Headsup: Gut Punches and Belly Laughs
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment requests we note that it provided a free copy of the first three titles featured below. The opinions I share are my own.
Arrow (the CW series based on the DC Comics character The Green Arrow) follows Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who has a double life as a masked vigilante protecting the city from criminals. In Season Five, Oliver has the additional responsibility of being the newly appointed mayor, and he must learn to fight his enemies both day and night. In addition, with Team Green Arrow down to just himself and Felicity (and with Damien Darhk’s defeat at the end of Season Four), a new wave of inexperienced vigilantes has come to light. As he tries to maneuver around the would-be-heroes, Oliver must also face a dangerous new adversary, all while trying to reconcile his dual roles as public leader and masked protector of the city. Out now is Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season, available on DVD and Blu-ray. The set includes all twenty three episodes of the fifth season along with a fair collection of bonus features. Included in the extras are the DC superhero crossover event with Supergirl and The Flash along with three featurettes (“The New Team Arrow”, “Allied: The Invasion Complex (Arrow)” and “Returning to the Roots of Arrow: Prometheus”). Also included are the 2016 Arrow Comic Con panel along with some deleted scenes and a gag reel. Those who […]
First we have Elementary, the modern-day telling of the story of Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant but flawed detective. In this Americanized version, Holmes (Johnny Lee Miller) works together with Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) to solve some of the most baffling cases presented to the NYPD. In the fifth season, Holmes and Watson come up against everything from a dangerous drug gang bent on murder to a serial bomber to a rogue intelligence agency. (Added to that challenge are the truly bizarre methods used, including snake venom-laced meals, invisible gunshots, and a superbug introduced into the city’s water supply.) With disparate personalities but a shared love of resolving complicated cases, the partners are on a constant quest to solve the puzzles presented both by criminals and by their own relationship. Out now on DVD is Elementary: The Fifth Season, which features all twenty four episodes of Season Five along with almost an hour of bonus content. Three featurettes form the bulk of the special features, including “Flashbacks” (where the production team discusses re-creating props to support the Byzantine story and how it worked into the show’s fictional timeline), “The Fifth Elementary” (a behind-the-scenes look with Lucy Liu and Aidan Quinn as they each take a turn directing), and “Reasoning Backwards” (a discussion with show runner Rob Doherty and the writers about creating the complex crime-based storylines). In addition to the featurettes are some deleted and extended scenes and a gag reel. Elementary: The Fifth Season is 
First we have The Originals, the Vampire Diaries spinoff series that follows vampire Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) as he and his family find themselves entangled in the supernatural politics of New Orleans. Season four opens on the fifth anniversary of the epic defeat of the once powerful Mikaelson family, with Marcel Gerard (Charles Michael Davis) holding Klaus captive and Klaus’s half siblings Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Elijah (Elijah Mikaelson) under a sleeping spell. After the family is reunited, they must forge an uneasy alliance with former friends Marcel and Vincent Griffith (Yusuf Gatewood) in order to respond to a destructive force that has come to attack their city and their loved ones. Even with vampires and witches fighting alongside instead of against one another, no one can tell if their combined forces will be enough to combat the power of the malevolent enemy they now face. Out now on DVD and Blu-ray is The Originals: The Complete Fourth Season, which includes all thirteen episodes of Season Four. Bonus features on this one are rather light— it’s pretty much just the 2016 The Originals Comic Con panel along with some deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a “Come Visit Georgia” promo (the series is filmed there). When you consider how much they could have done talking about character development, storylines, costumes, etc., it’s a little sad that there aren’t more special features, especially considering that show creator Julie Plec announced back in July that the upcoming fifth season would be the final one for the show. Maybe they’re saving up all the good bonus content for the release of the complete series— fans can only hope. The Originals: The Complete Fourth Season is available on Amazon 
When it came to late ending your day on a high note, nobody set the stage like Johnny Carson. For thirty years, Carson hosted The Tonight Show, setting standards for the genre that continue to this day and earning him the title “The Original King of Late Night”. Now out from Time Life is The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: The Vault Series, Volumes 1-6. This six-disc set spans two decades of Carson’s history-making tenure at The Tonight Show, including some of the best selections from the show chosen by Carson archivists. Notable guests featured in The Vault Series, Volumes 1-6 include 
First we have Sesame Street: Trick or Treat on Sesame Street, where Elmo’s excitement over his homemade Galactic Stan costume turns to envy when he sees another boy sporting one bought at the store. However, with some help from Alan and Abby, Elmo discovers that he doesn’t need a fancy store-bought costume; all he needs is his imagination. 
Next we have Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: King Daniel for the Day. A spinoff series from the classic children’s program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is centered around 
First up is Hawaii Five-0, a new spin on the vintage series about an elite task force charged with solving crimes that take place on the idyllic sunny islands. Former navy man Detective Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) leads the team, following only his own rules and operating with full authority to hunt down the islands’ worst criminals and bring them to justice. Working alongside McGarrett are Detective Danny (“Danno”) Williams, Chin Ho Kelly, coroner Dr. Max Bergman, beautiful Hawaiian native Kono Kalakaua, and former SWAT team leader Captain Lou Grover. In Season Seven, the team must deal with some of their most dangerous cases yet as they hunt down the chess-piece killer, attempt to protect a witness in a coma from being assassinated, rescue Chin’s niece from a cartel, breaking down a sex trafficking ring, and more. Guest stars on the season include Hawaii Five-0 veteran Jack Lord along with Claire Forlani, Darius Rucker, Julie Benz, Jimmy Buffett, and Christine Lahti. Out now is Hawaii Five-0: The Seventh Season, which includes all twenty-five episodes of Season Seven along with some bonus content. Featurettes on the set include “Shorelines: Season Seven” (action sequences and season highlights with the cast and crew), “The Chun Family Legacy” (actor Dennis Chun talks about continuing his father Kam Fong Chun’s Hawaii Five-o legacy), and “Tailor Grubbs Video Diary” (a peek at the video diary of youngest cast member Tailor Grubbs). Along with the featurettes are coverage of a magazine photo shoot with star Alex O’Louhlin, some deleted and extended scenes, and a gag reel. The complete season is available on Amazon 
First is Gotham, the crime drama television series that follows a young James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) in his early days in the Gotham Police Department. Also woven into the plot lines are the origin stories of Bruce Wayne and multiple DC villains. In the third season, Gordon becomes a self-made bounty hunter as he tracks the Indian Hill fugitives in an attempt to protect Gotham. While Gordon is chasing Hugo Strange and Fish Mooney, Bullock and Barnes are left to deal with the rise of additional supervillains, Poison Ivy and Mad Hatter, who along with Penguin and Riddler are wreaking havoc on the city. Amidst the chaos, young Bruce Wayne learns more about the Court of Owls criminal organization and begins to discover that there are even more secrets surrounding his parents’ murder. With the stakes rising ever higher, good and evil clash together like never before, and only time will tell which side will ultimately win power over the city and citizens of Gotham.
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