Actors: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt
Directors: Bryan Cranston, Adam Bernstein, Colin Bucksey, George Mastras, Michael Slovis
Number of discs: 3
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Run Time: 374 minutes
Season: 3 out of 5 stars Extras: 4 out of 5 stars
“Breaking Bad” was a show that I never got into. I am was not a fan of this show right away and was introduced to it when “The Walking Dead” drew me to AMC. I am not sure if I really am a fan actually. I like parts of the show and the idea of it but overall it is still entertaining. The first half of Season five, felt a little rushed but left us on a major cliffhanger. The second half will premiere on August 11, 2013 and will bring this series to a close. So I expect that it is going to be quite epic and hopefully they were saving the bang finish for the series’ ending. Fans of the show will still appreciate this Blu-ray release though as it is jam-stocked with get extras.
Official Premise: Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul return in their Emmy winning roles of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the fifth explosive season of Breaking Bad. With Gus Fring dead, Walt’s transformation from a well-meaning family man to ruthless drug kingpin is nearly complete. Forming a partnership with Jesse and Mike (Jonathan Banks), Walt proceeds to make a killing in the meth business until the fruits of his murderous schemes are threatened by a new development in the investigation led by his relentless brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris). Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson, the fifth season charts the murderous rise of Walter White as he reaches new highs…and new lows.
Comparing this show to its airing on AMC, it looks stunning on Blu-ray. It’s 1080p transfer really set the tone for the show and delivers the episodes very clear. Same goes for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track, which sounds amazing. In terms of special features like I mentioned below, this release is quite awesome. There are a few Blu-ray exclusive special features including “Scene by Scene: Directors Discuss Memorable Moments”, must watch for fans. Also “The Writers of Breaking Bad” gets the wrtiers together to chat about the season. The coolest features is easily “Chicks ‘N’ Guns”, which is an eight-minute, uncensored bonus scene, written and produced exclusively for the home entertainment release. The scene starts Aaron Paul, Bob Odenkirk and Charles Baker and tells a very pivotal back story to episode eight, “Gliding Over All.”
There is a cast & crew commentary track on each of the eight episodes. There are a few other deleted scenes and outtakes included. There are three all-new featurettes including “Nothing Stops This Train”, which looks into the train heist. “The Cleaner: Jonathan Banks as Mike” feature the actor talking about his role. There is a Behind-the-Scenes look into “Chicks ‘N’ Guns” with Aaron Paul and Bob Odenkirk. “Writers’ Room Timelapse” is a cool look into the writing of Episode four, “Fifty-One” with commentary from the writers. There is Laura Fraser & Jesse Plemons audition footage, as well as the prison stunt rehearsal footage. If you watch “The Nerdist”, you will like “Chris Hardwick’s All-Star Celebrity Bowling”. There are 19 minisodes for “Inside Breaking Bad”. Lastly there is “Gallery 1988 Art Show” with inspired artwork from the show.
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To celebrate the recent release of “Perception: The Complete First Season”, Media Mikes is happy to be giving away a DVD for the season. If you would like to enter for your chance to win one of these great prizes, please leave us a comment below or send us an email with your why Perception is your favorite procedural drama television series. This is giveaway will remain open until June 17th at Noon, Eastern Time. This is open to our readers in US and Canada only. One entry per person, per household. All other entries will be considered invalid. Media Mikes will randomly select winners. Winners will be alerted via email.
Synopsis: Enter the brilliant mind of Dr. Daniel Pierce and relive every thrilling case of Perception: The Complete First Season. Experience an original twist on the classic crime drama as Emmy Award® winner Eric McCormack (Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, 2001, Will & Grace), stars as an eccentric neuroscience professor whose revealing visions help him uncover what lies beneath conscious emotion.
Though recruited by the FBI for his masterful understanding of the human mind, Daniel’s odd and offbeat view makes it difficult for him to get close to anyone. His former student, Agent Kate Moretti (Rachael Leigh Cook), is one of the few people willing to accept Daniel’s peculiarities in exchange for his imaginative solutions. Two very different personalities join forces as they try to tackle the Bureau’s most complex cases.
Actors: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Carl Reiner
Directors: Jerry Paris, John Rich
Number of discs: 3
Rated: G (General Audience)
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Run Time: 811 minutes
Season: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars
I do not think that there could be such a thing as watching too much “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. As these seasons are being released on Blu-ray, I find myself re-watching past seasons just to fill the gap in between. Even my wife now has become a fan finding the show like myself post airing. Image Entertainment is behind these and they have done such a wonderful job. This season is first without Carl Reiner taking point in the writing department. It still is exceptional funny, especially with the episode “That’s My Boy??”. With only two more seasons to go after this, I am going to be upset when the series is completed. Can I suggest “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” next for them to release as a series? Hint Hint!
Official Premise: Pratfall-prone Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) and his plucky wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), along with wisecracking co-workers Sally (Rose Marie) and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam), captured America’s hearts in this TV favorite that irresistibly combined wit and slapstick. The third season, which earned the series’ highest ratings, opened with the landmark That’s My Boy?? about Rob’s fear that he’s brought the wrong baby home from hospital, getting the longest studio audience laughs in the show’s history. Also among the season’s 32 original full length episodes (airing 1963-1964) included in this set are the hilarious October Eve with Laura is mortified when a nude portrait of her surfaces in a New York gallery and Big Max Calvada in which a gangster muscles Rob, Buddy and Sally into writing a comedy routine for his nephew.
Like the past three seasons, Image Entertainment has consistently delivers wonderful presentations for this show (and many others as well). These episodes are brought to us on Blu-ray with all-new scans from the camera negatives. The 1080p transfer just look stunning. The original source elements have held up very well and really don’t show their age at all. The DTS-HD MA 1.0 audio track is a simple soundtrack for a simple show. There not much needed here this show and it works perfectly. The episodes were mostly taped with a studio audience and the laughing is balanced well with the snappy jokes and dialogue.
