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

 

Lucifer was a series that aired from 2016 to 2021, starting on FOX and finishing its run on Netflix after being canceled by Fox. It is mostly a case-of-the-week procedural show (especially early on) in which Lucifer Morningstar (played by Tom Ellis), the DC Universe's version of the Devil, abandons Hell for Los Angeles where he runs his own nightclub named Lux. He becomes a consultant to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) working with Detective Chloe Decker (played by Chicago Fire's Lauren German), whom he becomes enthralled with. Lucifer uses his powers of persuasion to help Chole solve crimes, while his older brother, Amenadiel, played by Buffy's D. B. Woodside, and his demon confidant Mazikeen, played by Lesley-Ann Brandt, try to get Lucifer to return to Hell. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Kevin Alejandro who plays Chloe's ex-husband and current co-worker, Detective Daniel "Dan" Espinoza, Rachael Harris as Dr. Linda Martin, Lucifer's psychologist and occasional fling, and Scarlett Estevez who plays Beatrice "Trixie" Espinoza, Chloe and Dan's daughter, who befriends Lucifer and Mazikeen and steals nearly every scene she is in.

As I said above, the show is pretty much a case-of-the-week crime drama, with a lot of snarky humor mixed in. It is not a superhero show per-se, but of course, Lucifer does have powers that he uses in a very morally ambiguous (at best) way. There are story arcs that play out over the course of the season, the big one being that Lucifer is trying to hide his real identity from Chole, and always close to getting caught for something illegal he is doing. The season ends on a quasi cliffhanger, definitely setting up what is to come in season two.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the show looks and sounds great in HD. The 13 episodes are spread across three discs, and there are a handful of extras. The extras include about six minutes worth of deleted scenes, a handful of very short character profiles, and a 13-minute portion of the 2015 Comic-Con panel. What was included was good, but there is not a ton of material.

Overall, the show is very good. It is definitely not what I would call family-friendly as it definitely pushes the bounds with violence and sexual content that they could get away with on broadcast TV. While there are certainly religious themes in the show, it is more a buddy-cop procedural than a show with in-your-face religious dogma. It is well-written and very well-acted, and definitely worth checking out.

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.

DVD/TV Series Review: Hawaii Five-O (2010): The Sixth Season

 

+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from prior seasons, but no major season six spoilers+++

The sixth season of Hawaii Five-0 relies more on the procedural, case-of-the-week stories as opposed to new serial arcs. The big serial arc that runs through the season involves Gabriel Waincroft, who continues to go after the team, including attacking Adam and Kono on their honeymoon. There are also callbacks to episodes from the prior season, the big one involving Lou returning to Chicago to attempt to get his ex-partner Clay Maxwell (guest star Mykelti Williamson) to confess to killing his wife. Between the case-of-the-week stories, the team goes through a cat-and-mouse game with Waincroft that lasts until the end of the season. This season also sees a ton of guest stars including Julie Benz (from Buffy and Angel), Sarah Carter (who had a recurring role on Smallville), Carol Burnett, and Sung Kang (from the Fast and Furious movies). Michelle Borth leaves the show as a series regular this season, which is really the only notable cast shakeup.

The extras for the DVD are pretty much the same as they have been in the past couple of seasons. Mostly deleted scenes, gag reel, and a short behind-the-scenes featurette. And, of course, the show is only available on DVD after the first few seasons getting blu-ray releases with a lot of extras.

Overall, the show continues to be a good action procedural that has some drama and humor mixed in. The writers do a good job juggling the large cast, and giving each character good material. Of course, Steve and Danny get the most storylines and screen time, but even the more ancillary characters like Max and Jerry get something to work with. Unlike the past couple of seasons, this one does not end on a big cliffhanger. We know the fates of all of the characters as the season finale ends, which is actually a nice change. So, if you have been a fan of the prior seasons, you will probably like this season as well.

DVD/TV Series Review: Limitless

 

Limitless was mostly an adaptation, but partly a continuation of the movie of the same name starring Bradley Cooper. Like the movie, the premise of the series is based on the myth that humans only access 10 percent of their brain's power which can be expanded by taking a nootropic drug called NZT-48, which unlocks the full potential of the human mind. Jake McDorman, who up to this point in his career played character parts in either guest starring or recurring roles on series like Shameless and House, had been a series lead in a few short-lived relatively unknown shows, as well as having a few movie credits under his belt, plays Brian Finch, a 28-year old musician who has to take odd jobs to keep himself afloat. He is mainly a slacker with little direction in his life. He is given NZT and for 12 hours becomes incredibly smart, with perfect recall, and is able to solve any problem. In the pilot, he becomes the suspect in a murder investigation and uses NZT to figure out who the real murderer is. Cooper reprises his role from the movie, Eddie Mora, as a recurring character, who is a senator with presidential aspirations. He provides Brian with a shot that counteracts the devastating side effects of NZT, and Brian ends up becoming a consultant for the FBI working with Special Agent Rebecca Harris (played by Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter, in her first big role after Dexter ended) and Special Agent Spelman Boyle (played by Hill Harper) who is less than enthused to have Brian as a consultant. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays FBI Special Agent in Charge Nasreen "Naz" Poura, who assigns missions to the team.

