6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A gritty cop drama set in 1967 Los Angeles, Aquarius brings you the story of Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny) a decorated World War II veteran and homicide detective, responsible for policing a city ridden by cheap drugs, rising crime, protest, and police brutality. When Emma Karn (Emma Dumont), the 16 year-old daughter of an old girlfriend, goes missing in a sea of hippies, Hodiak agrees to find her. In doing so, he teams up with the young, idealistic undercover vice cop Brian Shafe (Grey Damon), who behaves like a hippie to infiltrate this new counterculture and find her. The two embark on an action-packed investigation which, unbeknownst to them, leads them to Charles Manson (Gethin Anthony) and the Manson Family before their infamous murder spree.
Starring: David Duchovny, Grey Damon, Gethin Anthony, Emma Dumont, Claire HoltPeriod | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Sex, drugs, and Rock 'N' Roll. Free love, man! Sounds like a good time, but it's not when the manipulative future famed killer Charles Manson is the center of attention. Aquarius is the fictionalized telling of Manson's story, the cops on his trail, the women under his spell, the man in his sights, and the world as it evolves around him. The show, from Creator John McNamara (who is Executive Producing the upcoming SyFy program The Magicians), concocts an odd blend of police procedural, deeply fictionalized character study, cultural commentary, and human interest drama with one of the most notorious names in the middle of it all. Manson -- bits and pieces of the real figure and plenty of made-up parts -- is integral to the story, but Aquarius might have been smart to shed that baggage and effort to make it on its own, to fashion a new centerpiece villain rather than try to blend true life, revisionist history, and out-and-out fiction in order to squeeze some name recognition out of what is otherwise a fairly pedestrian program.
Manson
Aquarius: The Complete First Season's 1080p transfer isn't much of a looker, but it appears to be a solid enough reproduction of the filmmakers' vision for the show. Aquarius is often a rather dreary affair, visually, with dulled primaries and a bland, very mildly bronzed appearance. Brighter daytime shots manage to squeeze out a little more brilliance, but the reserved, toned-down palette certainly gives it a bleaker look that sometimes even inches towards monochromatic. Details, unsurprisingly, are a little bland, not soft or fuzzy but not jump-out-and-sing strong. General clarity and definition suffice, and again in the most brightly lit shots viewers will find adequately resolved skin pores, stubble, and clothing lines. Black levels are adequately deep and flesh tones satisfying within the image's general parameters. Mild to moderate banding sometimes appears slathered across backgrounds, and some viewers might pick up on a bit of noise, but overall the image plays well enough within reason of the show's intended appearance.
Aquarius: The Complete First Season arrives on Blu-ray with a rich, detailed, and exciting Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music is the true highlight here, with the era-specifc songs in particular really dazzling. Instrumental and vocal clarity are superb, with the former effortlessly spread across the stage -- including a light-to-moderate surround support element -- and the latter firmly entrenched in the middle. Score is likewise healthy in clarity and spacing, and LFE support of music is consistently balanced in weight and depth. The track often springs to life with rich little bits of ambience, whether background sounds at a party, rowdy protests, chatter and clanking typewriter keys in the police headquarters, or light natural exterior details that all help pull the listener into the show's late 1960s world. Action effects are precise and often enjoy nice, distinct separation and around-the-stage placement for a more accurate imaging of the on-screen action. Dialogue is center focused and nicely balanced with a quality sense of reverberation around the stage when the location demands.
Aquarius: The Complete First Season contains several Webisodes and a brief featurette, all on disc four.
That Aquarius isn't based on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth isn't a problem, per se, but the show feels like it's always struggling to be something greater that it cannot achieve. Making Manson the villain feels like a combination of interesting premise ripe for the picking meets a fruitless harvest of generic television and character procedure. Without Manson, it's nothing. With Manson, it's nothing but potential that's never fully realized because the character, at least through season one, can't muster that same sense of dread, anger, all those negative emotions the name elicits in 2015. It's as if the creators decided that the core story couldn't stand apart, never mind on its own, without something to prop it up and increase awareness and public interest. And that something is Charles Manson, a name the entire world knows but who here feels more like a sales bullet point and less an integral part of the story. Maybe it would have worked better had the show went entirely fictitious and molded the character after Manson rather than try and mold him into Manson. Still, it's a good show, but one that carries a little more expectational baggage than it can lift. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Aquarius: The Complete First Season delivers satisfactory video, excellent audio, and a few minor extras. Cautiously recommended.
2013
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10th Anniversary
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2022
1994
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1997
2014
1994
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The Murder at the Vicarage / The Body in the Library / The Moving Finger / A Murder is Announced
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1979