TV DVD and Blu-ray reviews: ‘Dexter: New Blood’ and ‘The Great: Season’

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Let’s take a look at a couple of excellent episodic shows that are back for another season and are now available in disc format for binge-watchers.

Dexter: New Blood — Steelbook Edition (Paramount Home Entertainment, unrated, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 526 minutes, $39.99) — Everyone’s favorite serial killer vigilante returned to the Showtime cable network last year to continue his bloody adventures after a successful eight-season run from 2006-2013.

Dexter Morgan’s (Michael C. Hall) latest 10-episode story to explore what happened to him after he was allegedly lost driving his boat directly into Hurricane Laura is now available on a four-disc Blu-ray set.

Ten years later, viewers find him residing in the small town of Iron Lake in New York and keeping his Dark Traveler (what he calls his trigger-to-kill) at bay by working as an assistant in a hunting shop and living alone in a remote house. cabin.

Dexter actually has a girlfriend named the local sheriff (Julia Jones) and is a respected member of the community, but life changes when his estranged, now teenage son Harrison (Jack Alcott) shows up to complicate his life.

Despite what might be considered a quiet, idyllic, and neighboring environment, Dexter manages to put himself in kill mode after a clumsy hunter hunts an enviable deer and a drug dealer violates his life and that of his son.

Complicating matters further is Kurt Caldwell (a menacing Clancy Brown), a local businessman who is the father of a dead hunter who has a far more sinister agenda than Dexter killing bad guys.

The series shines through with plenty of nail-biting, twisting moments and just as much fun in an often razor-sharp storyline, thanks to Dexter’s fiery but dead sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), talking to the murderer and acting on her very aggressive consciousness. .

Viewers, and especially fans, may find the ending as shocking as he killed it, but they won’t regret diving into Dexter’s final world.

The best extras: Viewers first get three very short teasers (about two minutes each and spread across discs) covering Dexter’s return, Debra’s appearance, and the famous kill rooms.

The next and best of bonus content is, to be forewarned, a 30-minute retrospective of the show that, while containing spoilers, also mainly covers the new series with interviews by Mr. Hall; John Lithgow (Triple Killer); Miss Carpenter; and writer and showrunner Clyde Phillips.

Fans will also be pleased to have the Steelbook edition.

The discs are easily removed from a smooth and shiny metallic case that contains a front cover panel almost to the brim with snowflakes and Dexter’s spooky face. The back cover showcases a snowy, tree-filled landscape and a bloodline dividing an icy road to an isolated cottage.

The view spanning the interior panel reveals another winter scene with a full-bodied Dexter dressed in overalls, holding an ax and shredding wood.

The Great: Season Two (Paramount Home Entertainment, R rated, 2.00:1 aspect ratio, 539 minutes, $25.99) — Streaming service Hulu has gifted fans of its popular historical fictional drama with another series about the rise of Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) and the fall of her not-so-good, conniving, and ignorant husband Peter III (Nicholas Hoult). . “Huzz!”

The latest 10-episode story arc comes to sadly outdated DVD format, spanning four discs, and presenting another thick layer of satire and obscene shenanigans surrounding Russia’s mighty empress.

The narrative starts from last season after Catherine launched a coup against her husband and followed his rise to power. He tries to give a better life to his lower-class subjects and fights against the established Russian aristocracy every step of the way.

The two Golden Globe-nominated lead actors never disappoint and have broad support from Douglas Hodge as Catherine’s loyal general Velementov; Sacha Dhawan as coup co-leader Count Orlo; Adam Godley as the vile Archbishop “Archie”; even Gillian Anderson, the chameleon who plays Catherine’s mother, Holstein-Gottorp’s Joanna Elisabeth (referring to her role as Margaret Thatcher in The Crown).

The best extras: Not only do the owners get this mediocre visual presentation, which is a real shame considering the gorgeous and lavish costumes and period-specific production layered across all inner palace locations, but bonus content is virtually non-existent.

Specifically, the extras show an unfunny joke reel and some deleted scenes. It would be nice to have a feature that compares some characters with their actual historical counterparts or some of the actual history referenced in the series to create the story.



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