Marking its 60th anniversary, Star Trek: The Original Series stands as one of the most iconic and influential television series in history. Created by Gene Roddenberry, the show chronicles the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise and its diverse crew as they journey across the galaxy on a mission of exploration, diplomacy, and discovery.

Led by Captain James T. Kirk, alongside First Officer Spock and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, the Enterprise crew encounters alien civilizations, complex moral dilemmas, and the vast unknown reaches of space. Each episode blends thrilling adventure with thought-provoking themes, including social justice, ethics, and humanity’s future among the stars. (from Paramount Pictures)

It's wild to think it's been 60 years since the debut of Star Trek on television. (To put that into perspective, that was 11 years before George Lucas would first give us Star Wars.) Awarded only three seasons worth of the crew's five-year mission, the groundbreaking sci-fi show changed the genre and storytelling forever. To celebrate 60 years since the first episode aired in 1966, we're presented with a new Complete Series box set on Blu-Ray that assembles the previous separate seasons into one giant case.

Star Trek: The Original Series, as it has become know as - or Star Trek: TOS for short - made its debut on Blu-Ray 17 years ago in 2009. I actually picked up the seasons as they released and enjoyed going through them with my wife after JJ Abrams' 2009 film caught her attention for the franchise. For Blu-ray, the film preservation wizards at Paramount went back to the film negatives, painstakingly cleaned them up, and scanned them in at high resolution. The end result? A dazzling and colorful picture with impeccable clarity. The Blu-Ray discs also offered the option to view the episodes with their original 1960's special effects, or brand new computer generated effects that were done in a style to match the era of the show. Both are excellent. Purists can watch the original versions, while those looking for something to better match the newfound picture clarity can watch these updated versions. (And I distinctly remember the "angle" button on the controller for some players allowing you to switch between the effects mid-episode... at least, that's how my PS3 would handle it.)

Star Trek: TOS is still a great show. The scenearios have always kind of felt a little like "The Twilight Zone in Space" (but not as dark or cynical), and there was often an intriguing mystery to the epsiode plots. But due to the era in which these were made, there's definitely a corniness to some of it. However, it's a charming corniness. Chalk it up to being the mid-60's and early sci-fi, but the charming corniness factor is just part of what makes it great, too. You may find yourself laughing when you're not supposed to, but that doesn't mean it's not still good storytelling. Episodes like "Space Seed" reference wars that had taken place on earth in the 1990s, which is a fun little detail now that we're in 2026, and that episode in particular actually introduces the character Khan that would famously return for the 1982 feature film, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. "The City on the Edge of Forever" is another classic that takes a few of the crew back in time to the 1930's, where Kirk has to make an impossible decision. And then, of course, one of the most fun is "The Trouble with Tribbles," where those furry little Tribble aliens become a nuisance for the crew of the USS Enterprise.

By today's standards, the show may feel pretty slow at times, but the characters are what make it so great. William Shatner, although famously melodramatic as the ship's captain, James T. Kirk, may still be the best captain in the franchise (Although, I'm admittedly also a big fan of Captain Jean Luc Picard). Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock is also positively brilliant. It may seem easy to play the emotionless straight man in most circumstances, but Nimoy mastered a role that would still be a delight to see him play well into the Abrams-led reboot films decades later. And I'd be remiss if I didn't highlight DeForest Kelley as the doctor, "Bones," who always brings a nice common sense angle to Spock's stoic and calculated demeanor, and James Doohan as Scotty is always fun.

The show is rated TV-PG and is overall pretty mild. There are high stakes at times, some scary creatures, action with a minor amount of blood, and some mild cussing, like "h*ll" and "d*mn." There's some sensuality from time to time, especially with Kirk eyeing the lovely ladies he encounters, but it's pretty tame compared to television today.

Now, since this series has been released in various Blu-Ray sets over the years since 2009, one may wonder what to expect from this 60th Anniversary set. Aside from stamping "Star Trek 60" on the discs and packaging, there doesn't appear to be anything new in this set that hasn't been released before. If you don't have the series on Blu-Ray disc yet, this set is a really nice option, but aside from the packaging, nothing is different from the 2009 release. The discs come in one massive translucent plastic case with several plastic "pages" that nest multiple discs on each one. Like the recent I Love Lucy box set, it's nice to have it all in one place, but 20 discs nested together so tightly feels a little sloppy. Just opening it the first time, a couple discs were floating around inside the case. And as I opened it and flipped to a different "page," it caught a disc on another page and pushed it off its spindle. It's not very practical packaging. If you have the chance to get this set or the 2009 pacakaging, the old school packaging was more carefully designed. This set, I will say, is a nice space-saver if you have limited shelf space though.

I can't recommend the Blu-Ray transfers of this show enough. If you love Star Trek: The Original Series and have Blu-Ray disc viewing capabilities, you need to get the show on Blu-Ray disc somehow; it doesn't have to be this particular set. If you already have the Blu-Ray discs, this set isn't necessary to double-dip for. It's a box set that will look good on a shelf, yes, but its execution leaves a little to be desired.

- John DiBiase (reviewed: 9/10/26)