Showing posts with label Blu-ray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blu-ray. Show all posts
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Digital Digest: Hazel Season 4 Coming in December; Revenge - The Complete First Season DVD Review; Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season Blu-ray Disc Review
Welcome to Digital Digest! This week, we have double reviews, with our reviews of
Revenge - The Complete First Season
and Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season (Blu-ray). Also, we're going to say farewell to our Click of the Week feature this week (don't worry, we've already got a replacement ready to go next week!) by looking back at some of the best websites we've featured as Click of the Week since it began last year. Let's get going!
Who's the gal who's everybody's pal? Why, it's Hazel, and more of her antics are coming to DVD in December! A pre-order recently appeared on the "new and improved" Shout! Factory website for Hazel - The Complete Fourth Season. The four-disc set is scheduled to be released on December 11 at a $34.93 MSRP.
We've all been trying to figure out "what's up with Bob" on DVD as pre-order listings for The Bob Newhart Show season 5 and season 6 appeared on amazon.com over a year ago, but nothing ever really materialized, and Fox has been very quiet on the meaning behind these pre-order listings... that is, until a few days ago. Recently, James Finn at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment stated that the final two seasons of the series may be close to being released, but stopped short of giving a solid release date or absolute confirmation. In Mr. Finn's words:
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog Blu-ray Review: Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season (ABC Studios, $79.99)
by Pavan
There is a town in Maine, where every storybook character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds: victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth, and only one can break her spell. Relive the complete first season of ABC's Once Upon A Time, the hit series that boasts unforgettable characters and a tangled web of romance, action and enchantment. Immerse yourself in the magic and mystery of Storybrooke - a sleepy little town where every fairytale character you've ever known is frozen in time and trapped between two worlds, victims of an evil curse. On her 28th birthday, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) meets Henry (Jared Gilmore), the son she gave up for adoption 10 years ago. Henry believes Emma is the daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), prophesied to break a powerful curse. Unconvinced, Emma returns Henry to Storybrooke, where she encounters the enigmatic Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) and clashes with mayor Regina Mills (Lana Parrilla) - the boy's adoptive mother - who Henry insists is none other than the Evil Queen! Start your epic collection with all 22 captivating episodes, including never-before-seen bonus features, in this spectacular 5-disc boxed set on both DVD or Blu-ray Disc. This review will cover the Blu-ray disc version.
Once Upon a Time stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archibald "Archie" Hopper, Jamie Dornan as The Huntsman/Sheriff Graham, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold. Recurring stars are David Anders as Dr. Whale, Eion Bailey as Pinocchio/August Wayne Booth, Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby, Beverly Mitchell as Granny, Tony Amendola as Geppetto/Marco, Lee Arenberg as Grumpy/Leroy, Jessy Schram as Cinderella/Ashley Boyd, Anastasia Griffith as Kathryn Nolan, Alan Dale as King George, Giancarlo Esposito as Magic Mirror/Sidney Glass, Sebastian Stan as The Mad Hatter/Jefferson and Emilie de Ravin as Belle.
This is a wonderful first season for this brand-new tantalizing tale. The series did very well in its Sundays at 8pm timeslot on ABC and was the top new drama among adults 18-49. The writers of Lost has brought this series to us and this is the only show that has even come close to that show since that series ended. Jennifer Morrison is great and beautiful while Ginnifer Goodwin and Lana Parrilla are superb and have great chemistry. We wish the Emmy's would have recognized this show, especially Robert Carlyle. Every episode has to be seen in order, but I will try to pick the most memorable episodes. WARNING: Don't read the descriptions if you have yet to start the series! In the very first episode, "Pilot," Emma Swan, a bail bondsman, is surprised when Henry, the son that she gave up for adoption 10 years earlier, shows up on her doorstep as he begs Emma to come to his hometown of Storybrooke, Maine, and rescue him from his evil adopted mother, Regina Mills as the boy insists that everyone in the town is a fairy tale character with no memory of who they really are... and Emma soon realizes that Henry's claim may be true. In "The Price of Gold," in Storybrooke, Emma tries to help Ashley Boyd, a young pregnant maid who tries to make a deal with Mr. Gold, meanwhile in the fairy tale world, Cinderella makes a deal with Rumplestiltskin but discovers the price is more than she is willing to pay. In "7:15 A.M.," Regina asks Emma to investigate the Stranger, who has taken an interest in Henry, while Dave and Mary Margret try to reconcile their feelings to each other and in the fairy tale world, James and Snow try to reunite although a kingdom stands in their way. In "Skin Deep," Mary Margaret goes out with Ashley and Ruby for Valentine's Day, and Mr. Gold has something stolen from him, while in the fairytale world Belle is forced to give up everything she knows to keep her village safe... by living with the Beast.
In "Red-Handed," while Emma tries to determine if David murdered his wife Kathryn, she hires Ruby as an assistant when the waitress quits her job to go out into the world and find something to do with her life, meanwhile in the fairy tale world Red and Snow meet as a savage wolf plagues the village where Red lives. In "Hat Trick," Emma searches for a missing Mary Margaret, but is abducted by a man who claims to know the truth about Storybrooke... and Emma, meanwhile in the fairytale world, Regina convinces a sorcerer to take her to Wonderland to recover something that the Queen of Hearts has stolen from her. In "The Stable Boy," Emma closes in on the real murderer to clear Mary Margaret's name, but discovers that someone close to her may have betrayed her, meanwhile in the fairtytale world, Regina chooses true love over power, but her mother Cora has a harsh lesson to teach her. In "The Return," Gold is intrigued by August and tries to determine who he really is, while David tries to apologize to Mary Margaret and Emma gets a break in the case of Kathryn's abduction and in the fairytale world, Baelfire makes a deal with his father Rumpelstiltskin when it becomes clear that his magic powers have corrupted him. In "The Stranger," August offers to show Emma how she can regain Henry by telling her the truth about her life, while Regina attempts to seduce David and Mary Margaret returns into teaching and in the fairytale world, Gepetto is told that he can save Snow and Charming's child, but insists on saving his son Pinocchio as payment for his work. On the great season finale, "A Land Without Magic," when Henry is stricken down by a curse intended for Emma, Emma must work with Regina and Gold to find a cure, meanwhile in the fairytale world Prince Charming makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to find Snow.
The episodes on this set are all unedited, obviously, with the episodes around 43 minutes. Here are the runtimes for this set:
Disc 1
1. "Pilot" - 43:33
2. "The Thing You Love Most" - 42:33
3. "Snow Falls" - 43:03
4. "The Price of Gold" - 42:48
5. "That Still Small Voice" - 43:04
Disc 2
6. "The Shepherd" - 43:04
7. "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter" - 43:06
8. "Desperate Souls" - 43:18
9. "True North" - 43:05
10. "7:15 A.M." - 43:05
Disc 3
11. "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" - 42:59
12. "Skin Deep" - 43:03
13. "What Happened to Frederick" - 43:04
14. "Dreamy" - 43:00
Disc 4
15. "Red-Handed" - 43:04
16. "Heart of Darkness" - 42:57
17. "Hat Trick" - 43:03
18. "The Stable Boy" - 43:04
Disc 5
19. "The Return" - 43:03
20. "The Stranger" - 43:04
21. "An Apple Red as Blood" - 43:04
22. "A Land Without Magic" - 42:48
Let's now move on to the packaging for this Blu-ray set! We have a thin outer box holding the Blu-ray case. The cover art for both has the Once Upon a Time logo in the middle with head shots of Rumpelstiltskin, Evil Queen, Emma, Snow White and Prince Charming on top, while below the logo we have a shot of the kingdom with a dark (the spell clouds?) sky. There is a mention of The Complete First Season right above the series logo. The cover of the outer box is actually a hologram, so if you move it a little, the kingdom turns into Storybrooke, Maine. Very cool. The back of both the outer box and case has three episodic photos. We also have info on the series and set as well, with a bonus features box held up by Rumpelstiltskin. The color scheme is like a dark brown. Inside the Blu-ray case we go, we have an insert booklet on the left showcasing other ABC TV DVDs that are coming soon like Private Practice and Body of Proof, and there is also a page telling us about the Once Upon a Time collection of fairy tales book! As far as the discs itself go, disc one is on a little plastic holder that you can flip like a page in a book. Disc two is on the back of that little plastic holder. Discs three and four are the same way in a second little plastic holder, while disc five is on the right panel itself. All five discs are in a dark blue color set in the woods with the series logo and something in the woods. Disc one has episodes 1-5 and we see Jiminy Cricket in the woods. Disc two has 6-10 and we see a wolf in the woods. Disc three has episodes 11-14 and we see the genie in the woods. Disc four has episodes 15-18 and we see mushrooms in the woods. And disc five has episodes 19-22 and we see the spell cloud coming into the woods. As for the panels, we have nice episodic photos on the panels itself. There is also a disc-by-disc breakdown below the images on the panels listing episode titles per disc.
