Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault [Blu-ray]

Product Description

From the Cutting Room Floor to Your Living Room! During the production of Star Trek: The Original Series, bits and pieces of footage were left on the cutting room floor, then stored away in film cans for decades by the Gene Roddenberry Estate. Now, in celebration of the show’s 50th Anniversary, The Roddenberry Vault has finally been opened. Along with 12 of their favorite episodes, fans can see and own behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the series as well as alternate takes, deleted scenes, omitted dialogue, outtakes, and original visual FX elements.

Top Reviews

A Long-Awaited Release Burdened by a Bad Idea
by Talk Story Bookstore - Kauai (3 out of 5 stars)
December 24, 2016

We were really really really really looking forward to seeing the lost scenes, outtakes, trims, bloopers, gaffs, and any other bits of behind-the-scenes Star Trek.

Unfortunately, what we got was a very long documentary about the making of the original series, with a small series of clips as a separate special feature.

We love Star Trek documentaries, and this is an entertaining one. However, we agree with other reviewers that the concept they came up with of making most of these clips only able to be seen within the documentary itself is frustrating to say the least.

Most anyone who is geek enough to want to see trims of film of a TV show really doesn't need an explanation of how these all fit into Star Trek. We know these shows inside and out, so it was a hulk of unnecessity to present these clips the way they did. What was disappointing was that we are forced to watch these long-lost clips with some writer or producer yapping over them, making it both difficult to hear what they are saying and difficult to focus on the details of what we are watching.

They really should have taken a lesson from how BBC & 2Entertain did the "Doctor Who: Lost in Time" DVD set (or any classic Doctor Who releases).

With those, not only do you get the interesting documentary, you ALSO get the entire library of clips and trims, regardless of how dull some of it might be.

They have been doing releases like this for over 10 years and very successfully.

Why the producers thought they had to "do something new" to present old material like this is beyond us.

Secondly, this cannot be ALL that was in the vault.

There was no gag reel! We all know it exists because Gene would take it to conventions and show it! Yet it was missing from the vault?

And where were the bloopers?

There was too much missing from this set to justify the price (and including episodes which most would already have... why? For new commentaries? Really?)

Lastly, the first half of the first part of the documentary was weird. It was this sales-pitch build-up of how AMAZING these clips would be to see and how it would change the life of Star Trek fans.

Sadly, the entire experience was underwhelming, and too bad, too, since we are big Trek fans.

The best part of the whole thing to us was the raw footage of the visual effects shots. To see the Enterprise in its original glory was beautiful. It is what saved this review from being two-star. We only wish that they had this footage when they were doing the remastering project of TOS.

To experience the clips by themselves is great, because we get to study the moment at hand and are able to enjoy them as they are and make of them what we want.

To have someone telling us what we should be appreciating about them (without giving us any other choice) is simply weird. It would be like watching a brand new movie, but you can only watch it with the commentary track. You would never be able to appreciate the movie on its own.

It is worth the watch, and after viewing the cut scenes and clips, it really makes it quite evident how excellent and sharp the editing choices were for the original series when it aired.

However, because the layout is poorly-conceived, it will likely bother other long-time fans as much as it did us.

Maybe a revised release is in order? One with each episode's clips individually able to be seen would be fantastic.

Yet, sadly, we do not see this happening, and in the end, this set feels like a big let down.

Darn...
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Tiny bit of outtakes swamped by padding
by Terrils (2 out of 5 stars)
December 25, 2016

If, like me, you got this for outtakes, know that what you get on each disk is a few episodes (relevant to the outtakes) just as you've already seen them, then a special features section that consists of about 2-3 minutes of actual outtakes from the show (bloopers, cut scenes) and a BUTTLOAD of blather from a bunch of professional fans and a few of the actors. It isn't badly done, but if you're buying this hoping for a treasure trove of outtakes, don't. All they offer is a few scraps - worth seeing, but not worth $40.

I'm going to guess they plan to trickle these out with lots of padding for maximum profit, so my advice to those interested in the outtakes only is to wait 'til the disks are really cheap.
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A mixed bag. Cool footage, but not enough of it and NOT in HD!
by litemakr (2 out of 5 stars)
December 22, 2016

This is a frustrating release. Since it is aimed squarely at the most hardcore fans, I expected better. There is some cool stuff here to be sure, but it could have been so much better with minimal effort.

