Evans Above

The sitcom Friends may have had its highly-successful run between 1994 and 2004 but it’s still a pop culture juggernaut. It can be found all over syndication and streaming platforms keep the show’s memory going as well. The series, about six young adults finding their way through love and work in New York City, starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. It celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, a celebration made bittersweet by the tragic death of Perry in 2023. Warner Brothers has marked the anniversary by releasing Friends: The Complete Series on 4K. The release was back in September, but I had a chance to review the set as part of Warner Brothers’ holiday gift suggestions. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Just like the Blu-ray and syndicated/streaming versions before it, this aspect ratio differs from the 1.33:1 aspect ratio the show was originally broadcast in and framed for. What does that mean? It means that the original shots for the show were filmed in widescreen and then cropped into the square image for broadcast. The extended visuals on the sides of the frame were never meant to be seen. Though for the most part the widescreen image is not an issue if you’re not an aspect ratio purist, there is the occasional goof like seeing a stand-in instead of a co-star or seeing production tape marks on the floor. It’s not a huge issue, but it does make for a fun “Did you see that?” game. Though the sets, textiles and faces do have more detail than before, I am a little confused why such a milestone show would have roughly 12 episodes on each disc. That’s over 4 hours a disc and doesn’t give the episodes room to breathe, leading to some compression artifacts. Shot on film, the series does have a generally pleasing grain structure, though the last season or two does seem to have some digital noise reduction applied leading to some occasionally waxy faces. The colour palette also seems to be pushed a little to the vivid end at times. Sometimes the colours can seem very bold and the skin tones tend to make everyone look like they just had Ross’ spray tan accident. I don’t usually tend to be obsessed over pixels and HDR — I’m ecstatic to see this show, let alone any TV show get a 4K release — but I guess I’m a little amazed that a show with such a mass appeal (which translates potentially to good sales numbers) wouldn’t get a little extra tender loving care. So does it generally look very good? Yes. To channel Chandler, “Could it be any better?” Also, yes.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, as well as German, French, Japanese, and Castilian-Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, German SDH, French, Japanese, Castilian Spanish, Latin Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Dutch, and Mandarin (Traditional). The lossless audio soundtrack is bright and dynamic, the music sounds great, and the surrounds get some work with ambient effects and studio reactions. Dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix. Obviously this is a sitcom and not some bone-rattling action flick, but the new lossless audio track is an improvement over the previous Blu-ray release.

The Friends: The Complete Series 4K has the show’s 236 episodes spread over 23 discs with an additional two Blu-ray discs containing most of the special features. There is no digital code. The 4K discs contain audio commentaries for almost 30 of the episodes from producers Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. The Blu-rays contain the legacy bonus materials plus two new pieces – one showing off the props and costumes and another with trivia questions. Legacy features include various production pieces, a look at their time in London, the “Smelly Cat” music video, The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You” music video and trio of short docs. Oddly, extended versions of a few of the episodes can still only be found on the earlier DVD release and the HBO Max reunion from a few years ago is also missing.

The Friends: The Complete Series 4K does have some issues with its video presentation but does add in a new lossless audio soundtrack. If you or a loved one are Friends fans, it still makes a nice present for the holidays, but keep an eye out for sales as it is a pricey collection. For fans of the show, I’ll say it’s a recommendation, but keep those caveats in mind.

When I was a young boy, my sister simply adored Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and would make the family watch it every Christmas after dinner. Part way through the movie, my mother would make turkey sandwiches – turkey, a little stuffing, and some Branston pickle – and the four of us would finish watching the story. At a young age, I protested that we had to watch it every year, but Stockholm syndrome (Or is it Vermont syndrome?) had me slowly come to love it and now it’s an indispensable part of my Christmas day. Maybe the best things do happen while you’re dancing. 2024 is the 70th anniversary of White Christmas and Paramount Home Entertainment has given us a beautifully restored 4K to celebrate it. I had a chance to take a look. By the way, if you want some behind the scenes on the restoration, check out this video from Charlotte Barker, who was in charge of the project.

