Review of Tribe, The: Season 1 (Box Set)

Introduction

I had never even heard of (let alone seen) The Tribe before a review copy containing one disc from series one dropped through my letterbox last week.

The series looks at life following a deadly virus that has wiped out the adult population which leaves the children of the world to survive on their own. With the society created by their ancestors in disarray, the children must create a new society for the future, overcoming adversity.

Not having received the first disc of the boxset, I am unable to elaborate on how the children managed to survive a virus that killed the adults...

Video

The video is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, and is of above average quality which a bright colourful picture with no grain or dirt that is only marred by slightly focus.

The visuals are particularly unexciting, with much of the proceedings taking place indoors, with various exterior placing shots, suitably dressed to look abandoned.

The Tribe is the latest in a long line of sci-fi series that assumes that in the future, people will have absolutely no taste whatsoever - particular when it comes to hairstyles and makeup. Presumably whilst the children survived the virus, it affected part of their brain that controls self-image...

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is not particularly exciting. The dialogue is clear and understandable, and what sound effects the series features are reasonably well reproduced. The series` music is an almost constant feature, and it is straight from your local elevator or call-waiting system, adding no atmosphere whatsoever.

Features

On the disc that I received, the slightly animated menus only offer the episode and language selection screens.

The full boxset contains a making-of featurette, a "The Tribe on Tour" featruette and an outtake reel - but I can`t pass judgement on any of these.

Conclusion

Obviously aimed at a teenage audience, The Tribe takes a well tried idea and delivers a very run-of-the-mill series, which has little substance, little of interest and didn`t hold my interest for more than a few minutes.

The video and sound are both competently presented, but both bland and the extras are minimal to say the least.

Overall, if you`ve seen the series and want to own it on DVD, there`s nothing wrong with this boxset, but for those who haven`t seen it yet, it`s not very exciting.