The Twilight Zone (2019)- The Complete Series DVD and NCIS: Hawai’i Season 1 DVD Reviews
2019’s “The Twilight Zone” never lived up to its potential.
“The Twilight Zone- The Complete Series” DVD set collects the full 2 seasons of the short-lived 2019 incarnation that was created by Jordan Peele, Simon Kinberg and Marco Ramirez. In the 20 episodes of this sci-fi anthology, plots revolve around a comedian, a child President, a gun, a podcast, a camcorder, aliens, male rage, a mysterious figure, a man who hears a voice in his head, a reality that is not what it seems, a body swap, a medallion, psychic powers, a new species, a town model, and time loops.
When a new “The Twilight Zone” was announced with Jordan Peele acting as a host and a co-creator, expectations were high given that he’s currently one of the biggest and brightest voices in sci-fi and horror. Unfortunately, this series was a misfire from the get-go. None of these episodes work as a whole. There’s a lot of strong story frameworks about morality, race, power, alien life, toxic masculinity and so forth, but every episode is too heavy handed, one-note, overlong, and not remotely subtle. They lack the ingenuity and surprise of a great “The Twilight Zone” episode. You’re left wanting to just revisit the classic Rod Serling original (which remains one of the greatest television series of all-time). It’s a shame as there’s so much talent behind and in front of the camera here with filmmakers like Ana Lily Amirpour, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead, Simon Kinberg and Osgood Perkins and stars like Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Scott, Steven Yuen, DeWanda Wise, Rhea Seehorn, Zazie Beetz, Topher Grace, Gretchen Mol, Chris O’Dowd, Morena Baccarin, and many more.
On the plus side the episodes look visually stunning. The production values, cinematography and special effects are first rate for television.
Presentation: Widescreen
Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1
Extras:
* Gag reels from both seasons
* Deleted and extended scenes from 8 episodes
* Promos
* A music video for ‘The Wunderkind.’
* ‘Crossing Over: Living In The Twilight Zone’- The biggest extra here is the 60 minute 2 part extra about the development and production of season 1.
* A tribute to the late great and influential Rod Serling titled ‘Remember Rod Serling.’
* ‘Opening The Door To’- Behind-the-scenes featurettes on the first 10 episodes.
* A look at the nods to the original series in ‘Easter Eggs Revealed.’
* Commentary on the episodes ‘Replay,’ ‘Not All Men,’ and ‘Blurryman.’
“NCIS: Hawai’i” is the latest spin-off in the long running franchise.
In the 22 episode debut season, viewers are introduced to a new NCIS team made up of Jane Tennant (who is the boss), new agent Kai Holman, the second is command Jesse Boone, junior agent Lucy Tara, cyber intelligence expert Ernie Malik, and Intelligence officer Kate Whistler. Captain Milius is also a major player. Plots involve an aircraft crash, thieves, undercover missions, a murdered sailor, missing person, a land dispute, Pearl Harbor, weapons, kidnapping, pirates, a dam, an “NCIS” crossover, and murder investigations.
Not only is CBS expanding their ever popular “NCIS” franchise with the latest entry “NCIS: Hawai’i,” but they’re also going forward with another series filmed in Hawaii (much like “Hawaii Five-O” and “Magnum P.I.”). Plot wise, this is pretty much a cut and paste job with a new setting, but what a setting it is. The scenic locals and the exploration of Hawaii culture truly elevate the series as a whole and make up for the standard “investigation of the week” stories and the melodramatic plots involving the family and personal lives of the core cast of characters. The action is noticeably better here as well!
Some of the cast members are a bit bland, but the two stand-outs here are Jason Antoon as the personable cyber intelligence expert Ernie and Alex Tarrant as Kai (who is also seen in “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power”).
Presentation: Widescreen
Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1
Extras include the “NCIS” crossover episode “Starting Over,” extended and deleted scenes, a gag reel, and 4 featurettes titled “Torres And Tennant” (about the characters), “Ohana: Celebrating Season 1,” “Creating Paradise,” and “Island Wear.”
No comments yet.
Share This Blog
Robert Ham
dmanderson
Andrea
nicklyons1
DVD Corner's blog 
Leave a Reply