The series is definitely a bit uneven, and it took a while to really find its footing. Early in the season, episodes included more of Brian's family, played by Ron Rifkin (of Alias) as Brian's father, Blair Brown (from Fringe) as Brian's mother, and Megan Guinan as Brian's sister, Rachel. About halfway through the season, the series shifted to focusing a lot less on Brian's personal life (mainly because of the backlash from viewers over the recreational use of marijuana by Brian and Rachel) and focused almost exclusively on the FBI cases. Cooper made a handful of appearances throughout the season but did not have as large a role in the show as the previews for the series made it seem, I think the fact that Cooper did not have a larger part in the show ultimately hurt the show in the long run.

For those who get the DVD set (the series only got a DVD physical media release), the extras include series promos, a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a commentary track on the episode Headquarters!, and a gag reel. A decent amount for a series that only lasted one season.

Overall, the series is very good, despite the rougher start when the series was trying to figure out if it wanted to be a straight drama or more of a blended drama and comedy. It was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural crime drama but also had some serial storylines. The acting was great, especially once a single tone was picked, and all of the characters (even the ancillary ones) were given good material to work with. The series, thankfully, does not end on a total cliffhanger, but it ended in a way that was definitely setting up a second season that would ultimately never come. So, if you watch it and get into it, you may be disappointed that not everything gets resolved by the end. That said, it is still a very good series that is worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Americans: The Complete Fourth Season

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major season 4 spoilers+++

The fourth season of The Americans continues some of the storylines from prior seasons (tying some of them up completely and shifting others) and introduces new storylines. The big new storyline involves bioweapons and brings in the great character actor Dylan Baker as another soviet living in the US and working as a biochemical scientist. The storyline with Martha, after Phillip revealed his real identity to her in the prior season, takes a prominent role this season and both he and Martha are in constant danger of being discovered by the FBI. Phillip and Elizabeth also have to deal with the fallout of Paige telling Pastor Tim about her parents, trying to figure out whether to kill him and risk alienating Paige further.

For those who get the DVD set, the A/V quality is definitely not as good as it could be, and one of those where the streaming quality (in HD) is better than what you get on the physical discs. The extras are very bare bones, just some deleted and extended scenes. There are no behind-the-scenes features or commentary tracks as there have been in prior seasons. So, this basically amounts to little more than an MOD set, and one of those series that Fox (which has heavily preferred steaming) only puts out a bare-bones set. So really, the only reason to get the DVDs is that you want to keep your collection current.

Overall, the season is very good. There are definitely twists and turns throughout the season, and the series ratches up the tension as Phillip and Elizabeth are always in danger of being caught. The cast is top-notch, not only the main cast but the supporting characters as well. Margo Martindale and Frank Langella are great as Philip and Elizabeth's handlers, and Julia Garner does a great job as Kimmy in her limited role. Matthew Rhys gives a standout performance this season playing Phillip as very conflicted and torn between being a good Soviet and an American becoming more and more disillusioned with his real job. There is a lot of violence and some sexual content as there has been in every season, although I would say that the sex is a bit toned down in this season. If you have been a fan of the series up to this point, it is definitely still worth watching. If you are looking for a new series to watch, start this at season one and enjoy.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Manhattan Night

 

Manhattan Night is a crime drama/thriller starring Adrien Brody, Yvonne Strahovski, Jennifer Beals, and Campbell Scott. The overall story is that Brody plays a journalist named Porter Wren, who is approached at a work party by a socialite Caroline Crowley (Strahovski), who wants Porter's help to investigate the death of her husband (played by Scott) whose body was discovered in the rubble of a demolished building. What follows is a combination of a murder mystery with some twists (some predictable, some not) and an erotic thriller. The movie marked the first time that Strahovski who had previously starred in the series Chuck and then in the later seasons of Dexter, had done nude scenes (where you could see anything), which was the allure of the movie for many people. And yes, for those who have loved her since Chuck, they are as spectacular as you would have guessed.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is okay, but not great. Given that the movie was made sometime in 2014 and released in 2015, even a basic transfer to blu-ray looks pretty good. But, you can also tell that it did not get as good a blu-ray transfer that bigger-budget movies get. The extras include a commentary track on the movie with Director/Producer/Screenwriter Brian DeCubellis, Actor/Co-Producer Campbell Scott, and Cinematographer David Tumblety, a couple of short behind-the-scenes featurettes, about 18 minutes of deleted scenes, a director's notebook and storyboard feature, and the trailer.

