The Show:

Now that all of the Star Trek franchise been released on DVD in complete seasons it seems like a moot point to release compilations of episodes. Then again, considering the MSRP for many of those boxed sets it may not be. I don't know about you but I personally haven't been able to invest in picking up all of the series yet because of the price tag. Thankfully the costs seem to be deflating lately and retailers around the web are selling some of them at much more reasonable prices. Until then Trekkies on a budget may want to pay attention to the Fan Collectives that are being released.

Last month Paramount released a Borg Fan Collective on a four disc set. The collection featured hallmark episodes like "Best of Both Worlds Part 1 & 2", "I, Borg", and "Endgame". The Q continuum collective is said to be on the horizon, but for now the newest installment is Time Travel.

Ask any Trekkie and they'll tell you that time travel has been one of the mainstay themes in the Star Trek franchise. The end results for these stories often garner mixed results depending on the viewer. For the most part, these episodes are fun in their own right, but sometimes the time travel elements are so convoluted or weighed down by detailed jargon that the solution to the plot often comes across as "convenient". Either way you look at it though, playing with temporal mechanics had proven to be a fun theme for both the writers and the viewers. After all, I doubt that fans would have asked for a time travel collection if they didn't enjoy it.

On the Borg Collective there were episodes from Enterprise, The Next Generation, and Voyager. Obviously the original series was omitted because, well, there weren't any Borg. On this collective though the original series steps in where Enterprise was on the last set. It's kind of funny though because most of Enterprise featured a temporal cold war storyline throughout the series. But, these are supposed to be the ten most popular episodes as voted by fans. So I guess it's no surprise that the temporal cold war stuff didn't make it.

Things get started off with "Tomorrow Is Yesterday". This episode features Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise being thrown back in time to the 20th century. They wind up in the atmosphere over Omaha Airbase and get spotted on radar as a UFO. A fighter plane is sent up to investigate. The Enterprise tries to stop the plane by locking onto it with its tractor beam, but that tears it apart. In an effort to save the pilot they beam him on board, but by doing that they have contaminated the timeline. Then things get even more mucked up as yet another unwitting victim is transported onto the ship. It is then up to the crew to figure out how to get their guests back without remembering their visit and how to get the ship back to the 23rd century. Remember the sling shot around the sun theory? Guess where it was first used. I thought this episode was ok but felt that the solution to the problem was a little campy. It is time travel after all though. How much sense can it make?

Speaking of traveling through time and Star Trek it really doesn't get any more classic than "The City on the Edge of Forever". The Enterprise comes across a planet that is emitting waves of temporal energy. These waves rock the ship and cause Sulu to get injured. As Bones attempts to treat him he accidentally injects himself with some really powerful meds and, well, goes crazy. In his delirious state he transports himself to the planet's surface and goes back in time through a gateway called The Guardian of Forever. The away team that was tracking him on the surface soon discovers that whatever Bones did in the past changed the future so it's time for Kirk and Spock to jump through the portal after their friend. However, in a sad twist of fate, in order for the timeline to right itself a woman named Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) must die in an accident. Even by today's standards this is one of the most solid episodes of Trek to ever have been aired. It is not only considered one of the best from the original but in my opinion is one of the best in the franchise.

Up next it's Picard's turn to dabble with the effects of time. In "Yesterday's Enterprise" the U.S.S. Enterprise D comes across a rift in space that puts them in contact with a "ghost from their own past", the Enterprise C. Because the older Enterprise left a battle that they were supposed to be destroyed in all hell breaks loose. The correct timeline shifts gears and the Federation is in a full fledged war with the Klingons. Even Tasha Yar is brought back from the dead for this story arc. The anchor in between all of these events is Guinan who is the only one that senses that something has gone drastically wrong. This episode is another classic and was, in my opinion, one of the best episodes from TNG's lineup.

"Cause and Effect" was another interesting episode that placed the Enterprise in the middle of a temporal causality loop. What's that you say? It's a disturbance that causes them to experience the same series of events over and over again. If you have ever seen Groundhog's Day with Bill Murray then you basically get the gist of what's going on here. The kicker here is that the only clue that the crew has to what is going on is a developing sense of deja vu. I don't know who came up with this type of story first, but the Next Generation crew uses it to great effect in this episode. Oh, and don't blink at the end or you'll miss Kelsey Grammar in a brief cameo as the captain of the U.S.S. Bozeman.

"Time's Arrow Part 1 & 2" was a two parter that revolves around the discovery of Data's head back on Earth. The funny part is that in the current timeline it's still attached to his shoulders. The head was unearthed from a cave and determined to have been there since the 19th century. A little bit of CSI work leads them to find that a particular alien race from Devidia II is up to something back on Earth and may be involved in Data's situation. The crew of the Enterprise visits the planet and despite their efforts to prevent it, Data gets transported into the past. Eventually the rest of the senior staff go back in time to find him and try to stop the aliens that are disturbing Earth's history. These episodes were defiantly fun and the story was interesting, but I wouldn't exactly consider it the best that TNG had to offer.

