Duck Dynasty: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Duck Dynasty: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 23, 2013

As an Oregonian, I must state up front that Duck Dynasty is evidently not about the University of Oregon’s sports teams, nor is one of the series’ character’s obsession with beavers a reference to Oregon State University. With that pressing piece of business out of the way, perhaps it’s time to burst another preconception bubble—so-called reality television is not real. I know several people (whose names will not be divulged due to their wishes to remain employed) who work on various “reality tv” shows in different capacities, and they all tell pretty much the same story. While there are no “writers” on the shows, and while things are filmed in a supposed “verité” style that ostensibly catches things happening off the cuff, “suggestions” are often made to the shows’ participants, and certain “storylines” are discussed at length before the cameras ever even show up to capture the action. Furthermore, most shows are assembled with a team of editors who, along with the shows’ directors and other “creatives”, deliberately shape things to give these efforts some sort of dramatic (and/or comedic) arc. Duck Dynasty is simply the latest in a long line of cable outings which have melded characters’ work lives and family environments. As my wife stated when we began watching this new six disc Blu-ray set, “Hey, it’s Cake Boss on the bayou!” That pretty much sums up this show’s approach, which follows the “true life” adventures of the Robertson family, a group of good ol’ boys, their wives, children and employees, who run a multimillion dollar enterprise called Duck Commander, a unique duck call invented by paterfamilias Phil Robertson, whose son Willie, who built the business into its current day success. Rather incredibly, the saga of the Roberston family has become one of the biggest phenomena in cable history, recently smashing audience records for the series’ fourth season premiere episode. The series is having an impact in some unusual arenas as well. Both Fox News and MSNBC, hardly cable outlets prone to covering the same sorts of stories, recently mentioned that a Robertson endorsement of a so-called “mainstream” GOP candidate in Louisiana helped to get that guy elected over the Tea Party candidate (who was expected to handily win the race). With the show's (and its characters') popularity soaring, A&E and Lionsgate have made the unusual decision to release a Blu-ray box set featuring the first three seasons, which will be followed around a month later by standalone Blu-ray releases of those seasons.

For complete coverage of the three seasons included in this set, please see the individual reviews linked below:

Duck Dynasty: Season 1 Blu-ray review

Duck Dynasty: Season 2 Blu-ray review

Duck Dynasty: Season 3 Blu-ray review

Duck Dynasty: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality for each season is discussed in the individual season reviews, linked above.

Duck Dynasty: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality for each season is discussed in the individual season reviews, linked above.

Duck Dynasty: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplementary material for each season is discussed in the individual season reviews, linked above. While there's no on disc bonus content exclusive to this three season set that is not available in the individual season releases, this set does come with an official Duck Dynasty bandana, for what that's worth.

Duck Dynasty: Seasons 1-3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whether or not Duck Dynasty is capturing some essential element of our current cultural zeitgeist is probably highly debatable, but there's simply no arguing with the fact that the series has become a cultural phenomenon of unparalleled success (at least within the confines of the recent cable environment). The Robertsons are easy to love, and the show's nice mix of humor and heart is undeniably alluring. Still, like so many other "reality television" outings, one simply can't help but question just how much of these supposedly "natural" goings on are manufactured for the camera. That said, fans of the series will certainly enjoy this set (which has the added benefit of debuting a month before the individual seasons do on Blu-ray). Recommended.