There are some new Blu-ray exclusive special features. Including “Mary on The Danny Kaye Show”, which if you a nice switch since on Season 2, we had Dick on that show. Decent but Dick’s appearance takes the cake for being slightly more entertaining. “TV Academy Tribute to Carl with Steve Martin and George Clooney” it is a nice ode to the man behind this great show. Martin gives tribute and Clooney does the awarding. The rest of the season features are roll-overs from past DVD releases but are still fantastic. There are commentary tracks from Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke on episode 64 (That’s My Boy??) and episode 90 (October Eve). There are “Episode Photos” throughout all three discs for episodes 18 out of the 32 episodes. There are also commercials/promos on episode 64, 66, 80 and others for Nick at Nite.
Other extras include featurettes on disc 1: “Remembering the Sheldon Leonard”, “Remembering Rob and Laura”, “Remembering Buddy and Sally”, “Remembering That’s My Boy??” (episode 64), “Remembering the Betty Lou” (episode 72), which look back at these episodes and the characters. Also there is “Sheldon on the Role of Executive Producer”. Disc 2 contains featurettes on “Remembering Joe Coogan” (episode 80). There is a also a featurette “The Cast Plays Stump the Stars” and Rehearsal footage from “A Day in the Life of Sheldon Leonard”. Lastly disc three has one more featurette: for “Remembering Alan Brady” (episode 86) and “Remembering October Eve” (episode 90). Also there is a look into the show’s Emmy Awards® (1963-1964) and “Dick and Mary on Van Dyke & Company” included.
Debuting in 2003, The Venture Brothers follows the animated misadventures of super scientist and former “boy adventurer,” Dr. Thaddeus ‘Rusty’ Venture, his Hardy-Boy-like teen sons Hank and Dean, and their self-proclaimed arch nemesis, The Monarch. The show has created an amazing universe of heroes, villains and henchmen throughout its first four seasons while sending up everything from Johnny Quest to Hunter S. Thompson. Leading up to this Sunday’s fifth season premiere on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, creators, co-writers and stars, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer got on the phone to discuss the show’s diverse roster of characters, super science, and the challenges of animating convincing tin foil jokes.
Lauren Damon:Your show revolves around a lot of Super Scientists, is there anything in actual modern science that’s freaked you out or sounded like something from the show? Doc Hammer: I’m personally not that educated. So I’m personally not up on actual scientific discovery. Jackson Publick: I have recently subscribed to Popular Science. Doc: So he knows all the things that are popular. Jackson: I’m super excited that they might be figuring out warp speed and when they grew a human ear on a mouse’s, I’ve never forgotten that.
LD: How about the 3D printers? Jackson: I’m not that excited by the 3D printer—Somebody showed me a Green Lantern ring they made with a 3D printer the other night. Actually it was a White Lantern ring, calling it a “White Power” ring, which is weird! Doc: Do you have to wear glasses for the 3D printer? Jackson: No, it’s a printer that makes a 3D object for you. Out of like, resin or something, it just carves this thing for you. Doc: Oh yes. You know what? Those are more like 3D fax machines than they are 3D printers.
LD: You have so many characters on the show, do you find that you have favorites to write or watch interactions between? Doc: Oh yeah, you can tell just by watching the show. Jackson: Yeah, you can tell who we’ve turned into pairs, we like those guys. Doc: And you’ll start seeing pairings that are not appropriate. Like Hank and 21 for some reason are weird pairing… Jackson: Yeah, yeah. Doc: They’ve been together and we kind of keep throwing them together because they interact well. Because they both have this kind of love and exuberance. And then there are just classic pairs. I mean 21 and 24. Even though we murdered one… Jackson: I like when we put 21 and the Monarch together. Doc: 21 and the Monarch is another…I think when we put them with The Monarch, he was trying to hang out with them…That’s when we realized these guys will interact well because they’re so different. Jackson: And the power dynamics of their relationship— Doc: Yea. Jackson: ‘The creepy boss is trying to be my friend now…I don’t know what to say, he shoots guys sometimes when he doesn’t like what they say.’ Doc: Yeah, and weird combinations show up. Billy and Doc are funny because Billy dresses Doc down a lot. It’s an odd combination— Jackson: Also he lifts him up a little bit. Doc: He does! He does, because he fanboys on him. But at the same time he— Jackson: Yea he’s like ‘I can’t believe that’s what a fucking mess the thing I’m fanboying about has become!’ Doc: Yeah, it’s a weird thing. It’s a weird thing because he loves Rusty Venture but I think he can barely tolerate Dr. Venture. Jackson: ‘Please try once try to be what you used to be!’ Doc: [In Billy Quizboy’s voice] “I used to love you and you’re nobody! You’re a horrible person!”
LD: Last season, with the death of Henchman 24, Henchman 21 went through so many changes, did you anticipate such an arc when you singled out these henchmen at the beginning? Doc: Oh no, those two guys were anonymous henchmen! Jackson:Yeah, we just got sick of them being anonymous. And we liked two voices we did. Doc: Yeah they were made up on the spot. I mean it was just two voices that we used to do while reading people’s emails. [Both laugh] So we just put them in the show. I mean, I remember when it first happened, you know Jackson was trying to do that every time we would get a nerdy e-mail. He would get like 21 and then he did that weird Ray Romano voice. We just did it not knowing that these characters would be around for ten years.
LD: What type of e-mail would instigate the Romano voice? Jackson: It was just him. I think we would just pick on him because we had like watched like past episodes— Doc: We would pick on him and we would use his use his voice for just being not us but not being a character on the show. But now we can’t. Jackson: Right. To express the opinion of someone—usually a negative one. [in Henchman 24’s Romano voice] ‘HEY WAY TO GOOOOO’ Doc: ‘GOOD JOB.’ That kind of crap.
LD: And, as opposed to 21, which character do you think has changed the least over the course of the show? Doc: Has changed the least? Doc, actually. Jackson: Yeah. Doc: He’s gone through a lot of revelations but his basic character has not changed so much. Even Brock has had more changes than Doc has and Brock is rock steady. Jackson: Even Hank has had more changes. Doc: Hank, the boys, have had a lot of changed.
