Stargirl: The Complete First Season - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Stargirl: The Complete First Season



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
It’s been a long time since I’ve been truly EXCITED by the DC comics universe. I mean, I really enjoy most of the Arrowverse shows, and the now defunct DC streaming service had some great shows before going under (new seasons of the shows will show up on HBO Max), but it has been a long time since I was genuinely giddy after watching one of them. This hearkens me back to the first 2 seasons if Arrow and The Flash, as those were the peak of The CW DCTV shows and back when they were absolutely fabulous. The shows all got a bit bloated (too much “team”) and while generally FUN, haven’t been great if you know what I mean. Stargirl was the first show in probably 5 years that has had me grinning from ear to ear and actually FEELS like a comic book instead of an angsty drama. Stargirl was one of the last shows that showed on DC Universe before the streaming service went belly up, but also shown on The CW as well, which is a first as the DC shows usually are shown on The CW OR on DC Universe, but never together. Warner decided to put 44 minute episodes on the The CW, but DC Universe got some slightly extended episodes (which are available on this Blu-ray set), giving a slightly hybrid feel (subsequent seasons are confirmed as being on The CW only due to the demise of DC Universe streaming service instead of moving over to HBO max with Titans and Doom Patrol).

Stargirl is based off of the 1999 initiated comic book series of the same name, and follows the adventures of 15 year old Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) as she comes into possession of The Cosmic Staff, a semi-sentient rod with extreme power that belonged to a dead super hero known as Starman (Joel McHale). The show opens up with an all about battle between the superheroes known as the JSA (Justice Society of America) and the ISA (Injustice Society of America) and getting their rears whooped pretty badly. Starman’s sidekick Stripsey (Luke Wilson) pulls him out of the rubble after being seriously wounded by the ISA’s leader Icicle (Neil Jackson) only to watch his best friend die in front of his eyes, making him promise to give the Cosmic Staff to someone worthy.

Fast forward 10 years and Stripsey is revealed as regular guy Pat Dugan, who seems to be living life as a normal human being. The JSA was destroyed, and the ISA went into hiding years ago, leaving the single father able to re-marry and find some modicum of happiness. It just so happens that he is marrying a single mother as well in the form of Barbara (Amy Smart, who is still insanely gorgeous after all these years) who brings along her sullen daughter Courtney. Courtney isn’t too wild about her mother’s new husband, and even LESS wild about his decision to move them to a little town in Nebraska. However, her sullenness changes to purpose when she finds the Cosmic Staff in Pat’s stash in the basement and the staff ends up bonding with her. However, this awakening of her bond with the staff brings with it true danger. After a few innocent hijinks with said staff, Courtney unwittingly attracts some attention from the hidden ISA members who just so happen to be in the Nebraska town, who believe that the Starman powers are back and there to destroy their carefully created plans that they have been crafted for the last decade. Now it’s up to Courtney and Pat to take the roles that were created for them, and stop the ISA before it’s too late, both for themselves and for the rest of America.

Stargirl lies outside of the Arrowverse and does a great job of building it’s own universe. The show thrives off of blurring the lines between decades, making itself utterly unique and flavored in it’s visuals. The opening shot of the JSA vs. ISA (as well as the costumes) make it look like the 1940s or 1950s, complete with old studebaker cars and DC Golden Age comic book character personas and quotes. But when the show skips forward 10 years, we’re looking at 1990s looks, and that time period is solidified by the presence of classic 1990s music as the background music, as well as background items like phones and houses. That being said, there are elements from the 1950s, 1960s and even the 1980s in it all, making it pretty obvious that the powers that be intentionally blurred the lines between time periods that we’re all familiar with.

What makes Stargirl so great in it’s first season is not just good acting (which it is), and it’s not just the blending of Golden era DC characters, but it’s how the show expands upon it’s pilot episode and expands the heroes and villains. Courtney/Stargirl makes it her goal to rebuild the JSA with young teens like herself, and the show benefits greatly from the added characters. It truly feels like a team show without being in the typical “Arrow” format. The best compliment that I can give the show is that it FEELS like an older comic book. There’s no way to really describe it except to say that it just FEELS like a comic book brought to life. The dialog, the action, the framing of certain shots. While it has a modern TV show feel to it in the day to day operations, the show thrives off of that gleeful abandon that just makes the series a blast to watch.




Rating:

Rated TV-PG by the MPAA




Video:

Stargirl’s video encode is top notch too, giving us a perfectly stylized visual experience as the show uses color elements and shading elements from various decades of film history to give it that unique feel. The show is filled with a rich tapestry of colors, whether those be the brightly lit outdoor day shots, or the darkness of the night. Nighttime shows digital noise and a tendency to add a mildly milky tone to it. Honestly that’s the only reason I’m giving it a 4.5/5 score instead of a 5/5 as the rest of the show is just jaw dropping. Even the CGI (which has been a weakness for DC live action shows) is rather good. The only really “weak” stuff stems from the obvious 800 lb robot in the room (you’ll know what I mean). Other than that, this is an EXCELLENT looking show and the 3 disc set gives the series more than enough room to breathe across all 13 episodes.







Audio:

The single 5.1 DTS-HD MA track on board is absolutely the highlight of the set, as it is nothing short of perfection. Deep rooted bass lines, great dialog and perfect surround separation. Vocals are crisp and clean, located straight up front, while the surrounds and mains are fill with the rumbles and roars of super powered battles. Getting hit with flying tires (yes that’s a thing) fills the room with thudding impacts, and the energy of the staff sizzles in every scene that it’s in. The nuances of the show are also quite nice, as it’s not JUST an action extravaganza. Scraping of claws in the background come through cleanly, as well as the soft sounds of feet traveling across hardwood floors. I could find NOTHING to complain about in this mix and it falls in line with the rest of the fantastic audio mixes that the DCTV lineup shares.






Extras:

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Final Score: ​

Stargirl: The Complete First Season is a BLAST to watch, and really is the best thing to come out of DCTV for the last 6 or 7 years. It manages to capture the elements that make a great comic book great, and keeps the action exciting (and sometimes dark). I was literally enthralled from the first episode and the show manages to keep that excitement and quality all the way till conclusion. One of the biggest boons is that it follows the age old tactic of making the villains sympathetic. Their goal isn’t the destruction of the world, their goal is actually to HELP the world around them….just with some seriously dark and twisted methods. It gives their goal purpose and allows the character to see them as something more than just mindless evil. Couple that with great audio and video (but sadly no extras at ALL) and we have one of the best Super Hero outings that The CW and DC have brought to market since I got sucked into the first amazing two seasons of Arrow. HIGHLY Recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Brec Bassinger, Yvette Montreal, Anjelika Washington, Amy Smart, Luke Washington
Created by: Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: TV-PG
Runtime: 636 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 29th, 2020

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this but will check it out.