The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray Review)

I have this one golden rule I live by in life.  You never mess with perfection.  That’s when I go to Chuy’s here in Round Rock or Austin, TX I never deviate from the plate that consistently puts a smile on my face, chicken soft tacos with double Mexican rice.  Same goes for press releases.  When a tagline comes around it’s just so perfect that there are really no other words to describe the product as intricately as it does, then by golly it’s almost your civic duty to recycle that line.  So I hope now with the following three sentences you can understand why I must abide by my golden rule in life because there’s no better way to say this.  In fact, let’s start a new paragraph for this little, but so important tidbit of information.

On August 25^th, Anchor Bay Entertainment gives home entertainment fans their annual “Walker fix” with The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season on Blu-ray + Digital HD.  The 5-disc set presents all sixteen gripping episodes from the series that has single-handedly redefined the zombie genre.  True to the tradition of the previously released seasons, The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season arrives jam-packed with three hours of insightful and provocative bonus features that give viewers yet another inside glimpse into creating the fallen world of the Walkers and the souls brave – and crazy – enough to attempt survival.  This is what we’re all here for, ladies and gentlemen.  I present to you my annual (seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4) Blu-ray review of The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season.

Season 

So every year I have to go through my traditional history rap giving you the basics of what The Walking Dead is all about, who created it and how it’s so different from other zombie affairs in the horror genre and so on.  Do I really need to spend paragraphs doing that again here?  I hope not.  After all you can just revisit my first four Blu-ray reviews (seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4) of The Walking Dead whenever you want.  So I’m going to make this brief introduction as tight and compact as possible.  That’s my promise to you.

AMC’s television show, The Walking Dead, is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, which is published by Image Comics.  While the show is based on the comics, that does not mean it follows them religiously.  Certain artist freedoms are taken where characters either live longer or die sooner than their comic book counterparts and story arcs may play out significantly different, etc.  However, for argument’s sake, let’s tackle and pay respect to one aspect of the comic series, the undeniable appeal of its characters, which this show gets right.  The fifth season of The Walking Dead introduces us to such memorable characters from the comic series such as Father Gabriel Stokes (Seth Gilliam) and the cannibalistic Hunters from Terminus, which we also briefly “kind of” met at the conclusion of the fourth season.

So what makes The Walking Dead so different compared to every other zombie production known to man?  It’s the drama!  It’s the emotional arcs and journeys these characters take us on each Sunday throughout the season.  It’s the investment we make in them and the reactions they stir inside of us reacting to whatever onscreen decision they make.  You see, the zombies, gore and inherent horror in the show is just icing on the cake.  The Walking Dead is all about character development, baby!  Imprint that into your brain.

Just in case you have not partaken in the fifth season as of yet I’ll refrain any spoilers as to who lives, who dies or maybe even who didn’t make it from season four.  Instead, before we start talking about the story arc in the fifth season, I just wanted to at least briefly mention the names of the principal cast here.  They include the likes of fan favorites Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, as well as Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Chad L. Coleman, Sonequa Martin-Green, Lawrence Gilliard, Jr., Michael Cudlitz, Emily Kinney, Alanna Masterson, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt and Andrew J. West.  Of course there are a lot more appearances and cameos to be had throughout the season like David Morrissey appearing in a hallucination and even Gotham‘s Robin Lord Taylor.

The fifth season of The Walking Dead continues the journey of a Rick Grimes (Lincoln), and his merry band of survivors over the past fours years, as they face new threats from both walkers and other human survivors in their search for another ultimate sanctuary now that the prison is behind them all. This season also marks the return of Morgan Jones, who was last seen in the third season’s episode “Clear.”  The first half of the season focuses on their “plight” from Terminus and the rescue of Beth Greene from Grady Memorial Hospital while part of the group is also traveling to Washington, D.C., in search of a possible cure for the walker virus.  Sounds too easy huh?  Later on in the season, the group encounters and joins the Alexandria Safe Zone, a walled-town whose inhabitants have little experience dealing with external threats.  That’s where things get interesting as we see both a softer and jealous side of Rick Grimes in regards to his affections toward hair stylist Jessie Anderson, played by American Horror Story‘s seductive housekeeper from the first season, Alexandra Breckenridge.  And no, I’m not kidding about her being a former stylist in the show and yes, I loved seeing this other side of Rick.  It shook things up for a change on the show and made them interesting.  Remember I said it’s not all about the zombies on this show?  I meant it.

