Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

TV on Disc: Spring 2025

Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 25, 2025

Spring has sprung, which means that a new crop of TV series on Blu-ray, 4K, and humble DVD is ready to harvest. Catch a deep whiff of that fresh-cut grass, then head inside to catch up on old favorites and discover shows that might have flown beneath your radar until now. We’ll also be showcasing an assortment of Japanese animation, starting with…

Naruto The Complete Series Blu-ray (VIZ Media)


We prefer complete series sets in roundups like these. Anime can be tough because it often behaves like a soap opera that goes on and on with open-ended stories, and fans are perfectly content with that arrangement. Fortunately, a few of these epic sagas reached their conclusion, including the tale of young ninja Naruto Uzumaki, who dreams of one day becoming his village leader. The elaborate plot is drawn from Masashi Kishimoto's classic manga, although the show features quite a bit of new material as well.

Over the course of such a long series—one that begins with the character’s birth—we have the opportunity to see how funny he is (his fondness for ramen is a running gag) and become invested in his hero’s journey, which includes valuable lessons and epic fights, often with fantastical beasts. The vast supporting cast—even the villains—has its own detailed backstories, too. The animation is beautiful to look at, and the music really carries us away to Naruto’s world.

All 220 episodes from 2002 to 2007 are spread across a total of 32 discs in their original 4:3 aspect ratio, presented in lossless English and Japanese stereo with optional English subtitles. The opening and closing animations can also be viewed clean, without their text. VIZ Media’s limited edition box contains a perfect-bound artbook and some window clings to make your neighbors and random parking attendants jealous.

Documentary Now! The Complete Collection Blu-ray (Mill Creek Entertainment)


With an abundance of talent behind and in front of the camera—executive producers Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and the brilliant John Mulaney; host Dame Helen Mirren; and a who’s-who of guest stars—Documentary Now! never misses as it lampoons a cavalcade of well-known documentaries from across the decades.

Some were ripe for parody while others make us wonder, “How did anyone think to make a mockumentary about that?” They’re longer and more fully realized than a skit, shorter than a whole movie, and topic-wise, there’s a little bit of everything but a strong emphasis on music. Even the filmmaking style adapts to each installment, so the more we know about the medium, the funnier the show is. The 27 episodes span four seasons (2015–2022), including a two-parter on each disc, when an idea was too funny to fit into 22 minutes. Mill Creek has included a panel discussion with the creators, deleted scenes and featurettes, plus a detailed booklet with a new intro by Armisen and a set of eight mini-posters hawking the mockumentaries featured in Now!

House The Complete Series Blu-ray (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)


As I examine Universal’s massive boxed set of medical drama House (its 2004–2012 run on these 39 discs), I realize that if I had the grades and could handle the sight of blood, I might have earned my own medical degree in those eight years. Fortunately, the unfiltered genius Dr. Greg House (Hugh Laurie, in his signature role from a career filled with standouts) did the work so we don’t have to. We wish we were that smart, or at least had someone that smart working to save our life. He’s Sherlock Holmes with a stethoscope, a teacher/practitioner who unravels daunting medical mysteries weekly.

He’s also deeply flawed, Vicodin-addicted, selfish, and often outright mean-spirited, which keeps things mighty entertaining in the halls of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Here in The States, only a handful of the later seasons were ever released on Blu-ray before now, so this Complete Series is just what the doctor ordered, enhanced with the occasional commentary track (a dozen total) along with featurettes, bloopers, alternate takes, and a whole lot more. But no lupus.

Tokyo Ghoul The Complete Series Blu-ray


Anime purveyor Crunchyroll handles some of the most popular franchises in the game, and I’ve recently done some serious catch-up. Initially based upon the manga Tōkyō Gūru before veering into its own unexplored territory, Tokyo Ghoul is three seasons/48 episodes of extremely well-produced, adult-skewing animation. Half-human and half-flesh-hungry “ghoul,” the formerly bookish Ken Kaneki is caught between two worlds, each fearful of the other. Keeping his secret as long as he can while tensions mount on both sides in this dark, strange reality, he struggles to maintain his humanity.

Alliances are made and tested, and intense violence follows on the way to an emotional finale. Bonus content in this 10th-anniversary boxed set is extremely generous: twin prequel tales “Jack” and “Pinto,” which nicely frame the main story, plus audio and/or video commentary on select episodes, textless presentations of the opening/closing songs, and quite a bit more. The eight discs arrive inside four coordinated Blu-ray cases, within an embossed, foil-treated slipcase.

Samurai Champloo The Complete Series Limited Edition Blu-ray


Samurai Champloo recounts the adventures of three strangers who become traveling companions in an action-packed journey across Edo-era Japan, full of what might be the most stunning swordfights ever captured in animation. Dramatic yet also quite funny at times—especially swordsman Mugen—the show has a unique visual and musical aesthetic, heavily influenced by the world of Hip-Hop in details such as fighting styles, background graffiti, and the incorporation of anachronistic colloquialisms.