Overall, the movie is good, but not what I would call a must-see. It definitely has a lower-budget independent movie feel to it, which some people may like and others may not. It has a relatively small, but good cast that, besides Strahovski and Brody include Jennifer Beals and Steven Berkoff. Fans of Strahovski will definitely like her scenes and she does a good job with sort of dark and mysterious characters (as she showed during her time on Dexter, and even to some extent in Chuck). So, if you are a fan of crime suspense/thrillers and don't mind lower-budget movies, this is a good one to check out.

DVD/TV Series Review: Rogue - Season 2

 

Season two of Rouge aired during the summer of 2014 and involves a totally new serial storyline, this time involving military contractors led by a man named Ethan Kelly, played by Cole Hauser, Grace (Thandie Newton) is a part of an FBI operation investigating Kelly and his crew, Alec Newman as Ray Williams, Brendan Fletcher as Brian "Spud" Cacelle, and Clayne Crawford as Danny 'Cheat' Chetowski, for stealing a bunch of money went they were deployed overseas. The members of the FBI task force include Andrea Roth as Leni Kastner (Grace's handler), and Rupert Evans as Elliot Howe, the head of the task force.

Like season one, season two has a lot of twists and turns, and things get revealed in small bits throughout the season. Also, like the first season, this one is short, just ten episodes. The Lazlo storyline from season one is mostly resolved, but Joshua Sasse who plays Jimmy's son, Alec Laszlo does make a couple of appearances during the season. Because this is a serial arc, all of the episodes build on each other and you really have to watch from the first episode all the way through. There is some violence, sex, and nudity as there was in the first season, but I think all of them are tamed down a bit.

For those who get the DVD set, there are a handful of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. They cover things like the season two cast, set tours, and the like. Nothing extensive, but they are there for those who like watching them.

Overall, the season is very good. I like that it moved on from the first season's storylines (for the most part). We still get some of Grace's home life and see how the events of the first season have further affected that. The season ends on a big cliffhanger going into season three that will definitely have another storyline shift for the show going into season three. So, if you like more adult crime dramas (this is definitely not family-friendly) this is a good one to check out. You do not need to watch the first season to understand everything that is going on this season, but it does help to get Grace's backstory.

DVD/TV Series Review: Castle Season 8

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major season eight spoilers.+++

The best way to describe the final season of Castle is that it just feels off. It does use much of what made the show good to begin with, the case-of-the-week procedural format mixed with serial story arcs that run the course of the season. This season Beckett learns that the conspiracy involving Bracken, who was responsible for her mother's death, went deeper than Bracken, and she gets pulled back into that rabbit hole. As a result, she and Castle do not work together as much this season as they did in the prior seasons, so it misses a lot of the interplay between them that made the show great. As some may know, there were rumors that Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion did not get along behind the scenes later in the show's run (rumors are that they hated each other, although I have not seen either of them verify that). If valid, that did not affect the prior seasons, but it definitely seems like the dynamic between the two was different this season. Toward the end of the season, it was announced that should the series be renewed for a ninth season neither Katic nor Tamala Jones (who played Lanie) would return. Multiple endings to the finale were shot depending on the fate of the series. It was ultimately canceled toward the end of the eighth season and instead of ending on a cliffhanger, the series does provide somewhat of a conclusion for Castle and Beckett but does not really give a good sendoff to the supporting characters.

For those who get the DVD set, the extras include audio commentaries on select episodes, a blooper reel, deleted scenes, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. Okay for what is there, but not as much as the early season releases got.

Overall, the season is good, but not as good as prior seasons. As I said above, it just feels different in large part because the chemistry between Castle and Beckett felt off or lacking. The show includes a decent slate of guest stars including Fillion's Firefly co-stars Summer Glau and Jewel Staite, and an appearance by Oprah Winfrey. While I cannot say that fans of the show will like this season as much as prior seasons, I do think it is worth watching to see how the show wraps up.

DVD/TV Series Review: Rogue (2014) - Season 01

 

Rouge is a crime drama starring Thandie Newton as Grace Travis, a detective working undercover to bring down a mobster in Oakland California named Jimmy Lazlo (played by Marton Csokas). She is also dealing with the murder of her young son, who was gunned down (seemingly) as a bystander in a drive-by shooting. Grace believes there may be more to it, and is unraveling as she splits her time trying to solve the murder and be an undercover agent, all while trying to keep what remains of her family together.

