Tulsa King appears in an aspect ratio of 2.00:1 and 2.35:1 on these Blu-ray Discs; the dimensions depended on the episode and nature of the story. The series came with generally good – though not great – visuals.
General sharpness worked fine. Some mild softness interfered at times – usually during interiors – but the shows mostly came across with appropriate delineation.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects appeared, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent.
Colors leaned toward a mix of green, amber and teal. While the hues didn’t impress, they seemed more than adequate.
Blacks appeared fairly deep and dense, while shadows seemed acceptable, if a little on the thick side. Overall, the shows looked positive, if not exceptional.
Similar thoughts greeted the competent DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of King, as the material felt positive but not memorable. As a character comedy/drama, the series didn’t come with a ton of room for sonic fireworks.
Still, the mixes offered an appealing sense of place, and a few more violent sequences added zing. For instance, car chases and explosions brought involvement.
Nonetheless, most of the time the soundscapes remained low-key in nature. This made sense for the shows.
Audio quality appeared fine, with speech that came across as natural and concise. Music seemed vivid and full.
Effects boasted positive accuracy and range as well. Again, the soundfields didn’t dazzle, but they worked fine for the series’ intentions.
A mix of featurettes appear, and we find nine Behind the Story segments that fill a total of 52 minutes, 51 seconds. These accompany each episode, and across them, we hear from executive producers Terence Winter and David Glasser, stunt coordinator Freddie Poole, stunt driver Corey Eubanks, special effects coordinator Matthew Kutcher, and actors Sylvester Stallone, Domenick Lombardozzi, AC Peterson, Vincent Piazza, Jay Will, Martin Starr, Garrett Hedlund, Andrea Savage, Dan Waller, Dana Delany, Ritchie Coster, Max Casella, Annabella Sciorra, Tatiana Zappardino, and Chris Caldovino.
The “Story” segments look at story/characters, cast and performances, stunts and effects. Though the clips occasionally offer useful information, they mostly just recap various episode plot domains and feel promotional.
Disc One opens with ads for Yellowstone Season 5, Reacher Season One, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season One, and 1923.
On Disc Two, an additional six segments show up, and we open with Stranger in a Strange Land. It goes for eight minutes, 30 seconds and includes notes from Glasser, Stallone, Delany, Zappardino, Lombardozzi, Starr, Will, Hedlund, show creator Taylor Sheridan, and production designer Todd Jeffrey.
“Land” covers the series’ origins and development, casting and characters, genre domains, and design choices. While not packed with insights, we get a few good notes here.
Carpe DM goes for eight minutes, 19 seconds and features Stallone, Delany, Winter, Savage, Casella, Sciorra, Hedlund, Glasser, Zappardino, Lombardozzi, Caldovino, Piazza, Will, and Coster.
With “DM”, we look at Stallone’s work on the show. Unsurprisingly, this ends up as a lot of praise and little substance.
Next comes Mercy and Malice, a 12-minute, 24-second program with Winter, Stallone, Will, Starr, Casella, Hedlund, Caldovino, Zappardino, Sciorra, Lombardozzi, Peterson, Poole, Savage, Delany, and Coster.
“Malice” covers cast, characters and performances. Though it leans a bit toward happy talk, it comes with some decent material.
Haberdashery goes for nine minutes, 39 seconds and offers material from Stallone, Coster, Delany, Starr, Caldovino, Will and costume designer Susanne McCabe.
As implied by the title, “Haberdashery” looks at the series’ clothes and outfits. It offers useful insights.
After this we find Outthink Your Enemy, a 10-minute, 52-second reel with Winter, Poole, Stallone, Will, Kutcher, Coster, Savage, Casella, Eubanks, assistant property manager Katie Boaen, property master Niko Zahlten, stunt performer James Peyton,
“Enemy” examines stunts and action. It mixes informative notes and praise.
Finally, The Here and Now lasts eight minutes, 23 seconds. It features Winter, Delany, Stallone, Hedlund, Glasser, Zappardino, Peterson, Will, Savage, McCabe, Lombardozzi, Casella, Jeffery, and set decorator Janessa Hitsman.
We learn about the series’ sets and locations. It becomes another decent overview.
While not the most original concept for a series, Tulsa King nonetheless explores its concepts fairly well. The nine Season One episodes create an engaging world that keeps us with it. The Blu-rays bring largely positive picture and audio as well as a mix of featurettes. I look forward to Season Two.