Plot: What’s it about?
Tru Davies (Eliza Dushku) has just finished her tenure in a tough medical school program, so her future is as bright as could be. She has a fantastic internship at her fingertips, a position that is almost certain to lead to even greener pastures. But she also a darker cloud in her life, as her family isn’t stable and as hard as she tries, she isn’t able to hold it all together. Her sister is a lawyer, but suffers from a brutal drug addiction and sometimes dulled emotions, while her younger brother struggles with a gambling addiction, one so serious, his very life is sometimes in mortal danger. Even though Tru does her best to lend a hand, she can’t go back in time to correct crucial mistakes, at least not until now. When her intern position falls through, she is forced to take an overnight spot at a morgue. Of course, she is disappointed, but she soon learns the position has more to offer her than a simple wage and experience. A young woman is wheeled in on her first night, not the kind of person you expect to see turn up on a morgue slab. She also discovers that her brother is in serious trouble and her sister has resumed a drug habit, so she is quite down. But when she awakes, she finds herself in the same day again, only this time, she knows what fate awaits those around her. She also has the chance to alter those events, which means the young woman from the morgue could be granted a new chance at life. Can Tru balance her actions and have a positive impact, or is fate set in stone?
This project was created with her in mind, although even the creator had little faith (no pun intended) that Eliza Dushku would accept the role. After all, she was offered a chance to reprise her Buffy the Vampire Slayer character Faith in a spin off and she had a solid presence in feature films, but Eliza turned the other projects down to star in Tru Calling. I don’t care for most sitcoms and police shows are a dime a dozen these days, so my focus is on shows with interesting twists. This series has a good one, with time and fate tinkered with, but not often to the same ends. After all, if Tru is always able to save people and prevent tragic events, then the show would be lame and fail to spark much interest. Instead, Tru Calling balances out the episodes and offers a solid variance on how the premise is explored. Aside from the time shift issue, there is no supernatural edge to the show, which injects at least a small amount of realism and immediacy. Dushku is great in the lead, but the rest of the cast is spotty, though never bad. As time passes, the cast settles in and the performances improve, but even then, Dushku stands out in the series. The show isn’t perfect, some of the episodes are less than involving, but this first season has more good than bad, I think. Fox has issued a solid treatment too, with great transfers and a host of supplements, which makes the collection that much more tempting. I recommend Tru Calling to fans of traditional dramas in search of some edge, but if you come to the series looking for a show like The X-Files or Millennium, then you’ve come down the wrong road.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. I was pleased to see the series shown in widescreen, as I had only seen the standard broadcast versions, so this treatment scored points right from the start. The image is clean and crisp in all the episodes, yielding a much improved visual presentation, compared to the original broadcasts. The prints are in pristine condition, which means the visuals are never hindered in the least. The colors bound off the screen, with vivid hues and natural flesh tones throughout. No troubles with contrast either, as black levels are bold and consistent at all times. I have to commend Fox for their work here, especially for the decision to present the episodes in widescreen.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a dialogue driven series, so the included 2.0 surround audio is more than up to the task. Some sequence make better use of the channels than others, but on the whole, this material uses a conservative presence. But when the tension mounts or the action picks up, this mix handles the bumps without much trouble, so no worries on that front. Most of the show is fueled by dialogue though, which is well replicated here and no problems arise in the least. The vocals sound very crisp and clean at all times, I found nothing to complain about with this mix. This release also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A few episodes have audio commentary tracks, in which various cast and crew members discusses the episodes at hand. I love audio commentary sessions, but these seemed less than enthusiastic, as if few of those involved were that pleased to be there. Even so, you’ll learn about how Tru Calling was produced and hear some decent behind the scenes tales. A slew of promotional featurettes can also be viewed, but the usual talking heads stuff won’t interest most folks. A nice assortment of deleted scenes is a highlight, while a music video by Full Blown Rose rounds out the extras.