The menu screen is very cool. Blu-ray menus are so much different I think and it is better than regular DVDs. Background music from the show is playing in the background, as we have artwork of the woods in dark blue (similar to the title card on the series). We have options for Episodes, Bonus Features, Set Up, Season Play and Sneak Peeks. When we select Episodes, on Blu-ray there are no sub-menus, so a pop-up box pops up and you choose the episode with the titles listed. Bonus Features options pops-up all the extras on that disc, including the deleted scenes. The Set Up pop-up has the option for Languages and Subtitles, with audio in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio or English 2.0 Dolby Digital and subtitles in English, Thai, Chinese, Espanol, Portuguese, and French. Season Play is very cool, it is a feature exclusive to the Blu-ray Disc releases. This feature allows you to never have a problem keeping track of where you are (which episode, disc, time stamp) on the season of the show. This feature prevents you from getting lost as to which episode you were on when trying to come back and continue watching an entire season of a show. VERY cool! Sneak Peaks is just on disc five for The Avengers, ABC TV on DVD, and Roger Rabbit. Disc one has auto trailers for ABC TV on DVD, Castle Season 4 and Frankenweenie.
The video is great, as it should be in full HD (1080p widescreen)! This is the Blu-ray version so it is flawless. Everyone should own a Blu-ray player as the video quality is just superb and you feel like you are right inside the show. I have watched all 22 episodes on ABC in HD and it looks even better in Blu-ray! The audio is very good in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. That is the best you can get so you know it will be clear and crisp. Each episode has between 6-8 chapter stops. We also hear the closing theme for the first time, as on ABC there are next week's promos playing over the credits. There is not much else to say!
As for special features, we have a WHOLE lot here. Each disc has special features. We have audio commentary on each disc. On disc one, we have audio commentary for "Pilot" from creators/executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. They are very insightful and you'll find out when they came up with the idea for this series! Also on disc one we have "Once Upon a Time Orchestral Suite" (4:05). This is likely just for the Blu-ray! We get the music from the show, as the full soundtrack will be released layer this year. The music plays, while on screen we see the series logo. On disc two, we have audio commentary for the episode "7:15 A.M." from series stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas -- Snow White and Prince Charming themselves! On disc three we have audio commentary for the episode "Skin Deep" from writer Jane Epenson and star Robert Carlyle. It would have been cool if Emilie de Ravin was in this as well, but I'm not complaining! On disc four, we have audio commentary for the episode "The Stable Boy," from series creators/executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz along with star Lana Parrilla (The Evil Queen). And the final audio commentary is on disc five for the season finale "A Land Without Magic" from Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and series star Jennifer Morrison! So we have five episodes with audio commentary and these five are really great classic episodes!
The rest of the bonus features are on disc five. The first one is exclusive to Blu-ray, titled "Once Upon a Time: Origins." We travel back through the centuries with Josh Dallas to uncover the historical origins of classic fairy tales -- Snow White, Beauty & the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Little Mermaid and Rumpelstiltskin. This was REALLY well done and I could this airing on TV at some point as a special. It's only for Blu-ray! Next up we have "Fairy Tales in the Modern World" (20:24) this exciting feature allows viewers to explore the genesis story of Once Upon A Time, as they learn about the creative approach of adapting a world of fairy tales into the wholly original world of the show. Interviewed are Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (series creators/executive producers), Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Eion Bailey, Beverly Mitchell, Robert Carlyle, Meghan Ory, Jared Gilmore, Lana Parrilla, Lee Arensberg, Jennifer Morrison, Daniel T. Thomsen (executive story editor), Andrew Chambliss (co-producer), Ian Goldberg (co-producer), Raphael Sbarge, June Espenson (consulting producer), and Daniel H. Goodman (co-executive producer). Then next we have "Building Character" (7:19) where we have from start-to-finish, following the creation, conceptualization, casting, clothing and filming of the beloved character, Belle, played by Emilie de Ravin, from the ground up! Interviewed are Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, Emilie de Ravin, Eduardo Castro (costume designer), and Veronica Collins (casting director). Then next up, "Welcome to Storybrooke" (6:45) where Ginnifer Goodwin takes audiences on a tour of Storybrooke, Maine, both the town on the show and its real inspiration – a small town outside Vancouver called Steveston. Interviewed are Ginnifer Goodwin, Adam Horowitz, Steve Pearlman (executive producer), Edward Kitsis, Mayor Malcolm Brodie (city of Richmond, BC), David Gordon (owner, Pieces Gift Shop), Kelly Krull (owner, Splash Toy Store), Eric Beaupre (production assistant), Trevor Purvis (set dresser), Eva Kollakis (owner, Cannery Cafe), Nick Constantin (owner, Romania Country Bread), Kate Badenhorst (owner, Sara's Ice Crean), Jared Gilmore and Josh Dallas.
We aren't done yet! The next featurette is called "The Story I Remember...Snow White" (4:26). The show's actors share their childhood memories of the beloved fairy tale Snow White, illustrated to original storybook graphics. Interviewed are Ginnifer Goodwin, Beverly Mitchell, Lana Parrilla, Jared Gilmore, Josh Dallas, Jennifer Morrison, Lee Arenberg, and Meghan Ory. Then we have "Fairest Bloopers Of Them All" (2:18), which are of course often hilarious outtakes fans won't want to miss. And finally we have deleted scenes. It isn't many as say Revenge has, but still good stuff! The deleted scenes are around 12 minutes or so: episode #1 (1:08, 0:32, 11:14); episode #2 (0:53), episode #3 (1:02), episode #5 (0:51), episode #8 (0:54), episode #16 (1:28), and episode #18 (3:53). That's nine deleted scenes from seven different episodes, so about a third of the episodes.
I highly do recommend this Blu-ray set for any Once fan or any fair tale fan. This is really a great show and I hope you all buy this Blu-ray disc (or DVD). There are many special features that will keep you glued for many more hours. The quality of Blu-ray sets is just superb and this one is among the best of this year. I'm calling it the entertainment boxed set of the year! Usually every year the Lost sets were that, but now with that show over with, this is the show that will continue this legacy! If you haven't started this show yet, this is the perfect time to do so before the new season premieres Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8/7c on ABC. Catch up now! If you're still on the fence watch the encores the next few weeks on ABC Sundays (with a marathon) on Sunday, Sept. 9. You'll be hooked after that and will have enough time to catch-up before the new season. As Henry would say, "the curse will end. Good will win." You'll have to see if that is true in this first season set, go click below before the magic goes away! It's more than just a book!
(5/5 stars)
To purchase Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season on Blu-ray, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
To purchase Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season on DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Once Upon a Time on TV.com
DIGITAL NEWS
Who's the gal who's everybody's pal? Why, it's Hazel, and more of her antics are coming to DVD in December! A pre-order recently appeared on the "new and improved" Shout! Factory website for Hazel - The Complete Fourth Season. The four-disc set is scheduled to be released on December 11 at a $34.93 MSRP.
We've all been trying to figure out "what's up with Bob" on DVD as pre-order listings for The Bob Newhart Show season 5 and season 6 appeared on amazon.com over a year ago, but nothing ever really materialized, and Fox has been very quiet on the meaning behind these pre-order listings... that is, until a few days ago. Recently, James Finn at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment stated that the final two seasons of the series may be close to being released, but stopped short of giving a solid release date or absolute confirmation. In Mr. Finn's words:
"We are in talks about bringing seasons 5 and 6 out. While I don't have final, final confirmation or a date yet I did want to just let you know that you can turn that frown upside down. Thanks again to all the fans out there for their drive and passion to see this through (and tweets)."
So what exactly does all of that mean? We'll have to wait and see... but it is much more than the studio has said up to this point. Finn also stated something interesting regarding the possibility of Fox properties being released as MOD releases... we may be seeing them, but no specific details.