White Christmas introduces us to Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye), two Army buddies who form a hugely successful Broadway and nightclub act after World War II. One night, after performing in Florida, they go check out a fellow soldier’s sisters’ song-and-dance act. The Haines Sisters, Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen), are talented and charming and the guys are smitten. When they help them out of a jam, they all end up on a train to Vermont. It turns out the inn they’re staying at is run by their former general and when they hear it’s struggling, their mental wheels begin to turn. Comedy, romance, and amazing song-and-dance numbers will have you humming and laughing along. Just keep your hands off my turkey sandwich.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The 4K restoration is excellent with amazing detail in the faces, clothing and environments. Though there can be some occasional softness, that’s due to the source material. The colour palette ranges from the popping primaries of the song-and-dance numbers to the more muted tones of the WWII scenes. The HDR leads to sparkling whites and highlights and the black levels are deep with no loss of detail in the shadows. There’s a nice grain level. This is simply the best that White Christmas has ever looked in the home.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack as well as a restored version of the original track in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. There are also French, German, Italian and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. The soundtrack is front-heavy, with only slight use of the surrounds. The witty dialogue and top-notch singing are clear in the mix and the music is bright and dynamic.

The White Christmas 4K also comes with a Blu-ray copy and a digital code, though no digital code is included with the Canadian version. The Blu-ray version also houses all the extras and includes an audio commentary by Rosemary Clooney, a look at her home and museum, backstage stories from film historians and dancer George Chakiris, a look at Bing’s impact on the holiday season, a piece on Danny Kaye, looks at the song and the movie’s transition to the stage, a look at UNICEF and the work Kaye did with them, trailers, and so much more. Grab some egg nog and you can get lost in the extras.

The White Christmas 4K is a holiday treat. Combine the timeless songs of Irving Berlin, the direction of Michael Curtiz, a stellar cast and excellent audio and video and a little bit of holiday magic. You’re in for a treat. Highly recommended.

Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1993 comedy Addams Family Values gets the ooky, kooky band back together for an hilarious sequel. It’s hard to go wrong with a cast that features Anjelica Huston, Raul Juliá, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, and Carol Kane. This time around the family is dealing with a new child, sibling worries, and a devious nanny. Paramount has just released the film in a 4K and digital set and I had a chance to take a look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, this transfer looks great. The image has sharp details in the trifecta (facial features, textiles and environments) and there’s is a nice natural filmic quality to the grain. Though there are occasional pops of bolder colours, this is the Addams Family after all, so a lot of the palette tends towards darker hues. The black levels are deep and there’s no loss of detail in the shadows and darker scenes. There’s no noise or compression artifacts to speak of.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, a descriptive audio track, and French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. Some might complain that there isn’t an Atmos upgrade, but the 5.1 track treats the material well, with clear and centred dialogue and effects that populate the surrounds.

The 4K set does come with a digital code, though once again not in Canada. There are two new extras, a commentary by Barry Sonnenfeld and screenwriter Paul Rudnick and a look at the story behind the film.

A great cast and great gags coupled with an excellent audio and video presentation with two new extras makes Addams Family Values on 4K an easy recommendation.

David Fincher’s 2007 mystery thriller Zodiac tells the true-life story of the Zodiac Killer, whose string of murders from the late 1960s to early 1970s confounded San Francisco Bay Area detectives as he taunted them with items and ciphers mailed to newspapers. The unsolved case saw the last letter sent in 1974. The movie follows the detectives and journalists who are embroiled in the case and the stellar cast features Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr., alongside Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Chloë Sevigny, Philip Baker Hall, and Dermot Mulroney. Paramount Home Entertainment has just released a 4K version of the film and I had a chance to take a look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded upscaled 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Zodiac was originally shot on a 2007-era professional digital camera, with some footage shot on 35mm. Since the digital camera maxed out at 1080p, this 4K transfer is an upscale. The image clarity is excellent with great detail on facial features, textiles and environments, though there are some moments where faces can briefly look a little flat. The HDR makes the colour palette appear more lifelike and the black levels are nice and deep. Given that this an upscale, is it a huge improvement over the previous Blu-ray if you already have it? I’d say no, with the caveat that the HDR and the extra data room on the 4K disc makes this the best it’s looked so far. If you already own Zodiac on Blu-ray that’s a consideration but if you’re owning it for the first time, this would be the release to get.

