STAR TREK
THE ORIGINAL SERIES
SEASON 2

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett and Grace Lee Whitney

Out to buy on DVD 01/11/04

 

"Live long and prosper"

Mr Spock

Space...The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Amok Time
While on course for Altair VI, Kirk learns from his chief medical officer that Spock's behaviour is becoming increasingly irrational. When Kirk questions his first officer, Spock insists that all he needs is rest on his home planet of Vulcan. Kirk tries to accommodate Spock, but when inauguration ceremonies on Altair VI are rescheduled, the trip to Vulcan is cancelled. Spock changes the ship's course to Vulcan, and when Kirk learns what has happened he orders a complete medical examination of his first officer. McCoy soon discovers that Spock must be taken to Vulcan as soon as possible or he will die.

Who Mourns For Adonais?
While entering orbit around Pollux IV, the Enterprise encounters an energy field in the shape of a giant green hand that holds the Enterprise in place. After trying to break free, an image of a head appears on the view screen and invites a landing party, excluding Spock, down to the planet. Once there, Kirk and the others meet a being that identifies himself as the god Apollo and refuses to allow the landing party to leave.

The Changeling
The Enterprise crew discovers that the Malurian system has been destroyed, and during their investigation a small spacecraft of enormous power attacks the ship. When Kirk identifies himself, the attack abruptly ends and communication is established with the unknown vessel which happens to be small enough to be beamed aboard the Enterprise. Kirk learns that the vessel is actually a probe named Nomad and that the attack on the Enterprise was discontinued after Nomad identified Kirk as "the Kirk," its creator.

Mirror, Mirror
Kirk and a small landing party are trying to negotiate with the Halkans for Federation rights to mine dilithium crystals on their planet, but the ultra-peaceful Halkans are very reluctant to allow a mining treaty. When an ion storm arrives Kirk decides to return to the Enterprise until the storm passes, but just as Scott beams up the landing party the transporter malfunctions, sending Kirk, Scott, McCoy, and Uhura into an alternate universe and aboard the Imperial Starship Enterprise.

The Apple
Kirk and a landing party beam down to investigate Gamma Trianguli VI and to make contact with its natives. The planet seems like a paradise until they discover plants that shoot deadly needles, exploding rocks, and highly accurate lightning bolts. When they try to beam up, Scott informs them that something on the planet has crippled the Enterprise's power and has made the transporter useless.

The Doomsday Machine
The Enterprise arrives in system L374 only to find that most of the planets have been destroyed. The two inner planets are still intact, and as the Enterprise draws closer they pick up a ship's distress beacon coming from a crippled U.S.S. Constellation (NCC-1017). Kirk and a landing party beam over to the ship to investigate and find only its commander, Commodore Matt Decker, still aboard. The commodore is weakened and in a state of shock but he is able, with the help of the ship's log, to piece together what happened. A giant robot ship has wandered into the galaxy and is destroying planets in its path, digesting the debris for fuel.

Catspaw
Only one man from the landing party investigating Pyris VII beams back to the Enterprise, and just after materializing he falls to the floor and dies. But when his mouth opens a voice speaks which warns Kirk to leave Pyris VII. Unwilling to abandon his chief engineer and helmsman, Kirk beams down to the planet with Spock and McCoy and encounter numerous images and objects related to Halloween; three witches, fog, a dark castle, a black cat, and a skeleton equipped dungeon where they find themselves after being captured.

I, Mudd
An android named Norman has been masquerading as an Enterprise crewman until he decides to capture the ship and take it to an uncharted planet. There, the landing party finds Harry Mudd with hundreds of androids to serve him. Harry proclaims himself King Mudd the First and begins showing off the beautiful female androids surrounding him.

Metamorphosis
Assistant Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford had been assigned to stop a war on Epsilon Canaris III, but after contracting Sakuro's disease, she was being shuttled to the Enterprise for treatment when a powerful energy cloud pulls the shuttlecraft off course to Gamma Canaris N. After a brief investigation of the shuttle and their surroundings, Kirk and the others find a humanoid man on the planet that claims to have been marooned there several years ago. He invites them to his shelter where they eventually learn his identity; Zefram Cochrane, a native of Alpha Centauri who discovered the space warp, which helped pioneer faster than light travel.

Journey To Babel
The Enterprise is transporting a group of ambassadors from various planets across the Federation to the Babel Conference. Among the representatives are Spock's parents, Vulcan Ambassador Sarek and his Terran wife Amanda.

