TV season sets aplenty are on DVD and Blu-ray this week, led by Chicago P.D., Scorpion and Endeavor.
Chicago P.D.: Season Three (Universal, 2015-16, six discs, 23 episodes, featurettes, three crossover episodes of other series). Major crimes and beat cops on patrol get equal time in this Chicago-centric police procedural, with Jason Beghe, Jon Seda, Sophia Bush and Elias Koteas heading the ensemble cast.
This season, a detective is abducted, a body is found in Lake Michigan and one episode is a pilot for yet another Chicago spinoff, Chicago Justice, set to premiere sometime next year. There are also crossover episodes here that bring in cast members of Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire and Chicago Med. (Season 4 begins Sept. 21 on NBC.)
Scorpion: Season Two (CBS/Paramount, 2015-16, six discs, 24 episodes, deleted scenes, audio commentaries, featurettes, bloopers). The misfit geniuses of the Scorpion team solve crimes for Homeland Security in this series that is loosely based on real-life hacker and technologist Walter OBrien. Plots are fairly routine but a sense of humor and quirky characters help. Elyes Gabel, Katharine McPhee and Robert Patrick head the cast. (Season 3 begins Oct. 3 on CBS.)
Endeavor: The Complete Third Season (PBS, 2016, two discs, four episodes, featurettes). This prequel to Inspector Morse is set in the 1960s and stars Shaun Evans as the young Endeavor Morse, early in his career with the Oxford City Police. This season begins by resolving Season 2s cliffhanger and Morse gets back to the business of solving murders, eventually taking the sergeants exam. (Season 4 has been announced for early next year on PBS.)
Suspects: Series Three & Four (Acorn, 2015, two disc, eight episodes). Our fearless London-based detectives (Fay Ripley, Damien Molony, Clare-Hope Ashitey) investigate an attack on a popular teacher, a burned homicide victim discovered in the Thames and a missing Afghanistan veteran, among other crimes. This unusual police procedural strives for realism by plotting out storylines and then having the actors improvise their dialogue, and it focuses on the cases, not the characters private lives. (Series 5 has been shown on Englands Ch. 5; no word yet on a Series 6.)
Churchills Secret (PBS, 2016, featurette). The secret was that in 1953 Winston Churchill (Michael Gambon) suffered a stroke some 18 months into his second term as prime minister. This British TV movie chronicles how his foes began plotting a successor but Churchill managed a remarkable recovery, all of which is true. That he was helped by a young nurse named Millie Appleyard (Romola Garai) is entirely fiction.
Quantico: The Complete First Season (ABC, 2015-16, five discs, 22 episodes, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, bloopers). Action series about FBI recruits is so-so at best as it delves into way-out plots that circle back to which of the newbies might be a terrorist. And theres a hypocritical Mormon character that turns out to be a really nasty piece of work, with scenes that seem calculated to offend practicing members of the LDS Church. (Season 2 begins Sept. 25 on ABC.)
Nazi Mega Weapons: Season Three (PBS, 2016, two discs, six episodes). Under Hitler, the Nazis developed some of the biggest and deadliest military hardware in history up to that time, as revealed in this documentary series, which travels throughout Europe uncovering the secrets behind these war machines.
The Odd Squad: Creature Encounters (PBS Kids, 2015, five episodes). This live-action educational Canadian-American production follows the adventures of a team of youngsters that solve critical and fantastical problems using math.
Daniel Tigers Neighborhood: You are Special, Daniel Tiger! (PBS Kids, 2013-16, eight episodes). This show is an animated spinoff of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, featuring Daniel the tiger and his friends learning to share and help each other.
Chicago P.D.: Season Three (Universal, 2015-16, six discs, 23 episodes, featurettes, three crossover episodes of other series). Major crimes and beat cops on patrol get equal time in this Chicago-centric police procedural, with Jason Beghe, Jon Seda, Sophia Bush and Elias Koteas heading the ensemble cast.
This season, a detective is abducted, a body is found in Lake Michigan and one episode is a pilot for yet another Chicago spinoff, Chicago Justice, set to premiere sometime next year. There are also crossover episodes here that bring in cast members of Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire and Chicago Med. (Season 4 begins Sept. 21 on NBC.)
Scorpion: Season Two (CBS/Paramount, 2015-16, six discs, 24 episodes, deleted scenes, audio commentaries, featurettes, bloopers). The misfit geniuses of the Scorpion team solve crimes for Homeland Security in this series that is loosely based on real-life hacker and technologist Walter OBrien. Plots are fairly routine but a sense of humor and quirky characters help. Elyes Gabel, Katharine McPhee and Robert Patrick head the cast. (Season 3 begins Oct. 3 on CBS.)
Endeavor: The Complete Third Season (PBS, 2016, two discs, four episodes, featurettes). This prequel to Inspector Morse is set in the 1960s and stars Shaun Evans as the young Endeavor Morse, early in his career with the Oxford City Police. This season begins by resolving Season 2s cliffhanger and Morse gets back to the business of solving murders, eventually taking the sergeants exam. (Season 4 has been announced for early next year on PBS.)
Suspects: Series Three & Four (Acorn, 2015, two disc, eight episodes). Our fearless London-based detectives (Fay Ripley, Damien Molony, Clare-Hope Ashitey) investigate an attack on a popular teacher, a burned homicide victim discovered in the Thames and a missing Afghanistan veteran, among other crimes. This unusual police procedural strives for realism by plotting out storylines and then having the actors improvise their dialogue, and it focuses on the cases, not the characters private lives. (Series 5 has been shown on Englands Ch. 5; no word yet on a Series 6.)
Churchills Secret (PBS, 2016, featurette). The secret was that in 1953 Winston Churchill (Michael Gambon) suffered a stroke some 18 months into his second term as prime minister. This British TV movie chronicles how his foes began plotting a successor but Churchill managed a remarkable recovery, all of which is true. That he was helped by a young nurse named Millie Appleyard (Romola Garai) is entirely fiction.
Quantico: The Complete First Season (ABC, 2015-16, five discs, 22 episodes, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, bloopers). Action series about FBI recruits is so-so at best as it delves into way-out plots that circle back to which of the newbies might be a terrorist. And theres a hypocritical Mormon character that turns out to be a really nasty piece of work, with scenes that seem calculated to offend practicing members of the LDS Church. (Season 2 begins Sept. 25 on ABC.)
Nazi Mega Weapons: Season Three (PBS, 2016, two discs, six episodes). Under Hitler, the Nazis developed some of the biggest and deadliest military hardware in history up to that time, as revealed in this documentary series, which travels throughout Europe uncovering the secrets behind these war machines.
The Odd Squad: Creature Encounters (PBS Kids, 2015, five episodes). This live-action educational Canadian-American production follows the adventures of a team of youngsters that solve critical and fantastical problems using math.
Daniel Tigers Neighborhood: You are Special, Daniel Tiger! (PBS Kids, 2013-16, eight episodes). This show is an animated spinoff of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, featuring Daniel the tiger and his friends learning to share and help each other.
