Continuum: Season Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Continuum: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Steady as she goes...

Little genre series that could Continuum continues to gain momentum well into its second season, even though some of the same problems that've haunted the show since day one remain unchanged. Twists are still piled atop twists, the third stringers in the supporting cast still overact and overreach, and the snazzy future-junk tech many an episode's plot tends to hinge on is still more deus ex machine than fleshed out, time-tweaking innovation. Even so, the leads are solid (particularly Rachel Nichols and Erik Knudsen), the action strikes a nice balance with the drama and intrigue, the FX and future gadgetry is a lot of fun, the mythos grows richer and more complex as the season hurtles along, and, more often than not, the scripts rolling out of the writers' room are sharp and surprising... at least as far as modestly budgeted small screen sci-fi goes. Continuum isn't must-see TV -- not quite yet anyway -- but if every show worked this hard, television would be a more entertaining bastion of creativity. It knows its strengths and limitations, and proceeds accordingly, with both a command and restraint that consistently ramp up the ingenuity of it all while preventing it from tackling more than it can handle. Will the series continue to improve? All signs point to yes. By the time Season Two drew to a close, I was glad to have been dragged along for the ride.

• Second Chances: Kiera resurfaces after the Mayor is killed in a brazen assassination. She reunites with Carlos to solve the murder and also tries to reconnect with Alec, who has changed since reading the message from his future self (William B. Davis).
• Split Second: Kiera and Carlos's reunion is a bumpy one as they attempt to thwart Liber8's brazen rescue of Travis (Roger Cross) during a prison transfer. Meanwhile, Kellog (Stephen Lobo) approaches Alec with an enticing partnership proposition. The young genius is tempted, but will it lead him down a dark path?
• Second Thoughts: Alec is injured in a car accident while joyriding with his friends who are intoxicated on a dangerous new drug sweeping the streets. Kiera recognizes this new poison as a drug from her future and deduces that Liber8 is responsible for putting it on the streets. Julian’s (Richard Harmon) mother visits him in prison, awakening his desire to take the fight in a new direction.
• Second Skin: It appears another time traveler has arrived in 2013 when the CMR network "pings" a brief connection with another CPS suit. Kiera's pursuit of the traveler leads her to her old partner, Elena (Caitlin Cromwell), but also draws unwanted Liber8 attention, and dangerous scrutiny from Gardiner (Nicholas Lea) of Kiera's every move.
• Second Opinion: Sam's (Sean Michael Kyer) birthday puts Kiera on the path to an emotional meltdown that triggers an internal diagnostic within Kiera's CMR. Meanwhile, she becomes the target of a department mole hunt when Dillon (Brian Markinson) is ousted and Escher (Hugh Dillon) installs a new puppet.
• Second Truths: Kiera must use her knowledge and familiarity with the future to stop a deadly serial killer while keeping a curious Carlos in the dark about the truth behind her uncanny insights into the present.
• Second Degree: Kiera and Carlos discover that a juror on Julian's trial has been compromised and must race to protect his family from a Liber8 plot. Alec is torn between telling the truth at his brother's trial or protecting his mother. Emily (Magda Apanowicz) reveals she is more than just a pretty face.
• Second Listen: Kiera investigates the mysterious disappearance of several deceased time travelers’ bodies while Alec is taken hostage by Liber8 soldier Jasmine Garza (Luvia Petersen) on orders from his future self.
• Seconds: Alec’s mother, Ann Sadler (Janet Kidder), is shot by a bullet meant for Julian while Dillon’s new Liber8 task force is put to the test. All the while, Kiera must decide how far she's willing to go to stop Julian's murderous future.
• Second Wave: After a surprise attack by the shadowy group posing as Section Six, Kiera is captured by Julian’s followers. Alec reactivates Travis' military chip in order to hunt him, but the hunter soon becomes the hunted.
• Second Guess: Chaos breaks out in Vancouver when a series of cyber attacks turn the city upside down. Kiera and Carlos race to find the perpetrator while Who clues suggest Alec's technology has something to do with it.
• Second Last: Kiera and Carlos must stop Travis after he gets his hands on a second CPS suit while Alec and Emily try to escape the mysterious Freelancers and deal a revelation that could change everything.
• Second Time: Kiera races to rescue Alec from himself and preserve her own chance of getting home. Alec must make a difficult decision between solving Kiera's dilemma or his own.