LD: Your characters have such great names, working on this for ten years are you just constantly thinking of new potential characters? Doc: It’s like a bi-annual thing. Jackson: Yeah, I forget the good ones… Doc: I think both of us have notebooks filled with idiot names and then there are actual documents of names of episodes that don’t exist. Like “Return to Spider Skull Island” was just a bad episode name that we wrote around.
LD: Does that happen often? Doc: More than it should. I don’t know about often. Jackson: Probably yeah, like two episodes out of every season we like, just have a working title the whole time we’re making it and then when we’re making the credits, we have an argument about what to name it and then we both make a list of about forty things and try to hone in on one. Doc: Oh yeah. The amount—just like the season premiere, we both probably wrote forty different titles for. All of them would have been fine in anybody else’s book, and of these eighty, of the eighty titles that we came up with “What Color is Your Cleansuit?” was the one that we liked. Which is insane. That was just a good one for us.
LD: Any names from season five that you’re particularly excited about that you can share? Doc: We’re very particularly excited about season five, but we can’t give out any spoilers because season five is coming and the episodes themselves— Jackson: Oh! You can drop a name out, can’t you? Doc: What? Titles? Characters? Jackson: Or name. Doc: Go ahead! I’m not gonna do it. I have a firm line on spoilers. But you can do it. Jackson: We’ve already told people that there is an Augustus St. Cloud. Which we were excited about him this season. He exists. What’s the best episode title do you think? Doc: Best episode title?! Pick yours…Mine are awful. Jackson: [laughing] Doc: I have awful episode titles. They’re always awful. Name one of yours. One of yours that isn’t clever or just stupid. Those are my favorites. Jackson: Right. Doc: “O. S. I Love You” is a good title. Jackson: There ya go. Doc: That’s not bad.
LD: You’ve had a lot of gross stuff on the show—half-formed clones and skinsuits are jumping to mind—has there been anything that’s made you as grateful as I am that it’s all animated? Doc: Like disgusting things that happened? Well nobody wants to see anybody turn into a caterpillar, we did that in episode three. Jackson: Oh that would look so much better if we did it in episode five. Doc: Oh, right? Yeah… Jackson: It really just kind of looked like he was wearing a caterpillar costume, it was very just flat and stiff back then. Doc: Some of the things that we do are bad ideas. Like we make a lot of jokes that really don’t work as well in cartoons as we think. Like we made a terry cloth joke. And you can’t animate terry cloth. It looks just like color. Jackson: Right, or tin foil. We did eventually get good tin foil though… Doc: We kept asking for tin foil and eventually we got tin foil. Jackson: We did the worst tin foil hats for season one and then we did like amazing ones last season that the Korean studio even called us and went ‘Hey, can you simplify the tin foil design please?’ It was like five hundred facets of tin foil… Doc: And you couldn’t really move it. You could only draw it once and then have tin foil floating. The first season just looked like a gray hat— Jackson: Like a gray walnut shell is what it looked like. Doc: Yeah, you knew it was tin foil. But you can’t make tinfoil jokes, you can’t make terry cloth jokes— Jackson: My god, I want to make corduroy jokes so bad! Doc: And you can’t show corduroy because you can’t really animate corduroy… Jackson: I know! Doc: We can barely get a car to turn the corner nicely. We’re never gonna get corduroy on that screen.
Venture Brothers premieres Sunday, June 2nd on Cartoon Network. Also making a return this year is the show’s exclusive weekly Shirt Club, not seen since season three. More info can be found, here.
In the meantime, Adult Swim has released a full four-season recap video hosted by Henchman 21 to get you all ready for the new season!
Actors: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel and Olivia Munn
Creator: Aaron Sorkin
Number of discs: 6
Rated: Unrated
Studio: HBO Home Video
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Run Time: 725 minutes
Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Aaron Sorkin knows how to do political drama, after all he also created the Emmy Award-winning “The West Wing”, which was a pretty well-known show 😉 HBO is really delivering some of the best television shows in the last year or so, along with “Veep” and “Game of Thrones”. “The Newsroom” features an all-star cast lead by Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel and Olivia Munn. There is also a fantastic recurring cast including Jane Fonda, Hope Davis, Terry Crews, David Krumholtz, Patton Oswalt and Marcia Gay Harden. There is just so much talent in this show, I don’t know how it doesn’t explode. The show is witty and well-written, thanks to Scott Rudin (“The Social Network”). If you enjoyed the first 10-episode season, you will be happy to know that “The Newsroom” was renewed for a second season, which premieres on July 14, 2013 only on HBO.
Official Premise: HBO presents the new one-hour drama series from the fertile mind of Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and executive produced by Sorkin, Scott Rudin and Alan Poul. Smart, topical, humorous and highly entertaining, The Newsroom takes a behind-the-scenes look at a high-rated cable-news program at the fictional ACN Network, focusing on the on- and off-camera lives of its acerbic anchor (Jeff Daniels), new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), their newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel and others) and their news-division boss (Sam Waterston).
HBO gives a whole lot of love to its shows Blu-ray releases. First of all they all come packaged in this beautiful strong box, which is very sharp. It also comes with HBO Select, which offers its viewers the choice of three ways to watch the show – Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy. The digital copy is redeemable via a provider of your choice: iTunes, Vudu or Amazon, as well as an UltraViolet copy through supporting providers. So you are filled with choices here and can watch the show wherever – whenever. The 1080p transfer of the show is very clear and sharp. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track works well with the dialogue and since this is a political drama it is very important for this to work!
The special features are also very impressive, again since HBO treats their shows very well. There is a five audio commentaries track with no only Aaron Sorkin, but also executive producer Alan Poul and cast members Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, Emily Mortimer and more! This is a great way to get some replay value out of the show. “Mission Control” is a great behind-the-scenes look at the production with the cast and crew. “The Rundown” is a roundtable discussion with Aaron Sorkin, executive producer Alan Poul, co-executive producer Greg Mottola, Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer and Sam Waterston as they discuss the first season. “Inside the Episodes” is an inside perspective on each episodes with Aaron Sorkin. Lastly there are a few Deleted Scenes and Episodic Previews & Recaps, rounding out a great release.
