Season six of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION is where the show hits its stride, the last really great season of the show with the third season being the first of four great seasons.   TIME’S ARROW Part 2 is what I would consider to be one of the better resolutions to a cliffhanger from a previous season and it is beginning of a season full of stories with various styles.  Other great shows during season six are RELICS (which features the return of Scotty (James Doohan)), CHAIN OF COMMAND, TAPESTRY, STARSHIP MINE, BIRTHRIGHT, FRAME OF MIND, THE CHASE, and SECOND CHANCES.  Some episodes (BIRTHRIGHT and RIGHTFUL HEIR) explore and expand the mythology and storylines of races like Klingons (which would continue into various other STAK TREK series including DEEP SPACE NINE and ENTERPRISE).  

 

Picard finds love in LESSONS, but you get to see how it can cause conflicts in the chain of command where he and others must chose command decisions over Picard’s love for an officer under him.   DESCENT Part 1 shows the return of Lore and the fall out from what Picard and the Enterprise crew did in I, BORG.   Then you have comedy and a western in A FISTFUL OF DATAS while FRAME OF MIND is layers within layers.  However, you have bad episodes like MAN OF THE PEOPLE (where the best thing is commenting on Troi’s revealing outfits) and RASCALS (where Picard is turned into a kid via a transporter accident).

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Episodic Promos for each episode that can be played with each episode

Deleted Scenes for select episodes in HD (of various quality) for TIME’S ARROW Part 2, RELICS, TRUE Q, TAPESTRY, BIRTHRIGHT Part 2 (over 10 minutes of scenes), THE CHASE, RIGHTFUL HEIR, and others

Gag Reel (Disc 6) in HD which is actually very funny

 

Audio commentaries:

RELICS (Disc 1) by Ronald D. Moore and Mike & Denise Okuda

TAPESTRY (Disc 4) by Ronald D. Moore and Mike & Denise Okuda

FRAME OF MIND (Disc 5) by James L. Conway and Jonathan West

 

ARCHIVAL MISSION LOGS:

MISSION OVERVIEW YEAR SIX (Disc 1)- a look at the various stories of season six which the cast and crew consider to be the best season of the show

BOLD NEW DIRECTIONS (Disc 2)

DEPARTMENTAL BRIEFING YEAR SIX (Disc 2)- the production design of season six

DEPARTMENTAL BRIEFING PROFILE: DAN CURRY (Disc 2)- a profile on the visual effects designer of the show as he shows the various models. Props, matt paintings, and production art for the show

 

SPECIAL CREW PROFILE: LT. CMDR. DATA (Disc 3)

SELECT HISTORICAL DATA (Disc 4)- various mini-featurettes including a profile on the character of Gowron and the actor who plays him, the music for A FISTFUL OF DATAS and BRITHRIGHT Part 1, and the door opening sound for the Enterprise ships

INSIDE STARFLEET ARCHIVES: SETS AND PROPS (Disc 5)-

 

BEYOND THE FIVE YEAR MISSION: THE EVOLUTION OF STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION retrospective documentary (Disc 6)-

PART ONE: THE LITHOSPHERE- the storylines for season 6 and the start of DEEP SPACE NINE

PART TWO: THE BIOSPHERE- interviews with select members of the crew including the art director and the director of photography

PART THREE: THE NOOSPHERE- cast and crew look back at season six including Brent Spiner saying the cat was the worst actor on the show, Marina Sitris saying the female characters were unfortunately written as male fantasies by men, and more

 

FINAL ANALYSIS: Season six is the last of the best seasons of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and the episodes look amazing with their HD upgrade.  The original extras are ported over in addition a great three part retrospective documentary.  This set is a must buy for fans of STAR TREK.

 

This blu-ray review is (c)6-24-2014 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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