Gangland – Final Season + How The
Earth Was Made – The Complete Second Season + Ice Road Truckers - The Complete Fourth Season (A&E Blu-ray
Sets) + I Am Alive + Jefferson + Our Planet (A&E/History Channel DVDs)
Picture: C+/B-/B-/C/C+/C Sound: C+/B-/B-/C+/C+/C Extras: D/D/C-/C+/D/C- Episodes: B-/B-/C+/C+/C+/C+
We look
at the latest cycle of A&E/History Channel releases, which are increasingly
becoming available on Blu-ray, so the first half will be in that format and the
second half on DVD.
Because
they have run out of major subjects to profile (that has to be good news), Gangland has hit its Final Season (Seventh Season for the
record) concluding what we have looked at on DVD and the previous season on
Blu-ray at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10550/Ancient+Aliens+%E2%80%93+Seaso
Among the
15 episodes include Wild Boys, Capital Killers, Vendetta Of Blood, Army Of
Hate, Mile High Killers and Road Warriors. The 1080i 1.78 X 1 image is the same mix of
new HD and older analog and low-def digital footage as before, but the DTS-HD
Master Audio (MA) 2.0 Stereo is weaker here with less surround information,
more audio issues (partly from location sound) and there are no extras.
How The Earth Was Made – The
Complete Second Season Blu-ray offers 13 more episodes that continue what the first set
started at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10476/Earth+&+Space+++How+The+Earth
The show
continues to run along nicely with more entertainingly presented science and
the show holds up the quality of the first shows well. The 1080i 1.78 X 1 image and DTS-HD Master
Audio (MA) 2.0 Stereo is very similar to the last set, including some good
shots throughout, while the sound has some warmth and surround
information. This time, there are no
extras, but a single DVD entitled Our
Planet has been issued that includes shows from this series. They include How The Earth Was Made, Global
Warming and Life After People.
Though it
is meant to be an accessible single DVD to get people to see the whole show, it
is not a basic disc, adding the Inside
The Universe featurette & additional scenes. Unfortunately, the letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image
very weak and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound are very basic. You are better off getting the Blu-ray.
Ice Road Truckers - The Complete Fourth
Season Blu-ray is
the first time we have looked at this odd reality TV show about the title
drivers having to deal with insane weather conditions to make a living. It is not Wages Of Fear and it should not be taken as if other truckers do
not work as hard, without being an apologist for the show. We get 16 episodes over four discs and it is
not awful, but a little of this can go a long way and I am amazed it has lasted
this long, but it has certainly peaked.
The 1080i
1.78 X 1 image and DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) 2.0 Stereo also offer some good
shots throughout despite the darkness and conditions the show is often shot in,
while the sound also has warmth and some surround information at times. Additional scenes are the only extras.
That
leaves two more DVD singles with letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image very weak and Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. I Am Alive wants to go back to the
awful 1970s Andre plane crash where the survivors eventually had to rely on
cannibalism to survive. A few feature
films have been made of the story and I thought that was enough, but the
survivors were recently interviewed for this special and it is here for the
record for those who need to know. Extras
include a Photo Slideshow, four featurettes (including making of and reunion
pieces) and Extended interviews with survivors.
Playback performance is as bad as Our Planet.
That
leaves Jefferson, a 91-minutes long
special on Thomas Jefferson that at least looks better than the other two DVDs
and does a decent, if abbreviated job of looking at one of the most important
founding father of the United
States.
More needs to be said, but this is not bad considering it length. It is worth your time, but sadly has no
extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
