{"id":12576,"date":"2016-08-01T19:28:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T02:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=12576"},"modified":"2016-08-01T19:28:53","modified_gmt":"2016-08-02T02:28:53","slug":"review-magicians-s1-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2016\/08\/review-magicians-s1-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Magicians: Season One BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\u201cThe Magicians\u201d: Season One<\/strong> is a fun new series that borrows from books like \u201cChronicles of Narnia\u201d and \u201cHarry Potter\u201d with some CW-like drama thrown in for good measure. Still, the acting isn\u2019t half bad and it was at least compelling enough to keep my interest through the relatively short 13-episode first year run.<\/p>\n

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“The Magicians”: Season One<\/span>
\n(2015-16)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Fantasy, Drama, Fantasy
\nUniversal | NR \u2013 572 min. \u2013 $44.98 | July 19, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 08\/01\/2016 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/u>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Various
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Lev Grossman (books); Sera Gamble & John McNamara (developed by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Jason Ralph, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Arjun Gupta, Hale Appleman, Summer Bishil, Jade Tailor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/u>DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.78
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>NA
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Summary: <\/strong>A combination of \u2018The Chronicles of Narnia\u2019 with elements of \u2018Harry Potter\u2019 books, \u201cThe Magicians\u201d<\/strong> is based upon a book series of the same name (or inspired by if you\u2019re 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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At Brakebills Quentin makes acquaintances with a variety of characters: the mousy Alice Quinn (OLIVIA TAYLOR DUDLEY) with a prestigious family background; William \u2018Penny\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>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 \u201cThe Magicians\u201d<\/strong> 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 \u201cDawson\u201d 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…<\/p>\n

If sci-fi\/fantasy\/adventure is your thing, \u201cThe Magicians\u201d<\/strong> is well worth watching despite its unevenness at times.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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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<\/strong>. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD<\/u><\/strong> copy.<\/p>\n

Disc 1:
\nDeleted Scenes (2:08; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Unauthorized Magic\u2019, \u2018The Source of Magic\u2019 and \u2018Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting\u2019<\/p>\n

Disc 2:
\nDeleted Scenes (5:01; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Mendings, Major and Minor\u2019, \u2018Impractical Applications\u2019, \u2018The Mayakovsky Circumstance\u2019, \u2018The Strangled Heart\u2019 and \u2018The Writing Room\u2019<\/p>\n

Disc 3:
\nDeleted Scenes (6:18; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Homecoming\u2019, \u2018Remedial Battle Magic\u2019, \u2018Thirty-Nine Graves\u2019 and \u2018Have You Brought Me Little Cakes?\u2019<\/p>\n

Gag Reel (8:09; HD)<\/u><\/strong> contains your usual flubbed lines and cases of the giggles.<\/p>\n

The World of \u201cThe Magicians\u201d (13:51; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a basic featurette covering the origins of the series and has interviews with members of the cast and crew.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Universal unleashes \u201cThe Magicians\u201d<\/strong> 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\u2019t half bad. However, I did notice some minor aliasing but nothing distracting.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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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\u2019s probably a step up from its original airing on SyFy.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Overall, \u201cThe Magicians\u201d: Season One<\/strong> is a fun new series that borrows from books like \u201cChronicles of Narnia\u201d and \u201cHarry Potter\u201d with some CW-like drama thrown in for good measure. Still, the acting isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n