Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Duck Dynasty: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 29, 2014

Are the Robertsons’ fifteen minutes of fame coming to a close? Fans of Duck Dynasty have weathered a rather calamitous year with their favorite backwoods family, staying loyal despite patriarch Phil Robertson’s much publicized remarks about homosexuality that for a time at least seemed to threaten the very continuance of the series. Other, perhaps lesser, skirmishes have also broken out, including Phil’s equally contentious comments about marrying young (as in teenaged) women and some naysayers who allege that this supposedly “unscripted” reality show is in fact highly calculated, to the point that even the Robertson men’s now iconic beards are simply part of a larger image management scheme that has little to do with their actual historical appearances. While the bloom may be at least partially off the rose, with noticeably fewer people showing up in droves to watch the show, Duck Dynasty continues to trundle (and/or waddle) on in its fifth season, introducing some new “characters” while hewing fairly closely to the home and hearth (and multimillion dollar family business) aesthetic that has been the show’s calling card from day one. There’s nothing even slightly new this year, which will annoy those who have grown tired of the series, but will just as likely delight those who continue to flock to the show in what is most likely a television version of eating comfort food. There’s the same genial, homespun quality here that is arguably Duck Dynasty’s strongest element, but there’s that continuing whiff of artificiality that tends to undercut the “off the cuff” moments that spring up continually on the series.

The dialectic between good ol’ boys who just happen to be multimillionaires and owner-entrepreneurs of a hugely successful business enterprise had enough inherent charm to make Duck Dynasty an almost instant phenomenon when it debuted several years ago on A&E. The undeniably affable qualities of the Robertson clan made some of the series’ more patently ridiculous elements a bit easier to swallow, but over the course of too many faux sibling rivalries, brushes with calamity and artificial feeling shenanigans, at least some of that luster has worn off, leaving a largely predictable if still occasionally heartfelt show scrambling to find something new to portray.

The fifth season continues along well established parameters that have the Robertson guys pulling practical jokes on each other like some sort of rural version of Punk’d, along with the requisite generational issues that have also regularly informed the series. Some of these actually ring at least relatively true, as with Miss Kay’s attempts to learn the supposed intricacies of texting, but too often the dilemmas and conflicts that arise on Duck Dynasty seem constructed out of whole cloth simply to give the show something to deal with for an episode.

The one thing that seemed to reinvigorate interest in the Robertsons (albeit for reasons the family may not have preferred) could have been utilized in this fifth season to open up the show and perhaps even offer a forum for public debate on such hot topic items as gay marriage and some still firmly held beliefs (evidently by Phil himself) of (especially) older Americans. But instead either the show’s creative staff, the Robertsons, or even A&E choose to more or less completely ignore the controversy that raged around the family and by extension the show, something that only makes what is in this season seem all the more trivial by comparison. The “reality” of this so-called reality television enterprise has long been questioned (including by this reviewer), but when such a potent opportunity in real life presents itself, to simply pretend it doesn’t exist seems at least questionable, though there were probably focus groups led by bean counters who averred that staying away from anything even remotely sociopolitical would be the best course for the continued viability of the series.

The other thing that Duck Dynasty seems resolutely ill equipped to explore is exactly how the Robertsons’ entrepreneurial spirit has helped them both create and now maintain an insanely successful business enterprise. Instead we’re privy to frankly stupid “contests” between the workers, a number of ill advised (and obviously patently fake) “strategies” that occasionally erupt from the lackadaisical meetings the family has about Duck Commander, and other virtually content free interchanges that give the viewer absolutely no insight into what must be a very smart and forceful business sense the family has. Part of this stems from the show’s early couple of seasons, where the light hearted elements were perhaps understandably the focus of the show. But isn’t it time to show some of the actual decision making processes that go on which might help bolster and even burnish the Robertsons’ public image?

What’s left is a generally genial show that is lacking any ambition other than to offer a few low level laughs and then tie things up with what is typically a heartstring tugging moment as any given episode signs off. The vagaries of television popularity are often hard to fathom, but the rapidly diminishing audience for this show may portend a rough future for the Robertsons—at least in this format and in this medium. Maybe it’s time for Phil to go on a speaking tour; that at least might provide a little off season controversy to stir up some passing interest.

For those wanting to catch up on previous seasons of Duck Dynasty, our reviews can be found here:

Duck Dynasty: Season 1 Blu-ray review

Duck Dynasty: Season 2 Blu-ray review

Duck Dynasty: Season 3 Blu-ray review

Duck Dynasty: Season 4 Blu-ray review

Duck Dynasty: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Duck Dynasty: Season 5 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and A&E Networks Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. If you've been collecting Duck Dynasty on Blu-ray, you'll know exactly what to expect from this latest volume, for it apes the look of previous three seasons which benefited from a progressive presentation (only Season 1 was offered in an interlaced format). Colors are bright and accurate looking, and contrast is generally quite strong, helping the show to segue between its many outdoor and indoor locations. As with all of the previous seasons, there are occasional issues with establishing shots, many of which look relatively ragged and soft when compared to the bulk of the series.

Duck Dynasty: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Again as with previous seasons, Duck Dynasty: Season 5 offers a perfectly serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that clearly presents dialogue and the many ambient environmental effects which dot the outdoor scenes. As I've mentioned in some previous reviews, the show doesn't really have outsized sonic ambitions, and so with expectations dialed in appropriately, what's here suffices perfectly well, offering excellent fidelity and some bursts of decent dynamic range.

Duck Dynasty: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Featurettes (1080i; 16:37) is comprised of nine short pieces looking at things like the cute things the Robertson kids say or how much the Robertson men love their wives.


• Deleted Scenes:

  Big Red Bully (1080i; 1:54)

  Fresh Si From Bel Air (1080i; 5:03)

Duck Dynasty: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a certain whiff of desperation in this latest season of Duck Dynasty, as if the Robertsons kind of knew their collective backs were against the wall, even with the outpouring of support they received from many quarters after Phil's comments went viral. But instead of addressing those issues head on, which might have been uncomfortable but certainly would have been must see TV, the show backtracks into tried and true tropes where most of what is presented here seems old and tired. Fans will no doubt continue to glean enough out of the goofy humor of the show to continue watching, but my personal hunch is the clock just ticked 15:01 on the Robertsons' small screen fame adventure. Technical merits continue to be generally strong on this latest season for those mulling over a purchase.