Star Trek: Captain's Log Fan Collective [DVD]

Yet another great collection of episodes...i have all the full box sets but buying these Seperate Boxes with the great episodes on is a to get great episodes in one place (Borg Box My personal Fave).

They seem to have left what episodes are on the discs so i thought id let you know what Episodes are actually on these Discs -
Episodes:

Disc One - From the Original Series: The City on the Edge of Forever (season 1 ep 28), The Enterprise Incident (season 3 ep 2), Balance of Terror (season 1 ep14)

Disc Two - From the Next Generation: In Theory (Season 4 ep25), Chain of Command (Season 6 ep10), Darmok (Season 5 ep2)

Disc Three - From Deep Space Nine: Far Beyond the Stars (Season 6 ep13), What You Leave Behind (Season 7 ep25), In the Pale Moonlight (Season 6 ep19)

Disc Four - From Voyager: Counterpoint (Season 5 ep10), The Omega Directive (Season 4 ep20), Flashback (Season 3 ep2)

Disc Five - From Enterprise: Judgment (Season 2 ep19), These Are the Voyages (Season 4 ep22), First Flight (Season 2 ep24)

I'm not the world's greatest Star Trek fan, but there are certain episodes I like, and the "fan collective" range, especially at times when the price is under a tenner, has proved to be an ideal way of accumulating some of the better stories without having to buy the full season box sets and wade through endless episodes that, whilst of merit I'm sure, just don't appeal to me. The sets can be something of a "lucky dip" though, but this set really doesn't have a duff episode on it. The appeal of both "Voyager" and "Enterprise" was something of a mystery to me, but the episodes in this set have really opened my eyes to how enjoyable both series got long after I'd given up on them. Obviously, if you've already got every season, then these rereleases are rather superfluous - the extras probably aren't enough to warrant it unless you're a real completist - but as a way of acquiring the best of Trek, you really can't fault them, and the set is worth it just for "Chain of Command", "Far Beyond the Stars" and "In the Pale Moonlight", some of the most thought provoking allegories the various series' ever produced.

With the exception of the DVD commentaries on Star Trek films and the special features included with the series box-sets, which are few and far between- this DVD set provides fans of the franchise a rare glimpse into the actor's perspectives on his/her character. On this collection of carefully chosen episodes there's one episode picked by the captain of the particular series and then two/three other episodes voted for by the fans. I was pretty familiar with the majority of the episodes in this box-set beforehand, my main motivation for making this `Captain's Log' edition of the `Star Trek: Fan Collection' sequence my first purchase was this uncommon insight into the psyche of the Captain of a starship, or at least- an insight into the interesting views of...William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and last (and unavoidably least) Scott Bakula.

Firstly, I've got to say- how intelligent and discerning are Star Trek fans!? Very, going on the examples included in this box-set. For the most part I was really very pleased to find so many gems from the five Captain's tenures. As well as providing introductions to each of the episodes, the actors are also quizzed on topics such as the Captain's Log and their Captain's legacy. The episodes are as follows...

Captain Kirk -

`City on the Edge of Forever' (Captain's Choice) - A classic (9/10).

`The Enterprise Incident' - This Cold-War-inspired episodes replaces the Russians with the Romulans in a game of high stakes for all. (7/10)

`Balance of Terror' - Another Romulan episode, which is pretty much on the same par, but with the welcome addition of an appearance by Mark Lenard, as the Romulan Commander pitting his wits against Kirk. (7/10)

Captain Picard -

`In Theory' (Captain's Choice) - One of the best character studies on Data, even if it isn't the most thrilling, is still an enjoyable glimpse into the consistently most fascinating character of the Next Generation cast. Made more interesting by the fact that it was directed by Stewart himself. (8/10)

`Chain of Command' (Parts I & II) - Extremely compelling with action and insight in equal measure and a stellar performance by Stewart. Superb. (10/10)

`Darmok' - This has long been one of my favourite Star Trek episodes of all time. With Picard stranded on an alien planet with the representative of an enigmatic, but incompressible race and the Enterprise trying to out-wit a superior force in orbit it's the perfect episodic formula. (10/10)

Captain Sisko -

`Far Beyond the Stars' (Captain's Choice) - A thought-provoking commentary on race and society set in the 1950's, this is the second Captain's choice that's also directed by the principle actor. Brooks does a superb job- the cast are all out of their space pyjama's, but clearly relishing the challenge. (7/10)

`What You Leave Behind' (Parts I & II) - Hard to go wrong. I thought the final double episode of 'Deep Space Nine' was excellent and provided satisfactory closure for each of the main characters with an abundance of action, emotion and unexpected deaths thrown into the mix. (9/10)

`In the Pale Moonlight' - How far will Benjamin go to see the tide of war edge in the Federation's favour? As far as it takes, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. Tense and engrossing. (8/10)

Captain Janeway -

`Counterpoint' (Captain's Choice) - This Captain's choice didn't come as a surprise to me, because I remember from a TV special a few years ago on the BBC that this had been Mulgrew's choice then too. It's a great episode and I appreciated it all the more thanks to her interpretation of the relationship between her character and guest player Mark Harelik. (8/10)

`The Omega Directive' - This is probably the episode of `Voyager' I've watched the most often over the years. Gripping from the out-set. (9/10)

`Flashback' - Recommended if only for the incredible attention to detail paid to the re-creation of the Starship Excelsior and additional scenes taken from the beginning of the movie `The Undiscovered Country'. Very enjoyable. (8/10)

Captain Archer -

`Judgment' (Captain's Choice) - A plodding, but solid episode with another superb re-creation of sets and scenes from the film `Undiscovered Country'. (7/10)

`These are the Voyages' - As a Star Trek finale episode it doesn't really succeed. There are welcome appearances by Riker and Troi and an interesting look back to an episode from the Next Generation (`Pegasus'), but the death of a main cast member at the end seems almost needless, or at least anti-climactic. Especially disappointing coming after such a superb fifth and final season of `Enterprise'. (6/10)

`First Flight' - It has historical and continuity value in terms of the Star Trek universe, but otherwise I can't fathom why this episode was chosen by fans. It's dull. (5/10)