First TNG Season 3 Reviews Appear

Two weeks before the box set's release, the first reviews of the TNG third-season DVD collection have appeared on the net. The set can also be pre-ordered online.

• "Season Three is highly regarded as the absolute best of the Next Generation series for several reasons, " wrote Ronald Epstein at the Home Theater Forum. "First, the show had finally hit its stride, producing consistent quality shows. It was here that many of the shows started to relate back to other episodes in storyline. This season also started fleshing out the Klingons. Of course, the season episode finale was the most talked about episode in Star Trek history to that date. Last but not least, each episode began with a newer and slicker title sequence."

  Epstein went on to describe the box set's special features, including several supplements in which the cast and crew look back at the show's third season. These include 'Mission Overview,' in which Michael Piller and Peter Lauritson talk about the new writing staff they hired, and Gates McFadden talks about coming back to the show, as well as 'Production,' detailing the creation of several memorable visual effects sequences. A full description of all the special features can be found here at the Home Theater Forum.

• Jeremy Conrad at IGN DVD began by awarding the actual season a 10/10, but he also liked the technical aspects of the DVD. "All of the episodes are presented full-frame, and the video quality here is overall pretty decent. Aside from some very minor compression artifacts (such as a little video noise here and there), and some edge enhancement, the overall picture quality across all of the episodes in the set is pretty good, given that the source material is fifteen years old."

  The box set's sound also got praise. :"As with the original series DVDs, Paramount has done the good to the fans by remixing the series in full Dolby Digital 5.1 glory. From the Enterprise whooshing past your head in the opening credits, to the low sub rumble of the ships engines in the show, the remix that Paramount did is amazing and is exactly how fans have always wanted to hear this show. Bring on season four and the Battle of Wolf 359 and the Klingon Civil War!"

  More from Conrad can be found by following this link.

• Peter Bracke at the DVD File was not so sure season three was much better than the earlier seasons, although he did feel the image quality improved. "[In] Season 3 the show looks a little slicker - higher budget equals better production values. Many of the effects scenes still look edgy and less detailed, but the film sequences are brighter, crisper and, well, more film-like. Also improved is the quality of the source prints, which look less dated and muddy than Seasons 1 and 2. There is still some grain and these aren't that sharp, but blacks and contrast are quite nice and colors pretty vibrant. "

  On overall, Bracke strongly recommended the set. "Just like past season collections, this is a must-have for Next Generation fans. Sporting even better transfers than before, the 5.1 mixes and the featurettes may be standard-issue, but hey, it's still a great package. The list price of around $150 for the set is probably steep for many, but if you're a Trek fan, I'm sure you've already started saving those pennies... " Read on in the full review.

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