Rating: 
Summary: Only two episodes? Keep it!
Review: I'll wait for a DVD burner to come out and put more episodes on one disc. This is a total waste of space. Too bad they didn't make a box set of the Original Series like they did to The Next Generation.
Rating: 
Summary: Roddenberry's second chance
Review: "Where No Man..." Shows us Gene Roddenberry's second chance to "sell" Star Trek to NBC. A man is mutated by some cosmic force that gives him god-like powers. How will he be stopped?"Corbomite Manuver" An alien decides to "test" the Enterprise's intentions. How they rate?
Rating: 
Summary: As Always
Review: In the spirit of the Star Trek continium, these are rated highly. Being of the first. Still with many of the character personality traits not yet established. Watch for (James ?. Kirk) one of the many things to subtly change in the future productions. This you will find in Where no Man has gone before. 2 Thumbs up...
Rating:
Summary: Only promo ads, but who cares? I love it!
Review: I've been a fan of The Original Series since I started watching the reruns when I was about 12 years old, and having the episodes on DVD brings back a lot of memories of those days. For one thing the episodes have been digitally remastered, resulting in a much cleaner and clearer picture that looks almost new. The stories themselves also manage to bring back the wonder of those years, although I haven't seen them on TV in a long time. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and "The Corbomite Maneuver" are two of my favorite episodes, so I was pretty glad when Paramount decided to release them on DVD. One of the major complaints I hear about these DVDs is that they have no extras. Not true. Although Paramount has a reputation for putting no extras on their DVDs, each and every Original Series DVD has the original TV promos for the episodes on the DVD, plus there's an "Easter egg" that includes more of these promos. While it's true that it would have been nice to have things such as cast and crew bios, it doesn't really matter to me because I enjoy the episodes for themselves, not for the extras that are on the DVD with them. The other major complaint is that there's only two episodes per DVD when there could be six. This is no big deal to me even if it is a move by Paramount to make more money, as some have said. In fact, I feel that it makes viewing the episodes much easier because the total running time is about the same as a feature film, and if you watch only one episode, there's no going through the menu a few days later and trying to remember where you stopped at. All in all, the Star Trek-The Original Series DVDs are well worth the cost, and definitely something you'll want to watch again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek Vol #1
Review: Ok, lets not mince words here. If your buying these like I am, you doing it because you liked the show. And you'll probably like these epidsodes. With edisode 2, it's alittle surprising to see how young everyone looked, and I couldn't help noticing a major difference in the design of the bridge and Spock's eyebrows betwwen episodes 2 and 3. The uniforms seemed to magically change alitle too. It seemed as though they weren't completely ready to do the show when they did the first two episodes. The abrurt changes in episode 3 do kind of make it seem cheesey. Another downside to this that I noticed is that it seems as though the volume level isn't constant. Perhaps this is a result of the re-mastering and conversion to Dolby 5.1. The music was much louder than the voices and I found myself adjusting the volume constantly. Image quality is better than I remembered from seeing it on T.V, but is still obviously limited due to the original source tape. In summary, if your a Trek fan, which I am, and you like the original series, which I do, this is a great way to bring it back again. It's no longer shown in sydication where I live, so this is great way for me to get to see it again. However, If you expect the absolute greatest picture and sound possible by today's standards, your not going to get it. These haven't been made over again, just digitized and put on DVD. The limitations of early video recording methods are stiil evident. You just can't get here from way back there. Henry T Anderson, Jr.- Trekkie
Rating:
Summary: Boldly going where no television series has gone before
Review: As everyone knows this is the second pilot filmed in hopes of launching the Star Trek series and there are a number of differences between this particular show and the others that followed. Most notable immediately is the slightly varied opening and closing theme music; there is no voice-over narration by Shatner in the opening credits either. Other visible differences include the uniforms, the look of the recreation room and the conference room, the odd appearing intercom Kirk speaks into, Sulu is assigned to Life Sciences, the doctor is played by someone else, etc. It still is a very strong episode with a great story encapsulated in a taut script and cast well with the surprising guest stars Gary Lockwood (pre '2001: A Space Odyssey' fame) and Sally Kellerman (pre 'M.A.S.H.' fame) turning in excellent performances. The Enterprise beams aboard a flight recorder from the missing and 200 year old ship U.S.S. Valiant, all that is left of the ship as near as can be determined. The tapes of the flight recorder reveal a very strange and disturbing story concerning the ship's encounter with an unusual force at the edge of the galaxy and also an obsessive interest in the subject of E.S.P. The tapes are too damaged to determine all the