Veep
- Season Two
(2013/HBO Blu-ray set)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: C Episodes: C+
Seinfield's
Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns for season two of HBO's Political parody
VEEP,
which won her an Emmy in the first season. Dreyfus stars as Vice
President Selina Myer who is scoring higher ratings than the
President in popularity polls and has hopes and aspirations of taking
over the seat of Chief Executive. Despite her best intentions, even
the most banal actions set off disastrous consequences in the heat of
success.
The
show pits you behind the scenes with Selina's crew where you see her
true image, which is very different than the one she presents to the
world. She has little patience, is selfish, and will do anything to
win. The problem I have with this show is that many of the
characters are hard to identify with and are none very sympathetic.
They all have their very public image and then behind closed doors
you see the disdain they have for other agendas - which I suppose is
realistic and in a way I think this show is aimed towards Sarah Palin
(though Dreyfuss played her too).
In
terms of production value, the show is solid which I come to expect
from HBO. Episodes on the disc include Midterms,
Signals,
Hostages,
The
Vic Allen Dinner,
Helsinki,
Andrew,
Shutdown,
First
Response,
Running”,
and the cliffhanger episode D.C.
The
1080p High Definition transfer preserves the 1:85.1 aspect ratio of
the original broadcast and is crisp and clear. The English DTS-HD
Master Audio lossless 5.1 track is also excellent and also features a
French DTS Digital Surround 5.1 track and a Spanish DTS Digital
Surround 2.0 track as well. The anamorphically enhanced DVDs with
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound are fine, but the Blu-rays play back
with much better fidelity and are the preferred way to see the show.
Extras
include 4 Audio Commentaries with Cast and Crew and Deleted Scenes.
The disc also comes in nice packaging with a slip cover and
reversible sleeve.
- James Harland
Lockhart V
www.vimeo.com/jamielockhart
