Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Helix: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

In sickness and in health.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 29, 2014

Helix is the perfect title for a Science Fiction program. It evokes a science-y connotation by which non-scientists will immediately hearken back to the days of good old high school biology, remembering the word but perhaps not quite so much what it means. Better, it's an accessible science-y word, easy to pronounce and effortless off the tongue. There's also an edge to the word, a roughness that comes with that ending "x." The show that bears the word as its name, a product of genre veteran Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica), itself evokes a number of favorable comparisons and brings to the forefront of the mind a handful of similar titles. It's sort of like a mesh of The Thing meets Outbreak meets some TV science procedural like Bones with a hint of Alien thrown in for good measure. It works well enough for what it is, nicely blending together all of the above and yielding a serviceable program that follows basic modern adult television convention while injecting it with just enough of a nasty, scary, uneasy edge to keep it moving along through all of the surprises it has in store.

Sick.

An Arctic biosystems research facility contacts the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) for help. An outbreak has left two dead and others within the installation at risk. The distress call asks specifically for a Dr. Julia Walker (Kyra Zagorsky), one-time lover of one of the patients, Peter (Neil Napier), and ex-wife of Peter's brother, a CDC bigwig named Alan Farragut (Billy Campbell). They're accompanied by an Army liaison named Sergio Balleseros (Mark Ghanimé) whose orders are to oversee the Army's half of the jurisdictional duties in the operation. At the facility, they are greeted by the mysterious Dr. Hiroshi Hatake (Hiroyuki Sanada). The sickly Peter escapes confinement and threatens the facility. As the researchers scramble to contain the situation, incredible truths are revealed that will have lasting repercussions for even those beyond the facility's walls.

Helix works almost entirely on the juxtaposition of the environment versus the happenings playing out within it. The show masterfully takes advantage of the primary location, a rather big space with plenty of places to hide, lots of room to work, and large spaces in which drama can develop, yet with enough intimacy and tightness to create something of a claustrophobic feel. It's in some ways reminiscent of the big underground bunker from Day of the Dead where, like here, there's enough room for anything and everything to happen but also a feeling of nothing, of inescapability, and perhaps worst of all, the coming of the inevitable. The show takes full advantage of the innate fear of the no-win situation and setting, one from which one cannot escape, for which there seem to be no answers, no avenue to safety, and no idea what's happened, what's happening, or what will happen. Helix never really relents on those base fears of paranoia, claustrophobia, mistrust, and the inevitable.

Helix wades through the usual suspect list of television drama characters and their interactions with, relationships to, and conflicts amongst one another. Many predictable dynamics are in play, at least on the surface and within the first episode. Once the story gets rolling, however, it becomes clear that there's more to them than one is led to believe, which itself is a rather standard fare television ploy these days. Nevertheless, it keeps the characters on their toes and the audience sometimes on the edge of its seat, awaiting the next reveal that's often more terrifying than icky veins and buckets of black blood. The show's rhythm, too, reflects fairly standard-fare television, pumping out reveal after reveal that, rather than answer a question, opens up the door to a couple of more, taking audiences down the proverbial rabbit hole of drama and intrigue. It's more often than not a high-energy show that works best in a rapid-fire, all-at-once viewing that Blu-ray can provide rather than the slowly digestible piecemeal pacing basic television offers. In other words, it's the sort of show that will play better to home video than to cable television.

The cast is adequate, likely not destined to greatness but more than capable of carrying the show. Billy Campbell handles lead duties well, bringing not so much a commanding presence to the screen but a balancing, believable presence. He shows tremendous skill in juggling the character's personal connections to the situation with a dedication to duty and evolving understanding of what it is he's facing. Hiroyuki Sanada is the show's best asset, the actor delivering a deliciously mysterious effort as Dr. Hatake. The show's weak point comes with Jordan Hayes, who cannot adequately convey the impressive credentials her Dr. Jordan character carries with her. Even in a scene early in episode two in which Jordan lists her academic accomplishments and addresses the criticism in a roundabout way, the performance feels forced and not fitting the character.