On the audio side of things, the movie comes with an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack as well as a descriptive audio track. Subtitles are available for English SDH. This is the same soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray release. It’s a front heavy soundtrack with only the occasional use of the surrounds. Dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix.

The Zodiac 4K also comes with two Blu-ray discs and a digital code, though yet again there is no digital code on the Canadian release. All the special features are included on the Blu-rays. The first Blu-ray disc contains the director’s cut of the movie and also features French and Spanish subtitles. It also includes two audio commentaries. The first is from director David Fincher, while the second features Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr., producer Brad Fischer, writer James Vanderbilt, and James Ellroy. The second Blu-ray contains a three-part documentary that runs just under an hour, there are some other production pieces and a 42 minute deep dive into the case.

Zodiac is a gripping movie with a stellar cast. The Zodiac 4K offers some visual improvement over the previous Blu-ray release and the extras dive into the production and the case. Recommended.

In a release perfectly timed during the US presidential election, Warner Brothers Discovery Home Entertainment has released Veep: The Complete Series on Blu-ray. The HBO political satire, which earned 17 Emmy wins and 59 nominations over its seven season run, follows politician Selina Meyer as she first becomes Vice President and eventually President. Though there are big issues to deal with, a lot of the time she and her team are bogged down in the day-to-day minutiae of governing and the horse-trading required to get anything done in Washington. That team includes her chief of staff Amy Brookheimer (Anna Chlumsky), director of communications Mike McLintock (Matt Walsh), deputy director of communications Dan Egan (Reid Scott), personal aide Gary Walsh (Tony Hale), and personal secretary Sue Wilson (Sufe Bradshaw). As the seasons progress, we also get to know the White House Chief of Staff Ben Cafferty (Kevin Dunn), political strategist Kent Davison (Gary Cole) and White House liaison and later Congressman Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons). Though the individual episodes have previously been released on Blu-ray, this is the first time they have been released as a complete series Blu-ray set. I had a chance to take an early look. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is crisp and detailed but the colour palette is purposefully muted. Some might dream that Washington might be all pomp and bright red, white and blue, but this is an office comedy. Some of the issues might be huge, but it boils down to “can we squeeze another meeting in at 3:15?”, “what food should be at the press conference?”, and “is this memo worded right?” all while trying to corral the votes they need to get things done and cement relationships to get ahead.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack as well as French DTS 5.1 and Spanish DTS 2.0 tracks. Subtitles are available in all seasons for English SDH, French and Spanish, while seasons 1-4 also include subtitles for Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. The soundscape is front-heavy, with the surrounds and subwoofer getting light and occasional work for ambient sounds. Dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix.

The Veep: The Complete Series Blu-ray spreads the series’ 65 episodes over 13 discs. The set does not come with a digital code. Extras are spread across the seasons and include multiple commentaries, a large number of deleted scenes and outtakes, and production featurettes. This is all legacy content from the previous Blu-ray releases and there is no new content for this complete series release.

Veep: The Complete Series Blu-ray combines great acting and writing with a solid audio and video presentation as well as a nice amount of extras. Recommended.

Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters is not so much a sequel to 1996’s Twister as it is a telling of a similar story with updated visual effects. Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Kate Carter, a meteorologist who once storm chased until a tragedy cut short her research into tornadoes. When an old friend convinces her to join his team for an investor-backed tornado detection system, she heads off to Oklahoma to study a predicted outbreak. Along the way, she crosses paths with YouTube storm chaser Tyler Owen (Glen Powell) and they all face the deadly storms. The cast also includes Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, and Sasha Lane. Universal is releasing the movie on 4K and I had a chance to take a look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The movie was shot on 35mm film and that natural layer of grain adds to the mood of a storm-ravaged Oklahoma. The 4K transfer has amazing detail in facial features, textiles and environments. The colour palette is steeped in dark browns and greens, with the occasional pop from fires and lights. Black levels are deep.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos track that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1. There are also Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and French Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. The soundtrack immerses you in the action and the low frequency effects add to the ominous nature of the storms. Dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix and the score powerfully drives our emotional state.