The show has several intertwined storylines that cross over each other at some point. It is definitely not a procedural crime drama that has a case-of-the-week that needs to be solved. You basically have to watch from the start to really know what is going on. It is also a very adult drama with a lot of violence, swearing, and nudity, much more than you even see on regular basic cable stations since it aired on the Audience Network which had a more limited reach. So, it leaves little to the imagination. For those who get the DVD set, there are a couple of extras, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a series of webisodes. If you do get the DVDs, just be aware, the show ran for a total of four seasons. The first two seasons are readily available. The third season (which is split into two parts) are available as imports on blu ray and DVD, but they are hard to find and expensive, and the fourth season has (to my knowledge) not been released at all. So, if you get the show on physical media, it will be an incomplete collection. Otherwise, the show is very good and definitely worth the time to watch if you like gritty, more adult crime dramas.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Blindspot Season 1

 

Blindspot was a combination serial and procedural drama from 2015 starring Jamie Alexander (best known for her role as Lady Sif in the MCU) and Sullivan Stapleton (best known for the series Strike Back). The show opens with a mysterious bag in the middle of Times Square that suddenly stops moving. A naked, heavily tattooed woman (Alexander) emerges from the bag with no memory of who she is but has the name of FBI agent Kurt Weller (Stapleton) tattooed on her back. She is dubbed "Jane Doe" and brought to the NY FBI field office where it is discovered that the tattoos contain a clue leading them to a terrorist, and subsequently discover that other tattoos contain clues to active plots, old cases, etc. The series then launches into a blend of a case-of-the-week procedural in which the team tries to solve a new tattoo and several serial arcs. One of the serial arcs involves Jane's memories slowly coming back through flashbacks and the other involves a childhood friend of Weller's who went missing as a kid.

The show has a very strong supporting cast including Rob Brown as Edgar Reade, an FBI special agent and member of Weller's team, Audrey Esparza as Natasha "Tasha" Zapata, an FBI special agent and member of Weller's team, who used to be an NYPD officer, Ashley Johnson as Patterson, an FBI special agent and head of the FBI Forensic Science Unit, Ukweli Roach as Robert Borden, an FBI psychiatrist who helps Jane to retrieve and understand her memories, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Bethany Mayfair, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the A/V quality is very good, and what special effects there are, look great in HD. The extras include featurettes on the tattoo clues, several deleted scenes, a portion of the Comic-Con panel, a gag reel, a commentary track on the pilot episode with the series creator Martin Gero and the director Mark Pellingham, and then there are several making-of featurettes that range in length from a few minutes to just under ten. So, if you like watching the bonus material, there is a good amount there for you.

Overall, the season is very good. It has a good blend of action, suspense, and drama, with some humor mixed in. The humor is mostly dry humor from the overly stuffy (with the exception of Patterson) FBI agents, and the non-dry humor comes in large part from the character of Rich Dotcom, played by Ennis Esmer, who is in just one episode in season one but would become more involved in subsequent seasons. It is definitely a show that you have to watch from the beginning to know what is going on because, even though some of the main storylines of particular episodes are self-contained one-off storylines, there is always a secondary storyline about one of the larger serial arcs that will make little sense if you just jump into it. But, if you are a fan of crime dramas that have a lot of action, then this is definitely a good one to check out.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Pushing Daisies: The Complete First and Second Seasons

 

Pushing Daisies was a series created by Bryan Fuller, who has a track record of developing shows that are critical successes with small but rabid fanbases (like Wonderfalls before this and Hannibal after this). The series stars Lee Pace as Ned "the piemaker" who owns a bakery called the pie hole. He has the ability to bring a dead thing back to life by touching it, with a couple of caveats. First, if he touches the dead thing a second time, it stays dead forever. If he does not touch the thing a second time within a minute, then something of similar "life value" in the vicinity will die to maintain a balance. So, if he lets a person live, another person within the vicinity will die in that person's stead. These caveats are important in a couple of respects. First, Ned works with a private investigator named Emmerson Cod (played by Chi McBride) who uses Ned's ability to solve mysterious murders by bringing the victims back to life long enough to ask them about their deaths. Second, in the first episode, Ned makes the choice to let his murdered Ned's childhood sweetheart, Charlotte (Chuck) Charles, played by Anna Friel live. This, of course, has major consequences that last throughout the series, one major consequence being that Ned and Chuck cannot touch each other as they inevitably fall in love. Also, Chuck's aunts, played wonderfully by Ellen Greene and Swoosie Kurtz, are traumatized by believing their niece to be dead.

This set just has the individual seasons packed together in one set. It is not a special complete series that was packaged separately. As for extras, the first season box claims there is a featurette titled Pie Time that features interviews with the cast and crew, but that is not actually on any of the discs in my set, which indicates it may be an imported set. The season 2 set does have a handful of featurettes including an interview with Bryan Fuller, a featurette on the music of the series, a feature on the production of the episodes, and one of the visual effects. Good for what is there, but not a ton of material. The A/V quality is good, but the show was made at a time in which the CGI special effects could still look kind of fakey and corny, and that definitely does come through in HD for some of the scenes.