Of course everything mentioned up above is just icing on the cake.  That was just a brief high-level glimpse of everything you’ll find in the fifth season.  There’s a lot of other things happening within, characters’ lives changing and whatnot.  However, make no mistake about it.  Despite this being a drama show about humans those pesky zombies are everywhere and persistent as hell.  Just when the survivors think they are able to put their guard down in Alexandria, it’s only momentary.  Things always go bump in the middle of the night on The Walking Dead, not to mention the daytime too.

For me the latter half of the season is where it’s really at in this fifth season, from Rick falling in love like a puppy dog to Carol (McBride) continuing to be her bad-a$$ self all season long (her character arc is the absolute best next to Rick’s).  I loved all the never ending tension and conflict in the air.  It was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.  Should Rick and gang let their guards down and trust the people of Alexandria?  It sure looks tempting, doesn’t it?  I mean this is everything the group has been after the past five years…an almost surreal, perfect, normal life…well as normal as can be that is, but it’s that heart-pounding final moment in the season, where things also go full circle with a certain character from season one, that everyone realizes what really needs to happen in order to survive.

Oh yeah!  Stick around too because the last 90-minute episode has a first ever post-credit scene and a car that warns us…hark danger is near.  The blankety-blanks are not far away!  There’s a very primal and savage feel to it all here in season five, but shh…no spoilers from me peeps!  It’s all about survival and hopefully not forgetting who you are.  However, I digress because it’s that final episode in the season that will have everyone biting their nails and on the edge of their seats due to the multitude of tension-filled climaxes.  It’s because of this final episode and the emotional arc these characters have all underwent this entire season that it’s a no-brainer for me to award it a five out of five perfect score.

Now before we start talking about all the petty semantics of the Blu-ray’s audio and video presentations, not to mention the hours worth of extras to be found, I wanted to take a quick moment to recap all the episode names housed within this set here.  So without further ado, below are all the 16 episode titles from this thrilling fifth season Blu-ray set listed in order as they appear along with what relative Blu-ray disc you’ll be able to find them all on.

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Disc 1

1) No Sanctuary

2) Strangers

3) Four Walls And A Roof

4) Slabtown

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Disc 2

5) Self Help

6) Consumed

7) Crossed

8) Coda

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Disc 3

9) What Happened And What’s Going On

10) Them

11) The Distance

12) Remember

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Disc 4

13) Forget

14) Spend

15) Try

16) Conquer

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Disc 5

Disc 5 houses all the special features as detailed below in the Extras category.

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Video 

• Encoding: AVC MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Clarity/Detail: Due to the cinematic way this series is filmed, grain can be prevalent throughout like this one scene in the barn where Aaron shows up asking the group to audition for their “community.”  Certain camera angles as a result of the sunlight creeping in are littered with grain making the image appear flat, but surprisingly depth of field is all abound here.  Another grainy scene in the middle of the day can be found when Carol is preparing pasta in the kitchen in the sixteenth episode named “Conquer.”  Anyway you slice it folks, grain is something you will have to deal with folks in this presentation so you might as well get over it now.  There are other moments, for example, like when Rick is trying to explain how he hit his limits after the fight in Alexandria, the visuals are very softly focused.  However, when the video presentation is afforded to be, fine detail is everywhere you look from the pores in the actors skin and stubble on their faces to the brilliant makeup effects and gore employed in creating the zombies, not to mention all the sticks and stones in the forest our group “walks” all over.
• Depth: The depth of field in this video presentation is what never ceases to amaze me even throughout times when the picture is awash with heavy grain and other one-dimensional qualities.  Despite the muted colors, the characters all just seem to pop from their surroundings.  In particular, the forest scenes are the ones that seem to go on forever in the depth department.
• Black Levels: Of course there are some moments where grain interferes slightly due to the lighting, etc., but the black levels are gorgeously inky and deep throughout so I have zero complaints here.
• Color Reproduction: The Walking Dead series is not known for its vibrant colors so you need to get over that fast.  Let’s face it, this is a post-apocalyptic world and the video presentation in the color department renders that “feeling” of it all perfectly.
• Flesh Tones: I have zero complaints here.  The flesh tones are all pale and natural looking throughout.
• Noise/Artifacts: I think I already beat the grain examples to death up above, but other than those moments of minor inconvenience there’s nothing else here that will distract you from enjoying this series visually on the Blu-ray format.  There’s no jaggies, specks of dirt or anything else distracting in the print.