Each installment plays like a self-contained story yet also serves as a building block in the greater narrative. At only 26 episodes, the creators knew enough to tell their tale, do it right, and wrap it up before running out of steam. The three discs in this lovely 20th-anniversary limited edition arrive slipcased with a set of six art cards and a handful of extras.

Afro Samurai The Complete Series Blu-ray


Samuel L. Jackson might actually be the coolest cat on the planet, not only as a star but as a driving creative force to get Afro Samurai made, joined by a supporting cast that grew to include Mark Hamill, Lucy Liu, and Ron Perlman. Another manga adaptation—this one about (VERY) bloody revenge in an unusual past/present/future world—its full five-episode story arc is located on Disc One. The series flaunts a deliberate, restrained use of color and aggressive rear-channel usage in the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix, further highlighted by music from The RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan and Kill Bill fame. This appears to be the edgier Director’s Cut version, by the way. Truly complete, this collection packs a second platter with the 2009 sequel film Afro Samurai: Resurrection and more than two hours of extras. The snazzy SteelBook case features series artwork on the front and movie artwork on the reverse.

Buddy Daddies The Complete Season Blu-ray


Not quite as family-friendly as the title would suggest, Buddy Daddies puts assassins Kazuki and Rei into a fresh yet familiar predicament as they adopt four-year-old Miri after offing her biological father. Even so, the show’s style is bright and cheerful, and the hitmen’s weekly scrambles to earn their wage while raising an innocent cherub make for some remarkably heartwarming comedy.

Supplements to the 12-episode run include a recap episode (#8.5), promo videos, and textless open/close, all on two discs with a slipcover.

Icons Unearthed: Marvel Blu-ray


Brian Volk-Weiss and his super-team have done it again, this time pulling back the curtain on the undisputed cinematic juggernaut of the new millennium. An impressive array of comic book writers/artists and experts plus the occasional actor have assembled, giving us the lowdown on how Iron Man (Episode 2) and his ilk beat the odds to deliver hit after hit. We’re first reminded that live-action Marvel Comics adaptations had a checkered past, so the MCU’s successful run is a real… what’s another word for “marvel”?

These eight episodes originally aired in 2023, covering everything through Ant-Man and the conclusion of Phase Two, providing a snapshot of what was, a glimmer of where we are, and perhaps the promise of what could be again. The three-disc set contains loads of bonus extended sit-downs with select interviewees—almost two additional hours in the case of noted scribe J. Michael Straczynski alone.

Icons Unearthed: James Bond Blu-ray (both Mill Creek Entertainment)


While these days he’s too often a cultural controversy or a modern Hollywood punchline, British super-spy James Bond once ruled the box office and created a new standard in action filmmaking. This Unearthed ropes in a lot more of the talent that was actually there—on set and in the room where it happened—than some other seasons, making for a juicier docu-series.

The lineup includes an actual Bond (George Lazenby, and boy does he have a lot to say), directors of seven of the movies, plus a couple of Bond girls, with the six 2023 episodes neatly honing in on the tenure of the half-dozen actors to wield the Walther PPK. After 25 official Eon Pictures productions, it’s been a long, complicated mission with plenty of ups (Oscars! big bucks!) and downs (lawsuits and reboots), so you might want to settle in with your beverage of choice. (See the disc cover, above, for an obvious suggestion.) And how’s this for an unredacted dossier: 13+ hours of uncut interviews as a bonus.

Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection Blu-ray


CinemaScope in a TV roundup, yes, but I only know Tom and Jerry from the tube. For a while there, when I was growing up, WPIX out of New York slung plenty of Jerry the mouse and Tom the cat after school, and while I’m partial to Looney Tunes, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s legendary cat-and-mouse duo was certainly a good way to unwind after a long day. Among their 161 MGM shorts, 23 were produced in widescreen during the ’50s in an attempt to lure viewers out of their homes and back into theaters. Now they’ve come full-circle, collected on HD disc in their proper aspect ratio.

None overstay their welcome. Most are a brisk six-minutes-and-change. As is to be expected on a Warner Archive Blu-ray with such a specific focus, the preserved picture quality and DTS-HD dual-mono audio are respectable, although the budget and apparent creative effort for some of the individual outings definitely varies. Two of the three bonus cartoons star the canine team of Spike and Tyke, while the other is a rather edgy Christmas-themed tale.

The Magilla Gorilla Show The Complete Series Blu-ray (both Warner Archive)


Years earlier, another of my weekday afternoon staples was the syndicated gem Magilla Gorilla from the Hanna-Barbera small-screen factory of the ’60s. It’s the saga of a well-spoken (voiced by Allan Melvin), smartly dressed ape who never seems to leave the pet shop of the long-suffering Mr. Peebles for very long, despite little Ogee’s dream of taking him home.

Beyond the headliner, the show presented the exploits of Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-long plus Punkin’ Puss & Mushmouse, the latter team a feuding feline-and-rodent duo reminiscent of T&J if they were hillbillies and one was routinely armed. The three-disc set serves up a lovely 1080p 4:3 image sourced from a new 4K restoration of the original camera negatives, all 23 episodes presented uncut as originally broadcast, along with eight bonus cartoons.

