UNDERGROUND REVIEWED
“Underground” is way better than I expected. I love how WGN is taking chances more than AMC now. While not all of the genre experiments work, “Underground” hits that same nerve that “Django Unchained” hit a few years before. But, this is TV friendly in the way that exploitation knock-offs used to achieve in the 1970s. The anachronistic soundtrack can get old at points, but it helps match the modern dialogue and need to make this real. From the slave chase opening set to Kanye to hearing electronic beats as our heroes make their way North, you feel the need to escape.
Slavery is one of those story topics that gets touched with the reverence saved for hemophiliac babies and Hallmark cards. I appreciate that “Underground” balances the maturity of the material with the desire to entertain. Such audience pleasing measures will probably keep it safe out of Emmy territory, but that’s their problem. Historical fictional only works when the constructed characters give an audience the reason to look back with excitement. Hopefully, Underground gets way more seasons than Manhattan did. Hell, I’d love to see the series go into the early Civil War era. Fantastic stuff all around and well worth your time.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Featurettes
- Gag Reel
- Commentaries
- Camera Test
A/V STATS
- 1.78:1 standard definition transfer
- Dolby Digital 5.1