It seems that "mega DVD sets" have been the big thing lately, and there were many of them announced just this week. First, details about the Cagney & Lacey complete series releases have been given on TVShowsOnDVD.com. While there is still no release date, we get a nice shot of the packaging, pricing, and some of the special features... this should be an excellent set! Another VEI release that the
website gave a few more details on was McMillan and Wife - The Complete Series. The 24 disc set is scheduled for an October 23 release, and will include the entire "series" of another NBC Mystery Movie family with the complete series of Snoop Sisters. Finally, Acorn has The Red Green Show - The High Quantity Collection, a 50 disc set, scheduled for October 16. If you're a fan of any of these series, then this is all excellent news!
It seems that "mega DVD sets" have been the big thing lately, and there were many of them announced just this week. First, details about the Cagney & Lacey complete series releases have been given on TVShowsOnDVD.com. While there is still no release date, we get a nice shot of the packaging, pricing, and some of the special features... this should be an excellent set! Another VEI release that the
website gave a few more details on was McMillan and Wife - The Complete Series. The 24 disc set is scheduled for an October 23 release, and will include the entire "series" of another NBC Mystery Movie family with the complete series of Snoop Sisters. Finally, Acorn has The Red Green Show - The High Quantity Collection, a 50 disc set, scheduled for October 16. If you're a fan of any of these series, then this is all excellent news!
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (August 28) is a light release day, with Warner Home Video bringing us Two and a Half Men - The Complete Ninth Season (see review) and CBS DVD bringing us The Streets of San Francisco - Season 4 (Volume 1 and Volume 2). Review of the latter will be posted next week on the blog. Today on the blog we have a review of Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season (Blu-ray).
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog Feature Review: Revenge - The Complete First Season (ABC Studios, $45.99)
by Pavan
The primetime soap is back and better than ever! Beneath the luxurious lifestyle of the Hamptons, lies a dark, dirty secret and a twisted tale of passion, suspense, and ultimate redemption. Enter the alluring world of the rich and ruthless with ABC's Revenge: The Complete First Season. Wealth, beauty, and power define the residents of New York's most exclusive community, but one woman will stop at nothing to exact revenge from those who ruined her father's life. Witness Emily Thorne's (Emily VanCamp) brilliantly vindictive plot against Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe), the reigning queen of the Hamptons, and all who destroyed her family. However, even the best-laid plans can unravel in the wake of an unexpected love triangle between Emily, the son of her greatest nemesis, and a forgotten face from her past. Experience all 22 episodes of ABC's sensational new series, plus exclusive bonus features that draw you deeper into the mystery. It's riveting entertainment that holds you in its grasp from the very first thrilling episode to the season's final climactic moment!
The first season stars Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke, Madeleine Stowe as Victoria Grayson, Josh Bowman as Daniel Grayson, Henry Czerny as Conrad Grayson, Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross, Ashley Madekwe as Ashley Davenport, Nick Wechsler as Jack Porter, Connor Paolo as Declan Porter, and Christa B. Allen as Charlotte Grayson. However, there are many recurring stars such as James Tupper as David H. Clarke, Margarita Levieva as Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne, Amber Valletta as Lydia Davis, Ashton Holmes as Tyler Barrol, Max Martini as Frank Stevens, Emily Alyn Lind as young Amanda Clarke, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Satoshi Takeda. Special guests include Roger Bart as Leo "Mason" Treadwell, CCH Pounder as Warden Sharon Stiles, James Purefoy as Dominik Wright, Veronica Cartwright as Judge Elizabeth Hawthorne, William Devane as Edward "Grandpa" Grayson, Courtney B. Vance as Benjamin Brooks, Merrin Dungey as Barbara Snow, and James Morrison as "the white-haired man."
This is a great first season for this addicting guilty pleasure. The series did very well in its Wednesdays at 10pm timeslot on ABC and garnered a big following from the start. We were all hooked and can't get enough! Emily VanCamp is great and easy on the eyes while Madeline Stowe deserved her Golden Globe nomination. We wish the Emmy's would have recognized this show as well. Every episode has to be seen in order, but I will try to pick the most memorable episodes. WARNING: Don't read the descriptions if you have yet to start the series! In the "Pilot," Emily Thorne has returned to the Hamptons to avenge the wrong committed against her father and with a new identity in place, she picks out her first target and starts her vendetta before knowing she has been recognized. In "Guilt," Lydia comes back to the Hamptons determined to restore her place in society, and intent on finding Emily's secrets, while Daniel learns of his father's affair with Lydia and Tyler's manipulation of his relationship with Emily, as Charlotte rebels against her mother with Declan. In "Charade," Victoria and Conrad celebrate their 25th anniversary with a featured article in the local paper and an intimate family dinner and when their children invite unexpected guests, the dinner turns volatile, while Frank continues to dig into Emily's past in order to win back Victoria's affection but he may have dug a little too deep, as Emily asks Nolan's help to deter Tyler's pesky interference.
In "Duress," Tyler becomes desperate as his options disappear, while Emily looks to take advantage of his panic to remove him as a hindrance to her plans and Conrad and Victoria's divorce looks to become no holds barred as both sides maneuver for advantage. In "Chaos," the splendor of Emily and Daniel's Fire & Ice engagement party quickly turns to terror when her vendetta takes a dark, unexpected turn, putting those she loves and hates in imminent mortal danger, while Jack resolves to find Amanda and Charlotte takes desperate measures to soothe the pain of her family's betrayal. In "Legacy," we flashback to the year 2002 in the Hamptons and we see Emily, who is still Amanda Clarke, is wayward and reckless until Nolan convinces her to read her father's journals and it is then that it all starts sinking in, and Amanda starts staking out the Grayson home, identifying all the Grayson Global players her father described, and piecing together the truth, so her anger builds into determination and focus, as this is where it all begins - the genesis of Amanda's ultimate plan to bring justice to her father. In "Grief," a painful loss forges a stronger bond between Emily and Jack, Victoria forms a new alliance that could seal Conrad's fate, and Charlotte sets out on a vendetta of her own with Declan as her target. And on the shocking season finale, "Reckoning," with the end in sight Emily fearlessly pushes forward, closing in on the final phases of her plan for revenge, while the Graysons continue their downward spiral into the rabbit hole of self-destruction, but a big, explosive event leaves much hanging in the balance, courses are altered and even more is left in question.
Episodes are usually around 43 minutes and unedited, as they should be. Runtimes are below:
Disc 3:
Disc 4:
Disc 5:
The DVD comes in a case held by an outer thin box, similar to other ABC Studios sets earlier this summer. The thin outer box is in a maroon red color and has a very cool shot Emily in her "thorn" black dress and we have headshots of Ashley, Nolan, Jack, Victoria, Daniel and Conrad. The series logo is towards the middle and the complete first season mention is on the bottom. The back of the thin outer box has info on the set and series, with a nice quote from E! Online. We have five very cool episodic photos along with a nice shot of Emily in white. There is also a box showcasing the bonus features as well. When we remove the outer box, we get to the case. The case has the same artwork as the thin box, both cover and back, so everything is the exact same. Inside the case we have a nice cast photo on the panels itself. There is also a disc-by-disc breakdown below the cast photo on the panels listing episode titles per disc. As for the discs themselves, disc one is on a little plastic holder that you can flip like a page in a book. Disc two is on the back of that little plastic holder. Discs three and four are the same way in a second little plastic holder, while disc five is on the right panel itself. All five discs are in the maroon red style with the series logo and a character. Disc one holds episodes 1-5 with an image of Emily (in red!), disc two holds episodes 6-10 with a shot of Victoria & Conrad, disc three holds episodes 11-14 with a shot of Jack & Daniel, disc four holds episodes 15-18 with a shot of Nolan & Ashley and disc five holds episodes 19-22 with a shot of Declan & Charlotte. Each disc has bonus features, but more on that soon! There is also an insert booklet showcasing other ABC TV DVDs that are coming soon like Grey's Anatomy and Castle, along with new upcoming ABC series this fall like Nashville, and it is placed on the left panel.
The menu design is very Hamptons-y! We start off with the infinity logo then we see a wide shot of Emily's house on the Hapmton's beach. We also have background music from the show playing and background sounds from the beach--very cool. Before the main menu, we have auto trailers. On disc one we have trailers for ABC TV DVDs coming this summer, Castle Season 4 and the theatrical movie Frankenweenie. Disc five has trailers for more ABC TV on DVD, The Avengers and Roger Rabbit. Back to the main menu, the options are: Play All, Episode Selection, Bonus Features, Set Up and Sneak Peeks. Sneak Peeks is only on disc five and has the same trailers as the auto trailers on disc five. Set Up gives us the option for subtitles in English, French, Thai, Chines, Espanol, and Portuguese. You can also register your DVD here. Bonus Features lists what is available on that particular disc, while Episode Selection gives us an episode number and title. There is different artwork on each submenu along with different background music from the series. All this is sort of similar to other recent ABC TV DVDs like Scandal.
