Hollywood’s major movie studios offered audiences little to enjoy this year both in regard to theatrical and streaming content. This year’s crop of new cinematic presentations has just been more of the same prequels, sequels, reboots, and movies based on actual events and books. The last of those categories – the movies based on actual events and books – change so much from the source material that they are really that unworthy of watching and always have been. Anyone that wants the real stories behind those movies based on actual events would do better watching PBS’ American Experience and American Masters series.
Speaking of PBS, PBs is also known for importing shows from overseas that really are so much better than even what major American networks have to offer, as in the case of Endeavour and the surprisingly enjoyable rebooted series, All Creatures Great & Small. Both those series saw their latest seasons released to DVD and BD this year, and those seasons are included in this year’s list of the year’s top new DVD/BD box sets for grown-ups. Also on this year’s list is the recently released full series release of Seaquest DSV: The Complete Series. DC also had a number of notable home releases this year from series, such as Doom Patrol, The Flash, and Lois & Superman, all of which also made it onto this year’s list.
As with each list from Phil’s Picks, this one features the year’s top 10 titles in the given category and five honorable mention titles, for a total of 15 titles. From dramas to comedies to action and more, this year’s collection of new box sets for grown-up audiences offers so much enjoyment and engagement. Without any further ado, here is Phil’s Picks 2022 Top 10 New DVD/BD Box Sets For Grown-Ups.
PHIL’S PICKS 2022 TOP 10 NEW DVD/BLU-RAY BOX SETS FOR GROWN-UPS
All Creatures Great & Small: Season 2
Endeavour: Season 8
Seaquest DSV: The Complete Series
Abbott Elementary: Season 1
Star Trek Discovery: Season 4
The Flash: Season 8
Lois & Superman: Season 2
Doom Patrol: Season 3
The Honeymooners Specials: The Complete Collection
Peacemaker: The Complete First Season
Spiderman: Far From Home/Homecoming/No Way Home
James Bond: Daniel Craig 5-Film Collection
Star Trek Lower Decks: Season 2
Halo: Season 1
Titans: Season 3
Grown-ups were not the only audiences who received lots of enjoyable offerings this year in regard to home releases. Families in general also had lots to like this year in the way of home releases. Only 10 titles made Phil’s Picks list this year, instead of 10, just because there were not enough new family releases for families. This year’s field of notable family releases includes the 2022 World Series Collector’s Edition set, The Batman: The Complete Series, and even the complete series run of Ed, Edd, & Eddy. That Seaquest DSV set is technically family friendly, too, in comparison to so many action shows out there today. Keeping all of that in mind, here is the list of this year’s top new Family Friendly DVD/BD Box Sets.
PHIL’S PICKS 2022 TOP 10 NEW FAMILY FRIENDLY DVD/BD BOX SETS
The Batman: The Complete Series
The Proud Family Original Series: Anniversary Edition
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Kindness Collection
World Series 2022: Collector’s Edition
Seaquest DSV: The Complete Series
Ed, Edd & Eddy: The Complete Series
Rugrats: Season 1, Volume 1
Kamp Koral: Season 1, Volume 1
The Patrick Star Show: Season 1, Volume 1
Scooby Doo & Guess Who: The Complete Second Season
That is it for this year. Work is already underway for new titles being released in 2023. The second season of the Rugrats reboot is due out in March, for instance. Strange New Worlds: Season 1 is due out around the same time. Lots of new music, movie, and TV reviews are coming as 2022 gives way to 2023, so stay tuned!
Between families and grown-ups, plenty of positive content has been released this year on DVD and Blu-ray in the form of newly released box sets. Shout! Factory and Nickelodeon’s full series presentation of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Arrow Video’s classic creature feature collection, Cold War Creatures, and the latest collection of classic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood do well to support the noted statements. Between them and so many others, there is more than enough to create a list of this year’s top new DVD/BD box sets overall. Enter Phil’s Picks’ 2021 Top 10 New DVD/BD Box Sets.
As with every other list from Phil’s Picks, this list features the top 10 titles from this year as well as five honorable mention titles for a total of 15. There’s already some positive news about new releases coming in the new year about new box sets, but in the meantime, the titles on this list will help people pass the time. Without any further ado, here for your consideration is Phil’s Picks’ 2021 Top 10 New DVD/BD Box Sets list.
PHIL’S PICKS’ 2021 TOP 10 NEW DVD/BD BOX SETS
1.Cold War Creatures
2. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: The Complete Series
3. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Mister Rogers Meets New Friends Collection
4. All Creatures Great & Small: Season 1
5. The Watch
6. How To Train Your Dragon: Ultimate Collection
7. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Tigertastic 50 Pack
8. Jekyll & Hyde
9. Spongebob Squarepants: Season 12
10. Rugrats: The Complete Series
11. Star Trek Discovery: Season 3
12. Doom Patrol: Season 2
13. Josie & The Pussycats In Outer Space: The Complete Series
14. Human: The World Within
15. Thundarr The Barbarian: The Complete Series
Okay that it’s for this list. There is still one more list to go for this year. It will come tomorrow in the form of the year’s top new family friendly DVDs/ Stay tuned!
