ScreenScribe

Fans of The Hour who wish to see the second series in HD will need to be SoHo subscribers or import the Blu-ray. Whereas the first series was released here on Blu-ray, the BBC has opted to offer the second on DVD only. It goes on sale in March, following its SoHo run, which begins February [...]

It’s a dino-mite week for Jurassic larks on Blu-ray. Universal is celebrating the availability of the Jurassic Park trilogy as separate Blu-ray releases for the first time with a slew of 3D IMAX titles with a prehistoric preponderance: Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World, Dinosaurs Alive! and Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia The “documentary” [...]

The US TV version of Shameless appears to look flawless on Blu-ray. The series that TV2 buried late-night has “a beautiful 1.78:1/1080p transfer to Blu-ray. The picture is sharp, with bright colours, decent black levels, and excellent balance.” “Shot in high-definition but resembling 35mm film, Shameless looks great on Blu-ray (in 1.78:1 format) and, Los [...]

New this week are Blu-rays of two TV series that have just finished and a third that’s about to start. The movie version of Steve Coogan’s cross-country cuisine odyssey, The Trip, comes out just days ahead of the Rialto Channel screening the original, six-part series unedited in three hour-long double-episodes. (Sky 25, 8.30pm Monday). If [...]

Bones at last gets Blu-ray exposure here with this week’s release of season six on the format. Seasons four and five are on Blu-ray in the US but only have DVD distribution in NZ. “If you watched these in HD on television, you can look forward a nice bump up over what already looked quite [...]

Of all the back catalogue classics tumbling on to Blu-ray, The Big Lebowski probably will have HD dudes the most excited. It was one of the first HD titles to be released when Universal backed the rival Blu-ray format, HD DVD, in 2007. It’s belatedly bowing this week on Blu-ray here and in the US, [...]

Prime has just announced a renewal of its BBC Worldwide deal that will see the network continue to screen Top Gear first in this territory. The agreement also includes first-run episodes of international versions of Top Gear Australia and Top Gear US. But with no timetable in place for Prime’s conversion to HD, Jeremy Clarkson [...]

Two top TV series belatedly make their seasonal Blu-ray debuts this week months after their release in the US and Australia. Seasons two of Fringe and five of Supernatural were delayed because of broadcaster holdbacks. In other words, Warner Bros couldn’t release them here until they had completed their runs on TVNZ (with which WB [...]

Three best-of-British favourites top this week’s TV-on-BD releases – and each comes with exclusive content that hasn’t been broadcast. Sherlock: Series 1 boasts a pilot episode in addition to the three telemovies that have just completed an SD run on TV One, along with two audio commentaries and a making-of half-hour. The only downside is [...]

If you watch only two hours of TV this week, make sure they’re the latest David Attenborough spectacular, Life, and the most sublime season yet of Mad Men. Both launch tonight on Prime: Life at 8.45pm, on the back of a new series of Top Gear; and season four of Mad Men, at 10.45pm. Frustratingly, [...]