Being a long time fan of the X-Men, anything even remotely dealing with it is something I have to check out. Once I learned about Bryan Singer of the X-Men movie series fame was going to direct the pilot episode to the X-Men spin-off TV show The Gifted, I knew I had to take a look. The hit show has finally made its way home to DVD in The Gifted: The Complete First Season set. Filled with mutant mayhem, prejudice, and loads of drama, this is a gift fans and sci-fi buffs will want to open.
Taking place in an alternate universe where the X-Men have seemingly vanished, the series follows the lives of the Strucker family, mainly the two teenage siblings Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) and Andy (Percy Hynes White) who have discovered they’re mutants with incredible powers and abilities. Of course since they’re in a world where mutants are feared and hated, their family is now at risk of government organizations hunting them down to imprison and study them.
So now they’re on the run, and thankfully it isn’t long before they come across some friendly mutants named Lorna (Emma Dumont), Eclipse (Sean Teale), and John Proudstar (Blair Redford). It’s up to them to stay together and survive while trying to live in secret, but we all know that’s going to prove quite difficult as enemies are all around and within their group.
Being a fan of the X-Men, I was already digging the show as soon as I started watching. There was always something cool and interesting happening with the family, whether it was some mutant-powered action or just dealing with life’s everyday struggles on top of being a mutant. Even the non-mutant parents played by Stephen Moyer of HBO’s True Blood and Amy Acker of the classic Buffy spin-off Angel manage to keep things lively when the show shifts to them every now and then.
It would’ve been nice to have seen this on Blu-ray, but the DVD’s look and sound pretty good for what they can do. Another small gripe I had is that this set lack any kind of special features. You’d think it would have audio commentary of some episodes, especially the pilot directed by Bryan Singer, cast and crew interviews, promotional videos or something.
If you’re an X-Men fan like myself or enjoy good sci-fi dramas, you’ll want to experience The Gifted: The Complete First Season for yourself. It’s short and to the point, and sadly so is the DVD set itself with the lack of any special features. Even still, this is a gift of a series you don’t want to miss out on, and you can watch it just in time for the now airing second season.
