I am – Hercules!!

But beware! Though the advent of HD precipitated the remastering, this is not an HD set! It’s got all the cool new special effects CBS added over the last couple of years, but they’re only in standard definition here. I’m guessing a Blu-ray version will be announced any minute now.

Having said that, I point out now that “Trek’s” Chekov-enhanced second season boasted some of the series’ finest efforts.

* “Who Mourns For Adonais?” Kirk takes on Apollo, his 433rd outer-space entity with god-like power – and the first he’s encountered in a minidress!

* “The Changeling.” Another god-like entity, this time in the form of a floaty space-heater with daddy issues. The first “Star Trek” movie was its big-budget remake.

* “Mirror Mirror.” A transporter mishap transports Kirk, McCoy and Scotty into an alternate universe in which everybody’s ruthless and evil and Spock sports a sinister Vulcanian goatee.

* “The Apple.” Kirk tries to help a primitive society that worships a computer. Or was that “The Paradise Syndrome”? Or was that “Return of the Archons”? Or was that “The World Is Hollow and I Have Touched The Sky”?

* “The Doomsday Machine.” The Enterprise does battle with both a planet-gobbling alien superweapon and a revenge-crazed Starfleet commodore.

* “Catspaw.” Kirk is confronted by a goth couple with, you guessed it, god-like powers.

* “I Mudd.” One of the funniest episodes, co-written by the guy who wrote “Mudd’s Women” and the guy who wrote “The Trouble With Tribbles.” Ne’er-do-well Harry Mudd and the Enterprise crew run afoul of bored robots. Spock defeats them with the help of poetry that doesn’t rhyme. Nimoy’s reading of “Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers that smell bad” is a stitch. Why no Mudd episode in season three?

* “Metamorphosis.” The crew stumbles upon 240-year-old warp-drive inventor Zefram Cochrane, who looks nothing like James Cromwell and has been kept alive, well and youthful by a horny alien cloud-being. “Father Knows Best” daughter Elinor Donahue played commissioner Nancy Helford.

* “Journey To Babel.” During a Federation conference marred by Andorian-on-human violence, we get a glimpse of Spock’s dysfunctional family dynamic. If memory serves, Daddy Sarek wanted Spock to go into computer programming instead of Starfleet. “Father Knows Best” mom Jane Wyatt played Amanda Greyson.

* “Friday’s Child.” The crew finds itself caught between Klingons and a primitive race of giants, fleeing to surrounding mountains in an effort to protect an gargantuan pregnant local (Julie Newmar).

* “The Deadly Years.” A strange disease advances Kirk’s age to the point where he can’t even be trusted with the viewscreen remote. Don’t be forgetting Sarah Marshall played daddy-issue casualty Dr. Janet Wallace!

* “Obsession.” Kirk grows determined to defeat the deadly vampire creature who vexed him in his youth.

* “Wolf in the Fold.” “Psycho” author Robert Bloch contributes a teleplay about the spirit of Jack The Ripper alive and well on the planet Argelius.

* “The Trouble With Tribbles.” When someone calls the Enterprise a “garbage scow” Scotty engineers a merciless Klingon beatdown. Also, a merchant brings to a Federation space station a faceless furball that does little besides eat and poop out more faceless furballs.

* “The Gamsters of Triskelion.” Multicolored brains with god-like powers bet on whether Kirk can murder his alien opponents. Porn star Angelique Pettyjohn played the horny warrior Shauna.

* “A Piece of the Action.” Aliens find a book about Prohibition-era Chicago and decide to model their entire society on it. An appalled Kirk and Spock have to carry machine guns and learn how to drive.

* “The Immunity Syndrome.” The Enterprise has to destroy a massive space-amoeba before it can reproduce and consume the universe.

* “A Private Little War.” Kirk is scandalized when he learns the rascally Klingons have been arming a primitive culture, then finds himself reduced to disregarding the Federation’s Prime Directive in response.

