As soon as I received my Blu-ray copy of
The Office: Season Six, I popped in disc one so that I could watch "Niagra" (aka "the wedding episode"). Even though I had seen it many times before, the episode is so encompassing of what makes
The Office so great, that it serves – at least for me – as the perfect ending for the award-winning series. Of course, it's not the end, and the series marches on (even, reportedly, without star Steve Carell who plans depart after season seven), but I'm not sure writers will be able to replace the Jim/Pam drama with anything as engaging. The remainder of season six felt lazy in comparison to previous seasons, and they definitely have a lot to prove going into season seven.
For the
Blu-ray review of The Office: Season Six, staff reviewer Ken Brown commented, "Ironically, the sixth season of The Office could have used some downsizing. Too many overarching, overreaching storylines, too many Must See TV Events, too many cumbersome episodes." He continues, "Universal's Blu-ray release is at least more consistent. Its faithful AV presentation makes up for the slight decline in the series' quality, and countless laughs are buried within its five-hour supplemental package."
It's hard to imagine that we are this many years into the Blu-ray format that there are still titles that were released on the now defunct HD DVD format that haven't been released on Blu-ray, but today we find ourselves confronted with just that.
Forbidden Planet arrives on Blu-ray with a beautiful presentation that rewards fans for their four year wait.
Staff reviewer Martin Liebman commented in his
Blu-ray review of Forbidden Planet, "Science Fiction just doesn't get much better than this, which is why Forbidden Planet has remained a genre cornerstone for more than half a century. Warner Brothers' Blu-ray release of Forbidden Planet delivers a breathtakingly gorgeous 1080p transfer, a stable lossless soundtrack, and a very good array of extra content."
I have to admit that it threw me a bit when I saw that
Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season was being released on Blu-ray. Not in the fact that it was coming to Blu-ray – that is something the series has obviously earned – but that the show is coming up on its 10th season. I'm admittedly not a fan of the show (or superhero shows in general), but to be on the air that long must mean it is doing something right.
In his
Blu-ray review of Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season, staff reviewer Ken Brown commented, "The season itself, while far more gripping than the series' seventh and eighth outings (thanks to Callum Blue's turn as Zod), still suffers whenever secondary storylines limp on stage; Warner's notable video transfer represents a high-definition milestone for the show, despite showcasing every maligned VFX seam; the inclusion of a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is a bit of a slap in the face, even though it delivers a decent sonic experience; and season nine's supplemental package, while serving up some of the series' classiest special features, can be exhausted in three short hours."