New to Blu: TV & Toons > December 5-11

The Miami vice drama, Magic City, heads a TV-on-Blu bonanza that includes a special edition of Game of Thrones’ first season, the latest seasons of Downton Abbey and Supernatural, and HD remasters of classics Star Trek: The Next Generation, Life on Earth and Trials of Life.

“Magic City: The Complete First Season rolls onto Blu-ray with a polished and pleasant 1080p transfer … The HD video production does go somewhat glossy and flat at times, but fine detail is rarely lacking.”

“These Blu-ray discs provide an excellent video presentation of the series that certainly surpasses its appearance on cable television, even in high definition.”

“While the presentation isn’t picture-perfect, it has a lot more in the way of pleasing HD eye candy than not.”

Also new are season one of The Killing and Strike Back.

“I really wish I could say that The Killing got a first-rate Blu-ray release, but that’s not quite the case.

“It’s not a total failure by any stretch, but it is a bit of a letdown given the quality of the show.”

“The Killing is an original Super 35mm film production captured with Kodak Vision2 Expression 500T 5229 high-speed film stock.

“This particular film supposedly has a relatively small grain size for a such a high speed film, but, as anyone watching this production can see, The Killing is still a rather grainy series, particularly in the darker scenes, a characteristic of the source.”

“Strike Back’s 1080p presentation looks rather spectacular, especially as far as TV shows are considered. It may be too heightened in contrast for some, but that seems to be the look they were going for.”

“Explosions look great and don’t break up into compression artifacts while black levels stay solid throughout without smearing or destroying shadow detail.”

Season seven of Supernatural boasts “top-notch” clarity and contrast.

“Much of the show is slathered in blackness, yet colors like blood red pop with exceeding lucidity.

“As with seasons of the past, this one doesn’t disappoint when it comes to providing a very well-done video presentation that fans should be proud of.”

Season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation finally resurfaces after being pulled from release four months ago.

“There is a special kind of geek thrill in seeing this series in high-definition … The old analogue/overly-digital look of the show is simply gone.

“In its place now is the look of nuanced and richly-textured film, scanned by CBS from the series’ original camera negatives.

“Simply put, you have never seen this series looking as real, as immediate and as (strangely) relevant as it does on this Blu-ray.”

As well as History in 3D and The Universe in 3D, there’s a raft of anime titles out this week: Areitty Special Edition, My Neighbour Totoro, Freezing Collection, K-On!! Season 2, Shiki: Part 2 and Strike Witches Season 1.