Star Trek: Discovery: Season Three on Blu-ray Disc compiles the complete third season of the Paramount Plus, (formerly CBS All Access)) streaming television series beautifully in widescreen 16:9 1080p full HD, which looks magnificent when unconverted to 2160p 4K UHD on compatible media drivers and for best results, a high end OLED UHDTV. Even without the high dynamic range one would find in HDR(10) or Dolby Vision. It is simply a spectacular visual feast for the eyes. In addition English and French Language DTS HD MA Soundtracks are provided and the sound is nothing short of exceptional. This is simply a fabulous picture and sound combination for the senses that brings together the state of the art visual effects and engrossing sound effects and score better than some feature films available on the format. English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired are provided along with French Language Subtitles encoded as options. The seamless menus are well rendered and easy to navigate.
Story is king in science fiction as it is in all entertainment regardless of the genre. Star Trek: Discovery has finally found it’s voice following a somewhat chaotic second season. Quickly picking up where the second season left off, Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the starship Discovery have saved all life in the universe as they know it, but at the sacrifice of their existence in the 23rd Century. Stranded with no way to return back, which serves as a major reason why none of the characters or ship from the television series are not referenced in the original Star Trek TV series and all that follows it. Their sacrifice was purged from the records and now the crew face a new mystery as they discover the the Federation is a shell of itself in the thirty second century. A mysterious catastrophe known as the “Big Burn” has stifled interplanetary space travel and the Orion Crime Syndicate has stepped in to control trade routes and a monopoly on the few dilithium crystals needed for deep space travel. Hence, people will do anything for the most rare and coveted resource in the known galaxy.
The storylines allow all the characters to shine and perform vital actions. The excellent cast includes Doug Jones as Captain Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber while Michelle Yeoh (Philippa Georfiou), Blu del Barrio (Adira), Ian Alexander (Gray) all return for this season. Oded Fear (The Mummy), Filmmaker David Cronenberg and David Ajala as Cleveland “Book” Booker round up the main and recurring cast.
While trying to discover the reason for the “Big Burn” the crew of the Discovery are forced to contend with the Orions while attempting to reunify the United Federation of Planets and over the course of the season places and events like the Temporal Cold War as depicted in Star Trek: Enterprise are referenced while we get to visit a new hybrid Vulcan/Romulan Society, The Trill, the Mirror Universe and the Guardian of Forever. I hope David Cronenberg will come back for the fourth season, because his presence and unsettling calm demeanor brings both a sense of gravitas and humor to the dire situations the characters find themselves encountering.
Extra value features within this Blu-ray Disc set includes deleted scenes for the episodes “People of Earth” (:56), “Forget Me Not” (:55), “Unification III” (1:02), “Terra Firma, Part 1” (1:32), “Terra Firma, Part 2” (7:02), “Su ‘Kal” (2:10), “There is a Tide” (:27) and “That Hope Is You, Part 2” (1:01). All the deleted scenes are presented in 1080p full HD though one has incomplete effects. English DTS Stereo Sound is provided for all of the extra value materials included within this set.
Featurettes on stunt coordination (14:33), an exclusive personal record of Sonequa Martin-Green’s journey of her character in season three (24:20), a featurette on Actor Kenneth Mitchell (18:04), interviews with the Actors who serve as the Bridge’s crew (25:37), an exclusive Writer’s VLOG with Michelle Paradise (13:49) and a gag see (4:33) wrap up the bonus elements on the fourth disc in the set.
The third season of Star Trek: Discovery feels more like classic Star Trek than I can recall seeing for a long time and I can’t wait to see what happens in the fourth season. Star Trek: Discovery: Season Three is available on Blu-ray Disc now at retailers on and offline courtesy of CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.
(C) Copyright 2021 By Mark A. Rivera
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