La Brea: Season Three Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

La Brea: Season Three Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker September 8, 2024

NBC's time-traveling science fiction drama 'La Brea: Season Three' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal. Join Gavin (Eoin Macken), Eve (Natalie Zea), Izzy (Zyra Gorecki), Josh (Jack Martin), and the rest of the castaways as they fight to survive in 10,000 B.C. and find a way back home in this final season. All six episodes are included in this one-disc release. Technical merits continue to be strong, though this season is once again devoid of supplemental material. Neither a slipcover nor a Digital Code are included.

Those who have not yet seen La Brea: Season One and La Brea: Season Two are encouraged to do so before reading further as the following contains spoilers. Though La Brea: Season Two felt like it was finally hitting its stride, Season Three proves to be La Brea's last. Although NBC has not given an official reason for the series' cancellation, declining viewership, the high cost of production, lingering COVID costs, and the then-looming actor's and writer's strike all seemingly played a part in the bouillabaisse of issues that likely sealed the show's fate. Thankfully for fans, the production team was fully aware the end was nigh and was able to craft an appropriate, if abbreviated, end to the adventures of the Harris family and other castaways.

After the elaborate and time-bending world-building that transpired in season two and the various and assorted machinations and actions of the various members of the Harris family across multiple timelines, six episodes scarcely feels like enough time to resolve them all adequately. This is especially true as the events that brought season two to a close leave the world teetering on the brink of ruin due to the appearance of a growing number of portals bringing with them all manner of new objects and threats from various times, including crowd-pleasing dinosaurs like raptors, Pterodactyls, and the Tyrannosaurs rex teased on the cover. As the series races rapidly toward its terminus even from the very start of the season, try though they might, given how large the story has become, the writers can't help but lose track of things. Characters disappear for large swaths of time with only the briefest of "blink and you'll miss it" lines to explain their absences if they're addressed at all. Paara, who loomed large over season two vanishes and a new leader presides over the fort. Josh and Riley being trapped in the future-past of the 1950s is understood but receives little to no discussion or attention across multiple episodes. The same goes for Eve who is absent for the bulk of the season with nary a moment of screen time to depict the challenges she may be facing. Various subplots and character arcs are intentionally jettisoned or forgotten; some are larger like the impact of new "classic" dinosaurs, while others are smaller like the life-changing hidden cache of gold bars that was discovered, and the importance of Scott's paper. Confusingly, rather than spending time on these issues, new characters are added and new subplots like the matter of Izzy's sexuality are explored robbing more pressing story elements of precious time. The overall impact is a season that feels rushed and a bit slapdash. Sadly, the conclusion of the Harris family's arc is the most emotionally hollow. Given Eve's physical absence from the bulk of the season the search for her lacks the desired and intended emotional punch. While the viewer is occasionally told what's happening to her in a line or two, we're never actually shown what she is going through. Television being a visual medium, the showing is always more important and powerful than the telling. My sense is, based on the breakneck pace of the season, she was merely jettisoned as a matter of convenience as were other characters since there simply wasn't time to manage them all and progress their individual story arcs considering the new characters that were added and the need to conclude the main storylines as neatly as possible.

Still, despite the shortcomings, there are many bright spots to be found. Season three sees the series enjoy some of the best dinosaur effects of its 30-episode lifespan. Seeing new threats of this nature and magnitude is a welcome addition, and it is these sorts of dinosaurs that finally grace this season's episodes that viewers have been keenly interested in seeing since the series debuted. Lucas and Veronica continue to evolve into two of the series' most unexpectedly enjoyable characters and the resolution of their story is sure to please fans. Ty's ending is likewise fitting. Scott continues to grow into a capable and competent member of the team, even exhibiting bravery and leadership well beyond what his season one characterization suggested. And despite the extended absences of certain characters, the plot twists, shifting allegiances, and uncertain motivations continue to spring up frequently enough to keep viewers guessing.

La Brea: Season Three's episodes are as follows:

• Sierra - New threats made it through the auroras that opened due to the machine malfunctioning, endangering everyone in the clearing. Lucas takes his first steps as the newly elected leader during this very trying time, as Gavin, Ty, and Scott find a new reason to hope.

• Don't Look Up - As the people from the clearing try to integrate into their new community, a mysterious death threatens to fracture the new alliance. Scott's training may just be the key to removing a new threat. Ty's plan to avert disaster begins to take shape.

• Maya - After finding Maya, Gavin hopes she can get him one step closer to finding his wife. Ty continues to work on resolving issues on multiple fronts. The people from the clearing hope to gain a voice in the leadership of the fort.

• Fire Storm - As a wildfire threatens the entire area, Veronica, Lucas, and Sam work to save the fort. Two mysterious women have very different designs on Gavin, as his regained memories provide some additional important but hazy clues that just might help save Eve. Ty learns something very important.

• The Road Home, Part 1 - Izzy seeks dating advice from Veronica as a mysterious contact issues instructions to Gavin to recover his wife - or is it a trap? Allegiances are revealed and a traitor is discovered. Gavin and his team take a big step forward in finding Eve.

• The Road Home, Part 2 - Ty goes on an important search while Sam races to save his daughter. The plan to return home is met with one obstacle after the next, but Gavin has one more trick up his sleeve.

La Brea: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As the season and the series races toward its conclusion, it's business as usual for the MPEG-4 AVC-encoded 1080p transfer which is excellent news for fans. Detail levels remain as impressively high here as they have ever been in the previous seasons. The various fabric elements of costuming display a fantastically realistic tactile presence. Worn leather articles show creases, color gradations, dirt, and scuffs. Individual strands of fur on coats, vests, and boots, most of which are worn by Paara and her people, are discernable also. Modern fabrics fare equally well, whether pilling on chunky knit sweaters or the fleece lining of jackets. Colors are nicely saturated across the natural palette of the series, with reds and blues popping on costume and set elements and also in effects shots. Mild banding is an occasional offender, but it is hardly distracting. It's a very solid transfer.

La Brea: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As expected, Universal has given La Brea: Season Three a robust and energetic English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track to accompany our travelers' final attempt to return home. Surrounds are frequently employed to add ambient environmental sounds in natural settings and military bases alike. The episode Don't Look Up provides numerous opportunities for the track to display how well it handles objects moving through the sound field with dinosaurs tracking fluidly from front to back and side to side. Music is rendered with great precision and fidelity, and while it is often kept in check, there are moments where it is allowed to swell and dominate. Bass continues to be impressive and is more critical and noticeable with the introduction of new dinosaurs into this season's episodes. Dialogue is clean and crisp and typically front and center.

La Brea: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

La Brea: Season Three is devoid of any supplemental material.

La Brea: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A confluence of factors seems to have engineered the demise of this series and the Harris family's adventures through time come to hasty end in La Brea: Season Three. The series began hitting its stride in season two even as viewership was unfortunately dropping. Writers did their best to draw the story, which had sprawled and grew more complex in season two, to a satisfying close. Though certain plotlines and ideas are dropped and important characters are ignored for several episodes at a time, the overall conclusion is fitting and satisfying. As lighter mainstream science fiction fare La Brea is largely enjoyable and La Brea: Season Three comes recommended to its fans.