* “Return To Tomorrow.” Kirk, Spock and Dr. Anne Mulhall decide to lend their bodies to a trio of very old disembodied aliens determined to return to corporeal existence.

* “Patterns of Force.” Federation historian John Gill molds a planet’s culture into one resembling Nazi Germany. Conveniently, they even have their own version of the Jews to destroy, natives of the neighboring planet Zeon.

* “By Any Other Name.” Intergalactic invaders take over the Enterprise by reducing most of its crew to tiny geometric shapes. Scotty tries to defeat them by consuming unsafe quantities of alcohol. Kirk tries to defeat them by making one of the beautiful alien females all hot.

* “The Omega Glory.” After discovering that all the water has been sucked out of the crew of the U.S.S. Exeter, Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to Omega IV, where they are told by the Exeter’s captain that if they ever leave the planet they’ll suffer the same fate as the Exeter crew. 1,000-year-old Yangs battle 1,000-year-old Kohms. Spock is mistaken for Satan. Kirk is mistaken for God. Somebody pulls out a flag.

* “The Ultimate Computer.” Starfleet replaces Kirk with a machine that goes all HAL-9000 and starts shooting up Federation starships.

* “Bread and Circuses.” The Enterprise encounters something akin to a 20th century Roman Empire. Spock and McCoy get to fight in televised gladiatorial combat.

* “Assignment: Earth.” The season’s final episode was a pilot for an unmade spinoff series about a 20th century human named Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) trained by extraterrestrials to ensure Earth survives its nuclear era. He would come to supervise two fabulous young assistants: the alien Isis (Barbara Babcock), who could turn into a cat, and newly hired human secretary Roberta Lincoln (Teri Garr).

“New” extras include:

* A second set of Billy Blackburn’s never-before-seen on-set home videos (12:03). The bit player and extra who played pre-Chekhov navigator Lt. Hadley shows his 8mm films of and talks about the Starfleet tunics’ hidden zippers. Learn that Blackburn played the bald robot body from “Return To Tomorrow” and a Tellerite in “Journey To Babel.” Learn that the red makeup he wore in “The Apple” kept staining Blackburn’s shower for weeks after the episode wrapped. Learn that Blackburn looked so much like the male twins in “I, Mudd” that he was cast as a third twin.

* The “Star Trek: The Animated Series” episode “More Tribbles, More Troubles” (24:11), featuring audio commentary by David Gerrold, who wrote both the animated episode and its live-action prequel. Learn that “More Tribbles” had originally been developed at Gene Roddenberry’s instigation for the live series’ third season, but was vetoed by “Rawhide” writer and incoming third-season showrunner Fred Freiberger, who objected to the comedic tone of the original “Tribbles.” Learn that Gerrold’s original idea was for crewmen to start disappearing after the tribbles’ nasty natural predator was brought aboard to get rid of the furballs. Learn that the animated tribbles are pink because the guy who assigned colors for Filmmation was colorblind!

* The “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” (45:27). One of the funniest, most compelling and (I’m guessing) most expensive episodes in all of Star Trek, it was scripted by “Battlestar Galactica” mastermind Ron Moore & Rene Echevarria from a story by Ira Steven Behr, Hans Beimler & Robert Hewitt Wolfe. The guy who played Arne Darvin in the original “Tribbles” returns for an adventure that sends Darvin, Sisko, Dax, Odo and Worf back 105 years to encounter an Enterprise manned by Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Bashir considers putting the bone to his own great-grandmother! Terry Farrell cavorts in Starfleet-issue go-go boots and minidress and reveals a romantic liaison with a young Leonard McCoy! (“What happened? Some kind of genetic engineering?” O’Brien asks Worf when he sees the human-looking Klingons hanging out aboard space station K-7. “A viral mutation?” guesses Bashir. Worf refuses to spill, but subsequent episodes of the prequel series “Enterprise” eventually explained that both genetic engineering and an airborne mutant virus were to blame for the Klingons’ human-like appearance during Kirk’s era.)

