Degrassi: The Next Generation - Season Two (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Episodes
Season 2 is when all of the episodes began being named after songs from the 80's. The action intensified during the second season. New characters were introduced. Craig Manning was the first new character introduced in a major way during season 2. Craig's father was extremely abusive. Craig is the half brother to Joey Jeremiah's daughter Angela. Joey eventually takes Craig under his roof. Craig had a lot of storylines during season 2. Two new characters who were introduced that had connected stories were Ellie and Marco. Ellie is a different girl. She isn't quite as Goth as Ashley becomes but she has piercings and a very unique look. Marco questions his sexuality. He and Ellie form a close bond during season 2.
The most disturbing storyline of season 2 might be the date rape young Paige experiences. She was not a favorite with fans always because of her attitude, but her rape brought sympathy to her character. Paige also had to deal with the after burden of the rape when her attacker comes to Degrassi for a sports event.
Little Emma is still cute and sweet during season two and her best friend Manny is still a bit innocent, although she does have a major crush on Craig. During season 2, Craig and Manny don't get very far in their relationship. Emma's mother Spike marries her teacher Archie, Mr. Simpson. The wedding brings back several cast members from Degrassi Junior High as Caitlin and Lucy show up to offer Spike support on her big day.
Ashley deals with esteem issues. She feels like she needs to be a certain way to be friends with Ellie. Ellie explains to her that she doesn't have to get a piercing just to be her friend. Ashley also isn't sure if she wants to stay Goth or go back to her old look. When her and Jimmy reunite, it takes performing in a school play with Craig for her to realize what she really wants to do.
Overall, Season 2 was quite enjoyable. The episodes on the DVD are the director's cut which differ from the one's that air on "The N."
Episode List
201-When Doves Cry
202-When Doves Cry
203-Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
204-Karma Chameleon
205-Wierd Science
206-Drive
207-Shout
208-Shout Part 2
209-Mirror In the Bathroom
210-Take My Breath Away
211-Don't Believe The Hype
212-White Wedding
213-White Wedding part 2
214-Careless Whisper
215-Hot for Teacher
216-Message in a Bottle
217-Relax
218-Dressed in Black
219-Fight For Your Right
220-How Soon is Now?
221-Tears are Not Enough
222-Tears are Not Enough part 2
Extras
The extras are really neat. The photo albums are easy to navigate. You just click the arrow to go to the next photo. The photos are stills from the season. The gallery's include The Degrassi Yearbook and Spike and Snake's Wedding Album. The Ultimate fan quiz is a must for the die hard Degrassi fan. Another cool extra is the cast biographies. It includes details about the character, like what grade they are in, and it also includes a bio about the actor who plays the role.
The extras are plentiful. The set includes auditions and call back readings. In one reading you can watch Ellie reading lines with Paige. The young woman who plays Ellie is a really great actress. You can also spy an audition of the character that plays Sean auditioning for the role of Jimmy.
The DVD includes a ton of bloopers and deleted/extended scenes.


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Veronica Mars: The Complete Second Season (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Thank you Warner Home Video, for releasing the second season of my favorite television series in August instead of waiting until October as you did for Season 1.
For those looking for the true heir to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in terms of a sharp script and snappy dialogue look no further than the UPN show Veronica Mars. Not since Sunnydale dropped into a deep chasm has television seen such a fabulous ensemble of talented young actors deliver such inventive dialogue in intelligent, darkly humorously directed fare.
For me Tuesday nights became the most anticipated TV night of the week and I could not get enough of the show or its hot star Kristen Bell. It quickly shot up the rankings on my TiVo season pass where it now sits at number one and my Kristen Bell TiVo wish-list was set to auto-record so I would not miss any program in which she was featured. I remember the anger when my local UPN station decided to air a baseball game instead of one episode - never have I felt more like putting pen to paper to express my displeasure with a programming decision.
So what is this show that induces such passion? It's a detective show, no it's a romantic drama, or is it a dark comedy? Well, in reality it is all of this and more. Set in the California city of Neptune, it paints the picture of a society split between the have's such as the rich Kane family or movie star Aaron Echoll's children and the have-nots (notably title character Veronica Mars and her friends Wallace and Weevil).
Veronica is the daughter of Keith Mars, the former Sheriff, who is now a private detective. The first season centered around the investigation into the murder of Veronica's best friend Lilly and Veronica's rape and the second season centers on the investigation into a bus crash that sent a group of students over a cliff to their deaths - a bus that Veronica was supposed to be riding. In addition a second mystery that is not resolved until later in the season is who was responsible for the death of Weevil's cousin Felix.
But, as Veronica continues her investigation each episode involves the investigation into a lesser mystery. From who was responsible for the death of a classmates dog to the blackmail of gay students
Veronica (with the help of Wallace, Mac and assorted other friends) must navigate a world of pirate radio stations, Irish gangs and still vie for the Kane scholarship, which would allow her to make her dreams of attending Stanford a reality.
In addition to the great script the other strength of the show is in assembling a wonderful ensemble of young actors. Led by Kristen Bell who as Veronica outdo's Buffy in the dry humor department, and ably supported by Canadian actor Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars, the two really display a true father-daughter affection for each other which apparently was true off-screen as well. In addition to this dynamic there is also Percy Daggs III as Veronica's best friend (and cohort in her investigations) Wallace and Jason Dohring appears as Logan, the bad-boy rich kid son of Aaron (played by Harry Hamlin of "Clash of the Titans" fame).
Completing the talented young cast is Francis Capra as biker bad-boy Weevil and new to this season is the very appealing and spunky Tessa Thompson as Wallace's girlfriend Jackie. She was disliked initially by fans though as the season went on she became more popular - personally I had liked her from her first scene.
This show needs to be seen to be believed. Sure I am a diehard fan of the show, but I defy any viewer not to became charmed by the drama, romance, humor and well drawn characters. Yes, the mysteries are solved but a lot of the fun comes in the journey towards those last episodes of the season. The season finale aired just last night and I was blown away by it. I was shocked and drawn in to every emotionally powered minute of it and fans across the internet are raving about it. Season 3 simply cannot come soon enough for me.
On this DVD set of six discs we are promised a behind the scenes featurette, gag reel and deleted scenes which would be a vast improvement on the relatively bare-bones season 1 release. Warner Bros. was apparently surprised by the fan following that VERONICA MARS had developed during season 1 so they did not prepare adequately for that season's DVD release. Thankfully they were better prepared this time around.

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In the wealthy, seaside community of Neptune, California, the rich and powerful make the rules. Unfortunately for them, there's Veronica Mars, a smart, fearless 17-year-old apprentice private investigator. In season two, the Mars family finds themselves embroiled in another season-long mystery hitting closer to home, following a new local tragedy. Meanwhile, after a summer of surprises and sordid murder trials, Logan and best friend Duncan Kane find themselves at odds, while Veronica must deal with her increasingly complicated romantic life and a whole new school year with familiar and surprising fresh faces.

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