The Internet may be the most important construct built in human history for a number of reasons. Being able to instantly access and share data and information as well as the numerous avenues of connection with others has accelerated the expansion and efficiency in many different fields such as medical research, national defense, and the collaboration of higher education institutions. But for most of us most of the time, it’s a way to procrastinate, connect with people on a much less “epic” level, and watch funny Internet videos. A particular genre of these is machinima, which is using the environment of a video game to create certain types of content, such as parodies and outside storylines. And while most of these become single efforts or short mini-series runs, some actually become flourishing, full bodied web series. One such series is Rooster Teeth Production’s Red vs. Blue. What may have started as a way for a few guys from Texas to gain some “web fame” has become quite an expansive project that actually employs people, something that the Reverend X’s and Annoying Oranges of the world can’t claim to do. This review will look at the release of two new DVD offerings: The Recollection (which is a 3 disk set of seasons 6-8) and Revelation, which is a standalone that is just season 8.
As seasons 1-5 have been called “The Blood Gulch Chronicles” it seems the RvB folks are calling 6-8 “The Recollection.” And while the disparity between the number of seasons may seem odd at first, looking at the two collectively, one can see why they decided to create this divide. The obvious reason is that The Recollection is made by using Halo 3, a game which doesn’t offer the multiplayer map Blood Gulch. But the change in game and console (from Xbox to 360) doesn’t just bring about a change in “sets” for the show, it gives its creators much more tools in which to work with and develop the narrative. The biggest of these being Halo 3’s Theater mode, which eliminates the need for the camera to be through the first person perspective of a character. And while I respect the “creative” ways they used to film the series, such as placing the camera player on the end of a Scorpion tank barrel to get a “crane” shot, the Halo 3 work has really increase the depth and emotion in the episodes and has made the characters (old and new) much more effective in their new story.
The first season in The Recollection, entitled Reconstruction, opens up with some new characters, but quickly goes back to the bread and butter of RvB, the regulars. All of the old favorites from “Chronicles” are back including: Blue Army reps Church (Burnie Burns), Tucker (Jason Saldana), and Caboose (Joel Heyman) as well as Red Army stalwarts Sarge (Matt Hullum), Simmons (Gustavo Sorola), Grif (Geoff Ramsey), and Lopez (Burnie Burns). They are joined by a new stable counterpart Agent Washington (Shannon McCormick) who works for Recovery, a program that enlists its people to seek out fallen Spartans from the war and retrieve their more “valuable” parts such as armor, weapons, and their AI. Early in Reconstruction, the viewer finds that all the regulars have been set up with different details that has separated them from each other, but Washington manages to reconnect old Blue Army “pals” (insert sarcasm here) Church and Caboose. Command is told to pick up Caboose as he has first-hand knowledge of the lost AI Omega (also known as O’Malley). The two of them travel to Outpost High Ground on a retrieval mission where Church happens to be conveniently stationed. But during this objective, they are met with force by a mysterious rogue character named The Meta, who is in the business of collecting important things, such as AIs. His reasons and intentions for this is not clear, but the collective reasoning is that it can’t be good! This, along with the explanation of Project: Freelancer is the main vein of the plot for Recollection. At first, I thought such a rich, and for their standards serious, set of things to deal with may have been “more than they could chew” but creators/directors/ and writers Matt Hullum and Burnie Burns actually do a rather elegant job of telling this elaborate story while still offering up their witty brand of humor that has made the series what it is today. Characters like Washington carry a very focused and no nonsense existence in this RvB universe while the audience can still count on The Regulars to give them those “laugh out loud” moments that has separated this online series from many other ones out there. Although a review is not complete without some exploration into the plot (this paragraph) I fear that if I say anymore about the other two seasons in this regard, I may play the role of Mr. Spoiler McSpoils and give away things like when certain characters may or may not reappear and how far The Meta has gone in his quest for *****. The “soap opera” dependence in which Burnie Burns writes the series installs this difficulty. The saving grace here though is that all the DVDs have great bonus material offerings, and allow me to talk (and rave a bit) about the other disks.
Each of the three DVDs feature a mini-series that are relevant in the grand scheme in some form or fashion. The one on Reconstruction is Recovery One; a four part look at the work that Agent Washington does and not only gives you some back story on him, but also acts as a bridge between The Blood Gulch Chronicles and Recollection. Sticking with season 6, it also has a really cool vid called RvB animated, an anime-esque offering that features Grif, Simmons, and Church as they breach a Covenant hold out and battle a battalion of Grunts. While it’s not very long (about 5 mins.) it’s a cool experiment that is refreshing in a lot of ways in comparison to the usual RvB machinima approach. The other extra vids included are the PSA’s done by The Regulars which are short and simple (in most cases) and cover an array of subjects from fire safety to unlocking achievements. These are released alongside the episodes periodically throughout the year and are initially available online as well. The one’s included on Reconstruction are: “First,” “Small Rewards,” “Rock Bottom,” and “Columbus Day.” Moving to season 7, Recreation, the bonus offerings are much the same types of those found on season 6, such as the mini-series Relocated that features the Reds and them getting used to their new base in Valhalla and all the new ways they have to pwn themselves day in and day out. PSA’s offered on this one include: “Halo-Ween,” “Thanksgiving 2008,” “You Had Me At Halo,” “Add It Up,” and “When There’s Smoke.”
The last in the Recollection set is season 8 entitled Revelation. And while the presentation of the menus may be as simple as all of the other ones, the bonuses in this one are especially nice. This one also features PSAs (“Off the Charts,” “Game On,” “Pro-Tips,” “Upgrading”) and a mini-series (Holiday Plans, which shows how The Regulars spend their holidays) but its behind the scenes vids are a cut above the others offered on the other DVDs. The best one being “Behing Visual Effects” which shows how the custom animators on RvB go beyond what is possible with just the controller by using animation software and even mo-cap to create some of the awesome action sequences that are a huge part of what makes season 8 one of the best in the series so far. And all three offer commentary, outtakes, and other behind the scene features that every fan must watch and really validates purchasing the series on DVD.
It’s worth noting that I was also given Season 8: Revelation as a standalone to review, but it doesn’t offer any “additional content” than the one that is included in The Recollection 3 disk set. So, if you’re a fan that has been steadily collecting all of the seasons individually, then go ahead and pick up the single disk Revelation for the asking price of $19.95 (a price you are undoubtedly used to by now). But if you are new to the series, or have not purchased any of the content on DVD, you will not be disappointed with The Recollection, especially with the bargain price tag of $29.95. This package, along with the 5 disk “Chronicles…” set is a good way for someone to go from “Ever wondered why we’re here” through to the latest episode of RvB.
