City
Homicide: The Complete Collection
(2007 - 2011/PAL DVD Box Set*)/Impulse:
The Complete Series
(2018 - 2019/Universal/PAL DVD Set*)/Into
The West: The Mini-Series
(2005/Paramount/DreamWorks/Blu-ray Set*)/Modus:
The Complete Series
(2015/PAL DVD Set/*all ViaVision Imports)/Trick
Or Treat Scooby Doo!
(2022/Warner DVD)
Picture:
C+/C/B-/C/C+ Sound: C+ (West:
B-) Extras: D/D/C/D/C Main Programs: C+/C/C/C+/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Import DVDs and Into
The West
Import Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at ViaVision
Entertainment in Australia, with the DVDs only capable of playing on
4K, Blu-ray and DVD players that can handle the PAL format, while the
Blu-ray can play on all Blu-ray and 4K players. All can be ordered
from the links below.
The
following TV releases are from all over the world...
City
Homicide: The Complete Collection
(2007 - 2011) is not a variant of Barry Levinson's Homicide
series, though a little like Law
and Order
at first, but with the cast of characters cracking bad jokes and
leaning towards the U.S. police procedural TV shows that were glutted
at the start. This show starts more official with its 'voice of God'
opening it later looses by its fourth and final season. It starts
with stars Nadine Gardner, Daniel MacPherson, Damien Richardson and
Aaron Pedersen, then they add or lose actors as they go along.
That
sounds like MidSomer
Murders,
but this never
gets that ridiculous, especially because they quit while they were
ahead. You get 78 hour-long episodes, plus the 6-hour mini-series
finale we will consider to be part of the series itself. The result
runs on a bit and has many things we have already seen in the genre
for decades, but having it in different locales with different
sensibilities does make it more interesting than the U.S. versions
that have played themselves out. For big fans of this kind of show,
getting this elaborate 21-DVD box might be fun.
There
are no extras.
Impulse:
The Complete Series
(2018 - 2019) is an attempt by Bourne
Identity
producer/director Doug Liman to do a super heroine show, but the kind
where she suddenly has powers out of nowhere (the original Lindsay
Wagner Bionic
Woman)
versus one where the lead already has the powers (Wonder
Woman
with Lynda Carter) so one would hope it would play well like the
former. However, this is almost as bad as the bizarre Bionic
Woman
revival around 15 years ago that rightly bombed.
Instead,
it plays like a videogame movie in an unfortunate way (Tomb
Raider,
Resident
Evil)
but in a more slap-dash way that feels lazy and never recuperates,
despite the best efforts of actress Maddie Hasson. Still, this might
have some fans and be a curio, thus its DVD release. The 20
hour-long episodes cover 6 discs.
There
are no extras.
Into
The West: The Mini-Series
(2005) was an ambitious attempt to capitalize on the success of
Costner's Dances
With Wolves
and the cycle of new, naturalistic Westerns that held Native
Americans in a new regard and with far more depth and detail than had
been seen much before. The result to me was mixed and it still plays
that way nearly two decades later as this gets too melodramatic for
its own good and drags a bit.
To
its advantage, some good money was put into it, it can have a good
look and be period-convincing and has a good cast, yet that was not
enough to overcome a project that always felt like it was playing it
safe or just not having enough energy. Matthew Modine, Graham Green,
Beau Bridges, Kerri Russell, Rachel Lee Cook, Tyler Christopher,
Skeet Ulrich, David Midthunder, Raoul Max Trujillo and others who are
not bad here. With a new cycle of hit Western TV shows far better
than theatrical and telefilm Westerns, you can see why this is
getting reissued now. However, it is for the most curious only.
Extras
include a Music Video with Sarah McLachlan and Robbie Robertson for
the song ''World
On Fire''
and three vintage behind-the-scenes featurettes: The
Cast Of..., The Making Of...
and The Communications Gap.
Modus:
The Complete Series
(2015) is a two-season Swedish crime series has a ex-FBI profiler and
psychologist (Melinda Kinnaman) who is trying to take care of her
autistic daughter when a series of gruesome murders draws her
now-peaceful life back into the stress and madness she tried to leave
behind. Kim Cattrall shows up in the second season as a U.S.
President who suddenly disappears. That might have been too much of
a stretch for this or any show, so I can see why they folded, but it
is not bad, though it is also an uneven show.
The
plus is the look and feel can be different simply because it is from
another country and the supporting cast gives their best efforts,
while the locales and their other uniquenesses and things we may have
not seen before makes this more watchable. You might even like the
mysteries more than I did, but if nothing else, the show is a welcome
change of pace.
There
are no extras.
Last
but not least, though still too familiar, is Trick
Or Treat Scooby Doo!
(2022) with the gang at the end of solving one mystery before the
next starts up and they are being targeted, so someone (again???)
wants revenge for exposing them for a past crime. The criminals are
not only organized, but dress as monsters!
Too
bad they could not make more of this and they had the usual 78
minutes for these straight-to-video telefilms, but it is also still
made for younger children, so there is only so much they can do.
Just play it safe and hope people buy it and watch. I have seen this
thing way too many times otherwise, even if we just exclude ones
childhood and just the programs on disc. Guess the play-it-safe
formula works and its for fans only.
The
extras three three episodes of later Scooby series.
Now
for playback performance. The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on West
look like older HD masters and can have motion blur, color limits and
other minor flaws more obvious in the 4K age, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix sounds a generation down
and you might want to be careful of volume switching and high
playback levels just in case.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on the four DVD releases are
passable, but Impulse
and Modus
look a little older, including more softness and CGI digital visual
effects that have not aged well and did not look that good to begin
with. Scooby
is the newest production and has some of the best color here (!!!)
while Homicide
had less effects to contend with and that results in a more
consistent look throughout.
All
the DVDs come with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1, Homicide
with lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and Modus
with both types of track mixes, but its 5.1 sounds much better. The
result is surprising as they all sound equally good for their age
(save Scooby) and being in the older audio codec.
To
order either of the
ViaVision import Blu-ray or DVDs, go to these links for the title
desired:
City
Homicide
DVD
https://viavision.com.au/shop/city-homicide-the-complete-series/
Impulse
DVD
https://viavision.com.au/shop/impulse-the-complete-series/
Into
The West
Blu-ray
https://viavision.com.au/shop/into-the-west-the-mini-series-blu-ray/
Modus
DVD
https://viavision.com.au/shop/modus-the-complete-series/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