Christian Jacobs is lead singer for the California ska band The Aquabats! and is also the Co-Creator of the popular children’s television show “Yo Gabba Gabba!”. Season 1 of “The Aquabats! Super Show!” was recently released on DVD and season two of the show will kick off in June on The Hub Network. Media Mikes had a chance recently to speak with Christian aka “The MC Bat Commander” about the show and what we can expect from season 2.
Adam Lawton: What made you decide to take The Aquabats! from the stage to television? Christian Jacobs: That was an idea we had early on. The band started in 1994 and by 1999 we had already shot a pilot for Disney/Buena Vista Television. I had grown up acting and being around television and when I wasn’t playing in the band I was doing production for music and skateboard videos. The whole idea behind the band was very organic and the idea for the show was something that just clicked in my head. I thought it would be cool if we were like a punk rock version of The Monkees. I didn’t want it to be a band that was put together by the studio and playing songs written by Neil Diamond. I wanted this to be about guys who were friends that played songs together in the garage. We were never trying to change the world or anything with this band we just wanted to have fun. We knew the days as a band would be numbered so taking it
to television was a way to keep things going. We have been around now for almost 20 years and the fact that this stuff is now just coming out is really weird. I think the main reason we stay together as a band is because of the television show. We don’t go on tour much anymore but we are always playing together. We just kept going hoping for the show to come along. I got a lot of questions from friends and family as to why I was still doing this band. Now that the show has finally happened I feel vindicated.
AL: Was it hard adapting the bands live show in to a television format? CJ: For me that was the trickiest part. I was always a fan of shows like “Ultraman” and “Batman” so the tongue and cheek aspect of things was the easy part. The hard part was how we were going to build the music into the show. We didn’t want it to seemed force which tends to be the case with a lot of shows that evolve around music. We decided to skip over the band aspect of things and went right for a musical type approach. Yes we perform on the show but we don’t talk about it or glorify the fact that we are a band. It leaves a lot of things unanswered and I like it that way.
AL: How did working on this show compare to working on “Yo Gabba Gabba!”? CJ: Scott the other co-creator of the show and I have been friends for a long time. We had both been trying to get “The Aquabats!” show off the ground for quite awhile. We decided to focus on this other idea we had and see what would happen with it. It seemed like with “Yo Gabba Gabba!” nothing could go wrong. “The Aquabats!” was totally the opposite. I have never had something move so quickly and organically as “Yo Gabba Gabba!”. This show was born like a magical unicorn and the “The Aquabats!” was like the hunchback with one eye. (Laughs) Working on “Yo Gabba Gabba” gave us a lot more energy to put towards “The Aquabats!”
AL: Can you give us any ideas as to what’s in store for season 2 of “The Aquabats! Super Show!”? CJ: Season 2 of the show kicks off in June and we have some really cool stuff happening this season. We have pro skateboarders Tony Hawk and Eric Koston playing some roles n the first episode and they are not skateboarding which is pretty funny. Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo has a very pivotal role this season. Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance helped us write a couple episodes and he actually directed the last episode of the season which was really cool. I think the biggest thing for season 2 is that it deals with the back story of “The Aquabats!” Each separate member of the band has their own recollection of how the band came together and that’s fun because it ends up leaving more things unanswered. There’s going to be some new villains this season, some crazy chase scenes and a lot of stuff we weren’t able to do in season one. It’s a bigger season for sure.
Actors: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley
Creator: Alan Ball
Number of discs: 7
Rated: Unrated
Studio: HBO Home Video
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Run Time: 720 minutes
Season: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Who doesn’t love HBO’s “True Blood”. The show has been going strong for five seasons now. When you start watching its is hard not to completed get sucked in. This season packs some great storylines i.e. Bill and Eric behind bars, Tara getting used to her new life as a vampire, Alcide turning his back on the wolfpack and a vampire civil war on the horizon. There is no shortage of action and drama this season. In fact this season is one of my favorite to date from the show, besides the first. You would think that after five seasons that this show would lose some steam but it only seems to get more interesting and entertaining. Season five also definitely can be considered a game-changer for the show and it was also creator Alan Ball’s final season. I am still looking forward to what happens next in the upcoming sixth season, coming this June! Bring it on!
The fifth season sees the return of our favorite True Blood cast members including Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley and Sam Trammell…just to name a few. They are all in fine-form and deliver some of their best performances of the series especially Ryan Kwanten, who has a fantastic arc. This season introduces various new cast members including Scott Foley as Patrick Devins; Christopher Meloni as Roman; Valentina Cervi as Salom; and Lucy Griffiths as Nora. I love the storyline surrounding the Authority and their affects on these characters. Each character their own arc, which works well for the most part, this season and the finale really brings it all together quite well.
HBO has delivered a very impressive DigiPack combo pack release for the fifth season of “True Blood”. Thanks to HBO Select, this release offers buyers the choice of three ways to watch in one set – Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy. The digital copy included is redeemable via iTunes, Vudu or Amazon and of course my favorite, UltraViolet. The 12 episodes are well represented with their 1080p transfers. The show has been given consistently impressive releases thanks to HBO and have continued to look very sharp and impressive. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks also deliver the mood for the show very well. I love composer Nathan Barr’s score for this show and as usual it is well represented here.
The special features are sure to leave diehard “True Blood” fans feeling very satisfied. “True Blood Episode Six: Autopsy” is an in-depth look behind-the-scenes with the cast and crew on that episode. “Authority Confessionals” gives you an inside look at the mysterious institution. There is an enhanced viewing option for the series allowing you to tap in Character Bios, Vampire Histories and fun facts while watching the show. There is a Flashback/Flash Forward option that will allow you to travel back through the show’s timeline and relive pivotal moments or Flash Forward to reveal the significance of a certain scenes. Lastly “True Blood Lines” is a fun guide to tap into secrets from relationships past and present.