Video and audio quality are both outstanding, similar to other recent ABC TV DVDs we have reviewed like The River. We have Digital Dolby 5.1 surround sound and it is perfect. For the video, we are in widescreen (1.78:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. It is excellent quality but that is expected for newer/current series. As I keep saying, if anything goes wrong with audio/video for current series, then there is a major problem. Each episode has anywhere between 6-8 chapter stops, so it is easy to jump through an episode if you are looking for something in particular. Jump your way through to see all of Emily's nice outfits! We also hear the closing theme for the first time, as on ABC there are next week's promos playing over the credits. In general, nothing out of the ordinary here but it is all perfectly done.
There are special features on this set as well and they are addicting, too! We have bonus features on every disc, so I always like that. On disc one, we have audio commentary for "Pilot" from series creator/executive producer Mike Kelley and series star Emily VanCamp. They are fun and insightful to listen to and Emily seems VERY nice. I wish we have more audio commentaries, as unfortunately this is the only one on this set. Each disc has deleted scenes from the episodes on the particular disc. I like that layout as we don't have to go to one disc to see them all. Disc one has six deleted scenes (episode 101: 1:24 and 0:43; episode 103: 0:39; and episode 104: 0:39, 0:27 and 0:19). Moving on to disc two, we have eleven deleted scenes (episode 106: 0:52; episode 107: 1:13, 1:21, 0:27, 0:57; episode 108: 0:58 and 0:17; episode 109: 0:18, 1:27, and 1:18; and episode 110: 0:57). Disc three has deleted scenes as well with three deleted scenes (episode 111: 1:28; episode 112 0:10 and episode 113 0:55). Disc four has nine more deleted scenes (episode 115: 0:59, 1:51, and 1:01; episode 116: 0:30 and 1:09; episode 117: 1:00, 1:30, 0:23; and episode 118: 2:12). And finally we have another nine more deleted scenes on disc five (episode 120: 2:11; episode 121: 0:31, 0:25, 0:56, 0:45, 0:39; episode 122: 1:05, 0:26 and 0:23). If you're counting at home, we have a total of 38 deleted scenes! WOW!
Moving on to disc five, that is where the bulk of the special features are. We covered the deleted scenes above, so we will cover the rest of the special features. On to the featurettes, we have "Nolan Ross Exposed" (3:03). This is an in-character interview with Nolan Ross (not actor Gabriel Mann!). What the audience think they know about Nolan Ross is only part of the story. In the recently unearthed sit-down interview footage, reporter Sarah Juarez (Stephanie Maura Sanchez) questions Nolan on his past...and gets some answers fans might not expect! A must see! The next featurette is "Roadmap to Reevenge" (13:35), where Revenge is sweet, and set within the rich, beautiful, and elite world of The Hamptons, it's even sweeter. Cast members share how they undertook creating a world where money and desire can make anything possible. Emily VanCamp and the rest of the cast tells us some of the checkpoints on the road to revenge, walking fans through the genesis, pilot, themes, and characters of the show like: Beginnings, Pilot, Rivalries, Find the Heart, Getting Even, Embracing Change, and...Revenge. Interviewed are Mike Kelley (creator/executive producer), Mark B. Perry (co-executive producer/writer), Marty Bowen (executive producer), Jay Beattie (consulting producer/writer), Emily VanCamp, Ashton Holmes, Melissa Lou (producer), Phillip Noyce (pilot executive producer/director), Gabriel Mann, Ashley Madekwe, Henry Czerny, Madeleine Stowe, Hiroyuki Sanada, Liz Tigelaar (consulting producer/writer), Joe Fazzio (writer), Elle Triedman (supervising producer/writer), Nikki Toscano (producer/writer), Connor Paolo, Margarita Levieva, Josh Bowman, Ryan Scott (writer), and Christa B. Allen. Then it is time to go on set with "At Home In 'The Hamptons'" (8:19) where swank parties and lavish houses are as much a part of Revenge as the characters that attend and inhabit them. Viewers can watch as Ashley Madekwe plays tour guide to the not-so-humble abodes – including the plush extravagance of the Grayson's estate as well as the contrasting rustic ambiance of the Stowaway bar, illustrating everything that goes into making things larger-than-life. Along with Madewke, interviewed are Mike Kelley, Emily VanCamp, Madeleine Stowe, Henry Czerny, Bruce Miller (production designer), Christa B. Allen, Gabriel Mann, Nick Wechsler, and Connor Paolo.
And we're still not done! Next we have "Haute Hamptons: Femme Fatale Fashion" (7:46) as they say 'clothes make the woman,' and this exciting bonus feature gives a glimpse into the secrets of styling the show's two leading ladies, Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe. Costume Designer Jill Ohanneson shares key pieces from both of the series' femme fatale's closets as she and the cast discuss what it takes to dress a show for success. Interviewed are Mike Kelley, Jill Ohanneson, Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe. Then we have Bloopers (2:53) where we see all the hilarious flubs and moments from the production fans won't want to miss! And finally we have two music videos! Key music from the show is featured, including Christina Perri's Distance (2:19) and Angus & Julia Stone's For You (4:05). Both are very good!
This is a nicely done set for one of the breakout series of the season. All the episodes are so good and I think season two will be even better! As for the DVD, it is well done and similar to previous ABC TV DVDs this summer but I think it has the best special features so far! We get great audio/video, menus, packaging and special features. We essentially have everything...featurettes, deleted scenes, audio commentary (though, wish we had more) and bloopers! 38 deleted scenes is amazing and I was shocked to see that many on the DVD. ABC Studios knows how to make good DVDs, especially for their current series. This show is just good fun and has an attractive cast for both men and women, so everyone has a reason to watch. Stowe should have been nominated for an Emmy I think and Emily VanCamp is a must-see and will get even better. I really recommend you order this DVD, if you watched every episode or not. Catch up, start up or recap yourself before the season season premieres on a new night and time - Sundays at 9/8c on ABC beginning Sept. 30! As Emily would say, "let it play!"
(4.5/5 stars)
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The first season stars Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke, Madeleine Stowe as Victoria Grayson, Josh Bowman as Daniel Grayson, Henry Czerny as Conrad Grayson, Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross, Ashley Madekwe as Ashley Davenport, Nick Wechsler as Jack Porter, Connor Paolo as Declan Porter, and Christa B. Allen as Charlotte Grayson. However, there are many recurring stars such as James Tupper as David H. Clarke, Margarita Levieva as Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne, Amber Valletta as Lydia Davis, Ashton Holmes as Tyler Barrol, Max Martini as Frank Stevens, Emily Alyn Lind as young Amanda Clarke, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Satoshi Takeda. Special guests include Roger Bart as Leo "Mason" Treadwell, CCH Pounder as Warden Sharon Stiles, James Purefoy as Dominik Wright, Veronica Cartwright as Judge Elizabeth Hawthorne, William Devane as Edward "Grandpa" Grayson, Courtney B. Vance as Benjamin Brooks, Merrin Dungey as Barbara Snow, and James Morrison as "the white-haired man."
This is a great first season for this addicting guilty pleasure. The series did very well in its Wednesdays at 10pm timeslot on ABC and garnered a big following from the start. We were all hooked and can't get enough! Emily VanCamp is great and easy on the eyes while Madeline Stowe deserved her Golden Globe nomination. We wish the Emmy's would have recognized this show as well. Every episode has to be seen in order, but I will try to pick the most memorable episodes. WARNING: Don't read the descriptions if you have yet to start the series! In the "Pilot," Emily Thorne has returned to the Hamptons to avenge the wrong committed against her father and with a new identity in place, she picks out her first target and starts her vendetta before knowing she has been recognized. In "Guilt," Lydia comes back to the Hamptons determined to restore her place in society, and intent on finding Emily's secrets, while Daniel learns of his father's affair with Lydia and Tyler's manipulation of his relationship with Emily, as Charlotte rebels against her mother with Declan. In "Charade," Victoria and Conrad celebrate their 25th anniversary with a featured article in the local paper and an intimate family dinner and when their children invite unexpected guests, the dinner turns volatile, while Frank continues to dig into Emily's past in order to win back Victoria's affection but he may have dug a little too deep, as Emily asks Nolan's help to deter Tyler's pesky interference.
