Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10700 in DVD
• Brand: STAR TREK
• Released on: 2008-09-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 917 minutes

Amazon.com
Available for the first time on DVD is a collection featuring the bizarre and strange of episodes of Star Trek! See your favorite characters behaving contrary to type in familiar but odd circumstances in Star Trek: Alternate Realities, a 5-disc fan-collective that includes 20 episodes selected from all five Star Trek television series plus exclusive special features.

Amazon.com
Star Trek Collective: Alternate Realities is the sixth entry in the Star Trek: Fan Collective series (but not named as such, presumably because these episodes weren't selected by fan vote), and it's a good one. The categorization can be a bit random and anyone could argue about the selections, but it's a good all-around sampler collection from all five live-action series with some all-time-classic episodes (sorry, no Animated Series here, though "Yesteryear" or "The Counter-Clock Incident" would have fit). It starts with six episodes from the "Mirror Universe," in which crew members become their psychological opposites and Spock has a beard in "Mirror, Mirror," and in which Deep Space 9 ("Crossover," "Through the Looking Glass," "Shattered Mirror") then Enterprise ("In a Mirror Darkly, Parts 1 and 2," melding the Original Series' "Mirror, Mirror" and Tholian Web episodes) made memorable visits. The next category is "Parallel Dimensions," and in the Original Series episode "The Alternative Factor," Kirk meets two different versions of Lazarus. That's followed by the final-season Next Generation episode "Parallels," in which Worf bounces back and forth among various crew scenarios. The third category, "Twisted Realities," finds two contrasting-personality versions of Kirk in "The Enemy Within" and then his body is taken over by Janice Lester in the final episode of the Original Series, "Turnabout Intruder." That's followed by TNG's "Frame of Mind," in which Riker seems to jump between the ship and a mental hospital, and "Shattered," in which Chakotay experiences numerous stages of Voyager's past.

The final category, "Alternate Lives," has the most episodes (though, oddly, none from the Original Series). It starts with two TNG episodes, "Yesterday's Enterprise" (the highly regarded journey to a militarized Enterprise) and "The Inner Light" (Picard imagining himself leading a "normal" life) and "The Visitor" (also very highly regarded) from DS9 in which a grown-up version of Sisko's son, Jake, grew up without his father. In Voyager's "Before and After," Kes appears to be jumping backward through time, in "Timeless" Chakotay and Paris go back in history to try to repair a past mistake, and all the crew discovers they're duplicates in "Course: Oblivion." Enterprise closes the set with two episodes: "E2," in which Archer is confronted by descendants of the ship's crew, and "Twilight," in which Archer finds himself 12 years in the future with the human-Xindi conflict now over. Extra material includes a 5- to 15-minute featurette on each theme (two each for the "Mirror Universe" and "Alternate Realities") of new interviews with the producers and writers of the episodes plus some archival interviews (indicated by the footage appearing in a different frame) and one new commentary track per disc. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Episode Listings
Finally, Paramount wrote back and gave a list of episodes - including a 3rd season original series (remastered) episode that won't be out until the November set is released (and a first for these sets)!
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1 - Star Trek: The Alternative Factor
2 - Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror
3 - Star Trek: The Enemy Within
4 - Star Trek: Turnabout Intruder
5 - Star Trek: The Next Generation: Yesterday's Enterprise
6 - Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Inner Light
7 - Star Trek: The Next Generation: Frame of Mind
8 - Star Trek: The Next Generation: Parallels
9 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 43: Crossover
10 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 66: Through The Looking Glass
11 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 76: The Visitor
12 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 92: Shattered Mirror
13 - Star Trek: Voyager: Before & After
14 - Star Trek: Voyager: Timeless
15 - Star Trek: Voyager: Course: Oblivion
16 - Star Trek: Voyager: Shattered
17 - Star Trek: Enterprise: Twilight
18 - Star Trek: Enterprise: E²
19 - Star Trek: Enterprise: In a Mirror, Darkly, Part 1
20 - Star Trek: Enterprise: In a Mirror, Darkly, Part 2
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Enjoy, Trekkers!
(or Trekkies, if you've been around as long as I have...)

Not so bad...
The latest in the "Collective" sets, Star Trek: Alternative Realities Collective brings fans 20 episodes, from all five series, with a few new special features at a great price- less than $30. The episodes are divided into four categories, which is a bit confusing given the way they're broken up and arranged.

Among five discs you'll find Mirror Universe (six episodes), Parallel Dimensions (two dimensions), Twisted Realities (four episodes), and Alternative Lives (eight episodes; and no, unfortunately these are not the "gay episodes"). Many of the included episodes fall into various top-ten lists among fan and critic favorites, although there are also a couple of episodes that fall flatly with a giant `clunk.'

