Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Battlestar Galactica The Complete Series
(Universal)
The Sci-Fi (now SyFy) channel hit a home run in 2003 when producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick reimagined this campy sci-fi show with a 21st-century flair. As the humans flee the Cylon, the story lines explore many of the issues that our own society faces—war, politics, terrorism, and technology. The video quality is intentionally gritty, but the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack offers some demo-worthy moments as the humans fight for survival against the toasters.

Firefly The Complete Series
(20th Century Fox) Back in 2002, Fox pulled the plug on Joss Whedon’s sci-fi Western series Firefly after just half a season. The show has grown immensely in popularity since that mistake. It even spawned the feature film sequel Serenity. Now you can experience all 14 episodes in high definition, better than they were on original broadcast. At least that’s true for shots without visual effects. The quality drops during CGI. But don’t let that dissuade you; the show is still pretty great.

Heroes Seasons 1–3
(Universal)
NBC’s hit superhero series got all the bells and whistles on Bluray. Plus, it features great 1080p video and a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The U-Control feature delivers great supplements, including production insights, interviews, and video commentaries with streaming PiP. These were also the first Universal titles to get full BD-Live treatment. This lets you connect online, interact with other viewers, and download more supplements. TV shows rarely get this kind of treatment.

Mad Men Seasons 1–3
(Lionsgate)
AMC’s throwback to advertising’s glory days translates nicely to HD. These discs even provide lossless DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. TV shows rarely hold our attention for long, but this series is a real treat. Its special features are all delivered in HD. Every episode features an audio commentary, and the production features are pretty exhaustive. If you didn’t give this one a look during its TV airings, you should definitely experience it this way.

Planet Earth The Complete Series
(BBC)
Planet Earth could easily have been a Best Picture Quality winner. It boasts some of the most startling high-definition footage we’ve ever seen. Filmed over several years, it’s amazing to look at, and its narrative is thoroughly compelling. It’s loaded with animals, locations, and other elements that are even unfamiliar to regular Discovery Channel watchers. This is brilliant stuff in every way, and it’s quite simply one of the best things we’ve seen on Blu-ray, period.

Lost Seasons 1–5
(Disney)
Lost is part sci-fi, part fantasy, part romance, part action-adventure, and all compelling. The 1080p/24 film-to-video transfers look even better than the original broadcasts, which were exceptional. The lush tropical setting (the series is shot in Hawaii) doesn’t hurt, either. While the uncompressed PCM multichannel 16-bit/ 48-kHz audio on these discs rarely reaches for feature-film sensationalism, it’s clean and sweet. It doesn’t detract from the overall grab-you-and-don’t-let-go quality of the drama.

Star Trek The Original Series Seasons 1–3
(Paramount)
While Star Trek struggled to stay on the airwaves in the 1960s, it found new life when in the 1970s and spawned five additional TV shows and 11 feature films. These discs feature 1080p encodes, new special effects, DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtracks, and some Bonus View material. I can’t think of any reason why a fan wouldn’t want these in their Blu-ray collection.

Band of Brothers
(HBO Home Video)
This stunning 10-part miniseries first aired on HBO in 2001. It follows the exploits of Easy Company, an airborne infantry unit in World War II, from boot camp before D-Day until the close of the conflict. Based on a book by Stephen E. Ambrose, it’s an unforgettable story. The gritty (but HD-worthy) visuals and explosively realistic sounds of battle will glue you to your seat from beginning to end. A parallel story, The Pacific, aired on HBO this past March.

Rome The Complete Series
(HBO Home Video)
War! Blood! Intrigue! Treachery! Ambition! Sex! Murder! And that’s just the first episode. Rome is not for the squeamish, and it’s definitely not for the kiddies. It’s a bit of a soap, but it has a core of historical fact. It seems a little rushed toward the end (HBO ran out of money—several more parts were planned but the story was compressed instead). Still, it’s never less than compelling. I have no reservations about the video, and the sound is flawless.

Dexter Seasons 1–3
(Showtime)
Showtime’s Dexter is one of the most popular cable TV shows. It’s about a serial killer who puts his desire to kill to good use by dishing out some vigilante justice to those who deserve it. The 1080p video encodes are a remarkable improvement over the compressed cable feed. It features inky and stable blacks, excellent shadow detail, and rich hues. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio is front-loaded, but the excellent score sets the tone for nearly every scene.