TV on DVD

Blindspot's mystery woman supplies clues with tattoos

DVD cover for season 1 of Blindspot
DVD cover for season 1 of Blindspot

What is it? Blindspot, Season 1, 23 episodes on four discs from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

When? Now

How much? $49.99, $54.97 (Blu-ray)

How does this one start? With a bang. Figuratively speaking.

A large, unattended duffle bag with a tag reading "Call the FBI" is found in Times Square. Inside, the authorities don't find a bomb -- or at least not the kind they were expecting. It's a woman (Jaimie Alexander) with no clothes and no memory. What she does have are tattoos. A lot of tattoos. They're all relatively new and she has no idea where they came from.

The FBI's Critical Incident Response Group, headed up by Special Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton), is called in to investigate. Who is Jane Doe? What do the tattoos mean? Why was this done to her? And why does one of those tattoos include Weller's name?

It quickly becomes clear that the tattoos are a series of clues to various plots and crimes -- like an attempted terrorist attack at the Statue of Liberty. It also becomes clear that Jane isn't just some random innocent, kidnapped and violated. She has quite a few surprising skills, like being highly trained in firearms, languages and hand-to-hand combat.

With Jane's help, Weller and fellow agents Reade (Rob Brown), Zapata (Audrey Esparza) and Patterson (Ashley Johnson), under the watchful eye of Assistant Director Mayfair (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), work to uncover Jane's past and get to the root of the mystery.

There's a pretty big conspiracy at work here and the characters and the FBI itself may never be the same.

How is it? Intriguing. It's a good show for people who like series with big, elaborate arcs. And while Jane and her connection to Weller are the primary focus, the other characters actually get a surprising amount of development and attention, too.

It's got its share of cliches. It's also somewhat derivative -- the tattoo angle, for instance, is reminiscent of Prison Break.

But the acting is good, there's just enough humor to lighten the seriousness, and the mystery is teased out enough to reel people in.

Are there extras? There are. There are some deleted scenes, a commentary track for the first episode, a gag reel and a 15-minute panel discussion from last year's Comic Con. There are also seven behind-the-scenes featurettes with interviews on the casting process, special effects, stunts and specific characters.

New this week: Ash vs. Evil Dead, Season 1; Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Season 3; Castle, Season 8; Clean Break, Season 1; Doctor Who, Season 2 (Blu-ray); Elementary, Season 4; Endeavour, Season 3; Inspector Lewis, Season 8; Legends of Tomorrow, Season 1; Lucifer, Season 1; Narcos, Season 1; NCIS, Season 13; NYPD Blue, Season 10; Roots, miniseries; Scandal, Season 5; The Strain, Season 2; Superstore, Season 1; The Walking Dead, Season 6.

Next week: 19-2, Season 2; Arrow, Season 4; The Bureau, Season 1; Chicago Fire, Season 4; Chicago Med, Season 1; Criminal Minds, Season 11; Grey's Anatomy, Season 12; Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Seasons 1-3; NCIS: Los Angeles, Season 7; The Night Manager, uncensored edition; Shameless, Season 6; Star Wars Rebels, Season 2; Top Gear USA, Season 5.

Style on 08/21/2016

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