(written from a Production point of view)
As Star Trek: The Original Series was remastered, starting in 2006, to become the TOS "Remastered" series, it was well suited to be translated into the Blu-ray Disc format. After a false start in the HD DVD format in 2007, the first season of The Original Series was among the first to be released in 2009 in the new HD format.
The remastered releases represented the very first time that actual, contemporary behind-the-scenes Original Series footage was included in the special features. These stemmed from the collection of former Original Series performer William Blackburn who had shot them on personal title, while he was on-set. No live contemporary behind-the-scenes footage had ever been featured on any of the previously released home media formats or (officially) featured anywhere else. They all had to do with contemporary still photographs. The reason for this was very simple – the studio did not possess any, not even the Star Trek "blooper reel", as it had failed to maintain ownership over these back in 1967, due to then-Executive Producer Gene Roddenberry's machinations. In 1996, it was divulged that Roddenberry had illegally cleaned out the fireproof vaults of the studio of each and every scrap of film of this footage, such as deleted scenes, outtakes, and behind-the-scenes footage, for personal gain as merchandise to be sold by his company Lincoln Enterprises through mail order and/or at Star Trek conventions during the late 1960s and early 1970s. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, 1997, pp. 400-401)
Being privately shot however, Blackburn's footage remained outside the purview of Roddenberry's scavenging. His footage was remastered as well for the occasion.
Nonetheless, much of the material Roddenberry had acquired back in the day was discovered to be still in existence, and Roddenberry Entertainment (as Lincoln Enterprises was now known) contracted with CBS Consumer Products to have most of this material released to the general public after all, the result of which eventually becoming the 2016 Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault three-disc Blu-ray release.
Blu-ray Disc releases |
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The Original Series • The Animated Series • Star Trek films • The Next Generation • Enterprise • Discovery • Short Treks • Picard • Lower Decks • Prodigy • Strange New Worlds Star Trek documentaries and specials |
Releases[]
- Note: only listed are the first known release date for each respective region, which in the case of Region B does not necessarily concern the UK.
Season releases[]
Release | Cover | Release date | |
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Region A | Region B | ||
Season 1 | 28 April 2009 | 27 April 2009 | |
Season 2 | 22 September 2009 | 16 November 2009 | |
Season 3 | 15 December 2009 | 22 March 2010 |
Collections and specials[]
Betamax • VHS • CED • LaserDisc • DVD • Blu-ray • Digital |