TRUE BLOOD: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON
(2012, Blu-ray released May 21, 2013 – MSRP $79.98)
THE SERIES:
- “Returning for its fifth season, “True Blood” is HBO‘s sexy, scary, wildly entertaining drama series from Oscar(R)- and Emmy(R)-winner Alan Ball (“Six Feet Under”) and based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. In addition to returning cast favorites – human/faerie waitress Sookie Stackhouse, her vampire suitors Bill Compton and Eric Northman, soul-searching pal Tara, shape-shifting boss Sam, rakish brother Jason, clairvoyant Lafayette and teen-vamp Jessica – Season 5 introduces a whole new wave of otherworldly characters. There’s Vampire Guardian Roman, president of the Vampire Authority, who wants co-existence between humans and vampires; vampire zealot Salome (yes, the Salome), intent on recreating the world in God’s vampyric image; Authority Chancellor Nora, who shares the same maker as Eric; werewolves J.D. and Martha, who want a reluctant Alcide to take his rightful place as packmaster; and many more. Mixing romance, suspense, mystery and humor, True Blood Season 5 goes deep into the battle between the Vampire Authority and “vampire fundamentalists” – a political power play whose outcome could decide not only the fate of Sookie and her Bon Temps friends, but of all human existence.“
WHO SHOULD BUY:
Who should buy the True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray box? Die hard fans of the series, gluttons for vampire punishment and those who enjoy egregiously soapy and silly melodrama, that’s who. That might actually account for just about everybody!
Look, if you haven’t watched an episode of True Blood yet, please don’t start here. A lot has happened and too much would need to be explained, despite the fact that each of these season sets graciously provides a nearly 5-minute long “recap” of previous story-lines. It’s not enough. Just do yourself a favour and go back to the beginning.
Those who have been following know what they’re in for – a lot of great bloodsucking and sex, mixed with some lame-ass fairy, werewolf and townsfolk subplots that nearly drag the show to an early grave. Yes folks, the fairies are back in full force this season, and every time they’re on screen your eyeballs will feel the strain of rolling back inside your skull. The werewolf subplot this year suffers but sees a slight payoff near the end. There’s a couple of townsfolk stories that might make you want to give up on the series as a whole and call it a day but stick with it, if you can. It gets really, really good as the season moves toward its finale.
This is the season we finally get to spend some time with the Vampire Authority, though they’re, sadly, nowhere near as cool as they should be. Thankfully, as the season presses on, things get interesting, many subplots converge (kind of, sort of) and all roads lead to the Authority and a finale that’ll melt your brain! No matter how you feel about the lead up, True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season pays off in a big, big way. I generally wait to watch every season of the show on Blu-ray but, to be honest, I don’t think I’ll be able to wait that long this year. The season 6 premiere is less than a month away and, I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait much longer to know the outcome of this season’s cliffhanger! Gimme some love, HBO!
THE BLU-RAY DISC:
What can I say that you haven’t read a thousand time already regarding HBO Blu-ray releases? Not too much. This disc set, like those before it, is damn near technically perfect. The image is designed to exhibit strong contrast and crush and the transfer handles it with aplomb. True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season looks incredible! And as good as it looks in HD, it sounds even better via the killer DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. It’s so immersive and dynamic, so perfectly clear and robust that you could easily use any episode to demo your home audio system. Great work (as usual), HBO!
There’s also a lot to like about the collection of bonus goodies packed onto the 5 Blu-ray discs in the set (which also, by the way, includes a couple of DVDs of the same episodes along with downloadable digital copies.) The five commentary tracks are an informative and often fun listen and well worth the time of any die-hard fan. The ‘Enhanced Viewing’ mode takes a bit of getting used to but provides plenty more episode and character specific info via featurettes and pop-up data of several varieties. The gem of the set is clearly the hour long ‘Autopsy’ of episode 6, “Hopeless,” which plays as something of a ‘Maximum Movie Mode’ feature, with tons of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and more.
A mediocre season of television but a terrific boxed set of Blu-rays!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Inside the Episodes: Get the back-stories on each episode with revealing interviews from the show writers.
- Audio Commentaries: 5 Commentaries with the Cast and Crew including Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Denis O’Hare, Carrie Preston, and many more!
- Previews & Recaps
- Enhanced Viewing: Character Bios, Vampire Histories, Hints, FYI’s, Flashbacks, and Flash Forwards.
- True Blood Episode Six: Autopsy: Join the cast and crew as they dissect the major events of episode six and provide an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how True Blood is made.
- True Blood Lines: Uncover secrets from relationships past and present in this engaging, fully interactive “”re-Vamped”" guide and archive.
Authority Confessionals: Learn more about the mysterious institution known as The Authority, from Nora, Kibwe, Rosalyn, Salome, Steve, and Russell.