Overall, the show is great. It is well-written and very well-acted. Kristin Chenoweth who plays Olive Snook, a waitress at the pie shop who is in love with Ned steals pretty much every scene she is in, and the series has a great set of recurring and guest stars including Stephen Root, Joel Mchale, Raúl Esparza, George Hamilton, Rachel Harris, Paul Reubens, Orlando Jones, and Ivana Miličević (among others). The second season was mostly finished before the official cancelation came through, so the series finale was tweaked a bit to give the show an ending that kind of tied things up. But, there was more than one storyline that was set up to play out in season three that just got abandoned because of the show's cancellation. So, if you have not seen the show before and really get into it, it will definitely feel incomplete, even though the second season does not end on a major cliffhanger because not everything gets tied up by the end. That said, it is still a great show, so if you like procedural crime shows that are a mix of drama and dark comedy, this is definitely a good one to check out.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Gotham: Season 2

 

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

The second season of Gotham picks up shortly after the events that ended season one. Oswald has taken over Fish's empire after killing her, Jim has been fired from the GCPD and is now working with Oswald while trying to get reinstated, and several of the villains from season one are locked up in Arkham, including Barbara Keane and Jerome Valeska (whom the series is still playing coy about whether he is The Joker). Two new antagonists are introduced this season, including James Frain who plays Theo Galavan a billionaire industrialist who is secretly the heir apparent of the Order of St. Dumas, and his sister Tabitha (played by Jessica Lucas from the short-lived series Life as we Know It). Michael Chiklis (from The Shield) plays a no-nonsense captain, Nathaniel Barnes, who is brought in to clean up the GCPD.

The series mostly consists of several serial story arcs that go throughout the season and overlap at various points. There are also stories-of-the-week which are one-off stories that are used as filler material for the serial arcs. The big serial arc this season involves Arkham asylum and shady work being done by Hugo Strange, played by BD Wong, which is not revealed until the very end of the season. The season ends not so much on a cliffhanger, but with a big reveal that is sure to be one of the big story arcs in season three.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the A/V quality is great once again. A big part of the show is the look of the city, and the cinematography is wonderful making the city look gritty and run down during the day and dark and imposing at night. The extras include several short clips from throughout the season which are used to introduce a plot line or character, then there is a 16-minute portion of the show's 2015 Comic-Con panel, a 25-minute featurette that discusses the look of Gotham, a 20-minute featurette devoted to the character of Alfred, and a featurette on the character of Victor Fries, who is another villain given an origin story this season. So, not a ton of bonus material, but what is included is good.

Overall, the season continues to be strong. The large ensemble cast is balanced well, and while Gordon is the main character in the series, the writers do a good job of giving all the main characters compelling storylines. This is especially important because David Mazouz is still quite young, and a long way from being physically imposing so he really cannot get involved in action sequences that are too intense. He is still honing the skill that will eventually allow him to become Batman (and there is a nice clue in the season about how he gets the general idea for Batman) but he is definitely not there yet. Cameron Monaghan does a great job again as Jerome and definitely leaves you wanting more of the character. Of course, he was splitting his time between Gotham and the series Shameless so he was only in a handful of episodes, but he stole pretty much every scene he was in. Ultimately, if you liked season one, and are okay with the fact that this is not a show about Batman, you will probably like season two.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych Season 8

 

Season 8 of Psych was a shorter season (just ten episodes) which were given to the series to wrap everything up. Unfortunately, it seemed like the writers wanted to jam everything they could into the season, at the expense of some of the things that made the show great to begin with, namely, the relationship of the characters. Chief Vick and Juliette were absent for most of the season, just making what amounted to cameo appearances. The writers really just went with every novelty episode that they still wanted to do, like a remake episode, in which the episode "Cloudy... With a Chance of Murder" from the first season is remade (with different twists) using the same cast members. We also get to see Gus geek out over Harry Potter, and a Nightmare on Elm Street homage episode. The DVD set also includes "Psych the musical" which is the musical episode that aired between the seventh and eighth seasons of the show. The DVD set again includes a lot of extras for those who like to watch them. There are deleted scenes, several commentary tracks, montages, a gag reel, and a making-of/farewell featurette.

