Saturday, June 25, 2011
Digital Digest: Rookie Blue - The Complete First Season DVD Review
Every week, we come here to bring you news, a preview of the upcoming week, and reviews about all things digital, and we're back this week to bring you even more of that! Unfortunately, this has legitimately been one of our worst and slowest weeks ever for news, but nonetheless, we have scoured the internet for news over the past few months that we haven't covered, and thus you may have missed. But we're not totally in "what you missed" mode, because we've also got a fresh review of Rookie Blue - The Complete First Season this week! Let's get going.
DIGITAL NEWS
Before we get into our older (but overlooked) news, we have a few updates on some definite releases that we've already mentioned here. As was previously mentioned, Parks and Recreation - Season Three is coming to DVD on September 6. Now, TVShowsOnDVD.com has a complete list of special features for that release, to include commentaries, deleted scenes, gag reels, and more. You can, of course, pre-order the set now.
Another current series with an upcoming release is Family Guy, with a fall release of Family Guy - Volume 9. While the studio has not yet released an official press release on this, we found this info on TVShowsOnDVD.com that gives what appears to be a list of special features. They do give a caveat that the information may or may not be correct, but it looks like it is along the lines of previous releases. Of course, we'll have a review of this set once it is released, and we'll see if this list is correct or not.
Now we delve into our "news we may have missed" segment of our news. The first piece, we'd like to put in the "rumor" category because it is not confirmed, but it comes from a poster on Home Theater Forum, a website that tends to attract rumors that are more often than not the truth. It seems that the sixth season of Perry Mason may be on the way to DVD, with the first volume to be released October 4. But of course, this is NOT anything official, and we'll let you know when (and if) this is confirmed.
Back in January, a lot of information came out directly from Shout! Factory on the website Home Theater Forum. The news isn't so good for fans of Mad About You. Although they did pick up the rights for a few seasons a while back, their response regarding the final seasons is as follows:
"our two releases of MAD ABOUT YOU didn't sell enough to warrant the expensive of acquiring the last two seasons."
Of course, at least Shout! Factory released some episodes of that series. The next post in the thread indicates that Shout! Factory doesn't even have any interest in the series Benson and One Day at a Time.
But it isn't all bad news from Shout! Factory. Digging a little further into the very same thread as mentioned above, they respond to the status of Designing Women by simply stating:
"Yes it will continue."
Hopefully they will indeed follow through on future releases of Designing Women!
Keep in mind that these stories from the Home Theater Forum message boards are more "in-flux" stories than we typically include here. We wanted you to come here to find something new on this slow news week!
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (June 28) is the true goose egg of DVD release dates. There are no sitcoms on the slate, and really, there aren't any series that fit within the scope of our site scheduled for release on Tuesday either. However, if you are a fan of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, you can pick up Law & Order: Criminal Intent - The Sixth Year on Tuesday.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
At the police academy they trained together. Now they're on the job together. Rookie cop Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym) and her fellow new recruits are ready to brave anything, but in the world of big city policing, even the smallest mistake can have life-or-death consequences. The complete first season of Rookie Blue is now available on DVD from Entertainment One. Here is our review of this set.
DVD Review: Rookie Blue - The Complete First Season
by Pavan
Rookie Blue - The Complete First Season (Entertainment One, $44.98) is now on DVD and you won't want to miss out! The breakout ABC hit summer primetime series was the number one show in its timeslot last summer and the highest-rated summer scripted premiere in six years! Don't go in without backup, so arm yourself with every episode from the rookies' debut season with tons of bulletproof bonus features! The drama is produced in Canada and is a Canadian production ans also airs on Global in Canada.
