Catch up with The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, The 100, Mom and 2 Broke Girls on home video

The Originals: The Complete First Season

Fans of The Vampire Diaries know that the series’ “Big Bad” was ancient vampire Klaus, and when his (and his family’s) story arc came to an end, the show’s creators felt there was more story tell … and they couldn’t just dump a popular character. So The Originals was created to fill the void.

Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan), the original vampire-werewolf hybrid, has returned to New Orleans, the city from which he and his siblings, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Rebekah (Claire Holt), were exiled a century ago. Drawn back by a mysterious tip that a plot is brewing against him, Klaus is surprised to find the city still feels like home despite the decades he’s been away. Curious as to why Klaus would return to the one place he swore he would never set foot again, Elijah arrives as well and learns that the beautiful and rebellious werewolf Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) has also come to the French Quarter searching for clues to her family history. As Klaus vows to reclaim what was once his, he realizes that his unborn child could be the key to the Originals’ return to power. Even the human population of the Quarter is unwittingly drawn into this supernatural battleground. A recent arrival to New Orleans, Cami (Leah Pipes) is a whip-smart psychology grad student who appears happy to pursue her studies by day and work nights as a bartender, unaware that many of her customers are vampires. Hiding the dark secret that has brought her to New Orleans, Cami soon finds herself fascinated by both Klaus and his protégé Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), and totally unaware of the danger they pose for her and everyone around her.

Like The Vampire Diaries, the first season is presented in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with Digital HD. 22 episodes are presented on four Blu-ray discs and five DVDs. Image and audio quality are comparable to The Vampire Diaries although the look of The Originals is much darker and colors are less saturated, at least until blood starts running. Details are sharp though and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is also excellent.

Disc 1 contains episode 1-6, deleted scenes from episodes 1, 2, 4 and 6, an audio commentary on the pilot episode with creator Julie Plec and director Chris Grismer, and a 30-minute presentation of the 2013 Comic-Con panel (with more hints than details since the first season had not yet aired).

Disc 2 contains episodes 7-12 and deleted scenes from episodes 7, 8 and 12. Disc 3 contains episodes 13-18 and deleted scenes from episodes 14, 16 and 18. Disc 4 contains episodes 19-22, deleted scenes from episodes 20, 21 and 22, and the Special Features:

• “The Originals: Origins” (13:24) — Julie Plec and the cast talk about the creation of the show through to the production of the pilot, or both pilots as the first episode had to serve as an intro to the characters for viewers who did not see the original pilot which aired as part of The Vampire Diaries.
• “The Original Vampires: A Bite-sized Backstory” (5:33) — Video montage including scenes from The Vampire Diaries giving the origin story of the Originals.
• “The Originals: Re-mixing History” (9:32) — The writers explain how the blend fact and fiction to create a strong history for the Mikaelson family.
• “The Originals Panel at Paleyfest 2014″ (29:49) — Cast and producers discuss the show in a similar presentation to the Comic-Con panel. There is some overlap between the two, however, this panel is more satisfying, revealing and playful.