Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Complete Season Six is a DVD release containing all of the episodes which were broadcast during the series' sixth season.
The special features that were lacking on the regular Region 1 releases, were for that region only available as a "retailer exclusive" on a separate disc through the Best Buy retail chain store. [1][2]
Background information[]
The initial US Region 1 release was issued as a transparant five-page hard plastic "booklet" in a carton foldout, with a disc mounted on each of the "pages" and came packaged within a text-imprinted, partially transparant plastic casing (with transparant cutouts to show the foldout imagery), mounted on a cardboard holder which had the release info printed on its back. The Best Buy retailer exclusive back had the bonus DVD extra mentioned. Collected on a cardboard tray it was later reissued in October 2004 as part of the first Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Collection, along with the other six DVD season releases.
The disc artwork on the original Region 2 release features various characters from the season:
Region 2 continued for the Deep Space 9 debut season DVD releases with the packaging format as previously introduced for the Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD season releases, and consisted of a stylized hard plastic "Special Premium Box" in which the discs, the accompanying twelve-page foldout booklet and interactive CD-ROM (not included in the Region 1 release) were mounted. This packaging format was utilized for all 2003 Region 2 European and Japanese "Complete Limited Edition" (ASIN B00008Q0BT) releases with only the accompanying booklet and the glued-on backcover release information leaflet translated in the language of the target market.
While the hard plastic box case had become the European Region 2 regular release format, it was not in Japan where it was released as a limited edition. The regular 2003 release format in Japan was very differently executed. It consisted of a carton foldout in which the discs were mounted, that came within a cardboard slip-over wrapper ("obi" in Japanese), and whose cover art was actually inspired by that of the hard plastic case. Remarkably, the regular release also came with the interactive CD-ROM.
As with the 2003 hard plastic box case, the 2007 Region 2 "slimline" release, consisting of four one/two-disc holding standard plastic snapcases in a hardboard slipcase, became the European 2007 reissue standard, likewise with only the booklet and DVD case inlay sleeves translated in the various languages.
German 2009 Part 6.2 reissue with altered cover
Italian and German fans had been on the receiving end of market discrimination with their respective September 2007 and April 2009 reissues of the slimline variant which was split up in two releases, Parts 6.1 (ASIN B01GWECF9Q, Italy/ASIN B000U0ZGKE, Germany) and 6.2 (ASIN B01GWEGICQ, Italy/ASIN B000U0ZGKO, Germany), a somewhat dubious practice exercised by the local branches of CBS Home Entertainment for almost all contemporary Star Trek series home video format releases in Italy and Germany at one time or another. Part 6.2 had its cover altered by having Miles O'Brien replaced with Rom. Both parts came in the same slimpack packaging as the other Region 2 (complete) releases.
The complete German "slimline" variant was finally released in December 2014, over seven years after the rest of Europe had received theirs. (ASIN B00LXUGQRM) Released in November 2013, the Japanese variant had earlier already lagged six years behind the UK release. (ASIN B00F27CQYY) Italy incidentally, had to make do with imports from other European Region 2 territories.
The 2007 UK "slimline" reissue, became the motive for Region 4 to concurrently receive its own Season 6 DVD set in the form of the near-identically executed Australasian release.
CBS Consumer Products, commissioned renowned British film poster artist Brian Bysouth, who had already provided the service for their preceding Deep Space NineVHS and The Next Generation DVD UK releases, to provide the cover, disc and booklet artwork to CBS Home Entertainment for its Region 2 2007 "slimline" reissue, [3] reused for the Region 1 reissue of 2017.