In "Duress," Tyler becomes desperate as his options disappear, while Emily looks to take advantage of his panic to remove him as a hindrance to her plans and Conrad and Victoria's divorce looks to become no holds barred as both sides maneuver for advantage. In "Chaos," the splendor of Emily and Daniel's Fire & Ice engagement party quickly turns to terror when her vendetta takes a dark, unexpected turn, putting those she loves and hates in imminent mortal danger, while Jack resolves to find Amanda and Charlotte takes desperate measures to soothe the pain of her family's betrayal. In "Legacy," we flashback to the year 2002 in the Hamptons and we see Emily, who is still Amanda Clarke, is wayward and reckless until Nolan convinces her to read her father's journals and it is then that it all starts sinking in, and Amanda starts staking out the Grayson home, identifying all the Grayson Global players her father described, and piecing together the truth, so her anger builds into determination and focus, as this is where it all begins - the genesis of Amanda's ultimate plan to bring justice to her father. In "Grief," a painful loss forges a stronger bond between Emily and Jack, Victoria forms a new alliance that could seal Conrad's fate, and Charlotte sets out on a vendetta of her own with Declan as her target. And on the shocking season finale, "Reckoning," with the end in sight Emily fearlessly pushes forward, closing in on the final phases of her plan for revenge, while the Graysons continue their downward spiral into the rabbit hole of self-destruction, but a big, explosive event leaves much hanging in the balance, courses are altered and even more is left in question.
Episodes are usually around 43 minutes and unedited, as they should be. Runtimes are below:
Disc 1:
1. "Pilot" (42:56)
2. "Trust" (43:01)
3. "Betrayal" (42:54)
4. "Duplicity" (42:46)
5. "Guilt" (42:59)
Disc 2:
6. "Intrigue" (42:31)
7. "Charade" (42:59)
8. "Treachery" (43:00)
9. "Suspicion" (42:58)
10. "Loyalty" (42:59)
Disc 3:
11. "Duress" (42:59)
12. "Infamy" (43:00)
13. "Commitment" (43:01)
14. "Perception" (42:58)
15. "Chaos" (42:59)
16. "Scandal" (42:17)
17. "Doubt" (42:58)
18. "Justice" (42:56)
19. "Absolution" (43:03)
20. "Legacy" (42:44)
21. "Grief" (43:01)
22. "Reckoning" (43:00)
The menu design is very Hamptons-y! We start off with the infinity logo then we see a wide shot of Emily's house on the Hapmton's beach. We also have background music from the show playing and background sounds from the beach--very cool. Before the main menu, we have auto trailers. On disc one we have trailers for ABC TV DVDs coming this summer, Castle Season 4 and the theatrical movie Frankenweenie. Disc five has trailers for more ABC TV on DVD, The Avengers and Roger Rabbit. Back to the main menu, the options are: Play All, Episode Selection, Bonus Features, Set Up and Sneak Peeks. Sneak Peeks is only on disc five and has the same trailers as the auto trailers on disc five. Set Up gives us the option for subtitles in English, French, Thai, Chines, Espanol, and Portuguese. You can also register your DVD here. Bonus Features lists what is available on that particular disc, while Episode Selection gives us an episode number and title. There is different artwork on each submenu along with different background music from the series. All this is sort of similar to other recent ABC TV DVDs like Scandal.
Video and audio quality are both outstanding, similar to other recent ABC TV DVDs we have reviewed like The River. We have Digital Dolby 5.1 surround sound and it is perfect. For the video, we are in widescreen (1.78:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. It is excellent quality but that is expected for newer/current series. As I keep saying, if anything goes wrong with audio/video for current series, then there is a major problem. Each episode has anywhere between 6-8 chapter stops, so it is easy to jump through an episode if you are looking for something in particular. Jump your way through to see all of Emily's nice outfits! We also hear the closing theme for the first time, as on ABC there are next week's promos playing over the credits. In general, nothing out of the ordinary here but it is all perfectly done.
There are special features on this set as well and they are addicting, too! We have bonus features on every disc, so I always like that. On disc one, we have audio commentary for "Pilot" from series creator/executive producer Mike Kelley and series star Emily VanCamp. They are fun and insightful to listen to and Emily seems VERY nice. I wish we have more audio commentaries, as unfortunately this is the only one on this set. Each disc has deleted scenes from the episodes on the particular disc. I like that layout as we don't have to go to one disc to see them all. Disc one has six deleted scenes (episode 101: 1:24 and 0:43; episode 103: 0:39; and episode 104: 0:39, 0:27 and 0:19). Moving on to disc two, we have eleven deleted scenes (episode 106: 0:52; episode 107: 1:13, 1:21, 0:27, 0:57; episode 108: 0:58 and 0:17; episode 109: 0:18, 1:27, and 1:18; and episode 110: 0:57). Disc three has deleted scenes as well with three deleted scenes (episode 111: 1:28; episode 112 0:10 and episode 113 0:55). Disc four has nine more deleted scenes (episode 115: 0:59, 1:51, and 1:01; episode 116: 0:30 and 1:09; episode 117: 1:00, 1:30, 0:23; and episode 118: 2:12). And finally we have another nine more deleted scenes on disc five (episode 120: 2:11; episode 121: 0:31, 0:25, 0:56, 0:45, 0:39; episode 122: 1:05, 0:26 and 0:23). If you're counting at home, we have a total of 38 deleted scenes! WOW!
Moving on to disc five, that is where the bulk of the special features are. We covered the deleted scenes above, so we will cover the rest of the special features. On to the featurettes, we have "Nolan Ross Exposed" (3:03). This is an in-character interview with Nolan Ross (not actor Gabriel Mann!). What the audience think they know about Nolan Ross is only part of the story. In the recently unearthed sit-down interview footage, reporter Sarah Juarez (Stephanie Maura Sanchez) questions Nolan on his past...and gets some answers fans might not expect! A must see! The next featurette is "Roadmap to Reevenge" (13:35), where Revenge is sweet, and set within the rich, beautiful, and elite world of The Hamptons, it's even sweeter. Cast members share how they undertook creating a world where money and desire can make anything possible. Emily VanCamp and the rest of the cast tells us some of the checkpoints on the road to revenge, walking fans through the genesis, pilot, themes, and characters of the show like: Beginnings, Pilot, Rivalries, Find the Heart, Getting Even, Embracing Change, and...Revenge. Interviewed are Mike Kelley (creator/executive producer), Mark B. Perry (co-executive producer/writer), Marty Bowen (executive producer), Jay Beattie (consulting producer/writer), Emily VanCamp, Ashton Holmes, Melissa Lou (producer), Phillip Noyce (pilot executive producer/director), Gabriel Mann, Ashley Madekwe, Henry Czerny, Madeleine Stowe, Hiroyuki Sanada, Liz Tigelaar (consulting producer/writer), Joe Fazzio (writer), Elle Triedman (supervising producer/writer), Nikki Toscano (producer/writer), Connor Paolo, Margarita Levieva, Josh Bowman, Ryan Scott (writer), and Christa B. Allen. Then it is time to go on set with "At Home In 'The Hamptons'" (8:19) where swank parties and lavish houses are as much a part of Revenge as the characters that attend and inhabit them. Viewers can watch as Ashley Madekwe plays tour guide to the not-so-humble abodes – including the plush extravagance of the Grayson's estate as well as the contrasting rustic ambiance of the Stowaway bar, illustrating everything that goes into making things larger-than-life. Along with Madewke, interviewed are Mike Kelley, Emily VanCamp, Madeleine Stowe, Henry Czerny, Bruce Miller (production designer), Christa B. Allen, Gabriel Mann, Nick Wechsler, and Connor Paolo.
And we're still not done! Next we have "Haute Hamptons: Femme Fatale Fashion" (7:46) as they say 'clothes make the woman,' and this exciting bonus feature gives a glimpse into the secrets of styling the show's two leading ladies, Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe. Costume Designer Jill Ohanneson shares key pieces from both of the series' femme fatale's closets as she and the cast discuss what it takes to dress a show for success. Interviewed are Mike Kelley, Jill Ohanneson, Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe. Then we have Bloopers (2:53) where we see all the hilarious flubs and moments from the production fans won't want to miss! And finally we have two music videos! Key music from the show is featured, including Christina Perri's Distance (2:19) and Angus & Julia Stone's For You (4:05). Both are very good!
