Film

Disc 1:

Sexual Healing: The sudden attention paid to “Sexual Addiction” in celebrities, thanks to the Tiger Woods controversy is played with as a joke of a joke. The mock-surprise and confusion of the characters is very amusing as they try to solve the non-mystery of why a man who is rich, healthy and young want to sleep with many beautiful women.

The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs: The boys are disappointed by former banned book Catcher in the Rye’s lack of raunchiness and so they decide to write the grossest story imaginable in an attempt to get banned, and inadvertently write a masterpiece.

Medical Fried Chicken: One of the most over-the-top episodes this season (and that says a lot) as KFC is banned in Colorado while medicinal marijuana stores start to appear. Since marijuana can only be legally distributed to people suffering from a serious illness, a group of men in town purposefully give themselves testicular cancer. Not only does this allow them to buy marijuana but their swollen testicles inflate to the size of chairs and can be used as ‘hippity-hop’ style transportation. Offensive and hilarious, a combo South Park has truly mastered.

You Have 0 Friends: The long overdue jab at Facebook. “Friends” are treated as a commodity until Facebook goes rogue and Stan must do battle in a Tron-like setting. This one has some wonderful inside jokes for those frustrated with the Facebook phenomenon.

200 & 201: A celebration of South Park making the 200 episode mark by having nothing but two episode-long string of self-referential jokes that build to a class-action lawsuit made by all the celebrities they have ever made fun of. These episodes had to be edited and/or pulled because of the reemergence of the Muhammad controversy (said controversy refers to whether they can air an image of the Muslim prophet).

For those more concerned about the South Park references, this two-part special finally answers the long-standing question of who Eric Cartman’s father really is (which was the question of their first season cliffhanger).

Crippled Summer: Part parody of the reality show Intervention, this time with Towelie as the subject, part parody of Warner Bros cartoon charters, here depicted as handicapped children attending summer camp. Not the strongest episode of the season but plenty of absurd laughs are to be had.

Disc 2

Poor and Stupid: Cartman fears he is not poor nor stupid enough to ever become a NASCAR driver. This episode is one long jab at NASCAR fan culture…another subject that was long overdue for a good South Park ribbing. Cartman and Butters southern banter while competing on the track had me laughing out loud.

It’s a Jersey Thing: Like the Season Seven episode “South Park is Gay!” that went after the rise of Gay-themed television shows, here they go after New Jersey themed programs like Jersey Shore and Jerseylicious. Jersey people’s popularity is a plague covering all of the US and South Park takes a militant stand against it. All the while, Kyle discovers that he was conceived in new Jersey making him another of the “Three Js” that Cartman is most prejudiced against:“Jew, Jersey, Ginger.” South Park is in fine satirical form with this episode, demonstrating their disdain through pitch-perfect parodies of their subjects.

Insheeption: This episode was based on a College Humour sketch about Inception than the film itself (a fact the creators apologize for in their audio commentary). The realm of dreams is entered to search out why Stan and Mr. Mackey are compulsive hoarders (making this a backhanded parody of Hoarding reality programs as well). No matter how many of the jokes were borrowed, this is a very amusing episode.

Coon Trilogy: Cartman’s alter ego returns. Lovecraft’s Cthulu appears as the Coon’s side-kick while the secret behind Mysterion’s identity as well as an explanation for Kenny’s constant resurrections are explained. A massive three-part saga that nearly reaches the scale of their previous Imaginationland adventure. The Coon was not the strongest concept in the previous season, but it makes for an acceptable story arc here.

Crème Fraiche: The season finale is a take on cooking shows and that strange shake-weight exercise gizmo. Like many of the recent episode’s Randy Marsh is the leader in all the hijinx (he is almost usurping the four boys as a lead character at this point). This episode might be responsible of creating the slang term “Old Fashioned” for a sexual act I won’t describe here…I’m sure it will be noticeable on the internet in no time.

Video

The original Fullscreen has been modified to appear natural in a 16:9 Widescreen TV presentation. The HD presentation is absolutely flawless. The animation may still root itself in looking cheaper than most (although their animation team is now capable of creating complex 3D characters to go along with the construction paper look of the originals) but each line and colour is as precise as it can possibly be.

Audio

Dolby TrueHD English 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, and English Stereo are the three options available. No matter what you choose, the sound is lush and very well mixed. The grossest of sound effects are blended right into the sophisticated scores of their more epic moments.

Subtitles available in English.

Special Features

Mini-Commentaries (both discs): As with every season previous, show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone take four minutes from the beginning of each episode to speak about it. In many ways, I wish they had the time and patience to cover the entire episode as there are many smaller references and jokes within each episode that I’m sure they can dwell on. More often then not they make reference to the fact that they’re speaking and seem to be eating up time more than anything. That said, they still have interesting tidbits to share, mostly about their inspiration and motivation behind each episode’s story. These guys have a natural sense of composition, a tremendous self-awareness, and are shameless with both their praise and criticisms of others.

Disc 1

Deletes: A few scenes cut for time constraints it would seem. None are all that hilarious on their own but all could fit seamlessly back into their respective episodes. As well, each seems to be at different stages of completion for some are merely storyboards with dialogue over-top and others have the finished HD polish on them.

Disc 2:

The Coon: The debut of the superhero alter-egos of South Park’s kids, originally appearing on the Season 13 release. As an added bonus, the mini-commentary is also included in its re-release here.

Final Thoughts

When it seemed like this show was getting a bit too far into being nothing but parodies (or butchering) of pop culture references, Season 14 showed some actual character development, adding some more depth and history to these cartoon people we’ve come to know for well-over a decade now. This is certainly not their greatest season, but it is impossible to ever state that the show has lost its touch. South Park shows no real signs of losing steam as long as it can keep churning out an episode (from idea to post-production) in a weeks time, while never losing its edge or its wonderful attraction to satire.