Now, what I would consider one of the best from TNG is "All Good Things". The final episode for the series was easily the greatest ending note for any of the Star Treks. Humanity is put to the test once again by Q and it's up to Picard to solve a mystery involving the destruction of the human race. Q actually helps Jean-Luc by sending him to various points in his life. The first is actually the premier episode "Encounter at Farpoint", the second is simply the present, and the third is 25 years into the future. The tale is an intricate and emotional work masterfully delivered by the actors. Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie are absolutely brilliant in it and this stands as one of my favorite Trek episodes ever.

Next up is Deep Space Nine. There are two episodes from the series here, "Little Green Men" and "Trials and Tribble-ations". The first has Quark, Rom, and Nog accidentally traveling back to Earth around the 1950's and lucky them, they just happen to crash in Roswell, New Mexico. They are captured by U.S. military and while Rom and Nog wisely want to escape Quark thinks it might be a good business opportunity and tries to cut a deal with their hu-mon captors. It isn't the best time travel DS9 has ever done. The military offices come across as very stereotypical and almost idiotic, but watching the Ferengi interact with them can be quite funny. If you really want time travel "Trials and Tribble-ations" is the one to watch. This special episode was done for Star Trek's 30th anniversary and actually injected Sisko and company into the classic original series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles". There are clips from the original show and many of the newer scenes featured reconstructed sets and pieces. Heck, everything is authentic straight down to the uniforms and Dax's mini-skirt. I can't say anything more than I've always loved this episode.

And now on to Voyager. The first episodes from this series is the two parter "Year of Hell". I want to say up front that I did like this episode. The story revolves around a race called the Krenim who are trying to help their species by erasing several others from history. Even after being warned to stay away Voyager still decides to go through their space and ends up paying the price. This was a surprisingly moving episode that really showed the strength of the characters and just how close they have become to each other and the ship as well. However, as the story progressed it became more and more evident that the writers were going to pull out the big "Star Trek Reset Button". Everything gets wrapped up a little too conveniently and it really kind of cheapens the heart of the story.

And finally we have the Voyager series finale, "End Game". Tons of fun with time travel AND the Borg as Admiral Janeway tries to help her younger self get home much quicker than she did and save some lives along the way. If any of you have picked up the Borg Fan Collective then be prepared for a double dip. I understand that fans voted for their favorite episodes from the various themes, but from a pure marketing standpoint it seems like bad policy to release the same episode on another collection. I think a better choice in the Time Travel category would have been something like "Past Tense Parts 1 & 2" from DS9. But, then again who am I to ask for variety?

So in the end it is yet another collection of Star Trek episodes that have come along to serve fans that maybe didn't have enough money to get the whole seasons. If you're looking for a selection of some great episodes then these Fan Collectives are the way to go. Though, I do feel slightly cheated by the inclusion of "End Game" again. It is difficult to imagine that someone would be buying one particular set and not another. Also, even though these are labeled as "Time Travel" episodes they don't all have to do with the theme. Sure they all involve time in some manner, but episodes like "Year of Hell" and "Cause and Effect" technically don't involve traveling through it. Regardless of my nitpicking this is still a great set for an affordable price and should be in your Trek collection if you don't already have the series sets.

With such a wide range of production dates as this set has the video quality is quite good. Each episode is presented with its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and looks as fine, if not better than it did when it was broadcast. The original series features the most grain and the softest image, but I was impressed with how a show from the 60s could be cleaned up so nicely. DS9 and Voyager offered the best picture though The Next Generation wasn't too far behind. These each appear to be the same transfers from the complete boxed sets and I didn't really notice any disparity between the two.

The episodes here are presented with options for 2.0 and 5.1 Dolby Digital English tracks. The quality was very good with an overall clean presentation and fine channel separation. The audio could have been more pronounced but as it stands fans of the shows will be very pleased. There are also some optional English subtitles included on the set if you want to watch it with those on.

Just like the Borg Collective the only bonus features included on this set are a handful of commentaries. There are three text commentaries by Michael and Denise Okuda this time around. The episodes with commentaries are "Tomorrow is Yesterday", "Yesterday's Enterprise", and "Little Green Men". These bits are pretty informational and quite funny at times.

The bottom line for these Fan Collectives is that if you already own some of the Trek seasons on DVD then don't bother picking them up. These collections are made with fans on a budget or casual viewers who don't want to invest over a thousand dollars on all the Star Trek series. This is another great batch of episodes but I found it pretty irritating that "End Game" was on this set again. I'm looking forward to the Q Continuum collection, though I have a bad feeling that "All Good Things" will be double-dipped on that one as well.

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