Overall, the season is good, but not as good as it was in prior seasons. As I said above, it seemed like the writers were just wanting to jam a bunch of stuff into the show before the end, but did not focus as much as writing a fitting end to the series. Of course, the show would be resurrected via now three TV and/or streaming movies, so it is not totally the end of the show. The show did have another great slate of guest stars (as well as bringing back some of the recurring characters). The guest stars this season included Dana Ashbrook, Katharine Isabelle, Carlos Jacott, Ed Lover, Ralph Macchio, Lindsay Sloane, Janet Varney, Alan Ruck, Ray Wise, Tom Arnold, The Bella Twins, Corbin Bleu, Yvette Nicole Brown, Dean Cameron, Bruce Campbell, Olivia d'Abo, Loretta Devine, Sutton Foster, Vincent Gale, Kali Hawk, Vinnie Jones, Val Kilmer, Floriana Lima, Peggy Lipton, Deon Richmond, Peter Stormare, Vincent Ventresca, Vincent M. Ward, Celia Weston, William Zabka, and Billy Zane. Yes, Kilmer and Zane finally made appearances after being referenced multiple times over the course of the series. So, even though it is not as good as it was, it is still worth watching to see how the series ended.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: Season 7

 

The seventh season of Psych pretty much follows the format of the prior seasons. Mostly, the show is a case-of-the-week procedural that does have story arcs (and jokes) that go throughout the course of the season (and there are callbacks to prior seasons). And, of course, there are the spoof/homage episodes that are a play on something from pop culture. This season, it is a spoof of the movie Clue, which also serves as the show's 100th episode. Shawn and Juliet's relationship takes a couple of turns this season, as does Lassiter's relationship with Marlowe.

For those who get the DVD set, the extras are pretty similar to the prior seasons. There are commentary tracks on select episodes, a gag reel, a ton of deleted scenes, montages and psychouts, and an extended version of the 100 Clues episode. Note that the musical episode(s) that aired after the 7th season ended is not included in this set. Some of the guest stars this season include Parminder Nagra (from ER), Anthony Michael Hall (from pretty much every 1980s teenage comedy), Garcelle Beauvais, Jake Busey, David Koechner, Christopher Lloyd, Lori Loughlin, Cybill Shepherd, and Lesley Ann Warren.

Overall, the show continues to be good, although probably not as good as it was in the first couple of seasons. The show definitely recycles jokes, and there are only so many times it can do that without getting old. But, the writers do manage to keep the show fresh with the spoof episodes which give fans something to look forward to each season. The acting is always great, and the cast members either have or fake great chemistry. I assume it is the former since they all keep coming back to do the TV movies even after the show ended. So, if you are a fan of the show, this season is definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: Season 6

 

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

Season six of Psych included 16 episodes that aired from the fall of 2011 to the spring of 2012, including the mid-season break that lasted almost two months. The show continues with the formula that has worked well for the show up to this point. It is still mostly a case-of-the-week procedural crime comedy with a bit of drama mixed into it. It does have some ongoing story arcs. One of the big ones this season is Shawn and Juliet's relationship since they finally got together during the prior season. Another multi-episode arc involves Lassiter getting a love interest, played by the movie version of Buffy in a vampire-themed episode. And, as has been the case in all of the seasons, there are several pop-culture references, including an episode that is a total spoof on the movie The Hangover and an episode that is an homage to Indiana Jones. That episode brings back Cary Elwes' character Pierre Despereaux and brings in the nearly ageless Mädchen Amick, who was not a part of the Twin Peaks homage in the prior season but whom James Roday said he really wanted to work with. This season ends on a pretty big cliffhanger that leaves the life of one of the main characters in doubt going into the next season.

The DVD set is a four-disc set with the extras and the episodes spread evenly throughout the discs. The extras are pretty consistent with what has been released for the prior seasons. There are deleted scenes for nearly every episode, a gag reel, montages (which are almost gag reels themselves), psychouts, and commentary tracks (audio and/or video) for many of the episodes. So, if you want to go through the bonus material then there is a lot for you, although you will have to watch episodes multiple times (which, I'm guessing most people will not mind).

Overall, if you have liked the prior seasons, you will probably like this one. Yes, the show is on the sixth season and some of the jokes are getting recycled now, but on the whole, I think the writers do a good job keeping the stories fresh, and the cast seems to really enjoy their characters. The show is mostly a comedy, but does have some moments of drama mixed in that works well. So, it is definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: Season 5

 

+++Warning, this contains a minor spoiler from the prior season, but no major giveaways from the fifth season+++

The fifth season of Psych included 16 episodes that aired in the summer and winter of 2010 (after its usual break about midway through the season). Season five of Psych continues the formula that made the show a hit for the USA network, combining a case or mystery of the week with a ton of 80s and 90s pop culture references and some ongoing story arcs. This was the first season to pull an all-out pop culture-themed show, specifically, an episode called Dual Spires, which is a combination spoof/homage of the early 90s cult classic show Twin Peaks. The show actually managed to get quite a few of the actors from Twin Peaks to play spoof versions of their characters from Twin Peaks, including Sherilyn Fenn, Ray Wise, Sheryl Lee, and more. There is also an episode that is a spoof of the Fast and Furious movies that, while not as good as the Twin Peaks episode, is still funny. The season finale continues the Yang storyline, with Ally Sheedy reprising her role and finding a clever way to include Jimmi Simpson's character, Mary, who was killed in the Yang episode in season four. The show also continues to develop all of the characters, including teaming up Gus and Lassiter for an episode and Henry coming out of retirement to be in charge of all the consultants for the Santa Barbara PD, making him Shawn and Gus' boss.

