Blu-ray Movie Reviews

V: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)

David Vaughn  |  Nov 10, 2010

Massive mother ships arrive over 29 major cities throughout the world carrying the Visitors, human-like beings who know our languages and promise to provide gifts of technology and healing. Some consider them saviors but others aren't so trusting and form a resistance movement determined to find the true meaning of their appearance.

I was a fan of the 1980s miniseries and eagerly anticipated the release of this show on Blu-ray. The first four episodes are quite intriguing introducing the various characters although the show loses steam over the last eight as the narrative becomes rushed to get to the full-scale invasion that's on the horizon. The second season has been picked up by ABC due to good ratings among Adults 18-49, but if the writers don't get their act together I can see a Heroes-like loss of its audience.

Video Highlights

  • VC-1/1080p encodes
  • Poor CGI
  • Bold color palette
  • Solid black levels
  • Detail wavers and flesh tones are waxy

Audio Highlights

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
  • Clear dialog
  • Occasional discrete effects
  • Decent dynamics

The show features some of the worst CGI I've witnessed in a long time, especially while on the V mother ship. Flesh tones don't have a lot of detail and there's some occasional shimmering in objects. The audio is pure vanilla and Warner didn't give it a lossless treatment, a trend on its TV-to-Blu-ray releases.

Bonus Materials

  • Audio commentary with executive producers Scott Rosenbaum and Steve Pearlman
  • Bloopers
  • Deleted Scenes
  • The Actor's Journey from Human to V Featurette
  • An Alien in Human Skin: The Makeup FX of V Featurette
  • Breaking Story: The World of V Featurette
  • The Visual FX of V Featurette

There are certain aspects of the show I enjoy, but the sum of its parts is middling. I'll tune into the broadcasts starting in January to see if it improves, but I don't have high hopes. It may be worth a rental to see if it caters to your likes, but I wouldn't make this a blind buy.

Release Date: November 2, 2010
Studio: Warner

Movie: 6/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 6/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics

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