The
Paradise: Season 2 (2013/BBC Blu-ray)
Picture:
A+ Sound: B Extras: D Episodes: A-
Welcome
back to The Paradise, Season 2 of BBC's new melodrama,
as John Moray (Emun Elliott) returns from his exile to help
revitalize the department store and save it from foreclosure and
sale. He is reunited with his beloved Denise (Joanna Vanderham) and
together they vow to return The Paradise to it's former glory, but
with John's return is also his ex-fiancee and wealthy owner/heiress
of The Paradise, Katherine (Elaine Cassidy), who even though she is a
newly-wed, still pines after John, but why let little details get the
way? New and old enemies and rivals appear and threaten the peace
and citizens of The Paradise.
Their
is always trouble in Paradise (pardon the pun), either financially or
romantically. The main two protagonists are the star-crossed lovers
Denise and Moray who dream of owning and running the Paradise, a
department store for the rich and the wealthy, but with Moray's
numerous affairs (especially Katherine), Mr. Weston (Katherine's new
husband, played by Ben Daniels) become jealous and along with
business rival Mr. Fenton who plots to destroy the Paradise. As
Denise begins to rise within ranks of the department, she is
conflicted with her own relationship with Moray in how women are
treated unfairly and decides to fight for woman's work rights and for
women to be treated as equals.
This
continues a story about a Victorian department store when workers
used to live, breathe, eat, sleep and work right in the same
building. As things unravels, the story it is full of fashion,
passion, scandals with a touch of ambition, greed with jealousy, but
like change and modernization, conflict and challenges appear to test
the resolve and wit of the characters to overcome old traditions and
their own limitations and prejudices.
I
liked this more than my fellow writer did of the debut season down to
thinking the 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is even
better (did it improve that much between seasons?) and DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo sound just fine, including warmth and Pro
Logic-like surrounds. There are no extras, but you can read the
alternative take on the show in our review of the Blu-ray set
elsewhere on this site.
-
Ricky Chiang