This year offered lots for families to enjoy together in the way of television and movies. It also offered plenty for older viewers, whether those audiences needed the occasional break from the more family friendly fare or just needed and wanted something to enjoy. Between imports and domestic releases, this year’s field of new viewing options for grown-ups offered much to appreciate.
DC and Warner Brothers’ second season of Doom Patrol, BBC America’s The Watch (It is sadly still unknown if the show will get a renewal for a second season) offered plenty of enjoyment in their own right. Meanwhile, CBS/Paramount’s third season of Star Trek: Discovery finally got that ship righted. Along with so many domestic and import releases from PBS and other sets from WB and DC, this year’s field of new offerings for older audiences helped audiences escape and relax every day. So much new content was released that it gave Phil’s Picks more than enough for another annual list of the year’s top new offerings in said field.
As with every list from Phil’s Picks, this list offers the Top 10 new entries in said field alongside five additional honorable mentions for a total of 15 titles. Each entry in this list is deserving of applause in its own right, too. Without further ado, here for your consideration is Phil’s Picks 2021 Top 10 New Grown-Up DVD/BD Box Sets.
PHIL’S PICKS’ 2021 TOP 10 NEW GROWN-UP DVD/BD BOX SETS
Cold War Creatures
All Creatures Great & Small: Season 1
Doom Patrol: Season 2
The Watch
Miss Scarlet & The Duke: Season 1
Human: The World Within
Jekyll & Hyde
Star Trek Discovery: Season 3
Black Lightning: Season 4
Superman & Lois: Season 1
Star Trek Lower Decks: Season 1
Finding Your Roots: Season 6
Finding Your Roots: Season 7
The Twilight Zone: Season 2
Star Trek Discovery: Seasons 1-3
That’s it for this list, but before the attention turns from the box sets, there is still one more category to check in on tomorrow. That category is the year’s top new DVD/BD box sets overall between the stuff for families and that for older audiences. From there, later this week, the attention will turn toward the year’s top new family DVDs and BDs to finish this year’s field of year-end lists. So there’s still plenty to come. That means as always, stay tuned!
Aaaaah, family. Family is one of the best things in the world. Family is also one of the worst things in the world. Good or bad, family is all that we have in this world. That is really the crux of the second season of DC’s Doom Patrol. Released early this year on DVD and BD, the series’ second season is an interesting continuation for the series. That is due to the noted story featured in this season. It will be addressed shortly. The cast’s work throughout the season is also of import here, and will be examined a little later. The bonus content, as little as it really is here, also plays at least some part in the set’s presentation. It will be discussed later, too. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of Doom Patrol’s second season. All things considered, they make this season one more of this year’s gradually growing list of the year’s top new DVD and Blu-ray box sets for grown-up audiences.
The second season of DC’s Doom Patrol is an interesting outing for the series. The series, and group is among the lesser-known of DC’s properties, but this season is sure to help bring both much more attention. That is proven in part through the season’s story. The story, as noted already, is on the importance of family. Even as emotionally heavy as the story is throughout, that emphasis remains. Audiences will be moved as they watch Larry (a.k.a. Negative Man) try to make amends with his family following the revelation of his son’s death. Viewers will be just as moved (albeit in a more lighthearted way) as they watch Cliff try to make amends with his daughter after finding out that she survived the wreck that led to him becoming Robot Man. On yet another note, Rita facing the demon that is the trauma caused by her mother is just as engaging and entertaining because of the subtle way in which it is tied into the whole of the story. Crazy Jane even has her own family of sorts in her head that she has to deal with over the course of this season. Looking through this, the first thing that one might feel that there is a lot going on. That would be right. However, even as much as is going on in the bigger story, the ability of the writers to balance all of these interweaving story lines is on full display. What’s more, the depth in each character’s story and the very stories themselves prove relatable to so many audiences. Case in point is the revelation of who Cliff’s daughter is marrying. His reaction to that revelation is reflective of so much of America in the current age. Most people likely will not admit to it, but in a case such as that of Rita, lots of people deal with the emotional trauma brought on by toxic relationships with their parents during their formative years, so even that is believable. Larry’s case is similar to that of Rita, just in a different fashion, which perhaps is why the pair bonds so well this season. He made his son feel like he was not good enough, being a hot shot pilot in his normal life, and that led to the rift between the pair.
