The first season of The Originals hits Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, September 2. The Blu-ray set contains all 22 episodes of Season 1 over four discs plus five DVD discs, so technically you’d have extras to let a friend borrow, or to watch when and if someone else in your house has occupied the Blu-ray player. The set also includes an Ultraviolet copy.
For those who didn’t know already, The Originals is a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries, though unlike the parent show, this one is set in a real-life place (New Orleans) and is less involved with love triangles and more involved in families – the ones you create and the ones you are born into. So how is the set? Read on!
The Episodes: All 22 episodes of the first season of The Originals are on this, and I’d like to apologize in advance to those who created the pilot that aired as an episode of The Vampire Diaries and the other-perspective follow up “Always and Forever” that started this series – The Originals wasn’t off to the best start. I didn’t really connect with the character of Klaus much until this series, when I (and I think, the writers) finally embraced that he’s often an over-the-top character at times. Elijah, one of my favorite Originals, was absent a bit toward the beginning, due to Daniel Gillies’ commitments to Saving Hope. I didn’t care much for Sophie, the Hayley-baby thing wasn’t working for me, and I wasn’t as immediately in love with Marcel as a lot of the rest of the audience was. So, this series had its work cut out for it.
…But they did it. Introducing new characters like Davina helped. We learned more about why characters like Cami felt the way that they did, and Marcel became a lot deeper. Very quickly, The Originals became a show that, instead of getting worse as time went on, actually became better and better as they got into their groove. Even though it’s a spin-off of an existing series, The Originals has its own lore, and now, its own great supporting cast (like Josh!) and it is a show that can be legitimately called “good.” Having the series all in one place like this also helps, as you can join that journey with the show. I might dare say I enjoyed The Originals more than I liked The Vampire Diaries this past year. I still wish there could/would be more Rebekah, but we can’t always get everything we want.
I was surprised that The Vampire Diaries episode that spun the series off, “The Originals,” wasn’t included as a bonus feature, but the backstory offered as special features makes up for it. Maybe they didn’t want people making too many comparisons between it and “Always and Forever.”
The Extras: Most of the best extras on this set are on the final discs. “The Originals: Origins” features Julie Plec and others talking about how these characters started on The Vampire Diaries and ended up in their own series. “The Original Vampires: A Bite-Sized Backstory” has a few of the highlights of the Originals origins seen on TVD. “The Originals: Remixing History” talks mostly with the writers about the New Orleans lore that is incorporated into the series. All three of these featurettes are fantastic and well worth the watch. They’re also great for those who haven’t seen the original (no pun intended) material. Also on this set: A ton of deleted scenes, commentary on the premiere episode with Julie Plec & Chris Grismer, highlights from the 2013 Comic-Con Panel, and highlights from the Originals panel at the 2014 PaleyFest. In short? This is an awful lot of bonus content making the set worth buying rather than just Netflixing it or something.
Graphics & Sound: On Blu-ray, The Originals looks amazing. Much better than I ever saw it on television, that’s for sure.
The Packaging: The packaging looks nice, though the individual Blu-ray disc art looks kind of bland (really, there isn’t any). The booklet inside, telling the viewer what to find and where, is helpful.
Is It Worth It? If you’re not already into the Vampire Diaries/Originals world, the show is a much better show than you would have ever expected. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and the Season 1 Blu-ray/DVD is the perfect way to get ready for Season 2 in a few weeks.
Order yours from Amazon.com and support this site: Originals S1 Blu-ray – Originals S1 DVD
