TV SERIES Studio releases season one of 'Star Trek' on DVD

The eight discs include extras such as subtitled trivia.
By RANDY A. SALAS
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL STAR TRIBUNE
The five-year mission of the starship Enterprise was to seek out new life and new civilizations. The five-year mission of Paramount Home Entertainment appears to have been to wait that long before reissuing the original "Star Trek" series on DVD.
The popular 1960s sci-fi series first came out on DVD starting in August 1999. Each of the 40 volumes, released through December 2001, contained only two episodes from the show's three-season run. There were no extras, save for a few promo spots. At a retail price of $19.99 each, collecting the 15 discs for just the first season cost close to $300.
That was then. Now, thanks to the TV boom on DVD, complete-season sets of shows are the norm. Issued in space-saving packaging and fewer, content-packed discs, they often include supplemental material.
That brings us to the new release of "Star Trek: The Original Series -- The Complete First Season" (Paramount, $129.99). The eight-disc set comes packed with extras and in unique packaging that looks like it could have come right off the Enterprise.
Selling well
But are fans miffed at having to buy the episodes all over again?
Not judging by preorders online, where buyers have been attracted to the set like Capt. James T. Kirk to a comely woman. At Amazon, where it sells for $84.99, the first-season set has been in the top 20 ever since it went up for sale and shot to No. 3 over the weekend -- and this despite the fact that it sells for nearly twice the price of any other top seller there.
Those who already have the first "Trek" discs but don't care about extras should stay on course with what they have, because that's the main difference between the old and new releases. The sometimes-gimmicky Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is the same, although a two-channel surround-sound option has been added (but still no original mono). The picture quality is the same, which is fine because, except for reused stock footage, these 38-year-old episodes look mostly fabulous.
Those who do upgrade for the supplements will find much to like.
The authors of "The Star Trek Encyclopedia" offer subtitled trivia during four episodes -- "Where No Man Has Gone Before," both parts of "The Menagerie" and "The Conscience of the King" -- that breezily ruminates on everything from the show's depiction of future life to plot holes. There also are about 70 minutes' worth of retrospectives, including interviews with stars William Shatner (Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock), that take a look at the show's inception and production, its legacy, stories and characters.
Top episodes
For those who haven't delved deeply into the original series on DVD, the new set is a no-brainer. Unlike many first seasons of even the most acclaimed TV shows, "Star Trek" was populated with great episodes from the get-go. They include:
U"The Conscience of the King," a Shakespearean murder mystery in which the leader of an acting troupe is suspected of being a dictator who had 4,000 people killed during a food shortage.
U"The Menagerie," a redressed version of the pilot episode, in which the Enterprise's original captain is imprisoned as breeding stock by super-intelligent aliens.
U"The Naked Time," whose memorable scenes include Lt. Sulu (George Takei) storming the halls with a fencing foil after a virus' side effects remove the crew members' inhibitions.
U"Space Seed," the episode that guest-starred Ricardo Montalban as the genetically enhanced Khan Noonien Singh and inspired the film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."
The second- and third-season sets are due Nov. 2 and Dec. 14, respectively.