7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
With the arrival of baby Halley and a government contract to deliver experimental technology, new adventures await the series' gang of nerds and the women who love them.
Starring: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal NayyarComedy | 100% |
Romance | 29% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish=Latin & Castillian
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Legions of anxious fans rejoiced when Warner and CBS announced last March that The Big Bang Theory would continue for at least two more seasons. Between production costs and rising cast salaries, the show has become one of the most expensive half-hours on TV, but it also remains one of the most successful, routinely drawing the largest audience of any scripted series. BBT's popularity explains why CBS is willing to pay through the nose to keep it on the air, but the rapidly escalating expense also explains why it has to pack in even more commercials, thereby reducing the show's actual running time to as little as 18:32. BBT's shrinking length was noted in my review of Season Nine, and Season Ten follows suit. It will be interesting to see whether it shrivels even further under the new, pricier contracts required to re-sign the cast for Season Eleven, which premieres on September 25 (followed by the debut of the new BBT spinoff, Young Sheldon).
As with previous seasons, Warner has released BBT's Season Ten on two 1080p, AVC-encoded BD-50s. The result, like BBT's visual style, is consistent with prior season releases. The digitally acquired image is sharp and detailed without any harshness, and there are no obvious artifacts in the form of video noise, banding or other anomalies. Blacks are deep and solid, and the bright colors reflect typical TV sitcom aesthetics. The image rarely "pops", but it's never dull. The average bitrate continues to hover around 15.99 Mbps for each episode, which seems to be sufficient given the nature of the material and the quality of the compression work. BBT looks as good on Blu-ray as it does in broadcast and streaming, and that seems to be enough to satisfy the TV division of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. (By contrast, if the Warner Archive Collection were releasing the show, the Blu-ray image would look better than broadcast.)
On the audio front as well, the Blu-rays of BBT's Season Ten are consistent with prior seasons. The 5.1 sound mix, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, remains front-oriented, with audience reaction shading to the sides and a little to the rear. The major use of surrounds occurs during the whirling-atom scene changes and the Bare Naked Ladies theme song that opens and closes each episode. Otherwise, BBT's soundtrack remains focused on the dialogue, which is carefully prioritized over studio audience reactions.
Warner's two-disc set for Season Ten continues the well-established pattern for BBT on Blu-ray,
which is to say that the video quality is acceptable despite over-compression, the audio aptly
reflects the mix of a show that is (mostly) recorded with a studio audience, and the extras grow a
bit thinner every year. The show itself remains an addictive entertainment for its legions of fans,
even if (or possibly because) the novelty has long since worn off, making the characters seem
like old friends. Season Ten does manage a few surprises and also lays the groundwork for some
new possibilities in Season Eleven. Recommended.
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