The DVD set is a four-disc set, and like the prior season releases, it has a ton of extras. There are deleted scenes for pretty much every episode, extended versions of some episodes, commentary tracks (audio and/or video) on many episodes, and a gag reel. So, if you like bonus content, there is a lot there for you. Overall, the season is very good. The acting and writing are both top-notch, and the show finds new ways to tweak the formula that makes it work. It is still playing the will-they-won't-they-together dance between Shawn and Juliet, drawing out the tease of a relationship for as long as possible. So, if you were a fan of the prior seasons, you would probably like or love this one. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Fargo: Season 2

 

The second season of Fargo, like the first (and the movie) is, despite the tag at the beginning of the episodes, a totally made-up story. It is actually a prequel to the season one story, telling the events that Lou Solverson (played by Keith Carradine in season one, and Patrick Wilson in season two) related during one of the scenes in season one, in which he discussed an old case that was as crazy as what was playing out. The season starts off with a member of the Gerhardt crime family (Rye, played by Kieran Culkin) based in Fargo, North Dakota trying to extort a judge in a diner in Luverne, Minnesota (which is nowhere near Fargo). Things get murdery (as they do in the Fargo storylines), and Rye ends up being hit by a car driven by Kirsten Dunst's character, Peggy Blumquist. Things go off the rails from there as the Gerhardts, lead by Jean Smart's character Floyd Gerhardt, try to figure out what happened to Rye, and head off members of the Kansas City mob who are trying to take over in Fargo. And Lou, ends up in the middle of everything.

The show has a great guest and recurring cast, including Ted Danson, Jeffrey Donovan (from Burn Notice), Zahn McClarnon who plays a Native American Hitman for the Gerhardts, Jesse Plemons (from Breaking Bad), Bokeem Woodbine, Brad Garrett, Nick Offerman, Rachel Keller, Michael Hogan (from Battlestar), and more, and Bruce Campbell. We also do get cameos from some of the season one actors.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the extras include five featurettes; titled "Lou on Lou: A Conversation with Patrick Wilson, Keith Carradine, and Noah Hawley", "Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls", "The Films of Ronald Reagan: Extended Fargo cut", "The True History of Crime in the Midwest", and "Skip Sprang TV Commercial". The commercial is the shortest of them (just under a minute), and the Waffles and Bullet Holes featurette is the longest at just under 45 minutes. So, there is a decent amount for those who like watching the extras.

Overall, the show is good. It does get a bit weird at times, even introducing the hint of aliens. But, it is a good mix of drama and very dry, dark, humor. There is some sexual content and a lot of violence, so like season one, it is not family-friendly. That said, the acting is great and the writing is very good. So, if you were a fan of season one, this is definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: Season 4

 

+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from season three, but no major season four spoilers+++

By the fourth season, people will really know if they love Psych or not. It is really a show that you are going to (probably) love or hate. I do not think there are a ton of people out there that are lukewarm to the show. It is about a guy named Shawn Spencer (James Roday) with extremely high observational skills who has convinced the Santa Barbara Police that he is actually psychic, and works as a consultant for them along with his best friend Gus (Dule Hill). If you combine a sitcom with a prime-time police procedural, throwing in a ton of 80s and 90s pop culture references, you would get Psych. This season continues to mostly be a case-of-the-week procedural, but there are tiebacks to prior episodes, most notably the Yin-Yang killer, with Ally Sheedy reprising her role as Mr. Yang, and Jimmi Simpson reprising his role as Mary. And we get closer to the totally pop-culture-themed episodes that the series would become known for, with a Halloween episode that paid homage to the 1930s and 1940s monster movies, and an episode that starred Ray Wise that was a total spoof on his Twin Peaks character.

For those who get the DVD set, there are a ton of bonus features that are very similar to what was included in the seasons 1-3 released. There are deleted scenes for most episodes, commentaries for select episodes, a gag reel, and several montages (usually of Shawn or Gus saying the same thing over and over). So, if you like watching the bonus content, then you get a lot (which is becoming rarer and rarer as time goes by).

