TNG Season 4 & Redemption Press Release

CBS have just sent TrekCore a copy of the full press release detailing a disc-by-disc breakdown of the upcoming releases of Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 4 and Star Trek: The Next Generation – “Redemption”.

Here’s the press release reproduced in its entirety:

ACCLAIMED HIGH-DEFINITION UPGRADE OF ICONIC SERIES
CONTINUES WITH TWO NEW REMASTERED COLLECTIONS

STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION

THE FOURTH SEASON BLU-RAY™
And
REDEMPTION BLU-RAY

Packed With Exclusive Special Features Including Cast And Crew
Interviews, Audio Commentaries And More

Available July 30, 2013

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (May 14, 2013) – The epic sci-fi adventure continues as the latest high-definition collections of the celebrated series, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® – THE FOURTH SEASON BLU-RAY and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® – REDEMPTION BLU-RAY (including Ultraviolet™ download or stream) arrive July 30 from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution. Featuring painstaking restorations of the beloved series’ episodes, both sets are also packed with must-see special features that delve into the inception and creation of some of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s most unforgettable moments.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® – THE FOURTH SEASON

From the season premiere – the epic conclusion of the two-part cliffhanger “The Best Of Both Worlds” – to its thrilling finale “Redemption” Part 1, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – THE FOURTH SEASON is distinguished as one of the most favored amongst fans.

In addition to all-new commentary tracks on select episodes with some of the franchise’s biggest names including writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, and director Rob Bowman, the collection also includes brand new special features exclusive to the release including never-before-released deleted scenes. With “RELATIVITY: The Family Saga of Star Trek – The Next Generation,” fans will uncover special insight into particular challenges facing the production of the fourth season. This multi-part documentary focuses on the series’ evolution after its critically acclaimed third season turned the show into a crossover hit, while also giving viewers a special look into the personal relationships and family bonds of the crew of the Enterprise with key episodes such as “Reunion” and “Brothers.”

Also, “In Conversation: The Art Department” special feature offers unprecedented insight into the creation of some of the series’ most iconic designs through interviews with production designer Herman Zimmerman, illustrator Doug Drexler, illustrator and technical consultant Rick Sternbach, scenic art supervisor Michael Okuda, scenic artist Denise Okuda and FX maestro Dan Curry, each revealing fascinating background into how the series cemented the look of the 24^th century.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – THE FOURTH SEASON BLU-RAY features all 26 episodes of the fourth season, brilliantly remastered into stunning high-definition that continues to be hailed by critics including High-Def Digest, who called the third season Blu-ray release “an amazing, fan-pleasing product.”

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – REDEMPTION

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – REDEMPTION BLU-RAY, also featuring Ultraviolet download or stream, is a seamlessly edited, feature-length presentation of the classic two-part episode that served as the season four finale and season five premiere. Penned by acclaimed sci-fi screenwriter Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), the thrilling episode follows Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) as they fight to end a Klingon civil war.

Along with an extensive audio commentary from Moore and scenic artists/Star Trek consultants Mike and Denise Okuda, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – REDEMPTION BLU-RAY includes the exclusive documentary, “Survive and Succeed:
An Empire at War.” This newly produced special feature explores the Klingon mythology of Star Trek: The Next Generation and features all-new interviews with writer/producer Moore, who, in addition to “Redemption,” wrote some of the franchise’s most memorable Klingon storylines, and some of the actors who played the most renowned Klingon characters including Michael Dorn (Worf), Robert O’Reilly (Gowron) and Gwynyth Walsh (B’Etor).