Friday's Child
The Enterprise travels to Capella IV in order to negotiate a mining treaty with the inhabitants, but when a landing party beams down they find that the Klingons have already arrived and have left a representative, named Kras, to secure a mining agreement for the Klingons.

The Deadly Years
The Enterprise arrives at Gamma Hydra IV to deliver supplies but finds the colony oddly quiet. When the landing party searches for survivors, Chekov discovers the body of a man who has apparently died of old age. The only colonists who are still alive are an elderly couple who claim to be in their late twenties.

Obsession
While confirming a rich supply of di-kronium on Argus X, Kirk notices a sickly sweet smell in the air and sends a security team to investigate. Soon after, two of the men are dead from causes that Kirk has seen before.

Wolf In The Fold
To further his recovery from a head injury, Scott is escorted down to the planet Argelius II where Kirk and McCoy help him to relax by visiting a cabaret. There, Scott becomes interested in a dancer, Kara, and leaves the club with her. The captain and doctor leave the club as well, but after hearing screams they rush into an alley where they find Kara dead and a dazed Scott holding a bloodstained dagger.

The Trouble With Tribbles
Cyrano Jones, a small-time merchant trader, introduces tribbles to station K-7. The tribbles, small purring balls of fur, seem harmless enough, but because all they do is eat and multiply they soon overpopulate the station and the Enterprise.

The Gamesters Of Triskelion
Just before an inspection of automated installations on uninhabited Gamma II, Kirk, Chekov, and Uhura are beamed off of the bridge of the Enterprise. They find themselves on a strange planet in an entirely different solar system where they are immediately confronted by various aliens and forced to surrender. Confused and annoyed by their situation, Kirk demands an explanation but is informed only that they are on the planet Triskelion and that they are to spend the rest of their lives as gladiator thralls.

A Piece Of The Action
Over 100 years ago, before the Federation directive of non-interference, the U.S.S. Horizon visited the planet Iotia and reported its inhabitants as being extremely bright and imitative humanoids. Unfortunately, the Horizon accidentally left some materials behind, and the Enterprise has been ordered to investigate Iotia and learn what effect these items have had on the culture. Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to visit Bela Oxmyx, one of the planet's leaders, and discover a culture resembling America in the early 20th Century.

The Immunity Syndrome
After a long and tiring patrol the Enterprise crew are due for shore leave, but a priority message from Starfleet ends all of that with orders to assist in a rescue operation. All contact has been lost with solar system Gamma 7A, and the Enterprise is ordered to investigate. As the ship heads toward that region of space, Spock suffers a severe mind jolt and insists that the starship Intrepid (NCC-1631), manned exclusively by Vulcans, has been destroyed.

A Private Little War
Spock and McCoy beam down to a planet that Kirk surveyed 13 years ago. At that time the natives were primitive but peaceful. On this visit, however, he is shocked to learn that the village natives have developed flintlock firearms and are engaged in a war against the hill people. When the landing party is discovered, Spock is wounded and hurriedly beamed back to the Enterprise. Kirk returns to the planet with McCoy in an effort to contact the captain's old friend, Tyree, who is now the leader of the hill people.

Return To Tomorrow
When the Enterprise visits a long dead planet, a voice calls out to Kirk from deep under the planet's surface asking for assistance. The senior officers are sceptical of Sargon's intentions, but Kirk decides to help and beams down to investigate. The landing party finds three living, highly intelligent, but disembodied entities living inside globes.

Patterns Of Force
The Enterprise arrives at the planet Ekos for a routine check and to report on the progress of famous historian John Gill who is stationed there as a cultural observer. Suddenly, the Enterprise is fired on with a nuclear missile, demonstrating technology that the Ekosians should not posses. Kirk and Spock beam down to investigate and find a society based on 20th Century Nazi Germany, complete with military uniforms, a fuehrer, and an enemy: the peaceful neighbouring planet of Zeon.

By Any Other Name
Responding to a distress call from an Earth-like planet, a landing party from the Enterprise beams down to investigate. Soon, Kirk and the others learn that those responsible for the faked message are actually aliens from the Andromeda Galaxy sent out to scout for other galaxies to conquer. They managed to penetrate the energy barrier, but their ship was destroyed in the attempt. Now they need the Enterprise in their return trip to Andromeda, a voyage that will take 300 years and many generations of Kelvans to complete.

