Mill Creek Entertainment Preps DVD And Blu-ray Collections Of 12 Monkeys: The Complete Series For Release On July 14

Perfect.   Genius.   Those are just a couple of words that describe the latest DVD and Blu-ray release news coming from Mill Creek Entertainment.

On July 14 sci-fi fans — and for that matter, binge-hungry series consumers — can dive into 12 Monkeys: The Complete Series as either eight-disc DVD or Blu-ray product offerings.

Back in 1995, director Terry Gilliam, with inspiration gleaned from Chris Marker’s 1962 short film, La Jetée, teamed up with the writing duo of Janet and David Peoples to deliver the sci-fi thriller, 12 Monkeys.   

A few notes about this.   First, David Peoples had previously teamed up with Hampton Fancher back in 1982 for the film adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel, Blade Runner, so adapting the concept of La Jetée was right in his wheelhouse.   

Next, in 1992 he was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay, Unforgiven, so he was a hot commodity when he and his wife, Janet, joined former Monty Python member-turned-filmmaker Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, etc.) for the film production of 12 Monkeys.

It quickly became a sci-fi favorite among genre fans, earning Brad Pitt his first Oscar acting nomination.   It was just too good a concept to be limited to a single motion picture and so in January of 1995, 12 Monkeys began a four-year, 47-episode run on SYFY channel.

It’s 2043 and a deadly virus has ravaged the planet (sound familiar), but “Project Splinter,” headed by physicist Katarina Jones (played by German actress Barbara Sukowa — Johnny Mnemonic, Hannah Arendt, etc.), has a unique solution to the problem.   Go back in time to 2015 and stop the Kalavirus outbreak before it begins.

To this end, a nobody by the name of James Cole (Aaron Stanford — The Hills Have Eyes, X-Men: The Last Stand, Live Free or Die Hard), who seems to have a connection to the past, is recruited to be the guinea pig to go back in time and stop the mysterious Army of the 12 Monkeys, who were (are) responsible for the development of the Kalavirus.

In the past (2015), Cole meets an expert on viruses, Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull — Suits), and together they must do the dangerous detective work before time in the future runs out for the human race (the virus continues to mutate).

Does Cole succeed in his mission?   The answer is … no, no, you have to wait until July 14 for the release of both DVD and Blu-ray (for the first time) collections of 12 Monkeys: The Complete Series from Mill Creek Entertainment.