Others say...

"IF YOU'RE NOT SURE, READ THIS!"
I am a huge Star Trek fan and already own all 3 seasons of TOS on dvd so I was a unsure if I would pick this up. I was concerned that the new special effects would be a distraction away from the content of the epesodes. I did alot of internet reasearch reading reviews of both professional critics and everyday consumers to get the best idea of if it would be worth owning or not. I waited long enough that the price on amazon.ca went down to about 55 bucks! At that price I had to go for it! I have watched about half of the epesodes now on my hd dvd player and they look incredable. The show looks like it could have been filmed last week. It is almost impossible to believe that what you are watching is 40 plus year old content. I noticed the new special effects for the first few epesodes or so but after that they seem to flow effortlessly with the rest of the show. The only problem with this release is the packageing, there is no other way to describe it other than it sucks! Packageing aside if you are a true star trek fan and have been waiting and wondering if you want to make this purchase, wait no more! Even If you are concerned about HD DVD being a dead format the discs are combo format so the same content is on the flipside of the disc and will play in any standard dvd player in standard def. How can you lose? Go for it and you likley will not be dissopointed! I was most definatly not!

"An Original Seen In A Different Light"
This is an outstanding set that includes the 29 episodes from 1966 and a number of excellent special features, including interviews with the cast and producers and 1988 footage of Gene Roddenberry.

The meticulous remastering enhances each show and bolsters what has made the program an icon in TV pop culture icon, the wonderful storytelling and dialogue which propels the action. This is truly viewing the original in a while new light.

"Tomorrow Is Yesterday"
Being a huge Star Trek fan since I was old enough to sit up in front of the TV watching TOS reruns, I was blown away by the remastered quality of this DVD set. I'm sure anyone who has a favorite episode can attest to that. Two standouts for me are "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" and "The Doomsday Machine" (Season 2). Both of these are captivating in their original broadcast form, but the remastered (read: new) SFX shots of the Enterprise struggling to attain orbit with an Air Force jet in pursuit, and the multiple angled shots of the Enterprise and Constellation, having been attacked by the Doomsday Machine, are of such quality, I felt like I was watching a preview of the upcoming "Star Trek" film. The Enterprise, while not becoming a victim of "big screen surface detailing," now has a believeable mass and weight as she cruises thru space, and the various "beauty pass" shots in space as well as in orbit had me jumping up and down like I was at a Pistons game! The sound quality now lets one feel the danger when the ship lurches violently to and fro, throwing people all about the bridge. Even quiet moments give new perspective on the characters and guest stars' roles. I feel that the more adventure-driven episodes pack the most punch, though! I can't wait for Season 3 to see how the treatment has been applied to those great episodes, especially "Turnabout Intruder."

"Another money extraction from the lemmings"
I've seen some of the new CGI effects, and some are very nice. Others, flat and artificial. In that sense, they aren't any more "real" than the original grainy footage done with mattes and models.

But even if the new effects were state of the art, they are married to an old series where the sets are obviously plywood and cheap paint. The heavy makeup is not subtle either. Some of the medical instruments are literally oddly-shaped salt shakers. The rocks on the planet surfaces are a plastic or styrofoam-type material. This show was not meant for high definition. It was meant for standard definition analog television transmission. If you like seeing all the flaws, fine. That's not my bag, and maybe not yours either.

For me, the remastering is an exercise in futility. The show was what it was -- episodic S-F done quickly on a relatively modest budget. I loved the show, and spent a lot of my own time and effort trying to get the show revived back in the 1970s. All of you who enjoyed The Next Generation, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and the motion pictures can thank me and those like me -- who convinced Paramount that there was a real market for the continuing franchise.

But I've bought the first DVD sets of The Original Series, and I think they are a better representation of the show. Feel free to buy what you like, but newer is not necessarily better. Higher definition is not necessarily better. Why is it better to see all the pores on Captain Kirk's nose? To me, that's a distraction. The script's the thing. The acting is the thing. The anachronistic sets and costumes and grainy shots of spacecraft models... well, you're going to have to suspend your disbelief. Shakespeare had the worst special effects and sets imaginable back in his Globe Theater days. Imagination beats CGI any day of the week. Ultimately, the CGI does not look "real" either. And it clashes with the style of the live-action footage.

I fear that many purchases of these remastered editions will be knee-jerk responses by fans enticed by something new and different, without regard to whether it is truly an improvement. If you think the new mastering and effects significantly adds to the joy of this classic series, then that is certainly a valid reason to buy. I only want to caution people that they may have the same tepid reaction I have.

"Note to the hard of hearing"
I recently examined a set of these DVDs, purchased by a friend. The quality is fine, and the enhancements are worth the expense.

However, take note: for some reason, despite the product explanation to the contrary, there are NO English sub-titles included. There are French and Spanish sub-titles, and there is English closed-captioning, but the more easily readable, and less intrusive sub-titles in English are missing.

This also applies to set 2. It will be interesting to see if set 3 corrects this oversite.

This is all the more puzzling and annoying, as the earlier, un-enhanced versions of these DVDs do, indeed, have sub-titles in English.