall, a great level of quality and innovation persists throughout. Two personal favorites include Second Chances, where Riker encounters a duplicate of himself stranded on a planet for 5 years and the incredibly touching Relics, which brings back beloved classic Trek cast member Scotty. Fun, creative and always entertaining, Season 6 is The Next Generation at their best.
THE PACKAGEOne slightly thicker than average case is host to six jam-packed discs. The 26 episodes are presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, so don’t be surprised to see those vertical black bars along the sides. This is the first of the Next Generation releases I have been able to cover and simply put, it is impressive work. Each season being released on blu-ray has been remastered from the original 35mm film and with new visual effects added. The result is faithful to the original but utterly stunning to see. This video shows a snippet of what went into bringing this release to you.
A lot of attention and love went into this release and it truly shows. Watching it is like reuniting with a best friend you haven’t seen in years and has had the greatest makeover ever. Colors are vibrant, details are crystal clear from surface textures to computer screen readouts. The effects are sumptuous and put to shame many sci-fi shows running today. The Next Generation has never looked better.
As with the other Trek Blu releases we have covered, there are a huge amount of special features including deleted scenes, audio commentaries, gag reels, promo clips, and crew/actor profiles. In addition, there are special features including Mission Overview Year Six which looks at the highs of such a successful season, key episodes as well as the guest appearance from Professor Stephen hawking. It also touches on the launch of Deep Space Nine which coincided with this season and how the two shows connected. Bold New Directions looks at how certain cast members stepped up to direct certain episodes and the films they took inspiration from. There are multiple Departmental Briefings looking at more technical aspects of the show including visual effects, props and makeup.
The big addition here is Beyond the Five Year Mission — The Evolution of Star Trek: The Next Generation. A three part documentary series that explores how the show changed after the death of creator Gene Roddenberry, the exploration of more conflict and emotional themes. It also notes missteps throughout the season as well as the highs. As ever, the Trek extras are always impressive with their frankness. The contributions of Jimmy Doohan (Scotty) and Whoopi Goldberg are also detailed. There is a lot of detail in these three parts that allow a glimpse behind the scenes of the show, how decisions were made and little nuggets of information any fan will love to hear.
Overall, this is a damn fine release. It is the best way to revisit one of the greatest seasons of one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows. It is even more impressive how much care and attention have been lavished on the presentation. I cannot praise highly enough how impressive the remastering is as well as the extra content which only helps to properly laud the show. A must own for any fan. Well done, CBS.
Star Trek The Next Generation is released on Blu-ray on 24th June, a link to purchase from Amazon is below.
To celebrate this release, we have a giveaway of the companion blu-release Chain of Command, checkout the details here!.
STAR TREK: TNG Season 6 Official Blu-Ray Details:
Disc One: Episodes- Time’s Arrow, Part II, Realm of Fear, Man of the People, Relics, Schisms. Special Features Archival Mission Log: Mission Overview Year Six (SD) Audio Commentary with Ronald D. Moore and Mike & Denise Okuda on “Relics” — NEW! Deleted Scenes (HD): “Time’s Arrow, Part II” and “Relics”
Episodic Promos- Promo #1 (SD), Promo #2 (SD), Promo #3 (SD), Promo #4 (SD), Promo #5 (SD)
Disc Two: Episodes- True Q, Rascals, A Fistful of Datas, The Quality of Life. Special Features Archival Mission Log: Bold New Directions (SD) Archival Mission Log: Departmental Briefing Year Six: Production (SD) Archival Mission Log: Departmental Briefing Profile: Dan Curry (SD) Deleted Scene (HD) — NEW!: “True Q”
Episodic Promos- Promo #1 (SD), Promo #2 (SD), Promo #3 (SD), Promo #4 (SD)
Disc Three: Episodes- Chain of Command, Part I, Chain of Command, Part II, Ship in a Bottle, Aquiel, Face of the Enemy Special Features Archival Mission Log: Special Crew Profile: Lt. Cmdr. Data (SD) Deleted Scenes (HD) — NEW!: “Ship in a Bottle”, “Face of the Enemy”
Episodic Promos- Promo #1 (SD), Promo #2 (SD), Promo #3 (SD), Promo #4 (SD), Promo #5 (SD).
Disc Four: Episodes- Tapestry, Birthright, Part I, Birthright, Part II, Starship Mine, Lessons Special Features Archival Mission Log: Select Historical Data (SD) Audio Commentary with Ronald D. Moore and Mike & Denise Okuda on “Tapestry” — NEW! Deleted Scenes (HD) — NEW!: “Tapestry”, “Birthright, Part II”
Episodic Promos, Promo #1 (SD), Promo #2 (SD), Promo #3 (SD), Promo #4 (SD), Promo #5 (SD).
Disc Five: Episodes- The Chase, Frame of Mind, Suspicions, Rightful Heir, Second Chances. Special Features Archival Mission Log: Inside Starfleet Archives: Sets and Props (SD) Audio Commentary with James L. Conway and Jonathan West on “Frame of Mind” — NEW! Deleted Scenes (HD) — NEW!: “The Chase”, “Rightful Heir”
Episodic Promos- Promo #1 (SD), Promo #2 (SD), Promo #3 (SD), Promo #4 (SD), Promo #5 (SD).
Disc Six: Episodes- Timescape, Descent, Part I Special Features Beyond the Five Year Mission — The Evolution of Star Trek: The Next Generation (HD) — NEW! Part 1: The Lithosphere. Part 2: The Biosphere. Part 3: The Noosphere Gag Reel (HD) — NEW!
Episodic Promos- Promo #1 (SD), Promo #2 (SD).