The weakest episodes of season two were those that fixated too closely on our 20th century. When the crew of the Enterprise was not traveling back in time as they did in Assignment Earth, they were visiting planets that epitomized aspects of 20th century history. In A Piece of the Action, the Enterprise visits a planet modeled on prohibition era gangland Chicago. In Patterns of Force the model is Nazi Germany. For Bread and Circuses, the writers go further back in our history to feature a society modeled on the Roman Empire. Though any one of these episodes might have been passable on its own, the collective effect especially when amplified by similar episodes in the other seasons was diminishing. Instead of being a forward-focused series about the grand possibilities that space exploration and technology could provide, the series was occasionally an unimaginative, backward-looking, action-adventure yarn.

The Remastering

Unrestored Original	Restored

Original Effects	Enhanced Effects
* These standard-definition comparison images were generously provided by DVD Talk reviewer emeritus das Monkey from his review of Star Trek The Original Series - The Complete First Season (HD DVD).

Presentation
Form follows function in the slim, no-nonsense Blu-ray case which is approximately equivalent in size to the ubiquitous 5-disc Blade Runner Blu-ray release, or to two standard DVD cases. The 7 Blu-ray discs are housed on hinged trays, with episode and extras text appearing on the inside of the case cover through the transparent blue plastic. A superfluous cardboard slipcover is also provided.

The Blu-ray menus are similarly functional with none of the lengthy and problematic menus that plagued prior Star Trek releases.

Video:
Remastered in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, the episodes shine. Colors are vibrant with accurate flesh tones and deep blacks. Focus, contrast, and detail are significantly improved over prior DVD releases, and are comparable with the visually stunning HD DVD release from 2007.

Originally shot on film, the series benefits greatly from the increased resolution provided by the 1080p VC-1 high definition transfer. Whole new levels of detail are visible from variations in Nimoy's makeup to loose threads on uniforms. This is not to say that the image is perfect, some scratches and dirt made it through the restoration, but it looks vastly better than it ever did on DVD.

Audio:
Audio is presented in 7.1 DTS HD Master-Audio. The original English mono and French and Spanish mono dubs are also available. Like the picture, the audio for the series has been remastered and has never sounded better. Dialogue is crisp and distinct from score and effects. This mix trumps the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD mix offered on the HD DVD release from 2007 by utilizing the rear surrounds to convincingly handle ambient noise.

Optional subtitles are offered in English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Extras:

• Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Features Part 2 (HD, 12 min.) recollections and personal 8mm behind-the-scenes films of a supporting player who appeared in nearly every episode of the original series, frequently as Lt. Hadley but also as red shirts and costumed roles such as the white rabbit and Gorn Captain, and as DeForest Kelly's stand-in.

• Optional Episode Audio Commentary for "The Trouble with Tribbles" with writer David Gerrold.

• "More Tribbles, More Troubles" (HD, 24 min.) - Complete episode from Star Trek: The Animated Series with optional commentary by writer David Gerrold.

• "Trials and Tribble-ations" (HD, 45 min.) - Complete episode from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which blends material from the original Star Trek episode The Trouble with Tribbles with new material featuring the Deep Space Nine cast.

• "Trials and Tribulations": Uniting Two Legends (SD, 17 min.) - The first of two behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of this Deep Space Nine episode with emphasis on the actors and writers.

• "Trials and Tribulations": An Historic Endeavor (SD, 17 min.) - The second of two behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of this Deep Space Nine episode with emphasis on the production elements.

• Star Trek: TOS on Blu-ray (HD, 10 min.) - An interview with the production staff responsible for the new effects and re-mastering.

• Too Boldly Go . . . Season Two (SD, 19 min.) - a retrospective of the second season with emphasis on "The Trouble with Tribbles," "Mirror, Mirror," the introduction of Walter Koenig, and the development of the backstory for Spock's Vulcan heritage.

• Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy (SD, 12 min.) - principally about Nimoy's personal and professional interest in photography.

• Kirk, Spock & McCoy: Star Trek's Great Trio (SD, 7 min.) - explores the strong bonds between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

• Star Trek's Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols: (SD, 13 min.) - Nichols' reminiscences about her career, especially her memories about Star Trek.

• Designing the Final Frontier (SD, 22 min.) - a look at the set and prop designs by Matt Jefferies' art department.

• Writer's Notebook: D.C. Fontana (SD, 7 min.) - Dorothy Catherine "D.C." Fontana recalls her experiences as series writer and story editor.

• Star Trek's Favorite Moments (SD, 17 min.) - memories of favorite original Trek episodes from fans and actors, crew, and producers of subsequent Trek series.

• Star Trek Next Voyage previews.

• BD-Live content includes a diverse and expanding collection of photo galleries, data bases, video clips, games and other features.

• Mobile Blu content includes short features on Writing Spock, Creating Chekov, Listening to the Actors, and Spock's Mother.

N.B.: Images used in this review are in standard definition, from the 2007 DVD release of the first season. They are offered for reference purposes only and do not accurately reflect the HD image quality available on this release.