Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Banshee: The Complete Fourth Season

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season three and a minor season four spoiler+++

The fourth season of Banshee had to do a lot. First, it had to resolve Job's kidnapping at the end of Season three, and the overall fallout of the botched heist. Carrie is reeling from Gordon's death and almost everything has changed after Lucas' resignation from the sheriff's department. The fourth season premiere jumps ahead almost two years to reveal that Lucas is living off the grid when Brock (who is now the Sheriff) finds Lucas and tells him of a murder that looks like the work of a serial killer. From there, the show becomes a murder mystery trying to locate the serial killer with another main storyline parallel to that one involving Proctor (who is now the Mayor) and the Nazis, including Kurt's brother Calvin, which basically pits the sheriff's department vs. the Nazis vs. Proctor.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the A/V quality is again top-notch, as it has been with all of the releases. The extras include episode recaps, deleted scenes, and a couple of Zoomed-In featurettes, commentary tracks on a couple of episodes, and cast retrospectives.

Overall, the season is very good despite having a lot packed into it. The murder mystery is quite good and plays out over the course of multiple episodes. The season continues to employ flashbacks, but this time flashing back just over the course of the 18 months between the end of season three and the beginning of season four. The season brings in a couple of new recurring cast members, first Eliza Dushku (from Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse), and Fred Weller (from In Plain Sight). The show does a decent job of wrapping up the various storylines. It does keep a bit of mystery as we never do find out Lucas' real name, and the ending played out a bit differently than I thought it would but was still well done. There is, of course, a lot of violence and sex. Although, it was a bit lighter on the sex and nudity this season than in past seasons. Still, it is not remotely suitable for kids. If you liked the prior seasons then you will probably like this one as well. If however, the show never did anything for you before this season, this one is probably not going to convert you. But, if you are looking for a good crime show that has a good blend of action and drama, then this is definitely one to give a chance to. But, you definitely have to watch it from the beginning to really be able to follow the plot lines.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Banshee: Season 3

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major spoilers from the third season++++

Banshee is a show that by the third season you will know if you love it or hate it. The premise is totally preposterous but it works. It is well written and acted and is, as is the case with many Cinemax shows, not at all family-friendly. The show is basically one long serial story arc in which the various plotlines build over time. So, you really have to have seen the prior episodes to really know what is going on.

This season starts sometime down the line from the events that ended season two. All of the characters are in crazy situations, with Carrie and Gordon separated after he found out about her real life, and Carrie having a lot of "fun", Lucas being somewhat of a dad to Deva yet still being a criminal and sheriff at the same time, and Kai Proctor and Rebecca's relationship getting very cringe-worthy. The Nazi storyline from the prior season continues and expands to include Tom Pelphrey as Kurt Bunker: A former member of the Aryan Brotherhood who becomes a Banshee deputy. One of the main new antagonists in the season is Chayton Longshadow, played by Geno Segers who is out for revenge for the murder of Alex, which pits him against Proctor, Rebecca, and Lucas.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks and sounds great as it always has. The extras include another set of Banshee Origins featurettes highlighting several character backstories that runs about 25 minutes; an almost hour-long Banshee Origins Saga that has a commentary track by the series creator; Making of the Episode 2 Title Sequence; a feature titled Zoomed In, which looks closely at certain scenes and characters from the season; A Commentary for Episode 1, a feature on the Burton vs. Nola fight scene stunts; commentary tracks on Episodes 3 and 5; a twenty-minute long feature titled The Heist; and commentary tracks on Episode 7 and the Season Finale. Then there are a bunch of deleted scenes and some promos. So, if you like extras, there are a lot of them.

Overall, the season is very good. There is still a lot of violence, sex, and nudity in the show, and that has not been tamed at all from the prior seasons. The acting is very good, and the show continues to evolve the main characters. And, pretty much no character is safe on the show. The standout this season to me is Lilli Simmons who does a great job as Rebecca, playing her as a character that wants to be one of the good guys, but just likes being bad more. Honestly, very few of the characters are really "good" per se, they pretty much range from morally gray to bad. But, if you are a fan of crime dramas and do not mind more adult themes in a show, this is a very good one.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Banshee Season 2

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season one, but no major spoilers from season two+++

