The Show
The highpoint of Hung The Complete First Season is unquestionably the double-length pilot (regular episodes are smartly timed for half-hour slots), helmed by Sideways director Alexander Payne. Here we are introduced to underpaid high school history teacher and basketball/cross-country coach Ray (Thomas Jane) who, after a long string of unfortunate life changes, is forced to use his only remaining God-given "tool" and take up the world's oldest profession to pay his mounting bills. The series is clever and funny, seasoned with brazen double entendres that would make Jack Tripper giggle. The casting is ideal too, from Jane's Ray, who can sometimes just barely contain his understandable bitterness, to Jane Adams as his washed-up-poetess pimp. 'Round about the middle of the season, Ray is so successful that a rival pimp begins circling, and this additional drama ensures that the comedy remains good and dark.
The Picture
Despite HBO's programming being readily available to satellite/cable customers in HD, I wonder if they are not quite up to the challenges of 1080p Blu-ray presentation. Hung is shot on 35mm film, impressive for a weekly series, and yet shadows and skies and other smooth expanses can be extremely noisy. Out-of-focus backgrounds and even entire scenes can be a little rough, with a digital twitch, and telltale brick walls can be outright nasty. Blacks look basically natural overall, but they lack detail. Bright, well-focused shots can be pleasingly sharp. Well, it definitely looks better than DVD.
The Sound
The clarity and the creativity in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is more inspiring, from the tiny "plip" when Ray tosses a crumpled piece of paper and it lands behind him to the all-encompassing thunder. There might be a siren in the distance or a dog barking or a PA system delivering some message in the surrounds, to engrossing effect. Dialogue is always crystal-clear, the icing on a better-than-expected TV-on-Blu-ray track.
The Extras
Audio Commentary is provided on the pilot and another episode by the creators/executive producers Colette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin, plus a third with Burson and Lipkin joined by writer Brett C. Leonard. From there it's three brief segments, all in HD. "About Hung" is a good entry point, offering general background about the genesis of the show (nine-and-a-half minutes), while "The Women of Hung" (seven minutes) lays bare how the stories explore the perceptions and relationships between men and women. "Ray and Tanya's Personal Ads" is a montage of the "raw" video from the promo clips recorded for their business venture, dubbed Happiness Consultants.
Final Thoughts
Be warned: As we should expect, Hung develops a very frank tone to both its humor and the personal/professional activities of its characters. Once again, it's the sort of thing we only see on pay TV. And Blu-ray, of course.
Product Details
Where to Buy:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
