Quick Overview

Strong casting helps to set apart the science fiction series Alphas, about a crime-solving group of highly gifted individuals, from a slew of familiar pop culture antecedents, which in turn buoys the chances for a follow-up to this first-season set. The show’s core premise feels as if it was produced directly from a development session–it’s X-Men and Heroes meets the CSI franchise–but the presence of film actor David Strathairn as the Alphas’ neurologist mentor helps to anchor the series in a plausibly dramatic foundation. Ryan Cartwright, as a high-functioning autistic youth who can produce and process electronic communication with his mind, and Laura Mennell, whose psychic powers can bend others to her will, also lend considerable credence to the material, and it’s to the credit of series cocreator Zak Penn (screenwriter, X-Men: The Last Stand and The Incredible Hulk) that the effects of wielding such abilities, which are often debilitating in a variety of ways, are given equal screen time. Such elements help to retain interest in the show when episodes drift towards formulaic superhero/crime tropes, and undoubtedly helped revive network interest in a second season. The three-disc season-one set includes an extended version of the pilot episode, which delivers more background on and interaction between the characters, as do the deleted scenes for three episodes. There’s also a lengthy panel discussion from the 2011 ComicCon fest that features Penn, Strathairn, and executive producer Ira Steven Behr, as well as short Q&As with the cast, who respond to queries sent via Facebook.

Main Features:

Actors: David Strathairn, Ryan Cartwright, Warren Christie, Azita Ghanizada, Laura Mennell
Directors: Nick Copus
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: English
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. )
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: July 17, 2012
Run Time: 497 minutes