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Title: Harsh Realm: The Complete TV Series On DVD: Three-Disc Collector’s Edition
Region: One
Genre: Sci-Fi Virtual Reality Action Thriller TV Series
Disc
One: “Pilot”, “Leviathan”, “Inga Fossa”, “Kein Ausgang”
Disc Two: “Reunion”, “Three Percenters”, “Manus Domini”, “Cincinnati”
Disc Three: “Camera Obscura”
Stars: Scott Bairston, D.B. Sweeny, and Terry O’Quinn
Guest Stars: Samantha Mathis, Sarah Jane Redmond, Cliff De Young, and Max Martini
Uncredited Cameos: Lance Henriksen, Gillian Anderson (Voice Over Only)
Writers: Chris Carter, Steven Maeda, Greg Walker, Frank Spotnitz, and John Shibon
Creator: Chris Carter
Inspired By The Harsh Realm Comic Book Series Created By James D. Hudnall, And Andrew Paquette
Directors: Daniel Sackheim, Bryan Spicer, Kim Manners, Tony To, Larry Shaw, and Jefery Levy
Executive Producer: Chris Carter
Extras: “Inside Harsh Realm Featurette”, “Creating The Logo & Title Sequence Featurette”, “TV Spots”
Languages: English and French Language Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Chapter
Stops: 15 Per Episode
Sound: Dolby Surround Sound
Running Time: 347 Minutes
Packaging: Three Slim Keep Cases Within A Cardboard Slipcase
Year Of Television Broadcast: 1999/DVD Release: 2004
Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Sarajevo,
1994, a group of Marines on a peacekeeping mission spot several kids in the
middle of a battle zone. One of the Marines, Waters, (Max Martini), makes a run
to save a little girl who appears lost in the midst of the chaos only to be
cornered by a group a older kids with machine guns. Hearing shots fired,
Corporal Hobbs, (Scott Bairstow), goes to save his fellow Marine as an air
strike takes out the building wreckage they are holding up in. As the screen
over exposes to a clear white we hear Hobbs’s voice over about the nature of
his fate that he never thought he would grow to believe in, let alone come to
pass.
Like
other Chris Carter shows, “Harsh Realm” has its own coda of phrases that
read throughout the techno-pop music and hyperactive photography that make up
the show’s opening credit sequence. They say, “In The World.” “Within
Our World.” “A Lone Man.” “His First Chance.” “Our Last Hope.” “Harsh Realm” and then the opening credits sequence
conclude with the phrase “It’s Just A Game.”
At
Fort Dix, New Jersey in the present, Hobbs is preparing to leave the military to
start a new life in California with his fiancée when he is ordered to see his
Colonial (Lance Henriksen) at a
remote location to test pilot a virtual reality game known as “Harsh Realm”
where Sergeant Major Omar Santiago (Terry O’Quinn) has achieved the rank of
highest scorer in the game. Hobb’s mission is to go into the VR simulation and
beat Santiago by taking him out.
Watching
a video narrated by the voice of (Gillian Anderson) Hobbs suddenly finds himself
deep in the battle zone where rebels led by D.B. Sweeny are fighting a guerilla
war against Santiago in hopes that by defeating Santiago they can all win
freedom from the virtual hell they are all trapped in and Santiago has full
control over being the leading scorer of the game. If you die in the game, you
die in reality and so with Santiago running the show, Hobbs only hope of getting
back to his real life wife is to kill Santiago and fulfill his destiny as the
savior to the virtual inhabitants trapped in “Harsh Realm.”
Like
“The X Files,” “Harsh Realm” leaves more questions than it answers and
contains lots of background hints that lends itself to repeated viewing to catch
certain subtleties. The acting and production value are top notch while Mark
Snows’ musical score combines the typical theme music we have heard in other
shows he has scored like “The X Files,” with a broader techno-pop sound that
adds some excitement to the action sequences.
What
is troubling about “Harsh Realm” is that it is derivative of other virtual
reality films. Particularly, “The Matrix,” with its messianic overtones and
“The Thirteenth Floor,” with its different levels of reality that lead one
to begin to wonder what is exactly real and what isn’t. There is also slight
tone of paranoia that is reminiscent of “The Prisoner.”
Those
similarities aside, what is also troublesome about “Harsh Realm” are that
there isn’t any real chemistry between the lead Actors. This problem ultimately tanked “Millennium” and in no
small part good chemistry between Actors helped to bring “The X Files” from
cult show to mainstream success. Despite the claims made by series creator Chris
Carter that there were endless possibilities for the show, it is obvious that
they can’t kill Santiago without another bad guy to take his place and so the
goal of the series was in my opinion limited.
Of course I trust that Chris Carter had these concerns in mind otherwise he would not have pushed forward with this show, which was inspired by a comic book, but even five years since the show first aired and was cancelled, he has yet to have any successful television program outside of “The X Files,” so the one whose fate may truly be in the balance might be Carter himself. Right now it appears that basic non-cable broadcast network sci-fi is on it’s last legs with even the mighty “Star Trek” franchise just barely getting a fourth season for the latest incarnation, “Star Trek: Enterprise.” I love sci-fi so while these comments may seem unsympathetic I do not think I am wrong. Just look at the amount of new genre series premiering this fall. Even the October 2004 issue of “SCI FI” has a caption on the cover that says “FALL TV PREVIEW. WHAT THE #4@! HAPPENED?” I hope things change because we need something new on network television to capture our imaginations the way shows like “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Babylon 5,” “The X-Files,” and even the dark fantasy action and touch of comedy “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” delivered in the 1990s.
As a whole “Harsh Realm” still has an equal balance of solid individual performances, great production value, and an intriguing premise even if it is not original. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has presented “Harsh Realm” as a three DVD box set containing all 9 episodes, some of which only aired on cable television’s FX network. Despite the fact that the packaging states that the episodes are presented in a (1.33:1) full-framed aspect ratio, they are in fact presented in 16 by 9 enhanced (1.78:1) and all of the episodes look terrific. Exceptional English and French Language Dolby Surround Soundtracks are encoded onto all three discs along with English Captions and Closed Captions as well as Spanish Language Subtitles included as options. There is a commentary track by Director Daniel Sackheim for the pilot as well as an episode length commentary by Chris Carter for the pilot too. Carter is very interesting when he speaks, but at times he pauses too long during the action as if he were distracted and he is a bit too soft spoken too so raise the volume on your sound systems if you want to hear what he has to say clearly.
The other extra value features are on the third disc and they include an interesting retrospective documentary about the development and demise of the series as well as a featurette on creating the logo and opening title sequence for the series. Three Fox television spots and two FX television spots as well as trailers for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s “Alien Quadrilogy,” “Planet Of The Apes: 35th Anniversary Widescreen Collector’s Edition,” and “Predator: Collector’s Edition” wrap up the features on disc three. The interactive menus are well rendered and easy to navigate. “Harsh Realm: The Complete TV Series On DVD: Three-Disc Collector’s Edition” is available now at retailers on and offline from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2004 By
Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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