Warehouse 13 Season 1

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

I have been waiting for about two years for this to be released on blu-ray and the fact that a UK version that was region free came out which was actually cheaper than US based versions of the DVDs, was great.

I initially had some issues playing these discs on my blu-ray player, but it was the fault of my player, not the discs themselves. I had to set the “auto” feature for resolution off and select 1080 instead of letting the player choose (between 480, 720, 1080), which would result in the screen blanking out every few minutes. I’ve had this issue with my Sony blu-ray player on a few US based blu-ray discs that are new, but not with others…

The high resolution quality is otherwise spot on for these discs. I mostly look at skin texture to see if its really coming through well and saw no problem here. One thing for US purchasers to be aware of with these is that the UK/European menu system for discs is different from ours. They use a list of symbols for options such as “play all” or “choose episode” or “special features” with no text or caption explaining the meaning of the symbols. (I image everyone across the pond automatically knows what these symbols mean). So the little arrow that we interpret as a “play” button in the menu is their “play all” and the little TV screen icon is their version of choosing from a list of episodes. The asterisk symbol is their icon for special features… You get used to it after viewing a few discs but its not intuitive right off the bat.

Warehouse 13 was unique and fun to watch. Its sad to see it died after four and a half seasons, but it was fun while it lasted.

-R. Hawk

These disks work great in my Panasonic and Sony Blu-ray players. I was concerned they would not play since they were a UK import but they work like any other blu-ray disk I own.

These have a picture quality and sound that is as good and better than the Warehouse 13 dvd disks I borrowed from my library that were released in the United States. Currently there is a big price difference between this UK import and the Warehouse 13 Complete Series released in the United States. I am very happy with this UK import.

The disks come with extras including interviews with the cast and crew, bloopers and deleted scenes. I have not compared the UK import and the one released in the US so there may be difference but I am happy with the extras. While this has the two Warehouse 13 episodes where Fargo comes to Warehouse 13 and where Fargo gets stuck in a computer game and needs to be saved by the Warehouse 13 gang, it does not have the crossover episode, which was a Eureka episode, where Claudia goes to Eureka. I can’t remember if the American released dvd version has the episode.

When the disks first start, the language option as well as the icons which have the episodes, extras and option to use closed captions, are different from the American dvd released version but they are easy to use. I have watched the extras and used closed the captioning without a problem. As mentioned the episodes both in terms of picture and sound are as good as and better than the American released dvd version I have seen.

Warehouse 13 was a fantastic series that along with Eureka got cancelled way too early. There is nothing as good on television now so I am enjoying this great series.

– scesq

In one case, it is very similar in tone to The Librarians in that you have magical thingies that are floating around in the world that need to be controlled. So *somebody* has to run around collecting and cataloging them. Enter: Warehouse 13. I’ll always watch at least 5-10 episodes based on that premise alone even if they are put together on some 5th grader’s iPhone on Youtube.

Warehouse 13 is just a *little* more adult in language and setup. So, for me, I could watch The Librarians with kids or the very elderly and not be embarrassed, but I think I’d take a pass on watching this most of the time with the under-ten set. So if they are old enough to have had “the talk” (11 or so in my book) then they will be able to handle the very minimal adult themes. But everybody has a different road here and it isn’t as risqué as a soap opera or anything.

The big and I mean REALLY BIG difference for me is that this is a much more American show and has a much more American focus than The Librarians. It aims for inclusion without tokenism and generally, I think, hits it. Almost. I mean to say instead of the same old wands and swords and holy grails being left lying around in public parks and people’s attics to be chased down by white folks who are oh-so worried, you have this amalgam that is very American – e.g. Harriet Tubman’s thimble that absorbed magical shape-shifting properties as she led her charges along the trail to protect them being sought after by the Warehouse’s Director Mrs. Fredericks, facilitated by Artie, and sought after by the weakest members of the ensemble in the field.

So that’s my take. I like this show. I wish it had had more traction, as this is the kind of show that really helps facilitate and develop sense of Americanness to modern life and adventure stories. I appreciate seeing people like me and you (and YOU! and you too!) doing fantastic and dynamic things together.

It feels almost right for what American shows should look like in the inclusion zone. It gives almost everyone a sense of belonging and place without resorting to Artie yelling “Oy Vey” every ten minutes and Fredericks snapping her neck. It is such a low bar to hit, but so many shows either ignore it or miss it entirely. This show at least *trys* and most of the time almost hits it.

– Tchad Elliott

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly
Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: English, French
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: SyFy
DVD Release Date: June 29, 2010
Run Time: 570 minutes