Reviews (13)

To Be Continued
I am a big Star Trek fan and I enjoyed the idea of going back to where it all began, 150 years from now but also 150 years before the original with Capt. Kirk and crew.The problem I have is the continuing story line that started at the end of season 2.There are too many shows on TV where you have to have seen the previous show to know what's going on.It works for Deadwood and Desparate Housewives, but not for Enterprise.They tried to fix this in season 4 where they were like a series of mini series, but I much prefer stand alone episodes.I have some life and don't have time to keep up with all the shows that are now using this soap opera format.To be fair to this second season most of the shows are stand alone but ends with a major cliff hanger.Season 3 is one very long episode.

Well written, acted, and filmed - just one thing wrong...
As a long time fan of the Star Trek franchise, I tend to be among the more lenient fans as far as where the writers and producers take the stories.I suppose this is what to expect from a fan who was drawn in by Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Enterprise as a series on it's own, but it is very obvious that there are differing views on where the fans wanted the series to go as opposed to the writers.

I understand the producers desire to explore new ideas (Temporal Cold War, Xindi) but we Trek fans are nitpickers, and there were so many good opportunities to "fill in the gaps" created by the other four series.What caused the various conflicts with the Klingons and the Romulans?How was Section 31 started?And season four left me wanting for more about the early development of the Federation.

There were some very notable episodes this season, particularly Carbon Creek, Horizon, and Bounty.Minefield makes you want for more of the origins of the Starfleet-Romulan conflict, and Dead Stop seems to foreshadow the Borg storylines better than Regeneration, as I feel it was unnecessary to actually have the Borg in Enterprise at all.

The ultimate shame is that the last season was the one that the fans wanted, and was actually so good that I was anxiously awaiting the next episode after watching each weeks' story.It might be nice to see an occasional made for TV movie with this cast, maybe with a creative idea for a Romulan war (hint, hint.)

I will say, though, if you are only willing to invest in a single season, wait for the fourth one.It's truly worth it.

The Worst of the Four Seasons
If in season one "Star Trek:Enterprise" lurched to its feet like an amnesiac zombie formerly known as "Star Trek:Voyager," it just resigned itself to keeling right back over by season two.Retread plots, inconsistent characterizations, and a thumb to the nose regarding continuity with the original series were just some of the offenses that helped drive millions of viewers away.Most of the blame rests with the producers, who seemingly saw fit to endorse these obvious shenanigans, and the writers, who took a paint-by-numbers approach to plot and dialogue. Scott Bakula, despite a fine turn in "Quantum Leap," continues to register "zero" in the charisma department; it's amazing that William Shatner is so often lampooned for his staccato and swagger in later episodes of the original series when Bakula, with his herky-jerky, angry-for-no-reason approach to Jonathan Archer, is just as affected in his acting style--he's simply not remotely as effective.The rest of the cast is fine.In fact, Connor Trinneer, Jolene Blalock, and John Billingsley easily could have carried the show without Bakula, even if the producers and writers insisted on propping up his bland character as someone of significance while making the others look like sycophantic observers.Too bad the U.S. ethnic minorities on the show generally get less attention than the guest aliens of the week or the many cumbersome and jargony phrases that no real person would utter, like "polarize the hull plating." However, many episodes of season two are blessed with topnotch special effects, so there are pretty pictures to look at, even if the pacing and music that accompany them are usually as directionless as space itself.

By season three, "Star Trek:Enterprise" started to show signs of life, even if it had turned into a soap-operatic serial involving a "Star Wars"-ish race to stop a planet-killing weapon.The best season easily is its last--save for the high-school-quality "Daedalus" and the insultingly awful "These Are the Voyages."Cheers to Manny Coto for a valiant effort at breathing life back into a series so determined to commit dramatic suicide.Too bad he wasn't around from the beginning, when it would really have mattered.

Enterprise crosses intoSeason two
The second season dealt with the completion of the Shockwave cliffhanger. Unfortunately the show really took a turn for the worse viewer-wise as many trek fans abandoned the show. I liked the idea of the temporal cold war but it was indeed a bit ambiguous and confused fans. Not enough appearances by the Andorians or Tellarites in season 2-two races that helped form the UFP. This show had so much potential and by the end of this season, with an exciting episode "The Expanse" ,we see a Xindi story-arc that would take us through all of season 3.

In all honesty the seeds of failure were planted in the second season with some truly weak episodes, despite that the idea of this show remained bright, it was only the poor writing that drove off viewers. Cannon violations and lack of addressing important pre-federation issues was obvious.

But I still loved ENTERPRISE...after all it was in its infancy as a series.

