Release Date: July 29th, 2008
Running Time: 1122 minutes

The Show

This summer has seen a score of quality comic book films: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, and Hellboy 2. Loaded with tons of eye candy special effects and A-list actors, you could argue that 2008 is the year that comic book films came into their own. However, not all comic books can be huge blockbusters. Others serve their purpose better on television. Witchblade: The Complete Series is an impressive adaptation, especially for TV, but encountered some bad situations that plunged it into cancellation and obscurity.

Based of the 1995 comic, the 2001 television series stars Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini, a NYC cop going through a particularly rough spot after both her father and close friend are murdered. Along with her partner Danny (Will Yun Lee), Sara confronts the villain she believes is responsible for the murders. A gunfight ensues in a museum, and an artifact known as “The Witchblade” attaches itself to Sara’s wrist. After a giant explosion Sara wakes up unhurt, and with a whole lot of power. The Witchblade is a weapon that chooses a woman to bear it, bestowing them with superhero-like abilities. Powerful women throughout history have donned the Witchblade, and now it has chosen Sara.

After Danny is shot in front of Sara, the Witchblade shows its true power, transforming into a gauntlet/sword that is capable of deflecting bullets. With all those close to her dead, and possessing an ancient artifact of unspeakable power, Sara is at a loss. Then along comes Kenneth Irons (Anthony Cistaro), a man who has a wealth of knowledge and seems more than willing to help, but in reality has his own plans for the Witchblade.

The first season plays out well, exploring Sara’s development as well as the mythology of the Witchblade as it assists her in fighting crime and other nasty things that go bump in the night. The season is very much like a normal cop procedural, except with the supernatural twist of the Witchblade. Unfortunately, the second season is a mess. The show runners weren’t aware they were going to have a second season until the last minute, so what did they decide to do? They rebooted the series! Sara uses the Witchblade to reverse time to when Danny was shot, only this time she saves his life. Sara doesn’t really remember any of the first season, and the resulting alternate time line is far more focused on a crime-of-the-week than building any real mythology. Everything that made the series unique and interesting is lost; even the actors seem tired with the redundancy.

Witchblade was a cop show for people who hated cop shows. It offered a unique twist that opened up the world to mystical storylines while retaining the feel of a gritty, NYPD Blue type show. Who knows where the series would have gone, but with an upcoming feature film, you can be assured that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Witchblade.

The 7-disc set contains all 23 episodes from the series as well as the TV movie: “Witchblade,” “Parallax,” “Conundrum,” “Diplopia,” “Sacrifice,” “Legion,” “Maelstrom,” “Periculum,” “Thanatopsis,” “Apprehension,” “Convergence,” “Transcendence,” “Emergence,” “Destiny,” “Agape,” “Consectatio,” “Static,” “Nailed,” “Lagrimas,” “Hierophant,” “Veritas,” “Parabolic,” “Palindrome,” and “Ubique.”

The Discs

The video is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. While the level of detail is generally decent, the rest of the image leaves something to be desired. The overall picture is soft and plagued with grain. The colors are also washed out and lack any substantial vibrancy. Overall it just feels like a dulled viewing experience.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with English subtitles. This is a standard TV track: clean and balanced, but completely plain. Some basic front channel separation livens things up, but it still sounds like you are watching a regular broadcast.

The Extras

“Gabriel’s Philosophical Insights” are offered on ten episodes and consist of short clips with the character Gabriel discussing topics that are relevant to those episodes.

“Wielding the Blade” is a 7-minute featurette with interviews from the crew discussing the infamous blade and its design.

“Bringing the Blade to Life” is a 12-minute promotional piece on adapting the comic to the screen, and also serves as a general overview to the characters and mythology.

Lastly, Casting Sessions are offered for: Anthony Cistaro, David Chokachi, Yancy Butler, Eric Etabari, and Will Yun Lee.

Final Thoughts

Witchblade: The Complete Series is an uneven experience. Half of the series shows tons of promise, while the other half pitters off. Not that impressive technically, I’d recommend renting it first before shelling out cash for the 7-disc set.