Show 

The first season of the show premiered in January 2010 to mixed reviews, but has since garnered a bit of a cult following. Chance (Mark Valley) and his partner Winston (Chi McBride) along with their associate Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) form a team of essentially jacked up bodyguards. Throughout the season they pick up more members all with different motives, but Chance is always digging to find the truth behind their mission. While Mark Valley does a commendable job in the lead role I have to say by far my favorite character in the show is played by Jackie Earle Haley who really shows his versatility.

Human Target reminds me of 24 in a lot of aspects; although it’s completely different I get a lot of the same vibes. There is a lot more comical aspects involved, and the action is never as serious or immersive but it’s got that overall appeal.

One negative aspect of the show is the lack of depth in the characters, so it’s hard to get involved beyond a surface level. But I think with a show like this it isn’t as deterring as it would be in others. That’s probably because there is always something else interesting going on that getting involved with the supporting cast just isn’t a priority. Nonetheless a bit more depth could make for some more interesting plot lines in the long run, let’s hope that improves with season 2.

In all I would say that three quarters of the episodes were entertaining and worthy of your time, the odd one kind of dragged on and became predictable and repetitive. I would still recommend checking this show out, I think it gets less credit than it deserves, for what it tries to be it succeeds.

Video  

Presented in 1080p 1.78:1 aspect ratio and encoded in VC-1 Human Target hits Blu-ray with some mixed results.  Things start off pretty good, with color and detail all looking great.  Close up shots yield pores and wrinkles in extreme clarity. Unfortunately the problems quickly become apparent with some heavy grain.  Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against visible grain in video, but at times it was simply too much and actually blocked out some detail.

I can’t help but feel a little disappointed with the overall look of the transfer. At times it can look great, but too often there were many blemishes that took me out the experience.

Audio 

Warner has included a 5.1 Dolby Digital track with the release of Human Target, but unfortunately it left me wanting more.  Human Target features lots of action and as such I was expecting an active quality track. The problem of the track wasn’t the lack of rear or bass support; it was simply the quality of it.  I know this is a TV show, but the quality of the some sound effects is simply flat and lacklustre.

The dialogue fortunately sounded crisp and clear throughout, with no balancing issues with the active explosions.

Overall we are a given a highly active track, unfortunately it just doesn’t sound that great.

Special Features  

Not much here in terms of content, luckily some of the features offer some interesting information.  My favourite feature has to be the Full Contact Television, as it offers some entertaining and informative information.

• Pilot Commentary
• Confidential Informant
• Full Contact Television
• Unaired Scenes

Final Thoughts 

The show is better than I thought it would be, but I will definitely have an acquired taste and a limited audience. But with all things considered I would recommend that fans of the action genre check it out. My major complaints lie within its repetitiveness and predictability, but like I mentioned before if you take it with a grain of salt you can really enjoy it. The video transfer defiantly has room for improvement, which was kind of disappointing. The audio picked up a bit of the slack but once again could have been better. But the most disappointing of all is probably the supplements; we aren’t given all that much and really what we are given isn’t all that interesting. So at the end of the day the disc is kind of a let down, but the show itself is worth checking out. This one is probably a purchase for fans only.

Clearly, some of the issues raised in a show like Everyone Loves Raymond couldn’t be raised on TV in the 1950′s, where the terms toilet and pregnant were not able to be spoken, replaced with more “family friendly” terms such as “with Child” and water closet. After the end of the run of Everyone LOves Raymond, I was wondering what sitcom would rise up to take its place as the best family sitcom on TV. In this writer’s opinion is the subject of today’s review, Modern Family, which is a more than worthy successor to the crown.

Show 

If you have not yet had the opportunity to see Modern Family, by all means, check out this release. Season long compilations of TV shows are great in that they allow you to view the entire season at your convenience, devoid of the annoying commercials and pop up ads that make live television viewing such a hassle, especially pre DVR days, before you could zap away commercials.

Modern Family focuses on adventures of one extended family, a older man with his younger buxom Columbian trophy wife and her young son, his daughter and her husband and three children and his gay son and his lover, who have just happened to have adopted a baby girl from Vietnam.

The show’s pilot episode left me in stitches and it has gotten better every week, as the show explores some of the really funny things that can and do happen in all families and the disputes and tensions that exist in each and every family, especially those with young children. While the three family units that comprise the show are very different in their makeups, the problems that they (and all of us) face in everyday life are the same and show us through humor, that we all are more alike than we think we are.

In short, this is great TV and should not be missed. If you have given up on the quality of primetime TV, come back and give Modern Family a chance. You will be hooked by the first episode, just as I was. Very highly recommended.

Video 

While I wouldn’t say that the video quality on this release is fantastic, it is more than acceptable and is much better than the picture quality on the ABC broadcasts. The video on this release lacks the noise and blocking that is visible on the TV broadcasts which are more than likely due to the fact that ABC broadcasts in 720p using Mpeg-2 and further dilutes the quality of their broadcasts with subchannels, which robs their primary signal of the bit rate necessary to deliver a pristine HD broadcast.

The video on this release is delivered in 1080p and is encoded with Mpeg-4 at 24 MPBS and it really shows, as the image presents a level of clarity, smoothness and detail that is simply not present during the network broadcasts, whether presented over the air on via cable or DBS. While the image is cleaner and sharper, it does share many of the same attributes of the broadcasts, namely the slightly desaturated color and just average black level and detail. While the show looks great on Blu-ray, it still lacks the levels of clarity, depth, vibrant color and detail of other TV shows I have seen released on Blu-ray, such as the 9th Season of CSI and the first 4 seasons of Dexter, and looks flat and bland in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, Modern Family looks great on Blu-ray, it is just that it falls a bit short of the best looking TV I have seen on the Blu-ray format.

As an aside, I should note that I had a difficult time loading this disc into my Oppo 83 Blu-ray player. The disc takes forever to load compared to every other disc I own, Disc one would not load at all in my older Panasonic player. Word to the wise, make sure that you have the latest firmware loaded into your player before playing the disc.

