Volume 10: "The Arena" and "The Alternative Factor"
While DVD 9 offered two decent but unspectacular episodes, the 10th volume
is more of a study in contrasts. First up is "The Arena" (broadcast
eighteenth), a very exciting and compelling tale that is marred only by some
of the usual Trek moralizing. The show starts off with a bang -
literally - as Kirk and the rest almost immediately come under attack by an
alien race. Hot pursuit ensues until eventually Kirk and the captain of the
other ship are placed in one-to-one combat - to the death!
The alien - called the Gorn - is one of the more memorable Trek
creatures, mainly because he looks so ferocious; it's not a great costume in
that it doesn't seem life-like, but the muscular reptile still cuts an
intimidating figure. Trek villains don't tend to offer such strongly
visual representations of bad-ass aliens, so it was exciting to see
something like the Gorn.
While the episode proceeds on fairly predictable lines, the high emphasis on
action makes it a winner. Trek has always been noted as a fairly
cerebral show, and indeed it is that intellectual quality that makes it
stand out from other science fiction programs, but that doesn't mean we
can't enjoy some down and dirty action every once in a while. Actually, I
suppose it's the lack of frequency with which we see this kind of
Trek episode that makes it more exciting; while many of the shows
feature action, few put it so strongly in the forefront. "The Arena" was a
very good show.
Judging by the fact that it was shot twentieth but not shown until
twenty-seventh, I'd take that as a sign that the show's producers knew that
"The Alternative Factor" wasn't much of an episode. It's a completely
uninspired mess, really, from the bland title all the way through the
muddled story and forced philosophizing of its conclusion, this one's quite
forgettable.
The plot really is what kills this episode, as it's far too complicated.
That doesn't mean it's deep or intellectual and my tiny brain couldn't
handle it; it simply means that the story doesn't get told effectively and
the result is a botched mess. There's some potential to the tale of
alternative universes, but the execution kills it by making the entire
affair thoroughly confusing. I suppose this one might work better upon
subsequent viewings, but probably not.
(Continuity strangeness part 2: the main guest on this episode - Robert
Brown as the mysterious Lazarus [not too creative in the naming
department!] - bears an odd fu manchu-style mustache and a stringy little
beard. Enjoy yourself as you note how the density of his facial hair varies
radically throughout the show! I kept waiting for some alternative-universe
oriented explanation as to why he sometimes looked like a 23rd century
relative of the guys in ZZ Top but on other occasions displayed almost no
growth, but that assistance never came.)
These Star Trek episodes appear in their original broadcast aspect
ratio of 1.33:1; because of those dimensions, they have not been enhanced
for 16X9 televisions.
In regard to picture quality, Volume 9 wins a slight edge of Volume 10.
Actually, DVD 9 is probably the best-looking of the bunch so far, thanks
largely to the much better than usual quality seen during "Shore Leave".
"SL" features some of the usual flaws I've seen on these DVDs but also
offers some of the sharpest scenes. Many shots on the planet surface seem
crisp and detailed, which is logical since they're daylight scenes, the
kinds of images that are easiest to make look good. However, bridge scenes
also often appear terrific and look much better than usual. I don't know
why this was, but "SL" presents the single best-looking episode to date,
It still has its flaws, though, foremost being a fairly high number of print
concerns. Grain appears much of the time, and scratches and speckles also
pop up regularly; one shot of Spock when he meets Kirk on the planet looks
absolutely horrific. Colors appeared quite bold but seemed more subdued
than those in the first eight volumes; that's a good thing, because I found
the hues in the other DVDs to appear oversaturated and too intense. Black
levels are very good as well. Judged on its own, "SL" would probably garner
a "B-" (the print flaws are too intense to let it go above that level).
"Squire..." also looks good, but it doesn't shine quite as brightly. It
possesses the usual Trek problems: occasional softness, frequent
bouts of grain, speckles and scratches, and slightly over-saturated colors.
It's still a little better than most other episodes, so it earns a "C",
which is why the DVD as a whole got a "C+".
Volume 10, on the other hand, matches very well the images I saw on the
first eight discs. Sharpness usually looks pretty good, but quite a few
scenes appear fairly soft, especially during "The Alternative Factor", which
looks a good bit worse than "The Arena". Part of that is due to the high
number of complicated effects shots in "TAF" - the special effects scenes in
Star Trek always look much worse than the rest of the show - but that
doesn't explain the problem completely since plenty of "easy" shots on board
the Enterprise appear fuzzy as well. Maybe the dull nature of the show
affected all aspects of quality and the cameramen didn't even bother to
focus.