The 10-episode second season of Banshee aired during the winter and spring of 2014. The season picks up after the events that ended season 1 (the shootout with Rabbit and his gunman). In the first episode, the FBI comes in to investigate the sheriff's department, and the head agent, played by Željko Ivanek, basically slaps everyone on the wrist except for Carrie, whom he threatens with criminal charges unless she provides the whereabouts of her father. The uneasy truce between Proctor and Hood is tenuous at best, and the post-credits scene from season one pays off with the real Lucas Hood's son, Jason, coming to town to figure out what happened to his father. The storyline with Alex Longshadow is resolved, with Nola (Odette Annabelle) getting a larger role this season and Rebecca (Lilly Simmons) going even farther into the dark side. We also see more of Lucas and Carrie's backstories as we see the events that resulted in him going to prison. There is also a post-credits scene in the season finale which sets up the season three storyline.

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. As was the case with the season 1 Blu-Ray release, the show looks and sounds great in HD, and includes quite a few extras. Those include commentary tracks on five of the ten episodes, deleted scenes, trailers, and about an hour's worth of Banshee Origin webisodes that give the various characters' backstories. There is "Lucas" post-arrest negotiation for testimony when he was arrested after allowing "Carrie" to escape. We also see Carrie meeting Gordon and see Sugar and Protor's history with one another. Some of the webisode material was integrated into the regular episodes, but there is also a lot of extra material there.

Overall, the season is very good and continues to tell a compelling story. We still do not learn Lucas' real name and only get snippets of information about who he is. Antony Starr does a good job playing him as a cross between a straight-up lawman who cares about protecting the town's people (even if he uses highly illegal measures to do so) and a crook still committing crimes. The series continues to have a lot of violence, sometimes over-the-top violence, and a lot of sex and nudity. So, if those things turn you off, you definitely want to avoid this. But, if you are looking for a good adult drama, this is a great series, and the season continues with a strong storyline. It is a serial storyline, so you must watch season one first to follow what is happening.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Banshee: Season 1

 

Banshee was a crime-drama/action series that aired on Cinemax from 2013 to 2016. The 10-episode first season aired during the winter and spring of 2013. The series starred Anthony Starr, Ivana Milicevic, Lili Simmons, Hoon Lee, Ullrich Thomsen, Ben Cross, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Matt Servitto, and  Frankie Faison. 

Starr plays Lucas Hood (not his real name), a recently released ex-con who has spent 15 years in prison and who, through a crazy twist of fate, becomes the sheriff of Banshee, a small town in PA abutting an Amish community. There, he finds that his ex-girlfriend, played by Ivana Milicevic, is married with a couple of children and hiding out from a NY crime boss named "Rabbit" ( played by Ben Cross). Lucas discovers that the town is basically run by an ex-Amish gangster named Kai Proctor (played by Ulrich Thomsen), and the two immediately become enemies. Lucas struggles to stay on the right side of the law while pretending to enforce the law.  Frankie Faison plays Sugar Bates, a retired former boxer and ex-con turned bar owner. Hoon Lee plays Job, a computer hacker, and Hood's criminal accomplice; Matt Servitto plays Brock Lotus, the longest-serving member of the Banshee Sheriff's department who was passed over for Sheriff. Trieste Kelly Dunn plays Siobhan Kelly, another deputy sheriff and Lili Simmons plays Rebecca Bowman, who lives a double life as a devout Amish by day and a rebellious and sexually promiscuous party girl by night. She also happens to be Proctor's niece.

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set with episodes and a decent amount of extras. The show's A/V quality is very good, and it looks and sounds great in the HD format. It is probably not a must-see in HD because there is not much in the way of special effects or things of that nature, but I think the colors pop very nicely and some of the landscape shots look great in HD. For extras, there are commentary tracks on six of the ten episodes, a making-of documentary called Banshee Origins that is split into 15 segments, a featurette on the opening title sequences and all the easter eggs and clues that are in each opening credit sequence, deleted scenes, and a trailer for season two.

Overall, the show is great. It is well-written and very well-acted. Be warned, however, that there is a lot of violence, sexual content, and nudity (mostly by Milicevic and Simmons, but pro wrestling fans may also recognize C.J. Perry, who was Lana in WWE topless in a sex scene with Starr). So, it is definitely an adult show that is not family-friendly. So, if that would turn you off to a show, you are best to skip this. If, however, you are looking for a drama that is compelling and not like anything else out there, this is definitely something you should check out.