Star Trek: The Next Generation

“Star Trek: The Next Generation” was the 2^nd installment of the “Star Trek” franchise. The series aired from 1987 to 1994 and had 7 successful seasons. “The Next Generation” focused on the 24^th century adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), his crew, and the U.S.S. Enterprise. This season’s ship was bigger, held more people, and had more amenities than its predecessor. As of January 31, 2012, Star Trek: The Next Generation fans can relive the show in beautiful HD when it is re-released on Blu-Ray. Before releasing the complete series and complete seasons on Blu-ray later this year, they released “The Next Level” to give their fans a taste of what is to come. “The Next Level” included “Encounters at Farpoint” (The pilot from the 1^st season), ‘Sins of the Father” (from the 3^rd season), and “The Inner Light” (From the 5^th Season).

I never followed Star Trek and have never been a big fan, but I must admit the sounds and picture quality of “The Next level” was amazing. The surround sound immerses you into their world and the music added a lot to the mood and drama of the show. The HD picture quality was very sharp and they did a pretty good job of digitally remastering the episodes. However, I did notice some part of the show that were grainy, but the actions scenes looked the best and made this easy to overlook. Paramount did a great job of updating the show and bringing it back to life.

My only gripes were that the show’s pacing has and always will be too slow for me to fully enjoy it. I know there are a lot of Star Trek fans out there and I do know it is a good show, but it is not for me. The writing is interesting and the plots are compelling and full of sci-fi drama, but it still does not appeal to me as much of a nerd I truly am. Another issue I found was the lack of extras. Besides a couple of promos and a trailer, there isn’t anything extra or special for the true Star Trek fans included with “The Next Level.” I hope they are saving the extras for the complete series and the complete seasons on Blu-Ray.

I was blown away by all the upgrades the show received, but the lack of extras and my lack of appeal for the franchise itself hindered my enjoyment of “The Next Level.” However, it makes for a great gift for any Star Trek fans and will do a great job of getting them ready for the upcoming Star Trek: The Next Generation releases. For those reasons, I am giving this Blu-Ray a ‘B.”