Star Trek The Next Generation - Season 5
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Paramount Home Entertainment / 1991-1992 / 1,183 Minutes / Not Rated
Street Date: November 5, 2002 
Lucky for us, Star Trek: The Next Generation was never one of those shows that wore out its welcome, a sad spectacle that failed to realize when it was time to call it quits. Even after five full years at the helm, Jean Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise still seemed fresh and alive, and the writers abuzz with new ideas and storylines. As always, there are the usual clunker episodes and a nod too many to Treks past for my taste, but to dismiss this season just because the show should have been too old to be good is to miss out on some great sci-fi television. The big news for Season 5 were two monumental events, one awe-inspiring for Trekkers, the other tragic: the appearance of Spock in the legendary two-parter "Unification," and the untimely passing of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in the middle of the season. I can't say for certain whether Roddenberry's departure somehow consciously affected the writers or the cast in terms of the scripts and the performances they delivered, but Season 5 does seem to benefit from pronounced contrasts. It's a mix of upbeat showstoppers such as "Unification," and more somber, introspective explorations like the Picard alternate universe chamber piece "The Inner Light." The mishmash works more often than not. Truth be told, despite all the brouhaha surrounding Spock's first (and last) visit to The Next Generation, "Unification" as two hours of television is rather clunky and forced. The first hour, sans Spock, is all drawn-out exposition, and the writers and the cast seem more excited just to have the Vulcan aboard than concerned with why he's there or what he's saying. Yeah, it's kinda cool to see ol' pointy ears sitting next to Picard (and battling it out with a returning Denise Crosby) but I can't say this was one of my favorites of the series. My personal faves include the less heavy-handed episodes, such as the return of everyone's favorite assimiliationists in "I, Borg," Riker finally getting some action in "The Outcast," the A Few Good Men-esque "Power Play," and a fairly good season closer in "Time's Arrow, Part I." Included are all 26 Season 5 episodes: Cause and Effect, Conundrum, Cost of Living, Darmok, Disaster, Ensign Ro, Ethics, First Duty, Game, Hero Worship, I Borg, Imaginary Friend, Inner Light, Masterpiece Society, Matter of Time, New Ground, Next Phase, Outcast, Perfect Mate, Power Play, Redemption (Part II), Silicon Avatar, Unification (Parts I & II), and Violations.
Video: How Does The Disc Look? Alright, I'll admit it: After reviewing the past four seasons of Next Gen boxes, I'm running out of new things to say about them. After the rather cheap sets and effects of the first couple of seasons, the show's visual sheen increased along with its budget, and this new set reflects the difference. I still don't think Next Gen ever truly surmounted the dated CGI techniques of the time, but the overall chintzy feel is as endearing as the wonderfully cheesy "outdoor" locales and phony alien planets the crew routinely visited. Once again, each episode is presented in its original 4:3 broadcast aspect ratio. The source elements appear to be in fine shape, with the shot-on-film segments (usually anything not involving a special effect) nice and clean with no noticeable blemishes to mar the presentation. Colors are fairly vibrant for a TV show, and are free of bleeding or noise, despite the lack of true pizzazz. The image is still a tad soft, but even darker interiors boast fairly good detail and shadow delineation. On-location shoots still suffer from mediocre lighting and an often flat, 2-D look. The effects sequences, usually generated in the CGI-realm and on video, suffer from aliasing and "jaggies," but colors tend to be a bit more vibrant and look good for an 80's TV show. As always, Paramount has done a fine job in terms of compression with minimal artifacting and aside from the effects sequences, edge enhancement is not a problem.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound? Like all the Next Gen collections, all 26 episodes get nice and spiffy new Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks. And like the transfers, not too much new to report here...these mixes remain impressive examples of what you can do with an 80's television show, and are a cut above most other TV fare on DVD. Originally produced in Dolby stereo, it is largely the effects and a bit of bleed to the score that has been opened up. Dialogue is clean and clear, and very nicely balanced with the score and the effects. Dynamic range is again well above average, with pleasing midrange and no screechy high end. However, like each of the past season collections, these remixes lean toward the fronts (aside from the zippy effects and flyovers). We do get a nicely separate front soundstage which sounds expansive. Imaging is nice despite intermittent use of the surrounds, and minor ambiance shines through. The low end is also noticeably more pronounced via the .1 LFE track, yet never overpowers the rest of the mix. Once again, nicely done. Also included are the original Dolby 2.0 stereo tracks for each episode, as well as English subtitles and Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Another big, shiny, sleek box to sit alongside