There couldn’t be a better-timed home video release in terms of the national topic of conversation than HBO’s Watchmen: An HBO Limited Series. It arrives in Blu-Ray and digital download formats and features a mixed-up version of the wildly popular and graphic novel. Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) created the limited series (Nick Cuse, son of Lost co-creator Carlton Cuse, who wrote two of the episodes) and moved the action to a fictional future Tulsa, Oklahoma, deeply haunted by a racial divide that goes back to a simultaneously seismic and suppressed event 100 years prior. One that really happened.
The all-star cast had to be drawn to an incredibly intelligent update on the pages of the stellar script, from Lindelof—whose handprints are all over the entire series run—and 9 others over the show’s 9 episodes. It takes place 34 years after the events of the comics and follows a 2019 Tulsa where cops wear masks for safety and armed vigilantes have become folk heroes, inspired by the “original” Watchmen. Meanwhile, threats are arriving in the form of white supremacists, who may or may not have infiltrated local government and worse still, our national legislative bodies as well. Heck, the local sheriff may even have a white hood in his closet.
Sure, the ensemble is electric, but the headline here, acting-wise, is Oscar winner Regina King. Her portrayal of Angela Abar and her alter-ego, Sister Night, is nothing short of a miracle. Her connection to the past and thus, this incarnation of a future, could not be more integral to the narrative of Lindelof’s televised triumph. The balance she strikes, episode by episode, is uncanny. There is so much to her story that is compelling, it’s tempting to skip ahead a few episodes, just to get some further insight. Her turn is that powerful. Like so many in this extraordinary entertainment experience, Abar and Sister Night’s narrative is dished out in such a manner that it drives our desire to shun sleep and binge the show to get all our answers! Which leads me to …
The creative forces behind this thrill a minute mystery could not have achieved a greater success, script-wise if they tried. The plot planning and how it was laid out over nine episodes should serve as a screenwriting lesson for anyone seeking to tell a story with a wide arc, far-reaching historical significance and power that simultaneously does not forget to craft three-dimensional characters that pop off the page, and thus the screen. Oh, and the clear connection to the divisive nature of the subject matter and how it seems to be ripped from today’s headlines also must have required such an insane amount of prep, intelligence, sensitivity, and innate storytelling gifts.
Evidence of that far-reaching plot is illustrated with the character of Adrian Veidt (Jeremy Irons). We’re not really sure where he is, but what we do know is that the actor has been dealt a character that must have been such a joy to sink his thespian teeth into. He is pivotal to the entire essence and scope of Watchmen, but how he is connected to the events and souls in Tulsa may take the entire series to explain—and that’s just how it should be. I adore a limited series, film—whatever forum a storyteller chooses—that doesn’t hold its viewers’ collective hands. You have to pay attention. Even throw-away dialogue will come back to permeate the emotive generation by the characters. Irons has such a firm grasp on who this guy is, there is a sense that his place within this universe should be ever-shifting. An actor can tease something within the plot structure, simply by how they carry themselves in that character. Not one soul in Watchmen, but especially Irons, ever tips their hat with how they fit into this massive puzzle. It’s uncanny.
Tim Blake Nelson, Jean Smart, Steven G. Norfleet, Hong Chau, Cheyenne Jackson, and Don Johnson are just a few of the performers whose performances help electrify the entire Watchmen experience. Not wanting to go into too much detail, for fear of any kind of plot spoilers, let’s just say that everyone brought their A-game and elevated their performance to reach the importance of the moment.
Just like the recently completed Mrs. America that chronicled the fight over the ERA, Watchmen shows how television is the perfect medium to tell certain stories that are too rich for a two-hour film and also simultaneously do not need season upon season to weave their web. A nine-part limited series, with no plans for any season two, is the perfect forum for these tales that need telling. It has been a revolutionary idea whose time has, thankfully, arrived.
Something needs to be pointed out as well, think you know HBO’s Watchmen because you witnessed it on the network? The Blu-Ray release is better looking, with richer tones and hues and a sonic upgrade that is out-of-this-world (DTS-MA 5.1). Also, by re-watching the masterpiece, there are countless takeaways that resonate more with the hi-def upgrade. Seeing it a second time does something else as well, it is freeing. There was a constant sense of pending doom or exploding surprise around every corner the first time through, that by knowing the overall arc this time, a richness to the subject matter, the performances, the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, these all leap to the forefront of a much more enjoyable entertainment experience.
There are over 90 minutes of bonus content on the Watchmen Blu-Ray, interestingly spread across all the discs in the set, rather than the usual bonus feature-only disc. Just make sure you finish the series, and then hit up those informative and exciting extras.
Given his truly unreal presence in the entire series, I dove into The Colossal King – Adrian Veidt first. The 12-minute featurette heads back to the original artistically awesome comic images merged with what Irons brings to the role, coupled with some mind-blowingly expansive thoughts about what makes Adrian tick from Irons and Lindelof.
Hooded Justice dives into the character of the same name. The filmmakers give some context to the thought process of the slight alteration to the character from the comic pages to the HBO airwaves as he is the electric embodiment of an African American racial righteousness warrior.
The longest, which is appropriate, of the featurettes, the 16-minute Watchmen: Unmasked, delves into how the classic and iconic cast of characters would be retooled, reset, and unfurled to a planet to fictionally address real piercing socio-political atrocities directed against people of color.
She’s our superstar in this ensemble, so don’t miss Becoming Sister Night for a look into not only how King tackled her deeply complicated character—but get a larger view on how the actress centers her characterizations, depending on the project and the part. It’s nice the actress got to kick some serious butt while extolling some serious visceral virtue. In that realm, you don’t want to miss King’s stunt double’s spotlight with Sadiqua Bynum runs, jumps and falls for Sister Night.
Fascinating for longtime fans and newbies as well is Notes from the Watchmen graphic novel artist Dave Gibbons. That’s some priceless insight right there. Rorschach Featurette is exactly what you’d think it would be while It’s Raining Squids and Squid Shelter with Tim Blake Nelson explore the most fascinating of oceanic creatures to fall out of the sky and why they were chosen and perhaps a little symbolism is shared. Watchmen: Alternate History investigates the who, what, why, and when of this alternative timeline that longtime appreciators of Watchmen—I believe—will treasure.
Andrij Parekh on Directing and Anatomy of a Fight Scene give great examples of the creative geniuses that work behind the camera on Watchmen. It’s one thing to have a vision for retooling a fan favorite, it’s a whole different ballgame to bring it to life. Hearing one of the show’s premiere helmers take us inside his psychology of filmmaking a “new and different” Watchmen is a true gift to those who treasure great stories.
The timing on Watchmen—the series—impeccable, one could argue that its subject matter sadly is current at any point in American history (let’s hope that true change occurs this time). Another brilliant thing writers achieved is showing how yes, those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. But also, how folks may be done with history, and how history will decide when and if they are done with you. It certainly is a message that can’t help but pierce through the hearts and minds of anyone the globe over reeling from today’s headlines.
Series Grade: A
Bonus Features: A