This is a nicely done set for one of the breakout series of the season. All the episodes are so good and I think season two will be even better! As for the DVD, it is well done and similar to previous ABC TV DVDs this summer but I think it has the best special features so far! We get great audio/video, menus, packaging and special features. We essentially have everything...featurettes, deleted scenes, audio commentary (though, wish we had more) and bloopers! 38 deleted scenes is amazing and I was shocked to see that many on the DVD. ABC Studios knows how to make good DVDs, especially for their current series. This show is just good fun and has an attractive cast for both men and women, so everyone has a reason to watch. Stowe should have been nominated for an Emmy I think and Emily VanCamp is a must-see and will get even better. I really recommend you order this DVD, if you watched every episode or not. Catch up, start up or recap yourself before the season season premieres on a new night and time - Sundays at 9/8c on ABC beginning Sept. 30! As Emily would say, "let it play!"
(4.5/5 stars)Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Revenge on TV.com
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog Blu-ray Review: Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season (ABC Studios, $79.99)
by Pavan
There is a town in Maine, where every storybook character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds: victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth, and only one can break her spell. Relive the complete first season of ABC's Once Upon A Time, the hit series that boasts unforgettable characters and a tangled web of romance, action and enchantment. Immerse yourself in the magic and mystery of Storybrooke - a sleepy little town where every fairytale character you've ever known is frozen in time and trapped between two worlds, victims of an evil curse. On her 28th birthday, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) meets Henry (Jared Gilmore), the son she gave up for adoption 10 years ago. Henry believes Emma is the daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), prophesied to break a powerful curse. Unconvinced, Emma returns Henry to Storybrooke, where she encounters the enigmatic Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) and clashes with mayor Regina Mills (Lana Parrilla) - the boy's adoptive mother - who Henry insists is none other than the Evil Queen! Start your epic collection with all 22 captivating episodes, including never-before-seen bonus features, in this spectacular 5-disc boxed set on both DVD or Blu-ray Disc. This review will cover the Blu-ray disc version.
Once Upon a Time stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archibald "Archie" Hopper, Jamie Dornan as The Huntsman/Sheriff Graham, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold. Recurring stars are David Anders as Dr. Whale, Eion Bailey as Pinocchio/August Wayne Booth, Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby, Beverly Mitchell as Granny, Tony Amendola as Geppetto/Marco, Lee Arenberg as Grumpy/Leroy, Jessy Schram as Cinderella/Ashley Boyd, Anastasia Griffith as Kathryn Nolan, Alan Dale as King George, Giancarlo Esposito as Magic Mirror/Sidney Glass, Sebastian Stan as The Mad Hatter/Jefferson and Emilie de Ravin as Belle.
This is a wonderful first season for this brand-new tantalizing tale. The series did very well in its Sundays at 8pm timeslot on ABC and was the top new drama among adults 18-49. The writers of Lost has brought this series to us and this is the only show that has even come close to that show since that series ended. Jennifer Morrison is great and beautiful while Ginnifer Goodwin and Lana Parrilla are superb and have great chemistry. We wish the Emmy's would have recognized this show, especially Robert Carlyle. Every episode has to be seen in order, but I will try to pick the most memorable episodes. WARNING: Don't read the descriptions if you have yet to start the series! In the very first episode, "Pilot," Emma Swan, a bail bondsman, is surprised when Henry, the son that she gave up for adoption 10 years earlier, shows up on her doorstep as he begs Emma to come to his hometown of Storybrooke, Maine, and rescue him from his evil adopted mother, Regina Mills as the boy insists that everyone in the town is a fairy tale character with no memory of who they really are... and Emma soon realizes that Henry's claim may be true. In "The Price of Gold," in Storybrooke, Emma tries to help Ashley Boyd, a young pregnant maid who tries to make a deal with Mr. Gold, meanwhile in the fairy tale world, Cinderella makes a deal with Rumplestiltskin but discovers the price is more than she is willing to pay. In "7:15 A.M.," Regina asks Emma to investigate the Stranger, who has taken an interest in Henry, while Dave and Mary Margret try to reconcile their feelings to each other and in the fairy tale world, James and Snow try to reunite although a kingdom stands in their way. In "Skin Deep," Mary Margaret goes out with Ashley and Ruby for Valentine's Day, and Mr. Gold has something stolen from him, while in the fairytale world Belle is forced to give up everything she knows to keep her village safe... by living with the Beast.
In "Red-Handed," while Emma tries to determine if David murdered his wife Kathryn, she hires Ruby as an assistant when the waitress quits her job to go out into the world and find something to do with her life, meanwhile in the fairy tale world Red and Snow meet as a savage wolf plagues the village where Red lives. In "Hat Trick," Emma searches for a missing Mary Margaret, but is abducted by a man who claims to know the truth about Storybrooke... and Emma, meanwhile in the fairytale world, Regina convinces a sorcerer to take her to Wonderland to recover something that the Queen of Hearts has stolen from her. In "The Stable Boy," Emma closes in on the real murderer to clear Mary Margaret's name, but discovers that someone close to her may have betrayed her, meanwhile in the fairtytale world, Regina chooses true love over power, but her mother Cora has a harsh lesson to teach her. In "The Return," Gold is intrigued by August and tries to determine who he really is, while David tries to apologize to Mary Margaret and Emma gets a break in the case of Kathryn's abduction and in the fairytale world, Baelfire makes a deal with his father Rumpelstiltskin when it becomes clear that his magic powers have corrupted him. In "The Stranger," August offers to show Emma how she can regain Henry by telling her the truth about her life, while Regina attempts to seduce David and Mary Margaret returns into teaching and in the fairytale world, Gepetto is told that he can save Snow and Charming's child, but insists on saving his son Pinocchio as payment for his work. On the great season finale, "A Land Without Magic," when Henry is stricken down by a curse intended for Emma, Emma must work with Regina and Gold to find a cure, meanwhile in the fairytale world Prince Charming makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to find Snow.
The episodes on this set are all unedited, obviously, with the episodes around 43 minutes. Here are the runtimes for this set:
Disc 1
1. "Pilot" - 43:33
2. "The Thing You Love Most" - 42:33
3. "Snow Falls" - 43:03
4. "The Price of Gold" - 42:48
5. "That Still Small Voice" - 43:04
Disc 2
6. "The Shepherd" - 43:04
7. "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter" - 43:06
8. "Desperate Souls" - 43:18
9. "True North" - 43:05
10. "7:15 A.M." - 43:05
Disc 3
11. "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" - 42:59
12. "Skin Deep" - 43:03
13. "What Happened to Frederick" - 43:04
14. "Dreamy" - 43:00
Disc 4
15. "Red-Handed" - 43:04
16. "Heart of Darkness" - 42:57
17. "Hat Trick" - 43:03
18. "The Stable Boy" - 43:04
Disc 5
19. "The Return" - 43:03
20. "The Stranger" - 43:04
21. "An Apple Red as Blood" - 43:04
22. "A Land Without Magic" - 42:48
Let's now move on to the packaging for this Blu-ray set! We have a thin outer box holding the Blu-ray case. The cover art for both has the Once Upon a Time logo in the middle with head shots of Rumpelstiltskin, Evil Queen, Emma, Snow White and Prince Charming on top, while below the logo we have a shot of the kingdom with a dark (the spell clouds?) sky. There is a mention of The Complete First Season right above the series logo. The cover of the outer box is actually a hologram, so if you move it a little, the kingdom turns into Storybrooke, Maine. Very cool. The back of both the outer box and case has three episodic photos. We also have info on the series and set as well, with a bonus features box held up by Rumpelstiltskin. The color scheme is like a dark brown. Inside the Blu-ray case we go, we have an insert booklet on the left showcasing other ABC TV DVDs that are coming soon like Private Practice and Body of Proof, and there is also a page telling us about the Once Upon a Time collection of fairy tales book! As far as the discs itself go, disc one is on a little plastic holder that you can flip like a page in a book. Disc two is on the back of that little plastic holder. Discs three and four are the same way in a second little plastic holder, while disc five is on the right panel itself. All five discs are in a dark blue color set in the woods with the series logo and something in the woods. Disc one has episodes 1-5 and we see Jiminy Cricket in the woods. Disc two has 6-10 and we see a wolf in the woods. Disc three has episodes 11-14 and we see the genie in the woods. Disc four has episodes 15-18 and we see mushrooms in the woods. And disc five has episodes 19-22 and we see the spell cloud coming into the woods. As for the panels, we have nice episodic photos on the panels itself. There is also a disc-by-disc breakdown below the images on the panels listing episode titles per disc.