Next up, the next batch of special features are available on the Blu-rays but are the only extras available on the DVDs. “Inside the Episodes” is an look into various back stories from each episode this season. There are five audio commentary tracks with cast and crew including creator/executive producer Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Denis O’Hare, Carrie Preston and many more! There are also Previews & Recaps from the series, in case you need to play catch up. Lastly you are able to watch these episodes seamless, so they flow really well together especially if you feel like marathoning it.
Actors: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Carl Reiner
Directors: Alan Rafkin, Jerry Paris, John Rich
Number of discs: 3
Rated: Unrated
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Run Time: 800 minutes
Season: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars
I think I can literally watch “The Dick Van Dyke Show” every single day for the rest of my life…over and over. This show makes me laugh consistently every time it is on. Image released The Complete Series on Blu-ray for “The Dick Van Dyke Show” last November and it was such a wonderful job for a show that is now over 50 years old. Since then they have been releasing each season, which has been a great way for fans to grab their favorite episodes without needing the whole series. Season two is where this show really gets its legs and deliver some of the best episodes including “The Attempted Marriage” and “It May Look Like a Walnut”. It is also the last season before Carl Reiner stepped back mostly from the writers chair. If you are a fan of the show this is a must purchase and a really Blu-ray treat, thanks to Image Entertainment.
Official Premise: “The Dick Van Dyke Show” truly found its niche in its second season, rapidly climbing to ninth place in the Nielson ratings. Millions across the country tuned in weekly for the fun with comedy writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) on the job with his wisecracking co-workers (Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie) and at home with his lovely wife, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore). Now enjoy all 33 of the season’s hilarious episodes in spectacular high-definition!
Image has given a lot of love to this show and has released this episode on Blu-ray with all-new scans from the camera negatives. The 1080p transfer just look stunning. The original source elements have held up very well and really don’t show their age at all. I have been films shot today, released on Blu-ray and look 10 times worse than this 50 year old show does. The DTS-HD MA 1.0 audio track is a simple soundtrack for a simple show. There not much needed here this show and it works perfectly. The episodes were mostly taped with a studio audience and the laughing is balanced well with the snappy jokes and dialogue.
There are some new Blu-ray exclusive special features. First, we have an Anti-Smoking PSA Radio Spot featuring Dick Van Dyke, “Kick the Habit”. Always interesting to see these old spots especially since the show was sponsored by cigarette companies. “It May Look Like a Walnut” Color Test is was trial on bringing color to one of the show most famous episodes. “Safety Council Reel” is a bunch of PSAs on safe driving. Lastly there is Dick Van Dyke’s appearance on “The Danny Kaye Show”. It is a must watch for any fan of either actor.
The rest of the season features are roll-overs from past DVD releases but are still fantastic. There are commentary tracks from Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke on episodes 34 (The Attempted Marriage) and episode 37 (My Husband Is Not a Drunk). There are also tracks on Episode 41 (A Bird in the Head Hurts) and Episode 53 (All About Eavesdropping) with Rose Marie, Larry Mathews and Ann Morgan Guilbert. There are “Episode Photos” throughout all three discs for episodes 27 out of the 33 episodes. There are also commercials/promos included on 21 episodes for product including Dash, Joy and Kent cigarettes.
Other extras include featurettes on disc 1: “Remembering the Ottoman”, “Remembering Rob and Laura”, “Remembering Buddy and Sally”, “Remembering the Bank Book” (about episode 33), “Remembering the Woodpecker” (episode 41), which look back at these episodes and the characters. Also there is a look into the show’s Emmy Awards® (1962-1963). Disc 2 contains more featurettes on “Remembering Dick’s Sneezing (episode 42)” and “Remembering Jerry Paris (episode 43)”. There is a also the making of one of my favorite episodes “It May Look Like a Walnut (episode 51)”. Lastly disc three has one more featurette: for “Remembering “Oh, Rob”.
Actors: Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Tabitha St. Germain
Directors: Jayson Thiessen
Number of discs: 4
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Run Time: 570 minutes
Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Season two is a very important season for “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”. If you are not aware but this show is a cultural phenomenon. After the first season of this show, it developed quite the following and it wasn’t just little girls. Bronies formed, which are male fans of “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”. There has been conventions like BronyCon and this show has really exploded and became very popular. It is also the last season that was under Lauren Faust as the creative director and executive producer for the show. I see why people enjoy this show and I am sure that my daughter will love this show as she grows up.
Official Premise: The studious Twilight Sparkle may have learned the true meaning and value of friendship through the amazing bonds she’s formed with every pony in Ponyville, but the lessons keep on coming! Join Twilight Sparkle and her friends – Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Apple Jack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and little Spike – as they embark on one crazy adventure after another, leading to the greatest wedding Equestria’s ever seen. And you’re invited!
Shout! Factory has been behind this series since day one and has delivered great releases. I would have love to see this show get a nice Blu-ray release though since it is very colorful and is already shot for HD. The special features included on this season are decent but nothing amazing. There is a live stage reading for “Hearth’s Warming Eve”. There is the cast panel from San Diego Comic-Con 2012. Lastly there are sing-alongs for the kids and downloadable coloring sheets included. I would have loved to seen more focus on the fan base and on the production side but hardcore fans should still enjoy what is here.
Actors: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkington
Directors: Dan Fraga
Studio: Warner Archive
DVD Release Date: April 9, 2013
Run Time: 328 minutes
Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A
I have been a fan of “The Ricky Gervais Show” when it aired on the UK radio station, XFM, over ten years ago. Since then this show was been developed as a podcast, audio book and mostly recently an animated series. When this animated series was announced I wasn’t particularly thrilled. I originally thought that re-releasing the podcasts with new animations was a little lame, but I forgot how very funny all of these actually were. Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington are very funny together. This season contains the last 12 out of the 39 episodes produced. There has been talks about a fourth season, but was shelved last year from Gervais himself. If you are a fan of shows like “The Office”, “Extras” and “An Idiot Abroad” then this is sure to deliver some great laughs whether you are a fan of the podcasts or not.
