DVD Review: Witches of East End Season 1

Review: Witches of East End: Season 1
Release Date: Tuesday, June 24th, 2014
Screen Format: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English/French/Spanish
Total Run Time: 431 minutes
Show Rating: 3.0 out of 4 Stars
Special Features Rating: 2.0 out of 4 Stars
Overall DVD Rating: 3.0 out of 4 Stars

Synopsis: Witches of East End is based on the novel by Melissa de la Cruz of the same name. It stars Julia Ormond (Temple Grandin) as the head of the Beauchamp family who has been cursed with immortality, but having to watch her daughters always die by the age of 30. So, this time around she has decided to raise them without knowing they are witches in hopes that maybe that will change things. Her daughters are played by Rachel Boston (In Plain Sight) and Jenna Dewan-Tatum (Step Up, The Playboy Club). When Joanna’s sister, played by Madchen Amick (Damages, Twin Peaks), arrives to warn of an evil entity that is out to destroy them all, the truth about the family’s magical background is revealed and the daughters deal with the news. It also stars Virginia Madsen (American Dreams), Eric Winter (Days of Our Lives), Daniel DiTomasso and Tom Lenk (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Show Review: Witches of East End Season 1 premiered October 6th, 2013 and got me to watch because of the beautiful cast and that I like shows that revolve around magic, if done well. I stuck around because they take a bunch of things you’ve seen before and put them together in an interesting way that makes it feel new. The backstory is intriguing and fun when we get to see some of it play out in flashbacks of mother and children in various past lives that hook into the story now. It’s just highly entertaining and has some good mystery and fantasy elements too.

Special Features Review: The main reason to get a show on DVD these days over the digital download/streaming options that may be available are the special features. FOX Home Entertainment (@FOXHomeEnt) sent me a copy of the DVD for review and here are a few thoughts on what is included.

• “Falling Under Their Spell” – Each of the six main cast members introduces themselves and their characters and talk a little bit about the show. It’s a solid behind the scenes look at the show that can be watched before watching the episode for first timers, as it isn’t spoilery as to what is to come.
• Deleted Scenes – Not much here. Some of them are only a few seconds and there aren’t a lot of them.
• Gag Reel – Again, a pretty limited selections. Glad to have one included, but hard to believe that they couldn’t of found a few more minutes of stuff to add from filming 10 episodes.
• Cat Blooper – A fun look behind the scenes of filming with a cat with some commentary.

The main special feature that is missing here are episode commentaries, which is something I believe every DVD release should include, especially a first season set and at least on the “Pilot” episode.

Other Available Formats: Besides DVD, you can also find Witches of East End Season 1 on Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, iTunes and Netflix.

Season 2 premieres Sunday, July 6th on Lifetime.