I was touched by Touch by Gord Lacey (All reviews)
11/10/2012
Kiefer Sutherland (24) makes a triumphant return to TV in this smart and hopeful drama about the ties that bind all of us together. Single father Martin Bohm (Sutherland) struggles to raise his emotionally challenged son Jake. But Martin soon discovers that Jake possesses an amazing gift: the ability to see the hidden patterns of numbers that connect every life on the planet. With the help of a brilliant professor (Danny Glover), Martin learns to communicate with Jake and help people around the world. Blending science and spirituality, this unique series will touch you in ways you never thought possible.
I heard a little bit about Touch earlier this year, thanks to Jon Cassar (awesome director who worked on 24 for a number of years). I knew Kiefer Sutherland was a father who had a son with some issues, and that it was from Tim Kring (Heroes) but that was the extent of my knowledge of the series. Sometimes going into a series "blind" can be a real treat.
This 3-disc set includes all 12 episodes (which are 11 on this set, due to the double-length finale) from the first season:
Disc 1 (3:02:29)
Tales of the Read Thread (50:16)
1+1=3 (44:02)
Safety in Numbers (44:05)
Kite Strings (44:06)
Disc 2 (2:55:24)
Entanglement (43:08)
Lost and Found (44:05)
Noosphere Rising (44:05)
Zone of Exclusion (44:06)
Disc 3 (2:55:23)
Music of the Spheres (44:05)
Tesselations (44:05)
Gyre, Parts 1 & 2 (1:27:13)
Video
The show doesn't look as good as it would have in HD, but it's mighty-fine for DVD. The show has a distinctive blue cast to it (intended, of course) to represent NYC; the black levels are great as well. The only issue I could find in the 11(+) episodes was a bit of noise in a few dark scenes. That's all, and it made me very happy. There's a play all feature on the set, and there's a chapter placed after the opening credits (though I love the credits so much, I never used the "skip" feature). I wish they had placed a chapter after the "previously on" openings instead of a random place in the opening minutes.
Audio
Touch isn't an effects-laden show, but it still makes decent use of the surround speakers, and the bass. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sounded nice, and anything I thought may have been a glitch in the recording ended up being something funky with the music, and the music can get funky at times (in a good way). My sub got a nice workout in a few scenes, and I turned my head because of a sound effect a few times; I love when audio can catch me off-guard. There's also a French Surround 2.0 track, and English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Fate's Equation (8:42)
A short, but content-packed featurette on the theory behind the series. Great stuff.
Touch the World (3:47)
Tim Kring, and others, explain how the world is connected on the series.
Deleted Scenes (15:06)
Deleted scenes can be found on all 3 discs.
Summary
This show just about blew my mind. I'm not a spiritual person, but I love how the world can be connected, either through people, or events. I enjoy looking at certain events and thinking about them in the context of my life, and if just one thing changed, how it would affect everything else. For example, if I hadn't gotten into a car accident, this website never would have been created. I also think about how my actions, the things I say and do, can affect other people. When I was in college I gave a friend a 3D program; he hadn't used one before that. He got really interested in it, went to an art college to learn more in the field, and is now working at WETA (as a Digital Effects Supervisor) on various movies (including The Hobbit). What if I hadn't given him that 3D program? Would he have eventually gotten into 3D animation? No way to know, but I like thinking that a small thing I did years ago contributed in some small way to a huge movie. Yes, Touch is a show that absolutely captivated me on so many levels.
It's great to see Kiefer Sutherland on TV, and in a role that's quite different from "Jack Bauer" (did you see him handle a gun in Touch?). The show also has a number of excellent directors on board; Stephen Williams, Nelson McCormick, and, of course, the awesome Jon Cassar. I also really, really enjoyed the music in the show, enough that I'd buy the score if it were available.
While the DVD holds up in the A/V departments, the special features are lacking (a lot). Just two featurettes and some deleted scenes? I had hoped for some commentary tracks, or a featurette on how they got LA to look like NYC. Yes, that's right, the entire show is shot in LA, and they did an absolutely amazing job making it look like they were in NYC.
I'm definitely looking forward to the second season of the show; I know it was delayed from the intended premiere, and I hope that isn't cause for concern at all. Touch is a series that... well... touched me, and I want more of it.
