Desperate Housewives – Season Two: Extra Juicy Edition
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: B- Episodes: B-
Desperate Housewives entered its second
season a hot hit, but the show took a slight narrative shift that did not
please fans. On the one hand, the cast
was back, with Teri Hatcher bigger than ever and co-stars Felicity Huffman (on
her way to an Academy Award nomination), Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and
Nicollette Sheridan. The show still
stayed on top by staying caddy and pulling no punches, but the shift meant to
keep the show fresh did lose some disappointed viewers just the same.
For where the show went, some new characters were added
and Alfre Woodard quietly became the new female cast member embroiled in as
much craziness as the initial cast.
Performances are very good all around.
To go into the changes and storyline would be to ruin the next set of
shows if you have not seen them. For
those who have, like this critic, the changes were a bit of a mistake, but
you’ll find some substantial writing for a nighttime soap opera if you can
overcome that obstacle. Otherwise,
expect at least some disappointment.
The 1.78 X 1 image once again not bad for a TV series,
with good color, if not great depth al the time. The look and production design always remind
us that this is the slightly plastic suburbs and that forwards the narrative
nicely. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is
fine for a show with this kind of with its voice over and dialogue-driven
constant conversations. Extras this time
are all on DVD 6 and include an interview with creator Mark Cherry and his
mother, deleted scenes, six featurettes including bits on unaired storylines
& directing piece that covers a show from conception to completion, poker
game section and Whole Story promo for
the next season.
The apple-themed clear plastic slipcase offers more
cleaver package design, even more so than the first season. Our copy came with a sampler of a new
fragrance that was the rare tie-in fragrance that did not smell like bug
spray. That means it is on to the third
season and the spirit of Peyton Place
lives.
- Nicholas Sheffo