* “Trials and Tribble-ations: Uniting Two Legends” (17:01). The making of the DS9’s tribble episode is examined. Learn that Ferrell’s grandmother once made her a tribble. Learn that DS9’s staff wasn’t entirely keen on doing an episode celebrating Trek’s 30th anniversary. See a short-haired, clean-shaven Moore reveal an early idea was to create a sequel to “A Piece of the Action,” depicting the 100-years-later imitation-gangster planet Sigma Iotia II, which had since evolved into a Star Trek Convention planet on which everybody walked around dressed like Kirk and Spock. (In “Trials,” Dax became the surrogate for all the Trek fans.) Learn that the idea of sending everybody back to Kirk’s era was the first idea; the tribble episode was settled upon because it was perceived as the series’ most famous. Learn that the episode benefited from being a production of Paramount, which had just developed useful “Forrest Gump” technology used for inserting Tom Hanks into to all sorts of old film footage. DS9 showrunner Ira Steven Behr has an astonishing story about spotting Charlie Brill (Darvin) in a Beverly Hills pizzeria as he was having a conversation about bringing Brill’s character back for the episode. One wonders if the guys behind the remastering considered (however fleetingly) sneaking some of the DS9 footage into “The Trouble With Tribbles” alongside their other alterations.

* Trials and Tribble-ations: An Historic Endeavor” (16:40). See Behr with hair! Learn how production designer Herman Zimmerman prevented the Enterprise from being rebuilt at three-quarters scale. Visual effects coordinator Gary Hutzel tells us some TV stations got 35mm prints of the ‘60s episodes to broadcast while others got 16mm prints! Moore remembers his astonishment at an early test screening, when he failed to notice the uniformed member of the DS9 visual effects team had been seamlessly integrated into a shot from “The Trouble With Tribbles.”

Extras returning from the unremastered DVD set include:

* “To Boldly Go …” (19:18). An overview of season two featuring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, writer D.C. Fontana, producer Bob Justman, and fan/author Bjo Trimble. Be reminded that the original title for “The Trouble With Tribbles” was “A Fuzzy Thing Happened.” Learn that Justman thought the episode might have been too funny. Learn that there were backstage “tribble fights.” Learn that George Takei missed the start of the second season because he was stuck overseas with the delayed production of “The Green Berets,” which resulted in a lot more to do for Walter Koenig.

* “Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy” (11:49). Leonard Nimoy discusses his photography generally and his new project on “time” specifically. Learn that Nimoy owns a countdown clock predicting via actuarial data how many days he has left to live; it reads exactly 5,400 days as he shows it to the camera. The Vulcan hand-salute comes from a Jewish ceremony Nimoy witnessed as a 8-year-old; learn that at least one rabbi believes that witnessing that particular ceremony places the witness in mortal danger – sort of like witnessing the opening of the Ark of the Covenant!

* “Kirk, Spock & Bones: Star Trek’s Great Trio” (6:56). Learn that William Shatner has five times as much dopamine in his body than normal humans. Hear George Takei compliment Shatner on his acting!

* “Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols” (12:51). Learn that Nichols’ first TV guest-star role after moving to Los Angeles was on Gene Roddenberry’s “The Lieutenant.” Learn that she auditioned reading Spock’s lines because no dialogue was yet written for Uhura. Learn that Gene Roddenberry didn’t decide if “Uhura” was the character’s first or last name until long after the series ceased production. (I always assumed it was her only name; Roddenberry ultimately made it her last name.)

* “Designing The Final Frontier” (22:13). A look at how cup lids, discarded typewriter packaging and coffee tables were perverted to create Trek’s many otherworldly sets. Learn that the Jeffries Tube (the franchise’s generic maintenance crawlspace) was made from a cardboard tube normally used to create concrete pillars.

