Release Date: May 17, 2011
Rating: NR
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, 9 minutes

Meet Annie Walker (Piper Perabo): smart, stunning and the CIA’s newest field operative in one of their most secretive branches. Suddenly summoned by headquarters for active duty one month before training is over, she’s quickly thrown into a shadowy world full of cons, killers and international crime rings. What she doesn’t know is there’s something-or someone-from her past that her bosses want badly enough to put her in harm’s way. She just has to survive long enough to find out why. From the producer of the Bourne films comes the action-packed first season of the smash-hit espionage series, with co-stars Christopher Gorham and Sendhil Ramamurthy, and guest stars Peter Gallagher, Eriq La Salle, Lauren Holly, Liane Balaban, and Anna Chlumsky. Critics are praising it as “the best new drama of the season.”

Covert Affairs is my second favorite series on USA (the first being White Collar) ever. Everything that I mentioned in the Pilot review (read here) holds up for the series. The writing is truly spectacular, the guest stars jump right in and connect with their characters just as immediately as the main cast members do (who have great chemistry by the way), and the locations and sets are stunning! The amount of detail that the crew have put into the CIA set as well as Gorham’s character who is blind is incredible. While I would not say that the series is compelling or life changing, the series does showcase quite a few life challenges.

There is also a great balance of case by case story lines and long term story arcs where character development may, on first glance seem hard to keep up with but is actually not. The writers know exactly what they are doing and are doing it just right. The balance between the drama, action, and the comedy (Auggie’s one liners and Joan’s smug smiles after her hazing responses for example) is superb. Covert Affairs is easily one of the most entertaining and engaging spy dramas on television today. So make sure to get season one on DVD now and catch up on Season 2 which is currently on the air now.

Bonus Features:
Deleted Scenes (17:93 minutes) – There are approximately ten deleted scenes for “Walter’s Walk,” and one scene each for “South Bound Suarez,” and “No Quarter” on Disc One. Disc two holds about seven deleted scenes for “Houses Of the Holy,” about five scenes for “What Is And What Should Never Be,” while disc three holds seven deleted scenes for “Fool In The Rain.” All of the scenes for the latter episode I found intriguing and or entertaining for various reasons. Although this was one of my favorite episodes of the season, so I may be biased. There are also two scenes that I really enjoyed in “Houses Of the Holy,” one in which Annie plants a bug and one with a woman in the interrogation room. Gorham shines in the first deleted scene in “What Is And What Should Never Be.” His one liners should never be cut! Scenes where Annie says “Klutz” should always be cut in my opinion. Hopefully we do not have to hear Annie use that excuse too much in season two around her sister. She needs to come up with more clever cover ups. The rest of the deleted scenes are mediocre or where put into the episodes in some way, shape, or form, so there’s not a whole lot to be missed here.

Gag Reel (2:22 minutes) – In watching the gag reel, viewers will get to see just how much fun Piper Perabo was to have on set. What a goofball! Perabo is not just a klutz because of her character ad that’s all I’ll say about that. Viewers also get to see moments when Perabo, Anne Dudek, and Sendhil Ramamurthy all have issues with their lines. It’s quite funny! Too bad this reel wasn’t longer.

Welcome to the Farm (13:40 minutes) – This feature is Covert Affairs 101 more or less. Piper Perabo described it best when she said, “You kind of see the balance between work and life in our show.” Aside from a brief description of the show, the writers and producers talk about casting the main characters while the cast talks about the incredible writing which gives a nice, equal balance to the feature… and they top it off with talk of season two, which is brief and non-spoilery other than taking the next season to more locations. This is not a must see feature for viewers who have seen the entire first season, but it is a great introduction to the series for anyone who has yet to see the series.

Also Appearing in This Feature:
Christopher Gorham, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Kari Matchett, Peter Gallagher
Co-creators/co-writers, Chris Ord and Matt Corman
Executive producer, Doug Liman, David Bartis
Executive producer/co-writer, James D. Parriott

Blind Insight (4:02 minutes) – Christopher Gorham, Piper Perabo, and Co-creator/co-writer, Chris Ord appear in this feature in which Gorham discusses his research as a CIA operative and as a blind man. He received an unforgettable amount of time receiving guidance from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind though because this feature is so short, there really is not a significant amount of time to get into the nitty gritty. Still, this is a great peak into Gorham’s current role.

Set Tour (13:51 minutes) – Sendhil Ramamurthy and co-creator/co-writer, Matt Corman start the set tour in the “bullpen” and end up giving the best set tour that I have seen for any TV show on DVD. The two guys do not simply walk through the rooms quickly with the wave of a hand, they spend time in each room and talk about what’s in the room, filming in the room, and the comparison with the real life CIA set up. The burn bag is quite fun to learn about, as is the data room and Auggie’s workspace among other things/places. Corman and Ramamurthy give an abundant amount of insight into the CIA life at the office and how that is portrayed on the show. The to make quite a few jokes throughout the tour which makes it all the more fun to watch. I’d say that this is one of my favorite features on the DVD.

Celebrate the ADA (40 seconds) – Christopher Gorham, who plays a CIA operative who happens to be blind on Covert Affairs, stars in a PSA for the America’s Disabilities Act and directs viewers to Charctersunite.com to join the fight against discrimination. The bonus features would not be the same without a PSA given how incredibly connected Auggie’s character is to the creators of the show.

Commentary – Commentary for the “Pilot” is conducted by Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Executive Producer, Doug Liman, and Creators/Writers, Matt Corman and Chris Ord. This group of cast and crew members is such a perfect group for commentary! The amount of behind the scenes information that is shared is never ending. The talent discussed the stunts, their CIA access and research on the blind, a chewing on ice cube acting trick, a great character analysis of Joan is given, and the the jokester on set is revealed among other things. This was an incredibly informative and equally entertaining commentary that Covert Affairs fans should not miss! Commentary for the “Communication Breakdown” is conducted by Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Executive Producers, Doug Liman and Dave Bartis, and Creators/Writers, Matt Corman and Chris Ord. Gorham briefly answers Facbook questions which is perhaps my favorite aspect of this commentary, aside from the many laughs in the latter portion of the commentary. Commentary for the “When the Levee Breaks” is conducted by Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Executive Producer, Bartis, and Creators/Writers, Matt Corman and Chris Ord. This commentary is not nearly as entertaining as the commentary for the Pilot episode but is still fun to watch, just hear comments like, “No Buddhist monks were harmed.” In the end, if there’s one commentary that you must watch, it is the Pilot.

Own Covert Affairs The Complete First Season on DVD today.