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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Offspring-Complete Fourth Series (2013)

Offspring-Complete Fourth Series (2013)

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Released 4-Sep-2013

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category TV Series Menu Audio
Deleted Scenes-9
Featurette-Behind The Scenes-13
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2013
Running Time 570
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Multi Disc Set (4)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Kate Dennis
Darren Ashton
Shirley Barrett
Sian Davies
Studio
Distributor
Southern Star
Madman Entertainment
Starring Asher Keddie
John Waters
Linda Cropper
Kat Stewart
Richard Davies
Eddie Perfect
Deborah Mailman
Alicia Gardener
Jane Harber
Matthew Le Nevez
Case Slip Case
RPI $59.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     Offspring is one of the few recent success stories for the Ten Network along with Masterchef. This comedy/drama/soapie with added whimsy has now been running for four seasons and has been renewed by Ten for a fifth season. The success of this show is built around its bright and amusing style, quality writing and a fun and high quality cast including the excellent actress Asher Keddie.

     The show is based around the character played by Keddie, Nina Proudman. She is an obstetrician in Melbourne and struggles with her love life, her family and her work, often all at the same time. Her family include her father, real estate agent Darcy Proudman (John Waters), her mother, Geraldine (Linda Cropper), her sister, Billie (Kat Stewart), her irresponsible younger brother Jimmy (Richard Davies) and Billie's husband, Mick (Eddie Perfect). Other important characters are the nurses in her unit, who are also friends and sometimes family, Cherie (Deborah Mailman), Kim (Alicia Gardener) and Zara (Jane Harber). There is also Nina's on again, off again love of her life, Patrick Reid (Matthew Le Nevez), a paediatrician in the same hospital.

     This series (of thirteen 45 Minute episodes) follows Nina's journey through pregnancy, relationship dramas for Billie and Mick, Darcy trying to deal with the revelation in series 3 that he is not Nina's father and more. It certainly keeps up the quality of the first three series, with good measures of comedy, whimsy, drama and romance to keep the core audience happy. This is high quality Australian television, which looks set to continue for a few years to come.

     The set is nicely packaged in a four disc case housed in a cardboard slipcover.

     Recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is very good.

     The series is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture is very clear and sharp for television on DVD. Shadow detail is good.

     The colour is very good, looking bright and vivid throughout.

     There is little to complain about in artefact terms with just a little very light grain on occasion

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read (in yellow text).

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     The discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The sound is obviously quite front focused.

     Dialogue was mostly easy to understand and clear although the subtitles came in handy occasionally.

     The theme music and songs used are a significant portion of the show’s atmosphere.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     A good selection of extras.

Menu

     The menu is pretty straight forward, still with music but perfectly functional.

Deleted Scenes

     9 deleted scenes from various episodes but nothing too earth shattering.

Behind the Scenes

     This section contains 13 featurettes each running 5-7 minutes. They include cast and crew interviews, synopses, set tours, making of particular sequences, costume information and more. Definitely of interest to fans of the show.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This show is only available locally at this stage.

Summary

    A fun and enjoyable high quality Australian comedy/drama/soapie with added whimsy.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

    The extras are good.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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