The Omega Glory
Upon approaching planet Omega IV, the Enterprise finds the missing starship Exeter (NCC-1672) in orbit but is unable to communicate with her. Kirk beams over with a landing party and finds all of the crew dead from a mysterious disease. After reviewing the chief surgeon's final log report, which warns boarders not to carry the virus back to their ship, Kirk and the others hurriedly beam down to the planet. On Omega IV the landing party finds Captain Ron Tracey, commander of the Exeter, who has been living with a group of villagers called the Kohms since being stranded on the planet. But soon, Spock discovers that Tracey has also been violating the Prime Directive by killing hundreds of barbarian Yang raiders!

The Ultimate Computer
Dr. Richard Daystrom has developed the next generation of computers, the M-5 Multitronic Unit, and Starfleet has ordered the device to be tested aboard the Enterprise. Once installed, tests begin with simple manoeuvres and navigation problems, tasks that Kirk feel do not deserve the lavish attention given to the computer. After a mock engagement with the U.S.S. Lexington (NCC-1709) where the M-5 shows remarkable skill in defending the Enterprise, Commodore Wesley, the Lexington's commander, teases Kirk about being replaced by a computer. The performance of the M-5 pleases Daystrom, but at the same time Kirk feels uncomfortable about serving under a machine.

Bread And Circuses
The S.S. Beagle, missing for six years, is found as debris near Planet IV of System 982. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to the planet to investigate and find a ragged group of fugitive slaves trying to stay hidden from the police.

Assignment: Earth
The Enterprise is sent on a mission back to Earth in the year 1968 to discover details about how the planet survived the arms race. While in orbit, the ship intercepts a transporter beam from an unknown part of the galaxy and beams the space traveller aboard. Surprised by what has taken place, the man identifies himself as Gary Seven and claims to be a 20th Century Earthman raised on an unknown world and trained to prevent Earth from destroying itself.

The original series that spurned a televisual legend continues to go where no man has gone before for its second season.

The first season of Star Trek was groundbreaking and the second run of the show kept up that very high standard. Gene Roddenberry's vision continued to mix science fiction with political rhetoric that reflected the problems and issues of the time. Under the mask of adventure driven Sci-Fi, Roddenberry and his cast and crew could tackle issues that no over TV series in America could at that time. Using different planets, aliens and variations on a theme, Star Trek tackled issues like racism, the war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement, the cold war and many other subjects that no one else was touching. While the series didn't refer to these issues directly, Roddenberry and his writers tackled them under the guise of science fiction and the fact that these stories were set in the future and not in the 1960s. This allowed the show great freedom and earned the show great respect amongst critics and fans.

At the heart of the show was a multi-racial, ensemble cast. The three leads, William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock and DeForest Kelly as Dr. 'Bones' McCoy, instantly drew you into the show, as their chemistry was so good. As the progressed into its second season, this became all the more evident as most of the episodes now revolved around these three brilliant characters. Due to film commitments George Takei (Sulu) missed a lot of the second run but the makers of the show bought in a young actor called Walter Koenig to appeal to fans of the Beatles and the Monkeys. His character, Russian ensign Pavel Chekov became an instant fan favourite and a much-loved addition to the show. Scotty and Uhura, played brilliantly by James Doohan and Nichelle Nichols, had more to do in the second season and became an even more integral part of the Enterprise crew.

As with the first, the second season of Star Trek is filled with classic episodes. The season starts of with one of the most loved episodes of the entire run, 'Amok Time'. This is the show that defined the Vulcans and their culture. We are introduced to the Pon Farr, the Vulcan leader T'Pau and the planet Vulcan itself. We also see Spock and Kirk fight to the death, how much more classic can you get? 'Mirror, Mirror' was the first episode to take us into the alternative universe, a parallel world that would be later explored in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Here we saw evil versions of our heroes and the Enterprise as a ship of war not exploration. We meet Spock's parents for the first time in 'Journey to Babel'. 'Patterns of Force' sees the crew dressed as Nazis and crew travel back to 1968 in 'Assignment: Earth'. Probably the favourite episode of the second season and one of the all time favourites in all the Star Trek series is 'Trouble with Tribbles'. This is only real comedic episode that the original series did and they did it so well. Seeing Kirk covered in tribbles is a classic Sci-Fi moment.

The Original Series of Star Trek continued to set the standard for science fiction television during its second season. With the cast and crew getting better in their roles and jobs the series just continued to develop on every level. This is a legendary series that is a landmark in television history and one that should be treasured forever. May it live long and prosper.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in full frame 4:3 with a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound track, the transfer is very good, especially when you take into account that the show is almost forty years old. There are some slightly grainy scenes, mainly during the special effects shots, but not enough to derail your enjoyment. Aside from that, the picture quality is very sharp, enhancing the exuberant colours of the era. The sound is also very good, with clear dialogue and a real chance for the trademark music to fill the speakers.

