JanJans Blog

I've been watching the Star Trek: The Next Generation BluRays for some time now - thanks to Pete, who got them for a really good price and was so kind to lend them to us - and I must say, the image quality really is astonishing. I never thought I'd see Old Baldhead in such glory on our TV screen. All the little details that are missing from the SD TV broadcasts are there: The surfaces of the ship's interior have a kind of structure that was missing before, the models and planets and matte paintings look brilliant, and it seems like the actors are standing right there in your living room, admittedly with some random noise from the original film material. Even the little flaws are visible: For example when Data finally gets free of the finger trap you can see that he lost some of the gold make-up on his fingers and that Brent Spiner is merely human.

The images are not cropped, the discs use the original 4:3 format, which is good because there is nothing missing from the shots, and bad, because of those two black bars on the side of the screen. Audio is good, but sometimes the music feels a bit tinny.

As for the plot: The first season of TNG was not the best Star Trek. It wasn't even close. Well, it is still better than most of TOS. (Don't hate me, I'm not a big fan of Kirk, never was, never will be. I'm a child of the '80s. ) There are plot holes all over the place. ...and Wesley, of course. (Interesting side note: When I first watched TNG I was about as old as Wesley is in the series and I thought: "Wow, finally there is someone like me on a freaking star ship." As I grew up my views became more, well, different. Man, that kid is annoying! Like a fly you try to catch but is always faster than your hand.)

But I digress. The stories are sometimes terrible, more concerned with "The Message" than stupid things like continuity, logic, or simply letting the actors do a good job. It all rather feels like we're sitting in a theatre, watching a modern interpretation of an old Greek tragedy - a bad one. But I guess they were still unsure as to what they were doing and where they were going with the show at that point. But from a 2013 point of view that is rather interesting, I think. It's like I've opened up a 25 year old time capsule and can take a glimpse at what the people of the late 1980s were concerned with. There are stories about adventure, love, hate, faith, equality, growing up, fantasy, mystery, power, war, crime, obsession, and abuse in there and I like them, flawed as they are. And everyone, every character is respected as a person, no matter what or who he is or what he or she believes, something that today's television, especially so called Reality TV, sometimes lacks. Hell, if you read this far, you must be a fan anyway and know what I mean.

Admittedly it all looks and feels a bit dated, antique even, but in a good way: Why are those people from the future running around with haircuts you wouldn't want to get caught dead with these days? Why does Wesley have to wear this horrid sweater? But I love TNG. I was an impressionable youth when I first saw this. I wanted the future to be a bit less grey and a bit more colourful like this sweater. The cold war was over, we were free to do what ever we wanted to now, or so we thought.

And now the conclusion: If you are a fan and can get these BluRay discs for a good price, just do it. (After watching half of Season 1 I think even the current retail price of about 70€ for the season box is justified. I personally would not pay that much, at least not for Season 1. Or Season 2 for that matter, I mean, who wants to see Dr. Pulaski in HD... And if you plan to get all seven seasons that is A LOT OF MONEY, so you might want to wait for a box including all episodes.)

If you are not a fan, well, why did you read this far? Anyway, you should find someone who owns the discs and take a peek, and remember: It has to get worse before it can get better! (Season 3 and onwards are - sometimes - quite brilliant, once the actors and writers figured out what they were doing.)