“The Magicians”: Season One is a fun new series that borrows from books like “Chronicles of Narnia” and “Harry Potter” with some CW-like drama thrown in for good measure. Still, the acting isn’t half bad and it was at least compelling enough to keep my interest through the relatively short 13-episode first year run.
“The Magicians”: Season One
(2015-16)
Genre(s): Fantasy, Drama, Fantasy
Universal | NR – 572 min. – $44.98 | July 19, 2016
Date Published: 08/01/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Plot Summary: A combination of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ with elements of ‘Harry Potter’ books, “The Magicians” is based upon a book series of the same name (or inspired by if you’re a fan) and follows a young man named Quentin Coldwater (JASON RALPH) who is feeling lost in life checking in and out of a mental hospital, though he does have a close friend, Julia (STELLA MAEVE). Their lives changes forever when, separately, are led into a hidden school for magic called Brakebills College. They both take what’s basically an entrance exam for which Quentin passes but Julia fails, though now that her eyes are open to the world of magic, she gives herself a scar to remember before her memories of the place are erased.
At Brakebills Quentin makes acquaintances with a variety of characters: the mousy Alice Quinn (OLIVIA TAYLOR DUDLEY) with a prestigious family background; William ‘Penny’ Adiyodi (ARJUN GUPTA) who we later find out is a Traveler, able to travel between worlds; Kady (JADE TAILOR) has advance knowledge of magic and is the classic rebel; and Eliot (HALE APPLEMAN) is the flamboyant character and experienced magician. The college is headed by Dean Fogg (RICK WORTHY). Meanwhile, Julia, rejected by Brakebills, falls to a bad crowd of outsider magicians and discovers she may be the key to defeating an oncoming evil known only as The Beast. Quick Hit Review: Although hardly perfect and the quality of the writing is inconsistent from the first half to the second part of the season, I still enjoyed “The Magicians” mainly for some impressive visual effects and the characters, and in turn performances, are pleasant enough, even if some of their actions are annoying and/or stupid while their storylines drag on. The highlight actors are Jason Ralph, even when he gets a bit too “Dawson” at times, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley and Arjun Gupta with Gupta probably being the best of the bunch and probably has enough charisma to be the lead… If sci-fi/fantasy/adventure is your thing, “The Magicians” is well worth watching despite its unevenness at times. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This 3-disc set is housed in a standard sized Blu-ray case and comes with a lenticular-front slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Disc 1: Disc 2: Disc 3: Gag Reel (8:09; HD) contains your usual flubbed lines and cases of the giggles. The World of “The Magicians” (13:51; HD) is a basic featurette covering the origins of the series and has interviews with members of the cast and crew. |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Universal unleashes “The Magicians” onto Blu-ray presented in its originally televised 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. At first I was a bit concerned with the video quality as the pilot episode, at least half it anyway, was in a gloomy, dark city setting but once we get to the magic school, colors were bright and vibrant and detail isn’t half bad. However, I did notice some minor aliasing but nothing distracting. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| Each episode comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which provides crisp and clear dialogue levels while the action (or magical) centric scenes gives the lossless track some depth, though nothing extraordinary. Still, it’s probably a step up from its original airing on SyFy. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, “The Magicians”: Season One is a fun new series that borrows from books like “Chronicles of Narnia” and “Harry Potter” with some CW-like drama thrown in for good measure. Still, the acting isn’t half bad and it was at least compelling enough to keep my interest through the relatively short 13-episode first year run. The Blu-ray released by Universal is rather basic with good video and audio transfers but the features are a bit lacking. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.