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The World's Finest presents a closer look at the home video release of the following titles:

Supergirl: The Complete First Season
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Format: Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and for Digital Download
Home Video Release Date: August 9th, 2016

The Flash: The Complete Second Season
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Format: Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and for Digital Download
Home Video Release Date: September 6th, 2016

Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Format: Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and for Digital Download
Home Video Release Date: August 30th, 2016

DC's Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete First Season
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Format: Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and for Digital Download
Home Video Release Date: August 23rd, 2016

Gotham: The Complete Second Season
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Format: Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and for Digital Download
Home Video Release Date: August 16th, 2016

Also noteworthy:
Constantine: The Complete Series
Studio: Warner Archive
Format: Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and for Digital Download
Home Video Release Date: October 4th, 2016


Review:

To jump to a specific series, please click on the revelant links below:
Supergirl -- The Flash -- Arrow -- DC's Legends of Tomorrow -- Gotham

DC Comics and Warner Bros. had a stellar 2016 television season, with the debut of two new series and the continued acclaimed and high ratings of its other established properties. Arrow, The Flash and Gotham continued to pull in viewers and, while the shows were of varying quality, still managed to pull off some notable events and create some notable stories. Freshmen titles Supergirl and DC's Legends of Tomorrow impressed and delighted viewers, providing a mix of hope and optimism and quirky sci-fi story-telling. All in all, if you're a fan of DC Comics, there's something you're bound to find enjoyable here. And now, with the latest seasons of all these series hitting home video, now's a great time to revisit or check them out for the first time. Given that there's five titles to cover - six if you count the long-awaited home video release of the gone-too-soon Constantine - it's safe to say there is plenty to crack into.

And, because of the sheer wealth of material, The World's Finest will be taking a quick glance at each series, providing a quick spoiler-free look at each season and it's respective home video release. Please note that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided The World's Finest with copies of each Blu-ray or DVD release of the following titles to review. So, without further adieu, let's look at the 2015-2016 seasons of these great DC Comics-based television series.

Supergirl: The Complete First Season is a great series - perfectly cast and engrossing - that also serves as a entry point into the world of DC Comics. It goes without saying that actress Melissa Benoist is perfectly cast to play Supergirl. She completely encapsulates the role, creating a deep, three-dimensional character out of Supergirl, balancing the confusion and vulnerability of Kara Danvers with the steadfast determination and strong willpower of Kara Zor-El. It's not as simple as that, though, as the first season of Supergirl showed a hero in training, learning difficult lessons along the way, making mistakes and learning the cost of difficult choices. Probably one of the strongest scenes of the season was her lashing out at the holographic representation of her mother in a fit of anger. While I won't spoil the reason or episode, you'll know it when you see it.

This show got so much right right out of the get, with a great set of characters, compelling stories and some excellent action set pieces. There are more than a couple breakout characters too, such as Kara's boss, Cat Grant, deliciously played by Calista Flockhart. Specifically, the three strongest members of the supporting cast also had the biggest impact on our heroine - Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), Cat Grant and the DEO's Hank Henshaw (David Harewood) - all of whom brought out different aspect of Supergirl's personality that helped her both in her private life and while donning the cape. Characters like Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan) and Jimmy Olsen (James Olsen) also helped develop Supergirl's approach to crime-fighting this season, though were a bit of a mixed bag in what they brought to the table, both of whom were usually saddled with weak romantic subplots.

While the show offers a plethora of pluses, there were a few weak bits. Aside from the aforementioned weak romantic subplots, the regular appearance of the DEO government agency felt like a bit of a bring down for the overall cheery demeanor of the series. That said, the DEO does offer room for Supergirl's sister, Alex, to play a larger role in the series, and also introduced us to more than a few notable DC Comics character - including one famed member of the Justice League. Same goes for the foes Supergirl ran into over the course of the season, many of which tended to be underdeveloped or just lacking. While we got some great foes, like Astra, Non and Maxwell Lord, none never really had those epic, major moments that establishes them as the threat. And the one-off villains were a mixed bag with no real standouts, save for maybe Bizarro Supergirl.

Even with its weaknesses, there never truly a bad episode of Supergirl. Each one had something to offer, usually spearheaded by some great acting by Benoist, who is just tailor-made for this role. The first season is a great place to get started for those looking to get into the DC Comics TV universe (there's even an episode guest-starring The Flash, which is easily one of the best episodes offered up). More importantly, it's a show that offers a bright, positive spin on superheroes and, even in the show's darker moments (and there are a couple), offers up hope. Supergirl: The Complete First Season is a great show, be it for the casual viewer or well-read comic fan.

