So, Who IS Gossip Girl? by Gord Lacey (All reviews)
10/02/2012
Everyone's favorite socialites are back to their wicked ways in Gossip Girl's scandalous fifth season. As the season begins, a suntanned Serena has found the perfect summer job in Los Angeles when Chuck and Nate pay her a visit. Back on the Upper East Side, Blair is still dealing with the impossible choice between Prince Louis and Chuck, and Dan's world is suddenly shattered when he discovers that someone has gone behind his back and found an editor to anonymously publish one of his stories. Finally, the surprise return of Serena's cousin Charlie threatens to destroy the Van der Woodsen family from within. Watch out, Upper East Siders, this season nobody's safe and everybody's going to be sorry!
Every year I eagerly await sitting down and racing through a season of Gossip Girl. It reminds me of all the teen-romance-drama I used to watch when I was younger, and times were simpler. While I was part-way through the season I found out that the 6th season, which will be a short one, will be the last. That made me very sad, because in a few years I won't have Gossip Girl arriving for me to watch.
This 5-disc set includes all 24 episodes of the show:
Disc 1 (3:31:13)
Yes, Then Zero (42:04)
Beauty and the Feast (42:18)
The Jewel of Denial (42:10)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (42:21)
The Fasting and the Furious (42:20)
Disc 2 (3:31:16)
I am Number Nine (42:11)
The Big Sleep no More (42:14)
All the Pretty Sources (42:11)
Rhodes to Perdition (42:21)
Riding in Town Cars with Boys (42:19)
Disc 3 (2:48:25)
The End of the Affair? (42:11)
Father and the Bride (42:09)
G.G. (42:09)
The Backup Dan (41:56)
Disc 4 (3:30:51)
Crazy, Cupid, Love (42:17)
Cross Rhodes (42:04)
The Princess Dowry (41:52)
Con Heir (42:17)
It Girl, Interrupted (42:21)
Disc 5 (3:29:33)
Salon of the Dead (42:03)
Despicable B (42:18)
Raiders of the Lost Art (41:39)
The Fugitives (41:24)
The Return of the Ring (42:09)
Video
Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1), Gossip Girl looks good, but it has a few flaws. Episodes have a bit of noise in them, especially in night shots, and they're worse in some episodes compared to others. I found the episodes with 5 episodes on them (disc 1, 2 and 3) look a tad bit more compressed compared to the episodes with 4. They went from 7 discs for 25 episodes (season 2), to 22 episodes and 5 discs for seasons 3 and 4; I think it should have been 6 to keep quality consistent. Every episode has a chapter placed right after the "previously on" opening, and another chapter after the opening credits; each disc also contains a "Play all" option called "Go."
Audio
Gossip Girl, like The O.C. has an awesome soundtrack for each episode; I don't even want to know what they spent to clear the music for the show, or the DVD. Never having seen the show, and only going off what I've heard (and the lack of a disclaimer on the package), I'd have to assume all the songs are intact on the set. The audio, which is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track (and a Portuguese stereo track) sounds good; I didn't notice any issues. Subtitles are available in English, French, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai.
X'ed Scenes (15:06)
Yes, Then Zero (1:22)
Beauty and the Feast (1:49)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (0:40)
I am Number Nine (2:17)
The Big Sleep no More (1:07)
All the Pretty Sources (0:49)
Rhodes to Perdition (1:10)
Riding in Town Cars with Boys (1:07)
The End of the Affair? (0:44)
G.G. (0:15)
Cross Rhodes (1:51)
Con Heir (0:54)
Despicable B (1:01)
Gossip Girl Turns 100 (15:55)
Yippee! It's the 100th episode of Gossip Girl, and we're invited to the party. A fun look back at the 5 seasons of the show, featuring interviews with the cast and crew as they discuss their favorite storylines over the years.
5 Years of Iconic Style (16:21)
A big, no, a HUGE part of Gossip Girl is the clothing and style of the characters. Take a look back at five years of the show, told through clothing.
LOL (3:50)
It's a fun gag reel!
Summary
I think this was one of my favorite seasons of the show. There was less fighting between the main characters, and more fighting with external people. As much as I enjoyed all the back-stabbing, I'd like to see the characters be happy in the end. Elizabeth Hurley's addition to the cast was exciting on many levels. I enjoyed seeing a well-known actress join the cast, and she played such an interesting character.I'll admit to missing Eric and Jenny a bit, and I hope they return for at least an episode or two in the final season. They were both mentioned a few times in passing, but none appeared on screen.
This was another standard Gossip Girl release from Warner. Decent treatment of the episodes, with a gag reel and a couple of other featurettes included. One thing to mention about the cover art - a lot of fans were upset that there wasn't a group shot of the cast on the DVD cover. I had spoken with Warner Bros about it, and they told me a group shot wasn't done for season 5, so they didn't have one that could be used.
I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see how this show will end. Will Chuck and Blair end up together? How about Serena and Dan? And just WHO is Gossip Girl? I'll be upset if we don't find out.
