Fear the Walking Dead, which premiered on AMC last summer, is a spin-off of the network's hit series The Walking Dead. Anchor Bay Entertainment originally released season one on blu-ray and DVD on December 1st. The blu-ray set, which I previously reviewed, only contained the six episodes and two small bonus features. Thankfully, it was announced that this special edition with more bonus features would be released this month for fans who wanted to wait.

Here is a quick summary from the original review:

The story opens with Nick (Frank Dillane) as he wakes up in an abandoned church/drug den and can't find his friend, Gloria. During his search he stumbles upon dead bodies, as well as Gloria, who's been stabbed, eating off someone's face, before she turns to go after him. Nick, still high, runs out, where he is then hit by a car.

Meanwhile, his family members continue on with their normal lives. His sister, Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), readies for school. His mother, Madison (Kim Dickens), the guidance counselor, and her newly live-in boyfriend, Travis (Cliff Curtis), a teacher, also start their day, until they are interrupted by a call from the hospital.

There is of course family drama over the drugs, without discussion at first on what he saw, Nick assuming what he saw was a hallucination from the drugs.

The drama continues as more characters are introduced. Travis has a son of his own, Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie), who doesn't want to spend time with his father, but would rather stay with his ex-wife, Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez).

Nick later escapes the hospital, and things quickly go from bad to worse as the news picks up stories of people being killed who won't die, and in an instant, the world as they knew it would never be the same again.

The undead, of course, cause riots and other craziness, which is when the characters up with the Salazar family. They must all ban together to navigate their new world, as the military enter the picture and things continue to decline.

You don't have to see the original series to enjoy Fear the Walking Dead. It takes place at the start of the zombie apocalypse, and is as much about discovery as it is survival. The family faces their impending doom with fresh eyes, not sure what to believe, and hopeful that this virus will blow over, with no idea of what is yet to come.

If you are a fan of the original series, you are apt to like this one. It's similar in tone, though often more gritty. It takes place in the urban setting of Los Angeles which changes the look. It's also not always quite as gory as the original, at least in season one, since the zombies are more recently dead and not as decayed. They have a different look, though the special effects team still does a brilliant job with them.

The writing and directing of the series is done very well, though season one does seem to move at a slower pace then the original, and at times drags. It, however, is still excellent and worth watching. I am curious to see how the series continues to move on as the characters get exposed to more of the new world.

Bonus Features:

Pilot Episode: The Widescreen Version - It's exactly what it says; the episode is a different ratio. It brings in more footage to the sides of the screen.

Deleted Scenes - 6:35 - There are five deleted or extended scenes: the turned neighbor is taken away, Alicia talks to Ofelia about her taking her clothes, Dr. Exner (Sandrine Holt) and Liza talking about her, Liza looking for Griselda and talking to Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) about it and also about Nick, Travis collapsing at the water's edge. These are decent scenes and would have made nice additions had they been left in, but you really don't learn anything new.

Featurettes:

Inside Fear the Walking Dead - There is one for each of the six episodes, and they are around 4-6 minutes each. They are of the cast and crew discussing what's going on in the episodes, what it means for the characters, how they are dealing with it, how it affects them, what viewers learn, etc.

FEAR: The Beginning - 10:13 - This feature is of the cast, producers, and director pretty much summarizing the idea of the series, including some about how the audience knows more than the characters, because they are at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

Five Things You Need to Survive - 2:17 - This is of the actors telling what things they would need to survive the zombie apocalypse. Most of them are silly rather than serious.

Locations: LA & Vancouver - 6:56 - Here the cast and crew, including Greg Nicotero, talk about the show being filmed in both cities, and how the urban look is different from The Walking Dead. They also discuss how the dead look different and fresher than from the original series, because they have had less time to rot. They also talk about closing down the freeway in LA to film.

Quarantined - 6:36 - The cast and crew talk about how the military comes in and barricades them off and what that means. They talk about how at first that makes some of them feel more safe, but obviously they shouldn't. They also touch on the idea that the living can be more dangerous than the dead.

Stunts and Anarchy - 6:59 - Dillane, the stunt coordinator, and other crew discuss the logistics of Nick being hit by the car, including using cables and painting foam pieces to look like the pavement. The feature also shows stunt workers, the special effects department, and other crew members discussing burning a stunt car and other parts of the riot scene. Lastly the falling scaffolding stunt is featured.

The Faces of Fear - 5:15 - The actors talk about their characters and where they are before the zombies.

The Infected - 4:48 - The cast and crew talks about how people first encounter the zombies in the series, such as through the media. General make-up effects are discussed. They talk more about the look of the zombies being newly dead. The scene with Noah Beggs eating a dog and getting shot in the face is also discussed, as well as the make-up effects used on him.

Audio Commentaries - There are commentaries for each episode, on their respective discs. On them the cast and crew talk about filming the show, such as tidbits about production, as well as behind the scenes stories. They are as follows:

Episodes 101 & 102: Pilot - Co-Creator/Executive Producer Dave Erickson, Co-Executive Producer/Director Adam Davidson, and Actor Kim Dickens
Episode 103: So Close, Yet So Far - Co-Executive Producer David Wiener and Actor Alycia Debnam-Carey
Episode 104: The Dog - Executive Producer David Alpert and Co-Executive Producer David Wiener
Episode 105: Not Fade Away - Executive Producers David Alpert and Co-Executive Producer/Writer David Wiener
Episode 106: The Good Man - Co-Creator/Executive Producer Dave Erickson and Actors Kim Dickens and Elizabeth Rodriguez

Packaging:
The blu-ray set comes in the normal blue clamshell case with a cardboard lenticular slip cover. Also included is the code for the Digital HD copy. There is a single sheet insert with an ad for the new season of the series, as well as on for Preacher, on the flip-side. There is no listing of what is on each of the two discs; however, the first four episodes are on the first disc, and the last two and the special features are on the second disc. The special features are listed on the back of the case.

As I stated in the previous review, Fear the Walking Dead, although not quite up to par with the original series as of yet, is a great companion series to it and worth the watch. I would definitely suggest if you buy the series to buy this version as it does have hours of bonus features. If you already have the original edition, the bonus features are nice, but I'm not sure they are worth the price, however if having digital copies of the episodes are important to you, it might be.