Review
Sara Pezzini (Yancy Butler, “BROOKLYN SOUTH”) is a New York City detective who has an encounter with a supernatural weapon on what she thought was a normal police chase. The weapon turns out to be the Witchblade, and Sara turns out to be the latest in a long line of women warriors who are the chosen ones, the only ones who can wield the weapon.
Series regulars include Sara’s partner Detective Danny Woo (Will Yun Lee, “BIONIC WOMAN”), Detective Jake McCartey (David Chokachi, “BAYWATCH”), business mogul and Witchblade aficionado Kenneth Irons (Anthony Cistaro, “CHEERS”), super stalker Ian Nottingham (Eric Etebari, “AMERICAN HEIRESS”), and occult wiz kid Gabriel Bowman (John Hensley, “NIP/TUCK”).
Notable guest stars include Roger Daltrey (“HIGHLANDER”), Jeffrey Donovan (“BURN NOTICE”), Eric Roberts (“HEROES”), and Kim De Lury (“ALL SAINTS”) as Sara’s destined inamorato Conchobar.
When the series was fun, it was very fun. But there are times when WITCHBLADE trips over its own hard-boiled crime drama feet while trying to keep up with the supernatural steps. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Season One ends with a near-complete time reversal that essentially takes you back to where the show began, which makes you wonder if they’d cop out at the end of every season like that. (Even though they say Sara can only use that facet of the Witchblade’s power once.) There’s also a particularly annoying habit in Season Two to choreograph every fight scene to seizure-inducing strobe lights.
Even so, the series ended all-too-soon; production was halted when star Yancy Butler sought treatment for alcoholism. What fans are left with is a hodgepodge of loose ends and unresolved issues. But at least we finally have the series complete on DVD after all these years.
Picture and Sound
Picture and sound are average, clean and clear enough for decent television quality.
Extras
* Witchblade: Gabriel’s Philosophical Insights on Selected Episodes.
* Wielding the Blade. Cast and crew discuss the Witchblade as a unique character in the show and how design concepts evolved from the comic book to the screen. (7:00)
* Bringing the Blade to Life. Cast and crew discuss the birth of Witchblade from comic book to television show, finding the right actors for the role (including comments on how Anthony Cistaro’s Kenneth Irons became better than what was written in the comics), reflections on the experience, and what they wish they could have done had the show not been canceled. (12:00)
* Original Casting Sessions. Features Yancy Butler, Anthony Cistaro, David Chokachi, Eric Etebari, and Will Yun Lee. They’re actually pretty lame, and there’s no “play all” option.
