Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart. Now, in the present day, a group of disparate teen girls — a brand-new set of Little Liars — find themselves tormented by an unknown Assailant and made to pay for the secret sin their parents committed two decades ago…as well as their own. In the dark, coming-of-age horror-tinged drama, we find ourselves miles away from Rosewood, but within the existing Pretty Little Liars universe — in a brand-new town, with a new generation of Little Liars.
For thoughts on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin – Season 1, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin – Season 1 comes to DVD with 10 episodes over 3 discs, which offers a solid amount of room to avoid compression issues. As we believe with most HBO and HBO Max shows, this series should have made the cut for a Blu-Ray release, especially since some of the material struggles in the darker moments that are so prevalent in this show. Due to the limitations of the format, these episodes are not going to fare as well as they do in high definition streaming on HBO Max, but they certainly get the job done within the limitations of the DVD format.
As mentioned, shadow detail is one of the main elements which struggles a bit in the underwhelming black levels that lack distinct edge detail. There is more reasonable depth within the brightly lit settings and environments. Skin tones appear natural, and close ups look quite good with some texture within the setting and outfits. Colors are very pleasing as they radiate with a nice vibrancy. These hues especially stand out in some of the locations and articles of clothing. No entry in the franchise has ever received a Blu-Ray release, so we will not hold our breath that this will ever be given an upgrade. Those who do pick it up should find it to be a suitable backup for the series if you do not want to trust HBO Max to keep it around.
Audio Quality
This DVD comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 track that showcases this series exceedingly well within its format limitations. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear with a focus on the center channel and some stretch into the surrounds when characters call from off screen. The rear speakers create a three-dimensional atmosphere as the sound of various environments create a distinct soundscape. Sound effects and ambient chatter never overwhelm the dialogue causing lost information. The music flows through the room with a sterling fidelity at all times. The mix establishes a joyous sense of directionality so that nothing ever feels like it is coming from the wrong place. While this show would work better with a lossless track, it does everything it can within its limitations on DVD. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin – Invitation To Sin: A four-minute piece with the cast and creative team in which they discuss how this entry into the franchise shakes things up, the production design, the look of the series, the background of the characters and more.
- Inside The Sin: A series of featurettes in which the cast and creative team discuss the plot developments, production details, perspectives on evolving relationships and themes, and much more that gives some decent context to the arc.
- A Is Back (5:55)
- Halloween (8:06)
- Revelations (7:22)
- The Female Gaze (4:02)
- A Liar’s Club (8:15)
- Episode Six (5:21)
- Character Introductions: Brief moments with the main cast of characters in which you get to learn about some of the experiences the actors have with the franchise, how they prepare for their roles and more.
- Noa Olivar (1:18)
- Imogen Adams (0:54)
- Tabitha “Tabby” Hawthorne (1:28)
- Karen & Kelly Beasley (2:09)
- Minnie “Mouse” Honrada (1:11)
- Faran (1:19)
- Describe Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Using Emojis: A silly minute-and-a-half piece in which the ensemble jokingly pitch out ideas on how to best sum up the series.
- A New Generation Of Terror – The Villains of Original Sin: A nine-minute exploration of the terrifying antagonists of this entry, the ways in which the stakes are heightened, the clues throughout the season and more.
- Swagger, Romance and Fear – The Boys Of Original Sin: A nearly eight-minute piece in which the guys from the show gather to discuss their characters, as well as insights from some of the actresses who discuss their experiences working with the boys.
- Character Check-In: Additional featurettes in which the cast members discuss how their characters evolve over the course of the season.
- Noa Olivar (2:16)
- Imogen Adams (2:19)
- Tabitha “Tabby” Hawthorne (2:06)
- Kelly Beasley (2:36)
- Minnie “Mouse” Honrada (3:24)
- Faran (2:11)
Final Thoughts
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is a breath of fresh air to a franchise which has struggled a bit to recapture the addictive nature of the mothership. This entry is easily the best since the original run, providing a genuinely great time for both longtime fans and newcomers to the property. The characters are fleshed out pretty well considering the relative brevity of the season, and the shift towards a more throwback slasher aesthetic really amps up the giddy thrills. This one is a blast for horror and mystery fans. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has delivered a DVD with a solid A/V presentation for the format and an impressive number of special features that fans will appreciate. If you are a fan, you will want the security of physical media in case this ever disappears from streaming, but a Blu-Ray release would have been nice. Recommended
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin – Season 1 is currently available to purchase on DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
