KOOL TV REVIEW: 'DOCTOR WHO - THE REIGN OF TERROR' DVD

Tyranny and terror await the disguised first DOCTOR WHO (William Hartnell) in the latest classic DVD release: The Reign of Terror. Images: BBC

DOCTOR WHO: THE REIGN OF TERROR

Starring William Hartnell as the Doctor

Written by Dennis Spooner

Directed by Henric Hirsch

Available on DVD from January 28^th 2013 from BBC CONSUMER PRODUCTS

The fifth dimension wandering figure of the cantankerous Doctor, his devoted granddaughter and the two at first unwilling and kidnapped Earth schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright find themselves trapped in the summer of blood and anarchy that is 1786: the most dangerous and perilous era of France’s rebellious past: the time of the great revolution as the blade of the guillotine strikes terror into the hearts of the elite aristocracy, their society and avarice now at the blunt end mercy of the disgruntled mob, in the latest classic monochrome William Hartnell six-part 1964 adventure emerging from the vaults, lovingly restored once again by those fine chaps and chapesses at BBC CONSUMER PRODUCTS, and now with specially commissioned animated episodes filling in the vital gap left by two missing believed wiped episodes.

Starting the tale as a miserable figure annoyed by companions Ian and Barbara, who finally want to get back to the Earth of their 1963 time period, the Doctor, thinking himself master of his time travelling craft, believes he’s successfully achieved their wish, but what should be a parting of the waves amongst pleasant summer-time countryside surroundings quickly turns into a nightmare time caught on anxiety fuelled streets and inside candlelight dwellings, encountering opportunistic betrayal and dangerous liaisons. Where people sell each other out for a piece of stale bread or to avoid paying the ferryman his two gold pieces! There’s certainly no time to stop and smell the roses here, not with Madame Guillotine anxiously awaiting new guests!

As the journey intensifies for our team, there are traitors, spies and the cold reality of imprisonment along the tumultuous way, plus the maneuverings of an English agent at large, the mysterious and facially unknown James Stirling.

Trailer: Doctor Who - The Reign Of Terror (Coming Soon DVD Trailer) - YouTube

The Doctor and his companions meet a young French peasant child.

A strong introduction to the series from experienced film and TV scribe Dennis Spooner- a friend of WHO’s premiere script editor David Whitaker, and soon proving a natural replacement for him in what would be a vacant slot for Season Two- he had a natural skill in mixing character incident and trademark witty humour in equal measure. There’s a general note of subtle somberness about this particular Spooner script, too, but nothing violent or disturbing enough to linger in the minds of family viewers of the time.

The genuine violence and horror of the eighteenth century is mostly talked about rather than shown is this stagey but nonetheless well-written piece.

William Hartnell’s grouchy and intelligent figure, mixed with his child-like curiosity and the ever present streak of nobility, justice and decency, is on fine form, as his journey into the heart of Paris, 1789, sees him take on the role of a regional officer of the provinces-and looking striking in his period attire, too!- in an attempt to recue his incarcerated friends, of which he will also be brought before the great tyrant of French history: Robespierre (Keith Anderson). Clearly enjoying his apparent favourite era of Earth history, the Doctor’s also a bit of a bloodthirsty old codger at times here, bashing several supporting characters over the head at varying points with gusto enthusiasm!

Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) on their way to the guillotine.

Jacqueline Hill as Barbara and William Russell as Ian also have some solid story material to work with, and prove highly resourceful in this dark time-very definitely continuing to prove themselves as being amongst the finest WHO companions of the monochrome era and the entire series overall, but Carole Ann Ford’s screamy and vulnerable Susan proves a little irritating, especially as her likeable character had once showed so much potential in the shows early days. On the plus side, the scenes where the ladies are separated from their male compatriots, first in prison and then ending up in a shelter of a spy house, are generally well-handled. Later, Barbara and Ian have an intriguing encounter with another famous figure from France’s past and future: warlord Napoleon Bonaparte (a fine cameo from Tony Wall).

The Doctor barters for some new clothes.

