Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Shameless: The Complete Ninth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 10, 2019

There may be some warning signs on the horizon for fans of the often controversial Gallagher clan and the other hangers on who populate the unabashedly provocative Shameless. While this now long running series has already been greenlit for a tenth season, some of its stars are starting to move on to other projects (even if some of them seem to be drawn back to this project), in what may be a kind of "canary in the mine" warning that things are reaching an end point sooner rather than later. But kind of interestingly from a marketing perspective, this is now the second season of Shameless that is being offered to home media fans courtesy of Warner Brothers’ Warner Archive Collection, an “MOD” approach (albeit commendably on “real” pressed Blu-ray discs) that may indicate support of these releases hasn’t been overwhelming. I’ll also say that just on a personal level it started to become apparent to me that some of my favorite moments in this particular season happened to be the silly episode openers that frequently feature characters breaking the fourth wall, typically to berate the audience for not keeping up with things. That may be just one indication that whatever “welcome” the Gallaghers and the supporting characters may have once had (a questionable thesis in any case, given some of the bad behaviors on display) may be at least beginning to feel worn out.

For our reviews of this series’ previous seasons on Blu-ray, please click on the following links:

Shameless: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review

Shameless: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray review

Shameless: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review

Shameless: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray review

Shameless: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray review

Shameless: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray review

Shameless: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray review

Shameless: The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray review

I’m perhaps in danger of sounding a bit like a broken record in that my “déjà vu all over again” comment in my review of the last season of Shameless unfortunately holds equally true for this ninth go ‘round. As I mentioned in my comments on the eighth season, while the Gallaghers’ penchant for revisiting peccadilloes from times past is one of their seemingly inherent character traits, the show’s tendency to rehash content it’s already addressed can get a little tiring, even if individual scenes can tend to work very well. Salient case in point: one of the recurring subplots this season is the attempt by Debbie (Emma Kenney) to achieve workplace parity, and there are some visceral, almost Norma Rae-esque scenes of her becoming “woke” (and attempting to “wake” others), all of which is fine and good, except — haven’t we seen this all before (or at least something pretty similar) with regard to Fiona (Emmy Rossum)?

It's that kind of repetition that I personally tend to think undercuts the forward momentum of the show, though Shameless has always been a story of fitful starts and often recurrent setbacks, so part of the "been there, seen that" ambience is at least tonally relevant. The season perhaps makes more consistent use out of this season’s version of questionable decisions made by Frank (William H. Macy). Frank, as is his wont, can pretend, a la Debbie, to becoming “woke”, in this case about politics, when of course his real motivations tend to have more to do with making a fast, and hopefully easy, buck. There’s a kind of slyly smarmy and yet weirdly charming quality Macy has always brought to this particular characterization, and it’s once again fully on display throughout this season’s episodes.

The “adventures” of Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) and Ian (Cameron Monagan) are also offered over several episodes, though Ian is MIA for several episodes, part of Monghan’s apparently more or less immediately rued announcement that he was leaving the show after Episode 6 (he’s back for the season finale, and reportedly will be back next season). Both of these characters have at least fitful moral compasses, but Ian especially seems prone toward “pushing the envelope” in various ways that keep him in trouble. It's kind of sweet (if fanciful) in a way to see Carl attempting to make good in a military setting, though what this might mean for our nation's future "preparedness" may leave some longtime fans of this series who have seen even well intentioned characters create untold disasters in a state of abject terror. There are some effective comedy bits and sweet dramatic moments scattered throughout this season. Kev (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton) engage in a bit of subterfuge to outrun the high cost of private schooling in one funny arc, and Fiona manages to hit rock bottom and then rebound fairly dramatically as the series says farewell to Emmy Rossum.

Shameless: The Complete Ninth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shameless: The Complete Ninth Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Archive Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This season shows many of the same pluses and minuses I mentioned in our review of the eighth season (linked above), with very good to excellent detail levels in virtually all of the more brightly lit and/or outdoor moments, and with a fair degree of murk and haziness in several indoor sequences, notably some in the bar and even in the Gallagher household. There's a kind of curious yellow undertone to many of the indoor scenes, something that is perhaps even more noticeable in the Gallagher "manse" where the kitchen has a kind of yellowish wallpaper. A glut of close-ups can provide sometimes really great levels of fine detail, as in several looks at Frank's grizzled face and stubbly beard. There are a few moments that may provoke squirms, as in a pretty bad leg injury Frank suffers toward the end of the season. As with some previous seasons, even some of the brightly lit outdoor material can look slightly desaturated or blanched at times, but on the whole the palette looks natural and is nicely suffused.

Shameless: The Complete Ninth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shameless: The Complete Ninth Season features an intermittently boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. As with previous seasons, a glut of source cues and other underscoring adds some good if subtle surround activity, but a lot of this season's "immersion" comes courtesy of sometimes crowded indoor moments where both overlapping dialogue and ambient environmental effects can compete for attention. Several outdoor sequences benefit from lifelike renderings of natural sounds, and there are a couple of really energetic bursts of LFE, as in the penultimate episode when Frank awakens in a house that's been scheduled for demolition — demolition which begins with Frank still inside. Fidelity is fine throughout all episodes and there are no problems of any kind to report.

Shameless: The Complete Ninth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All four discs contain what are advertised on the discs themselves as Deleted Scenes and on the back cover as Unaired Scenes, for what that's worth. As the timings of some of the supplements below may indicate, some episodes have several deleted/unaired scenes, while others only have one.

Disc One

• Deleted Scenes

  Are You There Shim? It's Me, Ian (1080p; 4:22)

  
  

  Mo White! (1080p; 2:35)

  
  

  Weirdo Gallagher Vortex (1080p; 00:53)

Disc Two

• Deleted Scenes

  Do Right, Vote White! (1080p; 6:58)

  
  

  Black Haired Ginger (1080p; 00:25)

  
  

  Face It, You're Gorgeous (1080p; 1:37)

  
  

  Down Like the Titanic (1080p; 1:02)

Disc Three

• Deleted Scenes

  The Apple Doesn't Fall From the Alibi (1080p; 1:26)

  
  

  Los Diablos! (1080p; 00:33)

  
  

  The Hobo Games (1080p; 4:51)

Disc Four

• Deleted Scenes

  You'll Know the Bottom When You Hit It (1080p; 00:22)

  
  

  Lost (1080p; 00:25)

  
  

  Found (1080p; 2:33)

Shameless: The Complete Ninth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Longtime fans of Shameless are almost certain to find enough in this season to warrant continued attention, but there's a feeling of attrition with this series now that I for one simply can't completely shake. Performances are as winning as always (even when some of the characters are complete losers), but the series just keeps revisiting some of the same material over and over again, albeit in slightly different formulations and sometimes with different characters going through "arcs" that other characters have already visited in previous seasons. Technical merits are generally solid for those considering a purchase.