8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show will follow the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.
Starring: Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Babs Olusanmokun, Christina ChongSci-Fi | 100% |
Adventure | 87% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1, 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, German
Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's perhaps somewhat ironic that this show is titled Strange New Worlds when it is in fact the least strange of any of the recent Star Trek shows. Between the uneven Discovery, the tonally wayward Lower Decks, the curiosity that is Prodigy, and even Picard, Strange New Worlds is the most fundamentally Star Trek of them all, engaging audiences with a show that really feels like it would be The Original Series if it were made today. Whether it would be exactly to Gene Roddenberry's standards is anyone's guess, but it feels like it would be, and certainly more so than any of the other concurrently running shows. Strange New Worlds delighted with a wonderful first season and here in season two builds on the first season with a number of standalone, yet still interconnected, storylines that cover a lot of familiar Star Trek territory while also pushing forward through original content and new ideas, all bridging the gap between Pike's Enterprise and Kirk's Enterprise, slowly but surely bringing in the players who will eventually become the familiar TOS crew while still building up the core Strange New Worlds and Pike-era players established in The Cage and of this show's own making.
Paramount releases Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Two to Blu-ray with a commanding 1080p transfer. There's nary a problem to be found here. The image is crisp and efficient with high end details that push the format to its limits. Viewers will appreciate the density of facial features which show pores, freckles, hairs, and lines with striking accessibility and complexity. The Starfleet uniforms show every seam of complex assembly and fabric detail. The ship is luxuriously smooth, readouts are crisp and legible, and support props are clearly defined. Colors are bold, especially, of course, the core three uniform hues but also various digital screens and readouts. The white surfaces on the ship are beautifully pure, and black levels are wonderful. Skin tones look perfect as well. There is very minimal noise while encode artifacts are next to nonexistent. This is a wonderful release.
The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers a hearty listen throughout the season. Music plays with precision clarity and superb placement, primarily along the front but definitely finding some wonderful back-channel engagement as the situations warrant ("Subspace Rhapsody" really sings here, literally and figuratively alike). Action elements offer superior placement and movement, yield wonderful zip to phaser fire, heft to explosions, and the like. "Under the Cloak of War" delivers consistent surround extension as various explosions surround the stage and phaser fire rips through the listening area, both nearby and oftentimes in the distance. Ambient support is wonderfully integrated, especially on the bridge and around the ship where the slightest support cues deliver rich and "realistic" environmental ambience. Dialogue is clear and centered for the duration.
This release of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Two contains extras on all four discs, with the bulk appearing on disc four.
Disc One:
It's been a banner year for Star Trek on Blu-ray and UHD, and Strange New Worlds -- both seasons -- has taken point and, now, is closing out the year with one of the year's best releases. This is the stuff of a Star Trek fan's dream. From the whimsical and whacky to the serious and sobering, this is a wonderful season that sees Star Trek at its best certainly in decades and standing as one of the finest seasons, and series, in its decades-long run. Season two's Blu-ray delivers high yield video and audio and a nice assortment of extra content. Very highly recommended.
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