Witchblade: The Complete Series

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre television series Starring Yancy Butler, Eric Etebari, Anthony Cistaro, Will Yun Lee Directed by Neill Fearnley, James Whitmore Jr., David Jackson Publisher Warner Bros.

Witchblade is a 2001-2002 TNT television series about police detective Sara Pezzini and her possession of the legendary “witchblade” that possessed all female warriors of history, such as Joan of Arc. Her weapon deflects bullets, changes shape to become a gauntlet, a sword, or full body armor of many kinds. The armor was created to bear the historical feel of armor from past centuries. The creator of the television show, David Hemecker, designed the show around the comic book series Witchblade by Marc Silvestri. Many fans have been highly critical of the shift in style from the comic book series—which features a busty brunette who is always scantily clad in only the witchblade armor—to the television series—which features an older brunette woman who dresses pretty conservatively most of the time and when in armor, it covers all skin. 

The series ran for two full seasons before it ended. The television show itself was cutting-edge in its time—there had never been a show of its caliber before—and it was TNT’s first successful dramatic series. Looking back at the show, 7 years after its creation, the action seems artificial, but it is obvious that the pre-CGI sequences were probably quite impressive in their time. 

The recently-released DVD set includes seven disks of the entire series, as well as some interesting special features for fans who miss the show. Special features include the character “Gabriel” commenting on several selected episodes. In addition to this, and perhaps even more interesting for fans, are several interviews with the creators of the show and the original cast members. A little bonus for fans comes by the addition of the original audition tapes from the main characters of the series. Also, the DVD features a modernized soundtrack creation that is different from that of the original show.

In general, the DVD release will probably not be too exciting for any but the series’ original fans. For the fans of the show, however, this DVD has a lot to offer: the entire series in a very unique package and bonus features for anyone who misses the show in its airtime of seven years ago. All old fans should pay attention to this set.