“Revenge” is my opinion, one the best drama series currently airing on television. Nothing comes close to it, from wonderful storytelling and acting, this series came out of nowhere and surprised viewers. For anyone who is a fan or curious because they heard so much rave reviews of this series, will definitely want to own “Revenge: The Complete First Season”. Highly recommended!
© 2012 abc studios. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Revenge: The Complete First Season
DURATION: 22 Episodes (924 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Spanish and French Subtitles, Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions
COMPANY: abc studios
RATED: TV PG LSV
RELEASE DATE: August 21, 2012
Directed by Sanford Bookstaver, Matt Earl Beesley, Kenneth Fink, Tim Hunter, Bobby Roth, Phillip Noyce
Written by Mike Kelley, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Joe Fazzio, Nikki Toscano, Mark B. Perry, Ryan Scott, Wendy Calhoun, Salvatore Stabile, Mark Fish, Sallie Patrick, Liz Tigelaar, Elle Triedman
Produced by Melissa Loy, Stephen Sassen, Nikki Toscano, Matt Earl Beesley, Wendy Calhoun
Co-Producer: Ted Babcock
Executive Producer:Â Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Mike Kelley
Co-Executive Producer: Mark B. Perry, Sanford Bookstaver
Consulting Producer/Executive Producer: Phillip Noyce
Consulting Producer: Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Robert M. Sertner, Liz Tigelaar
Supervising Producer: Mark Fish, Elle Triedman
Music by iZLER
Cinematography by Cynthia Pusheck
Edited by Sue Blainey, Martin Nicholson, Conrad Smart
Casting by Elizabeth Barnes, Corbin Bronson
Production Design by Bruce Alan Miller, John Hansen
Art Direction by Christopher Burian-Mohr
Set Decoration by Christopher Marsteller, Michelle Ashley
Costume Design by Jill M. Ohanneson
Starring:
Madeline Stowe as Victoria Grayson
Emily VanCamp as Emily thorne
Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross
Henry Czerny as Conrad Grayson
Ashley Madekwe as Ashley Davenport
Nick Wechsler as Jack Porter
Joshua Bowman as Daniel Grayson
Connor Paolo as Declan Porter
Christa B. Allen as Charlotte Grayson
James Tupper as David Clarke
Ashton Holmes as Tyler Barrol
Emily Alyn Lind as Young Amanda
Margarita Levieva as Amanda Clarke
Amber Valletta as Lydia Davis
Ed Corbin as Bull
Max Martini as Frank Stevens
Almost twenty years ago, Hamptons’ wealthiest elite destroyed a young girl’s life. Relive Emily Thorne’s (Emily VanCamp) quest for revenge and uncover every deep, dark secret. The complete first season includes exclusive bonus features including an in-world sitdown interview with the infamous Nolan Ross in “Nolan Ross: Exposed,†“Lifestyles of the Rich and Dangerousâ€; “Hamptons Bound: Preparing for Life at the Shoreâ€; “Haute Hamptons: Femme Fatale Fashionâ€; bloopers; deleted scenes and insightful episode commentaries.
On Sept. 2011, the ABC television drama “Revenge” made its debut and became the highest rated television series for ABC since “Lost”.
Dominating at the #1 spot on the Nielsen ratings, “Revenge” received favorable reviews from critics for its chilling story of one person’s desire for vengeance. The series would earn actress Madeline Stowe with a 2012 Golden Globe Award nomination for “Outstanding Lead Actress” and nominated for “Favorite New TV Drama” at the 2012 People’s Choice Awards.
With a second season of “Revenge” set to air in September 2012 and a season finale that left millions of viewers shocked, the exciting “Revenge: The Complete First Season” will be released on DVD in August 2012. Featuring all 22-episodes and bonus features.
“Revenge” begins with a man being shot and falling onto the beach while a party is being held in the background. The party is to celebrate the engagement of Daniel Grayson (as portrayed by Josh Bowman) and Emily Thorne (as portrayed by Emily VanCamp, “Brothers and Sisters”, “Everwood”).
