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The 50^th anniversary of anything is one hell of a monumental number…especially when it’s for something so iconic that has changed the landscape of pop culture as we know it.

Nothing has really shaped the way we look at science fiction much like those original voyages of the Starship Enterprise and now in the month of September we celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of what just might be the most iconic television show to ever hit the airwaves.  In celebration of this Paramount Home Entertainment a penultimate 30 Blu-Ray Collection putting the entire adventures of the original cast on the big and small screen all in one place and it’s in stores today.

All three seasons of the original show starring William Shatner in his career defining role as Captain James T Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as the iconic Mr. Spock and DeForest Kelley as the irascible Dr. McCoy, all six feature films and for the very first time on Blu-Ray the short lived animated series that reunited most of the original cast for one season.  There has been no other release that has every single second of those initial adventures all together in one set.

For the Original Series release, the Blu-Ray’s are exactly the same (except for new on disc art) and they have the same remastered episodes both with the updated and original visual effects.  It looks great as you’d expect and really never gets old.  In this day and age with physical media beginning to get a little fewer and further between these are the kind of things that any self respecting Star Trek/Science Fiction fan needs to own.

The first six features, including the new release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with the director’s cut version of the film are all here and are identical to their previous releases but the real treat here is the animated series.  For the first time on Blu-Ray this often forgotten and usually ignored series sparkles here on Blu-Ray.  It just channels the further adventures and much like the original series (but in its truncated 30 min) some episodes are absolutely fun and iconic, while some are just pretty silly.  All in all it captures the essence of the original material quite well and it makes for a fun add-on to the deep legacy that this show brings.

In addition to all of that, this set includes limited edition collectable art by artist Juan Ortiz of all six original features and a very beautiful Starfleet 50^th Anniversary Insignia Badge.

I’ll admit that at first glance that this is a glorified repacking job from the studio that is eager to continue to maximizing the value that this franchise has.  But that being said, for those hardcore fans (especially of the original series) then this is simply the set you need to own as the gorgeous new packaging along with the collectable art make this a must own for the hardcore devotee, while the casual fan will need to quietly hope and wait that the animated series gets a release on Blu-Ray.

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