Saturday, June 26, 2010
Digital Digest: Entourage - The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Review
DIGITAL NEWS
On Thursday we told you Shout! Factory has licensed the DVD rights for All in the Family from Sony Pictures. This means the last two seasons will FINALLY be released at last! We have now have an official release date as well for the seventh season! Shout! Factory has set a October 5 release date. The three-disc DVD ($29.93 MSRP) is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com. Package art is also available but no info on if there are special features yet. Hopefully Shout! acquires more titles from Sony that seem to have been abandonned like The Jeffersons, Archie Bunker's Place, Diff'rent Strokes, Maude, and so many more. Warner Home Video has changed the date for The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Third Season to Sept. 14. It will be released on both DVD ($ MSRP)and Blu-ray ($ MSRP). Package art is not availble yet. Pre-order today!
Drama wise, we got dates for rookies NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife. CBS Paramount has announced a Sept. 14 release date for The Good Wife and an Aug. 31 release date for NCIS: Los Angeles. The Good Wife - The First Season is priced at $62.99 MSRP, while NCIS: Los Angeles - The First Season is also priced at $62.99 MSRP. Package art is available! CBS DVD has also announced Criminal Minds - Season 5 for Sept. 7 with an MSRP of $62.99 also.
To take advantage of Simon Baker on the hit series The Mentalist, CBS DVD will release the second season of Baker's previous show, The Guardian. Warner Home Video is releasing The Mentalist on Sept. 21, as we already know, but now CBS DVD will release The Guardian - The Second Season on Sept. 7. MSRP is slated for $49.98. The first season was released last fall.
Meanwhile, Warner Home Video will delay He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown by two weeks and will now release it on Sept. 21. The DVD will retail at $19.98 MSRP. Pre-order today!
For more information on titles that we won't cover with full or blog DVD reviews, you can head on over to the news section of TVShowsOnDVD.com for all of the latest details.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (June 29) will only have a couple of sitcoms in store. Shout! Factory will release the complete series of Leave it to Beaver! Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series is out on June 29 with every single season of the Cleaver clan. Look for our review soon, as we still need the complete set but we have the bonus features disc and it is outstanding. Also out on Tuesday is Shout! Factory's Mad About You with The Complete Fourth Season. We have reviewed it already. Read our review for more details. And there is a season four DVD of The Real McCoys coming from Infinity Entertainment.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
It's time for a special Blu-ray review of Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season! This is our second Blu-ray review ever, so it is pretty special. For Vince, Eric, Drama and Turtle, life in Hollywood's fast lanecan be an intoxicating roller-coaster of a ride. After hitting some speed bumps the last couple of years, Vince's career is in high gear after his role in a new Martin Scorsese film. But now that Vince is back on top, is it finally time for the entourage to step out of his shadow? See our review of this Blu-ray release below!
Blu-ray Review: Entourage - The Complete Sixth Season
by Seth
Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season (HBO, $49.98 Blu-ray/$39.98 DVD) is now on Blu-ray and DVD! This review will focus on the Blu-ray edition. As I'm in a household that doesn't subscribe to any of the so-called "premium" channels at the present moment, this Blu-ray set marks my first exposure to the series (and our normal Entourage reviewer, skees53, is unavailable at the moment).
If you're like me and either new to the show through exposure by this review -- essentially the show is a comedic drama focused around Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) and the various people involved with his career -- his entourage. The series follows the lives of the whole group, usually as first triggered by events in the career of Vince. If any long-term fans feel I've missed the point, I apologize, but I'm brand new to this series and so the intricacies of the plot are something I haven't had the opportunity to experience in full.
By this sixth season, Vince's career is back on the upswing, leading to quite a few interesting events in the lives of those around him. I'm not going to spoil anything -- many of you already know full well what occurs over the course of the season, while new fans who may be checking this out for the first time? Well, I don't want to ruin your surprise. Many shows have difficulty captivating new viewers by their sixth season, but this show does a surprisingly good job of hooking me in despite my previous unawareness of the series.
A show focused on celebrity is going to feature people in guest starring capacities that's quite authentic. For example, Jay Leno appears in the season premiere when Vince goes on the pre-Conan Tonight Show to promote his new project. The season's second episode features actress Jami Gertz, recognizable to sitcom fan from her work on shows like Still Standing, Square Pegs, and even The Facts of Life. The third episode features an appearance by rapper 50 Cent. David Schwimmer, still beloved from his tenure on Friends, appears in the season's fourth episode. Elsewhere this season you'll find appearances by: Mark Wahlberg, Bob Saget, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Jeffrey Tambor, NBA players LeBron James and Steve Nash, Zac Efron, Malcolm McDowell, ex-Superman Dean Cain, Married... with Children-alum David Faustino, Matt Damon, and U2 front-man Bono. That's really just a sample -- if you pay close attention you're sure to notice even more guest spots. In a series driven by celebrity, there's going to be more cameos, guest star spots, and the occasional "I need work" bits than you'd find in 120 episodes of a normal series.
