Veep: The Complete Second Season (HBO, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital) improves upon its first by remembering that its central character, Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), is in fact a savvy politician in culture of power-brokers, number-crunchers, PR flaks, sycophants, backstabbers, and a news media that rushes for the shallow end of the pool with every story. So in this season, while her party melts down around her in midterm elections and the (still unseen) POTUS cedes his decision-making power to a poll-watcher who never makes a move that might disturb the public image of the President, she manages to ride out potential scandal and bad press by (often inadvertently or impulsively) sliding off message and making statements that make her look decisive and honest (often in direct contradiction to the reality of the situation). She still has a dysfunctional staff (Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Sufe Bradshaw) and the worst press secretary in the history of politics (Matt Walsh), but in the clusterf**k of the Washington political culture shown here, these careerists at least have the instinct to cover their boss rather than sell her out.
Creator Armando Iannucci came stateside to give HBO the kind of political satire he excelled at in Britain (his feature In the Loop is one of the funniest mixes of political satire and farce I’ve seen). This season he starts to get in the groove for the American culture of politics. Gary Cole and Kevin Dunn guest star this season.
10 episodes with cast and crew commentary on four episodes and deleted scenes. The Blu-ray also features an Ultraviolet Digital HD copy of each episode.
Monsters: The Complete Series (eOne, DVD) collects all 72-episodes of the syndicated half-hour horror anthology show produced by Richard P. Rubenstein in the late 1980s, and rerun on SyFy in the last decade (back when it was still the SciFi Channel). It was another show that made the most of familiar but affordable names and cult figures to headline their episodes: Adrienne Barbeau, Pam Grier, Debbie Harry, David McCallum, Mary Woronov, Billy Drago, Linda Blair, Darren McGavin, Gina Gershon, Steve Buscemi, Troy Donahue, Abe Vigoda, Julie Brown, David Spade, John Saxon, and the like. Nine discs in three cases in a box set.
Atlantis: Season One (BBC, Blu-ray, DVD), a new fantasy series produced by BBC and carried stateside by SyFy, drops a hodgepodge of heroes from Greek mythology – notably Jason (Jack Donnelly) and Hercules (Mark Addy), who for some reason team up with Pythagoras (Robert Emms) – into the fabled lost city of Atlantis, where they run into mythical creatures and characters (from the Minotaur to Medusa). 13 episodes plus interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.
Key & Peele: Season One & Two (Paramount, Blu-ray, DVD), the Comedy Central sketch comedy series from Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, offers the debut of the second season of the show packaged up with a rerelease of the debut season. 18 episodes in all, plus commentary tracks, “More from Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator,” outtakes, interviews and other supplements.
More releases:
Little House On The Prairie – Season One Deluxe Remastered Edition (Lionsgate, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital)
Continuum: Season Two (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD)
Californication: The Sixth Season (Showtime, DVD)
Flashpoint: The Final Season (Paramount, DVD)
William & Mary: The Complete Collection (Acorn, DVD)
Mapp & Lucia: The Complete Collection (Acorn, DVD)
Kennedy’s Brain (MHz, DVD)
Crime Stories (MHz, DVD)
The Spider (MHz, DVD)
Israel: The Royal Tour (PBS, DVD)
Russia’s Open Book: Writing in the Age of Putin (PBS, DVD)
Frontline: Secret State of Korea (PBS, DVD)
Calendar of upcoming releases on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital, and VOD