A couple of months ago Universal
revealed that
Heroes - Season 2 would arrive on
August 26th, on high-definition Blu-ray Disc as well as on DVD...and that a Blu-ray version of
Heroes - Season 1 would accompany them. These will be Universal's first TV-on-BD releases (BD = Blu-ray Disc), in fact, and fans of the show have been anxious to find out more about what will be on them...or at least on the Season 2 DVD, since most people will be getting it that way. Now, thanks to the heads-up from our longtime friend Jeff Kleist, we have a few answers for you direct from the studio!
Let's start by looking at the Blu-ray Disc version of Season 1. It will come on 5 hi-def discs, running 1010 minutes for all 23 episodes. They'll be presented in widescreen 1080p video, with English - DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio and subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The bonus material listed so far are:
- Unaired Pilot: The 73-minute Tim Kring Cut with Audio Commentary
- The Making of Heroes Featurette
- Special Effects Featurette
- The Stunts Featurette
- The Score Featurette
- Profile of Artist Tim Sale
- Deleted Scenes
- Artwork Presentation
- Character Connections
- Picture-in-Picture Cast Video Commentaries
- BD-Live Enabled Features
For those of you comparing, these items are all found on the previous HD DVD version of the first season (we *presume* in any case that the "BD-Live Enabled Features" is the same as the HD DVD extra called the "Download Center Connectivity Features"). However, sharp-eyed readers will note that a trio of supplements on the HD DVD version aren't listed here: the "Mind Reader" game (no loss there), the "Helix Revealed" picture-in-picture feature, and the "Genetic Abilities Test" (which used online connectivity to function). Bear in mind, please, that this does not yet mean those items won't be on the final version. The listing is early, and couple be incomplete.
The cost of
Heroes - Season 1 on Blu-ray Disc will be $79.98 SRP. There is a very good chance that either the studio, or else individual retailers, will have some sort of "bundle offer" which brings the consumer cost of the first season Blu-ray release down, if it's bought at the same time as the 2nd Season Blu-ray version. That's not for-certain, though, so please take word about such an offer as loose gossip, until something along those lines actually gets announced.
Let's move on to Season 2, then! The Writers' Strike knocked the second season, subtitled "Generations," down to only 11 episodes, running 484 minutes, and these will come on 4 discs in both the DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats. As a result of the short amount of content, the cost of the DVD version will be just $29.98 SRP, and the high-definition Blu-ray Disc release will cost $49.98 SRP. But just because the prices are nice, don't expect them to miss out on the bonus material. Here's what extras you'll find on the Season 2 DVD release:
- Audio Commentaries with Cast & Crew
- Deleted Scenes
- Heroes Season 2 "A New Beginning"
- Takezo Kensei: Sword Saint
- The Drucker Files
- Genetics of a Scene
- Tim Sale Gallery of Screen Art
- NBC.com Featurettes
- Generations Alternate Ending
- Inside The Alternate Ending of Generations
- Untold Stories
- Season 3 Sneak Peek
In addition, the Blu-ray Disc release of
Heroes - Season 2 will have these extras:
- Hero Connections: Bios, PIP Cast & Crew Commentaries
- Hero Connections: Network
- My Scenes
- BD-Live Enabled
In the second season, Kristen Bell (
Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) joined the cast as "Elle", and we also saw David Anders (
Alias), Dana Davis (
Prom Night, The Nine), Dania Ramírez (
X-Men: The Final Stand, The Sopranos), Shalim Ortiz (upcoming
The Roel), Joanna Cassidy (
Blade Runner, Buffalo Bill), Dominic Keating (
Star Trek: Enterprise) and Nichelle Nichols (
Star Trek: The Original Series). You'll be able to enjoy these episodes on DVD, presented in Anamorphic Widescreen video, English - Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio, and with subtitles in English, French and Spanish. On Blu-ray Disc, the second season episodes will be presented in widescreen 1080p video, with English - DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.
The August 26th release date for these gives you plenty of time to catch up before the 3rd season of
Heroes, subtitled "Villians," premieres at NBC on September 22nd. Package art isn't available yet for any of these three release, but we'll bring that to you, along with any updates that come along. Stay tuned!