The menu screen is very cool. Blu-ray menus are so much different I think and it is better than regular DVDs. Background music from the show is playing in the background, as we have artwork of the woods in dark blue (similar to the title card on the series). We have options for Episodes, Bonus Features, Set Up, Season Play and Sneak Peeks. When we select Episodes, on Blu-ray there are no sub-menus, so a pop-up box pops up and you choose the episode with the titles listed. Bonus Features options pops-up all the extras on that disc, including the deleted scenes. The Set Up pop-up has the option for Languages and Subtitles, with audio in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio or English 2.0 Dolby Digital and subtitles in English, Thai, Chinese, Espanol, Portuguese, and French. Season Play is very cool, it is a feature exclusive to the Blu-ray Disc releases. This feature allows you to never have a problem keeping track of where you are (which episode, disc, time stamp) on the season of the show. This feature prevents you from getting lost as to which episode you were on when trying to come back and continue watching an entire season of a show. VERY cool! Sneak Peaks is just on disc five for The Avengers, ABC TV on DVD, and Roger Rabbit. Disc one has auto trailers for ABC TV on DVD, Castle Season 4 and Frankenweenie.
The video is great, as it should be in full HD (1080p widescreen)! This is the Blu-ray version so it is flawless. Everyone should own a Blu-ray player as the video quality is just superb and you feel like you are right inside the show. I have watched all 22 episodes on ABC in HD and it looks even better in Blu-ray! The audio is very good in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. That is the best you can get so you know it will be clear and crisp. Each episode has between 6-8 chapter stops. We also hear the closing theme for the first time, as on ABC there are next week's promos playing over the credits. There is not much else to say!
As for special features, we have a WHOLE lot here. Each disc has special features. We have audio commentary on each disc. On disc one, we have audio commentary for "Pilot" from creators/executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. They are very insightful and you'll find out when they came up with the idea for this series! Also on disc one we have "Once Upon a Time Orchestral Suite" (4:05). This is likely just for the Blu-ray! We get the music from the show, as the full soundtrack will be released layer this year. The music plays, while on screen we see the series logo. On disc two, we have audio commentary for the episode "7:15 A.M." from series stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas -- Snow White and Prince Charming themselves! On disc three we have audio commentary for the episode "Skin Deep" from writer Jane Epenson and star Robert Carlyle. It would have been cool if Emilie de Ravin was in this as well, but I'm not complaining! On disc four, we have audio commentary for the episode "The Stable Boy," from series creators/executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz along with star Lana Parrilla (The Evil Queen). And the final audio commentary is on disc five for the season finale "A Land Without Magic" from Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and series star Jennifer Morrison! So we have five episodes with audio commentary and these five are really great classic episodes!
The rest of the bonus features are on disc five. The first one is exclusive to Blu-ray, titled "Once Upon a Time: Origins." We travel back through the centuries with Josh Dallas to uncover the historical origins of classic fairy tales -- Snow White, Beauty & the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Little Mermaid and Rumpelstiltskin. This was REALLY well done and I could this airing on TV at some point as a special. It's only for Blu-ray! Next up we have "Fairy Tales in the Modern World" (20:24) this exciting feature allows viewers to explore the genesis story of Once Upon A Time, as they learn about the creative approach of adapting a world of fairy tales into the wholly original world of the show. Interviewed are Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (series creators/executive producers), Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Eion Bailey, Beverly Mitchell, Robert Carlyle, Meghan Ory, Jared Gilmore, Lana Parrilla, Lee Arensberg, Jennifer Morrison, Daniel T. Thomsen (executive story editor), Andrew Chambliss (co-producer), Ian Goldberg (co-producer), Raphael Sbarge, June Espenson (consulting producer), and Daniel H. Goodman (co-executive producer). Then next we have "Building Character" (7:19) where we have from start-to-finish, following the creation, conceptualization, casting, clothing and filming of the beloved character, Belle, played by Emilie de Ravin, from the ground up! Interviewed are Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, Emilie de Ravin, Eduardo Castro (costume designer), and Veronica Collins (casting director). Then next up, "Welcome to Storybrooke" (6:45) where Ginnifer Goodwin takes audiences on a tour of Storybrooke, Maine, both the town on the show and its real inspiration – a small town outside Vancouver called Steveston. Interviewed are Ginnifer Goodwin, Adam Horowitz, Steve Pearlman (executive producer), Edward Kitsis, Mayor Malcolm Brodie (city of Richmond, BC), David Gordon (owner, Pieces Gift Shop), Kelly Krull (owner, Splash Toy Store), Eric Beaupre (production assistant), Trevor Purvis (set dresser), Eva Kollakis (owner, Cannery Cafe), Nick Constantin (owner, Romania Country Bread), Kate Badenhorst (owner, Sara's Ice Crean), Jared Gilmore and Josh Dallas.
We aren't done yet! The next featurette is called "The Story I Remember...Snow White" (4:26). The show's actors share their childhood memories of the beloved fairy tale Snow White, illustrated to original storybook graphics. Interviewed are Ginnifer Goodwin, Beverly Mitchell, Lana Parrilla, Jared Gilmore, Josh Dallas, Jennifer Morrison, Lee Arenberg, and Meghan Ory. Then we have "Fairest Bloopers Of Them All" (2:18), which are of course often hilarious outtakes fans won't want to miss. And finally we have deleted scenes. It isn't many as say Revenge has, but still good stuff! The deleted scenes are around 12 minutes or so: episode #1 (1:08, 0:32, 11:14); episode #2 (0:53), episode #3 (1:02), episode #5 (0:51), episode #8 (0:54), episode #16 (1:28), and episode #18 (3:53). That's nine deleted scenes from seven different episodes, so about a third of the episodes.
I highly do recommend this Blu-ray set for any Once fan or any fair tale fan. This is really a great show and I hope you all buy this Blu-ray disc (or DVD). There are many special features that will keep you glued for many more hours. The quality of Blu-ray sets is just superb and this one is among the best of this year. I'm calling it the entertainment boxed set of the year! Usually every year the Lost sets were that, but now with that show over with, this is the show that will continue this legacy! If you haven't started this show yet, this is the perfect time to do so before the new season premieres Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8/7c on ABC. Catch up now! If you're still on the fence watch the encores the next few weeks on ABC Sundays (with a marathon) on Sunday, Sept. 9. You'll be hooked after that and will have enough time to catch-up before the new season. As Henry would say, "the curse will end. Good will win." You'll have to see if that is true in this first season set, go click below before the magic goes away! It's more than just a book!
(5/5 stars)To purchase Once Upon a Time - The Complete First Season on Blu-ray, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
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CLICK OF THE WEEK
We've reached that point where we're retiring our Click of the Week feature, but before we do that, we're going to take a look back at our five favorite websites that we've featured. These are in no particular order (it is like comparing apples to oranges since every website has a different purpose), so here are our five favorite ones:
- TV Tropes (www.tvtropes.org) - There are common themes, referred to as "tropes" all throughout television series. How many series out there had a character who just mysteriously disappeared? What about the "standardized sitcom housing?" There are many different themes which appear all throughout the small screen, and TV Tropes summarizes them all. We featured this website on June 9, 2012.
- The Simpsons Archive (www.snpp.org) - The Simpsons has the distinction of being one of the few series out there to actually air in parts of four decades now (although in all fairness, it only began in the late '80s and we're still early in the '10s, so it has only aired a little over twenty years), and a series with that sort of legacy deserves a great and inclusive website. The Simpsons Archive has just what you are looking for when it comes to the series. We featured this website on August 20, 2011.
- TVParty (www.tvparty.com) - The party never ends at TVParty! This website, which is about as old as the internet for a majority of us, features some of the greatest content and commentary on everything related to TV, including things that many of us will experience for the first time ever through this amazing website. We featured this website on September 17, 2011.
- Museum of Broadcast Communications (www.museum.tv) - We have museums across the country for everything, so why not have one for broadcast communications? Well, there are some of them, but this one is literally a museum which lives online. You can read scholarly articles and even watch a few episodes of many classic series on the website, and not just the run of the mill "it's everywhere online" series. When we featured this website, the physical museum itself was still working on getting a new home in Chicago, and we can happily report that as of June, the physical museum has reopened with a ceremony which included John Mahoney and Betty White. We featured this website on November 26, 2011.
