Showbits

Star Trek episodes can be had in so many digital formats, it's overwhelming. On DVD alone, should you buy a season set, series set, or selected "best of" set? Whatever you decide, it's nice to have options, and Paramount is more than happy to line their coffers by offering you those choices.

Now at StarTrek.com is a survey to determine the contents of the next two box sets. This survey was originally offered last year, and whether it's been opened again intentionally or accidentally is unknown — but it's still a fascinating look at the themes and figures of Star Trek.

The survey proposes that The Captains Collective Edition and The Alternate Realities Collective Edition will join those earlier sets that focused on Borg, Kirk, Q, and Klingons. (Apparently the Jean-Luc Collection has been retconned?) The questionnaire presents a predetermined list of Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and "other captains" (or first officers acting as captains) episodes and asks you to select your favorite five in each of the six categories, or suggest your own. The survey also accepts suggestions of alternative reality episodes to include with the eight Mirror Universe episodes.

Finally, the survey offers the open-ended opportunity to suggest themes for other new box sets. Here are mine:

Data: everyone's favorite android! This Pinocchi-like character provided some poignant and comical moments. Over the course of The Next Generation's seven seasons, we met his father, mother, brother, and daughter. He learned to laugh, whistle, paint, and tap dance. Why not compile his best episodes? They'd include "Data's Day", "A Fistful of Datas", "The Measure of a Man", "Birthright", "Datalore", "Brothers", "Descent", "Time's Arrow", "Inheritance", and "The Offspring", to name a few.

Holograms: like them or not, holodecks and their photonic force fields comprised key settings and characters throughout the series. Data's greatest enemy, Odo's best friend, and Kes' only mentor were all holograms. Let's have one package where we can watch the manipulations of Prof. Moriarty ("Elementary, Dear Data", "Ship in a Bottle"), the tips and tunes of Vic Fontaine ("Badda-Bing Badda-Bang"), and the development of Voyager's Doctor ("Author, Author", "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy").

What episodes or box sets would you most like to see? Take the survey, then share your thoughts here!