Audio 

As I was very familiar with the audio on the TV series, I was not expecting much and hence was not too disappointed. The audio design on the show is very front heavy, with most of the audio coming from the three front speakers. The surrounds are used very sporadically. Where I was a bit disappointed in the sound was in the overall fidelity which is a tad on the thin side without much in the way of depth, transparency or imaging. As a result, the audio is rather flat and can get a little on the shrill side and lacking much in the way of dynamics with the bass response being rather weak in particular. As such, the audio here falls a good bit short of the audio on shows such as Dexter, CSI and Stargate SG-U and hence a score of 3.5.

Special Features 

Season One of Modern Family is a three disc set. There are extras included on all three discs, but it is the extras on disc three that really shine. The extras on the first two discs are deleted and extended scenes and character interviews. Those are rather mundane and frankly not all that interesting.

On the other hand, the extras on disc three provide interesting interviews with the cast members, producers, directors and writers and give you a behind the scenes at the making of the show and how some of the funniest moments in the series were based on actual events in the lives of the producers and writers. One of the most interesting involve Eric Stonestreet who plays Mitchell’s lover Cameron. It turns out he is a bit of a clown aficionado and used to dress and act as a clown named Fizbo as a teenager. When the producers learned of this, they asked him for some pictures and they wrote an episode incorporating Fizbo the clown into one of the episodes.

Another interesting extra is the featurette “Before Modern Family” where the actors discuss their careers before having the good fortune to be cast in Modern Family and a look at the making of one of the series best episodes, “Family Portrait”. If you are fan of the series, the extras on disc three are the best and well worth your time.

Final Thoughts 

Modern Family is simply TV at its very best and should be a welcome addition to the collection of any fan of sitcom TV and is very highly recommended.

Series 

I first checked out Stargate Universe upon its premiere on Syfy and was immediately drawn into the narrative. For want of a better phrase, I was hooked.

Stargate Universe is a best described as a cross between Stargate and Star Trek Voyager. A group of military personnel and civilians are caught on a planet as it it attacked by a group of rebels. The planet is beginning to crumble and the only escape route is through a stargate which transports them all to a seemingly abandoned and deserted starship dubbed “Destiny” that happens to be located not in a different part of the Milky Way galaxy but a different galaxy altogether, that is shall we say, far, far away.

The group must immediately figure out where they are, how to operate the ship and how to locate food and supplies. In addition, they must all learn how to co-exist, with a natural tension developing between the military and civilian populations. I have enjoyed this series much better than the other two as the series deals with topics a bit more sophisticated than your typical humans meet alien type encounters. Here, the group must learn how to operate a ship that is millions of years old and created by what are described as The Ancients which is essentially on autopilot. It deals with issues of the complexities of human interaction and human nature as well as the issues raised with military vs. civilian control of the government which the US Constitution deals with so brilliantly, unlike the crew of Destiny, all while trying to return home.

This release is dubbed SG-U 1.5 as it is comprised of the second half of season one of the series. The first half of the series was released on Blu-ray as SG-U 1.0. I have now seen the entire series on Blu and have enjoyed the series immensely. You don’t have to be a fan of the prior Stargate film or the 2 other TV series to enjoy this series. Just pop in disc one from SG-U 1.10 and go from there. This is a fine sci-fi series and is well worth your time and is highly recommended.

Video 

While Stargate Universe looked pretty good on the Syfy Channel, both of the releases on Blu-ray look much better, with a sharpness that the cable showings can’t match. The main difference is the lack of video noise and video artifacts that are evident on the cable version, which can also vary depending on your cable or DBS provider. If you enjoyed the look of the series on Syfy, you will love to look of the show on Blu-ray.

The series features a nice, natural and well saturated color palette with deep blacks and abundant detail. Shadow detail is excellent, which is important given that most of the show takes place in the rather dimly lit interior of the ship. Despite the dimly lit interiors and shadows, the image retains its overall sharpness and never turns into a flat and two dimensional and noisy mess. Detail, clarity and depth of image are all excellent and much better than one would otherwise have a right to expect from a TV series. Black level is excellent with the exterior space shots looking particularly impressive. I have had the opportunity to view the two SG-U releases and a couple of other direct to video SG-1 releases on Blu-ray and they all have excellent video quality. fans of the show will be more than pleased with the video quality on this release.

Audio 

The lossless audio on SG-U 1.5 is very impressive. The audio features a very immersive mix with the rears engaged fully throughout the series, filling your room with the ambiance and acoustical environment present on Destiny. The sound field makes you feel as though you are on the ship with the crew. The total sense of immersion is not the only area in which the sound design excels. The overall fidelity of the recorded sound is excellent as well, sounding smooth and open with excellent imaging and transparency.

Dynamics are excellent with deep bass that provides a solid foundation for the overall sound design The dialogue track is well recorded and well placed in the mix and has a sense of naturalness that I found to be very appealing. As was the case with the video, the audio on this release is much better than one would expect from a TV series and has the sophistication and overall quality that one would expect from a major motion picture.

Special Features 

As impressed as I was with the series as well as the video and audio quality on this release, I can’t really say the same for the extras. Te extras include chatting with the cast featurette which I found these to be a total waste of time. The same is true of the audio commentaries which accompany each of the episodes which sound more like school kids chatting behind their backs about their friends more than anything else. Also included are Kino video diaries which feature either monologues or interviews which different members of the crew in character on the ship. The extras also include a design space aliens featurette and a SG-U Survival Instinct game. I will admit that I found the game to be a tedious exercise, but feel the same way about all video games. While I found the extras to be lacking, the series is so good that I can overlook that rather minor shortcoming.

Final Thoughts 

Stargate Universe is one of those intelligent sci-fi series that are few and far between and proves that space series don’t have to take place with the realm of the United Federation of Planets to be worthwhile. Please, if you haven’t checked out Stargate Universe, do so. You will be glad you did.