Moving on, The Flash: The Complete Second Season, continued the strong pace set out by the first season, barely letting up for a single episode. In fact, with it's second season, The Flash upped the ante considerably, taking more risks and just going further and further out there, usually going full tilt into wacky sci-fi stories and sometimes goofy comic book characters, and it 100% worked. The second season picks up right after the cliffhanger from season 1, and uses that as a springboard to drive the its stories for the season. This season, as opposed to meta-humans spawned from the particle accelerator explosion, our heroes face off against doppelgangers from another universe caused by the events at the end of season one. It's the same basic formula just it's just different enough to work. Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) finds that saving the city, as The Flash, may have doomed the entire world and, as such, finds himself exploring whether or not he's really the hero the city needs. Team Flash, including Cisco, (Carlos Valdes), Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) Iris (Candice Patton) and Joe (Jesse L. Martin) are all back to help The Flash stay on the right path, one which includes more than a few surprises as the season unfolds, including the reintroduction (sort of) of Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh). It's a big season that is heavily steeped in its own continuity, but boy is it also a fun time to be had.

Using the ideas of alternate earths and dopplegangers really gave the entire cast some meaty roles to play with. It rarely got old to see the characters we've grown attached through from the first season wind up against radically different versions of themselves. Two characters - Caitlin and Wells - benefited the most from this. Caitlin got to indulge in her dark side as her doppelganger, the villainous Killer Frost, got to wreak havoc on our heroes. Well's doppleganger offered a completely fresh take on the character, one who played a considerable role in the events of the second season in helping The Flash battle the evil Reverse-Flash and protect his city from an onslaught of otherworldy threats. This season offered a lot of great twists that just never got old or tired, and helped propel even the weakest of episodes, which themselves were usually incredibly enjoyable. The first season set a high bar, and season two easily met those expectations.

Other characters, like Cisco and Iris enjoyed some great character work this year, especially Cisco's growing role in both Team Flash and his burgeoning powers. Iris' work as a journalist also kept her pretty involved in the action, as well as some interesting family drama that put her and her family in the forefront of a couple episodes. While it was an admittedly busy season, it felt like no character was really given the short end of the stick. And it was a busy season, what with all the Earth 2/doppleganger plot lines zipping through the series. As I previously said, it offered a lot of great bits for the cast to work with, including The Flash himself. Barry went through the wringer this year, offering up a series of legitimate heartbreaking moments (such as his phone call to his mother, who's still alive on Earth 2). And all of these moments give legitimate weight to his decision in the season finale, something which turns the series on its head.

Once again, The Flash proved that, by embracing its comic book roots and just having fun, it can make for some great television. Toss in some legitimately impressive special effects and CGI work, and it's safe to say that this show managed to hit it out of the park in pretty much every way. The show only falters a bit when it comes to the season's major bad guy, Zoom, as the show may have played that storyline too close to the vest for too long. But given how the show was able to use that mystery to create some legitimately great character drama, it's a flaw that ends up working in the show's favor.

All in all, The Flash: The Complete Second Season continues to nicely build off the first season, taking the series to bigger places and opening our characters up to bigger threats and heavier plots. And, like season one, this season ends with a cliffhanger that again promises huge changes and compelling stories. A great series that consistently defies expectations, The Flash is easily the crown jewel for the DC Comics brand on television, offering up stories, characters and special effects that could conceivably stand neck-to-neck with some of today's big screen superheroes. To boil it down, The Flash is the real deal when it comes to superhero story-telling and should not be missed.

While an improvement over its third season, Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season still hit a couple rough patches throughout the year, but still managed to pull off a good (though not great) season. Picking up after an underwhelming third season, the fourth season find Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) attempting to start anew, looking ahead to the future for the first time in a long while. Naturally, Star City finds itself in the grips of a new threat which requires him to again done his hood and quiver. With Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) at his side, he once again reconnects with his team - Diggle (David Ramsey), Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Thea (Willa Holland) , and the estranged members of Team Arrow. It seems, more and more, the series found itself getting a little left behind as shows like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow inched ahead to tackle problems on a much larger scale, making Arrow at times feel smaller in comparison.

However, Arrow was able to whip up a fantastic adversary for the season in the form of Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough). McDonough brought an undeniable amount of charisma and intensity to the role, coming off as an intimidating foe that would be a near-impossible challenge for the team to overcome. His magic-based powers really opened up the series to explore some new avenues, giving our heroes some new threats to handle, even though at times those threats fell flat. On the plus side, the show managed to bring in John Constantine for an episode, played by the excellent Matt Ryan, to help deal with an issue that only the magic-wielding occult detective could solve in one of the season's best episodes. These larger-than-life threats did provide a solid counterpoint for wealth of character drama this season as the majority of Team Arrow were all struggling with personal demons which threatened to rip them apart.