Anyway, sharpness is not as much of a concern with "The Arena", which may be
a result of the predominance of daylight photography during that show. Both
episodes suffer from issues related to print quality. Grain often intrudes
upon the image, and other flaws appear; I saw scratches, speckles, streaks
and black spots on not-infrequent occasions. These aren't a constant
nuisance, but they're there in some form pretty often.
Colors reflect the high-intensity hues seen on the first eight DVDs. While
these often seem quite brilliant, they come across as blotchy and vague much
of the time. Black levels aren't much of an issue on Trek; such an
emphasis was placed on color that we don't see too many dark hues. What we
witness seems okay, and shadow detail - which also doesn't appear too
frequently in the brightly-lit sets - looks similarly acceptable but
unspectacular.
Despite my criticisms, I remain pleased with the visual quality of the
Trek DVDs. After all, I doubt anyone really thought these suckers
needed babying over the years, so it's amazing that they look as good as
they do. Objectively, they present a lot of problems, but subjectively,
they seem terrific.
My praise for the newly-mixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks of all these
episodes is much less equivocal. Put simply, they sound absolutely great.
For material the age of Trek, these mixes really do sound fantastic.
This audio comes from original monaural tracks. The soundfield remains
pretty heavily oriented toward the center, but it has been opened up quite a
bit. Many sounds come from the front right and left channels, and we also
hear occasional activity from the rears. The surrounds often give off some
good ambient information - like the hum of the Enterprise - and split
surround usage occurs on occasion, such as when the ship flies by or when a
phaser blast heads to one side. No one will mistake these tracks for recent
efforts, but the effects work quite well.
Even more pleasantly surprising is the good quality of the sound. Dialogue
appears very clear and reasonably warm and natural, with absolutely no
intelligibility problems. Music seems a bit flat but generally nice, and
effects come across quite well for the most part. Although some distortion
can interfere with effects, they're usually very clean and they even boast
some good bass at times. Whoever remixed these suckers deserves a serious
pat on the back; the results are fantastic.
While Volume 10 again closely replicates the qualities heard on the first
eight DVDs, Volume 9 differs somewhat. That DVD offered a less-involving
and less-active environment than I'd previously witnessed. Oh, it was still
good for something remixed from decades-old mono tracks, but I found it to
be a relative disappointment. The quality also seemed a little flatter and
lacked as much life.
Volume 10 rebounded from that malaise and provided sound on a par with the
first eight DVDs. "The Arena" seemed especially vivid, as almost from the
start we hear some very effective use of explosions; these come from all
around, and while it doesn't match Saving Private Ryan, I thought it
really added to the environment. "TAF" also boasts some exciting audio,
especially when we witness the effects that herald the intermingling of
dimensions.
The only genuinely unsatisfying part of these DVDs stems from their lack of
supplements. Each disc offers four "original broadcast preview trailers."
These are one-minute ads that offered viewers a glimpse at what would happen
on next week's show.
On each DVD, two of these trailers are readily found; when you highlight a
particular episode from the main menu, the preview appears as an option on
the next screen. However, in addition to ads for the two shows found on
that DVD, trailers for the episodes on the next disc also appear. To
see those, highlight and click on the Starfleet insignia at the top of the
main menu. When you do that, you will gain access to all four trailers.
Other than these trailers, the DVDs are virtually devoid of extras. Each
disc's booklet contains a few pictures, some trivia and production credits
in addition to a DVD checklist; that beats a kick in the head but doesn't
offer much extra value. The continuing nature of the series makes it harder
to add in supplements - there'll be forty DVDs in all, and that would
require a lot of content. Still, I can't help but feel something could have
been added. While the Gene Roddenberry audio commentary one DVD newsgroup
participant demanded seems rather unlikely to appear (unless Ouija
technology has improved), interviews with other participants would have been
nice.
Recommendations are a little tough. Volume 9 is more consistent, since both
episodes are good, but Volume 10 offers the only great show of the four.
Unfortunately, it's balanced by the only bad episode of the four. As with
the first eight DVDs, picture and sound quality remain relatively strong,
though I saw some differences in that department that favored the image of
Volume 9 but preferred the sound of Volume 10. I can't heartily recommend
either DVD, but I think Trek fans will likely be happy with both.
Related Sites
Current as of 3/24/2000
DVD MovieGuide: Star Trek - The Original Series--Visit our special coverage of the series on DVD. The section includes full sypnosis of each episode, reviews, recommendation to the best sites, and more.
Review Archive: #, A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z
Previous: Pokémon: The First Movie | Back to Main Page
Volume 9: "Shore Leave" and "The Squire Of Gothos"