Series 

It’s hard to call “The Clone Wars” a series, mostly due to the fact that the story arcs don’t last more than a few episodes and it’s really a stab in the dark to tell when each storyline is taking place. Remember, I know as much about Star Wars as I do about quantum mechanics. However, even though these tangent storylines are short, they’re the perfect length to tell a quick story within the Star Wars universe without having to worry about infringing on canon set forth by the films.  Lucas knows how to please his fans in a way that is both exciting and completely null considering we know Anakin isn’t going to suddenly die in a storyline that takes place before the Darth Vader days… I may know a little about star wars.

When I started watching the first episode I was frightened when opposed to having your regular scrolling text like they do in the films, they decided to put in a narrator to recap the storyline. A bad thing? Not at all, time is tight on a 23 minute tv show… However when the voice of the narrator is that of a 50′s car salesman, perhaps your casting director should be fired. You get used to the voice over time though.

Throughout the different storylines we’re presented with a mixture of different elements. There’s great action scenes that contain amazing visual effects and very intense battles and then there’s these odd Saturday morning cartoon moments that really show you the seams of the production, this is a television show that needs to acceptable due to the fact it’s for kids. If you’re fearing that nothing tastes more bitter than a sugar-coated version of something you cherish like the Star Wars films, don’t worry. For the most part the droids are the main element that caters to younger audiences, from their silly dialogue to their slapstick antics… Did I laugh when a group of droids accidentally jumped to their death and the only droid who made the landing was subsequently hit by a train? Perhaps.

For the most part the series is a great watch mostly for the visuals, but the storyline isn’t as campy and cheesy as I feared. It’s definitely the perfect helping for a quick dose of some sci-fi adventure. The distribution of television series is probably my favorite aspect of being an avid movie watcher, because when you only have an hour to kill and can’t finish a full length feature, sometimes it’s nice to kick back and watch something short and sweet. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 1 is definitely short and sweet!

Video 

The Clone Wars comes at us in 1080p/VC-1 and surprisingly uses 2.35:1 aspect ratio for a television series. I was originally going to critique the animation at times throughout the series. I was going to say when you compare it to the amazingly fluid animation from other Lucas arts or ILM projects that the Clone Wars series seems a bit lesser in quality… but then I remembered THIS IS A WEEKLY TELEVISION SERIES! Considering they have to pump out 2 hours (roughly a Pixar movie’s length) worth of animation within a month is insane.

The animation is great, the backdrops are detailed and well designed, and the character models have this unique and almost anime look to them that really fits the style of series.

The graphics look phenomenal being projected onto a 100″ screen and I was blown away by the colors and lighting throughout. The details are crisp and clear and everything moves smoothly and fluidly. The visual effects look amazing as well, it seems Lucas Arts spends just as much detail on the compositing on the show as they do in their bigger projects.

This is definitely showroom quality!

Audio

I had high expectations, being a bit of an audiophile, and my expectations weren’t met. Considering this is a Lucas Arts project and it was mixed at Skywalker Ranch (one of the top audio studios in the world), it better have some amazing sound!

I immediately expected to see a THX codec used or at the very least DTS-HD, but instead we’re given a subpar Dolby digital 5.1 mix that wasn’t mixed incredibly well. Sounds bled into one another in the multi-layered scenes such as a battle sequence that involves dozens of audio tracks on top of each other.

That being said the film doesn’t have a bad mix, just not a great one. The dialogue comes through nicely, the score sounded great and everything can clearly be heard when a million things are happening at once, but when the complex mixing is pushed to the limits the codec shows its weakness.

Special Features

The Blu-ray offers only two special features, minus trailers. They’re labeled Jedi Temple Archive and the Enhanced Jedi Temple Archives Mode. Although that doesn’t seem like much, both are actually quite insightful and allow the fans to see every facet of the development of the show from early concept art to pre-vis 3D tests.

The enhanced version of the archives plays while you’re watching the series and when a nugget of info is available for the scene you’re watching you have the option to learn more. The regular archive is more of a mini behind-the-scenes documentary that you don’t need to watch in the middle of each episode.

Even though there’s truly only two special features, they provide for information, back-story and insight into the development and production of the series then I’ve seen on a lot of other Blu-ray’s that have a giant list or separate discs full of features.

The only thing that may have been missing was a commentary track.

Final Thoughts 

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season 1 is definitely a well-made series on a technical level and although the show does have a lot of sugar-coated elements for kids, the action is intense and the storylines aren’t as 2 dimensional as they seem. With showroom quality video and great special features; newcomers, such as myself, are going to enjoy this release just as much as the fans. Even though I still have no idea how the Star Wars chronology goes, this series is a great watch!

Unfortunately, Blu-ray enthusiasts have had to wait a very long time (almost nine years since the DVD release) to get their hands on a high-def transfer of the show.  Considering that it originally aired at a time when HDTV was still a marginal technology, one has to be curious as to how well the original prints translated.

As a reviewer, there is also very little for me to say regarding the show – my experience was that it either hooked you, or it didn’t.  Although I fell into the latter category, I did still tune it in regularly, and was always impressed with the cinematography, acting, and overall quality of the show.  Again, I’m curious to see how well an obviously high-quality 1999 television show transfers to Blu-ray, and if it is worth its price tag.

Show 

As mentioned in the introduction, I was never a dedicated viewer of the Sopranos, despite having access to it via my satellite package subscription.  It should be noted that this is less due to a dislike of the show, and more due to a personal aversion to serialized television shows.  My life was simply too busy (in pre-PVR days) to make the necessary commitment to be home for the show.  Considering the number of characters and plot twists that happened, missing even a week could create extreme confusion two weeks later.

However, watching a TV series on Blu-ray is infinitely better, as it allows for watching at your leisure, plus allows the viewer to watch episodes back-to-back while the story arc is fresh in one’s mind.  And now I am hooked.

