What I'm Watching: Editor's Choice (DVD)

Bones / Eleventh Hour /Legend Of The Seeker / Flashpoint / Blood Ties / Genesis II

A few years back, I gave up on all the procedural shows I used to watch. I just got tired of all the dark, grim, and gritty storytelling. So I bid a fond farewell to CSI, Without a Trace, and Cold Case and never looked back.

However, the one procedural show I stuck with was Bones. Besides its pitch-perfect casting of David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel, the show's focus on characters and its quirky sense of humor have made me a fan from day one. As a die hard fan, I watched Season Four religiously, and it continues to hold up as one of the better shows on TV. With techie Zach being written out of the show in Season Three, the producers opted to bring in a series of revolving interns to replace him rather than a new cast member, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable and humorous plotlines of the season. Four seasons in and Bones shows no signs of declining in quality.

Bones: The Complete Fourth Season is available for the first time on Blu-ray as well as DVD, and looks pretty great on Blu-ray. There is a nice level of detail, especially on objects in the foreground. Backgrounds occasionally can appear a bit soft, but not to distracting levels. Color saturation is bright and vibrant, but without taking on the artificial hues that can sometimes appear from overstauration. The show basically looks just like it does when it’s broadcast in HD on TV. The show also features a pretty solid surround soundtrack. It's a basic television mix, with limited use of surrounds, but clear, well-balanced dialogue. It doesn’t sound bad, and it works well enough within the confines of the show.

Extra features include:

Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
Androgyny: Playing Haru Tanaka Featurette
Squints In Training Featurette

Bones is a terrific show, far more interesting and engaging than most TV procedurals. Without a doubt, this one is...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Show: A
Extra Features: B-

Despite debuting the last year alongside Fringe and The Mentalist, and despite being a mash-up of sorts of those two series, Eleventh Hour got cancelled whereas the other two shows went on to become huge hits. If I'm being honest, it's because Eleventh Hour just isn't as good as either of those shows. It sure is hard to watch it without drawing comparisons to them, too.

Dr. Jacob Hood is a special science advisor to the FBI, and he's paired up with a young, attractive, female FBI agent who protects him, as he's of "vital importance" to the FBI. (Some shades of Fringe there.) Hood is also a quirky loner who is much smarter than everyone around him and has an odd way of getting people to talk to him and finding information. (Sound like anyone else we know? Maybe Patrick Jane of The Mentalist?) The show follows Hood as he investigates scientific oddities, and each episode features a different mystery. Some of them are more compelling than others, of course, and overall the show is enjoyable, but it's just not that great. I'll admit that once I started an episode, I was curious to see how it ended, but I wasn't at any point really desperate to see the next episode.

What's interesting about this release is that it's been released as part of Warner Brothers' WB Archive program, meaning you can't buy Eleventh Hour: The Complete Series in stores. It can only be ordered through WBArchive.com, which is a special service Warners has set up to custom print old movies that have limited fan appeal, and with Eleventh Hour, they're releasing their first TV series via the service. I think a show like this is a perfect way to utilize this system. As a show canceled after one season, it's obviously not going to be a huge seller, but there are clearly fans out there who would love to own it on DVD. This way, the company doesn't have to go through all the expense of a major release, but fans can still own the complete series. Nice move, Warner!

As with all the WB Archive releases, there are no extra features on this set, but that's a small price to pay compared to not being able to own it at all.

Show: B
Extra Features: D

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I sat down to watch Legend of the Seeker. I had only heard about it a little bit, and it looked like maybe it was some kind of Xena/Hercules-styled fantasy show. And in a way it is, only without the double-fisted servings of cheese. Legend of the Seeker is a fantasy TV series that takes its fantasy seriously, which is rare for a primetime show, even one in syndication.

