Hex - The Complete First Season
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C
With the
supernatural teen TV show cycle so popular in the U.S. and so in decline, what
could save it? Should it be saved? Could someone improve it? I expected a possibly good show if it was
different and when it turned out Hex
was a hit BBC series from Britain, there was a 50/50 chance it might work. Although it is not as dumb, condescending,
silly and idiotic as its U.S. equivalents, I was not happy or impressed with
the show in this Complete First Season
DVD set released by Sony.
Cassie
(Christina Cole) is discovering her womanhood, but this is fraught with
darkness that turns out to be linked to the supernatural and she is (surprise)
in school. Her classmates are immature,
unaware or useless, but she begins as an outsider and things get worse for her.
Unfortunately,
they also get worse for the scripts, which are more interested in the melodrama
than weight of any of the situations involved.
This is made more obvious by the slapping of lame digital video effects
too often. The teleplays are ambitious
at times, but the pilot show quickly turns into soap opera and by the tenth
show, it might as well be one of its bad U.S. cousins because the creators just
don’t have the ambition or experience to make this work. At least it is some kind of hit and may at
least be a cult show. You may have to
see this one for yourself to know if it is for you.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X I image is surprisingly soft, but instead of it being Sony’s
fault, it seems to be that of the BBC.
This set confirms there is some problem with HD-to-DVD transfers in
England, especially from the BBC as other titles from their home video imprint
(as well as BBC titles licensed to the likes of Koch and Acorn) have a certain
softness, flatness and lack of depth that suggests a PAL tradedown that is
throwing out too much of the HD details.
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo has limited surrounds and is fine for what it is, but is
nothing outstanding and maybe even understated for a recent TV show in the
sonics department, particularly surprising for this genre. Deleted scenes and a making of featurette are
the only extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