In reviewing the Blu-ray release, I am again reminded of how well-produced and cast this show was.  The ever-lovely Edie Falco is fantastic as Carmela Soprano (Tony’s wife), Nancy Marchand is pitch-perfect as Tony’s manipulative mother, and Lorraine Bracco is very credible as Dr. Melfi (Tony’s psychiatrist).  Towering over all these cast members is the absolutely superb James Gandolfini, who owns the character of Tony Soprano.  I believe he deserves the highest compliment for his work: I cannot picture any actor doing a better job in this role, period.

And although the casting is strong top to bottom, it is really the character of Tony Soprano that makes the show work.  Although he is still nominally a mob capo (in Season One anyways) who enjoys wealth and power, he still suffers from elements many viewers can sympathise with.  His mother emotionally manipulates him and fights with his wife.  He has to deal with this ageing parent who can no longer take care of herself, and has her placed in a home against her will.  He has marital troubles, and commits infidelity.  He suffers from stress, depression, and insecurity and needs to seek councelling for it.  His libido is impaired due to drugs prescribed to combat his depression.  He struggles with his children, who start exhibiting reckless behaviour.  His uncle and mom conspire to whack him (well maybe most viewers won’t sympathize with this point).

He also struggles with moral dilemmas that he (unlike us) has the power to address through his mob involvement.  Does he whack the high school soccer coach who is having an inappropriate relationship with one of the players?  Should he smother his mother?  Is he really helping out Anthony Junior’s science teacher by procuring him a replacement car (obviously hot) when he is unable to recover the one that was stolen?  How does he deal with the possible betrayal of one of his most trusted friends?

Truly I believe this is where the lasting appeal of the series originated.  We are allowed to live vicariously through Tony Soprano – he appears to live a consequence-free life, and we as viewers occasionally wish we could too.  And despite the grimness of the subject matter, there is a surprising amount of humor interspersed throughout the show.

Regardless, it was truly a treat to re-watch episodes I had seen before, and fill the gaps with the episodes I had missed; with only thirteen episodes, reviewing the season was not an overly burdensome chore.  As a movie fan, it was also a pleasure to watch a television show with movie-level production values.  The Sopranos never really felt like a television series to me; it felt more like a very good, very long movie when watched in this format.

Video  

Due to the film being shot near the dawn of commercially available HD, I expected Season One to lack some of the polish and quality we see in today’s releases.  Although this was somewhat true, the studio also appears to have made some errors that may have made the transfer worse than it could have been.

Generally speaking, I have seen a number of Blu-rays where it is a “garbage in – garbage out” or “good in – good out” transfer.  In almost every case, Blu-ray highlights the errors and flaws in the original recording for all to see; the best transfers are those where the studio recognizes this transparency and makes small unnoticeable corrections.

In the case of The Sopranos, the studio appears to have gone a bit overboard post-production to try and make the show look as “high def” as possible, likely due to the source material being weaker than they wanted.  Therefore, we suffer from what appear to be computer-induced over-enhancements similar to when one wants to boost the contrast and sharpness on digital photos.

This can be seen as occasional wash-outs in the light areas on screen, excessive noise in lower light shots, strange skin tones, and even excessive grain in daylight shots.  Oddly enough, this is inconsistent from scene to scene, and episode to episode, though they appear less as the season progresses.  All of these symptoms can be seen in the first ten minutes of the third episode.

However, Season One gets a mulligan from me.  Firstly, the video issues described above are not overly frequent, and do not distract from the show.  So even though a reviewer or hi-def junkie might pick up on a number of these flaws, the remaining 98% of possible viewers likely won’t.

Secondly, the show was shot in 1999.  I admire that the studio had done what it could to try and wring all 1080 horizontal lines out of the print that they could, even if they did overdo it.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve even seen another mainstream TV show from this era released on Blu-ray; most are old shows (i.e. Star Trek) or new ones.

And finally, as we progress through the season, we see marked improvements through the thirteen episodes.  To me, this suggests that the studio did have “garbage in” issues with the earlier episodes, and they did everything they could to compensate.

Video-wise, this is a very nice presentation, and is a marked improvement over the quality of an upscaled DVD or broadcast.  Is it perfect?  No, but I believe it is about as good as anyone could expect based on when the series was filmed.

Audio 

Audio has always been the area where I feel DVD and Blu-ray absolutely destroys broadcast content (i.e. satellite, cable).  Even when I changed satellite service providers back in the day so that I could get Dolby Digital 5.1, the sound quality never measured up to media-based content.

Therefore, I was looking very forward to the quality of the sound on this release and hearing how much improved the soundtrack was.  In relation to most broadcast TV programs, there was improvement, though less than I expected.

Sounds were sharp and well-separated, though LFE information was still not at a level one would expect from a Blu-ray (a typical shortcoming of most broadcast material).  Ambient sounds were nice, and the show appears to have been generally well-recorded.  As a dialog heavy show, interior scenes were a bit front mixed, but the sound certainly opened up as the scenes transitioned to outdoor ones.  Overall, The Sopranos had a good (though not perfect) audio presentation.

Dynamic levels are also reasonably good, but the transitions between dialog and violent acts could be a bit sudden.  However, dialog remained clear throughout, and the volume remained untouched for the entire season.

Special Features 

At first glance there does not appear to be any additional extra features on the Season One Blu-ray compared to the DVD.  Other than a truly unrevealing commentary for the pilot episode, the remainder of the features are tacked on to Disc 5, which contains an interview with the creator (David Chase), plus two short pieces that look to have been used as promo material.

Overall, a fairly underwhelming set of special features, and nothing here for those who already own the DVD set.

Final Thoughts 

Season One of The Sopranos is a great buy for any individuals who enjoy mob movies or are fans of the series.  Even if you’d never seen The Sopranos (let me move that rock so you can quit living under it), this Blu-ray release would appeal to anyone who likes quality television dramas with compelling characters.  Being in the Blu-ray format only enhances the enjoyability of the series with a better than DVD print and enhanced audio.

