Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment requests we note that it provided a free copy of Supernatural: The Complete Thirteenth Season, The Flash: The Complete Fourth Season, and Lucifer: The Complete Third Season. The opinions I share are my own.
Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country’s most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit’s most experienced agent is David Rossi, founding member of the BAU, who is essential in helping the team solve new cases. Special Agent Simmons joins his colleagues in the BAU after consulting them when he was a member of the International Response Team. Simmons is an ex-Delta soldier with deft profiling skills and military special-ops expertise. As the team evolves together, the BAU continues its dedication to using their expertise to pinpoint predators’ motivations and identify their emotional triggers in the attempt to stop them. —from CBS
Now out on DVD is Criminal Minds: Season Thirteen, which includes all twenty-two episodes of the thirteenth season along with over ninety minutes of extras. Special features include five featurettes (“Getting Lucky”, “Bunker Mentality”, “Breaking up the BAU”, “Thirteen Minds”, and “Would You Make a Good FBI Agent?”) along with the table read of Episode 21 (“Mixed Signals”), a gag reel, and deleted and extended scenes. Viewers are also treated to the pilot episodes of CBS favorites Bull and SEAL Team (a nice way to get a sneak peek at them if you somehow missed them on regular TV and don’t have a CBS All Access subscription.) Criminal Minds: Season Thirteen is available on Amazon on DVD for $29.99 or digitally for $24.99 (although the extras there are limited to a one-minute special with Kirsten Vangsness talking about her favorite moments from the previous season.) You can also get the same digital presentation on iTunes, but the price goes up dramatically to $34.99, so either way Amazon is probably your best bet on this one.
Hawaii Five-O is a contemporary take on the classic series about an elite federalized task force whose mission is to wipe out the crime that washes up on the islands’ sun-drenched beaches. Detective Steve McGarrett, a decorated Naval officer turned cop, returned to Oahu after Hawaii’s former governor persuaded him to head up the new team: his rules, no red tape and full blanket authority to hunt down the biggest “game” in town. The state’s brash FIVE-0 unit, who may spar and jest among themselves, remain determined to eliminate the seedy elements from the 50th state. —from CBS
Fans will be happy to know that Hawaii Five-O: The Eighth Season is available now in a 6-disc DVD collection which features all twenty-five episodes of Season Eight and over an hour of bonus content. Extras include “Shoreline: Season 8” (where cast, show creators, and crew look back at the highlights of the latest season), “Meet the Rookies” (profiles and interviews with the task force’s newest members), a featurette examining Alex O’Loughlin’s directorial debut with the series, an (unused) animated sequence that was intended for the series premiere, deleted and extended scenes, and a gag reel. Hawaii Five-O: The Eighth Season is currently available on DVD on Amazon for $29.99, but it’s important to note that you can get it there digitally for $14.99, albeit without bonus features. (Or if you want to spend another $20 you can get the same on iTunes for $34.99.) This is one of those cases where it’s important to consider how much the extras are worth, but unless you think doubling the price in order to get an hour of bonus content is a good deal, it might be best to go digital in this case.
The non-stop adrenaline rush continues in the third electrifying season of Blindspot. Following the shocking second season finale, which revealed a new set of bioluminescent tattoos that mysteriously appeared on Jane Doe’s body, season three jumps forward two years as FBI Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton, 300: Rise of an Empire, Strike Back) finally tracks down Jane (Jaimie Alexander, Thor films, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), who has been on the run. After the two discover her new hidden tattoos, Jane is forced to return to the FBI, where Weller, Jane and the rest of the team set out to solve these new puzzles and stop the dangerous conspiracies they reveal. The tattoos however, reveal the team’s darkest secrets. —from Warner Brothers
Out now on DVD and Blu-ray is Blindspot: The Complete Third Season, which presents the twenty-two episodes of Season Three in addition to a few extras, including the 4-minute featurette “Surveillance on Set: Agent Zapata”, a gag reel, and deleted scenes. The amount of bonus features on this one seems a bit light considering the price tag (on Amazon the DVD is currently $24.99 and the Blu-ray is $39.05), and if you’re looking for cheaper options by going the digital route on Amazon or iTunes, you’re out of luck ($29.99 on both, with only the featurette as bonus content). If you’re a big fan and want it on the shelf to complete your library, though, you’ll probably think it’s worth spending the coin just to have it on hand.
Featuring five 4K Ultra HD Discs, five Blu-ray Discs™, and Digital copies of each film, the Jack Ryan Collection includes The Hunt For Red October (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Clear and Present Danger (1994), The Sum of All Fears (2002), and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014).