Continuum: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Continuum: Season Two offers a slick, solid 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation; one that even looks a bit better than its Season One predecessor. Colors range from warm and capably saturated, with lifelike skintones and vivid primaries, to bleak and chilly, cast in the light of future-tech blues and gray Vancouver skies. All is as it should be, though, contrast is consistent and consistently satisfying, and the showrunners' intentions are intact. Detail is undeterred too, with clean, precise edge definition, reasonably refined textures, and commendable delineation. Moreover, artifacting, banding, aliasing and other bothersome issues are nowhere to be found, and only hints of ringing and crush creep in. Continuum isn't always the most striking sci-fi series on the block, but its high definition presentation delivers.

Continuum: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Not as flat and front-heavy as its Season One counterpart, not as full or immersive as other action-laced sci-fi dramas, Season Two's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is decent; although it's worth its sound design, not Universal's lossless efforts, is the culprit. Dialogue is intelligible and perfectly prioritized and effects are grounded and well-balanced in the mix, without anything in the way of buried lines or mid-shootout mishaps. LFE output doesn't exactly disappoint, especially during the second season's more explosive moments, but it isn't all that remarkable either. Likewise, the rear speakers kick in with the action (brawls, chase scenes, gunfights and such), but underwhelm in other sequences. Still, while there isn't much to get worked up about, Continuum's lossless experience is more than serviceable.

Continuum: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries: Eleven, count 'em, eleven cast and crew audio commentaries anchor Season Two's supplemental package, which represents a dramatic upgrade from the near-barebones complement of extras the Blu-ray release of Season One offered. Of course, the bulk of the tracks tend to be slightly hit or miss, with some standing out and others merely satisfying, but the bulk of the tracks will give fans of the show good reason to revisit the entire season. Better still, only two episodes go without. Commentaries include:
  
  
  • "Second Chances" with Rachel Nichols, creator Simon Barry and executive producer Pat Williams
  • "Split Second" with Victor Webster, stunt coordinator Kimani Ray Smith and VFX supervisor Adam Stern
  • "Second Skin" with co-EP Shelley Eriksen and executive story editor Jonathan Lloyd Walker
  • "Second Opinion" with actors Brian Markinson and Jennifer Spence
  • "Second Truths" with Eriksen and Walker
  • "Second Degree" with actors Erik Knudsen and Richard Harmon
  • "Second Listen" with actors Omari Newton and Luvia Petersen
  • "Seconds..." with Knudsen, Harmon and director Mike Rohl
  • "Second Guessed" with Newton and Petersen
  • "Second Last" with director Amanda Tapping and actor Magda Apanowicz
  • "Second Time" with Nichols, Williams and Barry
  
  
• Behind the Scenes Featurettes (HD, 74 minutes): How do you follow eleven commentaries? With thirteen production featurettes, what else? Clocking in at well over an hour, Continuum gets more behind-the-scenes love than most television series releases. Few stones are left unturned, and everyone from creator Simon Barry to the average crew member pop up to discuss the show and its second season. Featurettes include:
  
  
  • Reloading: Season 2 Kickoff
  • Evolution of an Action Scene
  • What Do We Do About Travis...
  • Casting Continuum
  • Do You Think I'm Pretty?
  • Know Your Crew
  • Alec: Past & Present
  • Creating the Future
  • An Actor's Journey
  • The Bad Guys
  • Young Love
  • Gone Fishing
  • Continuum at FanExpo

Continuum: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Continuum is a likable little scrapper, going toe to toe with bigger, badder network sci-fi -- Revolution, Falling Skies and plenty more -- and walking away the victor. Don't let its SyFy stomping grounds scare you away. Universal's Blu-ray release of Season Two makes sampling the series that much more tempting, with a strong video presentation, decent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and a supplemental package that features eleven audio commentaries and 75-minute of behind-the-scenes featurettes.