Star Trek: The Next Generation--Season 4

Use the Force, Luke! Oops, wrong franchise. While Star Wars mania is currently all the (sci-fi) rage thanks to the recent release of Star Wars--Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, the other "Star" fans have their own reasons for near-holiday-season rejoicing, with the upcoming December release of Star Trek: Nemesis in theaters, earlier Star Trek movies arriving in double-disc special editions, and the second half of the ST:TNG boxed sets bowing on DVD. Star Trek: The Next Generation--Season 4 not only marked the midway point of the second Enterprise's prime-time TV voyage through the vast interstellar reaches of outer space, but it also saw two landmarks (the 80th episode surpassed it's predecessor's run--the original '60s Star Trek, and the 100th episode was celebrated with the series creator, the late Gene Roddenberry). Standout episodes include the season opener "The Best of Both Worlds, Pt. II," the big budget (by 1990 TV standards) resolution to the third season finale, in which Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) was assimilated by the Borg; "Family," which finds Picard squabbling with his brother on Earth while the Enterprise undergoes repairs (an episode also notable for being the only show that never featured the bridge of the Enterprise); "Brothers," with Brent Spiner in a triple role as Data, his evil brother Lore, and their elderly creator Soong; and "Reunion," an emotional episode which finds Worf (Michael Dorn) gaining and losing family (and, if you haven't noticed by now, "family" is the overriding theme in season four). With ST:TNG 4, the series really hit its narrative stride (and the four standout shows mentioned above fall within the first seven episodes!), with returning executive producer Michael Piller continuing to focus on character-driven stories. Season four also saw some welcome returns and one not-so-devastating departure (Wesley Crusher, played by Wil Wheaton). Featuring all 26 episodes spread across seven discs, the handsomely boxed set also includes five featurettes (totaling over 80 minutes), ranging from the tedious (in "Selected Crew Analysis: Year Four," Patrick Stewart and Wil Wheaton spend an inordinate amount of time blowing sunshine up each other's skirts) to the intriguing ("New Life and New Civilizations," in which viewers will discover what low-budget, time-constrained lengths the SFX folks go to in order to create pretty darn good effects at a pretty darn low price). Definitely recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—July 30, 2013—Paramount, 6 discs, 1,180 min., not rated, $129.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1990-91's Star Trek: The Next Generation—Season Four sports an excellent transfer and a DTS-HD 7.1 soundtrack. Extras include crew audio commentary on select episodes, a behind-the-scenes documentary on the art department (68 min.), a “Mission Overview” season summary (17 min.), deleted scenes (24 min.), a gag reel (4 min.), and several production-related featurettes, including “Relativity: The Family Saga” (57 min.), “Chronicles from the Final Frontier” (18 min.), “Departmental Briefing” (17 min.), “Selected Crew Analysis” (17 min.), “New Life, New Civilizations” (14 min.), “Select Historical Data” (11 min.), and “Inside the Star Trek Archives” (11 min.). Bottom line: the solid fourth season from the series makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]