DVD Corner

Pretty Little Liars Season 3 DVD Review

“Pretty Little Liars” offers more of the same in the show’s third season.

In the 24 episode third season, the show begins with the aftermath of Mona being revealed as the new A. Alas, before Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer think the A ordeal is over, a new A has arrived and is texting and stalking the girls once again. This time, however, the A situation seems to be an elaborate operation put on by a mysterious woman in a red coat. Among the other key storylines throughout this season are: Maya’s death and her killer, Aria and Ezra’s chaotic relationship, a character dressed as the Black Swan who may or may not be A, clue investigations, the unstable Mona, memories and flashbacks, secrets and questions surrounding Detective Wilden, parties, Garrett’s trial, Spencer and Toby’s relationship (and a secret about Toby), and more mysteries surrounding Alison’s possible death.

Having reviewed the first season (but not the second), I came away rather mixed on “Pretty Little Liars.” On one hand, this series is a completely trashy teen soap opera. On the other hand, it’s a completely watchable trashy teen soap opera with a nice dark edge to it (albeit one greatly influenced by horror films like “I Know What You Did Last Summer”).

Going into season 3, I was a little bit in the dark about certain storylines, but the show wasn’t heard to pick up on as the writers are up to the same old tricks from season 1. Viewers can expect more of the same outlandish murder mysteries, character dynamics, lies, and suspicious characters in the town of “Twin Peaks”…I mean Rosewood. Simply put, a lot of the material is basically being recycled here in the third season. Nothing is as it seems, people may or may not be dead, the A mystery drags on, the show constantly tries to one up itself, etc. It becomes exhausting after awhile and it’s clearly time for a new story arc to emerge (perhaps in season 4?).

Video/Audio:

Presented in widescreen, the ABC Family looks sharp in standard definition. As for the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, it does the job. ‘Liars’ is not the most audio centric show out there, but the track handles everything from the music to the phone sound f/x quite well.

Extras:
* Deleted scenes from episodes 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18 and 21.
* Alternate endings to “The Lady Killer” episode.
* A nearly 6 minute gag reel. A few amusing bits here and there.
* 8 webisodes titled “A Reservation,” “A Reunion,” “A Voicemail,” “I’m A Free Man,” “Trade Off,” “Association,” “Call Security,” and “The A Train.”
* “Pretty Little Liars And The “A” Network”- A featurette that covers season 3’s storylines. Interviews with the cast and crew, show clips, and dicussions of the characters and stories are included.

Summary: It’s not hard to see why a younger audience has become addicted to “Pretty Little Liars.” It can certainly be an engaging whodunit, but the show needs to move past the stale A mystery.

June 12, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | ABC Family, Pretty Little Liars Season 3 DVD Review, Pretty Little Liars Season 4