'Borg' Assimilate Raves For Content Though Not Extras

Reviews of the Star Trek Fan Collective - Borg set were overwhelmingly positive about the quality of the episodes included, particularly The Next Generation's "The Best of Both Worlds" and "I, Borg." Many were very disappointed at the lack of new features, though fans who have already spent thousands of dollars on complete season sets will probably be relieved to learn that there is little new material here that they might regret not owning.

• "The problem with being a devoted fan of Star Trek is that in order to be able to relive all your favorite moments in Trek lineage, you have to be a millionaire," noted DVDFanatic's Dan Phelps. Though the overall grade dropped to a B because of the lack of extras, he called this collection "a pretty good set that features 14 episodes from three different Trek series" and had little objection to the lack of special features for the price: "I remember voting for the episodes when StarTrek.com was running the promotion, and I really can’t think of any better episodes to include on the set. In fact, I don’t think there are many more Borg related episode besides what is on the collection anyway."

• Peter Schorn of IGN rated the set 9 out of 10 for content, though he warned, "The transfers are a decidedly mixed bag with quality diminishing the older the episode." The extras received only a 3/10, though Schorn added, "If they manage to maintain excellent episode selection on the level of Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg, they'll be worthy additions to the libraries of budget-conscious Star Trek fans."

• The Trades' R.J. Carter gave the set an overall grade of B+, saying, "if there's a Borg episode you love it's probably in here." He advised fans who already own season boxed sets of the series not to bother with this collection, saying that even the audio commentary is lifted from previous packages, but found the overall quality of the selections to be excellent.

• Todd Douglass Jr. at DVD Talk wondered whether this set would find an audience, since most Star Trek fans would like to wait until they can afford the season boxed sets of the series, but he highly recommended it to fans on a budget who want to see some of Star Trek's better episodes. He found Enterprise's backstory in "Regeneration" fairly clever and praised "The Best of Both Worlds" two-parter as the best of The Next Generation. Like others he found the video uneven, though he said the transfer could not be faulted for the softness of the earlier episodes.

• UGO.com's Brian Tallerico rated the set a B overall, though the A- for the content was brought down by the lack of special features. "The Borg rank high on the list of most genre fans' favorite bad guys for the entire universe of science fiction," he observed. "These episodes often mark the shows at their most intense and contain some of the best episodes of their entire series run." Tallerico praised Paramount for seeking fan input on the collections both in terms of theme and content, though he was disappointed that there were no new documentaries on the discs.

• "Sadly, I'm not sure I was all that impressed by this collection," wrote TailSlate's Michael Sheridan. "These are pretty much the same commentaries that were featured on the series DVD collections. I suppose this isn’t the worst thing in the world, but I would have liked something more unique to this collection." He found that the Borg episodes became less impressive during Star Trek's overall run, saying, "I liked the episodes, but the Borg just weren’t as interesting in later years as they were when they were first introduced."

• And finally, Hercules of Ain't It Cool News objected to the fact that this set could not be ordered online from Amazon.com and other retailers (though people can order the Star Trek Fan Collective - Time Travel set. He reported on what was originally planned for the Borg set.

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