Star Trek fans are in a bit of a dry spell, with Discovery completing its run back in May and season three of Strange New Worlds not due until 2025. Fear not, Trekkies! Paramount has released all five seasons on digital and DVD, with two hours of never-seen bonus content.

SciFi Vision heard the news from everyone’s favorite Kelpian, Doug Jones (Hellboy, The Shape of Water). He was on a quick press tour celebrating the release this week of the entire series on DVD, Blu-ray and limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook. Looking back on the show, he’s quick to acknowledge Discovery’s significance as the show that brought the franchise back to TV in 2017.

“It was such an honor to be a part of the resurgence of Star Trek. [After] Enterprise had been the last series on TV many years before, just the notion that Star Trek was coming back in some form made everybody go, ‘What?’ It was interesting, the fifty percent of people who were so excited, and fifty percent going, ‘It better not suck!’... So, there was a certain nervousness on our part.”

Continuing, Jones reminded us that “every Star Trek series has been different from the last one before it, and ours certainly was, and it brought all kinds of characters and storylines that were new and different, that people could find themselves in when they watch it...So, I'm glad that we've been a catalyst to spark a younger generation to want to see this entire 58-year franchise.”

Jones also spoke at length about Saru’s journey from fearful prey species to Federation badass, the great satisfaction he found in the character’s transformation, and the souvenir he swiped from the set. A fan of physical media, he talked about his personal DVD collection and the special features viewers will find on the new five-disc Star Trek: Discovery collection.

Star Trek: Discovery is available now on DVD, Blu-ray, and Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook from Paramount Home Entertainment. The entire series is also available digitally.

Watch the full interview or read the transcript below.


***Transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.***

SCIFI VISION:  The last time we spoke was at the beginning of the final season. It's a real luxury to be able to speak to the cast so long after the show ended, three months now. I wanted to ask you, you have made a real career, a big chunk of your career in science fiction, horror, fantasy. You're very experienced in this world. Discovery was the show that brought Star Trek back to television. Back in 2017 it was the only show on at the time, and four shows have followed you. There are more in the works. It really jumpstarted the Star Trek universe again. What do you think was the magic or the anchor that Discovery provided that allowed the whole universe to blossom on Paramount?

DOUG JONES:  Oh, wow. Well, I don't know that I have all the answers to that quite, but it's a great question. It was such an honor to be a part of the resurgence of Star Trek. [After] Enterprise had been the last series on TV many years before, just the notion that Star Trek was coming back in some form made everybody go, “What?” It was interesting, the fifty percent of people who were so excited and fifty percent going, “It better not suck.” You know, we had that element through it as well. So, there was a certain nervousness on our part that, “Oh my gosh, we gotta make this good.” We want to join the canon that is Star Trek. We want it to live in the hearts of Star Trek fans from the beginning. People have been with the series since the 1960s, we want to appease them, as well as appeasing a brand-new audience that this might be their first series they have ever watched before.

So, now that we're done with all five seasons, the feedback that I get on the convention circuit, when I meet fans one on one, face to face, is very much that. I'm hearing people say, “Oh my gosh, it was different, but it really was like...” They loved how it fit. Every Star Trek series has been different from the last one before it, and ours certainly was, and it brought all kinds of characters and storylines that were new and different, that people could find themselves in when they watch it. And also young people going like, “This is my first.” I have parents saying, “This is my son's first Star Trek ever, and he loves it so much that now he wants to go back and start at the beginning and work through all the series.” So, I'm glad that we've been a catalyst to spark a younger generation to want to see this entire 58-year franchise.

SCIFI VISION:  You have spoken about Saru's story arc and how really satisfying season five was. Looking back on it now with a few months time, do you think about Saru? Are there parts of him that you've taken with you? I don't mean like a prop, but parts of the character.

DOUG JONES:  I actually did take his high council pin with me. After my last episode, that came off and it went home with me. But as far as my takeaway with Saru, you used the word “satisfied.” I ended the series feeling very satisfied for Saru's storyline; he had a happily ever after both professionally and romantically. His upward mobility, professionally, through the entire series has been a journey that's inspiring for all of us. It's like no matter what we're going through, what we've been through, what we are, there's potential for growth, and Saru was a shining example of that, especially getting over his fear and anxiety. That's something that I related to myself, and going through that journey with him, from fearful prey species to getting through vahar'ai and now becoming, not living in fear, living in confidence and courage, it just opens up a whole new world of possibility for him, and including the confidence to fall in love for the first time ever. So, his love story with President T'Rina was such a joy for me to play. So, meeting her in season three for one episode, and then bringing her back for season four, many episodes where you could watch their love story grow slowly and with much dignity and poise, it felt like a like an English frock drama, almost. It was a courtship. It was not like, “Let's lick each other and jump in bed.” It was not that, right? So, ending that with a very beautiful wedding scene, so Saru got his happily ever after with T'Rina in a love story as well, and now he's an ambassador living his very dignified life, professionally too. It's very, very satisfying overall.

SCIFI VISION:  It was beautiful. I have time for one quick question. We are here today to celebrate. The series is coming out on Blu-ray, on box set on [August 27th]. Is there a series that you loved and bought on DVD? Do you have an old box set in your house of a show that you watched over and over again?

DOUG JONES:  Yes. Mine's The Carol Burnett Show. Yeah, I do, whatever is available. I don't know if they ever put the entire series out, but “Carol's Favorites,” I think, was the set I have. Yeah, but otherwise, I have everything I've ever been in, if it was available on home, you know, physical media. I have all of it.

SCIFI VISION:  Oh, you do?

DOUG JONES:  Starting with VHS, I sure do. I still have VHS tapes in my drawers, yeah. But I hope that physical media never goes away. I'm really happy that Paramount+ and CBS Home Video is putting out this box set, because so many of our Star Trek fans are physical media collectors. They have everything at home. And when you go to a convention, you want to have a DVD cover that somebody can sign. It's hard to do with a digital chip, you know what I mean? It's hard.

And what comes with the home video too is bonus features that you can only get on that home video, on the DVDs. Everything from behind the scenes looks. There're two hours of bonus features, looks into character development, looks into our behind the scenes on the sets, and audio commentary and a gag reel. That's my fave. My fave is the gag reel. You know, when you play the show with such high stakes, and there's something perilous and dangerous happening every episode, it's nice to see the gaggery and the tomfoolery that happened between takes, yeah.