A noteworthy supporting cast includes Jack Cunningham in a fine comic turn as the prison jailer opposite Hartnell, a solid performance from James Cairncross as the mysterious Lemaitre, Donald Morley as the heroic Jules Renan, star on the rise Ronald Pickup and returning WHO guest stars Roy Herrick and Edward Brayshaw (later seen opposite Patrick Troughton as the enigmatic War Chief in THE WAR GAMES), long before he got stuck with Dobbin the Pantomime Horse in RENTAGHOST.

The Reign of Terror’s direction, from one time only Henric Hirsch, who suffered from exhaustion in it’s behind the scenes making and apparently had visualist help from an uncredited John Gorrie or Mervyn Pinfield on the third episode, is generally pleasing: its early sixties stagey, certainly, but also competent and brisk, and there’s some solid cliff-hangers. Top marks, too, for some wonderful period costume and set design by Roderick Laing, notably the Conciergerie prison- one of the main locales for the story- looking especially good in the film sequences. There’s also some notable model work early on with a burning farmhouse, whilst the story is equally remembered for showing some of the series earliest location filming.

Some of the fine animation work for the missing episodes.

Picture quality wise, episodes three and six of the tale are of a very high quality, and the Vidfire work is very effective. The new animated segments, the first for a BBC DVD release since its successful integration into live action experiment with another B/W story of the Patrick Troughton era, The Invasion, though basic, once again pays rich dividends in the way its used alongside the missing episode’s surviving audio tracks, all miraculously pulled together from a variety of outside recording sources. The overall essence of the missing episodes is nicely, and it’s nice to see Ronald Pickup’s character of the traitorous physician to Barbara and Susan getting some kind of visual reality.

Not a classic story by any means but certainly solid and enjoyable, The Reign of Terror would be regarded as a successful closure to a launch season that had proved a winning hit with the public, and which supremely mixed historical and sci-fi adventure to delight fans of all ages. The story’s closing scenes and overtrack final words from Hartnell send us back into the stars, promising many more time travelling tomorrows ahead…

One of the animation gallery pages in the Special Features area.

Its great to have the story in the best presentation possible, but no BBC WHO DVD would be the same without the accompanying dedicated extras. Thirty-two minutes of material comprise this worthy single-disc release, including a packed audio commentary from actors Ronald Pickup, Carole Anne Ford, Patrick Marley, Neville Smith, Geoffrey Wickham, Caroline Hunt and then Production Assistant Timothy Combe, moderated by Rory Kinnear lookalike Toby Hadoke. Then there’s Don’t Lose Your Head-The Making of The Reign of Terror:  Chris Chapman's enjoyable reflection of what had been a tense time for the show as it concluded its premiere season, with contributors Ford, William Russell and Combe amiably recalling the problems that relatively inexperienced director Henric Hirsch had in bringing the story to life: not used to the complex behind the scenes nature of this evolving series, his frictions with an irritated Hartnell, the limitations of the studio filming, and how Combe critically helped pull things together for the final episodes.

Looking at the animated episodes, there’s a Robespierre’s Domain Set Tour, which takes a fun look at the splendidly realized backgrounds for episodes four and five, and a separate character animation area. It’s a shame, though, that there’s no other behind the scenes documentary on the animators and their excellent work on the project. Perhaps the DVD Team thought that similar ground had been covered with the earlier The Invasion DVD?

Can our heroines be saved?

Plus, PDF materials, information text, an atmospheric colour and black and white episodic photo gallery up to the usual high standards, and then, heading into the seventies, there’s a striking trailer for the next Special Edition release: the exciting and innovative early Tom Baker adventure: The Ark in Space.

Originally one of the last monochrome VHS tape releases back in 2003, The Reign of Terror’s placement on DVD has also put it towards the end of this format’s series release schedule (specifically so that it could include the animation) and near enough to bringing the surviving Hartnell era stories to a close, too, aside from upcoming special editions with extra added value material. Here’s hoping that the First Doctor’s final story, The Tenth Planet, featuring the first appearance of the Cybermen, finally gets a DVD release with a fully animated final episode later in 2013: a fitting release for the Fiftieth Anniversary. If Reign proves another sales success, it must surely happen…

KOOL TV OVERALL STORY RATING: A Vive le Franceshouting 3 out of 5

KOOL TV OVERALL DISC RATING (WITH EXTRAS): A Sacre Bleu! 3.5 out of 5

Animation clips from the missing episodes: Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - Articles | Doctor Who

Purchase the story here: Play.com - Buy online at Play.com and read reviews. Free delivery to UK and Europe!

