Under the Dome: Season 3

It wasn't exactly trumpets that brought the fall, but just like the fabled walls of Jericho, the Dome came tumbling down. Good thing, as CBS finally pulled the plug after three increasingly bizarre seasons of what began as a summer replacement series in 2013. Even during its first giddy season, Under the Dome didn't take long to start running off the rails with goofiness that was out of sync with Stephen King's 2009 source novel. Up to and including the apocalyptic finale, the writers here seem to be scrambling around for plot deviations and mostly coming up empty with a cockamamie alien pod-people sideline complete with killer queens, a society of followers known as the Kinship, and a band of resistance fighters lost in the network of tunnels beneath the town of Chester's Mill. Even the actors seem to struggle with putting much effort into the silly shenanigans: Dean Norris as Big Jim, Mike Vogel as Barbie, and Rachelle Lefevre as Julia appear confused themselves as the sci-fi narrative turns even more cartoon-like with re-birthed humans and Dome-inspired delusions. Compiling all 13 episodes from 2015, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, extended and deleted scenes, and a gag reel. Optional, at best. (T. Fry)