Season TWO OFFICIAL TNG Blu-Ray Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by JJ-R, Sep 5, 2012.

  1. throwback

    throwback Captain Captain

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    At first, I found it disconcerting having black bars on the side. However, after watching nearly half the season, I have adapted to the difference, and I barely acknowledge it now.
     
  2. Scotty

    Scotty Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Have to agree with GNDN. Okona felt like it was written in the 1950s. As I said earlier, absolutely nothing of interest here. From the terribly written A story about a "rogueish" (read: annoying) captain to the abysmally bad B plot where Data tries to be funny, this episode has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. With Shades of Grey, we at least get to see some great moments from the first and second season. Sure, it's a poor excuse for an episode, but we all know why the episode is what it is and it's quite entertaining.

    And DaveJames, Night Terrors? :eek: That's one of my all time favorites!
     
  3. Start Wreck

    Start Wreck Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yes, the directors' intent was to frame each shot according to the proportions of a 4:3 television screen.
     
  4. mr.peany

    mr.peany Commodore Commodore

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    Grain doesnt usually bother me, but I've noticed a unusually large amount of grain in scenes shot on the bridge, some of which borders on noise. Also, some scenes, again shot on the bridge, seem excessively sharp. Has anyone else noticed this?
     
  5. NewHorizon

    NewHorizon Captain Captain

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    I don't own the set but, from what I have seen second hand, it looks like HTV went from one extreme to the other. Some scenes are DNR'd far too much, while others have had next to nothing done to them to clean up larger imperfections. There is little consistency...they just 'got it done'.
     
  6. throwback

    throwback Captain Captain

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    mr. peany,

    I have seen the same thing. I never understood what people meant by grain in a film before. Now I do. For me, it's looking at a program on a TV set that is capturing a lesser amount of the signal and there is a light scattering of snow between me and the image.
     
  7. Start Wreck

    Start Wreck Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Grain is not noise, it is the texture of the film.

    They did use different film stock in season 2, so maybe that's why it's more noticeable.
     
  8. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Indeed, I like the Okona episode. Yeah the Data subplot is abysmal and THAT I don't like but I can watch it a lot more than I can Masks, Shades of Gray, or Beverly's Masturbating to her Grandma's Pornographic Diary episode.
     
  9. GNDN

    GNDN Commodore Commodore

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    Oh, trust me, I'm not rushing out to re-watch Shades, Masks or Sub Rosa anytime soon, and Angel One is a definite low point of season one. But partway through Okona I simply realized I was getting no entertainment value out of it whatsoever. The Data/Guinan scenes hold some cringeworthy watchability but hardly a reason to push play. Even Angel One had some amusing Riker/Yar moments.

    It would have been interesting to see how Yar could have developed over the course of seven years. There was some great untapped potential to that character, even if it hadn't been realized by the writers or the actress.

    Shades of Gray has some nice character moments on the planet. Riker is interesting to watch as he succumbs to his infection and I do like Data and Geordi's efforts to retrieve the sample. Pulaski also fares well. Once Riker is in sickbay I'm pretty well done, but the set-up alone is better than most of the other episodes listed above in their entirety.

    I'm also restricting myself from watching any TNG other than the blu-rays as they are released, so I'm revisiting episodes that I haven't otherwise watched in quite some time and have only watched S1 and 2 stories recently

    It really is something remembering when this was all there was of TNG. I taped each ep as it aired originally and savored every one. There were disappointments, sure, but it was also Star Trek. Nice to watch these seasons on their own merits and not in comparison to what would come later.
     
  10. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    For the Season Two region free, it looks like it has extra audio (mostly interested in the German audio). Does anyone have a copy with German on it? Will that work in a US Blu-Ray player, and not sound 'sped-up' at all?

    Amazon.co.uk has quite a few region free discs with German audio...I might have to become a regular there.
     
  11. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Region Free means just that, region free. It'll play in any player without issues.
     
  12. LitmusDragon

    LitmusDragon Commodore Commodore

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    I'm pretty sure the US version has German audio as well. I know when I ripped it to my media PC there were about a dozen audio tracks.

    I can't seem to find confirmation online, but when I get home I will check and post back here. If that's helpful.
     
  13. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, anytime we're in a slightly darker room, I've noticed the grain is a lot heavier. Seems like they must have used some different kind of film for those scenes.
     
  14. BriGuy

    BriGuy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    No, your preferences are yours and your own. Your knowledge on the subject of OAR is lacking. There is a difference. You're free to watch it as you like, as I said (which you conveniently edited out of quoting me.) But if you want to twist and distort the image to fill your TV screen... again, your choice.

    It's no different than those who wanted "full frame" versions of widescreen movies to fill their 4:3 TV screens. But of course you've been told this already, and don't seem to care. In the end, it doesn't matter.

    P.S. Interesting that you took my mention of "the uninformed" as meaning you specifically, when I didn't mention you or address you at all. At least you're aware you are looking at the subject (and the TV show) wrong. Good. If some part of you recognizes that, perhaps you'll figure it out.
     
  15. Borjis

    Borjis Commodore Commodore

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  16. BriGuy

    BriGuy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Indeed.

    I started thinking of any 4:3 TV shows that were reformatted or changed for widescreen. The first one that hit me is the Friends bluray release. I don't have it, but read it's been changed to a widescreen format despite originally being full frame. A review says that required some cropping and such to edit out equipment and people not meant to be seen.

    Based on the review, the result is occasional odd camera angles and framing issues.
     
  17. Scotty

    Scotty Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    No it's the same film. Grain is just more visible in dark scenes.
     
  18. shatastrophic

    shatastrophic Commander Red Shirt

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    As far as it being grainy I'm glad you guys have been talking about it. I didn't notice it this bad in S1. Didn't know if it had anything to do with the HTV thing or if that is how it was originally. It was especially bad in Contiagon...it still looks wonderful but yeah really grainy...
     
  19. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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  20. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I've watched the entire season. Trust me, you will spot the problems whether your finger is on the pause button or not. But once you do spot something, you might be using the pause button to go back like I did.

    The misaligned lighting passes do not really show in motion (which is a relief), but the bad lighting, blurriness, and cropping do.
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2012