Surface: The Complete Series (www.the-usher.com)

Episode 1
People all over the world experience bizarre encounters involving strange new creatures in the oceans. Among those people are Laura Daughtery (Bell), a marine biologist and single mother working in California, Richard Connelly (Ferguson), a Louisiana family man fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, and Miles Bennett (Jenkins), a North Carolina teen who finds one of the creatures' eggs.

Episode 2
After a mysterious animal carcass is discovered on the shore of Sullivan's Island, Laura and Rich head there to look for some answers but instead get detained for questioning. Also, a team of scientists face a hazardous autopsy of the deceased creature. Meanwhile, Miles decides to name his new discovery Nimrod but faces panic and trouble when Savannah throws a party at which point Nimrod ends up escaping.

Episode 3
The phenomena becomes more widespread as similar creatures wreak havoc on the coast of Texas. Laura gets more upset after she loses her job, while Rich still has a difficult time getting over the loss of his brother. Rich's situation gets worse when he starts to hear his brother's voice when he is near water. Cirko and Lee find that the creatures have been digging under the ocean bed, which could link them to global warming. Meanwhile, Miles discovers that it's not safe to raise Nimrod in the backyard when lightning strikes.

Episode 4
Laura and Jackson head out to sea where she ends up using a GPS device to track one of the creatures. Rich finds proof that the sinkholes in his visions are real causing him to continue obsessing over his brother's death. Meanwhile, Lee tries to talk Cirko out of telling the Pentagon that the new species should be considered extremely dangerous.

Episode 5
Laura and Richard reunite and use a GPS device to track one of the creatures to a local pier in California while Cirko and Lee consider asking Laura to join them in their investigation. Meanwhile, Miles and Phil fight to keep Nimrod a secret when suspicious Animal Control officers search for a missing neighborhood dog.

Episode 6
Cirko's life is in danger after he discovers the origin of the mysterious new species. Laura and Rich begin to fear for their own safety when they come into possession of a much sought after sea orchid. Miles sneaks Nimrod out of the house when his parents realize that he's been secretly keeping the animal as a pet.

Episode 7
Jackson comes to Laura and Rich's aid after they find that Laura's home has been broken into. Miles gets in trouble with the law in his attempt to free Nimrod. And Lee discusses Cirko and the creatures with his superiors.

Episode 8
Jackson helps Laura and Rich build a submersible so that they can visit a site where the creatures spawn. Meanwhile, the Bennett's consider boot camp as a way to discipline Miles.

Episode 9
Trapped in the submersible, Laura fears survival is impossible while Rich begins to hallucinate. Miles worries about Nimrod when he hears of trouble at the marine docks. Phil helps Miles look for Nimrod but they discover something else.

Episode 10
Laura and Rich are in for another shock when they leave the ocean floor and return to the surface. Meanwhile, Savannah suspects that Nimrod's responsible for Miles ending up in the hospital.

Episode 11
Rich and Laura try to get the footage of their trip to the ocean bottom to a news station before Lee can stop them. Meanwhile, Miles must watch as doctors prepare Nim for an autopsy.

Episode 12
On the run with Rich, Laura encounters a mysterious person who claims to know the origin of the creatures. Meanwhile, Miles fears the worst when two of Caitlin's friends vanish at the beach.

Episode 13
The search for the mysterious force responsible for the creatures leads Laura and Rich to an abandoned lab. Meanwhile, Miles joins the aquarium crew in searching for the field of unhatched eggs.

Episode 14
Laura and Rich decide that it's time to get some answers from Lee as Laura considers going back home. Meanwhile, Miles gets in trouble with the local residents after a violent incident with a bully.

Episode 15
As a massive tsunami heads for the east coast, Laura must save Rich by heading to North Carolina where Miles and his family are trying to escape with their lives.

After the success of 'Lost' TV companies went looking for the next fantasy series that would take the world by storm but could 'Surface' be that next hit show?

Continual storylines are becoming the big thing again on US television. Shows like 'Lost', '24', 'Battlestar Galactica', 'Prison Break', 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Heroes' have a continual plotlines that push the story along week in week out, putting the characters in one precarious position after the next just as the hour comes to an end. These shows have become extremely popular not just in the US but around the world, so for the big American broadcasters they need to push the envelope to draw in the audiences in this extremely competitive market.

The premise of 'Surface' had all the hallmarks of a hit show written all over it. Marine biologist Laura Daughtery has an encounter with a completely new species of animal while on a deep-sea exploration of the seabed. When these huge sea creatures start appearing around the world, Lauren starts to investigate even after her our government tells her to leave it along. Rich has also seen these creatures, one taking the life of his brother. He then becomes obsessed with finding out what they are, to the detriment of his family and his life. You also have a young boy, Miles who finds an egg out in his local harbour. This then hatches and has to look after his creature and keep it secret from everyone else. This mix of monsters and conspiracy made for interesting viewing and a continuing story that drew you in. Unfortunately the US public and TV executives didn't see this potential and unfortunately cancelled the show.

The cancellation of show means that 'Surface' doesn't really end. This means that fans of the programme never really got all the answers to the questions that creators Josh and Jonas Pate posed in the show's fifteen episodes. While some stories do get concluded, mainly the government conspiracy, the story of the creatures and their affect on the planet isn't.

The performances from the three main leads are very good and make the demise of the show all the more frustrating. Lake Bell is extremely good as Laura, the marine biologist whose life it turned upside down by her discovery of the creatures. Jay R. Ferguson and Carter Jenkins are also very good as Rich and Miles, who have also been greatly affected by their interaction with the creatures. These three storylines and the added government involvement mean that the show had multiple appeal, with audience members have something to connect with.

'Surface' was a show with great potential that could have become a science fiction/fantasy classic. With a premise that drew you in and characters that you wanted to follow, it is a real shame that audiences didn't discover this show and keep it on air.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the series looks great.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes (25.07 mins)
Watch eighteen deleted or extended scenes from the fifteen episodes of the complete series of 'Surface'.

Sci-Fi and Special Effects (8.34 mins)
Creators Jonas and Josh Pate, visual effects supervisor Mitch Suskin, on-set visual effects supervisor Bob Short, supervising animator John Teskar and stars Lake Bell, Carter Jenkins and Jay R. Ferguson take you behind the scenes of the making of 'Surface'. Here we discover the story behind the shot, how Nim and the creatures were created and how they went under the water.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Surface' is good but it could have been better. The lack of commentaries and reflections over the cancellation of the show will be a little disappointing for fans. The deleted scenes are good however and the featurette covers the special effects of the show but there could have been more.

DVD

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