TO CATCH A KILLER. 'SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE SILK STOCKING'

Holmes (Rupert Everett) and Watson (Ian Hart) tread the mean streets of early 20th Century London in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE SILK STOCKING. Images: BBC.

A sexually sadistic serial killer with a taste for strangling young female victims with expensive silk stockings is lurking within the fog stricken streets of well-to-do Belgravia society, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary crime fighting hero with the most incredible deductive prowess, Sherlock Holmes, is reunited with his old and ever loyal friend Doctor John Watson, penetrating the cloud of fear and it’s blood streaked cobbled streets to investigate and bring to justice the cruelly vicious and diabolically killer at large, in the BBC’s ambitious and lavish-looking original feature-length production from 2004: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE SILK STOCKING.

Bearing a sullen and laconic face, brimming with broody intent, and groomed to the best GQ male model standards in his Victorian England garb, with not a deerstalker or pipe in sight, popular actor/writer Rupert Everett may at first have been considered an unusual and unexpected choice for the part (the actor himself had turned down the BBC’s previous offer in playing the immortal character during an ultimately unsuccessful re-telling of the classic Hound of the Baskervilles-the main role of Holmes then played by Australian actor Richard Roxburgh), and he’s certainly not quite the commanding and dominant figure we were used to seeing as personified by the beloved Jeremy Brett, but Everett’s sometimes coldly clinical but no less determined spirit soon proves a worthy addition to the roster of actors to have inhabited the role over the years, and makes his sadly one-off story portrayal uniquely his own. First seen as a miserable and lonely figure smoking opium in some squalid den of vice, in order to ease his boredom and lack of criminal enterprise to fight and satiate through his mental agility (a common problem for the character in his entire literary and filmic life), Holmes downright egocentric, elitist posture and nature, both in real life as an actor/person and heightened in this particular interpretation of the Baker Street legend, make him a natural inside the story’s overall setting: the London elite of the early twentieth century, with the detective’s intuition and mental prowess soon back in action against a truly despicable foe.

Trailer: Sherlock Holmes Silk Stocking.mp4 - YouTube

Ian Hart as the sterling, slightly sneery and troubled brow Watson retains the dignity and bravery that Edward Hardwicke brought to the role for so many years on ITV, and works well opposite Everett’s Holmes. Here, Watson is an older, slightly wiser character, about to become happily married to the love of his life, American psychologist Mrs. Vandeleur, played by Helen McCrory, who equally impresses Holmes with her abilities and talented professional interests in the kind of sexual deviancy that the killer has been showing towards his victims.

Rupert Everett brings a darker and even more isolationist bearing to Holmes.

Alan Cubitt’s script develops the kind of dark side of London and building sexual overtones beyond anything Conan Doyle did in the books, but also generally keeps to the creator’s writing spirit, whilst director Simon Cellan Jones brings flair and atmosphere, and selects a strong supporting cast including film star-to-be Michael Fassbender and MIDSOMER MURDER”s Neil Dudgeon as Homes faithful id not always fully competent policing comrade, Lestrade.

There are attempts to freshen up and re-imagine certain aspects of the Sherlock Holmes legend, too- his aforementioned use of drugs is once more importantly shown- most of which work in the story’s favour. Holmes even seems to play the violin a little better these days!

More enjoyed at the time internationally than in the home grown UK, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE SILK STOCKING, indeed a UK/US co-production, may not be a major footnote in the TV career of the super sleuth, but its certainly an enjoyable and interesting one well worth catching if you’ve never seen it before...

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE SILK STOCKING is available on BBC DVD. It can also be seen on the UK"s VIRGIN MEDIA ON-DEMAND service.

ONE-MAN'S WAR! REMEMBERING 'THE INVADERS'

They walk amongst us. David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) is caught in the presence of THE INVADERS. Image: CBS PARAMOUNT.

How does a nightmare begin?

