Krypton Season 1 Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros)

Krypton is a 2018 DC Comics television series developed by producer David S. Goyer (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Constantine, Man of Steel, & The Dark Knight Trilogy) & Damian Kindler (Stargate SG-1, Sanctuary, & Sleepy Hollow) for Syfy. It’s a prequel to the Superman universe. It takes place almost 200 years before the birth of Kal-El / Superman. The first season featured 10 episodes which included “Pilot”, “House of El”, “The Rankless Initiative”, “The Word of Rao”, “House of Zod”, “Civil Wars”, “Transformation”, “Savage Night”, “Hope”, & “The Phantom Zone”. It’s been renewed for a 2nd season which is expected sometime in 2019!!!!

The corrupt regime leading the city of Kandor on Krypton executes Val-El (played by: Ian McElhinney from Game of Thrones, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Boxer, & A Prayer for the Dying), grandfather of Seg-El (played by: Cameron Cuffe from Florence Foster Jenkins & The Halcyon) for treason. The House of El are stripped of their privileges & banished to the lower class slums. 14 years later, chief magistrate Daron-Vex (played by: Elliot Cowan from All the Devil’s Men, Alexander, Da Vinci’s Demons, & Howl) arranges a marriage between Seg & his youngest daughter Nyssa (played by: Wallis Day from Jekyll & Hyde, Between Two Worlds, The Royals, & Hollyoaks). It will allow Seg to be restored to the upper classes. Seg is in a secret relationship with Lyta-Zod (played by: Georgina Campbell from King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Broadchurch, Freak, & Flowers) who is currently engaged to commander Dev-Em (played by: Aaron Pierre from Britannia).. Adam Strange (played by: Shaun Sipos from Final Destination 2, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Grudge 2, & Lost Boys: The Tribe), a man from Earth in the future gives Seg a Sunstone with the El symbol & tells him to find the “fortress”.

Seg’s mother Charys (played by: Paula Malcomson from The Hunger Games trilogy, Tombstone, Ray Donovan, & Deadwood) takes him to the hidden Fortress of Solitude which contains Val-El’s research. They are caught but Seg gets away because his mother Chary takes the fall for it. She is brought before council for this crime. They keep pushing for the other person involved, Ter-El (played by: Rupert Graves from V for Vendetta) takes his son spot. Lyta’s mother Jayna-Zod (played by: Ann Ogbomo from Justice League, Wonder Woman, Honeytrap, & World War Z) makes them pay for their public outburst. Seg has to deal with more family tragedy & it motivates him to take back what’s his in the community. The military seeks out Black Zero terrorists which is lead by Jax-Ur (played by: Hannah Waddingham from Game of Thrones) with the assistance of General Dru-Zod (played by: Colin Salmon from the James Bond franchise, Resident Evil, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, & Punisher: War Zone) who is from the future & the son of Lyta. The Voice of Rao (played by: Blake Ritson from Titus, Red Cap, RocknRolla, & Dead Man Running) continues to manipulate everyone & keeps the power. Anticipating the arrival of Brainiac (played by: Blake Ritson from Da Vinci’s Demons, Serena, Hyde Park on Hudson, & World Without End), they consider releasing Doomsday but quickly change their minds. All of them interact & chaos takes over their home. Who will survive this unnatural force????

I can see why Krypton wasn’t on The CW, it has a completely different vibe compared to those other DC shows. It gets really dark at times, it reminds me of Game of Thrones (it even has a few cast members in the show) with some science fiction thrown in. Krypton definitely stands out on it’s own when it comes to the DC universe & superhero television. It opens up & explores a whole new chapter when it comes to the classic Superman story. This prequel shows his family & community before everything went extinct. You see little pieces of what made him the hero everyone has known all these years.  There’s so much more to it & this experience brings a deeper meaning to his true home. It’s crazy how it features people from the future trying to stop Superman’s existence. It’s interesting to see other family members of familiar characters in this. The whole cast delivers & I like how most of them are unknown besides a few. Georgina Campbell & Wallis Day are both easy on the eyes, I hope to see more of them in the future. The General Dru-Zod here is nothing like any other adaption of the legendary super villain so it might rub some hardcore fans the wrong way but Colin Salmon is a talented character actor & he has one of the best performances on this show. I was happy that they used the Adam Strange & Brainiac characters in Krypton plus a glimpse of Doomsday! For only 10 episodes, they went through a lot & it covered various stories. I can’t wait to revisit this world when it returns for Season 2, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 1080p (1.78:1) looks great on the featured 10 episodes! The visual & special effects really shine here. The locations & atmosphere give you a deeper look into the mysterious Krypton. It has two different audio options which include English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & German: Dolby Digital 5.1 on the disc. The dialogue is crystal clear, the music has a killer boost to it, & all the action is elevated on the tracks! It also has English SDH, French, German SDH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, & Swedish subtitles. Both picture & sound are top notch on this release, it’s the best new Sci-Fi show on TV!!!!

Let’s discuss the special features from Warner Bros! On disc 1, it has the “2017 Comic-Con Panel” that is almost 23 minutes. The panel includes lead actor Cameron Cuffe with Showrunners Cameron Welsh & Damian Kindler moderated by DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. They bring up that Hawkwoman was originally planned to be on the show. Cameron Cuffe chats about being a huge comic book fan before getting the job. They bring up the Adam Strange & Brainiac characters plus they tease about Doomsday making an appearance. They mention the Zod family & Seg’s connection to them. They talk about some of the events from the first season. They answer questions from the fans at Comic Con. “Deleted Scenes” has a variety of short scenes that were cut from the show & it runs for almost 6 minutes. On disc 2, it has almost 3 additional minutes of “Deleted Scenes”. “Bringing the Home World to Life” is a little over 17 minutes. It has interviews with some of the creative team & members of the production. It takes a inside look into the world of Krypton & how they created it for the show. It goes over the set designs & all the details put into it to make it authentic to it’s legacy. It tells a little history about it & they mention it’s their own take from the classic location. They cover lots of the community & explain the different spots in the city. “A Lost Kingdom: Life on Krypton” is almost 23 minutes. It has interviews with executive producer/creator David S. Goyer, actors Cameron Cuffe, Ian McElhinney, & members of the production. They talk about how different Seg is compared to Superman. They chat about the established families in Krypton. They mention how important their symbols are to their house. They bring up some of the characters from the show. They talk about some of the plot & how it plays out during the season. A little over 3 minute “Gag Reel”. It has a slip box, episode list, & a digital code included. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!