Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment requests we note that it provided a free copy of the titles featured below. The opinions I share are my own.
Out now are two titles which tell the stories of those who exhibit otherworldly powers and live in the shadows:
First we have The Originals, the Vampire Diaries spinoff series that follows vampire Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) as he and his family find themselves entangled in the supernatural politics of New Orleans. Season four opens on the fifth anniversary of the epic defeat of the once powerful Mikaelson family, with Marcel Gerard (Charles Michael Davis) holding Klaus captive and Klaus’s half siblings Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Elijah (Elijah Mikaelson) under a sleeping spell. After the family is reunited, they must forge an uneasy alliance with former friends Marcel and Vincent Griffith (Yusuf Gatewood) in order to respond to a destructive force that has come to attack their city and their loved ones. Even with vampires and witches fighting alongside instead of against one another, no one can tell if their combined forces will be enough to combat the power of the malevolent enemy they now face. Out now on DVD and Blu-ray is The Originals: The Complete Fourth Season, which includes all thirteen episodes of Season Four. Bonus features on this one are rather light— it’s pretty much just the 2016 The Originals Comic Con panel along with some deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a “Come Visit Georgia” promo (the series is filmed there). When you consider how much they could have done talking about character development, storylines, costumes, etc., it’s a little sad that there aren’t more special features, especially considering that show creator Julie Plec announced back in July that the upcoming fifth season would be the final one for the show. Maybe they’re saving up all the good bonus content for the release of the complete series— fans can only hope. The Originals: The Complete Fourth Season is available on Amazon on DVD (currently $17.18) and on Blu-ray (currently $33.21). You can also get the season digitally on Amazon or iTunes for $24.99 (both include the Comic Con panel and iTunes also offers the gag reel). Even though bonus features are comparable across the platforms on this one, when you consider that getting it in streaming form raises the price by 45%, it makes the DVD option look pretty good— but look at the options and see which one works best for you.
Next is Supernatural, the story of brothers Sam and Dean Winchester (played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) as they go across the country hunting demons, monsters, ghosts, and other beings of supernatural origin. In Season Twelve, Sam and Dean are reunited with their mother, Mary Winchester (played by Samantha Smith), who has just been resurrected by the apocalyptic force termed “the Darkness”. Lucifer has also left Hell and is expecting a son, which means that the Winchester family must deal with both of them in addition to the British Men of Letters, whose driving goal is to disrupt the brothers’ hunting activities. With their world shifting and their mother in the mix once again, the Winchester brothers must work to rebuild their family as they simultaneously try to protect it from being destroyed from outside forces. Now out on DVD and Blu-ray is Supernatural: The Complete Twelfth Season, which not only contains all twenty three episodes from Season Twelve, but also over four hours(!) of bonus content. Included in the special features are three new Winchester Mythology features — “Mary Winchester”, “Clash of the British Men of Letters”, and “A Hunter’s Life”. Also featured is the 2016 Supernatural Comic Con panel, three audio commentaries, some deleted scenes, and a gag reel. (See, Originals guys? That’s how you put together a retail set.) The DVD and Blu-ray are both available on Amazon (for $36.99 and $39.99, respectively) . Amazon and iTunes both also offer the season in streaming format for $29.99, with both featuring the Comic Con panel and iTunes also including the three mythology features as well. Getting the season on disc is definitely more costly, but depending on how much the bonus features (including commentary) mean to you, in this case the price difference might be worth it.