the rest of your Trek collection. This one is all nice and cyan-tinted, and again houses map-like fold-out flaps containing all seven discs, plus the usual 8-page collectible booklet. While I still would like real production notes and an episode guide, this time we do get a nice little Roddenberry tribute bio, plus episode airdate information. Also carried over from seasons past are the nifty if rather intimidating menus, which Trekkers will understand even if all others may have a hard time with it. Spread across 7 discs are all 26 episodes (4 per disc, complete with 8 chapter stops each), and disc 7 houses the last two episodes, plus the supplemental material. This time we get five new featurettes totaling about an hour, each presented in full frame and 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. At this point, if you've picked up any of the other season sets you know what to expect, but this one has something special, so I won't save the best for last... With the fifth season witnessing the passing of guiding light Gene Roddenberry, it is only fitting this set would contain A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry, a very emotional 26-minute look back at the creator of the most popular science-fiction series of all time. For once, it is not mere hyperbole to say that Roddenberry's works "have affected more people's lives than any other television series" as his bio states. Contributing often teary-eyed remembrances are Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett, plus cast and crew including Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Wil Wheaton, Jonathan Frakes, Whoopi Goldberg, Herman Zimmerman, John de Lancie and researcher Guy Vardaman. All considered Roddenberry a father figure, and such recollections can't help but be moving. Also a treat for Trek fans is some rare footage of a Paramount 25th anniversary bash for Roddenberry and more rare interview footage of the man himself. Of all the extras on these Next Gen sets, this is probably the best so far, and certainly the most important for any Trek fan not to miss. (And stick around for the end credits, as Patrick Stewart delivers a nice little comedic surprise for Roddenberry.)
After such an emotional 30 minutes, it's almost impossible for the rest of the extras to measure up. Fans of these sets will already know what to expect, so let's start with Mission Overview (17 minutes) and Memorable Missions (18 minutes). Again we get mostly new interviews with the major hitters, largely conducted during the making of the latest big-screen Trek epic, Nemesis. Producers Michael Pillar, David Livingston and Jeri Taylor, scenic artist and Trek historian Mike Okuda, visual effects artist Dan Curry, composer Jay Chattaway, stunt coordinator and cast members Stewart, Wheaton, Sirtis, Frakes, Brent Spiner and guest stars Denise Crosby, Robert Duncan McNeill and head Borg dude Jonathan de Aico. "Mission Overview" primarily focuses on Roddenberry's passing as well as the beloved return of Spock, with Nimoy predictably getting the red carpet treatment befitting such a legend (well, in Trek-land, at least.) Has ever so much attention been lavished on such a dull episode? "Memorable Missions" is a bit more fun, giving us some behind-the-scenes highlights of such episodes as "Power Play," "First Duty" and "Disaster." Such tidbits as Marina Sirtis OD'ing on chocolate and a stunt going awry make for fun times, but less so an appearance of Stewart's son in a "heartwarming" episode sure to be forgotten as soon as it ends.
The remaining two "Departmental Briefing" featurettes give us a glimpse into the show's ever-improving special effects and the challenges in crafting fresh teleplays after five years on the air: Production (16 minutes) and Visual Effects (18 minutes). The former primarily concerns itself with only two episodes, "Power Play" and "First Duty" (which I don't even consider the best of the season) and features additional interviews with writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore and producers Peter Lauritson and Michael Westmore. Better is "Visual Effects," which is notable for giving us a look at the creation of the show's opening credit sequence. Also a treat are some of the wacky methods the effects crew uses to come up with their visual tricks. Would you believe reconstituted oatmeal and food coloring? Maybe you would... As a special bonus only available in the first pressings of the Season 5 box set, Paramount has included a Star Trek Nemesis 3-inch CD-ROM promoting the movie. Included are a bunch of screensavers and desktop wallpapers, plus the film's pretty cool theatrical trailer. Yes, it's shameless marketing, but those into Trek collectibles can probably fetch a nice price for it on eBay. DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC? Disappointingly for a Trek box (this is supposed to be futuristic, right?) no ROM extras have been included at all. How about some more detailed episode production notes, cast info or photos? Parting Thoughts Just like all past season Next Gen collections, this is a must-have for Trek fans, especially given the moving Roddenberry tribute. In terms of quality of the presentation, this is on par with the last couple of seasons and contains some classic Next Gen episodes, so what are you waiting for? Do you really need me to tell you to beam on over to your local video store and pick up a copy? |
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