7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
Worlds collide in Season 3! A love affair with Penny has opened a big, wide, wonderful world of romance for Leonard. But Sheldon likes the world just the way it was, thank you. All of which makes for a zany comic triangle with brainy, clueless Sheldon and practical, grounded Penny hilariously vying for the role of hypotenuse.
Starring: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal NayyarComedy | 100% |
Romance | 29% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
How can I possibly discuss with Stan Lee the scientific foundations for inter-stellar flight on a silver surfboard when part of my brain will be scanning his face for signs of contagious skin disease?
I should adore The Big Bang Theory. Scratch that. I should bleed, breathe and weep The Big Bang Theory. I should thank the oft-vindictive television gods on high for a comedy series that celebrates the comicbooks, TV shows and movies I hold dear. I should skip through everything else in my TiVo queue just to watch the latest episode of a sitcom specifically aimed at my narrow demographic. And yet, as each season comes and goes, I find myself falling farther and farther out of love with creator Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady's surprise CBS hit. I know comedy is a fickle mistress, and I know I'm probably in the minority here -- in just three short years, the series has nearly doubled its viewership, earned prime Thursday Night real estate and forged new ground with unabashed geeks and fanboys of all stripes -- but I rarely feel that surge of anticipation... that infectious flutter of excitement that comes as you sit down to watch a new episode of one of your favorite shows. Don't get me wrong, Big Bangers. I laugh. Oh, how I laugh. I nod. Oh, how I nod. Sometimes, just sometimes, I even clap at the obscure bravado of it all. But there's something inherently contrived about Sheldon and Leonard's misadventures in life and love; something that begins with the series' canned laugh track, seeps into its overtly sitcom-y subplots and illuminates the fact that, beneath all the clever comicbook shoutouts and unexpected subculture references, much of what happens in The Big Bang Theory is strangely familiar.
While much of The Big Bang Theory's humble 1080p/VC-1 presentation is bound, for better or worse, to the series' source and production values, a few technical issues hold Warner's television transfer back from perfection. The third season's twenty-three episodes are spread across just two discs, and while each entry's short length and lack of lossless audio should alleviate any subsequent limitations, minor artifacting, banding and other digital anomalies pop up from time to time. It isn't a deal-breaker by any means, but it is unfortunate. Thankfully, other aspects of the presentation are more sound. Colors are bright and vivid, black levels are fairly well-resolved, skintones are nice and warm, contrast is earnest (albeit a tad inconsistent when the lights go down) and edge definition is, for the most part, sharp and satisfying. Fine detail and shadow delineation aren't always up to snuff, and softness and crush sometimes creep into starkly or dimly lit scenes, but in each case, the series' showrunners, not Warner's encode, appears to be to blame. All in all, The Big Bang Theory's Blu-ray debut isn't going to elicit any tears of joy or inspire any hyperbolic praise, but it will please the sitcom's fanbase.
I can't think of a word that better describes Warner's 640bps Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track than "passable." Dialogue is healthy, intelligible and neatly centered, lines are never lost in the mix, and sound effects remain crisp, clear and smartly prioritized throughout. However, little else impresses. LFE output is dull and diluted, the rear speakers are limited to supporting the series' hollow laugh track and delivering its already negligible ambience, dynamics are weak and rather thin, directionality is a joke, pans are merely adequate, and the whole of the experience is as front-heavy as they come. Temper any rage you might feel though. The Big Bang Theory couldn't offer much more, even if it arrived with a lossless audio mix in tow. As is the case with many multiple-camera sitcoms, the series' sound design is flat, two-dimensional and rather uninvolving. Hardly the stuff of high definition legend. Will fans mind? Not really. Comedy is king here, and Warner doesn't make any technical missteps. But does it sound any better than its DVD counterpart? I don't have a standard definition copy on hand, but I can't imagine the two are very different. Consider yourself warned and duly informed.
The Blu-ray edition of The Complete Third Season doesn't offer much in the way of special features. Two quickie EPKs -- "Takeout with the Cast" (HD, 10 minutes) and a "Set Tour with Simon and Kunal" (HD, 8 minutes) -- prove to be little more than amusing diversions, a rapidfire "Gag Reel" (SD, 8 minutes) is funny enough to warrant a mention, and a BD-Live Portal houses the usual assortment of Warner trailers. Nothing more, nothing less.
To those who thoroughly adore The Big Bang Theory: I'm thrilled you aren't distracted by its sitcom-iness. I really am. I would love nothing more than to sit down, take in an episode of a comedy designed to appeal to my personal geek sensibilities, and walk away grinning. But try as I might, I just can't shed my hangups, and my enjoyment suffers as a result. Unfortunately, the series' first Blu-ray release will disappoint diehards and casual fans alike. Its noteworthy video transfer is hobbled a bit by a few glaring issues, its Dolby Digital audio track is passable at best and its supplemental package consists of a whopping twenty-six minutes of material. Proceed with caution.
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