RoboCop: The Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		1.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

RoboCop: The Series Blu-ray Movie Review

I previously reviewed US-based Liberation Hall's five-disc Blu-ray release around this time last year. For my thoughts and analysis of RoboCop: The Series as well as the a/v presentation on the discs, please see the link above.

RoboCop: The Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

UK-based Screenbound Pictures has released RoboCop: The Series on two BD-50s, contrary to the initial info on the label's website and press release stating that this would be four discs. Disc 1 stores episodes 1-12 while Disc 2 houses episodes 13-22 and the ancillary extras. On the back cover of the keep case, it states: "EPISODES ARE DIGITALLY ENHANCED FROM THE BEST MATERIALS AVAILABLE." Preceding each episode is a screen proclaiming "Restored by Screenbound Pictures." Unlink the LH release in which the picture is horizontally stretched to 1.78:1, all episodes here are presented in their originally composed ratio of 1.33:1, which is how they were shown when they aired on network TV in 1994. If you examine Screenshot #s 3, 6, 7, 9, 30, and 37 from the pilot "The Future of Law Enforcement," you'll notice that DNR has been applied. Faces appear waxed in that long episode as well as others (e.g., see frame grab #s 13, 16, and 34). Image quality declines in the episodes following the series premiere. For instance, in "Corporate Raiders," contrast is blown out. Colors sometime look dull or washed out. Practically every episode shows compression in the form of banding or posterization (see it above Robo's head in Screenshot #1). In addition, not unrelated is the oft-presence of low-level noise on the black parts of the image. I also spotted chroma noise in the colored areas of the image. Sometimes when credits or titles appear on the image, they give off the Gibb Effect.

Note: When you click on the episode "Provision 22," the episode "Ghosts of War" begins instead! "Ghosts..." is already listed on the menu. Indeed, some episodes are mislabeled.

RoboCop: The Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Each episode is accompanied with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (128 kbps). In my critique of the sound on the LH discs, I wrote: "[the LPCM track] sounds more like a remastered lossy mix on a DVD. Dialogue, music, and f/x are primarily front heavy throughout the episodes. There is no audible tracking noise or digital tape dropouts. Spoken words are usually always intelligible but there are no subtitling options!" That is also the impression that I have of the lossy mix on these two discs. It sounds fine but isn't exceptional.

There are burned-in subtitles for at least one episode (see Screenshot #40).

RoboCop: The Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Screenbound has rehashed the same group of EPK-based extras that were on the Liberation Hall release. On the text-heavy screens, Screenbound has used an AI bot for text dictation, which sometimes speaks with mispronunciations. The original promotional featurette and toy advert are the only live-action extras.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (5:44, 480i) - this EPK piece is touted as a "sneak preview" for RoboCop: The Television Series. B-roll footage is intermixed with interview snippets that feature director Paul Lynch; executive producers Brian K. Ross, Kevin Gillis, and Stephen Downing; producer Miles Dale; second unit director T.J. Scott; as well as actors Richard Eden, Yvette Nipar, and James Kidnie. In English, not subtitled.

• Toy Commercial (0:21, upconverted to 1080p) - a TV ad promoting the toy line that was produced for the series. Featured are action figures for RoboCop and Pudface Morgan and Robo's DPD vehicle.

• Photo Gallery - a slide show comprising seventy-six color images (horizontal and vertical) that consist of publicity snapshots and on-set photographs from the series.

• Cast Profiles (seven text screens total) - bios for actors Richard Eden (two text screens), Lisa Madigan (one text screen), Blu Mankuma (one text screen), Andrea Roth (one text screen), Sarah Campbell (one text screen; a profile picture of actor Peter Costigan is erroneously displayed alongside the text), and David Gardner (one text screen).

• From Cinema to the Small Screen (six text screens)

• The Future of Law Enforcement: The History of RoboCop (six text screens)

• Fun Facts & Info (three text screens)

• Put Down Your Weapon: The Auto 9 Gun (two text screens)

• The Car (one text screen)

• The Suit (two text screens)

RoboCop: The Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is not a properly "restored" version of RoboCop: The Series. I don't know which digital restoration tools Screenbound Pictures employed to try to clean up the image but this is a botched effort by the UK label. The episodes may be "DIGITALLY ENHANCED" as the banner proclaims on the front cover but film grain has been zapped from the image. Really the only thing SP got right is preserving the original aspect ratio. The German-based VZ Handels GmbH set of this series remains the best on the market. SP may "improve" on the Liberation Hall presentation but that doesn't necessarily mean the transfers are good or even average. RENT episodes from the series first before considering a purchase. Two of the better episodes are "The Human Factor" and "Corporate Raiders."