Finished watching the first disc yesterday. There are times that you almost get used to the brilliant quality of the remastering and then there's a shot that takes your breath away. I think you'll all enjoy the remastered effects in Realm of Fear especially. The POV shots of Barclay inside the transporterbeam are magnificent. The colours and depth of field are superb. It almost looks like a 3D effect.
The quality of the episodes however is a different matter. I was surprised to learn that a lot of people consider season 6 their favorite season. For me, the decline in quality started with season 6. The first 5 episodes on this disc are a perfect examples. "Time's Arrow", "Realm of Fear" and "Man Of The People" aren't anywhere near as good as the final stretch of episodes of season 5. They aren't bad, just uninspired and lack the energy and pacing of seasons 3 and 4. Relics is a classic episode, with a superb story by Ronald D. Moore and a wonderful performance by James Doohan. Schisms is even more freaky and unsetlling in HD. It's a personal favorite of mine. Still the lack of energy and pacing is also evident in these episodes. The staging of certain scenes is off as well. There's this silly moment in Schisms where Geordi detects an explosion in a cargobay and orders damage control and medical teams to the scene. This is followed by a scene where a team of people including Dr. Crusher and Worf are leisurely strolling through the corridor to the cargobay, apparently in no hurry to help their fellow crewmembers who as far as they're concerned are in mortal danger. Luckily it turns out to be a false alarm.
The quality of the episodes however is a different matter. I was surprised to learn that a lot of people consider season 6 their favorite season. For me, the decline in quality started with season 6. The first 5 episodes on this disc are a perfect examples. "Time's Arrow", "Realm of Fear" and "Man Of The People" aren't anywhere near as good as the final stretch of episodes of season 5. They aren't bad, just uninspired and lack the energy and pacing of seasons 3 and 4. Relics is a classic episode, with a superb story by Ronald D. Moore and a wonderful performance by James Doohan. Schisms is even more freaky and unsetlling in HD. It's a personal favorite of mine. Still the lack of energy and pacing is also evident in these episodes. The staging of certain scenes is off as well. There's this silly moment in Schisms where Geordi detects an explosion in a cargobay and orders damage control and medical teams to the scene. This is followed by a scene where a team of people including Dr. Crusher and Worf are leisurely strolling through the corridor to the cargobay, apparently in no hurry to help their fellow crewmembers who as far as they're concerned are in mortal danger. Luckily it turns out to be a false alarm.
