Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1463 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-05-22
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French, German, Italian, Catalan, English
• Number of discs: 7
• Running time: 999 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Warping into syndication in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation successfully launched its seven-season "continuing mission" of the starship Enterprise, and this classy DVD boxed set gathers the show's inaugural season in crisp picture clarity and dazzling 5.1-channel sound. A ratings leader with a sharp ensemble cast, this revamped Trek honoured series creator Gene Roddenberry's original Trek concept, nurtured by returning veterans like producer Robert H. Justman and writers D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold. Several first-season episodes have original-series counterparts, and while the season was awkwardly inconsistent for all involved (including Roddenberry's heir apparent, producer Rick Berman), in retrospect the series began on remarkably solid footing.

Patrick Stewart was perfect as Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard, while Marina Sirtis struggled with a wretched hair bun and an ill-defined character, eventually blessing Counselor Troi with delicate nuance. Denise Crosby made a strong but underutilized impression as Security Chief Tasha Yar, and left the series before season's end, allowing writers to develop Klingon Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) into a fan favourite. Brent Spiner transcended Spock comparisons with his triumphant portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data; and while Jonathan Frakes was accepted as First Officer Will Riker, fans ultimately rejected Wil Wheaton as ensign Wesley Crusher, the teenaged son of the ship's doctor (Gates McFadden). Still, these 25 episodes laid a firm foundation for subsequent seasons, and highlights include the Raymond Chandleresque "holo- novel" of "The Big Goodbye," Data's backstory in "Datalore," the Klingon rituals of "Heart of Glory," and a Romulan encounter in "The Neutral Zone." The DVD supplements (all on the seventh disc) are good enough to make anyone wish for more: four featurettes recall myriad first-season challenges, filled with insider perspective and enough NextGen trivia to satiate all but the most obsessive Trekkers back on Earth. Looking back, it's easy to see why NextGen lived long and prospered. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
A box set featuring all the episodes from season one: 'Encounter At Fairport', 'Naked Now', 'Code Of Honour', 'The Last Outpost', 'Where No One Has Gone Before', 'Lonely Among Us', 'Justice Now', 'The Battle', 'Hide And Q', 'The Haven', 'The Big Goodbye', 'Datalore', 'Angel One', '11001001', 'Too Short A Season', 'When The Bough Breaks', 'Home Soil', 'Coming Of Age', 'Heart Of Glory', 'The Arsenal Of Freedom', 'Symbiosis', 'Skin Of Evil', 'We'll Always Have Paris', 'Conspiracy' and 'The Neutral Zone'.

Customer Reviews

slimmer nicer package with ALL features!
Before I bought this version I tried to find a really helpfull review regarding the extras as DVD extras and NOT package content but everywhere I looked it said no extras on this version! it's NOT true! The dvd extras are on the 7-th disc just like on the other release so if you want STNG in a very nice slim version go ahead and buy it at a fantastic price! Those plastic boxes are so clumsy and unelegant!

The Next Generation's Weakest Season
Original Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry hadn't produced a television series since the original series, and unfortunately it shows.

For a series that debuted in the late 1980's, the early episodes of this season couldn't have felt more out of date. Both the directing and the musical score felt more like it belonged in the 1960's.

There were also no shades of grey within the storylines. A line form Wesley to the effect of "We're from Starfleet, we don't lie", is the kind of dated dialogue that left the television industry years earlier.

Also, some of the main characters were portrayed a little awkwardly at first. Wesley, for example, was this boy wonder who saved the ship a few times too many whom the adults didn't really take seriously. Worf was this mysterious Klingon who didn't get any development for several episodes. Tasha Yar seemed to utter the words "Hailing frequencies open" every episode. Geordi La Forge was only a helmsman with no apparant vital function. Even Picard seemed cold and unkind in an unrealistic way.

That's not to say the season is completely terrible though. I enjoyed episodes such as '11001001', 'Coming Of Age' and 'Conspiracy', but for every good episode, there were perhaps three bad. The absolute worst must be 'Justice', depicting a world whose population run around with barely anything on. Very daft!

I would say because this slimline packaging is so cheap, it's worth buying this season to see how it all began, but suffice to say, things do get better as the seasons go on.

By the way, these slimline versions do contain the same content as the other larger sets, including all the special features and extras. The only difference is the packaging.

A hard act to follow, but they did ...
Many of those who grew up with the original Star Trek cast seem to have a particular affinity with the pioneering days of the concept; so it was never going to be an easy task to win them over. However, The Next Generation ultimately succeeded in winning an army of fans (old and new) and, in hindsight, it is clear that this cast and their 7 series were a phenomenal success.

This DVD pack includes all 25 episodes from series one (first broadcast in 1987/1988). Each instalment is around 42 minutes long and contains subtitle options. The journey kicks off with the telefilm "Encounter at Farpoint" (which also introduces the Q). Highlights of the first series include "Where Noone Has Gone Before", "Datalore", "11001001", "Heart of Glory, "Symbiosis", "Skin of Evil" and "Conspiracy" (the latter would have been a good movie if it had been developed and extended).

There are also 4 behind-the-scenes 'making of' documentaries which feature as extras. These vignettes include interviews with the cast and members of the backroom team.

The storylines contain much diversity (as you may expect from galactic wanderings). Core themes include morality, how man has evolved by the time of the 24th century, how man interacts with other life forms, identity, the 'prime directive' and cosmic variety.

On the downside, there's little continuity between episodes and this is something that may have added a bit more to the serial nature of the show.

Overall, a high quality level of output from Paramount - which is all the more remarkable when you remember that these productions were only intended as networked TV shows.