Not since NYPD Blue has there been a cop drama like this. It has a twist of danger, sex and high-stakes drama. Each episode follows the lives of five inexperienced rookies plunged into the world of big city policing, where even the smallest mistake can have life or death consequences. This group of twenty-somethings is about to learn the hard way that no amount of training can prepare them for the job...or for real life. The series stars Missy Peregrym as Andy McNally, Enuka Okuma as Traci Nash, Gregory Smith as Dov Epstein, Travis Milne as Chris Diaz, Charlotte Sullivan as Gail Peck, Eric Johnson as Luke Callaghan, Matt Gordon as Oliver Shaw, Noam Jenkins as Jerry Barber, Melanie Nicholls-King as Noelle Williams, and Ben Bass as Sam Swarek.
The first season has 13 episodes. We get all 13 of them on this DVD! Among the memorable episodes are the premiere episode "Fresh Paint," where a roup of rookie police officers start their first day, however their first call is to a domestic disturbance, which turns out to be a murder and in an attempt to catch the shooter, Andy McNally unknowingly arrests an undercover cop, ruining eight months of work. In "Signals Crossed," McNally, Peck and Diaz are tasked as prostitutes in a sting operation, Nash however has been sent to work with Callaghan on a murdered John Doe, as McNally is unable to perform and she is pulled. In "Hot and Bothered," McNally and Swarek arrest a minor for stealing an ice-cream truck and Swarek believes that the theft was an act of rebellion, but McNally who believes otherwise is sent out with Shaw to pursue leads. In "In Blue," during her evaluation, McNally confides in Best about her fears of ruining her life because of the job. And on the season finale, "Takedown," McNally and Diaz make an untimely arrest, which compromises a major heroin bust, while Swarek goes undercover posing as the buyer with McNally as his girlfriend, to try and salvage the operation. We get all 13 unedited episodes on this DVD. Runtimes for each episode follow:
Disc One
1. Fresh Paint (41:48)
2. Mercury Retrograde (42:42)
3. Fite Nite (41:56)
4. Signals Crossed (42:12)
Disc Two
5. Broad Daylight (41:30)
6. Bullet Proof (42:07)
7. Hot and Bothered (43:01)
8. Honor Roll (42:01)
Disc Three
9. Girlfriend of the Year (42:50)
10. Big Nickel (41:39)
11. To Serve or Protect (42:07)
12. In Blue (42:57)
Disc Four
13. Takedown (43:02)
The DVD comes in a case held by an outer thin box. The thin outer box is in blue (with "Police Line, Do Not Cross" ribbons in the background) and as the series logo and the complete first season mention. In the middle of the cover, we have a square hole that peaks into the case, so wee see artwork of the five rookie cops! The back of the thin outer box has info on the set and series, with a nice quote from the L.A. Times. We have a nice cast photo of the rookies as well, along with five episodic images. There is a little box showcasing the bonus features as well. When we remove the outer box, we get to the case. The case has a grey-ish color scheme. The cover art has that artwork of the five rookies. The back of the case is similar to the back of the thin outer box, but different episodic images. Inside the case we have nice artwork of the five rookies on the panels itself with a nice city style background. There is also a disc-by-disc breakdown on the panels listing episode episode title per disc and bonus features. The discs themselves are on two little plastic holders that you can flip like a page in a book. Each disc is in the grey-ish/blue design with the series logo and the serve and protect seal in the background. Disc one holds episodes 1-4, disc two holds episodes 5-8, disc three holds episodes 9-12 and disc four has episode 13 and all the bonus features. There is also an Entertainment One booklet showcasing other DVDs, and it is placed on the left panel.
The menu design is great and has moving video clips playing in the background while we listen to music from the show. The series logo is also placed on the main menu, with episode numbers/titles listed right on the main menu. The only sub-menu is for Set-up, where we can choose either English 5.1 audio or 2.0. English SDH subtitles can also be turned on. Special Features option is on disc four only. Auto trailer appear on disc one before the main menu with a sneak peek scene from the season two premiere, movie trailers and a trailer for the series Haven.
Video and audio quality are both outstanding. This is a DVD, so I'm sure the Blu-ray version looks even better. It is superb. You can turn on the 5.1 surround sound and watch the series in great audio quality. Each episode has 7 chapter stops, so it is easy to jump through an episode if you are looking for something in particular like McNally in that green outfit from "Signals Crossed" or the hot scene from "Hot and Bothered."