* “Writer’s Notebook: D.C. Fontana” (7:22). Learn that the original series’ story editor, Dorothy Fontana, started submitting material as D.C. because women writers weren’t welcome in the era’s action-adventure market. Learn that she used the pseudonym “Michael Richards” (formed from the names of her brothers) for projects she thought turned out badly. Learn that writers drew from Japan and The Middle East to create the culture of the Vulcans. Learn that the dodecahedrons so memorably utilized in “By Any Other Name” were inspired by a Mexican paperweight Fontana had given Roddenberry.

* “Star Trek’s Favorite Moments” (16:57). Actors Michael Dorn, Ethan Phillips, Tim Russ, John Billingsley, Jeffrey Combs, Vaughn Armstrong and Robert O’Reilly, writers Ronald D. Moore, Jeri Taylor and Jimmy Diggs, production illustrator Andrew Probert, astrophysicist Sallie Baliunas, science advisor Andre Bormanis, effects supervisor Ronald B. Moore, and fans Bjo Trimble, Russ Noel, Matt Kirk and Mark Steele all spew love for the original series.

* The original “next week” promos for every episode.

A surprising series full of big ideas and unafraid to get dark and weird, ABC’s “Masters of Science Fiction” anthology is considerably more fun than most of those color “Outer Limits” and “Twilight Zone” episodes produced subsequent to Rod Serling’s demise.

The first episode stars the great Judy Davis and Sam Waterston but stands as the least satisfying of the series. Based on a story by John Kessel, “A Clean Escape” was directed by Mark Rydell (“On Golden Pond”) from a teleplay by Sam Egan (“Northern Exposure”) and depicts a man whose brain has not been able to create new memories in years. A highly compelling story, it is ultimately undone by an anticlimactic denouement but fascinates nonetheless as its hour of twists unspool.

“The Awakening” was adapted and directed by Michael Petroni (“Till Human Voices Wake Us”) from Howard Fast’s short story “The General Zapped …” The only episode not set decades in the future, it’s about what happens after something extraterrestrial smacks into the Iraqi desert. Terry O’Quinn (“Lost”) is typically watchable as a retired military UFO expert; gorgeous Elizabeth Rohm (Kate the cop on “Angel”) plays the Air Force officer sent to pull him out of retirement. William B. Davis (“The X-Files”) plays a too-paranoid U.S. president and a “Crimson Tide”/”2010”/”Day The Earth Stood Still” vibe comes to manifest. It’s all a bit familiar and the president’s impulsiveness is hard to swallow, but it’s well-paced and I can’t say my interest flagged.

“Jerry Was A Man,” the third episode, is easily the best of the lot, a black and occasionally moving comedy based on the Robert Heinlein short story about an intellect-enhanced animal. (In the episode it’s the tale of a replicant’s bid for human rights.) It was adapted and directed by Michael Tolkin, who in 1991 wrote and directed a brilliant Mimi Rogers movie titled “The Rapture.” Anne Heche and Malcolm McDowell play out some spectacularly witty moments in “Jerry,” and they’re backed by a boatload of admirably restrained (Canadian?) supporting players I mostly fail to recognize. I love the guy who plays the title role, love the guys who play the lawyers, love the girl who plays the lead judge. It saddens now that Tolkin hasn’t directed more over the last couple of decades. Be warned though that some critics didn’t seem to care so much for “Jerry,” so you might not either.

The final episode, “The Discarded,” was directed by Jonathan Frakes (“Star Trek: Insurrection,” “Clockstoppers”) from a teleplay co-written by Harlan Ellison (“The City on the Edge of Forever”) and Josh Olson (“A History of Violence”), based on Ellison’s 1959 short story. It’s perhaps too eccentric in detail for many tastes, but solid and sophisticated entertainment at its core. It’s also the most Ellison-y thing I’ve seen on film to date, which means – among other things – some of its many gags feel a little moldy and it telegraphs some of its points too aggressively. Brian Dennehy is so good here he manages to upstage even the amazing John Hurt.

Every episode is narrated by Stephen Hawking’s voice machine!