Reboot or parallel timeline?
With the second season, ENT continued to anger many long-time fans as Archer and his crew tangled with the Borg, the Ferengi and the Romulans long before TOS and TNG did. The back door excuse that continuity was maintained was that the crew never learned of their names (though the Borg issue remains very muddled). Brannon Braga -who was asked by a fan to explain the Borg episode Regeneration - seemed to confirm that this Trek was a complete Reboot of the franchise or a Star Trek that occurs in an alternate universe. There is something called Many Worlds, a parallel time theory that contends that most historical occurrences, such as the signing of Magna Carta and what not, did happen only that principles might have been slightly different.And that essentially, since Star Trek: First Contact, the entire franchise now exists in this parallel timeline.Essentially, what happens is the Borg and TNG Enterprise journeys into the past and changes history. Here, then, reality splits into two versions -one road depicting the changed history, and the other road is were the original reality exists before the change.In the end, it is the only way to explain the Borg episode and Star Trek: Enterprise. Had Braga and Berman basically thought this out, maybe I could've forgiven them for the drivel they put out for three seasons until Paramount and UPN let Manny Coto take over the last season (which has been the best since DS9). I'm sad to say that Trek really ended with DS9. All others, have just been pale imitations.
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Reviews (39)

NOT the original version of the show - music edited
If you are one of those idiots who says "oh shut up and stop complaining, it's just the music, waaa waaa", take your DVDs and BURN them. You know nothing about what it means for the music to be an important part of the show and are just a complete moron (I can't express in words the anger that goes through me reading someone go "it's just the music"; it's NOT just the music!!!, it's the SHOW that is screwed up!!!)
Quantum Leap is one of those shows where the music is crucial aspect of show; the music is not just some background noise; it sets the mood. The show is completely ruined and is not worth a cent without the original soundtrack. Awful job on the part of Universal.

excellent series
No matter what this series is excellent. Anyone griping about the music must remember its better to have the series on dvd rather than not available at all. Hopefully season 4 will come out soon as its my favorite!

Hey, Universal, call me when you come to your senses.
Having read that Universal once again mucked up the music, I won't be buying Season 3 of Quantum Leap.There are some shows in which the music doesn't really matter - Laverne & Shirley's first season, for example, mentions on the box that the music is different, but the songs in Laverne & Shirley are merely incidental, background sounds.In QL, the music was a major part of the show, helping to set the time period, helping to set the mood.

I have read some of the reviews from people who claim that the change in music makes no difference (generally such comments are written in a boorish, bumptious, hectoring tone, a fact which I find rather interesting and quite telling).No?Close your eyes and imagine the Lord of the Rings movies with elevator music instead of the soaring splendor of its real score.Ponder "American Graffiti" with the sort of synthesized slop that has replaced the original music in QL. Then try to tell me that music doesn't matter.

The choice is not these travesties or nothing for most QL fans; it's a choice of a poorer-quality taped-from-TV video with the real music, taking up more shelf space than a DVD set; or a better-quality picture with no commercials that has had much of the atmosphere stripped from it. I'll take my tapes, thank you very much.If Universal comes to its senses and releases QL in unmangled form, even if it costs more, I'll buy it. Until then, count me out.

Classics never get old!
I have been waiting for this season for a long time now. The series reached its peak with episodes like "The Leap Home" and "The Boogie Man". Scott and Dean do their best work when the story really gives them the chance and the episodes of the third season really give them the best chances of the entire five-year run! It is pure pleasure to watch them perform. It is a shame that they only got five years! They could have gone on for many more!!!
(BTW, if anyone is confused by the other reviewers complaints about the change in the music, don't worry about it. What you heard on TV is what you get. They didn't change the music for the DVD release - which is exactly what I thought they were complaining about!) So buy this DVD set! You won't regret it!

Forget It
Music replacement abound, once again.A truly great show is being given the shaft by Universal, who only percieves it's formidable fan base as an open wallet.Boycott.Don't listen to the soulless collectors who only want to line their DVD shelves.QL without the original music arrangements is a travesty. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Best of the Best
You'd be hard pressed to find a better collection of top-notch Star Trek episodes anywhere. Picard is one of the best Star Trek captains ever and Patrick Stewart the best actor to appear in the series. So right there you've got a winning combo. Add to that some of TNG's most interesting, thought provoking, and emotionally compelling episodes and you just can't loose.

Included on this DVD are the episodes:

The Big Goodbye
Sarek
Family
The Drumhead
Darmok
The Inner Light
Tapestry

Combined they not only provide a well rounded study of Picard but show off the heights to which TNG sailed. Anyone who is a fan of the show who didn't get the complete series on DVD or would like to be introduced to TNG should pick up this DVD collection.

Engage!