In The Hunt For Red October, the USSR’s best captain (Sean Connery) heads for the U.S. in a technologically advanced submarine. While the American government thinks it’s an attack, a lone CIA analyst (Alec Baldwin) insists the captain is planning to defect. Patriot Games finds CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) thwarting an IRA assassination only to make himself and his family targets of a renegade faction. Harrison Ford returns in Clear and Present Danger as Jack Ryan, who becomes embroiled in an illegal war fought by the U.S. government against a Colombian drug cartel. Ben Affleck takes on the role of Jack Ryan in The Sum of All Fears. In this thrilling chapter, Ryan must stop a terrorist plan to provoke a war between the U.S. and Russia. The origin story of Jack Ryan is explored in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, with Chris Pine taking on the lead role. As a young covert CIA analyst, Ryan uncovers a Russian terrorist plot to crash the U.S. economy. —from Paramount
Each film boasts its own bonus features: with The Hunt for Red October director John McTiernan provides a commentary audio track in addition to a 29-minute behind-the-scenes special, Patriot Games includes “Patriot Games Up Close” (a 25-minute featurette on the film), Clear and Present Danger has interviews with cast and crew, The Sum of All Fears has two commentary tracks (one with director Phil Alden Robinson and cinematographer John Lindley and another with Robinson and writer Tom Clancy) as well as a making-of feature and a five-part series exploring the visual effects, and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit offers commentary by director (and actor) Kenneth Branagh and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura along with some deleted / extended scenes and multiple featurettes examining the characters. The ten-disc Jack Ryan Collection is available now (just in time for the release of Amazon’s new series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan) and is currently on Amazon for $89.99.
Last season [on Supernatural], the Winchesters were reunited with their resurrected mother, Mary, who joined forces with the British Men of Letters. But things turned from bad to worse, with the return of Lucifer and the surprising revelation that the Devil was expecting a child with a human mother. In Season Thirteen, Sam and Dean find themselves facing Lucifer’s offspring, a creature of almost unimaginable power -one that could save the world… or destroy it. —from Warner Brothers
Supernatural: The Complete Thirteenth Season is now out on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring all twenty-three episodes of Season Thirteen as well as multiple bonus features. Extras include three featurettes, Kansas performing “Carry on Wayward Son”, the 2017 Supernatural Comic-Con panel, two audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. The DVD and Blu-ray are both available on Amazon (for $32.95 and $36.99, respectively). You do have the option of going digital for a few bucks less ($29.99) on both Amazon and iTunes, with Amazon offering the Comic-Con panel and iTunes offering the Comic-Con panel, the featurettes, and the Kansas performance (almost two of the three hours of extras on the hard copy formats). This one is a toss-up as to dollars versus content, so check it out and see what works best for you.
In Season Four [of The Flash], the mission of Barry Allen, aka The Flash (Grant Gustin), is once more to protect Central City from metahuman threats. First, he’ll have to escape the Speed Force. With Barry trapped, the job of protecting Central City falls to his family – Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin); his fiancée, Iris West (Candice Patton); and Wally West/Kid Flash (Keiynan Lonsdale) – and the team at S.T.A.R. Labs – Dr. Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker), Cisco Ramon/Vibe (Carlos Valdes) and brilliant scientist Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh). When a powerful villain threatens to level the city if The Flash doesn’t appear, Cisco risks everything to break Barry out of the Speed Force. But this is only the first move of a life-or-death chess game with Clifford DeVoe aka The Thinker (Neil Sandilands), a mastermind who’s always ten steps ahead of Barry, no matter how fast he’s running. ––from Warner Brothers
The Flash: The Complete Fourth Season is now available on DVD and Blu-ray and includes all twenty-six episodes of Season Four along with several bonus features. Among the extras are all four DC Super Hero crossover episodes with Arrow, DC’s Legends of tomorrow, and Supergirl, four new featurettes, a “best of” special covering DC TV’s Comic Con panels from San Diego 2017, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. The season is available digitally on both Amazon and iTunes for $29.99 (Amazon doesn’t include any extras, but iTunes offers the featurettes, the Comic-Con special, and the gag reel). You can snag the DVD on Amazon for $32.99 and the Blu-ray for $36.99, so it’s up to you to choose whether having it in hard copy merits the few extra bucks or if you should go the iTunes route.
[With Lucifer] entering its third season, the story of the original fallen angel continues. As Season Two came to a close, (Tom Ellis) took care of a little problem called Mom, aka Charlotte (Tricia Helfer). But now he’s facing an even greater challenge – finding out who kidnapped him, and why his angel wings are back. In addition, Tom Welling (Smallville) joins the cast as Marcus Pierce, an accomplished police lieutenant who is everything Lucifer is not – strategic, reserved and well-respected. But perhaps even more annoying are all the things they have in common. Both men are charming, charismatic and handsome as hell. So, when Pierce starts developing a connection with Chloe (Lauren German), Lucifer’s devilish traits are inflamed.
Lucifer: The Complete Third Season is available now on DVD and Blu-ray, with both offering all twenty-six episodes from Season Three along with over an hour of bonus content. Special features include two featurettes (“Lucifer Returns!” and “Bringing the Hit Show to L.A.”) along with the 2017 Lucifer Comic-Con panel, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and the special “Off Script with Tom & Tom: Parts 1-3” (with Tom Ellis and Tom Welling having a conversation in Lucifer’s penthouse). You can grab the DVD (for $24.99) and the Blu-ray (for $41.56) on Amazon or go the digital route on Amazon or iTunes for $29.99 (Amazon offers no bonus features, while iTunes offers all of them except for one featurette). This one is a close call with the extras-versus-cost analysis, so consider what matters most to you.
