Crash: The Complete First Season

A small-screen spin-off of the Oscar-winning 2004 film, Crash is the first serious effort of the Starz channel to create the kind of original programming that has won awards and acclaim for pay-cable giants HBO and Showtime. The premise is the same, but the series starts with a fresh slate of characters, led by Ben Cendars (Dennis Hopper), a veteran music producer trying to remain relevant in an industry that has left him behind, while battling his daughter, Jules (Kari Matchett), for control of his company. Issues of race and class and power are explored through the lives of a cross-section of Los Angeles citizens as they clash and commingle, with other characters including police officers displaying varying degrees of corruption, a hot-blooded gypsy stalked by an arrogant cop, a streetwise chauffeur whose loyalty is tested by Cendars' erratic behavior, a Korean EMT trying to escape the gangs of K-Town, and a police detective on the trail of the most compromised cop in the precinct. The title takes on another meaning when the stock market crash reveals the stresses in a wealthy family that is on the verge of unraveling. Although the series benefits from Hopper's presence, Crash is ultimately not in the same dramatic league with series such as The Sopranos or Big Love. Compiling all 13 episodes of the 2008-09 first season on four discs, both the DVD and Blu-ray editions include a “making-of” featurette and an alternate season ending. Optional. (S. Axmaker)