This is a fine set for non collectors.
I cannot understand the attitude of collectors that call this set "double-dipping". After all,you don't have to buy it,do you? No-one is twisting any collectors arm.
If you are a non-collector that just wants a "best of" series then sets like this are fine.
For example,there maybe fans that don't want to buy the largely mediocre first season of Star Trek:The Next Generation,but do want the Peabody Award winning episode "The Big Goodbye" from that season which is on this set. If that is the case,then this set is ideal for them.
In fact,one of the things that has been neglected by studios is that "best of" sets would be a good idea for fans of TV shows that don't want all of the episodes. I think that would be a very good thing.
"Best of" sets do have their place for fans that don't want to waste money on bad Trek episodes like "The Way To Eden,Angel One,Q-Less,Bride Of Chaotica" and other stinkers from the various Star Trek shows. I could make a bigger list of the bad episodes,but this review would take up too many pages.
Wouldn't it be nice if fans could buy the best episodes on any television series on one DVD set? I think that would be a great idea that would be embraced by some buyers.
This set also has a non-Trek documentary narrated by Patrick Stewart called "From Here To Infinity" which makes a nice extra.

Yet another Star Trek DVD double-dip hose-job to be avoided
Sigh... once again Paramount tries to pull off the ol' dreaded DVD double-dip ploy (read my SYLT guide on this annoying phenomenon at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/3CVFIEG84F2PF/ref=cm_aya_av.sylt_sylt/002-6135121-8178428) on the Trekkie crowd by releasing NextGen DVD sets based on a theme (like this "Best of Captain Picard" dealie) after having put them out in full-season sets over a year back (as of this writing)! Come on, now-- everybody knows that you're supposed to put the theme-based stuff out BEFORE the full-season sets if ya wanna squeeze the maximum amount of 'double-dip' buckage outta the fans! Take the distributors of the 'South Park' DVDs for example: they put out a couple single-disc volumes-- many of which had some kinda theme to 'em-- and THEN they put out the full-season sets. They did it this way because they knew they wouldn't make nearly as much of a killing the other way around! So remember: if you're gonna hose me and my fellow Trekkie DVDphiles, you may as well do it in a way that gets you as much of that filthy lucre as possible! Remember: the inferior product first, and THEN the 'new-and-improved' product! Just a little lesson in marketing for all of ya's out there!

As for the bonus 'From Here to Infinity' documentary show (narrated by ol' chrome-dome himself) that's to be included with this set: I've seen it, and found it a bit of a bore. Stewart narrates without any of the emotion or character he put into his most famous pop-culture icon. And it didn't help that the script he was reciting contained few cosmological factoids that I found even remotely interesting. Oh well-- there's always the Discovery and Learning Channels if I wanna see some truly interesting space docs...

'Late ... Read more

Amazon.com

Universal's Incredible Hulk DVD will satisfy fans of the CBS television series by offering the two-hour 1978 pilot, as well as the feature-length second-season opener, "Married," and a commentary track by series creator Kenneth Johnson. In bringing the Hulk to TV, Johnson decided to focus on its human alter ego, scientist Bruce Banner (here renamed David), rather than its rampages. In the pilot, Banner (Bill Bixby) is haunted by the death of his wife and unleashes his untapped rage in the form of a monstrous creature (Lou Ferrigno) after experimenting with radiation. And in "Married," Banner falls for a researcher (Mariette Hartley in an Emmy-winning performance) who attempts to cure his "hulk-outs." Johnson's solid scripting and direction and fine performances from the leads made the series a critical and audience favorite during its network run, and the DVD--deceptive cover art aside (which features images from the 2003 Hulk theatrical feature)--should again please longtime fans and novice viewers alike. --Paul Gaita ... Read more

Reviews (34)

"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry"
"Within each of us, oftimes; there dwells a mighty and raging fury".
Thanks to the success of the HULK movie, the premiere of the original TV series has been released to DVD. Personally, I like the TV show better. I hadn't seen it since I was a little kid, and was surprised to find I enjoyed this DVD a lot.
The first episode on this is the series 1 pilot. As all fans of the show know, Bill Bixby plays Dr. David Banner; who is haunted by nightmares about the death of his wife Laura in a car accident after a tyre blows out and the car goes off the road. Banner escapes but is unable free Laura before the car explodes.
Later, Banner is conducting research for an experiment on superhuman strength. Interviewed is a woman recounting how she saved her son from burning to death in a car accident that is startlingly similar to Banner's own experience. After hearing more testimony, Banner seems to be the only one who has failed. Guilt and anxiety lead him to go one step further and become a guinea pig for his testing. He discovers that the source of this strength is gamma radiation, so he subjects himself to a course of it, but has no results. So he tries again- only this time exposing himself to seven times the amount. Nothing happens. At least... not immediately.
Matters come to a head when Banner, frustrated at his lack of progress is driving home in a thunderstorm and has to change a flat tyre in the rain; this combined stress leads to his first "Hulk-out"...

