Walking Dead, The: The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray / DVD)
Scott Hallam
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Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Michael Cudlitz
Directed by Various
Distributed by Anchor Bay
For many fans, Season 5 of “The Walking Dead” was a turning point. After a long (and sometimes tedious) journey to Terminus, the group had finally reunited and found themselves trapped in a railroad box car as Season 4 concluded. Viewers wondered what would happen to Rick Grimes and his crew when the new season opened, but indeed they wondered more intently how entertaining that journey would be.
In revisiting last season on Blu-ray, it becomes very obvious that “The Walking Dead” flows so much nicer as a complete project when binge-watched. Of course, that can be said for just about any program, but when 16 episodes are stretched out over five months, that can lead to continuity issues. This especially becomes apparent when the creators of the show want to focus an episode on just one or two characters/stories in one ep. It’s no problem accepting that your favorite character isn’t involved in the show when you can just watch the next installment immediately. But when you’ve got to wait a week or sometimes several weeks before they return, that tends to not sit well with audiences.
Thankfully, “The Walking Dead” kept the group mainly together in Season 5, and that helped things flow much smoother. And things got well back on track for the show which had many fans wondering if there was ever going to be a way to replace the insanely entertaining antagonist that was The Governor. In Season 5 “The Walking Dead” proved that The Governor was just the beginning of the human evils the group would have to overcome.
Although many felt the Terminus experience was truncated and didn’t live up to the heavy build-up that Season 4 delivered, it was indeed a key piece of the story and helped to bring the gang back together and point them toward their next landing point. After meeting Gabriel and a brief and heartbreaking stay at Dawn’s hospital, we discovered the Alexandria Safe-Zone, and here “The Walking Dead” focused on the future and wrapped up a season filled with great cliffhangers, the loss of some beloved characters, and the hope of a life protected by walls against zombies – and more horrific threats – on the other side.
And the Alexandria experience, which follows The Walking Dead comic book series very closely (aside from a swap in the gender of the community’s leader, as the show focuses on Deanna as the head of Alexandria and the comic revolves around Douglas), has been a complete change of gears and has allowed for the complete adjustment of feel for “The Walking Dead,” which was needed after so much time spent wandering through the wilderness.
But this review assumes you’ve all seen Season 5 and what you’re no doubt interested in is just what exactly comes in this snappy Blu-ray collection. The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray is an absolute treasure for fans of the show. Not only does the impressive five-disc set include a stunning 1080p look at all 16 intense episodes, it is so loaded with extras that you’ll find yourself up to your ears in behind-the-scenes action, tributes to beloved characters lost, and “making of” segments that put you right in the heart of the action of the creation of your favorite zombie-themed production from Terminus to Alexandria.
Some of the more notable special features include The Making of Alexandria (it’s not as easy as you might think to find an abandoned community of upscale homes) and Rotters in the Flesh (Greg Nicotero discussing the making of the burned out, napalmed walkers the group discovers). There is also an Inside The Walking Dead and The Making of The Walking Dead featurette for every single episode. This is something Anchor Bay’s Blu-ray packages have included in the past, and it’s a fantastic addition that really focuses the behind-the-scenes information on each episode. As the season is 16 episodes long, it would be easy for some footage to get lost in the shuffle, but providing two tight but thorough featurettes for each episode ensures that you get the ultimate coverage of the entire season. Also, great deleted scenes take you back to some of your favorite moments and let you get an additional look at what was going on.
Simply put, The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray is a must-own for all fans of the show. This nearly 12-hour collection is the definitive way to remember the season that rebounded “The Walking Dead,” kicked everyone in the ass, and said, “Yeah, we’re still that damn good!”
Special Features
- Audio commentaries featuring Showrunner/Executive Producer/Writer Scott M. Gimple; Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd; Executive Producer Tom Luse; Executive Producer/Special Effects Make-Up Supervisor/Director Greg Nicotero; Director Julius Ramsay; Actors Lauren Cohan, Chad L. Coleman, Michael Cudlitz, Sonequa Martin-Green, Danai Gurira, Alana Masterson, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Norman Reedus, Christian Serratos, and Steven Yuen
- Deleted Scenes
- Inside “The Walking Dead”
- The Making of “The Walking Dead”
- The Making of Alexandria
- Beth’s Journey
- Bob’s Journey
- Noah’s Journey
- Tyreese’s Journey
- A Day in the Life of Michael Cudlitz
- A Day in the Life of Josh McDermitt
- Rotters in the Flesh
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Series
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Special Features
Categorized:Reviews