Through all of the emotional issues that the Doom Patrol faces this season in dealing with their pasts with their families, they grow as individuals. As a result of that growth, viewers see the group, including Cyborg, start to develop into the heroes that they will be as the show continues. Speaking on that note, the series is currently in the midst of its 3rd season. Its home release will likely come early in the new year just as this season was released early this year, considering the air date for Season Three’s finale. Getting back on topic, the character development that audiences see this season makes the season, in hindsight, really a transitional season of sorts. It is a continuation of Season One, and in turn is sure to lead to something even more interesting and exciting in Season Three. Keeping that all in mind, the story featured in the second season of Doom Patrol is reason enough for audiences to give the season a chance. It is just one of the season’s positives. The cast’s work adds its own appeal to the presentation.
Brendan Fraser leads the way once again in terms of the cast’s work. His general personality and sharp tongue brings a much needed looseness and unique comic relief to the show. Given, every other word out of his mouth is made up four letters, but just his sheer delivery in every scene is so great. His nonstop declaration that he’s going to kill the chief after being launched out of the chief’s space ship and landing in a fiery ball into a random field is a prime example of his expert timing. Audiences know that he is really made, but there is just something about his delivery that makes audiences laugh as hard as ever even as they feel sympathy for Cliff. This especially considering the heart that he developed for Dorothy shortly before that happened. On a similar note, the chemistry that he shows alongside Dianne Guerrero (Crazy Jane) creates its own dynamic. The way he just casually accepts that she has so many personalities is funny in its own way because of the very subtlety in that relationship of sorts.
Similarly, the aforementioned onscreen work between April Bowlby (Rita) and Matt Bomer (Larry) is just as enjoyable to see even with it being more of a secondary performance of sorts. The duo knows that its wok is secondary, too, and makes the most of it as their characters lean on one another.
Staying on the note of the pair, Bowlby is inspiring as she takes Rita through her emotional journey in facing her own past. There were so many opportunities for Bowlby to really go over the top, considering all of the drama in this season. Thankfully she did not go that route. The end result is that she makes Rita that much more of a sympathetic character throughout the season.
Much the same can be said of Bomer’s work as Larry. The moments when he is in the shed next to his son’s home, reading the letter that his son wrote as a child is absolutely heartbreaking. Because his face is covered with bandages, Bomer is forced to do his emoting more through his actions, and they do so well to reveal the depth of Larry’s remorse for the past. It is just one more way in which the cast’s performances make for so much depth this time out. Between the performances noted here and so much more exhibited by the cast, the cast’s overall work here is so enjoyable to watch. When the whole is considered along with the depth in the season’s story, the two elements join to make for that much more reason to watch this season of Doom Patrol. It still is only a part of what makes this season engaging and entertaining. The bonus content that accompanies the season in its home release rounds out the most important of its items.
The bonus content featured in the home release of Doom Patrol’s second season is limited to say the least. One of the bonuses is just one of the show’s creative heads talking about shooting the show in Georgia. The brief discussion is basically just an advertisement for filming in Georgia and is honestly irrelevant. The other bonus feature, which focuses on the season’s makeup and special effects gives audiences at least a brief glance into the work that went into this season’s look. Audiences will appreciate the determination that the show’s makeup and costume heads had for something as minute as the freckles on Dorothy’s face, making sure that they stayed the same in each episode. Such dedication to the show’s look is admirable to say the least. Understanding that the twin brother duo has always been so serious about makeup, going all the way back to its childhood, makes for even more appreciation for the pair’s work. It will lead, in hindsight, to even more appreciation for the look of Doom Patrol in its second season. One can only hope that considering this is the season’s only other bonus feature, there will be more bonus content in the third season’s home release. At least this bonus adds a little bit more appreciation for this season, if only for its aesthetics. Keeping that in mind along with the impact of the season’s story and the cast’s work, the whole becomes that much more engaging and entertaining. It collectively makes the season in whole a great continuation for the series and one more of the year’s top new DVD and Blu-ray box sets for grown up audiences.
Doom Patrol: Season Two is an overall impressive offering. Its appeal starts with its story. Yes, the story is extremely emotionally heavy, but in understanding the character development hat takes place throughout the season, it makes the heaviness that much more understandable and bearable. It shows the group on the verge of becoming “super heroes” of sorts. Hopefully that growth and change will become even more evident in Season Three, considering this. The cast’s work interpreting that development adds to the season’s appeal. That is because the group’s work is just that believable. Being so believable, it ensures viewers’ engagement and entertainment that much more. Keeping in mind the positive impact of the cast’s work and of the story, there is just one more item to note. That item is the bonus content. The bonus content featured in this season’s home release is minimal to say the least, but at least one of the bonuses offers more appreciation for the season. In this case, it focuses on the season’s look. That item works with the season’s other noted items to make the whole well worth watching and one more of this year’s top new DVD and BD box sets for grown up audiences.
Doom Patrol: Season Two is available now. More information on the season and other DC Universe series is available online at:
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