Best/Most Complete Total Series Collection

[nola000]

New to the forum. Been a huge STTNG fan since ~1992.

My daughter is 9 and her and I used to sit together with her in my lap on the couch and watch STTNG from the time she was born until about age 4 or 5 when we lost the ability to watch it on streaming service. It was our special connection, daddy/daughter time. Because of this she grewup a big fan and still is. I never had it on hardcopy and shes asked about watching it with me on several occasions since then and she seems disappointed everytime I remind her we cant. This has prompted me to look into purchasing the entire series on Blu-Ray and gifting it to her for Christmas.

Needless to say, my head is spinning. There are so many sets, packing, releases, specials features, foreign/domestic, etc that I cant make heads or tails of it.

Can the good folks here steer me in the right direction? Im looking for the Blu-Ray set with the highest quality reproduction, most complete, has the most features, etc, that I can play here in the USA. If I have to buy used because what Im looking for is out of production, Im not against that. I dont value any accoutrements like commemorative items but if the best set comes with that then Im ok with it as Im sure my daughter would like the stickers, cups, etc. Im also not against buying the seasons individually as opposed to a set if thats the best route to go.

Ive seen mentions online about problems with bad packaging that causes dics to fall out and get scratched. Id like to avoid that but Im also not against buying blank Blu-Ray cases, printing out labels and repackaging those dics if thats a set that is "the best".

 

[Qonundrum]

Great question and thanks for sharing your story! I bought the blus on initial release, save for a couple releases that had special bonus features not found in the regular sets (Best Buy exclusives, et al.) Am hoping someone can give a comprehensive answer...

I have seen complete series rereleases, at incredibly good prices, and have been tempted to splurge. If the rerelease has all the fixed issues (e.g. "Brothers" where the ship goes into blue alert), I'd buy it in an instant. (That said, we much know that seasons 2 and 4 won't have much, much less re-done in-house to be raised to the standards set for seasons 1, 3, 5-7), unfortunately, but their issues aren't deal-breakers.)

 

[tomalak301]

I think the best you are going to get is the remastered versions. You get the special features of the DVDS and the new stuff if you like, but the picture quality is much improved (except for season 2, which I think they screwed up on). Either that or you might get them digitally, but I appreciate that I have the Blu Rays. I just wish DS9 and Voyager were released on blu rays as well.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

That said, we much know that seasons 2 and 4 won't have much, much less re-done in-house to be raised to the standards set for seasons 1, 3, 5-7

What went wrong with Seasons 2 and 4?

 

[JesterFace]

I wonder, are there any sets available where you could watch episodes 'Encounter at Farpoint' and 'All Good Things...' in two parts as they were split later into two parts?
I think hour and a half is a bit too much at one sitting so I watch those episodes in two parts.

 

[tomalak301]

What went wrong with Seasons 2 and 4?

I remember they outsourced the remastering efforts to another company in Season 2 and it looked pretty bad. Lots of images just didn't fit right and actually looked a little blurry. I don't remember what happened with the Season 4 sets.

 

[Qonundrum]

What went wrong with Seasons 2 and 4?

Long story short:
Originally, the odd-numbered seasons would be done in-house, with the even-numbered ones outsourced; some blu-ray extras (e.g. season 1, the 3-episode preview disc, et al) go into more detail, but the main reason was to expedite their releases.

With season 2, the number of f/x-related mistakes made compelled the studio to change providers for season 4. (There was one episode where the side of the Enterprise saucer trails off.) Some overlaid layers are in the wrong positions or not present. You might see a nice blue glow around the main viewscreen that wasn't there before, etc. The Borg cube lacked a detail layer - it looks a little off, but not terrible. The 2' model has a weird deflector dish glow, etc. The funniest thing is that another season 2 episode (the original SD) had been neatly fixed for the blu-ray. Trekcore no longer has the SD screencaps, so comparisons are no longer possible. But, for example:

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There was one other channel I tried to find, which used angular wipes to go between DVD and blu-ray. No such comparisons were found.

That said, the live-action footage generally looks great. (A different film stock was used as well, not to mention that all the seasons lose some of the "warmth" from the SD releases due to editing issues AND the wonderfulness of NTSC inconsistency, what with NTSC also standing for "never the same color" by engineers of the time... obviously some color timing could nudge that, but would cause other issues. I adore all 7 seasons on blu without that level of tinkery.

Season 4's results were generally better, but not perfect either -- it was ultimately decided that season 6 would be done in-house as well. Looks so much the better for it.

 

[Qonundrum]

I wonder, are there any sets available where you could watch episodes 'Encounter at Farpoint' and 'All Good Things...' in two parts as they were split later into two parts?
I think hour and a half is a bit too much at one sitting so I watch those episodes in two parts.

I think there were some special DVD compilation releases, like one for the Borg, another for Q, etc... the Q one probably had it.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I remember they outsourced the remastering efforts to another company in Season 2 and it looked pretty bad. Lots of images just didn't fit right and actually looked a little blurry. I don't remember what happened with the Season 4 sets.

Long story short:
Originally, the odd-numbered seasons would be done in-house, with the even-numbered ones outsourced; some blu-ray extras (e.g. season 1, the 3-episode preview disc, et al) go into more detail, but the main reason was to expedite their releases.

