Bosch - Season 1 [DVD] (Region 4. Non US format Pal Import)

Michael Connelly is a very talented writer. He has two series that I am familiar with......Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller (the Lincoln Lawyer). You can always count on two things with a Connelly story: (1) a nicely developed mystery and (2) a decent backstory for some engaging characters. So, when I saw that Bosch was going to be an Amazon series, I was thrilled. At the very least, I knew that it would provide a few hours of entertainment. Guess what, I wasn't disappointed. While you may find that episode 1 moves a little slowly, there is a gradual building of tension and suspense that will compel you to watch the entire series in one sitting. This weekend I was able to binge watched all 10 episodes, and while not as raw/gritty as True Detective (which I loved), and not as edgy as Banshee (which I love), it still ranks pretty high in my mind as great television.Titus Welliver is perfect as Harry Bosch. He embodies the essence of the no-non-sense homicide detective who has a keen eye to detail (doesn't accept the quick and easy), is deeply flawed, but clearly dedicated to the truth and justice. The opening episode finds him not exactly following police procedure and chasing (without calling for backup) a murder suspect. Soon we find him fighting for his career as he is being sued civilly (the department has cleared him) for using deadly force against a suspect. While awaiting the verdict, he responds to the scene of some skeletal remains that were discovered by a dog. Needing something to take his mind off of his troubles, he tasks himself with discovering who is responsible for the death of a young child killed several years prior (cold case). Meanwhile, a serial killer has been arrested, and seems to have become fixated on Bosch, and inserts himself into the bones investigation.As Bosch awaits his fate, the investigations come together in only a way that Connelly can orchestrate. And to complicate matters, Bosch's personal and professional lives are clashing. So while trying to solve a very old case (that involves incest, jealousy and abuse); stay one step ahead of a serial killer; try to reconnect with his teenage daughter; have a personal relationship with a fellow cop; deal with unscrupulous co-workers; he must also learn to navigate departmental politics while maintaining his integrity and adhering to his strong sense of justice. As the credits of Episode 10 roll, I prepare myself for another season. Hopefully it's a hit, will be renewed, and I will be able to binge watch Season 2. I give it 4.5 to 5 stars.

This is an amazing series and I hope that Amazon picks it up for several more seasons!I'm not a huge fan of the procedural crime drama genre. These types of series are a dime a dozen and the whole taciturn and grumpy detective shtick is a wee bit tired and old at this point. While Bosch does indeed revolve around a taciturn detective, Titus Welliver brings something fresh to the table. His performance is top notch and he delivers a believable and surprisingly likable portrayal of a broken detective who is trying to make it in a broken world. His performance, along with top notch writing and pacing, creates breathtaking rendition of the procedural crime drama and makes this series so much better than any of the rest. I would have binge watched the series in one sitting if it wasn’t for the Amazon Video app thwarting my plans.My only complaint about this series is the platform on which I watched it. I have a 2014 model Samsung UHDTV with the Amazon Prime app preinstalled. It was on this platform that I had the misfortune of watching the series. Sadly, this app stinks. Not only is it incredibly laggy, but things like displaying closed captioning and watching in UHD seem to be too difficult of a feat for this app to accomplish and results in frequent crashes or introduces such a delay that by the end of an episode the closed captioning is at least two minutes behind the audio. Oh, and don't even get me going on such basic concepts such as rewinding or fast forwarding because I cannot seem to get those simplistic features to operate smoothly either.I have a nice 50mbps FTTH internet connection and can enjoy Netflix UHD content without any issues. I can also stream MGo content in UHD and enjoy UHD streaming on my Sony FMP-X10. However, the Amazon Video apps struggles with everything I throw at it.Mozart in the Jungle - check.The Man in the High Castle - check.Alpha House - check.These are all fantastic series, but they are darn near unwatchable in UHD.I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app. I have performed latency and bandwidth checks to verify my ISP is not a problem (unless they have selective decided to pick on Amazon and only Amazon). I have even tried standing on one leg as I hop up and down performing what probably looks like a rain dance to the untrained eye, but in fact is really is a final act of desperation (or perhaps insanity) and has affectionately become known around my house as the "G D it, maybe this will make the darn thing work" dance. I might be exaggerating. I might not be. Only my toaster truly knows and he talks to no other than me, so the truth safely resides in my fractured mind.Hey, at least I can still joke about my experience, so I have not reached the point of giving up on the Amazon Video app altogether at this point.All I can say is, “Amazon, you should really fix this so that I can give your series the undivided attention that they deserve.” I suspect it is just a buggy app, but it really has started to sour my opinion of your service. I would gladly pay you an extra four bucks a month (like I pay Netflix), to have reliable UHD streaming. I plan on whining about this in every review until it is fixed, which probably means that my reviews will never see the light of day. However, you and I will both know just how frustrating your service is and I will have the satisfaction of at least telling you about it.