“Resurrection” is no doubt a series that fans who enjoy fantasy and supernatural storylines will surely enjoy. The series is addictive featuring wonderful storylines, fascinating characters and a great buildup for the second season. “Resurrection: The Complete First Season” is highly recommended!
Image courtesy of © 2014 ABC Studios All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Resurrection: The Complete First Season
RELEASE OF FILM: 2014
DURATION: 344 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Colors, 1:78:1 – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, English SDH, French and Spanish Subtitles
COMPANY: abc studios
RATED: TV PG LV
RELEASED: June 10, 2014
Directed by Daniel Attias, Kevin Dowling, Charles McDougall, Christopher Misiano, Ron Undrwood, Scott Winant
Written by Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas, Nathaniel Halpern, Nathan Louis Jackson, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jason Mott, Nicki Paluga, Thomas Schnauz, Aaron Zelman
Produced by Gideon Amir
Executive Producer: Daniel Attias, JoAnn Alfano, Aaron Zelman, Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Jon Liebman, Billy Redner, Charles McDougall, Bradd Pitt
Co-Executive Producer: Thomas Schnauz
Supervising Producer: Jessica Mecklenburg
Music by Blake Neely
Cinematography by Jeff Jur, Terry Stacey
Series Film Edited by Louise Innes, Christopher Cooke
Casting by Jennifer L. Smith, Tricia Wood, Deborah Aquila
Production Design by Clark Hunter
Art Direction by Timothy David O’Brien
Set Decoration by Tasha Clarkson
Costume Design by Emmie Holmes, Tom Broecker
Starring:
Omar Epps as J. Martin Bellamy
Frances Fisher as Lucille Langston
Matt Craven as Fred Langston
Devin Kelley as Maggie Langston
Mark Hildreth as Pastor Tom Hale
Samaire Armstrong as Elaine Richards
Sam Hazeldine as Caleb Richards
Landon Gimenez as Jacob Langston
Kurtwood Smith as Henry Langston
Kathleen Munroe as Rachael Braidwood
Lori Beth Sikes as Janine Hale
Travis Young as Ray Richards
Kevin Sizemore as Gary Humphrey
Veronica Cartwright as Helen Edgerton
Tamlyn Tomita as Dr. Willis
James Tupper as Dr. Eric Ward
What happens when someone you’ve mourned and buried suddenly appears at your front door as if not a single day has gone by? After the initial shock, would it be a blessing…or a curse? Immerse yourself in the powerful first season of ABC’s RESURRECTION, an astonishing story of mystery, relationships and second chances. Life in Arcadia, Missouri changes forever when Jacob (a boy who drowned over three decades ago) miraculously appears on his parents’ doorstep alive and unharmed – and still just eight years old.
But Jacob is only the first. As more and more deceased return to life, the entire town is thrust into conflict fueled by love and loathing, fear and faith, suspicion and redemption. Meanwhile, as tensions mount, a desperate race to find answers and defuse the situation begins – before complete chaos erupts. Own RESURRECTION: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON on DVD and relive all eight gripping episodes plus bonus features.
From Plan B Entertainment and led by actor/producer Brad Pitt comes the fantasy drama “Resurrection” based on the book “The Returned” by Jason Mott.
The first season featuring eight episodes did very well on ABC and with the green light for a second season, the first season will be released on DVD in June 2014.
The series revolves around the discovery of a young boy named Jacob Langston (portrayed by Landon Gimenez) who wakes up in China. Brought back to America by Immigration and Customs Agent J. Martin “Marty” Bellamy (portrayed by Omar Epps).
When the two arrive in Arcadia, Missouri and Marty is returning Henry to his parents Lucille (portrayed by Frances Fisher) and Henry Langston (portrayed by Kurtwood Smith), the two parents tell Marty that it isn’t possible as their son had died in a drowning accident 32 years later. But when Henry says hello to his parents and surprised by their older appearance, both Lucille and Henry are shocked that the boy in front of them looks exactly like their deceased son.
As the two are not convinced that Jacob is their son, he knows too many details to be an impostor. Among the skeptical are Henry’s brother, Sheriff Fred Langston (potrayed by Matt Craven) and Jacob’s best friend when they were younger, Pastor Tom Hale (portrayed by Mark Hildreth). But Jacob knows too many details from the past to be an impostor and after a checkup by Sheriff Fred Langston’s daughter, Dr. Maggie Langston (portrayed by Devin Kelley) and is revealed that Jacob died on the same day as Maggie’s mother Barbara, as Jacob tried to rescue Barbara who was clinging to a log in the river.
But as the unexplained appearance of a young Jacob is mystifying and begins to start rumors around the town of Arcadia, another appearance of another person who was deceased, the criminal Caleb Richards (portrayed by Sam Hazeldine), shocks his daughter Elaine (portrayed by Samaire Armstrong) and her brother.
With two dead people now alive, a third person rises from the dead…Rachael Braidwood (portrayed by Kathleen Munroe), the teenage girlfriend of Pastor Tom Hale, who killed herself.
And as love ones are thrilled to see their deceased love ones return, the town of Arcadia are not convinced and some in the Christian town think that the rising of the dead is unnatural…especially when word gets to the US military.
What is creating the phenomenon of the dead returning? And why is it happening all at once?
