It’s long established that most reality shows are scripted, but we like to suspend disbelief. Lately, however, it seems as if the scripting aspect of Duck Dynasty is becoming painfully obvious. In the season premiere, Willie and Korie’s daughter Rebecca returns from a fashion internship in Las Angeles. Dad is concerned thus us going to mean Becca is going to move back home. In the next episode, Willie decides he needs an assistant, and Korie asks him to give her cousin John David a chance. John David is around for two episodes, and then disappears. The family clearly wasn’t comfortable taking orders from him, but it felt like the show runners wanted to add a new character to the mix to spark some interest in things. Rebecca was a no-show as well, so perhaps her “Q” rating wasn’t high enough.
In general though, season five is just more of what we’ve come to expect from the Duck Commander crew. Si outfits himself with wearable cameras in an effort to record everyday life, and drives everybody crazy in the process; Jase challenges Willie to a hamburger cook-off, with disastrous results; an argument over a G.I. Joe action figure leads to a chaotic paintball war; Jase offers up the use of an amphibious ATV as an incentive to speed up production; Jase, Martin, and Godwin decide to build a playhouse for Jep’s kids, but the design is very different from what Jep had in mind; Willie brings Sadie to the warehouse as part of a job-shadowing class project, and the family gathers as Mia prepares for surgery on her cleft lip and palate.
Only time will tell if the Robertson’s have run their course, but now, season five is available on Blu-ray and DVD, and the latest adventures of Phil, Uncle Si, and the rest of the gang can be seen Wednesday nights at 10/9 central time.
Episodes: “Boomerang Becca,” “Willie’s Number Two,” “Life of Si,” “From Duck ‘Til Dawn,” “Burger Commander,” “G.I. SI,” “Jase and the Argonauts,” “Fowl Playhouse” “The Big LeCOWski,” “Stand by Mia”
Presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Lionsgate’s 1080p transfer is a very solid one. While the image does appear soft on occasion, for the most part, things are sharp and nicely saturated. Colors are vibrant throughout, and print damage isn’t an issue. Slow motion shots are a bit overused at times, but that’s a preference issue.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 is nothing special, but I guess we shouldn’t expect much from a ‘reality’ show. The ambient noises of the outdoors come through pretty well, I wouldn’t say they are crystal clear, but they are individually distinguishable. Dialogue is clear throughout.
English SDH and Spanish subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
- Featurettes: (HD, 16:57) These are essentially nine recaps of several episodes. Most are from this season, but some are from previous. Nothing special here.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 6:57) Two in total. They are both from “Willies Number Two”.