If you have the DVD release already, is there enough to upgrade to the Blu-ray?  This is a somewhat subjective question.  The Blu-ray certainly has an enhanced picture, but does display the expected challenges a 1999 series would have.  The sound is also improved, though it is still not perfect.  For those who want the best possible audio and video transfer, this is it.  How much value is placed in this improvement will ultimately be up to the individual viewer.

Show 

I am sure that all of you are very familiar with The Simpsons TV show so my description here will be brief. The show is a parody of a typical working class American family consisting of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson, in your typical small town Springfield which could have easily been dubbed Anytown USA. The show parodies American culture, the media and society in general.

The fact that it has been on TV now for 21 years is amazing. The fact that it is still fresh and funny is even more amazing. Given some of the crazy things that happen in real life anymore, I guess the show can go on forever. I am sure that the news will continue to provide material and fodder for the writers of the show for a long, long time.

The complete 20th season contains a total of 21 half hour episodes. The 20th season of the show was the first to go HD but did so only near mid season. Accordingly, 9 of the episodes included here are in standard definition with the remaining 12 being in HD.

Disc one contains the following 9 episodes, all in SD: Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes, Lost Verizon, Double, Double, Boy in Trouble, Treehouse of Horror XIX, Dangerous Curves, Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words, Mypods and Broomsticks, The Burns and the Bees and Lisa the Drama Queen.

Disc 2 contains the following episodes, all in HD: Take My Life Please, How the Test Was Won, No Loan Again, Naturally, Gone Maggie Gone, In the Name of the Grandfather, Wedding for Disaster, Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe, The Good, the Sad and the Drugly, Father Knows Worst, Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D’oh, Four Great Women and a Manicure and Coming to Homerica.

The show features the usual voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer. If you are a fan of the show, this is a great collection as it features the same great writing that made the show a hit as well as the first episodes of the show in HD. Recommended.

Video  

The video quality here is a mixed bag, but only because the first 9 episodes of the series are presented here in 4×3 SD. Even though the SD material is upconverted, there is really little that could be done to make it look good. It looks just like you would expect SD to look, fuzzy, soft, noisy and unappealing, rating a 3 on the 5 star scale. However, the HD material looks great and so much better than the SD material that it is hard to believe it is the same show, the difference is that dramatic.

The HD material features bright bold colors, deep and stable blacks as well as exceptional clarity and depth. The HD video quality on this release even exceeds the quality of the Fox broadcasts. I averaged the 9 SD shows with the 12 HD shows and came out to an overall rating of 4, with the SD content rating a 3 and the HD content a solid 4.5. I have no doubt that fans of the show will be thrilled with the quality of the episodes presented in HD.

Audio 

Unlike the video side, the audio for all of the episodes is encoded using DTS HD Master Audio so that the audio quality does not vary at all between the SD and HD content. The audio design here is pretty good for a cartoon TV series. The sound design is not all that sophisticated and is mainly front heavy with some occasional and mostly subtle use of the surrounds. Do not expect an immersive sound field as you will be disappointed.

I will comment that the sound here is appreciably better than the rather tinny sound on the broadcast version of the show but still falls a good deal short of what one would expect for a film. My main complaint with the audio, other than the lack of immersion, is the overall fidelity of the audio which sounds a but bright for my tastes. If simply lacks the smoothness, fullness and openness of some of the better sounding Blu-ray discs I have heard to date and is better off not being experienced at reference sound levels. While not totally devoid of any meaningful dynamics, the dynamics also fall short of what you would expect with a motion picture release. However, for a cartoon series, the audio is more than acceptable.

Special Features 

To say that the extras on this release are threadbare would be a bit of an understatement. There is only one very brief extra contained in disc one, a 20th Anniversary Special Sneak Peek hosted by Morgan Spurlock that may clock in at a whole 2 minutes or so. That is it folks. At least it is in HD. Were it not, the extras would have to rate a zero. There is no digital copy provided and the release is not BD-Live enabled.

Final Thoughts 

The Simpsons – The Complete 20th Season is a great release for fans of the show and contains the first HD episodes of the show and the same clever writing that has made the show such a long running hit. Recommended.

Show

My Name is Earl, which if you’re interested in season 4 you should already know, is about Earl (Jason Lee) who dedicates his life to righting the wrongs of his past. Earl bases his new way of life off of the universal idea of karma… which he learned from watching Carson Daly. The show is an awesome and funny white trash odyssey that incorporates a slew of wacky characters and insane scenarios, but always maintains the original spirit of the show that made it a very watchable sitcom.

The fourth season is no exception, after watching it actually became saddened as I came closer to the end. Knowing that this is the last season, and the creators didn’t get a chance to end the show properly.. heck they ended the show on a cliffhanger! It really doesn’t do the show that I’ve watched for three years justice.

However, with a few great cameos (Seth Green & David Arquette) and some very memorable episodes, the last season is just as funny and full of heart-warming sentiment as the previous three.

Video

It was nice being able to enjoy My Name is Earl in its original 1.78:1 high-definition video, so often I find myself annoyed watching a TV show on a station that crops the edges to fit the overused 4:3 aspect ratio. It was nice to see the full picture.

As for the quality, the video is very clear and sharp, I was actually surprised… this is the first television show I’ve watched on Blu-ray and it’s great to see the quality really shine, especially when it’s original broadcast quality is super compressed.

The colors are vivid and carry that warm atmosphere that always makes for a great environment to watch the events play out. My only complaint is that there is some digital noise in the low-light shots, but overall it’s a clean and crisp looking Blu-ray.

Audio

My Name is Earl is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and even though it’s a dialogue heavy sitcom, there is a decent usage of the surround speakers. Foley and the soundtrack come through in a way that created a great sense of depth.