The set contains 12 episodes we all already own many times over, some with new commentaries. 11 of the 12 have isolated scores, which is great. However one of the most popular, City on the Edge of Forever, does not, for no apparent reason.

The real attraction is the rare outtakes and deleted footage. It is presented in three 30 minute documentaries and a 20 minute collection of footage spread across 3 discs. The first documentary shows us rows of shelving with hundreds of film cans full of rare, unseen footage. This really serves to whet your appetite. You would think that in 90 minutes of documentary we would get to see a LOT of this footage. But unfortunately the majority of time is spent on people talking about the episodes. In 90 minutes there are MAYBE 10 minutes total of the rare footage that we really want to see. Most of this is shown in short clips, often with people talking over it. It is very, very frustrating. There is no way to just watch the footage without slogging through the documentaries. Add to that the 20 minutes of additional clips on disc 3 (mercifully with no talking heads) and we probably get to see 30 minutes of vault footage in total. On a 3 disc, expensive release, that just doesn't cut it. You can get the entire 3 seasons of the original series in HD for the same price.

The footage itself is a treat. However, for reasons I cannot begin to fathom, it is all presented in low quality, standard definition. NONE of the documentaries are in HD, they are all standard definition, even on the blu-ray! This is just plain bizarre. Why would they transfer this rare, valuable footage in standard definition? It makes no sense at all. It's not even much of a cost savings these days. Even though color has faded, the high resolution of the 35mm film is still there and a good HD transfer and very basic color correction would have looked 1000% better than what we get. I'm just mystified as to why it was done this way. And severely disappointed.

Paramount has done a pretty terrible, disappointing job with the 50th anniversary. This was the one release which promised to be really exciting. But they botched it. It could have been so much better, and without much additional effort or expense. Use HD transfers, include far more footage and less talking heads. Save the cost of filming the documentaries and invest in HD transfers of the vault footage. Hard core fans would be happy to sit through hours of raw takes, we don't need talking heads to keep us interested. And casual fans aren't going to be interested no matter how it's presented. So cater to your audience.

I think we can expect to see several more of these Vault releases in the future (this one only covers 12 episodes). I can only hope they do better if they want my money again.
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Very little new content doesn't validate $45 price tag.
by Jason (3 out of 5 stars)
March 11, 2017

Don't get me wrong, seeing all of these never before seen clips is great, but they're only a very small part of this 3 disc collection. The bulk of this set is 12 episodes relating to the lost footage, and some talking head documentaries about making TOS. Judging by the Lincoln Enterprises store room, which shows hundreds if not thousands of canisters of film, you'd think there would be much more included. Rod Roddenberry and the Okudas claim this project began in 2007 and took nearly a decade to complete. In all that time, and in all of those canisters, they could only scrounge together about an hour's worth of footage? You can watch all of the new original content on this set in a single sitting. And if you're the type of fan to buy this set, the included episodes are superfluous padding, as you undoubtedly already own the series on Blu-ray. There should have at least been an option to watch the episodes with the deleted and alternate scenes reinserted.
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Not worth it ! Wait for price to drop.
by patchdaddy (2 out of 5 stars)
January 14, 2017

NOT worth it. The extras are fun to see but I had understood deleted scenes and alternate angles would be put into episodes that had been out already. Its not. Basically, you can watch the original effects version or the enhanced retro effects that have been out for over 5 years or more. If I could do it over,....No way would I purchase ! Sure, the extra stuff, is a nice collection of interviews and , Yes, deleted ( never before seen ) and is great. But,...not worth the price.
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Delightful and well worthwhile
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
December 16, 2016

