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The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray, DVD, Digital) |
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| Manufacturer:
Warner Home Video Disclaimer: The manufacturer provided NewTechReview with a unit of this product for review. Reviewed by Scott R. Garrigus | ||
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"After a sizzling summer with Damon, Elena leaves Mystic Falls and moves into a dorm with her roomie Caroline, ready for new adventures and new friends. But dark thoughts gnaw at Elena, and soon familiar faces are back in the girls' lives. There's Stefan with his shadow self Silas, plus Katherine, with a diabolical agenda and a jaw-dropping transformation. As the Doppelgangers test destiny, tearing lovers apart and pitting the Salvatore brothers against each other, the student body count rises, evidence of powerful forces on campus. Anchors, Rippers, Passengers and Travelers struggle to survive alongside witches and werewolves, teaching our favorite vampires painful lessons along the way." That's the official plot for season 5 of Warner Bros. The Vampire Diaries, now out on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital. Well, here we go again… the same plots, but with different scenery. More unrequited love triangles that are done over and over again. More twists and turns that are so similar to previous seasons that you no longer feel surprised, and too many characters getting close to death but not quite getting there. Of course, true Vampire Diaries fans will probably love it, especially with the roster of guest stars in this season. But isn't it enough already? Apparently not. It looks like Julie Plec and the rest of the writers just want to keep the show going as long as they can with no regard to the evolution of the show. I'm willing to bet some fans just keep watching because they want to know what's going to happen when it all comes to an end. Then again there must be plenty of real fans that love every season, and those are the ones that will hunger for every minute of this season as well. Luckily, when it comes to the picture and sound, they're in for a home theatre treat. As far as visuals are concerned, crush is still part of the 1080p transfer as it was with previous seasons, but this season sports more detail with cleaner and clearer scenes. Of course, the gothic colors are still here and are presented beautifully, along with great flesh tones, inky blacks, and plenty of visceral visuals. If you really look, you might see some slight grain here and there, but nothing most viewers will notice. In fact, season 5 is probably the best that Vampire Diaries has looked so far on Blu-ray. Audio is also excellent with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound providing a very immersive experience. Dialogue is crisp, clear and without noise. Sound effects, ambience, and music all come through nicely with the surround channels luring you into the environments. In addition, the LFE channel fills out the audio space with a deep, rich range of bass. For bonus features, the Blu-ray provides the following: * 2013 Comic-Con Panel - a 31 minute Q&A with Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Julie Plec as they answer fan's questions, although this was before the season aired. * To The Other Side And Back - an 11 minute featurette with the cast talking about the rules of living in the Vampire Diaries afterlife. * I Know What You Did…In The Last 100 Episodes - a 10 minute featurette with the cast and crew sharing some of their favorite moments from the past 100 episodes. * Second Bite: Gag Reel - 5 minutes of bloopers from season 5. * Unaired Scenes - Deleted scenes from the following episodes: "True Lies," "Monster's Ball," "Dead Man on Campus," "500 Years of Solitude," "The Devil Inside," "No Exit" and "Resident Evil." Well, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm not very impressed with this season, mainly because we basically get more of the same. I'd like to see the show evolve into something more, but maybe the true fans don't want it that way. In that case, fans will enjoy this season, and they are definitely provided with an excellent presentation on Blu-ray of The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fifth Season. For more information, visit The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Fifth Season from Warner Bros. |
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