'Billions' S6 DVD: Drama of Olympic Proportions Improves With Age

CBSHE aptly provides the cure for the Covid-era summertime blues by releasing the sixth season of the Showtime drama "Billions" on DVD on June 14, 2022. This essentially Blu-ray quality 4-disc set shows that there is plenty of "Wolves of Wall Street" spirit left in this always strong series. Any failure to deliver a seventh season REQUIRES hauling co-creator Andrew Ross Sorkin, who masterfully honors a television legend with whom he shares a surname, before the New York legislature. The following S6 clip expertly entices masters of their universe and lovers of good drama to sceam for more. The well-chosen snippets illustrate the trifecta of "ripped from the headlines" plots, cinema-quality writing, and ideal casting. Seeing the aforementioned Dartmouth frat boy level alphas will evoke thoughts of where is Will Smith when you need him.

S6, which builds on the exceptional (reviewed) S5, proves that this season bucks the trend of series deteriorating with age. Nothing illustrates this trend more than the myriad of classic sitcoms that literally become live-action cartoons during their dotage. Team Sorkin successfully shifting the central conflict of "Bilions" is the primary factor regarding transforming "Billions" from a Tivo-worthy show to a water-coooler-worthy topic of discussion. Your not-so-humble reviewer came to "Billions" via the CBSHE S4 VD release. That series largely centered around hungry-like-a-wolf Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) battling with rival (but not lover) Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon). While monotonal, robotic, androgynous (not that there is anything wrong with that) Mason likely appeals to "kids" of all ages, at least this man of a certain age finds that character almost unbearably annoying SOLELY based on their personality and almost literal failure to blink. S5 finding Axe and Mason as strange and uneasy bedfellows allows the animosity between Axe and New York Attorney General Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) to take center stage. This time it is personal in that Chuck's ex-wife Wndy Rhoades (Maggie Siff) is literally and figuratively sleeping with the enemy as the Team Axelrod performance coach. Further, Mason playing more nicely makes competing finance god Michael Prince (Corey Stoll) the new Reggie to Axe's Archie. This matchup is more compelling than Axe v. Mason. The events of S5 lead to Axe being absent for S6 and Prince being his successor. This change in leadership seems to only enhance the desire of Chuck for truth, justice, and the American way. Those of us who have enjoyed the urban oasis peace and tranquility of Gramercy Park in NYC will find an episode in which Chuck fights to open the gate to the masses particulalry compelling. The manner in which these events fully unfold proves that our warriors must always remain vigilant. What begins as a battle regarding the campaign of Prince to bring the Olympics to NYC leads to a ruthless scorched-earth strategy on both sides with ample collateral damage that extends to folks who put their money where their mouth is. This plotting PROVES that you should not challenge Sorkin to a game of chess. The fallout from the Olympics bid arguably can be seen either as straying very close to cartoon territory or as being a morality tale regarding national politics in 21st century America. Pop-culture loving Team Sorkin would be proud of your not-so-humble reviewwer for making an analogy to Clark Kent trying to prevent what seems to be an inevitable (and catastrophic) Lex Luthor presidency on the CW teendram "Smallville." The S6 finale serves its dual purposes of tying up most loose ends and serving as a satisfying series finale in the event that Showtime precludes any possibility of seven seasons and a movie. At the same time, fans are eager to see whether Chuck or Prince can succeed to the point that the former is a guest of the state or an ambulance chaser or Prince is a Walmart greeter plotting to unionize his co-workers as the first step of his well-plotted comeback. CBSHE enchances all this with a handful of special features on Giamatti, wonderfully quirky Axe "number one" "Wags," and the well-cast cameos.