“Resurrection: The Complete First Season” features the following characters
- Immigration and Customs Agent J. Martin “Marty” Bellamy (portrayed by Omar Epps) – A man who is trying to make sense of what is happening in Arcadia but also a man tortured by his past and will do what he can to protect people from hurting Jacob Langston.
- Henry, Lucille and Jacob Langston (portrayed by Kurtwood Smith, Frances Fisher and Landon Gimenez) – Henry is the father of Jacob and is having difficult believing that his son has come back alive. Meanwhile, Lucille feels that they were given a second chance and is happy to have her young Jacob back but knowing that people in Arcadia don’t feel the same way. Jacob is an innocent young boy who is realizing that he died and not sure why he is alive but also has a connection to the other dead who have been brought to life.
- Sheriff Fred Langston and Dr. Maggie Langston (Portrayed by Matt Craven and Devin Kelley) – The local Sheriff who is distrustful towards Marty and the brother of Henry Langston. He has not been close with his daughter Maggie, after the death of his wife Barbara. Dr. Maggie Langston works closely with Marty and starts to become closer with him, meanwhile trying to figure out what is creating the phenomenon in Arcadia.
- Caleb and Elaine Richards (Portrayed by Sam Hazeldine and Samaire Armstrong) – Caleb is a criminal who had stolen money. Despite trying to make his family think he’s a good man since he is alive again, the truth is that he is still bad and has an interest in Jacob Langston. Elaine is Caleb’s daughter and Maggie’s best friend. She is struggling to pay the bills since her father’s death and wants to believe her father has become a good man.
- Pastor Tom Hale, Janice Hale and Rachael Braidwood (portrayed by Mark Hildreth, Lori Beth Sikes and Kathleen Munroe) – Pastor Tom Hale is the respected pastor of Arcadia and married to Janice. His faith in religion and his marriage seems to have changed with the revival of Jacob and the return of his deceased girlfriend Rachael Braidwood.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Resurrection: The Complete First Season” is presented in 1:78:1 and in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Picture quality for the series is great as one can expect on DVD but I can only hope that “Resurrection” is considered in the near future for a Blu-ray release. Dialogue is crystal clear and for the most part, I didn’t notice any problems with video and audio during my viewing of “Resurrection”.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Resurrection: The Complete First Season” comes with the following special features:
- Resurrection: Building a Mystery – (3:02) The cast discuss working on “Resurrection”.
- On Location in Georgia – (3:15) A featurette about shooting in Georgia.
- Bloopers – (2:33) Outtakes from the first season of “Resurrection”.
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring three deleted scenes.
EXTRAS:
“Resurrection: The Complete First Season” comes with a slipcover.
Since ABC’s “Lost” concluded back in 2010, the network has struggled in trying to finding more drama series that deal with the supernatural or fantasy storyline.
While the series has managed to win viewers with “Once Upon a Time”, those wanting more have shown their support for the new drama series “Resurrection”.
A storyline about deceased loved ones coming back from the dead (and are not zombies or vampyres) has been nothing less than captivating. “Resurrection” is a series that prides itself on wonderful writing, interesting characters and no doubt, leaving viewers with the feeling that all hell will break loose for season two.
“Resurrection” manages to tug on your heartstrings as a family who lost their young boy 32-years ago, are reunited with their son, despite an actual corpse being found inside his tomb at the local cemetery. You want to root for young Jacob and his family because they are a loving family, it’s just that his reappearance has spooked out the town of Arcadia and no one wants to have anything to do with the family.
And while Jacob represents the good, Caleb represents the bad. A criminal who, for some reason, also has an interested in Jacob. And of course, all hell breaks loose when dozens upon dozens of deceased love ones start waking up as if life have never ended but to find out they are in a different time period.
While love ones are thrilled to be reunited with their love ones and will try to protect them, of course, there are people including the US military who have other ideas.
Actress Frances Fisher (“Titanic”, “Unforgiven”, “House of Sand and Fog”) and Kurtwood Smith (“That 70’s Show”, “Robocop”, “Rambo III”) bring the emotional component to the drama series, as they do all they can to protect their recently awakened young son.
Actor Omar Epps, who was outstanding in “House M.D.” returns with another role that may earn him a few nominations for his performance as Immigration agent, J. Martin Bellamy and the overall ensemble cast have been fantastic this first season.
While short at eight episodes long, each episode delivers in terms of drama and intrigue. You are literally captivated right from the start and you want to see more!
How did the phenomenon happen? How can there be the deceased corpse that is still buried, yet a perfectly normal carbon copy of that person from that era is able to come back alive. There are so many questions and you can’t help but want to watch the series just to see how things will end up and if the deceased can die a second time? Or will they come back alive?
And it’s interesting to see the different characters have their take on the phenomenon. From aliens to cloning, the various theories that you read on the Internet are quite intriguing but it’s something I have not seen online since “LOST”, so it’s great to see that “Resurrection” back again for a second season!
As for the DVD release, while I wished “Resurrection” was released on Blu-ray like “LOST” and “Once Upon a Time”, picture quality on DVD is as good as one can expect. Audio is also clear and you get a few special features included such as the making of the series, on location in Georgia and bloopers.
Overall, “Resurrection” is no doubt a series that fans who enjoy fantasy and supernatural storylines will surely enjoy. The series is addictive featuring wonderful storylines, fascinating characters and a great buildup for the second season.
“Resurrection: The Complete First Season” is highly recommended!