- Everything Lucy (everythinglucy.youns.com) - The title of the website says it all. This is the place to find out everything you've ever wanted to know about Lucille Ball, known to the Americans (and even across the globe) as the "Queen of Comedy." On this website, you'll find details on everything she ever did throughout her lifetime. We featured this website on December 3, 2011.
Of course, we have to say narrowing this down to a list of just five websites was difficult. We've featured over ten times that many, and almost all of them are worth a second look. Before we let the sun set on the Click of the Week, we'll still let you know when we find a really good website and occasionally feature more websites, but we'll have a new blog feature here next week which will allow you to think about sitcoms a bit more socially.
That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
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.
(4.5/5 stars)To purchase this Blu-ray, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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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!
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Blog Blu-ray Review: South Park - The Complete Thirteenth Season (3/16)
South Park - The Complete Thirteenth Season (Comedy Central, $57.99 Blu-ray/$49.99 DVD) brings everybody's favorite group of animated foul-mouthed fourth graders together for fourteen more episodes of life in their small Colorado town. The thirteenth season is more of the same show that we are all used to, but in the typical style of South Park, it becomes even more hilarious than before and pushes the envelope on every single event in popular culture. The Complete Thirteenth Season is available in a three-disc DVD set as well as a two-disc Blu-ray set, which will be the focus of our coverage (for the first time ever!).
The season begins with "The Ring," where Kenny has a new girlfriend and thinks that he may finally get a chance to lose his virginity (yes, a fourth grader thinking about that), but life isn't so fun for him when his new girlfriend has an obsession with the Jonas Brothers and inspires him to wear a chastity ring. Cartman brings vigilante justice to South Park in "The Coon." It is a battle of the sexes in the incredibly raucous episode "Eat, Pray, Queef." Kanye West is incredibly confused about a joke that Jimmy (but Cartman attempts to take credit for) invented in "Fishsticks," and is out for revenge. Cartman dreams of living the pirate life when he hears news reports of piracy in Somoalia in "Fatbeard," so he decides to travel to Africa to partake in the pirate life, which leads to an international crisis.
Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, and several others are alive again (if only for 22 minutes) in "Dead Celebrities," where Ike starts seeing dead people. Youth prostitution becomes big in South Park in "Butters' Bottom Bitch," and Butters is behind it all. In "W.T.F.," the boys are interested in joining the wrestling team at school after watching professional wrestling on TV, but when they find out that real wrestling is "lame," they decide to start their own wrestling federation, complete with all of the soap opera drama of WWE. In "The F Word," a certain word becomes the talk of the town when the boys spray paint it all over town, but it happens to offend the gay community of South Park. Move over, Rush Limbaugh, here comes Eric Cartman when he takes over the morning announcements and uses it as a forum to talk about whatever he wants in "Dances with Smurfs." The season ends with "Pee," where the kids go to a water park that is in a crisis mode--too many people are peeing in the water, which will cause the world to end--although Cartman's biggest concern is that there are too many minorities in the wave pool.
The episodes as presented on the set are completely unedited and uncensored, which means that it provides more than what aired on Comedy Central. Anything that could be seen as slightly controversial is included in the episodes, and there are no censors at all in this set, so don't be surprised to hear a few f-words (not including the one that was the focus of the twelfth episode of the season) here and there. Runtimes are as follows.
Blu-ray Disc 1:
1. The Ring (22:16)
2. The Coon (22:15)
3. Margaritaville (22:15)
4. Eat, Pray, Queef (22:16)
5. Fishsticks (22:15)
6. Pinewood Derby (22:16)
7. Fatbeard (22:17)
Blu-ray Disc 2:
8. Dead Celebrities (22:16)
9. Butters' Bottom Bitch (22:15)
10. W.T.F. (22:15)
11. Whale Whores (22:15)
12. The F Word (22:15)
13. Dances with Smurfs (22:16)
14. Pee (22:16)
The Blu-ray version of the set comes in a two-disc set that is contained in a digipak, as has been the case for all of the previous releases. The front of the package has a picture of all of the boys, with Cartman holding a piece of paper that is somewhat similar to his pirate map in the episode "Fatbeard" with a yellow background. The back of the package has another picture of all of the boys (though it is missing Kenny for some reason) along with the basic information about the set. Inside, there is a four-panel digipak. The outside of the digipak has full panel pictures of scenes from the episodes on the set. Inside the digipak, the far left and far right panels have episode information, and the two interior panels have snapshots from the episodes "Fishsticks" and "Dances with Smurfs." These two snapshots are also depicted on the disc artwork, with Disc 1 containing the snapshot from "Fishsticks" and Disc 2 containing the snapshot from "Dances with Smurfs." Disc 1 contains episodes 1-7, and Disc 2 contains episodes 8-14. The DVD version of the set, which was not available for review, contains three discs.
The main menu on each disc on the Blu-ray version contains video scenes from the episodes contained on the disc with the South Park "doomsday" music playing in the background. The options on the main menu include Play All, Episode Selection, Bonus Features, and Setup. Episode Selection shows all of the episodes on the disc, which pops up over part of the screen on the main menu (while the video continues to play), and Bonus Features (only on Disc 1) does the same thing. Setup allows you to adjust the audio (either Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Digital Stereo) and also allows you to turn on commentary and subtitles. The pop-up menus (available only in the Blu-ray version) provide all of the same options with a slightly different appearance. Chapters are placed appropriately throughout each episode.
The video and audio quality of the Blu-ray version of this set is spectacular. There are virtually no flaws at all to be found in the video, and everything is crystal clear and incredibly sharp. As for the audio, it is available in Dolby TrueHD as well as Dolby Digital Stereo. Unfortunately, as I do not have an elaborate home theater system, I was unable to experience the Dolby TrueHD version of the audio as it was intended to be, but I found that the Dolby Digital Stereo version was still spectacular, and was a lot better on my less low-tech setup. Each episode on the set contains English subtitles.
There are a few nice special features on the set (all of them are the same on both the Blu-ray and DVD version), though the set still falls somewhat short in the special features arena. The special features can be found on Disc 1 on the Blu-ray version. "Inside X-Box: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of South Park Studios" (4:35) is just a short behind-the-scenes tour of the production of the series. It is interesting to watch, but way too short. The set also contains several deleted scenes (7:14) that encompass the entire season. I don't believe that any of the previous releases have ever included any deleted scenes, so this is definitely a nice feature to see this time. Finally, the set contains brief audio commentaries from Matt Stone and Trey Parker on each episode, but as has been the case on the previous releases, these are way too short and not nearly insightful enough. Basically, they just come in for a few minutes at the beginning of the episode, then leave, which doesn't provide full insight into the episode, as a commentary should do.
This set is the very first Blu-ray that I have ever owned and watched. In fact, I purchased my very first Blu-ray player specifically for this review, and I have to say that this series was a great place to start on Blu-ray. I've never seen the episodes of the series in high definition (my cable company doesn't provide Comedy Central in high definition for some reason), and I have never before seen this series look so great. The set is virtually flawless (aside from the somewhat dismal special features), and really demonstrates the true glory of what Blu-ray is all about. I haven't seen the DVD version of this, but if past releases are an indicator, the episodes on that version should look great as well, although I would strongly recommend the Blu-ray version if you have a Blu-ray player. Head on up to South Park and meet these friends of mine!
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)To purchase the Blu-ray set, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, August 24
The Neighorhood - "Welcome to Murder at Sea" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Gemma throws Dave an unforgettable murder mystery birthday party. Meanwhile, Malcolm uses the celebration to introduce Mercedes to his family.
The Neighorhood - "Welcome to the Two-Ring Circus" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A change of plans sends Mercedes and Tina on a memorable night out that prompts several couples to take a closer look at what they truly want from their relationships. Meanwhile, Dave’s visit to Gemma’s school sparks an honest conversation about her feelings toward her job.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Gets Tested" (FX and FXX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Dennis and Dee are diagnosed with ADHD, and even more shocking: Mac isn't. They go back to school for a do-over now that they understand their brains better. Written by Charlie Day and directed by Richie Keen.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 24)
Monday, August 24
- Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Watch Glen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Colman Domingo (The Four Seasons) - Colman appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Brett Goldstein (Shrinking/Ted Lasso) - Brett is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam talks about Whisper Man on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana talks about Scarpetta on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee talks about Ella McKay on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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