We learn that David has went on a walk on the beach, while we see Emily in her red dress wiping sand off her hand, meanwhile we see Daniel’s mother Victoria (as portrayed by Madeleine Stow, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “We Were Soldiers”, “The General’s Daughter”) giving a speech for her son and Emily. Madeleine walks up to Emily and demands to know where her son is.
We then see Daniel’s sister Charlotte (as portrayed by Christa B. Allen) and Declan Porter (as portrayed by Connor Paolo) on the beach. They spot the dead body and Charlotte screams, as everyone in the party rushes towards the beach.
The story then flashes back five months earlier, where Emily Thorne has returned to the Hamptons and is planning to purchase a beach house. We are taken back to Emily’s past and learn that Emily is actually named Amanda Clarke. A woman who’s father was framed for terrorism.
Believing that her father was a monster, she is given records to show that he was innocent and was setup by people he was once close to. And now, the extremely intelligent Amanda plans to get her revenge on each of the people who are responsible for her father’s downfall.
So, Emily/Amanda moves back to the Hamptons and purchases the home where she and her father once lived in. A home that is now owned by Victoria Grayson, a cold, manipulative woman who is suspicious of everyone and a woman who happens to have had an affair with Amanda’s father, David Clarke.
Now Amanda, as Emily Thorne, infiltrates the upper class society of the Hamptons in order to exact her revenge.
She becomes close to Victoria’s son David (which leads Victoria to hire an undercover investigator to look into her past) and slowly trying to meet the mover and shakers in the community and find a way to destroy the people who hurt her father. And while no one knows Emily’s true identity, she runs into Nolan Ross, the genius software inventor and hacker who worked with David Clarke. Although she doesn’t trust him, he was loyal to David and grateful for David Clarke in investing in NolCorp which had made him a successful millionaire.
And as Emily/Amanda sets off to get her revenge, she runs into a little trouble as the person she took the name Emily Thorne from, goes to stay in the Hampton and begins to use the Amanda Clarke. And to make things complicated, Amanda (the real Emily Thorne) begins to have a relationship with Jack. Meanwhile, Emily tries to have a relationship with Daniel Grayson (in order to get close to the Grayson family) but to complicate things, his mother Victoria sends detectives to investigate her, Daniel’s best friend Tyler comes to live with the family but has his own agenda and the family is going through personal crisis as affairs, drugs, murder and deception continue to affect the family.
And just when you think that Emily Thorne’s plans of revenge is starting to come together, revelations of a man with white hair, who may be responsible for killing David Clarke shows up out of nowhere.
Will the real Amanda Clarke accomplish her goal of revenge?
The characters of “Revenge”
- Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke (as portrayed by Emily VanCamp) – The main protagonist. Amanda Clarke watched her father be falsely accused for a terrorism attack and those who framed him not only locking him up but keeping her institutionalized. For years, she has planned her revenge and now has arrived in the Hampton’s using the name Emily Thorne to destroy the Grayson family but also access Conrad Grayson’s files and find evidence that the Grayson’s are responsible for framing her father.
- Nolan Ross (as portrayed by Gabriel Mann) – A genius software inventor and multimillionaire. Because Amanda’s father contributed to the growing of his empire, he promised to watch over Amanda Clarke. He helps Amanda/Emily hack into computers and spy on people.
- Ashley Davenport (as portrayed by Ashley Madekwe) – Emily’s best friend and an employee of the Grayson Family. She has her own personal ambitions that is not known.
- David H. Clarke (as portrayed by James Tupper) – Amanda’s father and the biological father of Charlotte Grayson. A kind and generous man who worked for Grayson Global and loving father for Amanda, he was framed by Conrad and Victoria Grayson, and other Grayson Global colleagues for an infamous terrorist attack that led to many people dying on a plane and became the most hated man in America. While in prison, he was killed in a prison riot.
- Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne (as portrayed by Margarita Levieva) – The real Emily Thorne who befriended Amanda Clarke in the juvenile detention. Both Emily and Amanda have switched identities and have helped each other. But when the real Emily arrives at the Hamptons, she takes on the identity of Amanda Clarke and gets involved with Jack Porter.
- Tyler Barrol (as portrayed by Ashton Holmes) – Daniel’s best friend, dating Ashley but also trying to infiltrate the Grayson family in order to become a high-level executive of Grayson Global.
The Grayson Family:
- Victoria Grayson (as portrayed by Madeleine Stowe) – The matriarch of the Grayson family. Victoria is cold and manipulative. She also had an affair with David Clarke but was coerced into betraying him to protect her children. She is very suspicious towards Emily Thorne and despises her for dating her son Daniel. She and her husband Conrad do not get along and despite the two discussing divorce, they put their own personal ambitions as a priority.
- Conrad Grayson (as portrayed by Henry Czerny) – Victoria’s husband and the CEO of Grayson Global. He has had an affair with Victoria’s former best friend Lydia and is the man responsible for the plane crash that David Clarke was framed for. He and his wife have a problematic relationship and realizes that Victoria can destroy Grayson Global.
- Daniel Grayson (as portrayed by Josh Bowman) – The eldest son of the Grayson family. He is in love with Emily and tries to figure out if he wants to follow his father and learn to run the company or follow his mother.
- Charlotte Grayson (as portrayed by Christa B. Allen) – The youngest sibling who does not get along with her mother. She is dating Declan Porter and is unaware of who her real father is.
The Porter Family:
- Jack Porter (as portrayed by Nick Wechsler) – Jack grew up with Amanda Clarke. He takes over his father’s bar and becomes the guardian for his younger brother Declan. He is in love with Emily Thorne (the real Amanda Clarke) but when she rejects him for Daniel, he falls for the real Emily Thorn who is now pretending to be Amanda Clarke.
- Declan Porter (as portrayed by Connor Paolo) – Dating Charlotte Grayson and is very headstrong, and sometimes making him clash with his brother Jack.
- EPISODE 1: PILOT - Someone is shot at the engagement party of Emily Thorne and Daniel Grayson. The story goes back five months when Emily Thorne moves to the Hamptons, but we learn that Emily Thorne is actually Amanda Clarke, the daughter of the most hated man in America, David Clarke. A man that was framed for a terrorist attack.
- EPISODE 2: TRUST – Victoria has her head of security investigate Emily Thorne, meanwhile Emily forges an alliance with computer genius/hacker Nolan. Meanwhile, the Porter family may lose the Stowaway Tavern. Emily’s first act of revenge will be on her father’s most trusted friend and a man who would later betray him, Wall Street guru Bill Harmon.
- EPISODE 3: BETRAYAL – Emily’s second target for revenge is US Senator Tom Kingsley who was responsible for pursuing David Clarke’s imprisonment.
- EPISODE 4: DUPLICITY – Emily’s third target for revenge is renowned therapist Dr. Michelle Banks, a psychiatrist who worked with Victoria Grayson in keeping Amanda institutionalized in a mental hospital.
- EPISODE 5: GUILT – Lydia threatens Victoria that she will come clean about their involvement with David Clarke’s death, meanwhile Frank tries to kill Lydia.
- EPISODE 6: INTRIGUE – With Lydia comatose, Victoria and Nolan must find a photo that shows Amanda at a Grayson party. Conrad finds out who was responsible for hurting Lydia.
- EPISODE 7: CHARADE – Conrad and Victoria celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, meanwhile Frank goes to look for the real Emily Thorne.
- EPISODE 8: TREACHERY – The real Emily Thorne arrives at the Hamptons and assumes Amanda Clarke’s name and starts to get close with Jack.
- EPISODE 9: SUSPICION – Emily turns to her mentor Satoshi Takeda and we see a new side to Ashley.
- EPISODE 10: LOYALTY – Emily finds out how Nolan is getting information from Tyler. Conrad files for divorce.
