SUPERGIRL: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON – A Blu-ray/DVD and Digital HD Review by John Strange
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-raytm I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.
As with all the DC Universe series this year, the new Supergirl season brings more change than any season yet. Kara Danvers (Kara Zor-el) aka Supergirl and her teammates face new challenges and adversaries in the form of Andrea Rojas (Julie Gonzalo), the new owner of CatCo and CEO of Obsidian Tech, and the beings who are Leviathan. J’onn J’onzz (David Harewood) must deal with his brother, Malefic (Phil LaMarr), who escapes the Phantom Zone intent on killing him for betrayal and banishment to the zone.
The challenges become dangers, enemies become friends (or do they?), as the team fights to protect the city and their world. And just when we think that the season is really getting good, Mar Novu (aka Monitor) (LaMonica Garrett) arrives to tell them of the impossible disaster facing them and all of the universes that make up the Multiverse.
As crossovers go, this is perhaps the best one yet. The heroes from across the multiverse are brought together once again to fight for the survival of mankind. The Monitor brings together Supergirl, Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), Flash (Grant Gustin), Batwoman (Ruby Rose), and White Canary (Caity Lotz) with select members of their teams to face and defeat the Anti-Monitor (also played by LaMonica Garrett).
These episodes are perhaps the most ambitious storyline ever developed for a television series (or group of series). We are blessed to see several versions of the Superman characters we have come to love over the years, two of whom are added to the team! One of the Supermen is played by Brandon Routh, who is also playing his ongoing role as The Atom on Legends of Tomorrow. And he is not the only duplicate/doppelganger in the crossover. And there is a first-time crossover from another DC series, Black Lightning!
When the five-part crossover is complete, nothing in the universe, and no one, will be exactly who or what they once were. What was once many, is now one. With a LOT of doppelgangers added into the mix on Earth-Prime giving the entire world a headache.
As the second half of the season gets underway, Supergirl must contend with not only Obsidian Tech and Leviathan but Lex Luthor as a… Good Guy? Uh, huh. And goats can fly (I know all about pigs, but I see Lex as more (or less?) than a pig).
There are big changes to both the team and the world as the season runs through its final ten episodes. Alliances will be made and broken, love and partnerships will be strained to the breaking point, and we witness what might be the beginning of something that might one day become a Justice League.
This season is a whirlwind of action. For me, it was a great watching experience! This was absolutely a 5-star season!
The bonus extras, in addition to the special disk with all five crossover episodes and associated extras, include deleted scenes, a gag reel, and the DC panels at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. For the first time that I can remember, I really wish one of the scenes had been left in the episode. I won’t give you details but it is on disk number two and is about J’onn and his brother. I understand why it might have been cut, but I still loved it.
The gag reel is fun to watch but nothing extraordinary. If you have purchased other seasons of the DC TV shows, then you have seen these panels. The individual panels are all good but no earth-shattering revelations are given to us.
The extras are 4.5-stars in my estimation. Good but not great.
One final note about this season. In Superman II (1980), Valerie Perrine portrayed Eve Teschmacher as a bubble-headed moll. In Supergirl, the character of Eve Teschmacher has been upgraded to be a brilliant woman forced to work for Leviathan and then tricked into assisting Lex Luthor before being brought over to the side of good. Andrea Brooks does a stunning job portraying the character of Eve in her multiple faces within the season, giving us the full measure of this Ms. Teschmacher.
Created By:
- Based on the DC characters created by Jerry Sigel and Joe Shuster by special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family
Cast:
- Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Katie McGrath, Jesse Rath, Nicole Maines, Azie Tesfai, Andrea Brooks, Julie Gonzalo, Staz Nair, David Harewood
Episodes:
- Event Horizon
- Stranger Beside Me
- Blurred Lines
- In Plain Sight
- Dangerous Liaisons
- Confidence Women
- Tremors
- The Wrath of Rama Khan
- Crisis on Infinite Earths: Hour One
- The Bottle Episode
- Back from the Future – Part One
- Back from the Future – Part Two
- It’s a Super Life
- The Bodyguard
- Reality Bytes
- Alex in Wonderland
- Deus Lex Machina
- The Missing Link
- Immortal Kombat
Extras:
Digital:
- The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel
Blu-ray/DVD:
- The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel
- BONUS DISC
- All Five Epic Episodes of the DC Crossover Event Crisis on Infinite Earths from Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
- Special Features:
- Crisis Past and Present: Kevin Conroy Bat Legend
- Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Architects Return
- Crisis Past and Present – Superman vs. Superman
- Characters in Crisis: Pariah
- Crisis Management
- Character in Crisis: The Anti-Monitor
Specifications:
Runtime:
Feature:
- 817 Minutes
Enhanced Content:
- 60 Minutes
Studio:
- Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
Release Date:
- 09/08/2020
Region:
- A/1 (U.S. and Canada only)
MPAA Rating:
- TV-PG
Selig Rating:
Film Rating:
- 5 Stars
Bonus Features Rating:
- 5 Stars
Picture Quality Rating:
- 5 Stars
Audio Quality Rating:
- 5 Stars
Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars: Should add to your DVD collection at any cost
4 Stars: Worth owning, but try to catch it a sale
3 Stars: Plan to get it, but wait to buy it used
2 Stars: Worth taking a look at, but not owning
1 Star: Pick it up at a garage sale and use it for drinks
0 Stars: Makes a great Trap Shooting target