Overall, the season is very good. The show continues to get a ton of great guest stars including Rachael Leigh Cook recurring in her role as Abigail Lytar, Kurt Fuller who made his Psych debut as Woody the Coroner and would recur for the rest of the series run, Ally Sheedy, Jimmi Simpson, Christopher Turner, Cary Elwes as art thief Pierre Desperaux (who would also recur through the series), Ray Wise, Jaleel White, Christine Baranski, Jim Beaver, Josh Braaten, James Brolin, John Cena, Jay Chandrasekhar, Tim Conlon, Miguel Ferrer, Azita Ghanizada, Stacy Keibler, Joshua Malina, David Naughton, Judd Nelson, Larisa Oleynik, Robert Patrick, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Lisa Ray, Michael Rooker, Jeri Ryan, Sarah Shahi, Kenan Thompson, Tony Todd, Beverley Turner, Arnold Vosloo, and Thomas F. Wilson. With the most recognizable guest stars, the show usually makes at least one or two jokes that referred to the character and/or show/movie that made the person famous. So, if you liked the first few seasons, you will most likely feel the same way about this one. It is definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: The Complete Third Season

 

+++Warning, this contains a minor season two spoiler, but not major giveaways about season three+++

Season three of Psych actually evolved the show quite a bit. First, it branched out the storylines of having Shawn and Gus consult for the Santa Barbara police department but take on their own cases (usually with an attractive woman involved). Second, it started to incorporate serial story arcs into the show so it was not just a case-of-the-week procedural. At the beginning of the season, the tease from the last second of the season two finale is paid off, revealing Shawn's mother (played by Cybill Shepherd) has returned, and she plays a large role in the show throughout the season. Then, at the end of the season, there is the introduction of a character and a storyline that will span multiple seasons of the show. Of course, the case-of-the-week stories did remain, as did the multiple 80s and 90s pop culture references.

For those who get the DVD set, there are, again, a lot of extras, including deleted scenes for most episodes, video and/or podcast commentary tracks for many of the episodes, a hilarious gag reel, and more. The show also continues to get a ton of great guest and recurring stars including Rachael Leigh Cook, Phylicia Rashad, Kieth David (who replaced Ernie Hudson as Gus's father), Ally Sheedy, Jimmi Simpson, MacKenzie Astin, Justine Bateman, Jere Burns, F Gary Cole, Barry Corbin, Jeff Fahey, Frank Gifford, Mickie James, Jane Lynch, Christopher McDonald, Ted McGinley, Richard Riehle, Alan Ruck, Jonathan Silverman, Steven Weber, and Mykelti Williamson are among the most recognizable.

Overall, if you liked the first couple of seasons of the show, you will probably feel the same way about this one. The show does a good job of continuing to develop the characters, keeping the tension between Shawn and Juliet amped up without getting them together too quickly, and generally just being really funny. It is about 90% comedy, 10% drama, and pretty much 100% tongue-in-cheek. If you grew up in the 1980s and 1900s the jokes probably land a bit better than if you are older or younger, but that said, it is a great show that is well worth the time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: Season 2

 

The second season of Psych aired during the 2007/2008 TV season. Approximately half of the episodes aired during the summer of 2007 and half in the winter of 2007 into 2008. The season continues the procedural case-of-the-week format as the first season, in which fake psychic Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his assistant Gus (Dule Hill) consult on some particularly tricky cases for the Santa Barbara police department. The season has the same kind of witty banter and tongue-in-cheek comedy as the first season ramps up the sexual tension between Shawn and Juliet (Maggie Lawson) and the outright tension between Shawn and Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) and expands the role of Cheif Vick (Kristen Nelson) promoting her to a series regular. The show almost always starts out with the young version of Shawn (and sometimes Gus) learning a lesson from Henry (Corbin Bernsen) that ties into the theme of the episode.

There are many extras for those who get the DVD set. There are multiple commentary tracks, deleted scenes for most, if not all, of the episodes, a gag reel, a find the pineapple game, a montage that shows all of the crazy names Shawn has used to introduce himself and Gus, fake scenes (called "psych outs"), and some animated adventures of Shawn and Gus as kids. A ton of stuff for those who like going through the extras. The commentary tracks are pure gold, especially those in which Roday and Hill participate.

Overall, the show continues to be great. The acting and writing are both great. While the show had not quite gotten into the homage episodes yet (those that were spoofs and/or homages to some 1980s or 1990s movie, TV show, or trend), there are plenty of pop-culture references, and the show did start getting the great guest stars that the show would become known for. They include Phylicia Rashad and Ernie Hudson playing Gus' parents, John Amos, Curtis Armstrong, Obba Babatundé, Malcolm Barrett, W. Earl Brown, Matt Cedeno, Tim Curry, Cristián de la Fuente, Amanda Detmer, Gina Gershon, Ben Giroux, Philip Baker Hall, Howard Hesseman, Telma Hopkins, Katharine Isabelle, Christopher Jacot, Bianca Kajlich, Eric Keenleyside, Melanie Lynskey, Shane Meier, Alex Meneses, Brian Doyle-Murray, Dylan Neal, Amanda Pays, Lou Diamond Phillips, Saul Rubinek, Corey Sevier, Kerry Washington, and Calum Worthy. If you liked or loved season one, you will probably feel the same about this one. It is definitely worth the time to watch.