TV Verdict » Blu-Ray

Review: Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season (Blu-Ray)

Melissa Hansen — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:32:16 +0000

As the third season of AMC’s Emmy-winning drama hits the airwaves, we return to the start of this thrilling, thoughtful series in high definition with Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season (Blu-Ray). I’ve read about the much-praised show but hadn’t watched episodes until now. The pre-credits tease captured my attention immediately and I was hooked by the end of the pilot episode. One benefit of discovering a show late is the instant gratification that comes from having plenty of content ready for viewing.

Walt White (Bryan Cranston, Malcolm in the Middle) is a high school chemistry teacher whose life has met disappointment after disappointment. Struggling to make ends meet for his wife and cerebral palsy-affected son—Walt works a second job at a car wash—he is diagnosed with lung cancer. With limited time left to provide for his family, he decides to build up the family fortune by cooking crystal meth. Former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, The Last House on the Left [2009]) becomes Walt’s reluctant partner in crime after his associate is arrested. When a down-on-his-luck, dying teacher and a young junkie team up to sell drugs, what could go wrong?

Read all of William Lee’s review at DVD Verdict

Dollhouse: Epitaph One – First Look

Cynthia — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:13:25 +0000

Have you heard about the mysterious 13th episode of Dollhouse? It never aired, but you will find it on the DVD which comes out on July 28. In the meantime, here’s a clip from the episode starring the charming Amy Acker.

Dexter: New Today on Blu-Ray

Cynthia — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:20:08 +0000

Blu-Ray is making a go of it and more and more TV shows are being released in this zippy new format. This week, it’s Dexter: The Complete First Season and here’s how it goes down:

Simultaneously “horrifying, intoxicating, seductive and thrilling” (New York Magazine), the critically-acclaimed Showtime® series DEXTER: The Complete First Season makes its Blu-ray Disc debut when it arrives on January 6 from Showtime Networks, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.

Based on the compelling novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, DEXTER is a compelling crime drama like no other, featuring a vicious sociopath as the series’ fan-favorite protagonist. USA Today raved that “Michael C. Hall is phenomenal in a career-shifting role” as the eerily sympathetic serial killer next door who was taught principles by his adoptive father, ensuring that he kills only those who he feels deserve to die. Unflinchingly subversive and surprisingly humorous, DEXTER breathes life into the genre through unpredictable and edgy writing and the nuanced and subtly complex performance of Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated actor Michael C. Hall (“Six Feet Under”). The series also stars Jennifer Carpenter (The Exorcism Of Emily Rose), Julie Benz (“Angel”), Erik King (Ice Princess), Lauren Vélez (“Numb3rs”) and David Zayas (“Law & Order”).

With cast and crew commentary on select episodes plus chilling BD-Live features including “The Academy of Blood: A Killer Course,” “Witnessed in Blood—A True Murder Investigation” and the first two episodes of the upcoming Showtime series “United States of Tara,” DEXTER: The Complete First Season will be available on Blu-ray for the suggested retail price of $57.99 US and $65.99 CAN.

DEXTER: The Complete First Season is a three-disc set presented in 1080p High Definition with English 5.1 Dolby True HD and Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital. The DVD is Not Rated in the U.S. and rated 14A in Canada. The total running time is 10 hours, 51 minutes. The DVD disc breakdown is as follows:

Disc One:
•   Dexter
•   Crocodile
•   Popping Cherry
•   Let’s Give The Boy A Hand

Disc Two:
•   Love American Style
•   Return To Sender
o   Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, Lauren Vélez and Erik King
•   Circle Of Friends
•   Shrink Wrap

Disc Three:
•   Father Knows Best
•   Seeing Red
•   Truth Be Told
•   Born Free
o   Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Producers Sara Colleton, Clyde Phillips and Daniel Cerone

BD-Live Special Features:
•   The Academy Of Blood – A Killer Course
•   Witnessed In Blood – A True Murder Investigation
•   Michael C. Hall Podcast
•   First Episode of DEXTER, Season 3
•   First two episodes of UNITED STATES OF TARA

Not a bad choice for Blu-Ray. . . but is it worth the double dip? What do you think?

Can you call me Blu-ray? Not yet

James A. Stewart — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:06:51 +0000

Bought a Blu-ray yet? No? You’re not alone, according to a study by ABI Research. As the company says, more than “half of the 1000 respondents, citing ‘other priorities,’ say they have no plans to purchase one; a further 23% are likely to buy, but not until sometime in 2009.”

“Most are very satisfied with the performance of their current DVD players,” the firm’s main analyst Steve Wilson said in a press release. The cost and the requirement for an HDTV to go with it were also cited as reasons why people haven’t bought yet.

Makes you wonder: If we’d had economic downturns at the wrong times in our gadget evolution, would we still be watching VHS movies and listening to eight-track and vinyl?

You can read more about it here.