‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Season 4 Blu-Ray Review – A Dramatic Emotional Reckoning

Season four of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery facing a threat unlike any they’ve ever encountered. With Federation and non- Federation worlds alike feeling the impact, they must confront the unknown and work together to ensure a hopeful future for all. The fourth season stars Sonequa Martin-Green (“Commander Michael Burnham”), Doug Jones (“Commander Saru”), Anthony Rapp (“Lt. Commander Paul Stamets”), Mary Wiseman (“Ensign Sylvia Tilly”), Wilson Cruz (“Dr. Hugh Culber”), David Ajala (“Cleveland “Book” Booker”) and Blu del Barrio (“Adira”). Ian Alexander (“Gray”) also appears in season four.

For in-depth thoughts on Star Trek: Discovery – The Complete Fourth Season, please see my colleague Martin Sexton’s reviews from its original streaming debut below:

• Episode One – Kobayashi Maru

• Episode Two – Anomaly
• Episode Three – Choose To Live

• Episode Four – All Is Possible

• Episode Five – The Examples

• Episode Six – Stormy Weather
• Episode Seven – … But To Connect

• Episode Eight – All In

• Episode Nine – Rubicon

• Episode Ten – The Galactic Barrier

• Episode Eleven – Rosetta

• Episode Twelve – Species Ten-C
• Episode Thirteen – Coming Home

Video Quality

Star Trek: Discovery – The Complete Fourth Season arrives on Blu-Ray with a pretty fetching AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio. The modern era of Trek seems to be defined by the impeccable cinematography which delivers a cinematic quality that elevates things in at least one regard. Each world or environment you visit is defined by its ability to invite you in and have yourself completely disappear. This series never feels like it is inferior to the feature films during the course of the season. You will marvel at the levels of detail this presentation is able to display. Thanks to this transfer, all manner of subtle details in the production design are easily identifiable. 

The color palette explodes with some magical instances of colors popping off the screen including the skin of certain alien races to various other stunning colors in the production design. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to an excellent amount of detail in shadows. Skin tones appear very natural across the entire cast throughout the season. The special effects always feel first rate and are perfectly rendered here. The only notable issue is the banding that can be spotted at various points throughout the season. While this show would shine even more in 4K UHD, the Blu-Ray is a great visual representation of the series. 

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a very effective DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that creates an enveloping soundscape. Ambient sounds are placed with precision in the side and rear channels for full three-dimensional sound. The spatial awareness of the track is never less than impressive, and the panning techniques are very effective. The soaring series music from Jeff Russo continues to be one of the highlights of the viewing experience. His work perfectly sets the tone for the story, and it creates a nicely enveloping sound that draws you further into the show. Dialogue always comes through clearly without being overwhelmed by the score or any sound effects. Action sequences and more kinetic moments are given the appropriate weight in the mix with a forceful showing in the low end. The audio presentation here is a knockout on all levels.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: There is an audio commentary on the finale “Coming Home” featuring Michelle Paradise, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Sonequa Martin-Green and David Ajala.

• Deleted Scenes: There is unused material from Choose To Live, The Examples, and Rosetta. Some of the scenes include some unfinished special effects. 

• Star Trek: Discovery – The Voyage of Season 4: A nearly 53-minute piece which takes a look at the new season including the overall story, new and returning characters, the setting, themes, the cinematography, the structure of the season and so much more. This is a fairly involved piece with a lot of good information. 

• Being Michael Burnham – The Captain’s Log: A nearly 15-minute vlog from Sonequa Martin-Green with clips from the show interspersed. You gain a lot of nice insights into the process of shooting the show from the front lines, the emotion behind her character taking on the role of captain, and how her background informs the character. 

• Creating Space: A 20-minute featurette in which Supervising Art Director Matt Middleton discusses how they use LED technology to transport our characters to unbelievable worlds, the more seamless experience for the performers to be able to see their character’s environment, how they use lighting and much more that is a treat for technology nerds. 

• The Toll It Took: A 12-minute featurette which takes a look at the new realities of shooting during a global pandemic, the precautions that needed to be taken, how the cast and crew acclimated to their new situation, the effects of not being able to go back home as frequently and more. 

• Gag Reel: This three-minute piece showcases some of the giggle fits, malfunctioning props, forgotten lines, and otherwise ruined takes that are quite funny.

Final Thoughts

Star Trek: Discovery had a lot to reckon with in its fourth season after the cataclysmic events of the previous season. There is a lot of trauma being processed by the various crew members, and it handles it as gracefully as you hope from a Star Trek series. There are many exciting moments in this season, but the characters are the focus at every turn. There are still hiccups here and there, but overall this series is finding its way. CBS Home Entertainment has delivered a Blu-Ray set with a great A/V presentation and a plentiful assortment of special features. Fans of the franchise should enjoy this if they have been on board up until this point. Recommended 

Star Trek: Discovery – The Complete Fourth Season is currently available to purchase on Limited Edition Blu-Ray SteelBook, Blu-Ray and DVD. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: CBS Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.