The Twisters 4K comes with a Blu-ray copy and a digital code, though once again there is no digital code for the Canadian release. (Was it something we said?) Bonus features include a director’s commentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and various cast and production featurettes.

Twisters isn’t exactly a memorable film, but fills the expectations we sometimes have for a piece of diversionary action. The Twisters 4K also fills the bill, giving the viewer an excellent audio and video presentation.

The Gilded Age is an HBO historical drama that premiered back in 2022. Set in New York City during the boom years of the late 1800’s, it looks at the conflicts between old and new money, as well as the beginnings of an African-American upper class in a country just years past the Civil War. The series features a large cast that includes Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Taissa Farmiga, Harry Richardson, Blake Ritson, Thomas Cocquerel, Simon Jones, Jack Gilpin, Cynthia Nixon, and Christine Baranski. Warner Brothers has just released The Gilded Age: Season 2 on DVD and I had a chance to take a look. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

The Gilded Age: Season 2 is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Warner Bros. has released this season on DVD, so fans of the show looking for an HD experience will need to watch it on streaming or purchase a digital copy. However, it’s quite good looking for the DVD format. Though lacking the heightened clarity and detail of a Blu-ray, the image is still quite good and has a pleasing colour palette that captures the opulence of the era.

On the audio side of things, the set comes with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The surround channels are put to good use, with ambient sounds putting you into the scenes. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The eight episode three-disc DVD set doesn’t come with a digital code. There’s about half an hour of extras including some historical context, a preview of the storylines, and some pieces with the cast talking about the characters.

Fans of the show who don’t want to be subject to the whims of streaming execs will probably want to pick The Gilded Age: Season 2 up as it combines a good quality DVD presentation with a nice selection of extras.

Curb Your Enthusiasm ran on HBO from October 17, 1999, to April 7, 2024. During 120 episodes and 12 seasons, Larry David played a fictionalized version of himself, portrayed as a semi-retired TV producer. Cheryl Hines played his wife, Jeff Garlin his friend and manager, Susie Essman as Jeff’s wife and J.B. Smoove as his friend and eventual roommate. The largely improvisational comedy follows David as his lack of social graces or conventions get him into various predicaments. The series earned 55 Emmy nominations during its run, winning two Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series. The series came out on Digital in April and now Warner Brothers Discovery Home Entertainment has released Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series on DVD. I had a chance to take a look. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

Curb Your Enthusiasm fans who are physical media enthusiasts may ask why there’s no Blu-ray release. As I always answer, it comes down to economics. TV box sets don’t often sell as well as individual movies unless it’s a show with a rabid, loyal fanbase and/or special effects crying out for the highest resolution. Also, DVD still is the highest selling format as a lot of people and their parents may have a DVD player, but only the home theatre enthusiasts have upgraded to Blu-ray or 4K. So we get a DVD of this series. For aspect ratio purists, the seasons 1-6 air in the 1.33:1 (4×3) ratio they were broadcast in and framed for, while seasons 7-12 are in widescreen 1.78:1 (16×9). The video image is generally quite clean and detailed for the standard definition DVD format.

On the audio side of things, seasons 1-6 have an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, while it moves up to Dolby Digital 5.1 for seasons 7-12. Seasons 1-5 and 7-9 also have a French soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English (seasons 1-8), English SDH (seasons 9-12), French (seasons 1-9) and Spanish (seasons 1-9). When the soundtrack moves from stereo after season 6, the soundscape is still quite front-heavy, though some audio effects and ambient sounds do make their way into the surrounds. The all-important dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix.

The Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series DVD spreads the 120 episodes over 24 discs. The set does not come with a digital code. Though not every season comes with bonus content, there are some fun featurettes, behind-the-scenes, and interviews spread throughout the set.