facts surrounding the log's narrative; Kirk decides to venture beyond the same demarcation line and that brings about devastating results for two crewmembers. Kirk is forced to take the dire matters into his hands and is left with only one diabolic but very necessary choice if he and the crew of the Enterprise, indeed the whole galaxy, are to survive. After viewing the original pilot 'The Cage' it was described as "too cerebral" by the NBC studio heads that allowed the Trek creators to produce a second pilot. Though this show is also somewhat cerebral by nature, in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' Kirk does get into a climactic fistfight, gets his shirt torn to expose his chest and proves himself a crack shot with a rifle. "ALLRIGHT! Now that's more like it! Give us more like this!" was the enthusiatic reaction of the studio heads to this second go-round (or least my exaggerated interpretation of their response). I don't want to downplay the serious undertones of the episode though; there is real tragedy here. The loss of Kirk's friend and ship's navigator Gary Mitchell and the medical department's newcomer Elizabeth Dehner is a devastating blow to the young captain. Lockwood's portrayal of Mitchell as a newly crowned deity like being is absolutely dead-on perfect. His taunting of Kirk is both creepy and agitating; when he speaks of his powers he sounds only egotistical and not enlightened. Kirk memorably summarizes his friend's quandary quite succinctly and eloquently in the exciting climax. 'The Corbomite Maneuver' is an equally good episode, creating some genuine suspense and a clever, fast thinking and nefarious looking alien in Balok. The ship he commands is also very intriguing; after it approaches the Enterprise it balloons to an incredible and intimidating size that the ship's sensors can't measure effectively. The creative staff had even better surprises waiting for the viewer at the end of the episode when Balok is finally unveiled. During a star charting mission the Enterprise encounters a brilliantly colored cube rotating in space, impenetrable to the ship's sensors. At first it appears benign, completely harmless; later, when they try to move around it, it blocks their path and out of necessity they destroy the cube. Shortly afterwards an alien ship appears condemning the ship and it's crew to imminent destruction. With only a reprieve of ten minutes Kirk must either find a way to successfully negotiate their release or invent a clever means of escape. The idea of the stray cube in space is a great concept, and would automatically cause the ship's scientists to assume an intelligent designer must be responsible for its being there. It recalls the Arthur C. Clarke short story 'The Sentinel' that gave rise to the movie '2001: A Space Odyssey', but in storytelling structure the episode resembles a quality more commonly found in the works of Ray Bradbury. This was the first appearance of DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard McCoy and his characteristic sense of humanity and his natural diligence to it comes into play right away. He defends the uptight and nervous navigator Lt. Bailey, marvelously characterized by Anthony Hall. Ted Cassidy provides the voice for Balok throughout much of the episode and it is most effective; he was also well cast as the android Ruk in the episode 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' The final revelation in the show's finale is one of the most extraordinary in the entire ongoing Trek television series. Some final notes: The juxtaposition of these two shows merits a brief discussion. This was the first episode filmed after the second successful pilot but the tenth show to televise in the series. It was said that the show was "too cerebral" so the character of Captain Kirk was 'dumbed down' a bit and shown to be a man of action in the second pilot. Suddenly in the next episode Kirk ignores any options to fight their enemy - and even chastises crewmembers that do! He wants to think his way out of this one. Naturally if he chooses to fight he stands little to no chance of winning, but the writers chose to place Kirk and his crew in this predicament so he would react this way. Apparently the studio heads were of little concern already. On the lighter side...early in the show Kirk casually strolls through the Enterprise corridors on his way to his quarters bare-chested and sweaty with his shirt hanging around his neck much like a preppie would carry his/her sweater. Is this really acceptable behavior from a superior officer?
Rating:
Summary: 2 episodes per DVD?!!? Greed is not Good.
Review: Star Trek is the first, and the greatest, sci-fi series. So, what is the problem here? Dog gone it! Why can I get New Generation and Deep Space Nine, and even Babylon Five first season DVD's that come in a nice box set, but not Star Trek TOS? I don't want unnecessary clutter in my DVD library. I want 12 DVDs of Star Trek episodes, not 40. I want to buy them all at once, in a boxed set, not all helter-skelter, a couple of episodes here, a couple there. I want mass quantities of extras: out-takes, commentaries, interviews, the works. This is THE CLASSIC SERIES that started it all, and it deserves to be sold in a luxurious box set containing one years worth of episodes, in the order that they appeared. Paramount is being greedy and stupid. I am EXTREMELY unhappy with how these episodes have been released, and will NOT purchase them until they pack the DVDs full, either with episodes, or GOOD extra material. I urge you to do the same. ..sorry about the rant. Live long and prostrate.
