A few months ago we reported on the rumor that Star Trek: The Next Generation was being prepared and polished for a Blu-ray release. Today it seems that rumor is being confirmed on multiple fronts, and we've even got some details on the very first Blu-ray Next Gen episodes we'll get to see.
Last Thursday former Next Gen cast member and literacy-rainbow enthusiast LeVar Burton tweeted that he'd gotten an early look at the Blu-ray conversion for the show, and that it was awesome:
And if he says they're cool, you know they are, what with his enhanced vision abilities.
Part of the rumor back in July was that we'd first see a Blu-ray sampler disc with several episodes on it, and which would theoretically be available sometime later this year. Now that part of the story seems to be confirmed as well, and the My Two Cents daily column over at The Digital Bits even has details on which four episodes will be included. According to TDB's contacts at CBS DVD, the sampler will include the pilot episodes "Encounter at Farpoint" parts 1 and 2, season three's "Sins of the Father," and season five's "The Inner Light."
If your episode recall is a bit hazy after two-plus decades, "Encounter at Farpoint" first introduced us to Picard, Data, and the rest, and included the crew's first meeting with the infamous and powerful Q, who would continue to be a thorn in their sides for seasons to come. Also, there were space jellyfish. "Sins of the Father" focuses on a Klingon commander coming aboard the Enterprise as part of an "officer exchange program." "The Inner Light" should be familiar to any die-hard TNG fan. The much-beloved episode finds Picard living an entire life on an alien world after an encounter with a mysterious probe.
The full Blu-ray sets of The Next Generation still haven't been confirmed or detailed by the studio yet, so stay tuned.
