The Good

A highly interesting show that mixes science with the everyday.

The Bad

Sometimes this show felt a little too soft and structured.

Kyle XY: The Complete First Season is presented to us in a mysterious way. We open with a naked teenager (Matt Dallas) in the woods covered in a pink mixture. He is eventually found but not before revealing certain powers and things about himself. After being taken to a juvenile home, he is eventually taken in by the Trager family. Throughout the next 10 episodes we see Kyle's life as he adjusts to this new world. In some ways he is very normal but in others he is certainly not. First of all, there is a lot of mystery behind this character. He doesn't have a belly button, he can't speak, but thankfully of this is aided by the constant voice over that tells us what our main character is thinking.

Like any teenage boy Kyle begins to feel attracted to other people ("Diving In"), he learns how to play basketball ("Kyle Got Game"), and we also realize that there's a lot more to this character than it seems. Essentially, Kyle XY: The Complete First Season is a precursor to bigger things on the horizon. Its apparent that this season was simply getting us aquatinted with the characters as the show got its legs under it.

Features

Commentary Tracks

I listened to the commentary track for the "Pilot" episode. This featured Matt Dallas, Co-creator Eric Bress, and Producers David Himelfarb and Julie Plec. We begin with Dallas talking about the opening scene. He explains how laying naked in the woods, covered in pink goop was the longest day of his life. The other people on this track all seem to be having a good time as they discuss shooting in certain locations, various scenes that were cut and the dynamics of putting a show like this together. They seem to have an overreaching arc for this project, and their goal was to take time with this first season so that all the other plot points could manifest themselves later. Sadly, I found the sound on this commentary track to be leveled a little low.

Alternate Premiere and Extended Season Finale

Kyle Declassified

Fans and newcomers of this show will certainly want to check out this segment. I say that because not only will the newly initiated get to find out about this show, the fans will get to find out a lot about the second season. It is here that it seems like the storytellers are finally getting to the "good stuff." Apparently, a lot about the first season is going to be explained here as we find out Kyle has powers of telepathy, telekinesis and the like. There is also the usual glad-handing where the cast talks about the scripts, working with other members of the cast and crew, and what its like making a show of this nature.

Video

Widescreen - 1.78:1. Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions. The DVD transfers of this show looked terrific. As I often say, this doesn't surprise me as the show itself isn't that old, but I am still quite impressed. In some ways it is almost too clean. For example, things are so sharp (the sets as well as the film stock) that its sort of hard to take the youth center that Kyle is staying in seriously. Its supposed to be this rough place but its almost too clean. I never felt I was watching something that was truly gritty, but I don't think that would really fly as part of the ABC Family lineup.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Spanish Language Track and Subtitles. The audio on this release sounded good. I didn't hear anything that blew me away, but it seems like the music and ambient noises have been created to give Kyle XY an air of mystery. This actually works really well here because we seem to be getting the same information as the main characters in the film.

Package

Utilizing a filter of some sort, the front cover of this slipcase packaging features Kyle holding his shirt up revealing the fact that he doesn't have a belly button. The back portion of the cover has a description of the show, a bunch of pictures from various episodes, a Special Features listing and technical specs. The three discs that make up this set are housed in a piece of pull-out artwork which gives us more images from the show itself. Everything is very easy to wade through in terms of finding the features offered, I only wish there would have been an episode listings and descriptions sheet.

Final Word

As Kyle XY comes to us from the ABC Family banner, I would be remiss if I didn't say that it lacks any of the syrupy elements those other shows have. It is quite clear that this show's aim is to grab the guys by making Kyle seem cool, and grab the girls by showing them close-ups of Kyle's blue eyes and other parts of his anatomy. In a lot of ways this show played like a typical teen show, but there is an obvious Superman-type correlation going on. Watching through the Special Features, it is apparent that more about this character's past will come to light in the second season.

So basically, if you are a fan of this show (or show's of this ilk), I would certainly recommend that you pick up Kyle XY: The Complete First Season. It isn't filled with a ton of action, the cloak and dagger nature of the story takes awhile to get going, but it does allow 10 well crafted episodes to set everything up.

Kyle XY was released .