Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete First Season

From the creators of The Walking Dead, this prequel series is set in Los Angeles at the moment of the zombie plague outbreak. Kim Dickens stars as Madison Clark, a high school counselor and widow with two older children (one a drug addict dropout on the streets, the other a high school teenager), with Cliff Curtis costarring as Travis Manawa, a divorced father with a teenage boy he sees on weekends. Madison and Cliff are two adults living together and trying to make their mixed family work. As the plague spreads, so does panic, thanks to 24-hour news and social media reports of the infected biting innocent bystanders and getting up after being taken down by a hail of gunshots. The short six-episode season ends with the family getting out of the city and looking for sanctuary, essentially setting up the main series to come. But after five seasons of The Walking Dead, the learning curve of the human survivors here (who make the same mistakes) comes off as repetitive, and the new perspective doesn't add much urgency or tension. What the show does bring to the genre is an exploration of an extended family under pressure, hints of a military conspiracy as martial law takes over, and a general state of chaos as the unimaginable sweeps through a major metropolitan city. The massive popularity of the parent series will likely stir interest in this companion show. Compiling the brief 2015 debut season, extras include behind the scenes featurettes. A strong optional purchase. [Note: a Blu-ray “special edition” of the first season will bow March 22 with additional bonus features.] (S. Axmaker)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Mar. 22, 2016—Anchor Bay, 2 discs, 291 min., not rated, DVD: $49.98; Blu-ray: $59.99—Making its second appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 2015's Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete First Season features a great transfer and a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras on this “special edition” include episode commentaries with various cast and crew members including co-creator Dave Erickson and star Kim Dickens, a widescreen version of the pilot (64 min.), the production featurettes “Inside Fear the Walking Dead” (32 min.), “Fear: The Beginning” (10 min.), “Locations: LA & Vancouver” (7 min.), “Quarantined” (7 min.), “Stunts and Anarchy” (7 min.), and “The Infected” (5 min.), deleted scenes (7 min.), a segment on “Five Things You Need to Survive” (2 min.), and a bonus UltraViolet copy. Bottom line: not as good as the parent series; still, if you're planning to buy and haven't already purchased the regular edition, this is the one to pick up.]