Curb Your Enthusiasm features a regular and guest star cast made up of comedy heavy hitters. The audio and video is very good for the DVD format. If you love the show or want to get into the show without worrying if it will still be available on a streaming platform, you might want to add Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series DVD to your collection.

Captain Planet and the Planeteers was an animated series about an environmental superhero who was aided by the magic rings of five young people from around the planet who represented the power of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Heart. Created by Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle, the educational series ran from September 15, 1990, to December 5, 1992. A sequel series, The New Adventures of Captain Planet, ran from September 11, 1993, to May 11, 1996. The shows featured the voice talents of David Coburn, LeVar Burton, Joey Dedio, Kath Soucie, Janice Kawaye, Scott Menville, and Frank Welker. Whoopi Goldberg voiced the spirit of the Earth, Gaia, from seasons 1–3 while Margot Kidder assumed the role for the rest of the series. Warner Brothers has now released Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise on DVD with this set containing all 113 episodes of the two series. The series handles a variety of environmental and sociopolitical issues including pollution, endangered species, drug abuse, overpopulation and the AIDS pandemic. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

The series is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which means you’ll see back bars on the side on modern widescreen TVs. The show’s animation is typical for many lower budget animated children’s shows of the time, so the animation is a little basic with sort of jerky, non-fluid motion. The colour palette pops, the animation lines are sharp, and there’s a good amount of detail for a standard definition DVD presentation.

On the audio side of things, the collection comes with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack with English subtitles. The stereo soundtrack does a good job mixing the dialogue, music and sound effects with clarity.

Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise DVD does not come with a digital copy. There are no bonus materials. The 113 episodes are spread over fifteen discs.

Captain Planet: The Complete Franchise will be a nostalgia hit for kids who grew up in the 1990s. Though it would have been nice to see a handful of retrospective extras, this is a show that could have otherwise been forgotten, so it’s great to see it get a release at all.

The political drama The West Wing premiered on the NBC network on September 22, 1999 and ran for seven seasons. During the time, the show won two Peabody Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and twenty-six Primetime Emmy Awards. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the ensemble cast included Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen, Janel Moloney, and Stockard Channing. Warner Bros. has just released The West Wing: The Complete Series on Blu-ray and I had a chance to take a look. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The first two seasons were originally shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio with the show transitioning to 16:9 widescreen in the third season. I’m an aspect ratio idealist, meaning I usually prefer to see the show in the original aspect ratio that it was shot in and framed for. However, I’m not an absolutist, and in this case the 16:9 was achieved by removing the 4:3 masking and not by cropping, which ruined a few visual jokes in the Seinfeld widescreen broadcasts. The Blu-ray presentation is, for the most part, quite good. The pilot episode looks rough compared to other episodes and the presentation does jump up in visual quality starting in season four. Detail and clarity is quite good, though some scenes are a bit soft. The colour palette is full of red, white and blue primaries (naturally), while the greens and other natural colours look very good. Black levels are quite good and there’s no evident crushing, Skin tones are natural.

On the audio side of things, we have an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. I guess a show focused on the in-and-outs of US politics isn’t screaming for too many translations. As a 2.0 presentation, your surrounds and subwoofer can take the night off, visit friends, or even take up knitting. The all-important dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix.

The 28-disc set is housed in two plastic cases contained in a thin cardboard slipcover. There is no digital code. The extras are all legacy extras from the previous DVD releases with nothing new to commemorate this Blu-ray release. There are audio commentaries from production staff and cast on 21 of the episodes, a variety of behind-the-scenes production featurettes in standard definition, some unaired scenes, and a couple of season gag reels.

Though one can quibble that the upgrade to Blu-ray should have earned a little more fanfare in terms of some new retrospective extras, the fact is that this is a show that made its mark and featured excellent acting and writing. The Blu-ray video presentation is an upgrade over the DVDs. If you love the show and want to own it, or you want a piece of TV history that’s not subject to the whims of streamers, The West Wing: The Complete Series Blu-ray is a good add to your collection.

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