There’s also a surprisingly nice usage of low frequencies, I was surprised when my subwoofer started rumbling in that subtle way that is perfectly suited for this kind of Blu-ray.

Although it might not be the kind of audio you’d use as a demo, for a sitcom… it’s not too shabby.

Special Features

• Deleted scenes – Each disc contains deleted scenes from the episodes on that specific disc. Some are extended scenes, with jokes that may run a little long, while others are scenes that were cut completely. The amount is nothing to brag about, but for the Earl fans, it might be worth it.
• Gag reel – As with the other ‘My Name is Earl’ seasons, we get a chance to see blown takes and on set antics that occurred during the shooting, it’s hard to critique a gag reel, so I’m just going to say, it’s worth the watch.
• “Movie trailer” for the 2 the Max Film – Getting a chance to see the extended film within the show from the pilot is a great feature. You get some extra Seth Green screen time and a hilarious cheap rubber squid.
• Earl’s Fan Mail featurette – This extra is probably the most depressing. It’s a lengthy fan mail reading in which the cast and crew read viewer submitted questions. The main reason this extra is sad is that everyone talks about the future of the show (obviously this occurred before the news of the cancellation). However some of the Q&As are entertaining and it’s worth a watch.

Final thoughts

My Name is Earl was one of my favorite sitcoms when it first came out and even though they didn’t get a chance to end the show right, the final season is a great testament of how funny karma can still be. With a good video transfer and surprisingly full audio, I was impressed by the presentation.

The special features section is a little empty, I feel if there was selective episode commentary then this would feel more complete. However for fans of the show this is a no-brainer, pick it up, and to those who are looking for something funny to watch, rent it and have a great laugh.

Show

While A Very Sunny Christmas is not one of their best efforts, it is still very funny and well worth a look for fans of the series. I mean, who else can combine Charles Dickens, claymation characters from old TV specials such as Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and obscure old Phillies references into a coherent and over the top funny tale about the real meaning of Christmas?

The special finds the Mac, Charlie, Dennis and Dee trying to find the Christmas spirit while hanging out Paddy’s Pub. In comes Frank who has a habit of buying himself gifts that Dennis and Dee covet but can’t afford, which this year includes a Lamborghini sports car, just the car you need to navigate the streets of South Philly! They all recall the Christmases of their childhood which are very unlike any Christmas anyone has experienced, with breaking into neighbors homes to steal their gifts, huffing glue and various Santas visiting Mom for some good old Christmas cheer.

Dennis and Dee try to convince Frank’s old business partner to help scare him into being a better father re-enacting Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Meanwhile Mac and Charlie decide to make up for the theft of a kid’s toy robot over 20 years ago with a trip to the mall that ends with a vicious attack on Santa on Christmas Eve. All is not lost as Frank comes to see the light after being thrown from his Lamborghini and having a vision where he ends up in a claymation feature hosted by the dentist elf from the old Rudolph the Reindeer TV special.

Yes, the story is crude, vicious and often ugly but funny nonetheless. If you are a fan of the show, you will know exactly what I mean. Recommended as a rental only in terms of content.

Video

This is the first Blu-ray disc I have seen that is not in high def. The video is unconverted widescreen standard definition which really shouldn’t have been the subject of a Blu-ray release. The disc even has a brief introduction by the producers explaining that the video presented in not in HD even though it is a Blu-ray disc. The only mention of this fact is on the back of the box where a 1080p upconvert is noted in very small type. The fact that the show is presented in standard def is obvious as soon as the show starts, as it has the fuzzy, noise filled haze which is the hallmark of standard definition video. Besides being in standard def, the upconversion isn’t all that impressive. Why this release was issued on Blu-ray given that it is in standard definition is beyond me. Under these circumstances, the release should have been released on DVD only.

Audio

The audio here was just as much of a disappointment as the video, even with a DTS HD Master Audio track. The mix is rather front heavy with sparse use of the surrounds. Dynamics are substandard with little in the way of any bass in the mix. The overall sound itself can best be described as thin, shallow and shrill. THis is not a disc that you will want to crank up as it will be fatiguing.

Special Features

As one would expect in light of the video treatment of the feature, none of the extras are presented in HD. All are presented in 4×3 standard definition in a 16×9 window. The extras include some deleted scenes, a Sunny Sing Along where the cast sing some Christmas Carols as well as a behind the scenes featurette. I can’t say that there is much here to pique one’s interest.

Final Thoughts

While I enjoyed the show, this release should not have been released on the Blu-ray format given that none of the content is presented in HD. This is one release that should have been limited to DVD only. Accordingly, while I enjoyed the content, I can’t recommend that you purchase this release. If you are a fan of the show, stick to the DVD only. Rated as a rental only in terms of content. As for the Blu-ray, you should skip it in its entirety and go with the DVD.

It was great to see season one of the original TV series of Star Trek TOS as it is now known make its way to high definition first on HD DVD and then Blu-ray. The shows were re-mastered from the original 35 mm prints with new CGI added to replace the old grainy and by today’s standards, almost primitive looking effect that while great for 1960′s TV, look awful today. Thankfully, the new CGI sequences were done very tastefully and do not really call attention to themselves. With the Blu-ray release, you get the option of watching each episode with the old or the new effects. I prefer the new. I was really anxious to see if season two of the series, which contains a few of my very favorite episodes, would be the equal to the presentation of season one on Blu-ray. Thankfully, the answer is a resounding YES.

Series

I guess I am a bit biased, but I really can’t imagine giving the series anything but a 5 star rating. While some of the episodes are at times, a bit campy by today’s standards and even a bit sexist, many are just as thought provoking as they were when the originally ran, dealing with issues that were not normally dealt with on prime time TV at that time, including a racially diversified cast.

