Star Trek Sequel Coming (Wrath to Be Determined)

Star Trek Sequel Coming (Wrath to Be Determined)

More than a month before Paramount’s new “Star Trek” movie goes to theaters, boldly or otherwise, the studio has signed up the creative team behind it to prepare a sequel, Variety reported. The “Star Trek” film, directed by J. J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Alias”) and scheduled to open on May 8, depicts the earliest adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy as young recruits of the Starfleet Academy. That film was written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (both of “Fringe” and “Transformers”), and produced by Mr. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, a creator and executive producer of “Lost.” Mr. Kurtzman, Mr. Orci and Mr. Lindelof will be writing and producing the planned sequel. Mr. Abrams and his producing partner, Bryan Burk, will also produce, but no director has been announced. The sequel, the 12th entry in the “Star Trek” franchise, is planned for a summer 2011 release.

Star Trek: The Original Series has had a long, circuitous path toward Blu-ray, but Paramount today gave Blu-ray owners a glimmer of high-definition hope with one simple announcement: "the groundbreaking first season of Star Trek: The Original Series lands on Blu-ray Disc April 28."

The seven-disc Blu-ray set includes all 29 first-season episodes and loads of special features. And yes, we mean loads. As in, more features than the HD-DVD versions had.

For those who are trigger-happy, here's the link to buy it on Amazon.com. It's running about 40% off MSRP, so pre-order while you can: Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 on Blu-ray.

The first season Blu-ray release will give viewers the ability to see each episode's enhanced version or the version with the original special effects, and they can choose for themselves whether to hear the new enhanced soundtrack or the original one. Viewers will be able to select either version and then toggle back and forth between the newly enhanced visual effects found on the remastered episodes and the original broadcast episode effects.

Paramount also indicated that fans for the first time will be able to enjoy the series in 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and still have the option to select the original mono sound from the series' original TV airings. This is a great balance for those with high-performance surround-sound setups, because they can choose on their own to "go retro" or "go high-definition."

As part of the special features, select episodes include the "Starfleet Access" bonus content that lets viewers watch selected episodes with special pop-up trivia and picture-in-picture video commentaries. The set also includes an interactive tour of the starship Enterprise, rare on-set home movie footage and an inside perspective on what it took to transport Trek into the 21st century.