Overview: Blood Ties follows the killer chronicles of private investigator Vicki Nelson (played by Christina Cox), and her cohort Henry Fitzroy (played by Kyle Schmid), who just happens to be a 480-year-old bloodsucker. What started as a violent murder witnessed by Nelson in the streets of Toronto turns into a maelstrom of murder, mystery, and paranormal mayhem.

Blu ray: 'Blood Ties' premise sounds promising in print, but without certain cleverly crafted story arcs and meaningful character interaction, it would amount to little more than a tired remake of thw week. Think, well, 'Wolf Lake'!

This is a show that wisely knows not to take itself too seriously, leading to fast and furious one-liners, visual gags and impeccable comedic timing. The entire Canadian cast and crew does a consistently amazing job of bringing 'Blood Ties' to life, and it's great to see a Canadian production receive airtime in the States.

The show's setting is Toronto but is filmed in Vancouver (with exterior shots of identifying Toronto landmarks), but it's still Canadian through-and-through, a rarity in days where tired Toronto is expected to double as Everyamericancity.

Although claimed to be the complete series here, it is actually the first season - but, I digress! Anyway, 'Blood Ties' remains my favorite post-'Forever Knight' type show - for its enchanting blend of humor, passion, action, moral dilemmas, and the mortal (and immortal) ties that bind.

Tanya Huff's source material has been toned down enough to allow families to enjoy 'Blood Ties' together. 'Blood Ties' protagonist Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox) is a strong positive role model for women through her physicality, self-reliance despite disability, and intelligence.

It's instantly obvious (except to American/Canadian networks who were reluctant to pick up the show for a second season!) why 'Blood Ties' was nominated for numerous awards such as Constellation and Leo Awards. The entire cast, headed by Christina Cox (Vicki), Kyle Schmid (Henry), Dylan Neal (Mike), and Gina Holden (Coreen), has an outstanding chemistry that shines on-screen. [VC] This is a Full Screen Presentation (1.33:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Twenty-two episodes on four discs
24-minute Behind the Scenes Featurette
Three-minute Series Trailer
32-second Season 1 DVD Trailer
Five-minute Photo Gallery
Eight-page booklet with synopses of each episode.