iZombie Season 2

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

First off, I’ve never been a fan of the zombie genre. Maybe it’s the imagined smell, the biting and hygiene, or maybe my disbelief isn’t as willing to suspend itself quite as far as it did before. I gave the first season of iZombie a chance on a streaming rental service (with a really bright red screen). Two episodes in, I was hooked! The show takes a lot of liberty with the attractiveness of its zombies–which is appreciated. The cast is top notch, and series lead Rose McIver is doing similar bold, wide-sweeping work that Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany is praised for. Yes, it’s cute and quirky, but she takes on a different persona in each episode while never wholly surrendering the issues she’s struggling with as one of the undead. She also has great chemistry with the ensemble, all of whom have evolved beyond one-dimensional characters. Also, I’m a bit dumfounded by how much the recurring love interest looks like the love child of Scott Speedman and Simon Baker–right down to the charm! This has the same heart as Buffy, Veronica Mars, and Once Upon A Time…sadly, without their fanbase.

– JG

This is one of my Blu-ray specific reviews. For a show review, see most of the other reviews.

So, the issue here is somewhat unexpected. The first season of iZombie on Blu-ray was standard for Warner Archive, decent film quality in a standard case with two slots on the front and rear inner faces of the case and a single flap in the center. For the second season, given the need for a larger case and owing to the larger number of episodes and discs, they used, as one would expect, a larger case. However, the design of the case is not the standard design (one disc to each inside face of the case itself and then a single flap in the center of that case with one disc on the front and one disc on the back of that single flap for a total of four tabbed disc holders/hubs in the case) as you and I are accustomed to seeing on four disc sets. They used a new design, one I’ve never seen before, with no hubs/tabs on the inner faces of the case but, rather, two center flaps with discs on the front and back of each of those flaps.

Why the three star rating? Pretty simple, on the authentic, new sets of season two, discs come loose like you wouldn’t believe, I certainly didn’t. And, on top if that, scratching is a major issue due to the flap design. Now, ignoring the first set I bought, a set one seller passed of as new that was horribly used, I have had three other sets of this, all sold new, all in this case. I tried sets from multiple sources and vendors and, after many, got one from Amazon that had only one scratched disc which had come loose inside the case during transit. The discs that came loose in each set (in all four sets tried including the new/used one) were the center facing discs, the second disc on the back of the first flap and the third disc on the front of the second flap. This is because the two flaps keep slamming into each other as the disc set is moved around, rather like the clapping of hands.

So, for the record, if you buy this, check it carefully for scratching and if, like me, you have an older Blu-ray player that is sensitive to scratches on discs, make it a priority to watch this and check the discs immediately so you don’t get stuck with a bad disc. Good luck on this one. It is a wonderful program but Warner really screwed up on the case they used for this set.

– Rae

I took a chance and ordered the first season of “iZombie” even though I’m not a big fan of the walking dead genre and got hooked on this quirky, often funny, occasionally gory series.
Season Two is, in my opinion, even better.
The actors seem more settled in their roles, for example, and the story lines contain some interesting twists and turns. Heroes, it turns out, may not be all that heroic and some of the villains aren’t as evil as they at first seem. My point is that the writing went up a notch in this second season and that’s a good thing.
Speaking of the scripts; I was especially impressed by the fact the writers were able to deepen our understanding of the characters by exploring their interpersonal relationships without turning this season into a soap opera. That’s not easy to do and there are several contemporaneous shows that have tried without success to do the same thing. I tip my hat, therefore, to these writers for pulling it off.
The special effects are professional, but the series does not rely on them to tell the stories and, because I’m an old guy, I give the producers and directors high marks for that. A great series relies on storytelling, in my opinion, not on whiz-bang special effects that are too often used to cover up plot holes and sloppy narratives.
A couple of final points: I very much appreciate both the music – which covers a wide range of genres and time periods – and the offhand references to old shows and even older movies that crop up in the writing. Like I said, I’m an old guy and I like the fact the writers drop these in at unexpected moments to help make a point or clarify a situation.
A great season: I’m looking forward to the next one.

– Mike Billington

DVD Wholesale Main Features :   

Actors: Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin, Rahul Kohli, Robert Buckley, David Anders
Producers: Rob Thomas, Diane Ruggiero, Danielle Stokdyk, Dan Etheridge
Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 4
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016