With season 2, the number of f/x-related mistakes made compelled the studio to change providers for season 4. (There was one episode where the side of the Enterprise saucer trails off.) Some overlaid layers are in the wrong positions or not present. You might see a nice blue glow around the main viewscreen that wasn't there before, etc. The Borg cube lacked a detail layer - it looks a little off, but not terrible. The 2' model has a weird deflector dish glow, etc. The funniest thing is that another season 2 episode (the original SD) had been neatly fixed for the blu-ray. Trekcore no longer has the SD screencaps, so comparisons are no longer possible. But, for example:

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There was one other channel I tried to find, which used angular wipes to go between DVD and blu-ray. No such comparisons were found.

That said, the live-action footage generally looks great. (A different film stock was used as well, not to mention that all the seasons lose some of the "warmth" from the SD releases due to editing issues AND the wonderfulness of NTSC inconsistency, what with NTSC also standing for "never the same color" by engineers of the time... obviously some color timing could nudge that, but would cause other issues. I adore all 7 seasons on blu without that level of tinkery.

Season 4's results were generally better, but not perfect either -- it was ultimately decided that season 6 would be done in-house as well. Looks so much the better for it.

Thanks to both for such detailed responses! *hug*

 

[Qonundrum]

Thanks to both for such detailed responses! *hug*

Always glad to help! .yllaicepsE I nehw desrever teg t'nod ym stcaf

Oh yeah, I forgot - CBS did pt 2 of "The Best of Both Worlds" to ensure consistency of f/x. The rest of season 4 was put out. (Not sure if "Redemption" was included...)

One thing about season 4 - compare the aft shots of the Enterprise; the impulse engine in particular still looks off and a bit flat.

Looking at more of season 2, while I remember some nasty nitpicks which still do stand out, the overall release is still much better than the DVD/SD was and I forgot how many of the DVD issues were legitimately improved upon. That said, season 2 blu was nowhere near as consistent or as great as the odd-numbered seasons. (Still better, though, but as a big fan of season 2, it still feels mildly depressing.) Anyway, I saw a few more subtle fixes when rewatching "The Child"'s example from above: The DVD/SD having purple nacelle glow in the original-- really?! But, again, NTSC ("Never The Same Color") really shows how the tape head and/or telecine circuitrary's calibration could go incredibly iffy in an instant. (Isn't alliteration awesome? ) before I get to the tangent, I will be re-watching other season 2 comparisons and probably post a few later on, and - now - back to the distracting tangent: Even the Atari 2600/7800, or 5200/8-bit computer lines all had this little potentiometer that had to be adjusted over time as it controlled the tint/hue. Even all CRT sets over the decades had that annoying little "Tint" knob (another potentiometer, woohoo!) in case what was broadcast wasn't quite right. To misquote Dr McCoy, how we ever got out of the 20th century is a miracle; people did and still sometimes do have gripes about "why" standards were swapped (right down to 4:3 vs 16:9 and those "annoying black bars", of which I'd much rather deal with pillarboxing than letterboxing any day of the Neptunian year... just show folks a 2.35:1 aspect ratio movie in both TV set formats, based on a 32" set and for 4:3 CRT you need a magnifying lens on top of all that... yep, collecting VHS movies in the coveted widescreen format then to watch on a 25" set where the actual screen of said movie was 10" x 23.5" was something to drool and froth over for "all the extra scene detail", ironically enough, LOL (yep, the TV's chassis was easily 2" worth of plastic chassis*)... yeah, resolution was limited but what was chopped for home video often meant significant visual cues or objects needed for the plot. That was still more important no matter how fuzzy those red, green, and blue phosphors looked...) /historicalFaff


* for which I had a TV that, due to the heat, caused said chassis to literally crumble when picking it up after 12 years. It was housed in the open and there were no airflow issues. The CRT tube still worked great but the chassis didn't begin to hold up to the stress of its own weight, when it had in years' prior...

 

[JesterFace]

I think there were some special DVD compilation releases, like one for the Borg, another for Q, etc... the Q one probably had it.

Good to know.

Has anyone else watched the hour and a half versions of different two part episodes?
For me the famous cliffhanger in 'The Best of Both Worlds' wasn't a cliffhanger the first time, I had a VHS version way back in the day and it was like watching a movie. Later when I watched the original version the "To Be Continued" moment was a WTF moment for me.

 

[nola000]

I bought the blus on initial release,

Do you mean the individual Blu-Ray Seasons?

Like this?

save for a couple releases that had special bonus features not found in the regular sets (Best Buy exclusives, et al.)

Can you expound on this? I cant find a clear explanation about the Best Buy versions. Just references to them.

 

[JesterFace]

When getting different sets one must remember to get one with the extended version of 'The Measure of a Man'.

 

[Qonundrum]

Do you mean the individual Blu-Ray Seasons?

Like this?

Can you expound on this? I cant find a clear explanation about the Best Buy versions. Just references to them.

Yeah, the individual season sets came out like that. Best Buy had some exclusive content and I sometimes went to other stores, not knowing of the extra goodies. I don't recall all the details.

I've seen the complete series repackaged and sold at $150 for the lot, which is amazing. Just not sure if the complete repackaging included any residual fixes, e.g. season 4 had a couple of goofs (Nth Degree had an f/x explosion off by a frame or two, and - of course - the blue alert in "Brothers" also showing red as nobody changed the bulbs when making the episode...)