Duck Dynasty

Amidst a hailstorm of controversy, Lionsgate released the Duck Dynasty Collector's Set earlier this month on Blu-Ray just in time for the holidays. Spanning the first three seasons of the hit A&E reality show, the set also includes a special Duck Commander bandana and a good amount of bonus features. Buying a collection like this probably isn't the best idea for folks who have never even seen the show before, but longtime fans of the show should enjoy a more condensed set with a gift included.

Currently holding the record as the most-watched nonfiction cable series in history, Duck Dynasty has been incredibly popular since it began. The show revolves around the everyday lives of the Robertson family who operate the successful Duck Commander business out of West Monroe, Louisiana. After inventing a popular type of duck call, patriarch Phil started the company in 1973 and has since handed it off to son Willie who is the present CEO. Willie's brother Jase designs some of the calls and manages the assembly aspect of the business. Phil's brother and Vietnam War veteran Si heads up the operations division and has easily become the most popular character of the series with his interesting philosophy and penchant for drinking iced tea.

Like most loosely scripted reality shows, Duck Dynasty has a rather formulaic structure that repeats itself in each episode. Instead of actually focusing on what could be a rather interesting story of a small business that turned into a multi-million dollar industry for the Robertsons, the majority of the show deals with various family members getting themselves into crazy situations. The men go late night frog hunting, a samurai sword creates a mess of fun at headquarters, and Willie attempts to shed pounds with a shake weight. You get the point – once you’ve seen one episode, you’ve pretty much seen them all. All 41 episodes from Seasons 1-3 are included on six Blu-Ray Discs with over an hour of bonus footage consisting of interviews, deleted scenes, and webisodes.

Whether you watch Duck Dynasty or not, undoubtedly you’ve heard of the recent controversy involving comments Phil made in an interview with GQ. My opinion isn’t relevant to the review of this release, but I will say that Phil’s homophobic and racially charged comments were terrible and harken back to an ideology that should have passed this country by more than 50 years ago. The comments particularly send the wrong message to impressionable teenage boys who make up a big part of the viewing audience for the program and idolize the Robertson family. Duck Dynasty is one of those shows that you’re either going to love or hate – there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground. Although it would probably be easy enough to watch these seasons on Duck Dynasty marathons that A&E seems to run every other night, fans of the show should enjoy having them all collected in one package with a plethora of bonus features.