Official Premise: Series 3 starts with an impossible mission as Karl pitches another movie idea and struggles in vain to relay the insane plot to Ricky and Steve. Over the following 12 episodes Karl offers fascinating insights into his family history, encounters with domestic insects and the dangers of wearing crash helmets. Challenged at every turn by Ricky and Steve, who entertain with their own priceless real-life exploits, Karl remains stoic and retains his bizarrely unique perspectives regardless. As things draw to a close. The tree imagine themselves in an old people’s home – still arguing over utter nonsense with the final word going to Ricky, appropriately enough.
This DVD release is being release by Warner Archive as a “made-to-order” DVD. I would love to see these seasons make their way to Blu-ray like in the UK but I have a feeling that this is the best that we are going to get. These episodes have been manufactured from the best-quality video master currently available and has not been remastered or restored for this release. The animation is simple yet still looks very good on this DVD presentation. They come with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The audio track included is a Dolby Digital track. The first and second season included a some great extras but this release is completely baron. The second season DVD was also “made-to-order” but it still contains some sweet extras. So I was left disappointed with this final season but at least it is available for fans.
Starring: Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Malin Akerman, Erinn Hayes, Ken Marino, Megan Mullaly, Henry Winkler, Lake Bell
Studio: Warner Archive
DVD Release Date: April 9, 2013
Running Time: 156 minutes
Season: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A
I have loved “Childrens Hospital” ever since the first season but I feel that we are starting to part ways. The fourth season of the show is definitely funny in parts but it doesn’t feel as unique that it has in past season. The show only runs 11 minutes per episode and I think that that works in its favor. The show packs a phenomenal cast including Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Malin Akerman, Erinn Hayes, Ken Marino, Megan Mullaly, Henry Winkler and Lake Bell. This season also had some wonderful guests starring including Jon Hamm, Dominic Monaghan, Nick Offerman, Frances Fisher and Brian Huskey. There is great talent here but maybe the show has run it course for me. “Childrens Hospital” has spawned two spin-offs shows. One of them is good, “NTSF:SD:SUV::” and one of them not so good “Newsreaders”.
Official Premise: TV’s sickest medical series returns for its fourth twisted season, winner of the 2012 Emmy® Award for Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment. A satirical jab at network medical dramas, Childrens Hospital explores the lives of a group of self-absorbed doctors who put their libidos first and patients second. Amnesia, Madonna sightings, single-mom promotions, assassination attempts, Mafia kingpins and the accidental electrocution of one of its stars are just some of the topics addressed.
I am assume that I am not the only one who feels this way either since this is the first season that is being produced only as an MOD or Made-to-order DVD. Warner Home Video’s past releases have been much higher quality. They have come with nice cases with slipcases. These episodes have been manufactured from the best-quality video master currently available and has not been remastered or restored for this release. They come with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The audio track included is a Dolby Digital track. Lastly there is also no special features included here. The past DVD releases for Season 1 & 2 and Season 3 have had some great extras included. Overall this is a letdown from past releases but at least it is available for fans. And fans should keep an eye out for more episodes this Summer as the the series was renewed for a fifth season by Adult Swim.
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Marina Spirtis
Number of discs: 6
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Release Date: April 30, 2013
Run Time: 1181 minutes
Season Three: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars
When I first watched the third season of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, I was blown away. “The Best of Both Worlds” was one of the best storylines to come out of this series. I saw it long after it was originally aired and I have known about this arc but it still shocking and holds up as one of the best cliffhangers on TV. Overall, the whole series in general really running on all cylinders and kicking ass. The cast and the writers are settled in their roles and really delivered their best performances. Also available the same day is “Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds” for the mega “Star Trek” fans who are looking for a new edit of that fantastic storyline into a new-feature format. This is another very impressive release from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount. They have been giving this series nothing but love since they started releasing these seasons. If you love this series, then this release is a must-buy!
“Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Three” delivers absolutely perfect 1080p transfers of each episodes. These episodes don’t just look good. They look stunning. Top that with a flawless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track for each episode and Trek fans will be nothing but thrilled. I wonder what Gene Roddenberry would have thought if he could have seen his creation presented like this. Alternate audio tracks also include an English Stereo Surround, French Mono, Italian Mono, Castilian Mono, German Mono and Japanese Mono tracks. If you have seen these episodes on TV or DVD, this give you the show like you have never seen it before due to this fantastic restoration which involved returning to the original film elements.
The special features are quite impressive for this season. The newly produced high definition extras (found mostly on disc six) include an all-new featurette called “Inside The Writer’s Room”, which is moderated by Seth MacFarlane. He leads a panel and a great discussion on the creation of the show’s acclaimed third season with some of today’s best science fiction television writers including Ronald Moore, Brannon Braga, Naren Shankar and Rene Echevarria. There is an entirely new multi-part documentary called “Resistance is Futile – Assimilating Star Trek: The Next Generation”, which really dives into the behind-the-scenes on the making of Season Three. There is a very nice tribute to Michael Piller, which includes never-before-seen interviews with cast, crew and more discuss his lasting influence on the “Star Trek” franchise. Rounding out the high-def extras is a new gag reel for fans, which is located on disc five.
Additional extras included are spread out over the six discs. There are four “Archival Mission Logs” including “Selected Crew Analysis Year Three”, “Mission Overview Year Three”, “Departmental Briefing Year Three: Production” and “Departmental Briefing Year Three: Memorable Missions”. There are four all-new audio commentary track spread out on the release. Disc one features a commentary track from Ron Moore on “The Bonding”. Disc three features features a commentary track from Ron Moore and Ira Steven Behr on “Yesterday’s Enterprise”. Disc four features the last two audio commentary tracks. The first is with Rene Echevarria and Mike & Denise Okuda on “The Offspring” and the second is with Ron Moore on “Sins of the Father”. If you are looking for audio commentary on the episode “The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1”, you should check out the stand-one release mentioned above. Lastly, there are also episodic promos available for each of the 26 episodes.
