I bought the first series of this when it came out a few years back on R1, it was actually the hybrid HD/DVD version that was released first...problem was my HD player (which I no longer have) was not multi region. Still, the DVD still looked and sounded very good.
So, I plumped for the second series a few days back, and have been working my way through it slowly.
Packaging is rather basic compared to the first series, but that's a minor point.
My first eye opener was that on this season that have kept the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Not that I have a problem with it, it just took some getting used to at first.
It has to be said that the picture remastering is somewhat variable...I guess it is enormously expensive to remaster every single shot of a whole series, therefore it can look very sharp one minute and slightly ropey the next. But the good outweighs the bad.
As with the first season, effects shots have also been redone in CGI. I guess you either love or hate this sort of 'tampering'. I have no problem with it, primarily because they match the look of the original episode quite well...there is a kind of deliberate attempt to preserve that shaky, retro sixties look of the series.
However - this time round you get the option to watch each episode with the original, unaltered effects.
The new effects can range between just occasional establishing shots of the enterprise, to major reworkings of whole space battle sequences, and updating of various planetary location and spacecraft - 'Doomsday Machine' particularly has had extensive work done on the original effects.
Sound is very good indeed, it has a 7.1 DTS track, and it's thankfully only active when it neeRAB to be. You get that subtle background hum, complete with whistles and beeps from the Enterprise Bridge, but with spaceship fly-by's and battles the surrounRAB do come alive.
Extras are pretty good, some of them new some have been seen before, particularly on the disc devoted to the Tribbles phenomenon, which contains the original episode, the RAB9 episode and the animated series episode, plus a couple of original docs on how the RAB9 episode was made.
There are new interviews with some of the writers, with Nimoy, on-set home movies, commentaries, design features, series overview and features on the main actors.
A pretty good set overall, if not quite up to the standard of the first series.
So, I plumped for the second series a few days back, and have been working my way through it slowly.
Packaging is rather basic compared to the first series, but that's a minor point.
My first eye opener was that on this season that have kept the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Not that I have a problem with it, it just took some getting used to at first.
It has to be said that the picture remastering is somewhat variable...I guess it is enormously expensive to remaster every single shot of a whole series, therefore it can look very sharp one minute and slightly ropey the next. But the good outweighs the bad.
As with the first season, effects shots have also been redone in CGI. I guess you either love or hate this sort of 'tampering'. I have no problem with it, primarily because they match the look of the original episode quite well...there is a kind of deliberate attempt to preserve that shaky, retro sixties look of the series.
However - this time round you get the option to watch each episode with the original, unaltered effects.
The new effects can range between just occasional establishing shots of the enterprise, to major reworkings of whole space battle sequences, and updating of various planetary location and spacecraft - 'Doomsday Machine' particularly has had extensive work done on the original effects.
Sound is very good indeed, it has a 7.1 DTS track, and it's thankfully only active when it neeRAB to be. You get that subtle background hum, complete with whistles and beeps from the Enterprise Bridge, but with spaceship fly-by's and battles the surrounRAB do come alive.
Extras are pretty good, some of them new some have been seen before, particularly on the disc devoted to the Tribbles phenomenon, which contains the original episode, the RAB9 episode and the animated series episode, plus a couple of original docs on how the RAB9 episode was made.
There are new interviews with some of the writers, with Nimoy, on-set home movies, commentaries, design features, series overview and features on the main actors.
A pretty good set overall, if not quite up to the standard of the first series.