Why So Blu?

Power: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray Review)

From Executive Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and show creator Courtney Kemp Agboh (“The Good Wife”) comes “Power”, a visionary crime drama set in two different worlds – the glamorous New York club scene and the brutal drug trade. James “Ghost” St. Patrick has it all: a beautiful wife, a gorgeous Manhattan penthouse, and the hottest, up-and-coming new nightclub in New York. His club, Truth, caters to the elite: the famous and infamous boldface names that run the city that never sleeps. As its success grows, so do Ghost’s plans to build an empire. However, Truth hides a ugly reality. It’s a front for Ghost’s criminal underworld; a lucrative drug network, serving only the wealthy and powerful. As Ghost is seduced by the prospect of a legitimate life, everything precious to him becomes unknowingly threatened. Once you’re in, can you ever get out? 

 

Season  

James St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) is the proprietor of the hottest nightclub in Manhattan called “Truth.” It caters to everyone that is everyone. From celebrities to wealthy stock Wall Street banker, etc., Truth has what they need and that is no lie. What is hidden from everyone is that Truth is just a front for Patrick’s drug dealing endeavors. They need a legitimate front in order to operate and Club Truth fills those needs.

By day James is a mild mannered father of three and a loving husband. He spends his time handling the day-to-day affairs of the club while trying to build other legitimate business that will shield his illegal activities. His partner and best friend/enforcer is the hotheaded Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora). James and Tommy came up together on the streets and corner boys dealing dope for a much larger syndicate. They grew up and eventually made names for themselves by going semi-legit in the various business ventures.

Oh, I shouldn’t forget that Power is also co-executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. He is also featured prominently in the show as James’ incarcerated mentor, Kanan. Kanan was a heavy hitter from the past whose luck finally ran out and is now behind bars. The show navigates its way through the seedy underbelly of the drug trade where we also learn that James’ supplier is a wanted Mexican cartel kingpin. We also see that someone has been ripping off drop stops of that day’s take. James struggles with going legit and being free from the illegal ties that bind but there’s something to the life that he can’t let go. Don’t let the $4,000 suits fool you – James can and does get dirty if he has to.

I didn’t really know what to expect with Power but I was hooked after the first ten minutes of watching the first episode that I binged the rest of the first season the same day. Each show ran just under an hour but you would have thought they were half hour episodes – it was that addicting and it held my attention until I was done. It’s a very short 8-episode arc, so here’s hoping that future installments run longer – at least 10-episodes would suffice for those of us that need our Power fix.  Below is the episode listing and keep on going to find out how the rest of the Blu-ray set stacks up.

Episodes

Not Exactly How We Planned

Whoever He Is

This Is Real

Who Are You?

I Gotta Go

Who You With?

Loyalty

Best Laid Plans

 

Video 

Encoding: AVC/MPEG-4

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Clarity/Detail: Power is crystal clear and I was thrilled at how good the Blu-ray transfer was. It leapt from the streets of New York into my living room. No, it did not ask for permission either! Contrast didn’t appear to be tweaked in postproduction and it had a very thin layer, almost sheen, of grain. It really made the show look that much better – almost film like. It’s reference quality for a reason.

Depth: There is some massive “pop” going on due to the pristine quality that Power is presented in. It’s the good kind of pop not soda pop. 😉

Black Levels: Black levels are phenomenal and are free of crush and compression artifacts.

Color Reproduction: The color palette is rich, colorful, and muted in some spots depending on where the action takes us.

Flesh Tones: Everyone looks pristine and ready to party.

Noise/Artifacts: This was a spotless production.

 

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English Dolby TrueHD 5.1

Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish

Dynamics: Chalk up another reference audio track from STARZ and company. This lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack really delivers the goods in spades…and bullets. If you ever wanted to get into that trendy nightclub but were denied then you need not go any further, because Power on Blu-ray is your all access ticket to the world of, pardon the pun, power, money, sex, and excess. What I’m trying to say is that the Blu-ray audio sound epic!

Low Frequency Extension: Ah, the bass in your face and no ordinary bass but LFE-kind-of-bass. The subwoofer channel added some serious bump to the NYC nightlife at the club and during some of the more violent action scenes.

Surround Sound Presentation: The surround sound channels did their part and provided some optimal ambience in addition to highlighting Ghost’s fancy nightclub. You can catch various conversations in the VIP lounge during some of the club scenes. It’s every creative sound design indeed.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is clean and clear and everything spoken was heard without any problems at all. Music, violence, etc., never got in the way of what the many characters were saying.

Extras 

The special features contained in this 2-disc Blu-ray set are very superficial and typical. I really wish they were more in-depth but what can you do? We have some very featurettes covering the origins of the show, costumes, music, etc. They’re all under 5 minutes each and presented in high definition. The pickings are extra slim on this one.

• The New Series (HD)

• The Style of Power (HD)

• NYC – The City of Power (HD)

• The Music of Power (HD)

 

Summary  

The first season of Power went by in a flash. Each episode is just under an hour but I was done in less than half a day. To say that I binged on it would be an understatement, because that’s exactly what I did! The Blu-ray specification in terms of video and audio are reference but the extras could have been beefed up a bit. They’re extremely short and not worthy of such a great season. In any event: Power: The Complete First Season is highly recommended. Bring forth season two!

 

 

 

 

POWER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is released on Blu-ray May 12.

 

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