Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Ghosts: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 30, 2022

Ghosts is based on a UK series of the same name which debuted a few years ago, but some with certain American viewing habits may wonder about one minor if still salient piece of information. In this American version, Samantha (Rose McIver) and Darren, er, Jay Arondekar (Utkarsh Ambudkar) inherit a crumbling estate willed to them by a recently deceased distant relative of Sam's, and while they initially debate whether or not to sell it, they disclose they both have a fondness for HGTV renovation shows, one which ultimately helps to spark their decision to stay and fix the place up. And in fact there's a kind of funny if slightly disturbing moment of sex play between the couple where Sam suggests she can be "Joanna" to Jay's "Chip Gaines" (if you don't get the reference, Google will most likely autofill within nanoseconds of typing in either name). That little bit of backstory may cause some to wonder if Alison and Mike Cooper from the UK version of the show might have been fans of HGTV-esque series like Escape to the Chateau, which features an expat British couple attempting to renovate a dilapidated estate in France. One way or the other, the whole obsession with HGTV (which actually recurs intermittently throughout this series) may actually be a "calling card" of sorts for the show, at least for those who (frankly like this reviewer) have often turned to that particular network during the most calamitous times of the last few years if only because it frequently offers heartwarming tales of renewal and renovation, with the added benefit of being able to see what the inside of other people's houses are like (that last part is a joke, kind of). Watching television (not necessarily limited to HGTV) crops up in this show repeatedly as well, though the real underlying premise of the series is that after an unfortunate accident, Sam is suddenly able to see and hear the many spirits inhabiting the place she's recently inherited.

Ghosts is very much an ensemble piece, and if there's one slight stumbling block to this first season, it's in the sheer glut of characters who need to be introduced and developed. The conceit of the series is that the estate Sam and Jay inherit is the "final resting ground" for all sorts of spirits, though they're not exactly resting, so to speak. These include a several times removed great grandmother of Sam's named Hetty Woodstone (Rebecca Wisocky), who built the manor along with her husband centuries ago. Other ghosts include an even more ancient denizen than Hetty, a Viking named Thorfinn (Devan Chandler), as well as two characters from the general era of the American Revolution, a captain named Isaac Higgintoot (Brandon Scott Jones), and a Native American from the Lenape tribe nicknamed Sass (Román Zaragoza). More relatively contemporary haunters include Jazz Age chanteuse Alberta Haynes (Danielle Pinnock), a drugged out Woodstock era hippie nicknamed Flower (Sheila Carrasco), a former scoutmaster named Pete Martino (Richie Moriarty) who has an unfortunate arrow through his neck (the cause of his death, lest that not be clear), and a Gen X day trader named Trevor Lefkowitz (Asher Grodman), who unfortunately died without any pants on.

This relatively brief summary doesn't even include a number of other characters, both spectral and living, who stuff this enterprise to overflowing at times. Among several other supporting characters are a gaggle of what might be thought of as "steerage passengers", ghosts of cholera victims who reside in the basement and who aren't the end of the seemingly endless supply of ghosts populating the environs. There are also a kind of Thurston Howell III and Lovey Howell duo (played by Mark Linn Baker and Kathryn Greenwood) who live next door and may or may not be nemeses of the newcomers.

A seeming "McGuffin" of sorts hints that all of the spirits are somehow "tied" to this locale and need to be "released" to their true afterlife, but an early vignette involving Thor suggests this may actually not be the case. Instead, the series attempts to mine humor out of this disparate group of folks, with each of the "principal" ghosts offered just enough backstory to start building "arcs" for them. These interwoven subplots are a motley crew in and of themselves, and include everything from Higgintoot being obviously closeted and insanely jealous of Alexander Hamilton, to Hetty harboring a virulent anti-Irish prejudice based on some personal history, to Alberta wanting there to be a investigation into what she suspects was her murder.

Ghosts may in fact not be laugh out loud hilarious, but it's consistently congenial, and some of the bantering interplay between the ghosts is especially winning. This is probably going to be one of those series which needs enough time to properly develop the many strands of plotting that each characters offers, along with the ongoing trials and tribulations that Sam and Jay encounter aside and apart from any haunting aspect, as the couple attempts to fix up the place and transform it into a bed and breakfast. There's certainly more than enough for the writers to work with, though it may be challenge to properly balance providing clear exposition of so many interwoven "biographies" with what every sitcom depends on: regular, consistent laughs.

Ghosts: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ghosts: Season One is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The IMDb lists the Sony Venice but kind of interestingly also lists a source capture resolution of over 5K, which makes me wonder whether this series may have had a 4K DI. One way or the other, this has some generally excellent detail levels throughout, especially with regard to some of the finery some of the "historical" female characters like Hetty and Alberta in particular. But even things like Thor's bristly beard or Sass' fringed outfit provide more examples of the general excellence of fine detail levels. The palette is actually a bit muted quite a bit of the time, tending to favor more burnished tones which perhaps subliminally emphasize the supposed history of the place. CGI is winning for the most part, especially with regard to fun effects like spirits walking through walls or living humans walking through spirits. There are occasional downturns in detail levels in some of the barely lit basement material. My score is 4.25.

Ghosts: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ghosts: Season One features an often fun Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track (this is another recent release from Lionsgate where for whatever reason their Audio menu lists only "Dolby 5.1" without the clear identifier of a lossless track). The scuttling to and fro of the spirits provides quite a bit of surround activity, though it tends to occur in fits and starts. Some fun effects in terms of the ghosts attempting in various ways to "reach out and touch" the living also provide good opportunities for both discrete channelization and some "ghostly" panning effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Ghosts: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Kind of surprisingly, this release offers no on disc supplements. A digital copy is included, and packaging features a slipcover.

Ghosts: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I actually have a couple of friends who think Ghosts is one of the best "new"(ish) comedies on television. I'm frankly not sure it's that great, but it has a degree of heart that many, more acerbic, modern comedies don't seem to be able to muster, and there are some really appealing characterizations offered in this first season. I'm not sure the writing is at a consistently excellent level, but when it connects, it does so very well, and interestingly in that regard, it's often most effective in some of the "little" throwaway lines between characters rather than for any of the "swing for the fences" material. Technical merits are solid, and with caveats noted, Ghosts: Season One comes Recommended.