There are some special features on this set as well! They are all on disc four and are decently produced. First up, we have "Making of Featurettes." There are three different ones for these on this set. The first one is "A New Breed of Life" (3:10) and it has interviews with Missy Peregrym, Tassie Cameron (Showrunner), Travis Milne and Enuka Okuma. The next one is "Meet the Rookies of 15 Division" (3:59) and all five rookies are featured: Missy Peregrym, Enuka Okuma, Gregory smith, Travis Milne and Charlotte Sullivan. And the final featurette here is "Rookie Training" (2:53) with Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Travis Milne, Charlotte Sullivan and showrunner Cassie Cameron. The next series of bonus features are called "The Skylar Report: Behind the Scenes on Rookie Blue." There are eight different "episodes" along with a teaser preview. These were made by a Global TV reporter ans he even appears on an episode as an extra cop named Skylar. Featured on these eight episodes that run a total of 23:25 are Anne Dixon (costume designer), Enuka Okuma, Melanie Nicholls-King, Gregory Smith, Charlotte Sullivan, Travis Milne, Matt Gordon, Eric Johnson, Ellen Vanstone & Morwyn Brebner (co-creators/writers), Matthew Davies (production designer) and Rob Gardner (assistant director).
The final two extras are trailers and teasers. "Season 1 Trailer" recaps season one and runs 1:58, while we also get a "Season 2 On-Set Teaser" running 3:06. Interviewed on the latter are Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Charlotte Sullivan, Travis Milne, Enuka Okuma, and Eric Johnson.
I think Entertainment One did a good job with this set. This is a good show so it deserves a quality DVD set. The Blu-ray set is only $5 more, so if you have a Blu-ray player, then by all means get that! The DVD version is the one we got for review and it has great audio/video too, if you don't have Blu-ray. The menus, packaging and bonus features are all good as well. I wish the show has more than 13 episodes, but that will be the case since it is a summer series. ABC/Global will air 13 more this summer, as the second season premiere was this past Thursday at 10/9 central. Watch every Thursday all summer-long! We recently did an interview with Enuka Okuma and we will bring that for you to read very soon. So check back this week right here on the blog. For now, you won't get arrested for buying this DVD and you don't need to be a rookie either, so buy the set below because you'll be sucked in right away!
(4/5 stars)
To purchase the DVD release, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
To purchase the Blu-ray release, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Main DVD Reviews Page
Rookie Blue
Not since NYPD Blue has there been a cop drama like this. It has a twist of danger, sex and high-stakes drama. Each episode follows the lives of five inexperienced rookies plunged into the world of big city policing, where even the smallest mistake can have life or death consequences. This group of twenty-somethings is about to learn the hard way that no amount of training can prepare them for the job...or for real life. The series stars Missy Peregrym as Andy McNally, Enuka Okuma as Traci Nash, Gregory Smith as Dov Epstein, Travis Milne as Chris Diaz, Charlotte Sullivan as Gail Peck, Eric Johnson as Luke Callaghan, Matt Gordon as Oliver Shaw, Noam Jenkins as Jerry Barber, Melanie Nicholls-King as Noelle Williams, and Ben Bass as Sam Swarek.