But what matters Herc’s opinion?

Entertainment Weekly gives it a “B” and says:

… There's real juice in this …

The Associated Press says:

… In some ways, this is pretty amazing stuff … This is just the kind of thing that charges the imaginations of 14-year-old boys, or of older boys who sit at home on Saturday nights, phasars [sic] at the ready.

The New York Daily News says:

For the next four weeks, ABC presents its best new series in more than a year: an ambitious, artistic, refreshingly intelligent anthology series … Tonight's opener, "A Clean Escape," is a brilliant duel of wits between an Army psychiatrist (Judy Davis) and a forgetful patient (Sam Waterston), set 24 years in the future. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… "Uneven" is not wrong. They are all over the place. The worst are undone by their own earnestness and the explicitness with which the dialogue presents the issues that the action should embody. Least successful is tonight's opener …

Variety says:

… uneven … in this collection of adapted short stories, one is quite good, another's better than OK, and two are fairly lousy … Saving the best for last … is the quite good "The Discarded," telling the story of a group of misfits banished into space aboard what amounts to a huge floating prison. The ever-mercurial Harlan Ellison adapted his short story along with Josh Olson, and it showcases the kind of rich, detailed material that packs a surprising amount of character development into an hour, buoyed by John Hurt and Brian Dennehy …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… an anthology project of genuine artistic vision. … a provocative, rich, lavishly produced, sharply performed quartet …

Tommy Lee Jones looked far older 19 years ago than he does today. Frederick Forrest, menaced by Robert Duvall in the long version of “Apocalypse Now,” returns the favor here as the sadistic half-Indian Blue Duck. Chris Cooper plays a sheriff on a reluctant manhunt for Robert Urich’s character, who likes to get hammered and hit girls. Steve Buscemi, three short years before he assayed Mr. Pink, co-stars as the prairie rapist who makes a run for Glenne Headly. Diane Lane played the cutest whore ever. Teenager Nina Siemaszko, six short years before rooming with Annette Bening in “The American President,” plays a quasi-feral backwoods nymphet who can defeat bloodthirsty gunmen with well-aimed rocks.

Extras on the new Blu-ray edition include:

* Six hours of audio commentary by director Simon Wincer.

* A hand-written letter from Wincer.

* A new interview with Wincer.

* The 50-minute featurette “The Making of An Epic.”

* On-the-set interviews with Duvall, Jones, Cooper, Lane and others.

* A montage featuring Basil Poledouris’ original score.

* Photos, original sketches, casting notes and other production artifacts.

* A reprint of the promotional poster.

Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

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TV-on-DVD Calendar


Last Week
Avatar: The Last Airbender 3.x Vol. 4
Baldwin Hills 1.x
Beverly Hills 90210 5.x
Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist
Centennial: The Complete Miniseries
Dark Shadows: The Beginning Vol. 5
Freakazoid 1.x
Girlfriends 4.x
The Hills 3.x
The Human Body: Pushing the Limits
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 7.x
Parking Wars: Best Of 1.x
Phineas & Ferb: The Fast and the Phineas
The Princes of Malibu: The Complete Series
Robin of Sherwood: The Complete Series
Space Angel Vol. 1
Stargate SG1: Continuum
Stargate SG1: Continuum (Blu-ray)
Tiny Toon Adventures 1.x Vol. 1
Two Fat Ladies: The Complete Series
Witchblade: The Complete Series
The Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School

This Week

BBC Hi-Def Natural History Collection (Blu-ray)

Get Smart 1.x

Lonesome Dove: Collector's Edition

Lonesome Dove: Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)

Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series

Route 66: The Complete Series

Star Trek 2.x Remastered

Next Week
Blue Murder Vol. 3
Caroline in the City 1.x
Comedy Central's Kenny Vs. Spenny 1.x
Dave's World 1.x
DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures
The Eon Kid 1.x Vol. 1
First Amendment Stand-Up 2.x
Frightfully Funny Collection Vol. 1
Love Boat 1.x Vol. 2
Prison Break 3.x
Prison Break 3.x (Blu-ray)
The Racing Game: The Complete Miniseries
South Park 11.x
That Girl 4.x
Tom & Jerry Tales Vol. 5
Tru Calling: The Complete Series
Wall Street Warriors 2.x
The Wire 5.x

August 19
Adventures of Sir Lancelot: The Complete Series
Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers Vol. 2
The Buccaneers: The Complete Series
College Hill 5.x
Dexter 2.x
George of the Jungle (2008) 1.x
Girls Behaving Badly: Chelsea Handler Exposed!
Gossip Girl 1.x
House 4.x
Justice League 1.x (Blu-ray)
Married With Children 9.x
Perry Mason 3.x Vol. 1
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 1.x
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 1.x (Blu-ray)
Transformers Animated 1.x
Wayside 1.x
William Tell: Best Of 1.x

August 26
Afro Samurai 1.x
Afro Samurai 1.x: Director's Cut
Afro Samurai 1.x: Director's Cut (Blu-ray)
Alfresco: The Complete Series
Archie's Weird Mysteries: Haunting of Riverdale
Archie's Weird Mysteries: Spells Spells Trouble
Banacek: Best Of
Battle 360 1.x
B.L. Stryker: Best Of
Casper: Trick or Treat
Casper & Wendy: Scare Up Some Fun
Charles in Charge: Best Of
The Crow - Stairway to Heaven: Best Of
Curious George: Sails With Pirates
Dirty Jobs Vol. 3
Discworld Collection
Duchess of Duke Street: The Complete Series
Entourage 4.x
Everybody Hates Chris 3.x
Everybody Hates Chris: Three Season Pack
Fat Albert's Halloween Special
Heroes 1.x (Blu-ray)
Heroes 2.x
Heroes 2.x (Blu-ray)
History Channel: Shockwave 1.x
Honeymooners In Color Vol. 4
NCIS 5.x
NCIS: Five Season Pack;
One Tree Hill 5.x
The Shield 6.x
UFO Hunters 1.x
The Untouchables 2.x Vol. 2

September 2
Arthur 11.x
The Big Bang Theory 1.x
Bump! Eastern Europe
Cheers 10.x
Desperate Housewives 4.x
Doctor Who: Invasion of Time
Doctor Who: Invisible Enemy
Eli Stone 1.x
Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Series
Ghost Hunters: Live From The Waverley Sanitorium
Ghost Whisperer 3.x
Ghost Whisperer: Three Season Pack
Honey West: The Complete Series
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Remastered
Life 1.x
Little People, Big World 2.x Vol. 1
Living With Ed 2.x
Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (Blu-ray)
The Office 4.x
Supernatural 3.x
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2.x Vol. 2
Travel Channel: Paranormal Destinations

September 9
Alvin & The Chipmonks: Daytona Jones
CSI Miami 6.x
CSI Miami: Six-Season Pack
DIC's Animated Christmas Blast
Edgar & Ellen 1.x Vol. 1
Grey's Anatomy 4.x
Grey's Anatomy 4.x (Blu-ray)
Gulliver's Travels: The Complete Miniseries
A Haunting 4.x
In Treatment
In Treatment (Blu-ray)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 3.x
Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht 1.x/2.x
Judge Judy: Second To None
Keeping Up Appearances: The Full Bouquet
Keeping Up Appearances: Life Lessons From Onslow
Last of the Summer Wine 4.x
Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 3
Medium 4.x
Medium: 4-Season Pack
Not Only ... But Also: Best Of ... What's Left
Smallville 7.x
Smallville 7.x (Blu-ray)
Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper Vol. 2
The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 1.x
To The Manor Born: The Complete Series
To The Manor Born: Silver Wedding Anniversary
Ugly Betty 2.x
Wings 7.x
Wings: 7-Season Set

September 16
Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Alvinnn!!! Edition