Batwoman: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review

THE SEASON — 2.75/5

Season Synopsis: Kate Kane (RUBY ROSE) never planned to be Gotham’s newest vigilante. But with Batman mysteriously AWOL, the police department has become weak and outgunned by criminal gangs. So Crows Security, run by Kate’s father, Jacob Kane (DOUGRAY SCOTT), now protects the city with militia-style firepower. When the psychotic Alice and her Wonderland gang kidnap Sophie Moore (MEAGAN TANDY), Kate’s ex-girlfriend who’s now a top officer at Crows, Kate has no choice but to step up. With the help of her compassionate stepsister, Mary Hamilton (NICOLE KANG), and the crafty Luke Fox (CAMRUS JOHNSON), Kate dons cape and cowl to continue the legacy of her missing cousin Bruce Wayne… as Batwoman.

Quick Hit Review: These CW DC shows have been, to say the least, hit or miss for me. I generally still enjoy The Flash but otherwise the writing on them has gone downhill, including the last few seasons of Arrow and even Supergirl. And based on the ratings, it would appear perhaps there is some DC fatigue setting in or people are losing interest.

That goes for the latest DC series, Batwoman, which by all accounts should’ve thrived given the pandemic and shutdowns, even when taking into considering the rise of streaming services. Personally, I was optimistic for this show. I genuinely like Ruby Rose in anything she’s been in prior including a dialogue-free role in John Wick 2. So I was looking forward to her in the cape and cowl.

Unfortunately, the end result makes it clear the writing, and dialogue, have much to be desired, and there’s really not much energy to the performances, including Rose, and the season-long story arc, wasn’t terribly interesting and felt a bit familiar even. The series also included a somewhat name to aid an otherwise unknown supporting case in Dougray Scott, an actor I’ll always remember for missing out on playing Wolverine in X-Men due to production overage on Mission: Impossible II. Here, he could’ve been an emotional foil for Kate Kane, being he’s her father, but I don’t know, it didn’t quite work, which really is the case for the show as a whole.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that Ruby Rose unexpectedly walked away from the role, apparently with the blessing of the producers. To be fair, I was surprised given the ratings a second season was a sure thing early on, but now without Rose, this seems like a throwaway season, with any holdovers lacking much of a personal connection with the new lead actress.

A short section on Crisis on Infinite Earths. It’s not the best of the cross-over events these CW shows have done but as a fan of Batman, and to some extent Superman, I liked the nods to previous shows and actors from Tom Welling and Erica Durance briefly reprising their roles, Robert Wuhl returning as Alexander Knox, an extra heavy Burt Ward as Earth-66 Robin, hell even seeing legendary voice actor Kevin Conroy playing an older, and more brutal, Bruce Wayne, a choice I know some disliked, but personally didn’t mind given it is an alternate universe. In addition, confirming the DCEU being one of the numerous Earths with the Ezra Miller cameo.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5

This five-disc set comes housed in an HD keep case and side-slides into a matted slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Also included is a bonus disc with the four-part Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event.

Deleted Scenes — ‘The Rabbit Hole’, ‘Mine is a Long and a Sad Tale’, ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths: Hour 2’, ‘An Un-Birthday Present’, ‘Drink Me’, ‘Grinning from Ear to Ear’

The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019 (51:05) are highlights from Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, The Flash and Supergirl.

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS BONUS FEATURES*:

• Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Architects Return (11:55) featurette looks at the origins of the comic series this cross-over was inspired by and how it changed the landscape for DC Comics.
• Crisis Management (13:08) is on bringing this event to the small screen beyond just the CW shows.
• Crisis Past and Present: Kevin Conroy Bat Legend (3:17) on the inclusion of Conroy in live action form.
• Crisis Past and Present: Superman vs. Superman (4:37) is about the epic fight between the Arrowverse and Superman Returns/Kingdom Come versions going mano-e-mano.
• Characters in Crisis: Pariah (4:20) — Character profile of Pariah and his portrayal for the cross-over.
• Characters in Crisis: The Anti-Monitor (4:55) is on the villain for this storyline.

* Not factored into features rating.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

AUDIO – 4.25/5

OVERALL – 3.0/5

Batwoman is pretty much in line with other CW shows, meaning the writing, and dialogue, aren’t exactly top notch and here even the acting never quite jives, even Ruby Rose whom I really like, never fit and normally I would say give it time, but with her stepping down, it does feel like this season is a bit pointless with somebody new coming in.