The first season has 13 episodes. We get all 13 of them on this DVD! Among the memorable episodes are the premiere episode "Fresh Paint," where a roup of rookie police officers start their first day, however their first call is to a domestic disturbance, which turns out to be a murder and in an attempt to catch the shooter, Andy McNally unknowingly arrests an undercover cop, ruining eight months of work. In "Signals Crossed," McNally, Peck and Diaz are tasked as prostitutes in a sting operation, Nash however has been sent to work with Callaghan on a murdered John Doe, as McNally is unable to perform and she is pulled. In "Hot and Bothered," McNally and Swarek arrest a minor for stealing an ice-cream truck and Swarek believes that the theft was an act of rebellion, but McNally who believes otherwise is sent out with Shaw to pursue leads. In "In Blue," during her evaluation, McNally confides in Best about her fears of ruining her life because of the job. And on the season finale, "Takedown," McNally and Diaz make an untimely arrest, which compromises a major heroin bust, while Swarek goes undercover posing as the buyer with McNally as his girlfriend, to try and salvage the operation. We get all 13 unedited episodes on this DVD. Runtimes for each episode follow:
Disc One
1. Fresh Paint (41:48)
2. Mercury Retrograde (42:42)
3. Fite Nite (41:56)
4. Signals Crossed (42:12)
Disc Two
5. Broad Daylight (41:30)
6. Bullet Proof (42:07)
7. Hot and Bothered (43:01)
8. Honor Roll (42:01)
Disc Three
9. Girlfriend of the Year (42:50)
10. Big Nickel (41:39)
11. To Serve or Protect (42:07)
12. In Blue (42:57)
Disc Four
13. Takedown (43:02)
The DVD comes in a case held by an outer thin box. The thin outer box is in blue (with "Police Line, Do Not Cross" ribbons in the background) and as the series logo and the complete first season mention. In the middle of the cover, we have a square hole that peaks into the case, so wee see artwork of the five rookie cops! The back of the thin outer box has info on the set and series, with a nice quote from the L.A. Times. We have a nice cast photo of the rookies as well, along with five episodic images. There is a little box showcasing the bonus features as well. When we remove the outer box, we get to the case. The case has a grey-ish color scheme. The cover art has that artwork of the five rookies. The back of the case is similar to the back of the thin outer box, but different episodic images. Inside the case we have nice artwork of the five rookies on the panels itself with a nice city style background. There is also a disc-by-disc breakdown on the panels listing episode episode title per disc and bonus features. The discs themselves are on two little plastic holders that you can flip like a page in a book. Each disc is in the grey-ish/blue design with the series logo and the serve and protect seal in the background. Disc one holds episodes 1-4, disc two holds episodes 5-8, disc three holds episodes 9-12 and disc four has episode 13 and all the bonus features. There is also an Entertainment One booklet showcasing other DVDs, and it is placed on the left panel.
The menu design is great and has moving video clips playing in the background while we listen to music from the show. The series logo is also placed on the main menu, with episode numbers/titles listed right on the main menu. The only sub-menu is for Set-up, where we can choose either English 5.1 audio or 2.0. English SDH subtitles can also be turned on. Special Features option is on disc four only. Auto trailer appear on disc one before the main menu with a sneak peek scene from the season two premiere, movie trailers and a trailer for the series Haven.
Video and audio quality are both outstanding. This is a DVD, so I'm sure the Blu-ray version looks even better. It is superb. You can turn on the 5.1 surround sound and watch the series in great audio quality. Each episode has 7 chapter stops, so it is easy to jump through an episode if you are looking for something in particular like McNally in that green outfit from "Signals Crossed" or the hot scene from "Hot and Bothered."
There are some special features on this set as well! They are all on disc four and are decently produced. First up, we have "Making of Featurettes." There are three different ones for these on this set. The first one is "A New Breed of Life" (3:10) and it has interviews with Missy Peregrym, Tassie Cameron (Showrunner), Travis Milne and Enuka Okuma. The next one is "Meet the Rookies of 15 Division" (3:59) and all five rookies are featured: Missy Peregrym, Enuka Okuma, Gregory smith, Travis Milne and Charlotte Sullivan. And the final featurette here is "Rookie Training" (2:53) with Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Travis Milne, Charlotte Sullivan and showrunner Cassie Cameron. The next series of bonus features are called "The Skylar Report: Behind the Scenes on Rookie Blue." There are eight different "episodes" along with a teaser preview. These were made by a Global TV reporter ans he even appears on an episode as an extra cop named Skylar. Featured on these eight episodes that run a total of 23:25 are Anne Dixon (costume designer), Enuka Okuma, Melanie Nicholls-King, Gregory Smith, Charlotte Sullivan, Travis Milne, Matt Gordon, Eric Johnson, Ellen Vanstone & Morwyn Brebner (co-creators/writers), Matthew Davies (production designer) and Rob Gardner (assistant director).