I am sure that you are all well versed in Star Trek, so it will not be necessary for me to go to great lengths to describe the series and the exploits of the three principal characters that are at the very foundation of the series, namely Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (a/k/a Bones played by the late DeForest Kelley). Season two of the series contains three of the all time classic episodes in the series, including my favorite of them all, Mirror Mirror, where Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Mr. Scott and Uhura are beamed up to the Enterprise in a parallel universe, where the crew of the Enterprise are cutthroat barbarians, who are promoted in rank through murder. The episode is probably most famous for the appearance of Mr. Spock with a beard in the parallel universe.

Other favorites from season two include The Doomsday Machine, I, Mudd, Amock Time and The Trouble with Tribbles. As far as this writer is concerned, season two of the three year season run of the show was the best of the three, with more consistently good episodes than the other two and with better writing overall. This is a great set and a must for any Star Trek fan.

Video

Don’t let the 4 star rating fool you. This is a great looking set, with picture quality that was simply unimaginable during the first run of the show and certainly, during the syndication period where poor and chopped up prints of the show were often used. The 4 star rating is comparison to more modern TV shows and films that have appeared on Blu-ray.

The picture quality is just not up to the overall quality of a more modern production. However, the folks at Paramount did an incredible job with the HD transfer of the shows and took great care in doing so. Each episode is presented in its original 4×3 aspect ratio with side black curtains. The show features bright and bold primary colors with deep blacks and excellent levels of detail. You can clearly see the texture of the fabrics of the uniforms, the cheap plastic sets and the makeup applied to the various actors, including Spock’s ears. The detail is so good that you can clearly make out the rubber scar on Zulu;s face in Mirror, Mirror, which looks like a rubber noodle hanging on to the side of his face and applied with a bit of rubber cement.

The only real negative that I could add concerns the consistency of the video from episode to episode. Some episodes look better than others, probably due to the condition of the original film negatives from which the new HD masters were made. Some episodes have better black levels than others and better skin tones. It is the accuracy of the skin tones where the real variation is. On the whole, detail and clarity is very good to excellent, resulting in an image with far better clarity, depth and three dimensionality than one would expect for a 1960′s era TV series. I doubt very much that we will ever see better looking versions of this series released any time in the foreseeable future. I would also like to add a little about the new and improved CGI. The Enterprise, planet renditions, space scenes and the like look many orders of magnitude better than they did in the old versions of the show.

While I tend to be a bit of a purist, I can’t really imagine wanting to watch the old episodes with the old special effects. However, for those of you out there who feel differently, you are given the choice to watch each episode fully re-mastered, without the new CGI. At least you are given the option here which was not the case on the HD DVD release. However, the new CGI was done very respectfully and in keeping with the look of the show. The look of the Enterprise is a clear example of what I mean, as it looks very much like the old Enterprise, lacking the detail and bells and whistles of the films and subsequent TV shows. It looks just like the old Enterprise with a few tweeks and much cleaner presentation. Give the new CGI a look. I am sure that even the purists will be pleased. I know I sure was.

Audio

All in all, the audio on this release is much better than you would have the right to expect given the original mono source elements. I am also sure that overall audio fidelity was not the utmost concern during the original production of the TV series. There are two audio options here, a lossless 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio track as well as the original mono track. For me, the 7.1 track is the clear winner. The best audio on this release is the rerecorded opening theme which sounds wonderful with the opening credits. Excellent overall fidelity and immersive sound. Some of the sound effects have been rerecorded as well, such as the firing of the photon torpedoes and phasers, which sound much more 21st Century. The rest of the sound is what it is, a little on the thin side without much in the way of dynamics or deep bass. The surrounds are used surprisingly well given the original mono design, with sound effects placed in the rears such as the swooshing Enterprise and room acoustics. I wouldn’t call the overall sound immersive in any way. However, considering the source, much more than respectable.

Special Features

As one would expect, this set is packed with many interesting extras, spread out over the 7 disc set. Disc one contains preview trailers, a Starfleet Access Episode and actor Billy Blackburn’s Treasure Chest featuring home movies taken by him during the filming of the series. Billy Blackburn was one of the actors who was often seen in various roles on the show but seldom heard, much like a human prop. It is amazing how many episodes he appeared in in one guise or the other, often one of the two men at the helm of the Enterprise. This extra is presented in HD and is part two, with part one appearing on the season one Blu-ray release.

The only extras on discs two and three are preview trailers which should just be skipped. Disc four is the disc that contains The Trouble With Tribbles episode and contains several extras tied to it. They include a episode from the cartoon TV series entitled More Tribbles, More Troubles, with audio commentary with director David Gerrold as well as the Deep Space Nine episode Trials and Tribble-ations where Captain Sisko and the crew of the Defiant travel back in time to visit the Enterprise and the space station during The Trouble With Tribbles episode while attempting to foil a plot to change the past.

Also included are two featurettes, Trials and Tribble-ations: Uniting Two Legends and Trials and Tribble-ations: An HIstoric Endeavor. For me, the extras tied to the Trouble with Tribbles episode are the best of the bunch and not to be missed. Disc 5 contains preview trailers as well as a featurette To Boldly Go… Season 2. In addition to the preview trailers, disc 5 contains the featurette Designing the Final Frontier. Disc 6 contains several extras entitled Star Treks’ favorite moments, Writer’s Notebook: D.C. Fontana, LIfe Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy, Kirk, Spock and Bones: Star Fleet’s Great Trio, Star Trek’s Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols and Enhanced Visual Effects Credits.

The only extras included on the entire set that are in HD are the Billy Blackburn Treasure Chest and the episode of the Star Trek cartoon TV series entitled More Tribbles, More Troubles featured on disc 4. The set is also BD-Live enabled as well as Mobile Blu enabled, with Content to Go available exclusively via Mobile Blu, consisting of Writing Spock (on disc one), Creating Chekov (disc two), Listening to the Actors (disc three) and Spock’s Mother on disc five.

Final Thoughts

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, is a must have for any fan of the series or a fan of television history. The set features excellent video and more than respectable audio and looks much better than the series has ever looked and is a real winner on Blu-ray. Highly recommended.