The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series Now on DVD

The new Star Trek movie has launched in theaters and now you can see where it all began as two all-new Star Trek collections are available on DVD from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. The original series that started it all premiered on television in 1966. The original Star Trek is represented with four episodes on The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series which came out on DVD May 12, 2009.

The DVD kicks off with one of my favorite Star Trek episodes, "The City on the Edge of Forever." One reason I like this episode so much is Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Captain Kirk (William Shatner), and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) enter the "Guardian of Forever" gateway... and they wind up in Mayberry! The good folks at Desilu where Star Trek was shot used the old 40-Acre Lot which is where "The Andy Griffith Show" was also filmed, and in one scene, you can clearly see Captain James T. Kirk walking with Joan Collins in front of Floyd's Barbershop as well as spotting other lesser-known Mayberry landmarks.

Three more adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the Starship Enterprise are also on The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series DVD as they launch their five-year mission to boldly go where no man has gone before. The other episodes include "The Trouble with Tribbles," which is considered the most popular Star Trek episode of all time, "Amok Time," where Spock must mate or die, and "Balance of Terror," which introducec the nefarius Romulans to the Star Trek series.

The companion DVD which also came out on May 12 is The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation. "The Next Generation" follows the crew of the Enterprise-D in the 24th century, commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), along with their brave crew. Featured episodes include the two-part "The Best of Both Worlds," "Yesterday's Enterprise," and "The Measure of a Man," the episode where Commander Riker must prove that Data is an android.

After seeing the Star Trek movie, the model of the Starship Enterprise and the special effects of the old "Star Trek" series may seem sadly lacking, but the spirit of the original "Star Trek" series and the "Next Generation" are still engaging in the 21st century.