The final two extras are trailers and teasers. "Season 1 Trailer" recaps season one and runs 1:58, while we also get a "Season 2 On-Set Teaser" running 3:06. Interviewed on the latter are Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Charlotte Sullivan, Travis Milne, Enuka Okuma, and Eric Johnson.
I think Entertainment One did a good job with this set. This is a good show so it deserves a quality DVD set. The Blu-ray set is only $5 more, so if you have a Blu-ray player, then by all means get that! The DVD version is the one we got for review and it has great audio/video too, if you don't have Blu-ray. The menus, packaging and bonus features are all good as well. I wish the show has more than 13 episodes, but that will be the case since it is a summer series. ABC/Global will air 13 more this summer, as the second season premiere was this past Thursday at 10/9 central. Watch every Thursday all summer-long! We recently did an interview with Enuka Okuma and we will bring that for you to read very soon. So check back this week right here on the blog. For now, you won't get arrested for buying this DVD and you don't need to be a rookie either, so buy the set below because you'll be sucked in right away!
(4/5 stars)To purchase the DVD release, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
To purchase the Blu-ray release, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Main DVD Reviews Page
Rookie Blue
TV.com page
LOOKING AHEAD
We'll be back next week with more Digital Digest, and we hope to make some adjustments in the upcoming weeks to make up for these slow news weeks that we've been having lately! We have plenty of reviews coming up in the upcoming months, so we'll have a lot of those for you, and we are hoping to do some retooling to Digital Digest to bring you some more creative content. But don't worry, when we say retooling, we aren't going to get rid of any of our current features! Until next time, keep it digital!
LOOKING AHEAD
We'll be back next week with more Digital Digest, and we hope to make some adjustments in the upcoming weeks to make up for these slow news weeks that we've been having lately! We have plenty of reviews coming up in the upcoming months, so we'll have a lot of those for you, and we are hoping to do some retooling to Digital Digest to bring you some more creative content. But don't worry, when we say retooling, we aren't going to get rid of any of our current features! Until next time, keep it digital!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, August 1
Happy's Place - "Ladies Night'" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Gabby's latest heartbreak, Bobbie and Isabella throw a Ladies' Night at the tavern to show Gabby she doesn't need a man to be happy, but things don't go as planned; Steve and Takoda tease Emmett about his sudden interest in dating apps.
Happy's Place - "Tapped Out" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Isabella starts trying to make changes to the tavern, Bobbie worries that this new partnership may not work out; Bobbie offers to take Isabella under her wing so she can learn about the tavern, but Happy's lawyer fumbles Bobbie's plan.
Electric Bloom - "How to (Not) Make a Music Video" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
While planning Electric Bloom's first music video, Jade and Posey overlook Tulip as a potential leader of the band, causing her alter ego 'Trixie' to emerge and wreak havoc.
Electric Bloom - "How We Danced the Night Away" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Posey, Jade, and Tulip's pact to not let a boy come between them is tested when it comes to finding dates for the school dance.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 28)
Friday, August 1
- Chris Distefano (Benders) - Chris guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Watch Julie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Owen Wilson (Stick) - Owen takes "The Colbert Questionert" on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Mary Beth Barone (Overcompensating) - Mary appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Thomas is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Pamela Anderson (Stacked/Home Improvement) - Pamela talks about The Naked Gun on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That.../Second Time Around) - NBC's Today catches up with Nicole in the 10am hour.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl and her husband, Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, sit down for an EXCLUSIVE conversation about their choice to live in separate cities, which set off the internet on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke is sharing the secrets behind her shiny and bouncy hair and why she decided to create he own haircare line in her 50s on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Michael Jai White (Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse) - Michael is a guest on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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