Audio 

• Audio Format(s): English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French Dolby Surround 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Dynamics: From the quiet lulls and tragedies the characters all face to the bombastic and thrilling action pieces (gunshots, explosions, zombie growls, screams…the list goes on), the dynamics of the audio surround track are what make this series such a blissful experience to take in and re-live over and over on the Blu-ray format.
• Low Frequency Extension: You have to remember, The Walking Dead is foremost a drama series so it should come as no surprise that the LFE channel really doesn’t come to life until the fulfilling action sequences that are littered throughout the entire season.  I’m just saying this so you’re not disappointed in case your sub decides to take a nap from time-to-time because when the LFE channel is called upon, it does NOT disappoint.
• Surround Sound Presentation: The rear channels, bless them, are all active throughout the series from birds chirping and other ambience to the post-apocalyptic score and action sequences happening all around you.  One of the raddest scenes is where Daryl gets stuck in a car when he opens the floodgates to the semi trailers, runs away from them and the zombies swarm this said vehicle our titular hero is trapped in and are pounding all around on it, not to mention their associated growls.  The Rick fight scene in Alexandria isn’t too shabby either.  Haha.  I love it!
• Dialogue Reproduction:  Spoken words in the audio track are all clear and intelligible throughout.

Extras 

Like the previous several seasons of The Walking Dead on Blu-ray, Anchor Bay doesn’t disappoint in the Extras category.  Even if you don’t count the six audio commentaries spread over four Blu-ray discs, there are over three hours of supplemental extras to be found housed on the fifth Blu-ray disc, which I have you covered in grave detail down below.  However, before we go there, like last year’s Blu-ray set, Anchor Bay also blesses you with the entire fifth season in glorious UltraViolet Digital HD too, redeemable via the redemption card inside the Blu-ray case.  You gotta love and appreciate their generosity there.  I do!  Alright, let’s stop wasting precious time and discuss in detail everything you’ll find in way of extras in this 5-disc Blu-ray set.

• Audio Commentaries – There are a total of six audio commentaries, which I will list below in what episodes they appear on and what disc you can find them housed on since they are not specifically labeled at all in the menus.  The audio commentaries feature 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.
  • No Sanctuary (Disc 1) – 2 audio commentaries: Scott Gimple/Gale Anne Hurd and Greg Nicotero/Melissa McBride.
  • Self Help (Disc 2) – 1 audio commentary: Steven Yeun/Lauren Cohan/Michael Cudlitz/Josh McDermitt/Christain Serratos/Alanna Masterson.
  • What Happened And What’s Going On (Disc 3) – 1 audio commentary: Greg Nicotero/Chad L. Coleman
  • Them (Disc 3) – 1 audio commentary: Norman Reeds/Sonequa Martin-Green
  • Remember (Disc 3) – 1 audio commentary: Greg Nicotero/Tom Luse/Daina Gurira
  • Conquer (Disc 4) – 1 audio commentary: Greg Nicotero/Scott M. Gimple
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 16:01) – There’s surprisingly a lot of deleted scenes, albeit short ones, to go through here folks.  They span the following six episodes: “Four Walls And A Roof,” “Crossed,” “Coda,” “Remember,” “Forget” and “Spend.”  There’s also a handy dandy Play All functionality baked into the menu for your convenience too.

