New to Blu: December 1-6 (TV)

It’s an action-packed week for TV-on-Blu-ray releases, with the final season of 24 and the first of Spartacus: Blood and Sand going head-to-head within 24 hours of each other.

24’s eighth season is the first to bow here on Blu-ray, although season seven was released in HD internationally.

It comes out on Wednesday, a week ahead of the US, whereas fans of Spartacus: Blood and Sand have had to wait until season one ended its SD run on The Box (the Blu-ray was released two months ago in the US but was region-locked).

Hi-Def Digest predicts devotees will be “ecstatic” about the Blu-ray: “The 1080p picture only adds to the stylised vision of Rome the series strives to portray. This transfer does just about everything right.”

Blu-ray.com described the level of detail as “exceptional” and the transfer as one that “rivals many of the finest Blu-ray releases”.

In addition to the legion of extras, several episodes have had their digital effects enhanced and four are presented exclusively on Blu-ray as extended director’s cuts.

It’s also a stellar week for natural history Blu-rays. The National Geographic epic, Great Migrations, comes out on Thursday, the day after the BBC’s South Pacific and the broadcaster’s Natural History Collection, a six-disc set of Wild China, Galapagos, Yellowstone and Nature’s Great Events.

Also new are two Doctor Who collections — Complete Series 5 and The Complete Specials — season 13 of The Simpsons and a double-feature of the two movies spun off the ‘60s comedy, McHale’s Navy.