Gossip Girl – The Complete Second Season (Warner DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B Extras: B- Episodes: C+
There’s
talk. There’s rumors. Then there’s gossip. The insanely addictive series returns for a
second backstabbing, scandalous, reputation destroying season.
Well, it
is a year later and the world is not all too different for the crew of Gossip Girl. Gossip
Girl: Season 2 kicks off where Season
One left off; the kids are now in their senior year and the teen angst and
turmoil continues as dramatically as ever.
The 2008-2009 Season is full of the same lies and deceit that made the First Season so captivating; right from
the beginning we see Blair Waldorf using James to make Chuck jealous, only to
have a very revealing secret change everything.
From there, there is a lot of back and forth between Blair and Chuck as
the roles are reversed and Blair is forced to pursue and seduce Chuck instead;
enlisting the help of Dan only to have another wrench thrown into the
works. In a completely unexpected turn
of events Chuck and Dan become closer than any fan would have ever expected as
they spend a little one on one time in jail; where Chuck divulges some very
personal information. The Waldorf’s
continue to show their true colors as Eleanor (Blair’s mother) uses and abuses
Jenny during her internship at with the frigid heiress. The series continues on this over dramatized
path for the entirety of the season; but it is so cold and unapologetic that it
becomes addictive from the very start.
The cast is amazingly gorgeous and have the acting chops to back up the
callous and morally absent characters they portray; let’s just hope they aren’t
anything like their characters in real life.
The
series was captivating to this reviewer in the First Season and continues to the magic and creativity to give the
viewers a heartless guilty pleasure. Gossip Girls: Season One was daring and
Season 2 seemingly kicks it up a
notch; the only worry is that it is becoming too over the top and over
dramatized; is anyone’s life really this crazy?
Of course the backstabbing and constant love triangles are intriguing,
but how far will the writers try to push it before fans realize what they are
watching is an overpriced (well sound tracked), smug, prime time Soap Opera
that will start bringing characters back from the dead before they are
done. I am in no way saying the series
has “jumped the shark” quite yet, but the ball may be rolling too fast for its
own good at this point. Desperate Housewives comes to mind as
it also was a series that started out daring, managing to capture audiences
with its over the top antics; but soon (in current seasons) devolved into a
utter catastrophe as the stories became over stretched and wildly
unhinged. Gossip Girls is a good series that has the money to back it; let’s
just hope it keeps its wits about it.
The
technical features on Gossip Girl: The
Complete Second Season are not outstanding, but are nicer than many of the
features found on other TV on DVD sets.
The picture is presented in a 1.78 x 1 Anamorphic Widescreen that is
very nice, but far from flawless as it has contrast and color issues as well as
containing some digital noise. The
light/dark quality is good and the series has solid blacks throughout; the
colors are not perfect, but much of the time does have the ‘pop’ that many
other series lack. The sound quality is
better than the picture with an insane music catalog that licenses artists of
both past and present to elevate the series to the next level; having
presumably cost the series a small fortune.
The sound is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track that uses
the full surround spectrum with the dialogue projecting mainly from the front
and ambient noises along with the music coming from the back. The sound is not always perfect, but very
good for a DVD release.
The
extras include:
- Deleted Scenes
- Jenny’s Fashion Music Video
- A music video that appeared
in one of the episodes.
- 5th Ave Meets Gossip Girl
- A featurette that maps out
all the locals of Gossip Girl.
- Faces Behind the Designs
- Highlights the very fashions
that are essential to the series; exploring the inspiring artwork,
designers, and girls that show it all off.
- Gossip Girls: Chasing Dorota
- A nearly 20minute 6-Part
series that showcases Dorota and the other housekeepers in their own
“Gossip Girl” series.
- LOL (Gag Reel)
- Audio Book [Downloadable]
- Allows fans to listen to the
Cecily von Ziegesar novel that inspired the series; read by Christina
Ricci
As
previously mentioned the series is wholeheartedly addicting. Even though many of the themes are directed
at a female audience with their catty presence; the great stories, sexual
charged storylines, and beautiful cast will keep the guys around as well. This reviewer recommends the series as it is
fun, intriguing, and the money is there to make the series a beautiful
production visually and audibly if nothing else.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
