SEAL Team: Season One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

SEAL Team: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 13, 2021

CBS' Seal Team aims to bring faces, families, feelings, and perhaps even fragility to the Navy SEALs. It's a show that is less concerned with the operational ins-and-outs of a mission and more focused on building the men who conduct the missions, giving life to what is often and otherwise depicted as single-focused individuals -- maybe not even human beings -- who have been so deeply and fully trained in the arts of tactics, survival, and the kill that all that remains of them is a finger to pull a trigger, albeit to do so with more skill than anyone else on the planet. That is not to say that previous SEAL-focused films, whether Navy Seals or G.I. Jane or anything in those (admittedly disparate) families, shun and shy away from the person or persons at the center of the stories, but Seal Team makes it a priority to operate in the internal realm, not exclusively but deliberately and with most of its focus. That makes it somewhat unique and fairly compelling and only enhances the action with the audience more fully aware of who these men are and what they love beyond one another.

Official synopsis: It takes a special breed of warrior to become a Navy SEAL. In the thrilling first season of 'Seal Team,' discover the intense, high-stakes world of these dedicated global guardians who live and die on the front lines of America's war on terror. Starring David Boreanaz, this gritty, authentic military drama takes you behind the scenes of the private and professional lives of heroes and their families with an exciting mix of emotional realism and explosive action.

The shorter summary is that the show offers a glimpse – if a “glimpse” can be defined as a full TV season (and now four full TV seasons) -- into the lives of Navy SEALs. It is therefore not surprising that the series begins with Hayes (Boreanaz) in therapy where he refuses to discuss his teammate’s death, killed in action during an otherwise “routine” assignment. So begins a charted and complex breakdown of the men under the helmets and behind the guns, the antithesis of the more traditional muscle flexing military films from back in the day where there may have been humanity as a driving factor in a man’s mission (even in something so otherwise testosterone-laden as Commando) but here finding and breaking down the human being as the defining factor even beyond the unmatched skill and drive and focus on the mission. The show is interested in psychology: the psychology of the trained SEAL, the psychology of the fighting man SEAL, the psychology of the family man SEAL, the psychology of the "civilian" SEAL. The show is careful to integrate all aspects of a SEAL's life into an approachable and understandable yet still complex series of intertwined events that define the characters both on the battlefield and on what is often a minefield of a personal life. The show doesn't get so deep as to push audiences away but it certainly doesn't shy away from breaking these characters down even while, or even instead of, building them up, commendable even as that is its primary goal.

The show does a fine job of making the characters both similar and unique, similar in mission and capabilities, unique in the humanity they bring to the larger story. Here’s a show that turns the concept of the SEAL as some sort of highly trained, highly disciplined, almost rote and robotic “killing machine” and explores the humanity beyond: what shaped them, what drives them, how they compliment one another, sometimes how they struggle when their personalities clash and certainly how and why their personal lives live and die by the physical and emotional scars they carry. There’s a lot of depth here, perhaps watered down just a little bit for the sake of reaching a wider primetime audience on network television, but also not shying away from either the essential human content or the job specific haunts and hurts that are where the show finds its purpose and draw.

Any capable filmmaker and collection of actors, with the right props and settings, can achieve the simple task of making an action scene, but even if running and gunning isn't exclusively what Seal Team is about, the show does command the screen with action that is worthy of a feature length film. It's not so gritty and bloody as to either turn away audiences more involved for the drama or betray the current limits that network television reaches (which are far beyond even those of just a few decades ago) but there's not much holding back in terms of the rawness of battle, the speed at which it plays out, and the long-term physical and psychological consequences thereof. The actors are well trained in the art of combat, posing as believable Navy SEALs in movement and gunplay. Production design is authentic and costuming thorough. Certainly real SEALs would likely find beefs for a variety of shortcomings, most of which are probably in some way necessary to accommodate the TV format but the show does a great job of making the audience feel as if a part of the team, from the intense action to the heartfelt drama. It's good stuff, good enough that a broad swath of TV audiences should find it attractive for one reason or another.

SEAL Team: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Seal Team's 1080p Blu-ray presentation is stable and satisfying, nothing above and beyond format expectations but meeting the demands for a modern high definition program. The picture clear and well defined with excellent clarity to intimate facial and military uniform details. Viewers will note dense hairs, intricate facial structures, and fine fabric details on both dense military combat gear and thinner civilian garb. Environments are sharp and well detailed, too, whether dusty and rough Middle East locales or slick and clean office interiors back in the United States. Color output is healthy. There's plenty of life to red blood, natural greenery, civilian clothes, and the like while even the olive drab and desert camo colors stand apart for depth and realism. Skin tones are fine and black levels hold up well. The picture is prone to some low light noise which is typical of digital shoots. Compression issues are practically nonexistent, too, which is where many returning viewers who first watched on television, either through cable or satellite or online, will find the Blu-ray to be of the most value. The picture is not earth-shattering but it's good in all essential areas of concern.

SEAL Team: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Seal Team: Season One's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack may not be quite so dynamic as one might expect. Gunplay is not often so intense as to pass for realistic. Granted much of the gunfire is from suppressed rifles but even gunfire from other non-muffled sources can't ever stretch so far as to test a sound system's limits or leave the listener scrambling for hearing protection. The track offers a decent feel for spatial command in action as the gunplay and other elements space well through the listening area. Musical definition is fine, as is width and back engagement. Musical elements are likewise never truly intense, much like the gunplay seemingly downplayed a bit for whatever reason. The track offers healthy immersion into various locales, including densely packed civilian areas or busy office interiors, particularly back Stateside where support personnel are in constant contact with the team. Again there's nothing here that exceeds expectations, perhaps nothing that quite even meets expectations; the sound design is a little on the pedestrian side overall but at least workmanlike in delivery. Dialogue is clear and center positioned for the duration.

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

Seal Team: Season One includes supplements on discs one, four, and five. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Included are scenes from "Tip of the Spear" (4:51) and "Collapse" (1:38).
• Launch Promos (1080p, 2:44 total runtime): Several brief ads for the show.

Disc Four:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Included are scenes from "In Name Only" (1:29).

Disc Five:

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Included are scenes from "Enemy of My Enemy" (1:51).
• Seal Team: Season One Debriefing (1080p, 22:17): Exploring the show's pacing and how the material lends itself to the network TV format, authenticity and training with real SEAL experts, characters and cast performances, shooting action scenes, filming locations, the physical challenges inherent to the series, and more.
• Corporal Canine: Meet Dita (1080p, 5:15): A fun little look at the show's four-legged SEAL.
• Tour of Duty: Set Tour (1080p, 5:39): Quickly peeking into a few of the key set pieces in the season.
• On Location (1080p, 2:46): Shooting at Blue Cloud Ranch standing in for the Middle East.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:41): Humorous moments from the shoot.

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

SEAL Team humanizes some of the most lethal, feared, and respected individuals in the world, pulling away the luster and the sense of invulnerability to make vulnerable men who exist in real, tangible ways beyond the scope of their mission and without a rifle in their hands. The show works well for its focus shift from traditional areas and taking the time to build the team collectively and individually and well beyond the scope of most other essentially similar programs and films. Of course action is still a focus and is well done, supported by believable performances and excellent production design. Season one's Blu-ray delivers healthy video and audio in addition to a few supplements. Recommended.