I was a fan of the 1980s miniseries and eagerly anticipated the release of this show on Blu-ray. The first four episodes are quite intriguing introducing the various characters although the show loses steam over the last eight as the narrative becomes rushed to get to the full-scale invasion that's on the horizon. The second season has been picked up by ABC due to good ratings among Adults 18-49, but if the writers don't get their act together I can see a Heroes-like loss of its audience.

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) is one of many men who want to see the end of the Third Reich. He gets his opportunity when he's maimed in an attack in Africa and transferred back to the fatherland, earning a place in Hitler's inner circle. With the crazed leader's blessing, he changes an emergency plan, Operation Valkyrie, in order to gain control of Berlin once the Führer meets his maker.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) venture to Barcelona for a summer holiday when they meet a charming man, Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem), a local painter who offers to act as a tour guide—among other things. A love triangle develops, and to further complicate matters, Juan's ex-wife Maria (Penlope Cruz) enters the picture.

Growing up, I had the benefit of attending both public and private schools and was fortunate enough to receive a decent education. But without parental support at home, I doubt I would have gotten good grades and been pushed to go to college. I'm sure most teachers will agree that it all starts at home, and they can only do so much during the time they spend with our kids.

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, waste-disposal robot WALL·E (voiced by Ben Burtt) discovers a new purpose in life when he meets EVE (Elissa Knight), a sleek exploration robot looking for signs of life on a desolate, depopulated Earth. WALL·E inadvertently stumbles upon the key to the planet's future and shares the discovery with EVE, whereupon she races back to space to report her findings to the humans who have waited generations to return home.

While the special effects are well done, the over-the-top action gets a bit tiresome after nearly two hours. The video encode is serviceable with adequate depth and detail, but it's the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that is the star of the show. It features very intense bass, a plethora of discrete effects, and reference-quality dynamics.