More intelligent than most TV movies, the pilot also has a memorable sequene paying homage to the drowning scene in James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN, where the Hulk tries to save a little girl from drowning but her screams alert her father who tries to shoot the hulk. Naturally the bullets just bounce off. Special mention must be made of the wig Lou Ferrigno wears- he looks like he should have a golf tee tacked into the top of his head. Also of note: Banner watches himself changing back through the reflection in the water. Strange considering in the 1990 TVM, DEATH OF THE INCREDIBLE HULK Banner comments he's never before seen the creature after watching a tape of his transformation!
The bonus episode on the DVD is the series 2 pilot "Married"; again Written, Produced and Directed by Kenneth Johnson, who also produced SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and BIONIC WOMAN.
This installment has Banner, using the alias David Benton; in Honolulu seeing psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Fields (Mariette Hartley, in an Emmy winning performance) to try and control his "hulkouts".(He even shows her a newspaper photo of the Hulk and confronts the beast while under hypnosis! So that's three times on this DVD alone!) Banner falls in love with her and learns Caroline is terminally ill and has only 6-8 weeks to live. Of course, Banner is none too happy to discover his nemesis, tabloid reporter Jack Magee (Jack Colvin) is sniffing around trying to catch the creature.
MARRIED is an intelligent emotionally charged, (but not sappy) episode which is appealing to adults as well as kids. There are also a few laughs, most notably in the scene where the Hulk trashes a weasly bachelor's "swinging" pad! The bell bottoms are good for a giggle too. "Groovy" stuff. I hope more episodes of the show are released on DVD.

Excellent made for TV Pilot on DVD!
This is the pilot for the popular 70's classic show based on the Marvel comic books. It tells about Dr. David Banner ( Bill Bixby) who studys the hidden strengths that all humans have then he experiments on himself with gamma radiation but overdoses it. When he got angry after his experiment, he transforms into a raging green beast who's really gentle but misunderstood by society called " The Hulk" ( Lou Ferrigno).
This is an excellent pilot that tells the origin of everyone's favorite green giant, Bill Bixby is truly incredible as David Banner and Lou Ferrigino is great as Hulk with the make-up, wig and silver eyes. The DVD is great, it offers commentary by series writer, director and producer Kenneth Johnson, an introduction by Lou Ferrigno, a look in the making of the 2003 Hulk movie and a bonus episode " The Incredible Hulk Married" with commentary by Kenneth Johnson.
If you are a fan of the series, own this to know the origin of the Hulk.

A masterpiece
The pilot film of the Incredible Hulk tv series may very well be the most heartwrenching film ever put to film. To have "Married" (another heartbreaking moment realized by series developer Kenneth Johnson) on the dvd is just icing on the cake. If you love the Hulk, pick this up. It doesnt dissapoint.

The first episode is the best!!!!
When I saw the pilot episode I really hated it. I don't remeber why I hated it but now I love it!!!!! It's about a man named David Banner(Bill Bixby) who's wife died in a car acident. Angry that he was not able to save his wife, he finds out that the same thing has been happing to other people, only they saved the person in the person car. David finds out that it is the gamma energy that is helping the other people save the person in the car. David put gamma energy into his body, but so much that it made this creature called the Hulk( Lou Freggino). Great start to a great series. Better than the movie. This DVD has another episode called "Marride" which is very good and has lots of Hulk sceans. Well worth your money.

My favorite show is back on dvd!!!
In 1977,CBS introduced all of us to a great show based on the marvel comics superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962.We meet Dr.David Banner,a research scientist and physician,trying to tap into mans source of strength,Banner is trying to cope with the death of his wife Laura,played by Lara Parker of Dark Shadows fame,through this unfortunate accident,Dr Banner and a fellow scientist,Elaina Marks,played beautifully by the lovely Susan Sullivan interview people when in times of emotional stress display unusual strength,but Dr.Banner discovering that Gamma Rays are responsible for making them strong and because he could not save his wife because of low gamma activity decides to experiment on himself absorbing a massive amount of gamma radiation he fails in the experiment on himself and feels no effects at first,but when he becomes angry or frustrated,he transforms into a hulking monster with super strength,7 feet tall,green and powerful.Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk was magnificent and I think the best one in the world who played the role and also a bodybuilding champion.The late Bill Bixby in the role of Dr.David Banner will be truly missed,he was a wonderful actor and played the role of Banner with compassion and inginuity.The episode Married is a truly great episode of the series.Banner is trying to seek help for his condition with a physchiatist and doctor named Caroline Fields played marvelously by Mariette Hartley,who unfortunatly has an illness of her own.the both of them marry and Dr.Fields life comes to an untimely end.This dvd is a must have for every fan of the series,and has a great introduction by Lou Ferrigno who plays the hulk,I will always be a fan of this marvelous show which ran on cbs from 1978-82. ... Read more