Directed by: Carl Urbano, Don Lusk, Paul Sommer, Robert Alvarez, Jay Sarbry
Voices of: Charlie Adler, William Callaway, Teresa Ganzel, Dick Gautier, Phil Hartman, Don Messick, Frank Welker, Patric Zimmerman
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: April 30, 2013
Running Time: 290 minutes
Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I am not sure what it is about “Tom and Jerry” but they have always been one of my favorites. This popular cat and mouse duo has been around since 1940 and have never left the public eye for long. This animated series features the duo as kids, probably taking a page from “Muppets Babies”. “Tom and Jerry Kids Show” premiered in 1990 on Fox Kids and ran through 1994 for five seasons for a total of 65 episodes. This complete first season includes the first 13 episodes. So how does the the young Tom and Jerry rank against the older Tom and Jerry? Well it is fun and still had me laughing! So I give it a thumbs up…It was good as a kid for me and still good for me as an adult! I look forward to future seasons!
Official Premise: A Rivalry for All Ages! Spend some time with the beloved animated duo in their furry, formative years in Tom & Jerry Kids Show: The Complete Season One. Available for the first time on DVD in this 2-Disc collection, these delightful adventures follow the kitten and baby mouse as they taunt each other and create mayhem like only young ones can. Joined by their pals Droopy, Dripple, Spike and Tyke, Tom and Jerry bring on the giggles and good times in episodes such as Toys Will Be Toys, Bat Mouse, Cosmic Chaos and The Maltese Poodle. So run wild with 13 episodes from the hit TV series that feature more than four hours of hi-jinks that will be sure to bring out the kid in all of us!
“Tom and Jerry Kids Show The Complete Season 1″ is animated fun for the whole family. I have a 10-month old daughter and she literally lit up when these cartoons came on. I love that. For a show that I watched growing up now I will be able to share with my own child. The 13 episodes are split over a two-disc set with over four hours of guaranteed laughs and of course many “Tom and Jerry” hi-jinks. Each episode of this show is about 7 minutes so it works out that there is more like 39 mini-episodes included. The colors on the episodes still look sharp for a show that was produced well over 20 years ago, feeling old now. The audio included on the DVD is a typical Dolby Digital Mono track, which works well for the show itself. There are no additional special features included on the DVDs.
Season 1 episodes list:
Disc 1
1: Flippin’ Fido, Dakota Droopy & the Lost Dutch Boy Mine, Dog Daze Afternoon
2: Toys Will Be Toys, Droopy Delivers, My Pal
3: Prehistoric Pals, Super Droop & Dripple Boy Meet the Yolker, Marvelous Marvin
4: Bat Mouse, Puss n’ Pups, Outer Space Rover
5: The Vermin, Aerobic Droopy, Mouse Scouts
6: Sugar Belle Loves Tom, Sometimes, Mall Mouse, Super Duper Spike
7: Cosmic Chaos, Droopy of the Opera, Beach Bummers
Disc 2
8: Gator Baiter, Hoodwinked Cat, Medieval Mouse
9: Clyde to the Rescue, Droopio & Juliet, Maze Monster Zap Men
10: Crash Condor, Yo Ho Ho…Bub, Scrub-a-Dub Tom
11: No Biz Like Snow Biz, The Maltese Poodle, Cast Away Tom
12: The Little Urfulls, Droopo – First Bloodhound, Indy Mouse 500
13: Exterminator Cometh, Foreign Legion Frenzy, Urfo Returns
Actors: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam
Directors: John Rich, Robert Butler, Sheldon Leonard
Number of discs: 3
Rated: Unrated
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Release Date: April 9, 2013
Run Time: 750 minutes
Season: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
There is just something about classic 60’s television. I actually miss it quite a bit. Today when you turn on the television it is all reality TV shows and trash. I really love escaping into the world when in order to be on television you needed to have talent. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore are two of the funniest people in the business. Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam are also fantastic compliments to the two leads. The humor is very funny and clean family fun. It is also very timeless. It has been over 50 years since this show aired and I still laugh out loud many times during each episode. Image Entertainment is the leader of bringing these great shows to Blu-ray with great shows like “The Twilight Zone”. This is not the first rodeo on Blu-ray for “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. Image released the complete series last year. This is the first time though that the individual seasons are being released. If you are a fan of this show this release is a must have! Relive the classics again!
Official Premise: Trip into the living room of comedy writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) along with his lovely wife, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), wisecracking co-workers and nutty neighbors. Winner of 15 Emmy Awards, this groundbreaking series is consistently ranked among the top TV comedies of all-time and renowned for its top-notch cast and stellar writing. Now enjoy the first season’s entire 30 episodes (air 1961-1962), each digitally remastered to its original full-length version. Get ready to laugh out loud with such classics as Rob and Laura balancing a career-building cocktail party with caring for a sickly son in the series’ first episode, The Sick Boy and the Sitter; then in My Blonde-Haired Brunette and insecure Laura disastrously dyes her hair; and Rob’s shy brother (Jerry Van Dyke) is a sleepwalking Jekyll and Hyde in the hilarious two-parter I am My Brother’s Keeper/The Sleeping Brother.
Image Entertainment does nothing of short of delivering “The Dick Van Dyke Show” looking better than it ever has on Blu-ray. The 1960’s black-and-white television show looks honestly stunning on high definition. For the Blu-ray, Image delivered each episode’s 1080p transfer with new scans from the camera negatives. You can tell that there is a lot of love for a show like this. Also for a show that is over 50 years old, you could have easily fooled me. There is no issue at all with the DTS-HD MA 1.0 audio track. The show doesn’t really need much in order for it to succeed well. The track is perfect for the show’s dialogue, the music and laugh-track.
The special features are very impressive for this release (and mirror last year’s complete series release). There is audio commentaries track with Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke on the following episodes 19: “Where Did I Come From?” and episode 29: “The Sleeping Brother”. I love the chemistry between both of these guys and they are a riot. I would have loved to see them cover each episode but that is not practical. There is the Original Series Pilot Episode, “Head of the Family”, which is a riot. There are interviews with various members of the cast and directors from the show. There are Emmy Award Telecast Clips Honoring “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and also Original Commercials with the Cast and Network Promos. Lastly there are Photo Galleries for the 16 out of the 30 episodes. Can’t wait for the the rest of the seasons being released. Keep them coming Image Entertainment!