Visually, this set falls in at about the same level as past Collective sets. The outer packaging is the same- sturdy paper with slimline cases- and each case has its own artwork both inside and out. Missing from this set is disk artwork- these simply include a listings of the disk's contents.

The navigation system is also similar to previous sets- basic and easy to use, but lacking any animation or music. There are no chapter/scene selection options for individual episodes. Episodes of The Original Series are all the remastered versions, which should make fans happy, as this is a first among the Collectives.

SPECIAL FEATURES

What the Special Features lack in quantity, they more than make up for in quality. Each of the four categories has its own set of special features, all of which include fantastic discussions of the episodes by Star Trek legends. Although a few of the interviews come from past box sets, most of the content is new, including insight from writers from Enterprise, Voyager, and SD9, Enterprise directors, and other experts from the ST universe. The featurettes are great for providing context into the episodes, but also for the behind-the-scenes glimpses into the making of the shows as well. Fans of audio commentary might be slightly disappointed; only one episode per disk includes that feature.

Unfortunately, as with past Collective sets, there's no behind-the-scenes footage, and no outtakes. Perhaps they're holding back for something to give us down the road...

To really BOLDLY GO and that's an understatement!
This set is divided along four themes: Mirror Universe, Twisted Realities, Parallel Dimensions, and Alternative Lives, showcasing some really outstanding stories from the five Trek incarnations.

The "mirror universe" episodes of "Star Trek" allow the respective casts to pursue not just their darker sides but their uninhibited personas, especially in regards to affairs of a sexual nature.

The original series got things started with "Mirror, Mirror," the classic episode with Kirk (William Shatner), Bones (DeForest Kelly), Scotty (James Doohan), and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) trapped in a reality wherein they belong to a totalitarian society of treachery, deceit, and assassination to get ahead. Guest star Barbara Luna gets to emit one of the best lines in Trek history and Uhura gets to bear some skin and show a don't-mess-with-me attitude when approached by an amorous Sulu (George Takei).

"Deep Space Nine" decided to revisit the same universe in three great episodes ("Crossover," "Through the Looking Glass," and "Shattered Mirror" featured in this compilation and the results are just as titillating. Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks), Dax (Terry Farrell, Chief O'Brien (Colm Meany) and Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig)have alternates that are a lot less-restrained than their counterparts, allowing some wonderful interplay between them. Kira (Nana Vistor) gets to meet her alternate self, a woman that has "interests" in both the male and female of the species. Both Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and Worf (Michael Dorn) have evil twins that allow the actors portraying them a change of pace from their regular "goody-goody" roles. Garek's (frequent player Andrew Robinson) doppelganger is probably more akin to the side of the character that has remained a mystery during the show's seven-year run. Counterparts to Quark (Armin Shimmerman) and Nog (Aron Eisenberg) are equally intriguing.

Even Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) gets to visit the mirror universe as he is "kidnapped" by the mirror version of his long-dead mother (guest Felecia Bell).

"Enterprise" chooses to have a two-parter whereby ALL of the regular's alternate personnas take center stage. This makes for a lot of fun as the story features a power-hungry Archer (Scott Bakula), a sexually-charged Hoshi (Linda Park), a sadistic Dr.Phlox (John Billingsley), a merciless Reed (Dominic Keating), and Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) as Archer's silent "muscle. T'Pol's (Jolene Blalock) alternate is almost the same as her counterpart but with a little more revealing attire.

"The Twisted Realities" episodes are just as engrossing, with the standouts being the classic "The Enemy Within" from the original to "Frame of Mind" from "The Next Generation, the latter with a bravura performance from Jonathan Frakes as Commander Ryker.

"Alternate Realities" showcase three of the best ever from "The Next Generation." Tony Todd is brilliant as the adult Jake Sisko in "The Visitor" while Patrick Stewart shines in "The Inner Light," an episode with a crafty premise and a wonderful musical score. "Yesterday's Enterprise" is, without a doubt, one of the top ten from the Next Generation. The return of Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar was inspired, but not as much as her surprising second "reincarnation" which would happen some years later.

The two installments under the "Parallel Dimensions" heading are a mixed bag. While "Parallels" benefits from the captivating situation that Worf finds himself in as he bounces from one dimension to the next, the original series' "The Alternative Factor" only serves to remind one of the ill-fated theatrical "Star Trek V." Once seen, the viewer will understand the comparison.

Of the remaining episodes, highlights include a spectacular crash of Voyager in "Timeless," a jaw-dropping destruction of Earth in "Twilight" and the tear-jerker "Course: Oblivion."

In addition to the quality of the episodes, the new visuals on the original series are fantastic!

The special features are cast and crew reflections on the episodes featured in the compilation. Particularly touching are the recollections from guest star Tony Todd about "The Visitor."