If you're a fan of the original series, this is simply a must have. Some may complain that this is little more than a repackaging of episodes, but all the extra features make it WELL worth it. From full scenes to brief clips, it's a rare glimpse into what it was like to be on set of those classic episodes. And the inclusion of the most relevant episodes makes for handy comparisons. I'm telling you, the brief clip of Nichelle Nichols singing Cole Porter's "Let's Do It", with her own, off the cuff lyrics about falling for Mr. Spock, and her gleeful expression, is an absolute riot. One of many amazing moments that could have easily been lost to time. The work that went into this, going through hundreds of film cans, just to find these unseen bits, not to mention the army of interviewees, was a labor of love. Don't be put off by the mediocre quality of some of the clips themselves. They are from dailies, the workprints used by the studio, to decide what shots would be in the finished episodes. Most studios throw out this material, so the fact that they exist at all is a miracle. And they are more than watchable. If you're a fan, and you know who you are, you will love it!
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Pretty Much As Expected
by MJD2013 (4 out of 5 stars)
July 3, 2017

As a big-time Star Trek fan, I'm aware of how Hollywood takes advantage of us rabid fans, over-charging for items that should be much less. I've read some of the reviews for this item, complaining how there is little new content. They are right--there isn't that much new content here. I also read how they created filler by adding episodes we already have in other dvds--right once again. We didn't really need to have these. But then, I pretty much expected all of this. We're dealing with scraps of footage never seen before, I expected scraps, and I got scraps. This is a collection of over-priced scraps, omitted scenes from the beloved episodes we've seen so many times. It was great to see updated interviews with those dwindling few who are still alive. There was quite a bit of filler, but I was still satisfied watching it. Just don't expect large volumes of unseen material. Trek fans over-pay for anything Star Trek related--this is what we do. And this is why Hollywood does what it does.
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Nice Set, But Worthy Of The 50th Anniversary.....?
by Eric Ericson (4 out of 5 stars)
April 11, 2018

Who is this Star Trek box set for really? Actually it covers both sides. For the average fan you get 12 episodes in one neat little package, but for the hard-core Trekkie (like me) you get the leftover scraps of anything that didn't appear in the original show. Strangely, all those bloopers you've seen on the Internet a million times actually aren't here, and you have to sit through 3 hours of talking-head documentaries to see what you do get. Sorta a crummy way to celebrate Trek's 50th Anniversary (the Directors Khan was a more important release for it), but better than nothing I guess. At least it gave Shatner a chance to set the record straight as to why he didn't show up to Nimoy's funeral (sorry, excuse not good enough Bill, bad Kirk). To the fan in between, because of the inability to see the new F/X version with say commentary tracks, or to listen to the Isolated Music Track but only in classic visual mode, you're better off buying "

The Complete Series
".
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An Amazing, Nostalgic, Revelatory Look Back At Star Trek That You Will Not See Anywhere Else
by Troy J. Martin (4 out of 5 stars)
July 9, 2017

If you are expecting a raw dump of reels of outtake footage, this set is not for you. The documentaries are more than informative. They put in context the outtake footage shown. Important historical notes are included, some of which were only hearsay until this set came out, displaying the evidence for all to see. The interviews are fascinating, nostalgic and revelatory. Some of the outtakes are astonishing, including evidence that the infamous scripted coda for "Who Mourns For Adonais" was actually filmed.

There are hints that there is yet more footage to be released, and therein lay my only want, that this set had contained more found footage. In this I will have to trust the editors/curators.

The episodes chosen for this set are available with both original and remastered effects, but included are special features not seen on the Original Series' Blu-Ray first release: audio commentaries on two episodes, as well as isolated music scores on ten of them. Those features make this set nearly worth the purchase without the Vault material.

Are you an Original Series Star Trek fan, who loves to learn about what went on behind the scenes? Don't hesitate. Get this set!
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A "must have" for English, Spanish, & German-speaking Star Trek TOS fans!
by MrsP (4 out of 5 stars)
January 31, 2017

Star Trek TOS collectors' delight! A "must have" for English, Spanish, & German-speaking Star Trek TOS fans!
- Very pleasantly surprised the language options included German! Nice to finally see them on an American TV/Blu-Ray without a region restriction problem.
- The documentaries are fantastic for those of us who enjoyed TOS during the original seasons' airings on network TV.
- I was hoping the episodes would have had an option to see episodes with the previously cut scenes inserted where they would have been before editing.

Overall, very pleased.

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