Helix: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Helix: The Complete First Season features a fairly basic 1080p transfer. It's neither extraordinary nor disappointing, falling into a middle ground of quality images that satisfy program and format requirements but don't necessarily capture one's attention. The show is visually uninteresting for much of its run, much of it set against the nondescript backdrops within the facility. White and gray backgrounds -- not to mention black blood -- don't allow for much pizazz, but there's enough support foreground color to nicely offset it without breaking the illusion of isolation in a nondescript environment. Flesh tones do provide some nice, naturally colored hues in support, while black levels never seem too far away from normal. Details are quite good. Close-ups capture intricate skin textures with ease, ditto gory visual effects. General photography captures those bland backdrops, clothing, and gear with sufficient accuracy. The transfer doesn't suffer from an abundance of noise, blocking, or other unwanted visual guests. Overall, a solid effort all around from Sony.

Helix: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Helix: The Complete First Season features a stable and well defined DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music -- particularly the show's occasional reliance on elevator-style music that contrasts with difficult imagery -- proves clear and nicely spaced. Support sound effects are well integrated, too, with loudspeaker pronouncements, alarms, and general din nicely filling the stage. The Arctic exterior is home to some biting wind that naturally gusts around the stage with a solid sense of immersion that only lacks the chill that would accompany it in real life. Dialogue is firm and focused in the front-center portion of the stage. This is a well-rounded track, not a spectacular listen by any means but an always good and sometimes dominant effort from Sony.

Helix: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Helix: The Complete First Season contains a number of supplements across all three discs. The package also includes a UV digital copy code.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: Actor Billy Campbell and Creator Cameron Porsandeh for "Pilot."
• Deleted Scenes (HD): From "Pilot:" Panicked (0:45), What's Going On (1:13), and Don't Let Them Take You (1:33). From "Vector:" I'd Like to Look For Myself (1:10). From "Single Strand:" I'm Sorry Father (0:36).
• Ronald D. Moore: The Outlier of Science Fiction (HD, 7:13): Moore discusses the basic ideas behind the Science Fiction genre and the available avenues of social commentary within the genre. The piece also features Creator/Executive Producer Cameron Porsandeh, Executive Producers Lynda Obst and Steven Maeda, Director Jeffrey Reiner, and Actor Billy Campbell discussing Moore's work, the show's unique approach to the genre, its style and structure, the series' rhythm, and more.
• The Future of Disease (HD, 5:28): A look at the requirements within the genre for creating a disease, grounding it in real science, making it plausible, the greater moral and scientific questions that arise within the show, and more.

Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (HD): From "Aniqatiga:" Snowmobile (0:24). From "Bloodline:" Unconscious (0:42).
• Writing the Tension (HD, 5:42): A look at the writing process, including building the greater story, constructing characters, working with the environmental dynamics and isolation, building tension, and working within the larger arc. The piece also briefly examines the series' music as well as the pacing of each episode and the greater whole.
• The Art of Isolation (HD, 5:52): An examination of the role setting plays in the show, with emphasis on its isolation and inaccessibility and the absence of outside communication set against the dynamics of the virus, character qualities, and the mystery that follows. It also examines set design, the arctic setting, and the digital effects that help create the illusion.
• Outtakes (HD, 3:22).

Disc Three:

• Audio Commentary: Actor Billy Campbell and Executive Producer Steven Maeda for "Dans L'ombre."
• Deleted Scenes (HD): From "Fushigi:" Stay in Here (0:54), Shhh... (0:17), Monitoring (0:25), and Why Are You Here? (1:14). From "Dans L'ombre:" We're in the Middle of a Crisis Here (1:25) and Some People Find Me Charming (0:55).
• Dissecting the Characters (HD, 10:32): A look at casting and the qualities the cast brought to the series, character construction and development, and character specifics.
• Fabricating the Plague (HD, 6:23): This supplement examines makeup and graphic visual effects, both practical and digital.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

Helix: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Helix doesn't battle programs like The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones as the best thing currently running on television, but Ronald D. Moore's latest effort ranks as, at worst, a serviceable Medical Horror/Thriller program and, at its best, an occasionally captivating little jaunt into confined terror, doubt, and a few unique character angles amongst the general television drama retreads. Sci-Fi fans, as well as viewers who enjoy television with a slight edge and gruesomeness, will likely find enough here to make a watch a worthwhile endeavor. Sony's Blu-ray release of Helix: The Complete First Season delivers solid video and audio. Supplements are comprised of short featurettes, a handful of deleted scenes, and a couple of audio commentary tracks. Recommended.