True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season

HBO's gothic pulp vampire melodrama has grown progressively more outrageous over the years, not just introducing new supernatural races and conspiracies, but also pushing the romantic complications and splashy sex scenes into increasingly more extreme territory. Season five—the last under the direction of series creator Alan Ball (who took the characters from Charlaine Harris's books and went his own way with them)—goes for broke with more blood, conspiracies, transformations, and internal wars within and between the species. A cult-like cabal called the Authority sets their sights on Bill and Eric (Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgård); Tara (Rutina Wesley) is learning the ropes as a self-hating, newly turned vampire; and a scruffy new alpha turns the werewolf pack into the V-addicted lapdogs of the vampires. Also on hand are a fire demon and an anti-vamp lynch squad. Ostensible heroine Sookie (Anna Paquin) seems to be just a bystander, the all-purpose damsel in distress for a growing number of protectors. Although it's all silly and feels like a supernatural soap opera, True Blood remains a popular show with a devoted following. Compiling all 12 episodes from 2012 on DVD and Blu-ray, extras include episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more. The Blu-ray edition also features a pair of DVD flipper discs with all of the episodes. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)