• Inside: The Walking Dead (HD) – Here you have sixteen featurettes within this one extra, one for every episode where the case and crew go inside every episode of the season and they last about five minutes, give or take.  You want the lowdown on each and every single episode in the fifth season?  Then this is the place to come!  These should not be overlooked because each one of these is simply amazing, that is if you LOVE The Walking Dead!  Hell yeah!
• The Making of The Walking Dead (HD) – I know it’s hard to believe, but just like I went into detail up above about the Inside: The Walking Dead extra and the many featurettes within we have that same thing going on here.  Believe it or not, folks, there is a “Making of” for all sixteen episodes here within this extra too.  Like up above, these are all approximately north of five minutes or so each featurette.  I loved seeing the fighting scenes and how the digital effects come into play versus what is practical.  And hey ho…each actor gets weapon training too!  Even Andrew Lincoln refers to McBride’s character of Carol as a bad-a$$ or Rambette.  Haha.  Go Carol!  The cast all love Greg Nicotero.  That’s no secret here.
• The Making of Alexandria (HD, 9:45) – This one’s all about the set community of Alexandria, the sanctuary so to speak for the group in season five.  This was a real development being built and there were real people living in this community.  Haha.  Cool.  How great would it be to be given a big house like these in Alexandria?  That was a rhetorical question because it would be bad-a$$!  It took sixteen weeks to get things ready for shooting.  The engineering holding up the walls around the site is actually quite a remarkable engineering feat.
• Beth’s Journey (HD, 4:20) – This one obviously talks about the story arc of Beth (Kinney) and how strong she has become.  This one also addresses the tragedy too.  The characters talk about how sad it was and the big cast group hug.  The cast and crew all talk about what a joy it was to work with Emily.

• Bob’s Journey (HD, 4:54) – Surprise, surprise!  This one’s about the character of Bob (Lawrence Gilliard) and how unique he was to the story and how his character became one of the most positive ones.  His death is the one death directly translated from the comic book almost frame-by-frame.  Tainted meat!  LOL.
• Noah’s Journey (HD, 4:26) – This is character Noah’s (Tyler James Williams) story.  Ta da!  This one also examines that famous revolving door scene and the intimacy of it all.

• Tyreese’s Journey (HD, 6:53) – Rounding out the quadrilogy of fallen cast characters this season comes that of the story of the character Tyreese, someone we have all grown to love over the years as the show’s gentle giant.  They talk about how there’s no set formula or pattern for how the characters are going to “meat” their end.  It’s the first time we’ve ever experienced death through the eyes of the dying main character.  It’s visually different than the rest of the episodes and they could bring some of the deceased actors back for the hallucinations, including the Governor!
• A Day in the Life of Michael Cudlitz (HD, 7:58) – Michael (the character of Abraham) kind of describes how everyone is a scene gets mics under their wardrobe and how well they are hidden so you don’t see them like you do in movies sometimes.  That drives him nuts.  Haha.  You and me both, Michael!  He discusses the three action scenes that are filming this particular day.  We even get to see him stomp zombies!
• A Day in the Life of Josh McDermitt (HD, 7:56) – Here we have the annoying character (at least to me) of Eugene.  He was actually my least favorite character on the show so hopefully you won’t mind my brevity here, but you do get to see the mullet in the trailer or as he calls it, “the mullet of life.”  We even get to see him in the makeup chair.  What a life he has.  Sigh.  Then we head on over to the action set in the warehouse.  Yea!  He even has a mullet malfunction within.
• Rotters in the Flesh (HD, 4:35) – Wanna see walkers melted in zombie fondue?  This is basically zombies melted into goo on the concrete in Atlanta from the scorched Earth as a result of a former napalm drop.  It’s interesting to see how the zombie actors are actually buried into the ground.  The actors say they sometimes have a hard time distinguishing real zombies from the prop ones.

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It’s been awhile since I did one of these, but I do want to call your attention to the below exclusive unboxing pictures of everything you’ll find in this 5-disc Blu-ray set.  Enjoy!

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Here we have the Blu-ray cover artwork and associated sleeve.

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Here we have a book chalk full of all the “Walker” goodies you can ever want to buy not to mention what Blu-ray disc #1 looks like.

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Here we have what Blu-ray discs #2 and #3 look like.

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And finally here’s what Blu-ray discs #4 and #5 look like.

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Summary 

I think I’ve pretty much instilled within you over one million and one reasons as to why The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season is a MUST-OWN on the Blu-ray format.  You can’t get much better in the gripping world of television series than this 5-disc Blu-ray set, which has it all in my opinion.  From an infectious storyline, compelling characters and zombie horror action to the cinematic presentation, lifelike audio and hours worth extras to partake in, The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season has something for everyone to love.  All you little monsters have it easy.  I did all the hard work up above for you by laying out everything you’ll find here.  All you have to do now is hit that pre-order link down below to have The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season waiting on your doorstep after a hard day of work on Tuesday, August 25th.  You know what to do!  Do it!

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Save big and have peace of mind with Amazon’s Pre-Order price guarantee as you will always get the lowest price between now and when it ships.  FYI…You won’t get billed until it ships.

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Pre-Order Now!

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