I was first introduced to Star Trek when I was about ten or
eleven years old and my father would watch The Next Generation (herein referred
to as TNG) every time it came on. It is the show I grew up watching, but would
never dabble in the other series until I got a little older. TNG is my favorite
series out of the current five, but will I set aside my love for TNG to review
Star Trek the Next Generation, The Complete Series?
Star Trek the Next Generation, The Complete Series, herein
referred to as TNG-CS brand new will run you about $280-$370 dollars, but for
this installment I just don’t see your moneys worth.
THE PACKAGING
The packaging to TNG-CS alone doesn’t make this worth a
$280+ price tag in my opinion. This 49 disc collection is secured in a plastic
base with a clear plastic cover to go over the DVD cases themselves. However,
the DVDs are in a thin plastic like cases that seem to be made of the kind of
plastic found in a chocolate box; only a little thicker. These thin cases that
hold 2 discs (one on each side) are stacked in numbers of eight and TAPED
together. This poor construction over time will require you to replace the thin
cases or re-tape them as needed.
The DVDs also have a few problems (at least for the ones I
have) as well. These issues range from miss prints on the discs (episode listed
incorrectly on disc) to many of the episodes freezing either at the beginning
or middle of the episodes.
Rating: 1 Starship out of 5
SPECIAL FEATURES
Special features for TNG-CS are nothing to get to excited
about as some of the features you might have seen on older DVD releases (or
even VHS) or perhaps even seen on television. Disc 49 contains ten special
features that range from 15-45min each. However, each disc 7 for each season
also contains some special features for that season, but the lack of episode
commentary was very disappointing.
Rating: 3 Starships out of 5
TNG IN GENERAL
After watching the whole series and getting to watch about
50+ I missed well growing up and during re-runs I felt that there where a few
episodes that seemed missed placed, un-needed, or lacking a purpose for showing
or doing something. I personally would have to say that a few of my favorite
episodes from TNG off the top of my head are: Darmok (S5), Rascals (S6), Relics
(S6), Parallels (S7), and Genesis (S7).
Rating: 4 Starships out of 5
OVERALL
TNG-CS is something I am glad I only paid $129 brand new for
because any more then that and I would have sent it back for the poor packaging
alone. I wanted to like this version DVD release, but with poor packaging and
average special features I recommend you buy the individual seasons then this
complete set.