Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Star Trek: Discovery - Season Four Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 21, 2022

Star Trek: Discovery has certainly charted some narrative mileage since its debut season. While most of the core characters remain in place, the show has significantly evolved, and narratively to be sure, since the first season, which feels almost nothing like where the show is now. For those who are not up to speed, be aware that talking season four necessarily gives away some of the direction from previous seasons (two and three as well, and the latter in particular). Indeed, Discovery has forged far into the future as the ship, now captained by Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), and her crew explore strange new worlds flung far into the Federation's future. Season four introduces a new antagonist in the form of a mysterious anomaly that is, of course, threatening everything in its path and which sets the crew, and Starfleet, at odds over how to take care of it. It's not exactly novel or compelling, but it works well enough as casual Star Trek entertainment.

With Discovery playing a vital role in rebuilding the Federation following "The Burn" in the distant future, things are looking up for the future of the galaxy. That is until the mysterious "DMA" -- "Dark Matter Anomaly" -- makes an appearance and destroys Book's (David Ajala) home world. As the Federation attempts to track down what -- or who -- might be behind the DMA, attempting to determine if it's a natural phenomenon, something sinisterly created, or something else entirely, one thing is certain: it poses a great risk and its forward progress through space must be halted. As the debate rages, a rift grows between Book and his lover, and Discovery's Captain, Michael Burnham, over how to approach the problem. With the galaxy on knife's edge, Book finds an ally in Scientist Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) who approaches the problem with an agenda all his own, an agenda which could inadvertently further empower the DMA and threaten all of the known galaxy.

Frankly, season four is a hot mess in its first few episodes. The central plot involving the DMA is introduced, but so are a number of other plot threads, giving the early go a feel of disjointedness, waywardness, and awkwardness. Whether its the inner workings of the future Federation, Gray's (Ian Alexander) evolution, Zora's (voiced by Annabelle Wallis) growing sentience, or any other of the various tentacles working around the show, it struggles to find and maintain focus, to rally around the DMA plot point, which is sufficiently engaging but certainly not so novel as to really make this a compelling season, even when, at around the halfway point, the show finally settles on and pursues this plot point.

The season is further defined by a key character departure midway through that, honestly, improves the show a good bit (even if said character makes an appearance in the season finale), removing its fountain of groan-inducing efforts at comic relief. The season attempts to build some additional secondary plot threads in its second half once the focus settles on the what to do about the "DMA" question, including trying to find a love interest for Saru (Doug Jones), but the season is really at its best when it focuses on the DMA plot and, jut as vitally, how it impacts the relationship between Book and Burnham. The season introduces a compelling new character in Ruon Tarka and builds a sufficiently touching and narratively important backstory for him. The season really works once it settles down; it could have condensed the first three or four episodes into one or two and be better off for it, but it is worth the wait for what it has on offer later on, even if it basically turns into a Star Trek take on Arrival blended with a few dashes of Star Trek: The Motion Picture thrown in for good measure.

Star Trek: Discovery - Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Discovery is certainly not the best-looking show on Blu-ray. It's abundantly noisy, especially in low light, with some of that push-pull effect where the noise moves in globs when characters nod or move their head. To make matters worse, banding is fairly commonplace, and shimmering and aliasing are prominent along some of the VFX shots. The picture is fairly flat as well, but the ship's interior is very spartan and very blue and gray, so there's not much room for dynamic emphasis. Colors are somewhat muted. Bold hologram projections and computer readouts are fine, and some of the uniforms enjoy good depth, but there's very little in terms of raw vividness on display. Textural clarity is fine, with close-ups adequately revealing skin details and hairs. Uniforms details are suitably crisp as well. This is not a very visually arresting show. It looks good enough outside of the source and encode problems, but a showstopper or reference quality presentation this is not, even in the absence of the various issues.

Star Trek: Discovery - Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Discovery warps onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Musical score is big and prominent and well defined, with solid low-end response and immersive spread across the front and back channels; music is a full-track exercise. Action is well defined, too. Quality phaser blast effects emanate from all over the stage in the opening episode and various explosions on the ships deliver good wallop and engagement. Whether high energy elements or subtle atmosphere, the surround content is effectively balanced and realistic, sounding more expansive and expressive than the 5.1 confines suggest. Light support elements -- various beeps and such on the bridge -- draw the listener into the environments. Dialogue is clear and center positioned for the duration.

Star Trek: Discovery - Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements ae included on all four discs. No DVD or digital copies are included. Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 2:16): Scenes from "Choose to Live:"
• The Toll It Took (1080p, 11:51): The stress and difficulties and challenges of shooting a major TV production during the pandemic.

Disc Two:

• Deleted Scene (1080p, 1:25): Scene from "The Examples:"

Disc Three:

• Deleted Scene (1080p, 0:26): Scene from "Rosetta:"

Disc Four:

• Audio Commentary: For "Coming Home:" Michelle Paradise, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Sonequa Martin-Green, and David Ajala.
• Being Michael Burnham: The Captain's Log (1080p, 14:22): Cast and crew reflect on the show's lead role and the part's demands on the screen and on the set. It also looks at Martin-Green's performance.
• Creating Space (1080p, 19:37): A comprehensive look at sets, production design, and production value with an emphasis on pushing the boundaries of new technologies to facilitate the show creation process.
• Star Trek: Discovery: The Voyage of Season 4 (1080p, 52:25): A comprehensive look at story, arc, character evolutions and journeys, and more.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:47): Humorous moments from the shoot.

Star Trek: Discovery - Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Discovery gets off to a shaky start in its fourth season, dragging through a few omnidirectional episodes but finally settling on a satisfying, if not routine and rote and definitely derivative, Star Trek-worthy plot. There are some good additions here, a few questionable ones, and some valuable subtractions. The season does just enough to keep itself interesting and on the radar for future installments. The season four Blu-ray set delivers decent video, quality audio, and a nice assortment of supplemental content. Recommended.