- EPISODE 11: DURESS – Emily plans to eliminate Tyler and Tyler reveals his true colors.
- EPISODE 12: INFAMY – Emily’s next target for revenge is best-selling author Mason Treadwell, a man who wrote negatively about David Clarke, despite having information that could have saved him. Charlotte learns the truth of her real biological father.
- EPISODE 13: COMMITMENT – Daniel wants to propose to Emily. Victoria tells Daniel that Charlotte was conceived because David Clarke raped her.
- EPISODE 14: PERCEPTION – Grayson Global’s Chairman Edward Grayson comes to a dinner party hosted by the Grayson family, but chaos takes place when Jack reveals Victoria’s secret affair.
- EPISODE 15:Â CHAOS – The day of Daniel and Emily’ engagement party and who died that night.
- EPISODE 16: SCANDAL – Daniel is suspected of murder.
- EPISODE 17: DOUBT – Victoria reunites with an old flaeme, Dominik Wright and Grayson’s look to pin the murder of Tyler on Jack.
- EPISODE 18: JUSTICE – Emily finds out that her father may have been murdered in prison on purpose, not accidental.
- EPISODE 19: ABSOLUTION – Emily searches for more clues to her father’s murder and looks for former Grayson Global secretary Carol Miller. But what is her ties to Nolan?
- EPISODE 20: LEGACY – A flashback of Amanda Clarke’s first time she infiltrated the Grayson mansion.
- EPISODE 21: GRIEF – When Jack’s dog Sammy (once owned by Amanda when she was a child) suddenly dies, it leads to Jack and Amanda getting closer to each other. Meanwhile, Declan meets a new female friend named Jaime.
- EPISODE 22: RECKONING – The season finale. Emily finds out that the mysterious white-haired man has kidnapped Nolan and goes to rescue him. Meanwhile three major characters are possibly dead. Who lives and who dies in this shocking season finale?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Revenge: The Complete First Season” is presented in Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 televisions. When it comes to television drama series, “Revenge” is quite interesting. You have a lot of the series shot in the set but most amazing aspect of this series is that I thought many scenes were actually shot at the Hamptons, but a lot of those backgrounds were bluescreened.
But the stage is beautifully designed and looks like it was from the Hamptons. For the most part, the series looks good on DVD, nice good closeups and skintones are natural and during low light scenes, I didn’t see any major noise or compression artifacts.
The series looks great, production and costume design are fantastic and it would have been nice to see a Blu-ray release of “Revenge”. But for the most part, “Revenge: The Complete First Season” does look very good on DVD.
As for audio, the series is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the series is primarily dialogue and music driven. Dialogue is clean and understandable, while the music has always played a major part for the series and definitely enhances certain scenes. Personally, I found it much more appealing to have my receiver set at stereo on all channels.
The show is presented in English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Revenge: The Complete First Season” includes the following special features:
DISC 1:
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring five deleted scenes: Good Genes, You Invented Texting, Hacking, Someone’s Daughter, Burgled, Checking Out a Motorcycle
- Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary for “Pilot” with commentary by creator/executive producer/writer Mike Kelley and actress Emily VanCamp.
DISC 2:
- Deleted Scenes -Â Featuring the following deleted scenes: You Can Handle This, It Won’t Happen Again, I’ll Survive, Emily vs. Emily, I Took CAre of Him, Early Risers, Foot Massage, You Can Trust Me, He Got Lucky, Frank’s Wallet, If You Want To
DISC 3:
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring the following deleted scenes: A Business Proposition, Fame and Fire, Believe in Yourself
DISC 4:
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring the following deleted scenes: Turn Up the Heat, Stealing the Pills, Going to War, a Way Out, Summons, Amanda is Innocent, Reinvention, Refill, Finding Peace.
DISC 5:
- Nolan Ross Exposed – (3:04) The uncut 19 News interview with the character Nolan Ross.
- Roadmap to Revenge – (13:37) The writers and cast of “Revenge” talk about the series and filming at the Hamptons.