The storyline is pretty simple: a young, unsuspecting farm boy (well, young man, really) turns out to be the prophecied Seeker, who will bring about the evil tyranny of the land's dark ruler. Aided by a lady with some witch-like powers and a mentor-like wizard, the Seeker begins his journeys to save the realm. I'll admit, the first episode didn't grab me that much, but as I watched a few more, I got slowly sucked into this show. What really impressed me are the action scenes. There are some sword and battle scenes in this show that are incredibly well done, much better than what you would usually find in a show without a major network budget. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that lead actress Bridget Regan is not only a pretty capable actress, but extremely beautiful. What can I say? She makes this show a lot easier to watch!

Special features include:

Deleted Scenes
Forging The Sword: Crafting A Legend - Go Behind The Scenes Of Wizard's First Rule On The Zealand Set To See How The Show's Fanasy World Is Brough To Life
Words Of Truth: A Conversation With Terry Goodkind - Take An Intimate Journey With Author Terry Goodkind To See Where The Series Was Created
Audio Commentaries

If you're into fantasy storytelling and are disappointed with the lack of offerings on TV these days, you should definitely check out Legend of the Seeker. It's not a perfect show, but it is a pretty fun ride.

Show: B+
Extra Features: B+

I wanted to watch Flashpoint when it originally aired on CBS, and somehow I just missed it. Mostly I was interested because I really like Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars, Just Shoot Me) and I wanted to see him (along with former Pink Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson) playing police tactical team members. The result is a formulaic but enjoyable action-drama.

The core of the show is a police unit that's not officially a SWAT team, but pretty much serves the same function. There's the negotiator, the tactician, the psychologist, the weapons expert, the sniper, etc. There's also the requisite cocky young guy who screws up at first but eventually becomes a valuable member of the team. Still, despite its standard-fare trappings, the show works because the situations are tense and exciting, and the solutions aren't always what you'd expect them to be. Plus, Colantoni is every bit as good here as he was in Veronica Mars, and the supporting cast is pretty good as well.

Extra features include:

Commentary on "Scorpio" by Director David Frazee
Flashpoint: Behind The Scenes - Season One
The Human Cost Of Heroism

Flashpoint is a perfect replacement for The Unit or The Shield now that those shows are off the air (although it's not quite as dark or intense as either of those) and a pretty solid show on its own.

Show: B
Extra Features: C+

I watched Blood Ties: Season One not that long ago, and found to be a decent if not overwhelmingly great vampire/detective show. It was clearly limited by its low-budget origins in a way that Legend of the Seeker isn't, but it was interesting enough. Originally airing on Lifetime, I could see how it was the type of show that would appeal to women, as it has a strong female character as the main protagonist, and the romantic triangle at the heart of the show seemed like a natural fit for that network.

While there was really only one season of the show in Canda where it was produced and the rest of the world, Blood Ties was inexplicably split into two seasons here in the U.S. So this set really represents the second half of season one.

The only extra feature is a photo gallery.

Blood Ties is a decent enough show, although it does delve occasionally into some slightly campy scenes. Fans of the show will be happy to finally have their collection complete, though.

Show: C+
Extra Features: D-

Finally, we have another release from the WB Archives, Gene Roddenberry's Genesis II Pilot. Yes, you read that right, this is simply a pilot episode, as the show never got made. This a great find for die-hard Star Trek enthusiasts, as most of them are familiar with Roddenberry's failed pilots but have never seen them. Admittedly, the show suffers now due to its age (the costumes and hairstyles have not aged well), but it's certainly an interesting enough viewing.

The story focuses on a man accidentally stuck in suspended animation for a 150 years. When he comes to, he finds that society has split into two factions, the haves and the have-nots, if you will. Clearly there are some echoes of The Time Machine at work here. It's not a bad pilot at all, actually, but it doesn't really resolve any major plotlines because it was meant to launch a TV series. So as a standalone viewing experience, it kind of suffers, but as a historical oddity for Star Trek fans, it's pretty cool.

As with all the WB Archive releases, there are no extra features on this disc.

Frankly, I think Genesis II could have been a good show if it was picked up, but we'll never know.

Show: B-
Extra Features: F

- Mike Spring
Editor