Well, for architect David Vincent it was with a closed and deserted diner on a far-off road, looking for a shortcut that he never found. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy, right before his eyes, and the discovery that aliens in human form were amongst us and ready to change the face of our world in order to make it ripe for their colonisation. Friends, work colleagues and loved ones failed to believe the incredible story Vincent continued to tell about his first contact with beings from beyond the stars, but his soon one-man war against THE INVADERS, a dying race whose plans against Humanity are legion in number, certainly makes a difference in delaying the alien beachhead. But how long can one man last against such an overwhelming and deadly threat...

One of the human formed aliens raises its weaponry.

Title sequence: Opening title sequence of The Invaders — Critical Commons

One of the all too rare science fiction series from the seemingly unlikely producer-ship of Quinn Martin, primarily known for his detective/thriller series like CANNON and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, THE INVADERS was presumably initiated into production because, at its heart, it was basically a chase show (one also showing McCarthy era/cold war paranoia allegories relevant for their time) that could be accepted by straightforward, not necessarily sci-fi based audiences, what with its similarities to another one of Martin's hit sixties TV series, THE FUGITIVE, but with added alien baddies instead of a one-armed man for our beleaguered but brave lead star to chase (intriguingly, the series was originally planned to have been half hour long and serialised two to three times a week). The underrated Roy Thinnes gave an excellent main performance as the isolated but determined Vincent who, every week, risked his life and credibility to thwart the alien cause, usually, finally, helped out by episodic guest stars who believed in his efforts and helped him save the day in the last, normally action-orientated, act. The Invaders of the title were also quite effective and often unnerving to watch in their human personas (whose only tell tale sign were their slightly deformed little fingers), and were often well cast with some of the top TV actors of the period (the likes of Michael Rennie, Alfred Ryder and Edward Asner), using some nifty alien technology including disintegrator weapons and a multi-coloured circular disc device that caused cerebral hemorrhages on humans and thus kept the aliens undercover in their invasion work- a handy device that also cut back on the expensive behind the scenes need for heavy optical effects.

An Invader begins to incinerate when shot.

The first season of the ultimately two-year running series is easily the best, as there's many more overall science fiction elements in there to enjoy, especially in the the first half a dozen episodes which fuse the thriller/sci-fi genre well and are expertly paced action/adventure tales. Though no expert in the genre, Producer Alan Armer would prove a respected choice for the show, alongside another fine creative choice in writer/script editor Anthony Spinner, handling and adapting the original series format created by Larry Cohen, generating a fair amount of suspense alongside some genuinely fine creative talent with sci-fi experience (mostly on the prior iconic series THE OUTER LIMITS and the original STAR TREK), including directors Robert Butler and Joseph Sargent. The shows aforementioned special effects, showing the aliens classic flying saucers, plus the scary optical effects of them incinerating when killed, would be well done by the Howard Anderson Company, whilst iconic film and TV composer, and OUTER LIMITS contributor, Dominic Frontiere's classy and sometimes unnerving, surreal music really gave the series an overall atmospheric quality boost.

Vincent infiltrates one of the alien ships.

A popular success internationally (especially in the UK (where it aired originally on the ITV channel in the sixties and later, in numerous repeat airings, on the BBC in the eighties and nineties) and France-(where Thinnes would become a well-known name, alongside his then wife Lynn Loring), THE INVADERS, spanning an additional book and colour comic series in the US and UK, is one of those rare shows that has held up very well over time. A planned nineties feature film remake, in which both silver screen heavyweights Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin were offered the lead role of Vincent sadly never materialised, with Ford instead starring in a commercially successful remake of THE FUGITIVE instead, though a mini series revival/re-imaging starring ENTERPRISE's Scott Bakula as the new hero facing the alien threat, with a guest cameo from Thinnes as David Vincent, was reasonably successful if critically panned, though a possible new series f3ll through the cracks. Still, with Hollywood's current need and box-office grosses obsession with re-makes and re-imaginings, it surely won't be long before David Vincent is resurrected to help fight a bigger, more intense alien threat on either our TV screens or at your nearest multiplex...

Here's KOOL TV's favourite episodes from Season One (of which pretty much all of that year is of a very high and consistently strong standard).

