Trek-tacular! Next Generation on Blu!

After a lot of rumors and anticipation and naysayers exclaiming, "It'll never warp, Zephram!" those wizards at CBS Home Entertainment has given us a peek at the future - Star Trek The Next Generation in Hi-def. Originally shot on film and transferred to videotape for editing, these episodes have been completely reconstructed for HD from the original camera negative, all 25,000 reels of it.

This initial sampler disc, dubbed The Next Level, features the double-length series pilot, Encounter at Farpoint, season three's Sins of the Father, which got the whole Klingon Civil War story arc rolling, and season five's The Inner Light. While this kind of painstaking restoration presented its challenges, including upgrading the special effects for HD, we now have true 1080p HD masters with true HD special effects.

Famed husband and wife Star Trek experts Michael and Denise Okuda were consultants on the project, so fans can breathe easy. So the big question - how do they look? How about stunning? Check out the detail from just the opening credits - note the crew visible in the lounge windows...

Here's a dramatic look at old vs. new...

If you're still on the fence, well, feast your eyes:

Because this is such a meticulous undertaking, the initial first season box set will arrive in "Q4" (sorry, couldn't resist) of this year, with subsequent seasons being released at the rate of two per-year, with the final set arriving in 2015. Star Trek The Next Generation - The Next Level is available for an extremely wallet-sensitive $14.99 at Amazon and if you're a fan and feel like a glimpse of something wonderful, you won't regret this amazing little sneak-peak to hold you over until October. It makes me a little giddy to think of seeing The Best of Both Worlds in HD in a couple of years. Next Gen told some pretty great stories over the years, and in my household, this is cause to open up the Saurian brandy! "Engage!"