While looking for something new to watch on Netflix, I came across Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and then I realized that I had the series on Blu-ray. Mill Creek Entertainment had sent me the 8-disc Blu-ray set earlier this year, which I had forgotten about. So, for the past week, I've been binge-watching all 51 episodes.

If you're not living under a rock, like me, then you were probably already aware of the series. I had no clue what it was about until I began watching the first season. It's a wacky comedy, just without a laugh-track.

Walmart * AMAZON * Best Buy

Available on Blu-ray and DVD!

Swamp Thing: The Complete Series will arriving on Blu-ray (+ Digital Code) and DVD today from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. There are no special features or bonus extras.

Based on the DC Comics series by Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, Swamp Thing was created by Gary Dauberman and Mark Verheiden for the DC Universe streaming service. Originally, the first season was given an order of 13 episodes but it was later cut down to 10 episodes. Just after the season premiere aired on May 31, 2019, the series was canceled. While there hasn't been an official reason announced for the cancellation, it most likely had to do with the fact that the promised $40 million tax incentive from North Carolina turned out to be only $14 million.

Set in Marais, Louisiana, the series centers around CDC doctor Abby Arcane (played by Crystal Reed) returning to her hometown to investigate a deadly virus, dubbed the "Green Flu," that has infected several locals, including a young girl, Susie Coyle (played by Elle Graham). Shortly after her arrival, she meets Alec Holland (played by Andy Bean), a disgraced biologist who was hired by her adopted father, Avery Sunderland (played by Will Patton), to study the marsh. After being attacked by Sutherland's hired hands, Alec is shot and left to die in the swamp. The swamp mutates Alec into a plant-like creature — Swamp Thing (played by Derek Mears)

The rest of the cast includes Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Beals, Kevin Durand, and Ian Ziering.

Final Thoughts

After binge-watching all 10 episodes of Swamp Thing over the weekend, I wish the series had continued with a second season. Sure, there are many problems with the story, which I'll get to in a minute, but overall I enjoyed watching it.

Derek Mears gives a great performance as Swamp Thing, who should have been the center character but instead was forced into the background while secondary characters took the spotlight. Crystal Reed does an alright job playing Dr. Abby Acrane but the writers spent too much time focusing on her story arc.

The big baddie, Dr. Anton Arcane, from the '80s Swamp Thing movies and the '90s television series doesn't appear in this adaptation. In his replacement is Avery Sunderland (played by Will Patton) and Dr. Jason Woodrue (played by Kevin Durand), which their characters were left in limbo thanks to the series cancellation.

The Blue Devil subplot was poorly written and felt pointless, especially when you add in Ian Ziering's bad acting.

The picture and sound qualities for all the episodes on the 2-disc set were topnotch. It would have been nice if there were a few special features.

Overall, despite some storytelling problems, Swamp Thing had the potential to improve if the series was allowed to continue. Here's hoping Swamp Thing: The Complete Series does well enough on Blu-ray and DVD so it won't be the last time we see the Swamp Thing on-screen.

Relive every discovery from the very beginning when the smash hit HISTORY® series The Curse of Oak Island: The First Six Seasons (Lionsgate; $59.98; 65 hrs 41 mins) arrives on DVD December 10th from Lionsgate. Uncover every mystery hidden on the historic island right alongside treasure hunters Rick and Marty Lagina as you gear up for the series’ seventh season. The Curse of Oak Island: The First Six Seasons 23-disc collection will be available for the suggested retail price of $59.98. 

Mill Creek Entertainment; AMAZON

Does anyone remember the television drama Pan Am airing on ABC in 2011?

Hopefully, I'm not the only person in the world that had never of this series. Well, that is until Mill Creek Entertainment released Pan Am: The Complete Series on DVD back in August, featuring all 14 episodes on a 2-dsic set.

Created by Jack Orman, the series is set in the 1963 and centers around around four stewardesses - Maggie, Laura, Colette, and Kate - who all work on international flights coming from New York City.

Maggie (played by Christina Ricci) returns to work as a"purser" after being suspended for not wearing a girdle. Kate and Laura are sisters. Kate (played by Kelli Garner) helped her sister become a stewardess after Laura (played by Margot Robbie) had left her fiance at the alter. Just prior to her first assignment, Laura is featured on the cover of of Life magazine wearing her Pan Am uniform, which instantly makes her a celebrity. Lastly, Colette (played by Karine Vanasse) became an orphan during the German occupation of France and now, as an adult, works as a stewardesses.

Final Thoughts

I bet many adults who grew up in the '90s believe the Power Rangers was the first Kaiju American television series, when in fact the Mighty Morphin team is based on the Japanese franchise Super Sentai that began in 1975, and, no, it wasn't the first series to feature giant monsters. Way back in 1966, there was a Japanese children series called Ultra Q that included monsters causing chaos in Japan.

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Produced by Tsuburaya Productions from special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya (co-creator of Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra for Toho Studios), Ultra Q was an X-Files-like 24-minute series about a group of supernatural investigators - Mainichi Shimpo photojournalist Yuriko Edogawa (played by Hiroko Sakurai), Hoshikawa Airlines pilot/SF writer Jun Manjome (Kenji Sahara) and his co-pilot Ippei Togawa (Yasuhiko Saijo) - who investigate mysterious events that occur in and near Japan.

Despite only 28 episodes being produced, Ultra Q was a big hit and spawned the Ultraman franchise.

Ultra Q: The Complete Series (Not Rated; 11hrs 56mins; $49.98) was released on a 4-Dsic Blu-ray SteelBook set on October 15 from Mill Creek Entertainment featuring a 24-page Information and Episode Guide booklet. A Digital Code comes with the set that can only redeemed on movieSPREE.com/redeem or on the movieSPREE app. There are no special features or bonus extras.

FYI: Ultra Q is also available to buy on a standard Blu-ray set.

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Ultraman: The Complete Series (Not Rated; 16hrs 28mins; $49.98) was also released on a Blu-ray Steelbook on October 15th from Mill Creek Entertainment featuring all 39 episodes on a 5-disc set as well as a 24-page Information and an Episode Guide booklet. It comes with a Digital Code that can only be redeemed on movieSPREE. There are no special features or bonus extras.

FYI: Ultraman is also available to buy on a standard Blu-ray set.

The series involves Ultraman, a giant alien from the Land of Light in Nebula M78, chasing a space monster into the Earth's atmosphere when he accidentally collides into a Jet VTOL piloted by Hayata, a member of the Science Special Search Party (SSSP), an international research and defense agency that protects Earth against aliens. To prevent Hayata from dying, Ultraman merges his life force with him, which means when the world is in danger from a giant monster, Hayata will become Ultraman to defend humankind.


Mill Creek Entertainment will be releasing more DVD and Blu-rays from the Ultraman franchise in near feature starting with Ultraman Orb: The Complete Series & Movie and Ultraman Geed: The Complete Series & Movie later this month. More releases will follow in the Spring and Summer of 2020.

Final Thoughts