CBS’s superlative medical drama ‘Code Black’ comes to DVD in a workmanlike set from CBS Home Entertainment. Does ‘Code Black: Season One’ deliver?
CBS Home Entertainment released Code Black: Season One to DVD on Tuesday, bringing home the best drama series that not enough people are watching. Hopefully, this box set will enable more people to catch on to a show that has so much to offer.
There’s about a month and a half between this release and the Season 2 premiere of Code Black, on September 28, so that should give plenty of time to watch all 18 episodes plus a solid if unsurprising collection of special features.
Unfortunately, there’s no Blu-Ray edition of Code Black: Season One, but at least we finally have the show available to own on DVD. Here’s our breakdown of this box set:
The Series
Aside from The Player, Code Black was the most underrated series to premiere this fall. It really put a jolt back into the medical drama genre, thanks to fantastic casting and writers who pushed the storytelling in new directions.
Marcia Gay Harden is one of the finest actresses in TV or film, and she anchors the series as Dr. Leanne Rorish, the no-nonsense veteran whose job it is to hold down the Angels Memorial ER and run herd on everyone in it. She develops Rorish well beyond the “veteran doctor” that we see in so many other shows and when she speaks, you listen.
But the casting directors of Code Black really deserve a cookie because this show has talent coming out of its proverbial eras. The main ensemble is faultless, particularly the entertaining banter between Mario Savetti (Benjamin Hollingsworth) and Angus Leighton (Harry Ford). Those two are stars in waiting.
And every episode brings someone that is a joy to see. Tommy Dewey (Casual) and Jeff Hephner (Agent X) are standouts in multi-episode arcs in the back of the season, but there’s Beau Bridges, Kevin Dunn, Christina Vidal, Michael Trucco, Annie Wersching, just an inordinate number of great actors.
Armed with that much talent Code Black gives them the material to match. It eschews the usual “get patient, save patient, repeat” cycle that medical dramas have played out over the years. There are cases, but there are also discussions of subjects like the business of running an ER, the professional bond between doctors and nurses, and how you make the tough calls of who lives and who dies. Not every episode is perfect but Code Black consistently goes to new places and takes us along for the thought-provoking, heart-breaking, cheer-worthy ride.
The DVDs
CBS Home Entertainment is not known for putting too many bells and whistles on their TV on DVD releases, and Code Black: Season One is no exception – but perhaps owing to the quality of the series, what’s included is really engrossing stuff.
Code Black: Season One offers three featurettes, a selection of deleted and extended scenes, and a gag reel. The featurettes are “Code Black: The Faces of Angels,” “Crash Course” and “Doctors’ Notes.”
The first is the expected bonus feature introducing cast and producers, but it’s anything but usual. This isn’t the standard PR piece where everyone just loves on everyone; the interview subjects offer some real, heartfelt insight into their characters and what it means to work on the show.
“Crash Course” is a further look into the episode “Black Tag,” while “Doctors’ Notes” gives some love to composer Clinton Shorter (get it, notes? Ha). The bonuses just enhance the viewer’s appreciation of Code Black, which is what special features should do.
There are precisely two gripes to be had: one, the lack of a Blu-Ray release, just because it means a step down from the HD video quality that we saw on broadcast. The episodes are still more than fine to look at, but if you happen to have an HDTV or an iTunes Season Pass, you’ll notice a difference.
Two is the actual arrangement of the DVD set. The table of contents is printed on the inside of the plastic slipcase, which means to find out what’s on the final two discs you actually have to remove Disc 5 from the tray. It’s a common annoyance, but an annoyance anyway.
In an ideal world this set would have come with a copy of Ryan McGarry’s film that inspired the series, also called Code Black. Of course that’s not exactly feasible but I would highly encourage everyone to go and rent or purchase that film separately at Amazon.
The Verdict
Code Black is a series rich in material, and Code Black: Season One does justice to that with an array of special features that well complement the program. In a perfect world it would’ve had the documentary or a handful of commentary tracks, but what’s here is head and shoulders above the bonus material you see on most “season one” sets.
If you’ve been watching Code Black all along you’ll still learn something from this set. If you haven’t then you need to grab it and get on board before Season 2. This series is going somewhere and Code Black: Season One is a solid primer as to not only the episodes, but what makes them so outstanding.
Code Black: Season One is now available on DVD. Season 2 of Code Black begins Wednesday, September 28 at 10/9c on CBS.
Full article: www.HiddenRemote.com