- At Home in “The Hamptons” – (8:20) Creator and executive producer Mike Kelley talks about shooting in sets that are modeled after the Hamptons. Actress Ashley Madekwe gives a tour of the Hamptons.
- Haute Hamptons: Femme Fatale Fashion – (7:46) Creator and executive producer Mike Kelley talks about the importance of costume design. Interview with costume designer Jill Ohanneson and the goal of capturing the glamor of Grace Kelly and the colors selected. Also, discussing her inspirations for the clothing of Emily and Victoria.
- Bloopers – (2:55) Featuring outtakes from “Revenge” season one.
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring the following deleted scenes: “Daniel’s Defense”, “Your Testimony”, “Anger”, “Heartache”, “Third Time’s a Charm”, “Apology”, “Retribution”, “Memories” and “The Limo Ride”.
- Music Videos – Featuring music videos for Angus & Julia Stone’s “For You” and Christina Perri’s “Distance”.
Exciting, dark and a crazy wild ride of one young woman trying to achieve the best revenge. And when it comes to revenge-based storylines, the ABC drama series “Revenge” is fantastic!
Carefully planned, wonderfully written and each episode so captivating and ending with a teaser, once you start watching this series, you’re instantly hooked!
First, let’s talk about character development. The writers put so much emphasis on the planning of the characters, how each character is connected to each other and building upon these connections. Multi-layered, deep, we start to see how big this betrayal against Daniel Clarke truly is, how many people are involved and how much work Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne has to do, in order to achieve her true revenge.
But revenge doesn’t come easy.
You have the real Emily Thorne coming to the Hampton’s complicating matters, you have a mysterious and crazy lunatic wanting who finds out Emily/Amanda’s true secret, you have a mother who does not want to give up her son that she becomes so suspicious of Emily Thorne that these complications tend to grow and when it affects the Grayson’s, people die. There is so many things going on but branching storylines that are so well-told, you can’t help but be captivated.
Characters with so many layers fueled by ambition, greed, love, spite, pride, chaos, deception and/or revenge. I don’t think I have watched and enjoyed an ensemble drama series in a while since ABC featured “Lost”. And with “Lost” now complete, it’s great to see “Revenge” now leading in the ratings and being watched by millions who were not just captivated but shocked of how far writers would go to surprise their viewers.
Both Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe were amazing in their role and to tell you the truth, I feel that everyone is well-cast.
And aside from the main characters, you also have supporting characters that were literal pipe bombs and adding to the twists of the series. Margarita Levieva as the real Emily Thorne, you expect her to cause some trouble from Amanda (who is posing as Emily). But by the second half of the series, her character really plays a big part and its a bit unforeseen of how this character will affect things for season two.
The other character that was rather interesting but also wild and creepy was Tyler Barrol, played by Ashton Holmes. Crazy, psychotic and also equally important. These recurring characters are injected to the overall storyline but they manage to pack a wallop when it comes to throwing a wrench for various characters.
Each episode was amazingly done, each ending with a surprising teaser and as the series starts with a murder and then taking us back five months earlier, just to see the buildup of these events that lead to the mysterious murder was rather interesting. But once you get over that storyline, something else kicks in and viewers are taken on a wild ride. You just don’t know where things are heading and by the time you reach the season finale, suffice to say, the season finale was a shocker! No one would have predicted this kind of ending and it makes me excited for season 2!
So, along with its characters and storyline, the cinematography for the series was well-done. It’s great to have a series that is well-acted, well-written, cool set design as well as location. “Revenge” is turning out to be my favorite drama series on television.
And as for the DVD release, you get all 22-episodes with plenty of bonus features including audio commentary, many deleted scenes, outtakes, featurettes and more!
Overall, “Revenge” is in my opinion, the best drama series on television. Nothing comes close to it, from wonderful storytelling and acting, this series came out of nowhere and surprised viewers.
For anyone who is a fan or curious because they heard so much rave reviews of this series, will definitely want to own “Revenge: The Complete First Season”. Highly recommended!
