Product Description

"Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Ep.2): An energy barrier heightens the psionic abilities of two crew members. "The Corbomite Maneuver" (Ep.3): Krik bluffs an alien ship to prevent the Enterprise from being destroyed.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59827 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-08-17
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
This first DVD volume of episodes from the original Star Trek begins with a show that saved the series even before it launched. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was actually the second Trek pilot produced by Gene Roddenberry after NBC rejected "The Cage" (now a subject of cult fascination). A retooled cast now included William Shatner as Captain James R. Kirk (the middle initial T came later), Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, George Takei as Ensign Sulu, and James Doohan as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. (DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig signed on in subsequent episodes.) A lot of thought went into scriptwriter Samuel L. Peeples's story about a crewman named Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) who has a close relationship with Kirk and some natural ESP abilities. When the Enterprise approaches an energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy, Mitchell metamorphoses into a godlike being with silver eyes, awesome psychic abilities, and a rapidly developing ego. As Mitchell becomes an increasing threat to the ship, Kirk is faced with making a terrible choice to save his crew.

The episode locked in the very character and themes of Star Trek: science fiction stories told in mortal terms, the conflict between relationships and duty, and a strong emphasis on exploring personalities. Lockwood's disciplined, modulated performance was a big plus. (He went on, of course, to play astronaut Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey.)

The second show in this volume was the tenth to air, "The Corbomite Maneuver." While exploring an uncharted region of the galaxy, the Enterprise encounters a cube-shaped alien probe (a predecessor of Borg vessels?) that Kirk promptly destroys. That action brings the wrath of a spaceship called the Fesarius, which locks the Enterprise in a tractor beam from which it can't escape. The show is perhaps best known for something of a surprise ending when the "captain" of the Fesarius (played by Clint Howard, brother of Ron and child star of TV's Gentle Ben) is revealed. Directed by Joseph Sargent (Colossus--The Forbin Project). --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

TWO EPISODES PER DISK IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
I sent the following to Paramount at webmaster@pde.paramount.com:

I recently purchased the DVD Star Trek: The Original Series, Vol. 1. The "digitally enhanced and remastered" episodes 2 & 3 looked great. This is the best that the original series has ever looked. It didn't look this good when originally broadcast. I remember.

As much as I like the high quality of the video and sound provided by the DVD, there are a few things about it I don't like. The main problem is that the DVD contains only two episodes. Two episodes per video tape made sense because that was the most that could be recorded and still provide the best picture of which tape is capable. That is not the case with the DVD format. A DVD could store six episodes without loss of quality. I don't expect that though, since I understand Paramount wants to maximize its profits from Star Trek. However, four episodes could be included on each DVD and if the price were increased to maintain the cost per episode of two per DVD, the total price for a four episode DVD would be within the range of DVD movies and so be practical to market. Why is it important to me to have more episodes per DVD, enough so that I am willing to pay more for that DVD? Partly it is that I hate to see the waste involved in using only a fraction of the storage space on each disk. That waste directly effects me by taking up more shelf space to store the DVDs. Merely doubling the number of episodes per DVD would halve the storage space required for the entire collection. Right now, I doubt I will buy the entire series because of the problem of storing them (I never purchased the video tapes for the same reason). Instead, I will probably buy just the DVDs that contain my favorite episodes. Understand that I am a serious collector of DVDs. I have over 50 movies on DVD already, and expect to continue to buy more (speaking of which, when are the Indiana Jones movies going to be released on DVD?). But the size of my DVD collection already means that storage space is at a premium. Also, the ineffieciency of using only a fraction of the DVDs capability offends my conservative nature. It's bad ecology as well.

To sum up, I love the quality of Star Trek on DVD but I hate the packaging (or is it marketing?).

One more thing. I'd like to see more bonus materials on the Star Trek DVDs. Its nice to have the preview trailers, but there is so much more that could be included. How about interviews with the cast, or commentaries such as those shown on the Sci-Fi Channel when it rebroadcast the original series? Anything about the special effects or design of the show would be great. I have been very impressed with the DVDs from New Line Cinema or Columbia Tristar and recommend them to my friends who are just entering the world of DVD. I'd like to be able to recommend Paramount also.

Will Paramount pay any attention to my letter? Probably not, if it's the only one they receive. If you feel that two episodes per DVD is a waste, why not let them know?

A Great Reunion with Old Friends
I first began watching Star Trek in reruns. The print quality was awful in those days: scratchy, grainy film; poor audio; obvious splices, and the episodes were cut to allow for extra commercials.

I have on occasion purchased the VHS transfers, but the quality was mediocre at best.

Paramount is to be commended for deciding to transfer the entire original series to DVD. Their engineers have done an excellent job of remastering the visual images. (The image is a bit TOO good. Look carefully, and you can make out the seam line in William Shatner's toupee.) But, what is really astonishing to me is what they have done with the sound. By separating the various elements (dialogue, scoring and sound effects), they have been able to present a much more vivid audio image. Star Trek never looked or sounded better. True, the visual effects and sets date. But have you seen an early episode of Next Generation lately? They look pretty cheesy by today's standards, and what about those awful lycra uniforms?

I am aware that there have been complaints regarding each DVD containing two episodes, but if there had been more the cost would certainly have been higher.

It has been said that the best special effect of all is human emotion. Watching the interplay between Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the other characters, one can easily see what has been missing in the sequel Star Trek series--indeed, in science fiction generally.

Shameless profiteering
Don't misunderstand me; I love the original Star Trek. The episodes on this DVD are quite good, and I give them 5 stars. Star Trek was the first non-idiotic sci-fi TV series, and paved the way for more sophisticated sci-fi television.

However, these Star Trek DVDs are an example of shameless profiteering. There should be 6 episodes on each DVD, not 2. There's only one reason to waste 70% of the space on each DVD; to get the cost/episode up.

I wish there was a way to rate an entire series on Amazon, because that's what I'm doing here. There's no way I'm going to duplicate this review for the other 35+ Star Trek DVDs!

I don't want unnecessary clutter in my DVD library. I want 15 DVDs of Star Trek episodes, not 40. I want to buy them all at once, in a boxed set, not dribbled out slowly, a couple of episodes at a time. I am extremely unhappy with how these episodes have been released, and will not purchase them until they pack the DVDs full, either with episodes, or GOOD extra material.