Several aliens inside their regeneration stations.

BEACHHEAD (Series opener). The Invaders have arrived on Earth and David Vincent has seen them. The only problem is his trying to convince a disbelieving world that that the nightmare has already begun. Following the clues to one of their colonisation areas (located in a small and obscure township), Vincent's one man war against the alien aggressors begins. A terrific series launch, with some scary and surreal moments from writer Anthony Wilson, backed up with sterling and atmospheric direction via soon to be series regular Joseph Sargent. Note: an extended version of the pilot episode is available on the recent US release of the series.

THE EXPERIMENT.Vincent seeks out an astrophysicist (Laurence Naismith) with proof of the aliens arrival on Earth, but the enemy is soon in pursuit. Anthony Spinner carves out a great adventure story, fast paced with an explosive finale. A strong guest cast also includes a fine performance from Roddy McDowall, whose character is brainwashed into helping the alien cause.

THE LEECHES. The aliens are kidnapping some of the world's finest scientists in their specialised fields. Vincent is determined to find out why. Guest starring Arthur Hill. 

Suzanne Pleshette as Vikki and Vincent run from the enemy in The Mutation.

THE MUTATION. In the Mexican desert, the aliens set a trap for Vincent, where no one is what they seem. Suzanne Pleshette has a memorable guest starring role as David's love interest with a twist, in a vivid script from David Chandler and George Eckstein, alongside some imaginative location filming from director Paul Wendkos.

VIKOR. Has successful industrialist and war hero George Vikor (a powerful performance from HAWAII FIVE O's Jack Lord) allied himself to the alien cause? David must discover the truth before it's too late. Alfred Ryder makes the first of two appearances in the series as a ruthless enemy leader.

An alien ship lands to deposit crew and cargo.

DOOMSDAY MINUS ONE. At the eve of a nuclear test, and fearing alien infiltration at his army base, Major Rick Graves (William Windom) calls in Vincent in a race against time that could decimate a section of America.

THE INNOCENT. Vincent is abducted by the aliens, as one of their leaders (Michael Rennie) tries to convince our disbelieving hero that their arrival on Earth is of ultimate benefit to humankind.

Vincent continues his fight back against the extra terrestrials.

MOONSHOT. Has an upcoming moonshot been compromised by the aliens? Vincent heads to Florida to discover the truth, in an exciting tale. Guest starring MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE's dependable Peter Graves.

WALL OF CRYSTAL. The aliens target David's brother Bob (Linden Chiles) to try and stop Vincent from finally revealing their existence on Earth in another suspenseful tale that gives a bit more depth to David's character, and additional jeopardy to his continued situation.

KOOL TV will look back at Season Two of THE INVADERS in a future article.

Get hold of the complete series here (note: the UK releases have no extras compared to the US versions): The Invaders - The Believer's Box Complete Box Set DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Film & TV

GENERATION GAME! 'BLUE BLOODS' RETURNS

One family you don't want to mess with, personally or professionally. The Regans (Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Tom Selleck and Will Estes) are back in BLUE BLOODS. Image: CBS.

Blood truly is thicker than water when it comes to being within a family of Police officers, especially those based from within the long established, crime hardened state of America that is New York City. The solid foundations of the generational Regan family return for their third season of police procedural drama from tonight, as BLOOD BLOODS exclusively makes its stance on the UK's SKY ATLANTIC HD channel. Well-cast Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and lovely Bridget Moynahan all return in their popular roles as pa Frank, cop Danny and prosecutor Erin, ready to serve and protect to the delight of the shows dedicated and loyal viewership. Certainly, Selleck is having a great time these days as a character actor, now long removed from the positive and negative aspects of having been linked to his iconic Hawaiian private investigation days on MAGNUM.

And this season looks set to have more strong cases and character interaction for the actors to grab a hold of: it's opening episode sees Danny taking on a dangerous criminal from his past (the always brilliant and intimidating Michael Madsen), followed by a clash with a corrupt councilman, the search for a vigilante shooter out for justice, a battle against a Malayasian drug cartel and even an investigation into a voodoo cult!

