7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Vice President Selina Meyers and her staff manage various crises.
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Matt Walsh, Reid ScottComedy | 100% |
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
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The history of television is littered with shows that for one reason or another changed their names along the way. I Love Lucy became The
Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, followed by The Lucy Show and
Here's Lucy, each name change signifying at least something of a rejiggering in
overall concept if not in the persona of its lead character. Some trivia experts may remember that Seinfeld actually began life as The Seinfeld Chronicles, or that Valerie Harper’s sitcom Valerie
transformed into Valerie’s Family and then The Hogan Family after Harper was dismissed from the production. Sometimes pop
culture crazes contribute to a rebranding, as when Burke's Law became
Amos Burke Secret Agent in the wake of the James Bond phenomenon. All of which is to say: why is Veep still called Veep? As I mentioned in our
Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-
ray review, it seems somewhat odd that Selina Meyer’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) unexpected career path has been more or less ignored by the
show’s very title, a title which may seem peculiarly focused on one job in the government when the series in fact does an admirable job skewering
just about every job in the government. Veep may have strayed at least somewhat from its initial focus on the supposedly second
most powerful job in the United States, but its generalist tone continues to be quite bracing as it lampoons the patent idiocy of many of our elected
officials.
To catch up on Veep's somewhat long and winding road, reviews of the series' previous seasons can be accessed by clicking on the following
links:
Veep: The Complete First Season Blu-
ray review
Veep: The Complete Second Season
Blu-ray review
Veep: The Complete Third Season
Blu-ray review
Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-
ray review
Veep: The Complete Fifth Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of HBO with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Virtually everything I mentioned in our Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray review holds true for this season as well, with the general appearance of this transfer being perfectly workmanlike without ever really attaining any awe inspiring status. The show perhaps utilizes even more handheld elements than in some previous seasons, something that can seem to add softness to certain shots, since the camera darts to and fro so regularly. When things are calmer, fine detail pops quite well, especially in close-ups. As has been the case with this show, the fact that so many scenes play out under garish fluorescent lighting conditions actually helps to maintain very good to excellent detail levels.
Veep: The Complete Fifth Season DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is, like its video component, a perfectly competent offering that nonetheless doesn't really offer a ton of audio "wow". A lot of scenes in this quasi-farcical show often play out with door slamming sensibilities that offer good discrete channelization of isolated effects, but as might be expected, the best immersion comes from crowded scenes where the chaos of many people interacting provides a nice spread of sonics. Otherwise, fidelity remains strong if surround activity is somewhat more limited in quieter or more intimate dialogue scenes.
Disc One
- Episode 1 with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Executive Producer/Actress), Timothy Simons (Actor), David Mandel (Executive Producer), Lew Morton (Executive Producer), Georgia Pritchett (Co-Executive Producer)
- Episode 4 with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Executive Producer/Actress), Tony Hale (Actor), David Mandel (Executive Producer), Alex Gregory (Writer), Peter Huyck (Writer)
- Episode 6 with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Executive Producer/Actress), Timothy Simons (Actor), David Mandel (Executive Producer), Brad Hall (Director), Georgia Pritchett (Co-Executive Producer)
- Episode 7 with Reid Scott (Actor), Timothy Simons (Actor), David Mandel (Executive Producer), Lew Morton (Executive Producer), Billy Kimball (Writer)
Maybe Veep's creative crew did consider changing this show's name to Pres, but then decided some might think it was about the King (I hope you see what I did there). That famous old Shakespeare quote concerning a rose by any other name probably applies here as well, though, for whatever you call Veep, it continues to be one of the most charmingly off kilter comedies cable has to offer, one with a rather tart, barbed sense of humor that will certainly appeal to folks jaded by watching our country's "real" (unreal? surreal?) politicians on the news every night. Technical merits are generally strong, and HBO has offered more supplements for this season than has been the case on some previous seasons. Highly recommended.
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