BONUS FEATURES

Preview Trailers
For each of the episodes of season two, you can watch the NBC preview for the show, which were transmitted during the show's initial run.

To Boldly Go… Season Two (19.31 mins)
Producer Robert Justman, story editor/writer D.C. Fontana, Star Trek author/archivist Bjo Trimble and stars William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei and Walter Koenig reminisce about the second season of Star Trek. The group discuss classic episodes from the season including 'Trouble with Tribbles', 'Amok Time', 'Journey to Babel', 'Mirror, Mirror', 'A Private Little War' and 'Who mourns for Adonais?' Walter Koenig and D.C. Fontana reveal why Chekov was brought into the series and the group talk about how the show used the mask of science fiction to cover many current issues that other programmes couldn't.

Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy (12.01 mins)
Leonard Nimoy reveals his true passion outside of acting, writing and directing, photography. He talks passionately about his Time and Image projects, his exploration of self-portraits and his collection of images called Shekhina. This featurette shows Nimoy's great creativity and eye for image, showing there is more to him that just logic and the pointy ears.

Kirk, Spock and Bones: Star Trek's great Trio (7.08 mins)
Story editor/writer D.C. Fontana, producer John D.F. Black, Star Trek author/archivist Bjo Trimble and stars William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and George Takei talk about the on screen chemistry between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. D.C. Fontana reveals how fan and studio reaction promoted DeForest Kelly's McCoy to take a more prominent role in the show and Shatner and Nimoy talk about their friendship both on and off screen.

Designing the Final Frontier (22.17 mins)
Art director Matt Jefferies is joined by producer Robert Justman, story editor/writer D.C. Fontana, Star Trek archivist Penny Juday, set designer John Jefferies and set decorator John Dwyer talk about creating the look of the Original Series. This informative and entertaining featurette includes some of Matt Jefferies original sketches and designs for the series as he talks about designing the 23rd century on a micro budget. Matt and the team reveal how they tried to make the planet set sound stage look as different as possible for each episode as they could and the punishing schedule they went through during a season.

Star Trek's Devine Diva: Nichelle Nichols (13.02 mins)
Lt. Uhura herself, Nichelle Nichols talks about her career and involvement in Star Trek. She reveals how Gene Roddenberry and she brought the character to life and how they came up with the name. The actress also talks about her singing and dancing career both before, after and during Star Trek, as Uhura was know to break out into song in the odd episode.

Writer's Notebook: D.C. Fontana (7.33 mins)
Story editor/writer D.C. Fontana reminisces about her favourite episodes from season two, including 'Amok Time', 'By Any Other Name' and 'Who Mourns the Adonais'. She also talks about creating the show 'Character Bible' and why she called herself D.C. Fontana.

Star Trek's Favourite Moments (Region 2 Exclusive) (17.09 mins)
Executive producer Jeri Taylor, co-executive producer Ronald D. Moore, science consultant Andre Bormanis, visual effects supervisor Ronald B. Moore, Star Trek author/archivist Bjo Trimble and stars Michael Dorn (Worf), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Tim Russ (Tuvok), John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox), Jeffery Combs (Weyoun/Brunt/Shran), Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forester) and Robert O'Reilly (Gowron) talk about their favourite Original Series episodes and what Star Trek means to them.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine DVD Trailer (4.49 mins)
An extended preview of the third Star Trek series as it hits DVD. With interviews of executive producer Rick Berman and stars Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell and Andrew J. Robinson.

Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD Trailer (1.10 mins)
A short trailer advertising the DVD release of the first Star Trek spin-off series

Star Trek: Voyager DVD Trailer (2.20 mins)
A preview of the DVD release of third spin-off series as the crew of the Starship Voyager tries to get home.

Production Art
A montage of sketches and designs from the series by Art Director Matt Jefferies.

Photo Gallery
A collection of promotional and behind the scenes images from the second season of Star Trek.

Easter Eggs: Red Shirt Logs (7.20 mins)
Find four hidden featurettes that cover the science of Star Trek, the costumes, censorship of the series and how to make a Tribble.

OVERALL

Paramount has done it again with another exceptional Star Trek DVD package. Each episode is presented beautifully with excellent picture and sound quality for everyone. The standard of the extras is again extremely high, offering not only an insight into the series but a look at the lives of the actors that played the parts as well. The only real shame is the omission of any commentary tracks as it would have been a real bonus to listen to the crew comment on their favourite episodes. This aside, the package is another fine example of how a classic TV show should be treated on DVD. Make sure this beam down into your collection.

DVD


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