Starring: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park
Number of discs: 6
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Release Date: March 26, 2013
Run Time: 1149 minutes
Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars
“Star Trek: Enterprise” or better known as just “Enterprise” for the first few seasons. The show started in 2001 and would run for four seasons and 98 episodes before being cancelled. It was also the last series in an 18-year run of back-to-back which started in 1987 with “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Personally, I thought this series was quite sharp. Who doesn’t love Scott Bakula. It takes the prequel approach to “Star Trek” and explores the roots of the Federation and the beginning of exploring deep space. Here we got a new crew, a great captain (you rule Bakula!) and a great new concept. The show was was met with mixed reaction but have established a decent cult following over the years. I feel that it gets its legs as the series matures but still a great entry in the “Star Trek” universe.
Official Premise: Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) commands the Enterprise NX-01, the first Earth-built vessel capable of breaking the Warp 5 barrier. With his trusted Chief Engineer, Charles “Trip” Tucker III (Connor Trinneer), Science Officer T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), and security expert Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), Capt. Archer is tasked with exploring new, unknown star systems. Propel your imagination farther and faster than before with an ever-expanding universe of captivating characters, interstellar intrigue, and adventures that will come to define the very essence of Starfleet.
Here are the episodes that are included in Season One: Broken Bow, Fight or Flight, Strange New World, Unexpected, Terra Nova, The Andorian Incident, Breaking the Ice, Civilization, Fortunate Son, Cold Front, Silent Enemy, Dear Doctor, Sleeping Dogs, Shadows of P’Jem, Shuttlepod One, Fusion, Rogue Planet, Acquisition, Oasis, Detained, Vox Sola, Fallen Hero, Desert Crossing, Two Days and Two Nights, Shockwave, Part 1.
If you are a fan of the show then thanks need to go to CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Pictures. They are behind releasing the first season of “Enterprise” on Blu-ray for the first time. They continue to deliver very impressive releases for the “Star Trek” franchise after “Star Trek: The Next Generation” seasons one and two. The show takes us into deep space for the first time along with the starship Enterprise NX-01 and includes some really fantastic 1080p high definition picture and very impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks. I remember watching this show on UPN and let just say say “WOW”, this really really looks 10x better than I ever remember. If you are a fan of “Enterprise” you will be easily shot into warp speed with this wonderful Blu-ray presentation.
This Blu-ray comes packed with boasts some brand new bonus features that really makes this release shine for sure. The extras are spread out all over the six Blu-rays. Disc One features a brand new audio commentary track on the episode “Broken Bow” with co-creator/executive producer Brannon Braga, director James L. Conway, visual effects producer Dan Curry and cast members Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) and Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed). “Broken Bow” also has an audio commentary track with Brannon Braga and Rick Berman and a text commentary track by Michael and Denise Okuda.
Next up there are some deleted scenes for “Broken Bow” and “Fight or Flight”. There are three “Archival Mission Logs” including “Creating Enterprise”, “O Captain! My Captain! A Profile of Scott Bakula” and “NX-01 File 02”. The rest of the extras are all brand new including “In Conversation: Rick Berman and Brannon Braga”, presented in HD. “Cast Introduction” , “Network Presentation” and “Syndication Presentation” wrap up the first disc. After watching these extras, I couldn’t believe there were still five more discs of extras.
Disc two puts forward the following special features including a deleted scene from” Unexpected”. There is a text commentary track by Michael and Denise Okuda on episode, “The Andorian Incident”. There are two “Archival Mission Logs” including “Cast Impressions: Season 1” and “Enterprise Secrets”. This wraps up disc two but there is still tons more to come. Disc Three includes a brand new audio commentary track with writer/story editor André Bormanis and visual effects producer Dan Curry on the episode, “Silent Enemy”. There is a deleted scene from “Sleeping Dogs”. Lastly there are two more “Archival Mission Logs” including “Star Trek Time Travel: Temporal Cold Wars and Beyond”
and “Admiral Forrest Takes Center Stage”.
Disc Four includes not one but two new audio commentary track with writers/executive story editors Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong on “Shadows of P’Jem”. The second is with co-creator/executive producer Brannon Braga, director David Livingston and cast members Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) and Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) on “Shuttlepod One”. There is a deleted scene from “Shuttlepod One”. Lastly there are three “Archival Mission Logs” including “Inside Shuttlepod One”, “NX-01 File 01” and “NX-01 File 03”. Disc Five including two sets of deleted scenes from “Oasis” and “Fallen Hero”. There is another text commentary track by Michael and Denise Okuda on “Vox Sola”. There is another “Archival Mission Log” for “Enterprise Outtakes”. Lastly there is a new featurette called “On The Set”, though only in SD.
The sixth and last disc includes the best extra and also some deleted scenes from both “Two Days and Two Nights” and “Shockwave, Part 1”. There is also the last “Archival Mission Log: Celebrating Star Trek”. The last extra is also the best it is a brand new multi-part, retrospective documentary called “To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise”. This is a real tribute to the show and a treat for the fans. It gives an inside look at the development and production of the series with new interviews with the show’s cast and crew and archival footage and behind-the-scenes clips.
The documentary includes the following three parts “Countdown, “Boarding the NX-01” and “First Flight”. Part 1, “Countdown” features all new interviews with creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, production designer Herman Zimmerman, technical consultants Michael and Denise Okuda, writers Andre Bormanis, Phyllis Strong and more talking about bringing this show to life. Part 2, “Boarding the NX-01” focuses on the series 2-hour pilot “Broken Bow” with all-new interviews with key cast and crew including series pilot director James L. Conway and series leads Scott Bakula (“Jonathan Archer”), Connor Trinneer (“Trip Tucker”), and Dominic Keating (“Malcolm Reed”). Lastly Part 3, “First Flight” looks into the first season with more all-new interviews with key production and post-production personal.