In the same vein, the relationship between Oliver and Felicity continued to grow this year, taking a few interesting twists and turns along the way. Their relationship continues to be a divisive factor for fans of the series, and understandably so. More than a few times, it drew focus away on other aspects of the series that really needed attention, and at other times it seemed to stop the series dead in it tracks. That said, it still served an important role in the season's narrative, and allowed for some great character moments for Amell and Rickards. While the show may have stumbled a few times in handling the pairing, both actors were definitely up to the challenge.

Speaking of challenges, the stunt and choreography work was very impressive this season, and featured some of the most complex stunts in Arrow to date. It doesn't hurt that the show managed to wrangle the likes of Lexi Alexander and a host of directors particularly skilled in how to stage and direct action and stunt work. Given the ongoing subplots where the team dealt with magic and some otherworldly forces, it seemed like a natural escalation. Unfortunately, the genuinely great action was unable to help mask some of the show's unsatisfying ongoing subplots and its aimless sense of direction for the better part of the season's second half. Lots of subplots wrapped up abruptly, resulting in a general unsatisfying feeling. It didn't help that the season-long flashback arc dragged on far too long than it should've, sputtering and crawling its way to the end.

There were some great moments as series moved towards it endgame, with the episode "Eleven Fifty-Nine" being a huge standout in the season's second half, but ultimately the season wraps up on a bit of a disappointing note. There were a lot of great moments in season four, but they ended up being less than the sum of its parts. The emotional connection just wasn't there, primarily due to plotlines note hitting those good mars, and that ultimately robbed the series of what should have been a pretty major season finale. After a legitimately solid start to the season, albeit still a little rough, its regained momentum sputtered in the second half. That said, it's still an interesting season that features a wealth of changes for the Arrow series and shared DC on TV universe at large. The show will likely never hit the heights of its second season, but even a weak season of Arrow is better than most superhero TV shows out there.

Another freshmen series, DC's Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete First Season, completely embraced it's far-out concept - a group of time-travelers set to stop an immortal tyrant - and managed to humanize it with a great roster of personalities and great character moments. It's hard to image this show even being greenlight a couple years ago, what with the DC on TV shows still in their infancy. But, with the successful launch of Arrow and The Flash (and Supergirl to an extent, even if that show doesn't share the same continuity with Arrow and The Flash), DC's Legends of Tomorrow feels like a natural progression. Tackling problems on a much bigger scale, time-travelling, immortal foes, it's a huge step from the first season of Arrow where our hero usually tackled dark archers and street-level thugs.

Having been set-up, for the most part, thanks to Arrow and The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow was able to essentially hit the ground running. While introducing a small set of new characters, a host of familiar faces from the two aforementioned DC on TV series allowed the show to basically propel it's viewers right into the thick of thing and, thankfully, it worked better than it likely could have expected. The first episode brought together the "Legends" teams, consisting of the Atom (Brandon Routh), Firestorm (Franz Drameh and Victor Garber), White Canary (Caity Lotz), Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller), Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell), Hawkgirl (Ciara Renee) and Hawkman (Falk Hentschel). Basically, the cast is a mix of favorites from Arrow and The Flash guided byTime Master Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill). While there was a fair amount of exposition to get through, which made for more than a few clunky moments, the series opener took off and, for the remainder of the season, the show didn't look back.

The goal for the team seemed simple - stop the evil immortal Vandal Savage by traveling through time to hit him when he's vulnerable. Unfortunately, that proved to be anything but. The season stretched out the hunt for Savage over the entire duration, hoping from time to time to either stop Savage from making a pivotal move in his centuries-long attempt to rule the world or to simply put the immortal down once and for all. Making the mission personal for a few of the crewmates added a little bit of depth to it, and even resulted in a very satisfying season finale where more than a few of our heroes got their just reward. However, getting to that finale proved, at times, felt like a bit of a slog. While the first season was incredibly fun and bombastic, it easily could've been trimmed down to a lean 13 episodes. And, unfortunately, Savage never felt like a major presence in the series and, while it was rewarding to see our heroes go toe-to-toe with him in the season finale, it lacked a little bit of that oomph.