Rating:
Summary: Meeting the Unknown
Review: Two of Trek's best early episodes, both dealing with encountering the unknown at the limits of man's former boundaries. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was Trek's second pilot, the one that sold the series. Captain Kirk's old friend Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood, pre-2001: A Space Odyssey) becomes infected by an energy field at the rim of the solar system, which the Enterprise discovers from a former lost ship's probe caused the destruction of that ship: the field effects people with strong ESP abilities, heightening their powers and making them drunk with them. Mitchell rapidly becomes a power-mad monster, similarly infecting fellow crewmate Sally Kellerman, and plans to run off with her to produce a race of ESPer gods who will one day rival humans. Kirk has to stop him - but can he do it without Kellerman's help? And without killing his old friend? The actors are excellent, especially guest stars Lockwood and Kellerman. Shatner gives one of his better performances, showing the star quality that made him what he was before he descended into a caricature of himself. The production is terrific, the story managing to raise a few chills despite its hackneyed sci-fi plot. Being the second pilot of the series, the costumes and makeups - especially Mr. Spock's - are jarringly different, but that adds to the illusion of reality when compared to later episodes since it denotes a natural evolution in the Star Trek universe. "The Corbomite Maneuver" is a great taut, suspenseful story, well-directed and -acted, bringing the Enterprise into contact with an alien probe that attempts to prevent their entry into its space. Kirk orders it destroyed and proceeds, cueing the arrival of the alien probe's builders in the form of Balok, a scary, giant creature looking very much like a UFO Gray with Ted Cassidy's (The Addams Family's Lurch) intimidating voice, who coldly announces his intention to destroy the Enterprise as a hostile invader. Kirk resorts to trickery to buy time in finding a way out of the mess he's gotten his ship into, and ultimately discovers much more about Balok's race and true intentions - which are not as hostile as they appear. "Corbomite" benefits from three great guest star performances: Anthony Call as an inexperienced bridge officer who snaps under pressure, but whose sensitivity and innate abilities serve a higher diplomatic calling; Ted Cassidy's voice, which truly does contribute to a frightening alien presence; and child star Clint Howard, who has a surprise role (with a dubbed voice) which can't be discussed without giving away the game. The alien ships are also quite impressive, the more so for their simplicity: they are purely geometric shapes, but of great size and destructive power. Great sci-fi, still worth watching after all these years.
Rating:
Summary: Classic episodes, beautifully produced.
Review: "Where no man..." is the second pilot that finally got the approving nod of the NBC executives which launched the Star Trek franchise. The rest is history. Some interesting bit of trivia...the love sonnet which Gary Mitchell recites is actually attributed to Gene Roddeberry who during his pilot days wrote lovingly about the graceful wings of an airplane.
If there is a single image other than Mr. Spock which is synonymous with Star Trek is that enduring image of Balok's puppet's mask in the episode Corbomite Maneuver. This image is often used in later episodes as a signature closing still.
This episode features Clint Howard --the brother of the more famous actor/director Ron Howard (aka Oppie & Richie).
Both episodes featured are top notch in their story writing and visual imagery. The Corbomite Maneuver, also features some of the best soundtrack ever written for Star Trek.
Rating:
Summary: "Interesting game, this poker...."
Review: Another great pairing of classic episodes from the original Star Trek. The first "Where No Man Has Gone Before" charts the disastrous first attempt of the USS Enterprise to cross a powerful energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy. Nearing the galactic rim, the Enterprise encounters the flight recorder of another ship doomed in its own bid to leave the galaxy. Cryptic shreds of the recorder indicate that, though crippled by the barrier, something else caused the ship's destruction. Encountering the barrier itself, the Enterprise is nearly rendered dead in space. Worse, two crewmen - Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) and Liz Dehner (Sally Kellerman) - are struck down by the energy. Mitchell is only temporarily phased, but burgeoning psychic powers and a newly cold demeanor clue the remaining crew that something is very wrong. (Mitchell's eyes, turned into silvery orbs, is also a tip-off, but the crew's too busy repairing their ship to notice. Hitting on a plan to maroon Mitchell (who seems to have been driven insane by his newfound power) on a remote Starfleet outpost, Kirk finds he must confront the monster who was once his trusted crewmate and best friend. "No Man" was a great episode for so many reasons. Still bearing the show's original vision, it seems cold, but that only highlights the rigors of deep space exploration, somewhat lost when the show adapted he more light-colored pastels of the late 1960's. (nothing more exemplified this than the smaller, louder, monotone and more functional bridge). Though the stars haven't fully established their campier alter-egos, the script deftly highlights their relationships - especially the Kirk-Mitchell relationship. (At one point, the two were equals, but Kirk exceled when it mattered and now he gives the orders). The "Corbomite Maneuver" is also a classic. Though the ominous Blalok made a single appearance on the show, his initial image was unforgettable (having it in the closing credits couldn't hurt). In this episode, the Enterprise is forced to destroy a cube-like probe emitting harmful radiation, and then forced to confront the probe's creators - the hitherto unknown "First Federation". With his ship dwarfed by the First Federation's ship, the "Fesarius", Kirk knows he can't rely on technology, and instead turns to the human talent for bamboozling, warning the alien ship of a federation device powerful enough to reflect back any energy directed at it. (We'll be destroyed, but we won't go alone, Kirk seems to say). With a simple plot, the script milks gallons of tension. The premise, relying on pluck excels over latter generations of Trek relying simply on techno-babble. There's also the character of Bailey - usually side characters are nothing more than fodder (somebody has to die, as long as it's somebody else) - but the script allows him to rise above that.
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