Big Love: The Complete Collection (2006 – 2011/HBO DVD Box Set)/The Good Wife: The Complete Second Season (2010 – 2011/CBS DVD
Set)/The Hour (2011/Mini-Series/BBC
Blu-ray Set)/How To Make It In America:
The Complete First Season (2010/HBO Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
C+/C+/B-/B- Sound: C+/C+/B-/B Extras: B-/C+/C+/B- Episodes: B-/C+/B/B
When
discussing TV made today, I usually think most of it is bad except for a few
good shows, then when I name them, they have not heard of them. This is even when they are doing well. In some cases, it is because they are from England,
but it is amazing how many cable TV hits are not as well known as they should
be. The following titles reflect this.
After
five seasons, Big Love quits while
it is ahead and HBO has issued The
Complete Collection (2006 – 2011) and I have to admit that I am surprised
the show lasted as long as it did and was as consistent as it was. However, my feelings about the show when I
covered the Third Season set pretty
much speak for the entire series, as you can read about at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9418/Big+Love+%E2%80%93+The+Complet
I like
the people involved and HBO has put together five separate sets in one nice
slidebox and each set comes with extras.
Season One includes two audio
commentary tracks and a featurette (A
Balancing Act On Ice) about the making of the credits, Season Two has three prequels to the series (!), Season Three retains the same extras as
the set covered, Season Four and Season Five have an Inside The Episode
piece for all the hour-long episodes (9 and 10 respectively) in each set and Season Five rounds things out further
with a final featurette: The End Of Days. If you like the show, this is the way top go,
but others should start with the First
Season before investing in this pricey, quality set.
Our one U.S.
broadcast network entry is The Good
Wife: The Complete Second Season (2010 – 2011) and is yet another series
trying to portray a woman in political power in a smart, realistic way. The show becomes too much like a soap opera
without knowing it like the last attempt, Geena Davis’ likable Commander-In-Chief and Juliana
Margulies is an equally smart choice. It
is just too bad that the show becomes so standard and somewhat predictable so
soon, but those who got involved with the debut season will likely enjoy this
enough just the same to see what the makers do well and where they turn
wrong. A classical male narrative
approach is part of the problem in both cases.
Extras
include Deleted Scenes, Campaign Music Video, Season 1 DVD Release Party, Alan
Cumming’s Videos, A Conversation with The
Kings, Alicia Florrick: Real Deal Inside The Episode and An Evening with The Good Wife.
Our next
choice is the only Mini-Series on the list as well as the only British
production. The Hour (2011) is a surprisingly rich, effective drama with
thriller overtones about a British network being pressured to censor itself
during a crisis situation when the news program of the title becomes the top
target for being too honest with its audience.
Set in 1956, it is more successful in being a period piece since
anything since Mad Men and has an
amazing array of actors that may make this a British TV classic.
Bel (the
wonderful Romola Garai) has just taken over as producer of the show and happens
to be having an affair with its host Hector (Dominic West) who is married and
also has the eye of younger reporter and friend Freddie (Ben Whishaw) who is
being shadowed by “someone” or maybe more as a KGB traitor may be operating at
the network and some key people turning up dead may point to a larger plot that
some want to cover up so there is no scandal.
Abi
Morgan wrote and created this strong show that deserves far more crossover
success in the U.S.
market and this Blu-ray set can only help.
I really liked this one and it is easily among the most ambitious
mini-series on either side of the Atlantic in
years. Many years. Extras include a Behind The Scenes featurette
and Creating The Hour – set design
piece.
Finally
we have what I think is the best American TV series of any kind to debut since Big Bang Theory. How To
Make It In America: The
Complete First Season (2010) is easily the best show HBO has come up with
since The Sopranos (and that
includes solid efforts like Treme)
about two friends trying to fond success in the great city with all kinds of
unique opportunities: New York City. Ben (Bryan Greenberg) is in between jobs and
relationships, an artist with some real talent, while Cam
(Victor Rasuk) has a talent to charm just about anyone when they decide maybe
they should launch an upscale brand of jeans.
Though a highly competitive market, they feel they have a shot and
interesting things start to happen.
However,
they have their separate personal lives, Cam has a relative (Luiz Guzman) who
is always up to something illegal and is up to some new scams of his own less
legitimate than jeans. It is a drama
with comedy that is never forced, is always believable, well-written,
well-acted and just gets better with each episode. The cast is great, the makers know how to
make the city look great and these eight episodes are very rewatchable. If you have missed this show, get this
Blu-ray set now!!!
Extras
are many and include 8 audio commentary tracks for each episode, fun Deleted
Scenes, an interviews compilation called Hustle
Stories and two featurettes: The Get
By: Making it on The Streets Of NYC and The
Legend Of Wilfredo Gomez about the skateboarding scene in the city and what
it says about the greatness of the city no matter how tough. Can’t wait for the next season!
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on all five DV sets of Love and the DVD set of Wife we covered here are all a little
softer than I would have liked, though I expect Blu-ray versions would yield
better performance, but I would be surprised if it was by much based on what I
see here. The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital
High Definition image transfer on the Blu-rays of Hour and America
have some softness and detail limits, but they are minor and you also get some
great shots in each show. Both DVD sets
have lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes, though they are on the weak side & too
much towards the front speakers and Wife
adds a Dolby 2.0 Stereo mix that can sound more realistic at times. Hour
has PCM 2.0 Stereo that is better, warmer and pretty consistently smooth and
nice throughout making its viewing a real pleasure. That leaves America
with DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on each episode that is
state-of-the-art and puts more than a few recent theatrical film releases to
shame.
- Nicholas Sheffo