Blue Bloods Season 3 Promo #1 (HD) - YouTube

Blue Bloods 3x02 Promo "Domestic Disturbance" (HD) - YouTube

Blue Bloods 3x03 Promo "Old Wounds" (HD) - YouTube

DARK PASSENGERS! 'DEXTER' SEASON SEVEN

Behind the veil. The true calling of DEXTER (Michael C. Hall)  is finally, shockingly discovered by sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) in the show's seventh and penultimate season. Images: SHOWTIME.

Stumbling plotting and a series of all too-conveneient happenstances may have hampered the overall effectiveness of our serial killing hero DEXTER's previous sixth season for SHOWTIME, but they did at least deliver one of the best cliffhanger season endings yet for the titular hero, always played with a recognisable and enjoyable twinkle of heart and murderous, but heroic, serial killing dedication by Michael C. Hall, what with the blood splatter expert's wayward sister, potty mouthed detective Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) finally and shockingly discovering the truth about her adoptive brothers weird foibles, unexpected disappearances and occasional unnerving manner during their last case against the cruel, blood soaked rein of Doomsday Killer Travis Marshall (Colin Hanks), literally walking in on Dexter in his abandoned church lair as he finally sunk the knife into the end of the world predicting looney!

Emotionally unstable and uniquely vulnerable since the death of her lover, world weary Detective Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) and then betrayed by her current sex-mad beau, Joey Quinn (Desmond Harington), Deborah, almost paralleling her adoptive brother's mindset, has been travelling on a dark and lonely path, despite what should have been one of the best times of her life: her promotion to detective and department boss creating a tense situation of mistrust from her friends and work colleagues whom she's now superior to, and feeling reined in by her former boss Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez), who's always butting in unhelpfully and cashing in politically with the top floor management on her rookie commander's occasional successes. And now, during all this, she finds out that her number one family bed rock, despite his weird moments, is a serial killer! Oh, how Jeremy Kyle would become a serial killer himself to get this duo on his show...

Dexter Season 7 Trailer (HD) - YouTube

New villains in Miami: Ray Stevenson as Isaak Sirko and Jason Gedrick as George Novikov.

Behind the scenes, the shows always enthusiastic writing team have been carefully building up Debra's mind-fucked love for her brother in the weirdest kind of way possible that hasn't been seen since Luke Skywalker uncomfortably (and regrettably with the passing of time and the eventual family revelation) kissed his sister-to-be Princess Leia in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! Adding new layers to Jennifer Carpenter's always quirky performance and character, it's going to be interesting to see whether she'll continue to care and protect him after what's been discovered. Will this be the final crack in her psyche? And just what will such an emotional confrontation do to Dexter, both as a man, a father (to little baby Harrison and his adopted children) and his career in the police force? Hopefully giving the series an adrenaline kick, it's going to be a blast seeing how this particular and fan popular family dynamic, so crucial to the series in the past, will be affected.

A shoulder to bleed on. Dexter seeks solace with girlfriend Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski)

Guest starring ROME star Ray Stevenson as a psychopathic Ukranian gangster adding his own brand of chaos to the mix, Jason Gedrick as the manager of an elite gentleman's nightclub where a major murder takes place, and Yvonne Strahovski as Hannah McKay, Dexter's new love interest, possibly with as dark a heart as her new beau, plus the return of Josh Cooke as Dexter's simmering new enemy, jealous wannabe crime profiler and computer expert Louis Greene, this new season, specifically designed to tie into the eighth and final run of the series next year, looks set to send viewers once more down an interesting but no less compellingly macabre, and often darkly funny, new direction.

Season Seven of DEXTER arrives on the UK's FOX channel in 2013.

Check out the DEXTER: EARLY CUTS webisode series: New Episode of Dexter Early Cuts Webseries | Daily Dead

GAINING MOMENTUM. 'STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION' SEASON TWO HD ARRIVES ON UK TV

Firmly into the Final Frontier. The cast of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. Images: PARAMOUNT.