The series managed to overcome most hurdles by, simply, being incredibly fun and giving us a good set of characters to get invested in. Not only that, but the stakes actually felt real. When one of the main cast is (spoilers) killed off very early in the series, it showed that, yes, there is a real danger to their mission. And this is something the show revisits time and time again, making some of the conflicts, albeit with foes who were less than complex, still resonate quite a bit. And DC's Legends of Tomorrow was at its best when it was having fun but also keeping site on the season's big storyline. Some episodes do take the show off track a little, such as one episode where the team finds themselves in the Old West, but there's a sense of fun that keeps the episode from being a slog to get through. It helps that the dynamic between the cast is so strong, and that even if you were to splinter them off into smaller groups, they're still interesting enough characters that it works. In fact, for the characters on this series who were previously part of some of DC's other TV series (such as Captain Cold and Heatwave), this show actually boosted them, making them more layered, more complex than anything that could be mustered up by their guest appearances on The Flash or Arrow.

There are some weaker aspects of the series worth noting, mainly the love triangle that develops between The Atom, Hawkgirl and Hawkman, which drives a good portion of the season's story. It seems a little rushed and even a bit out of character for both, and ultimately ends up being a pointless endeavor since, early on in the show, it's established that Hawkgirl and Hawkman are destined to be with each other. While I understand the show was trying to work in the idea that one's fate is never set in stone - which is nicely manages to pull off in other ways, this falls a little flat and ends up going nowhere. And, actually,t his show didn't even really need one ... the characters were great enough as is without added this unnecessary B-story.

Still, DC's Legends of Tomrrow is another undeniable success for the DC Comics brand on television. Definitely a risky venture, this show not only surpasses all expectations, but just reveled in what makes DC Comics so fun in the first place and exploited it, resulting in a show that builds upon the world established in Arrow and The Flash. This was a series that needed to prove itself, given its somewhat complicated and sort of not-new-user-friendly premise, but it managed to succeed. Given that the series was basically able to reestablish itself every episode with a new time period, it's no surprise it was able to keep things fresh. On top of that. I guarantee that if you check out the first season, you will definitely want to see more thanks to an excellent season finale that not only changes the status quo, but drops some very exciting tidbits as to where things will be going next.

Lastly, Gotham: The Complete Second Season was able to right some of the wrongs from it's initial uneven season and went ahead and embraced its campy side. While the show still has a bit of a struggle when it comes to nailing its tone, it whipped up a season far more enjoyable than the first, but still one that was problematic. With the city slowly becoming more and more overrun with bigger-than-life bad guys and deadly menaces, our heroes in Gotham founds themselves forced to deal with a growing number of threats that just might be too much to handle. James Gordon (Ben McKenzie), Donal Logue (Harvey Bullock), Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee) and Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) were front and center to defend the ideals and good people of Gotham, dealing with the evil machinations of Hugo Strange (B. D. Wong), Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell) and a host of foes looking to claim the city for themselves.

Gotham saw an uptick in quality by heavily investing in colorful bad guys and amping up the violence, but also found itself struggling to execute its own premise - a series that takes place before Batman arrives in Gotham - as it started to heavily rely on known Batman foes (or obvious stand-ins such as Jerome, who seemed more than a little Joker-ish). However, there were a couple times when that crutch actually worked out beautifully for the show. Hugo Strange's massive role in the season was a true light in the season. The casting, the approach to the character and what he brought to the show really elevated the season and helped kept it moving when it hit the odd slump. It's also worth noting that Edward Nygma's descent into the Riddler also provided some interesting moments, even if it was oddly handled, the same with The Penguin, who saw his storyline waddle back and forth for a bit before finding its footing toward the end of the season.

And actually, there were times when the villains were a bit more interesting than the heroes of the show. Gordon's story-arc this season was ... interesting who went to some pretty dark places that actually made him hard to like at times. Thankfully, Bullock remained as steadfast as ever, providing an interesting moral barometer for the good guys, and one that was sorely needed as, at times, our heroes didn't act like heroes that we expect to cheer for. And, in a series like, we need to heroes. However, like Bullock, Alfred Pennyworth also provided a bright spot during the season and kept Bruce Wayne's story on track for the bulk of the season. I do wish we actually got to see more of Bruce's loyal butler in this show.

Speaking of Wayne, there was real progress made on his investigation into the death of his parents which, surprisingly, the show didn't shy away from. There are still some mysteries to be solved, but I was surprised to see how far this show went to find out who was involved and responsible for pulling the trigger. One of the more interesting part of this subplots was the introduction of the Court of Owls (readers of the Batman comic series will know why this is such a big deal), who will play a massive role in the third season of the series. One thing this series is great at is setting up interesting storylines, but unfortunately, sometimes they always don't stick the landing.