Now, you may be asking yourself, "Self - all that's nice, but is everything intact in the set?" To that enriching little piece of internal dialog, I can only say "I don't know." Remember when I said I've NEVER seen this show prior to this review? I don't have the FIRST clue what's supposed to be here. I did take a look at the runtimes: While they're wickedly all over the place, given the network it airs on and the relative creative freedom it allows its programs, I wouldn't be surprised if these ARE the proper runtimes. Nonetheless, for your convenience:
Disc 1:
Drive: 27:18
Amongst Friends: 26:25
One Car, Two Car, Red Car, Blue Car: 25:03
Runnin' on E: 29:14
Disc 2:
Fore: 22:31
Murphy's Lie: 28:09
No More Drama: 25:12
The Sorkin Notes: 244:37
Disc 3:
Security Briefs: 24:07
Berried Alive: 27:44
Scared Straight: 28:41
Give a Little Bit: 37:48
Despite dealing with the newest and, let's face it, greatest technology available in Blu-ray Disc, the packaging itself is actually a bit of a throwback nowadays. Aside from the shorter box height (to achieve consistency with normal Blu-ray packaging), the Blu-ray set is otherwise a plain, ordinary Digipak. It seems like it's been forever since I've seen one of these. I missed you, old friend. Artwork is extremely well done, with the primary cast seated at a table all enjoying some fine drinks. One thing I've always despised is cover art where the cast was spliced together with individual photos, so to see cover art where they were clearly in the same place at the same time is quite nice.
I've never used the forthcoming adjective before, so first a set-up. The only other Blu-ray I've watched start to finish is the film Independence Day. As my Blu-ray player is first and foremost for me a video game console that tends to be what it's primarily used for. So to see a TELEVISION series on Blu-ray for the first time: The video is nearly pants-wettingly good. The location and exterior shoots look absolutely stunning, and even the indoor stuff appears quite good. Audio is also quite nice. One of the neat things about Blu-ray I'm still adjusting to? The ability to pop-up a mini menu at any time during an episode without having to actually exit the episode itself. Audio is available in English and French DTS 5.1, while Spanish is a slightly more limited 2-channel track. Subtitles, available either through your subtitles button or through any of the menus (including the pop-up one) include: French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and English SDH. Video is available in full 1080p for those whose sets and players support it, otherwise it'll down-convert to whatever resolution your screen best supports. Chapter stops are available at the conclusion of each act.
Then you have the bonus features. Not only is there a full feature detailing the full production process for the sixth season called "Life at the Top," but you also get to watch the cast race a bunch of Ferraris (woo!), get to listen to three commentary tracks (keep an ear out for Bob Saget...), plus a set of fake outtakes for a PSA for ONEXONE, all of which play a role in the season's final episode.
This is the first TV show on Blu-ray I've gotten to review, and, quite simply, I'm blown away. The video and audio are absolutely mind-blowing, and the technological advances over a standard definition DVD are simply staggering. There's plenty enough special features to be of interest, however, the set doesn't come close to overkill in that regard. Overkill IS something nice to have in the Features department, so that might well be one area to consider improvement. Otherwise, this set is visually stunning and really makes me A.) look forward to more TV on Blu-ray, and B.) look forward to the seventh season premiere - airing on HBO tomorrow, Sunday June 27. For those of you questioning the merit of this set? STRONGLY recommended. It's 12 episodes of quality entertainment and the price isn't significantly more than what you'd pay for a single movie with a fourth of the content.
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To purchase the DVD version, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Entourage TV.com Page
LOOKING AHEAD
Come on back right here next week for more news and reviews. You'll have to come on back next week to see what the review here will be! And don't forget to read our full DVD reviews, as we will put up reviews for American Dad! and Family Guy. Until next time, keep it digital pardner! Yeeha!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Thursday, March 30
Young Sheldon - "A Stolen Truck and Going on the Lam" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Missy steals her dad’s truck and hits the road with her friend Paige (Mckenna Grace).
Ghosts - "Alberta's Descendant" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alberta is thrilled when a living relative, Alicia (Ashley D. Kelley), visits Woodstone to learn more about her, but things take a turn when she hits it off with Todd (Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll), Sam’s podcast co-host. Also, Nigel uses his knowledge of Trevor and Hetty’s secret tryst to try to blackmail Hetty.
Animal Control - "Peacocks and Pumas" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Victoria stake out a squawking peacock; Emily and Patel attend to Shred.
Call Me Kat - "Call Me Not Okurrr" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In the heat of the moment, Zoey kisses Kat at karaoke night; when Randi discovers a secret hideaway in the condo, she hides it from Carter and makes it a place for her to unwind.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 27)
Thursday, March 30
- Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) - Catch Brett on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits-in with the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra and Kevin Bacon are guests on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. Kyra will also be on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your local listings) and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Animal Practice/Better with You/Reba) and Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - JoAnna and Morris guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Julie is a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
- Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Man will be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
- Larenz Tate (South Central/The Royal Family) - Larenz appears on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)
11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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