Those technology acquiring terrors, The Borg, make their stunning HD TV debut on the UK's SYFY Channel soon, as the exclusive first run transmissions of the painstakingly remastered STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION boldly go into their second exciting season from tonight at 7pm. As well as the Borg, there were many other firsts this year, namely the introduction of several new characters to the U.S.S. Enterprise under the stern command of Jean-Luc Picard: playing Doctor Beverly Crusher the previous season, actress Gates McFadden sadly departed the show after behind the scenes tussles with then stubborn Co-Executive Producer Maurice Hurley, who replaced her with Diana Muldaur, another talented actress who already had links with the original CLASSIC TREK series (with two episodic appearances), as the newly arrived Doctor Kate Pulaski: a dedicated and passionate physician just like Crusher but whose crusty personality and way of dealing with patients is very familiar to fans who loved DeForest Kelly's wonderful and iconic performance as Leonard McCoy, sparring with Data (Brent Spiner), whom she is at first wary of, in a way not unlike "that old country Doctor" did with his highly intelligent and honest Vulcan antagonist, Spock. Celebrated film actress Whoopi Goldberg, at the peak of her career, also joins TNG for welcome special appearances from Season Two onwards, playing the ships other counsellor in many ways, as barkeep of the new Ten Forward bar/recreation area of the Enterprise, where the crew can get to unwind and the writers can develop our heroes off-duty personalities a bit better-a clever idea added to the show by Roddenberry, who still had a firm producer-ship hand on his baby at that point in time, of which the revolving door of incoming and outgoing writers still gained momentum, though Maurice Hurley remained the creators most successful storytelling ally. A lifelong fan and admirer of the original landmark TREK, Goldberg subtly shines as Guinan, becoming an essential part of the new shows continuing success, of which her scenes with Patrick Stewart as Picard shine brightly, especially in this first batch. Further adding to the show, series regulars Michael Dorn and LeVar Burton get new and improved job positions (Lt. Worf now security officer, and Geordi La Forge in charge of Engineering-finally a trusted pair of hands with the ships dilithium crystals!) and costume changes. Plus some mild and deserved set re-designs here and there, too. Even a new shuttlecraft!

Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-Ray - Season 2 Trailer #01 - YouTube

Picard (Patrick Stewart) defends Data (Brent Spiner) as a sentient being in The Measure of a Man. 

Klingon couple: Worf (Michael Dorn) and K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) are reunited in The Emissary.

Data and Geordi (LeVar Burton) are the new Holmes and Watson in Elementary, Dear Data.

Creative and character improvements are noticed quickly, but opening episodes do start off a little shaky, due to a crippling writers strikes in 1988, which forces the production team to adapt unused scripts from the aborted seventies TREK series: PHASE II. But things pick up near the mid-point, as the season finally launches into its delayed creative stride. Old villains the Romulans, re-introduced at the end of Year One, continue to make a mark, as do the Klingons, building on a fine return as a now bearded Riker (Jonathan Frakes) becomes one of their officers in A Matter of Honour. Data (and his real-life alter-ego, Brent Spiner, having a good run of stories to play with this time) is put on trial by Star Fleet for reasons of ownership in the award-winning and intelligent The Measure of a Man, Picard meets his future self in the chilling Time Squared, and looks into the death of an old friend, and the discovery of a long lost time travelling civilisation, in Contagion, whilst Worf (Michael Dorn) meets his old flame, the striking K'Ehleyr (memorably played by Suzie Plakson) in near season ender The Emissary. Oh, and then there's that aforementioned Borg episode, the stunning Q Who? , originally planned as the Season Two premiere but delayed due to the strike, as the insidious and craftily omnipotent alien Q (the always wicked John de Lancie) sends the Enterprise light years across the galaxy to their first unsettling encounter with the assimilating foes, and paving the way for an epic Season Three adventure that will send the series into the stratosphere of critical acclaim and viewing figures.

Season Two of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION was justifiably starting to prove itself as its own unique series, and was now, most definitely, here to stay...

Season Three of THE NEXT GENERATION in HD arrives on the UK SY FY CHANNEL sometime next year.

The first two seasons of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION are also available on Blu-ray. Get them here:

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1 Blu-ray Region Free: Amazon.co.uk: Film & TV

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 2 Blu-ray 1988 Region Free: Amazon.co.uk: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Diana Muldaur, Wil Wheaton: Film & TV