And I suppose that last comment can be applied to the entire series. Gotham features a lot of interesting set-up, be it stories or characters, and sometimes it just doesn't come together completely. The series, which saw a notable jump in quality this season, is still trying to, I think, make both ends meet. It embraced it's crazier side this season and, ultimately, it worked for the better, but it's still stumbling a bit. While there were a fair amount of hits during Gotham: The Complete Second Season, there were some misses. Some of the characters seemed aimless and lost, such as Selina Kyle who seemed to just be a means to an end from time to time, and Leslie Thompkins, who became a victim of the show's plotting and didn't get the time she deserved.

Gotham is a series that is on the edge of greatness. It takes off on some great tangents and goes to some interesting places, but then stumbles at the very end, resulting in some disappointing conclusions for some strong story ideas. That said, it's always an intriguing watch. It's a show that has so many interesting aspects that, while they don't completely gel together, are still fascinating to see unfold. Gotham: The Complete Second Season is worthwhile watch that, even if it stumbles in one regard, manages to intrigue in another.


Please note back cover art was not provided for "Arrow" and "Gotham"

Now, to move on to the home video releases of these series, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment continues to do an admirable job for the fans. Each series is given a healthy number of bonus content to support the main feature, which usually includes featurettes, deleted scenes, gag reels and Comic-Con panel coverage. Supergirl: The Complete First Season includes a wealth of deleted scenes, Comic-Con coverage. a deeper look into the character of J'onn J'onzz (who appears this season on Supergirl), a look at the world of Krypton and a pretty enjoyable gag reel. Those looking for a bit more, The Flash: The Complete Second Season easily offers the most bonus content among the five releases covered here. Deleted scenes are in abundance and the gag reel is worth checking out, but the amount of featurettes is truly noteworthy. Featurettes look at character storylines, the visual effects, villains, costumes, the alternate Earth 2 setting, screen tests, along with the appearance of a couple characters who's identity dip into spoiler territory.

Continuing, Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season follows the same basic formula for the extras found on The Flash's Blu-ray set, but to a slightly lesser degree. Deleted scenes, a gag reel and Comic-Con coverage are included, as are featurettes that focus on the season's main villain and some characters whose identities veer into spoiler territory. A solid collection of extras that any fan would enjoy looking into once finishing the season. DC's Legends of Tomorrow includes Comic-Con coverage, a gag reel, and interesting bonus features which focus on the team's Waverider ship, what went into creating the sets for the different time periods the teams visited, and a closer look at the appearance of one of DC Comics's most famous gunslinger. As usual, these featurettes are best watched after watching the season, as there are the odd spoiler of two mixed in. Lastly, Gotham: The Complete Second Season features a wealth of brief featurettes covering the main cast and plot lines of the season. It also features some more lengthier pieces concerning the show's incredible cinematography work, the cast and crew's appearance at Comic-Con, a detailed look at the character of Alfred Pennyworth, and the history of Mr. Freeze.

In addition to a worthy selection of bonus content, each series looks fantastic in high-definition Blu-ray. Be it Gotham's amazing cinematography, Supergirl's skybound fisticuffs, The Flash's impressive visual effects, Arrow's fantastic cinematography or DC's Legends of Tomorrow marvelous special effects and costume work, all five shows look totally fantastic. There is the odd bit of color branding pops up from time to time, and some grain, but video transfers are nearly pristine. The sound work is also admirable. While primarily center-based, each speaker in one's home entertainment set-up get a bit of a workout. However, for those who still pick up DVDs, the standard definition releases of all five series still look and sound great in the standard definition format.

Before wrapping up, I feel the need to mention that Constantine: The Complete Series is hitting Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Warner Archive, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's MOD label. It's a solid series that was unfortunately cut down before it's time, but now DC Comics fans can pick up this series, in addition to the five others mentioned above, through most home video and digital vendors. The extras include the series trailer, a featurette called “On the Set;” the 2014 Comic-Con Panel Q&A with the cast and creators and a featurette on the DC Comics Night at San Diego Comic-Con 2014.

Supergirl: The Complete First Season, The Flash: The Complete Second Season, Arrow: The Complete Fourth Season, DC's Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete First Season and Gotham: The Complete Second Season are now all available to own on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD. Honestly, as a DC Comics fan, all these shows come Recommended. Some are better than others, yes, but every show has something unique to offer, include compelling characters, and bring DC Comics characters to life in ways that fans would never think possible. Even if you watched these series when they originally premiered, each one has episodes worth checking out multiple times. And, with the new seasons of these shows about to kick-off, it's now a great time to revisit or get up to date on some of the best superhero adventures that television has to offer.

Bonus Video:

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided copies of each title mentioned in this article for reviewing purposes.

 

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