The Penguin 4K (HBO/Warner)


It’s rare that a spinoff series garners more buzz than the movie that spawned it, but that might be the case with HBO Max’s The Penguin. Colin Farrell’s transformation into the waddling baddie from Matt Reeves’ The Batman remains astounding, but the breakthrough star here is Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, daughter of the late mob boss Carmine Falcone (played by Mark Strong in flashbacks, taking over from John Turturro). This new-to-the-story character receives so much screen time, in fact, that the show borders on bait-and-switch, yet her sparring with Oz—both as friend and foe—forms the backbone of this violent, foul-mouthed crime saga as they jockey to control Gotham City’s underworld.

A/V quality is exemplary, as these roughly eight hours (not noted as “Season 1,” with no sophomore year announced as of press time) are spread across three triple-layer discs in native 4K/Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. More than a dozen featurettes are here too, including dedicated looks behind the scenes of every episode.

Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers Blu-ray (Film Movement)


The scholarly Mr. Campbell was renowned for his ability to illuminate the universal truths underlying all storytelling. His work had a profound influence on the life and career of George Lucas, and he was personally responsible for teaching me the word “archetype.” Across these six episodes, he breaks down what all great tales have in common, the effect they can have, and their deeper meaning in our endless search for truth, understanding, and maybe even personal and societal salvation.

A hit upon its release on PBS in 1988 and still popular today, The Power of Myth engages, entertains, and educates. As taped at Skywalker Ranch and NYC’s Museum of Natural History, it debuts on a two-disc Blu-ray in era-appropriate 4:3 quality with stereo sound. The three hours of extras include relevant segments from another of the host’s shows, Bill Moyers’ Journal, more from the Campbell-obsessed Lucas, and a remarkably substantive booklet that reprints rare writings expanding upon what we’ve watched.

Star Trek: Lower Decks The Complete Series Blu-ray (CBS/Paramount)


To me, the early promos for Lower Decks looked—and honestly felt—like a Rick and Morty rip-off, and in my defense it was indeed created by R&M vet Mike McMahan, so I avoided it on principle. To be fair, pithy riffs on sci-fi tropes had been done before (see: Futurama), so I’m glad I finally caved. With so many serious-minded Trek series by the time LDs rolled around, the world was ready for a genuine comedy that explored the mundane foibles of life in The Federation.

Inspired by a Next Generation final-season episode of the same name, the show follows the challenges of some (ahem) lower-ranking members of a starship crew tasked with unglamorous duties. Beckett, Brad, D’Vana, and Sam (The Lower Deckers, a.k.a. “The Warp Core Four”) are an eclectic lot, all with an infectious enthusiasm and voiced with aplomb, alongside some welcome guest stars and a generous sprinkling of cameos from previous series- and movie-era luminaries.

The quintet of ten-episode seasons began on CBS All Access before the studio switched to Paramount+, taking its final voyage late last year. It’s now collected in a Complete Series Blu-ray set, available first in a slipcased double-SteelBook limited edition before a subsequent standard release. Beyond the premium packaging—complete with an art card “signed” by the gang—there’s a cargo bay full of extras: explanatory “Lower Decktionaries” vignettes, conceptual animatics, creator commentaries, guides to subtle Trek Easter eggs, and more.

Shameless The Complete Series DVD (Warner)


Under the stewardship of showrunner John Wells, Showtime’s American remake of the British dramedy captivated right out of the gate with the unapologetic behavior of the effectively parentless, forever down-on-their-luck Gallagher clan. Much of its success is owed to stars William H. Macy as the inebriated patriarch and Emmy Rossum as his beleaguered eldest daughter, joined by up-and-comers Jeremy Allen White and Cameron Monaghan as a couple of her crafty siblings.

Shameless ultimately ran for 11 seasons and 134 episodes. This chunky box collects all 34 of the previously released DVDs with their bonus content intact: a plethora of commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and… well, any less would be a shame.

Mr. Show The Complete Collection DVD (HBO/Warner)


Pre-Saul Bob Odenkirk and pre-Arrested Development David Cross’ wildly inventive sketch comedy show is back, rescued from obscurity by Warner’s long-awaited DVD reissue of all four seasons/30 episodes from 1995–1998. Sure, digging up the occasional YouTube clip is always laugh-inducing, but such nuggets are doing the (Mr.) show a disservice, as each installment is best enjoyed as an uninterrupted half-hour unit—a cleverly constructed confection of running jokes, callbacks, general silliness, and seemingly random guest stars. All the more impressive, the show looks low-budget, but Bob and David’s complete and utter fearlessness transcends the meager trappings.

The series fills six DVD+R discs, all inside a single-width case. Incredibly, there are commentary tracks for every single episode, with Bob, David, and multiple cohorts combining welcome behind-the-scenes intel with jokes that go over and above what’s on screen. Those commentaries are by far the best of the bonus content, which also includes bloopers, live appearances, and “best of” bits.

That covers this season’s TV on disc. Happy viewing!

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