Category: Television
As someone who really detested the film adaption of Peabody’s Improbable History, I will be the first to admit that if any good came out of it, it’s that new generations will have an introduction to these wonderful characters.
This is why it’s very nice that on October 14th DreamWorks Classics will release a DVD collection containing every single segment of Peabody’s Improbable History.
For all those old-school fans (like myself) who want to rekindle their love for the witty and wonderful misadventures of Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Now you can! With this two-disc DVD set containing all 91 episodes of the time-traveling duo.
However, if you happen to be one of those “old-school fans” who owns The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle box set (like me) there’s no reason to double-dip. This collection is meant for casual viewers of the series, especially those who favor Mr. Peabody over Rocky and His Friends. As such, this set contains no bonus features of any kind.
If you want more bang for your buck, I recommend picking up the Rocky and Bullwinkle box set instead. Which comes with a plethora of extra content.
Ordinarily I’d be giving a rating for picture and audio quality, but since this a DVD (a standard definition format) as opposed to a Blu-ray, it benefits as best as it can.
Thankfully Peabody and Sherman is a standard definition series, so the format works for the series in question. No need to worry about any visual or audio faults here.
I’m going to admit right here, right now. I’ve never been a fan of Mad Men. It’s not that I think it’s a bad show, I can recognize the fantastic production value of the series. Jon Hamm is great in his role as advertising executive Don Draper. The writing and direction are also top-notch. However, I personally could never get invested in the show.
But hey, that’s just me, Mad Men has proven to be a huge success. Winning numerous awards and receiving overwhelming critical acclaim. For everyone who has enjoyed the show for seven years, I’m sure it’s very depressing that the show is wrapping up next spring.
Much like what AMC did with Breaking Bad, the final season of Mad Men is split in half. The first half will be available on Blu-ray on October 21st. While the second half will air on AMC Spring 2015.
Speaking of which, let’s talk about the Blu-ray. Mad Men: The Final Season – Part 1 comes to us on a two-disc Blu-ray set from Lionsgate. With a fair amount of bonus content.
- Audio Commentaries for each episode with Matthew Weiner and Cast and Crew
- “The Trial of the Chicago Eight: Part One” Featurette
- “The Trial of the Chicago Eight: Part Two” Featurette
- “Gay Rights” Featurette
- “Gay Power” Featurette
- “Technology: 1969” Interactive Timeline (Blu-ray exclusive)
Picture Quality: 5/5
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
What time is it? ADVENTURE TIME!
More specifically, the complete fourth season on blu-ray! I’m a big fan of this show and have been since it first premiered. I became infatuated with the series’ oddball humor and colorful atmosphere. But as the show has continued, the writing and story became more mature and dark. Season four I’d argue is where this change became the most prevalent. Especially with one of the darkest and rage-inducing cliffhanger finales I’ve seen in a long time.
But don’t be fooled, the dark turn is not a negative observation. In fact, it makes the series far more enjoyable. It throws so many curveballs that you never know what to expect this show to do next! If you’ve somehow never seen or heard of this show, it’s a series I highly recommend you check out. However, if randomness and goofball humor turns you off, I’d say that you need to stick with it. Gradually the show will more than likely grow on you with the more episodes you digest. It’s best viewed with friends who enjoy it, and their enjoyment will rub off on you.
The Blu-ray set comes with all 26 episodes on one disc. That may sound problematic, however, every episode is around ten minutes in length.
For fans who are excited about this home video release, the Blu-ray comes with some decent extras.
- Commentaries
- Distant Bands: The Music of Adventure Time Featurette
Though not a bonus feature, it is nice to mention that much like the other releases, this Blu-ray comes with a very unique slipcover. Featuring Marceline the Vampire.
From Dusk till Dawn is my personal favorite Robert Rodriguez movie, so you can probably imagine my initial hesitation about a television retelling of the film.
The series premiered on March 11th, 2014, on Rodriguez’s own channel: El Rey. The series has gotten mixed reactions from audiences and critics alike, and I can see why.
The problem I have with the series is not the overall quality of the show itself, nor how it retells the story with new details. For me, it’s just head-scratching. What exactly is the point of telling the story all over again?
The series has a total of ten episodes in its first season. Each episode is roughly 45 mins long. So basically, it takes the show almost 500 minutes to tell the very same story that you can watch already for a fraction of the time.
Rodriguez has been quoted as saying that the original From Dusk till Dawn is “one of the most frequently asked about projects in his ever-lengthening filmography”. Which makes sense when you consider the cult following the film has grown over the years. But if he wanted to give the fans some more bang for their buck, then why would he just remake the same film but on a smaller scale?
I don’t want to sound like a purist fanboy saying “I hate this! The old one is better!” but in this case, I think it applies. If you’re going to make a television remake of an iconic cult film, it’s inevitably going to be compared to its older brother.
So in that case, I’d say if you’ve never heard of From Dusk till Dawn, check out the original film, it’s on Netflix right now. However, if you’re a big fan of the film (Like myself) I recommend that you skip the series. Unless you like your vampire horror/comedy to have bad acting, embarrassingly disjointed dialogue, and a complete lack of black comedy.
From Dusk till Dawn Season One is available on Blu-ray from eOne Entertainment. For those looking forward to this release, the set comes with a plethora of bonus content.
- Audio Commentaries
- Full Length Trailer
- Best Kills Video
- On Set: Episode 1 Day 1
- On Set: The Making of From Dusk till Dawn
- Behind the Scenes: On Set: Brought to you by General Motors
- Behind the Scenes: On Set: Brought to you by Dos Equis
- Character Bio Featurettes
- General Motors Commercial featuring Seth Gecko
- Dos Equis Commercial featuring Carlos Madrigal
- Big Kahuna Commercial
- What’s in the Briefcase Spot
- SXSW Featurettte
- Q&A from the Premiere at Alamo Drafthouse with Robert Rodriguez and Cast
Picture Quality: 4.5/5
Audio Quality: 5/5