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – THE FOURTH SEASON BLU-RAY will be available in 1080p with English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Stereo Surround, French Mono, German Mono, Castilian Mono, Italian Mono, and Japanese Mono. The discs also include English SDH, and French, German, Castilian, Italian, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles. The Blu-ray is Not Rated in the U.S. and rated PG in Canada. It will be available for the suggested retail price of $130.00 U.S. and $150.00 Canada. Its disc breakdown is as follows:

Disc One:
Episodes

Special Features

Archival Mission Log: Mission Overview Year Four (SD)
Audio Commentary with Rob Bowman and Mike & Denise Okuda on “Brothers” – NEW!
Episodic Promos
- Promo #1 (SD)
- Promo #2 (SD)
- Promo #3 (SD)
- Promo #4 (SD)
- Promo #5 (SD)

Disc Two:
Episodes

Special Features

Archival Mission Log: Selected Crew Analysis Year Four (SD)
Audio Commentary with Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga and Mike & Denise Okuda on “Reunion” – NEW!
Episodic Promos
- Promo #1 (SD)
- Promo #2 (SD)
- Promo #3 (SD)
- Promo #4 (SD)
- Promo #5 (SD)

Disc Three:
Episodes

Special Features

Archival Mission Log: New Life and New Civilizations (SD)
Episodic Promos
- Promo #1 (SD)
- Promo #2 (SD)
- Promo #3 (SD)
- Promo #4 (SD)
- Promo #5 (SD)

Disc Four:
Episodes

Special Features

Archival Mission Log: Chronicles from the Final Frontier (SD)
Episodic Promos
- Promo #1 (SD)
- Promo #2 (SD)
- Promo #3 (SD)
- Promo #4 (SD)
- Promo #5 (SD)

Disc Five:
Episodes

Special Features

Archival Mission Log: Departmental Briefing Year Four: Production (SD)
Archival Mission Log: Select Historical Data (SD)
Archival Mission Log: Inside the Star Trek Archives (SD)
Episodic Promos
- Promo #1 (SD)
- Promo #2 (SD)
- Promo #3 (SD)
- Promo #4 (SD)

Disc Six:
Episodes

Special Features

In Conversation: The Star Trek ^TMArt Department (HD) – NEW!
RELATIVITY: The Family Saga of Star Trek – The Next Generation (HD) – NEW!
Part 1: Homecoming
Part 2: Posterity
Gag Reel (HD) – NEW!
Deleted Scenes (HD) – NEW!
- The Best Of Both Worlds, Part II
- Family
- Brothers
- Final Mission
- The Wounded
- Galaxy’s Child
- Qpid
- The Host
Episodic Promos
- Promo #1 (SD)
- Promo #2 (SD)

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – REDEMPTION BLU-RAY will be available in 1080p with English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Stereo Surround, German Mono, French Mono and Japanese Mono. The collection also includes English SDH, German, French and Japanese subtitles. The Blu-ray is Not Rated in the U.S. and rated PG in Canada. It will be available for the suggested retail price of $28.28 U.S. and $32.00 Canada. Its disc breakdown is as follows:

Redemption (Parts 1 and 2)

Special Features

Audio Commentary with Ronald D. Moore and Mike & Denise Okuda – NEW!
Survive and Succeed: An Empire at War (HD) – NEW!
Episodic Promos
- Part 1
- Part 2

A few notes on the new press release. It seems that the close scheduling of Seasons Three and Four only permitted two audio commentaries to be recorded for the fourth season set (although the Redemption standalone release gets a full length 90-minute commentary). That’s certainly a shame given the number of terrific episodes spread throughout the season – I was rather hoping for a Ron Moore commentary on “Family” or even a Jonathan Frakes commentary on “The Drumhead”. Alas.

The addition of a large number of deleted scenes is a joy to see. We discussed this development in the project in an earlier article. Spurred on by the discovery of a large number of VHS tapes containing extended episodes, CBS have sifted through scripts to pull out a total of 8 episodes with deleted scenes. We are told that these will be in full high-definition, sourced from the 35mm camera negative and presented as standalone clips, reinserted into the scenes they were removed from (in a similar fashion to TrekCore’s deleted scene presentations).

UPDATE: We’ve confirmed with Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS that there are no plans to release the standalone “Redemption” Blu-ray in the UK or most other European territories. Fans wanting the disc will have to order from the United States. The link for ordering at Amazon.com is below.

Fans can now pre-order both “Redemption” and Season 4 from Amazon. Use the Amazon links below… every click helps support TrekCore. We’ll have more news and previews of the sets as the release date gets closer! Watch this space.