Customer Reviews

Kyle XY: The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those who so thoroughly enjoyed Season 1 of Kyle XY, Season 2 continues the story with some new twists and new characters, while wrapping up loose threads from Season 1. After the death of his mentor, Adam Baylin, Kyle returns to the Trager family, who keenly felt his absence.

Kyle continues to work on developing his abilities under the tutelage of Tom Foss (Nicholas Lea, Alex Krycek on "The X-Files"), while keeping his activities secret, which strains his relationship with his newly adopted family. He also pursues a relationship with Amanda, the neighbor girl he doted on in Season 1.

However, in Season 2, Kyle is no longer the only one of his kind. Shortly before a bomb takes out the laboratory where Kyle was created, a female like him emerges from her pod and runs wild in Seattle, until the company that created her reprograms her into Jessi, Kyle's friend/enemy. She is almost his complete opposite, unafraid to even kill.

The Trager family's lives remain interesting as well, as Steven is hired by the very company controlling Jessi, Lori and Declan's relationship is strained by Declan's keeping Kyle's secrets, Nicole provides therapy to Jessi, and Josh reaches the age of 16, and gets a girlfriend named Andy (yes, she's a girl!) who is suffering from a serious illness, which inspires Josh to do a lot of growing up in this season, while still maintaining his singular wit.

The longer season allows for more dramatic storytelling, leading up to a startling cliffhanger, which begins on TV in January. Interesting timing for the release, eh?

But for all that Kyle learns in this season, it seems clear that he has barely begun to scratch the surface, and may always be attempting to answer the tagline question: Who is Kyle XY?

When the first season of "KYLE XY" appeared on television, what a refreshing and unique sci-fi drama series that features a young man who wakes up in the middle of the forest and is taken in by the Trager family despite the guy have no knowledge of his past or who he is. What is known is that he may be special and the fact that he has no belly button, even makes things a bit more interesting. Is Kyle an alien? Why does have this abilities?

The first season ended with Kyle leaving with his parents and leaving the Trager family, the only family that has taught him love and made him feel like's he's part of the family.

With the second season of "KYLE XY", because of the series becoming ABC Family's highest rated show, the second season jumps from the first season's ten episodes to a total of 23 episodes. And what an exciting season it was with the introduction of Jessi XX, Kyle getting to know the secrets of his past and who he is, Josh gets a girlfriend, Kyle and Andi get closer and so much more.

One of the strengths of "KYLE XY" are the characters. In fact, I was saying to myself how this series has that bond of friends that reminded me of series like the Scoobie Gang of the popular "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" series and sure enough, the "KYLE XY" gang are talking about them being the Scoobie Gang and which character would they be? So, that was quite ironic but at the same time, the character dynamics and the time put into developing the characters of the Trager family, KYLE, Jessi and friends is well done.

I was quite impressed with each episode which season 2, there were no clunky/boring episodes and found each of the 23 episodes were well done. Each episode had a good balance of sci-fi drama, teen drama and witty humor and the episodes were well-written as well.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

Video is featured in Widescreen (1:78:1), enhanced for 16×9 televisions. There are a lot of outdoor and indoor shots with typical cloudiness that you would see from a television series. Audio is featured in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, the show is mostly dialogue-based but there are quite a bit of music featured in the episodes, which actually comes clear through your front speakers.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

I was quite surprised with the amount of special features included on this DVD set. There are a lot! In fact, nearly each disc contains special features. Here is what you can find on each of the discs:

* Disc 1: Audio commentary by Supervising Producer Julie Plec and Executive Producer Eruc Tuchman for "The Prophet" and audio commentary by Producers Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux for "The Homecoming". Four deleted scenes with optional commentary plus sneak peeks.
* Disc 2: Audio commentary for "Ghost in the Machine" with actor Matt Dallas, Supervising Producers Julie Plec, Chris Hollier and Rudy Gaborno. Six deleted scenes with optional commentary.
* Disc 3: Features a good number of special features. This disc contains a 12-minute featurette titled "Livin' with the X's". This was an interesting featurette as it shows both Matt Dallas and Jaime Alexander waking up early in the morning and the things they do before they get to the set and a very amusing timeline of how the two get ready from the morning at home, getting makeup and then shooting their scenes. And how busy their schedule is throughout the day.

The second feature is "Facing the Future" which is a 7-minute featurette which includes interviews with the producers and the talent in regards to the second season.

Along with these two featurettes are two commentaries, "Leap of Faith" with commentary by actor Matt Dallas, Executive Producer Eric Tuchman and Supervising Producer Julie Plec. "House of Cards" features commentary by Producers Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux. Plus two deleted scenes with optional commentary.

Also, featured is an alternate ending to one of the episodes. A surprising alternate ending that would have changed the relationship dynamics of the whole series between the Kyle and the people very close to him.

* Disc 4: This disc features two audio commentaries for "To C.I.R., With Love" with Producers Julie Plec, Eric Tuchman and writer Bryan Holdman. Also, commentary for "Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" with writers Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrandt and director Chris Grismer.
* Disc 6: This disc features 14 deleted scenes with optional commentary by producer Julie Plec, audio commentary by Producer Julie Plec, writers Chris Hollier and Rudy Gaborno for "I've Had the Time of My Life". Also, a featurette in regards to "The Science of KYLE XY" which comes from Albert Einstein's gestation in the womb may have led to him being a genius, so the concept of what if a person gestated for 16 years rather than nine months?

"KYLE: XY" is a fantastic series and I was very impressed by the second season from the characters to the enjoyable storylines but most importantly, how much they included on the DVD set.

It's one thing to get a television series box set with commentary but for this second season, they really go all out with commentary by actor Matt Dallas, the producers, the writers and you learn so much about the shows filming process through the commentary. From awkward scenes and even some talent disagreements, the producers were very straightforward in their commentary and know what they wanted to accomplish in each episode.

And the deleted scenes, of course, so much is filmed each episode and scenes longer than the 40 minutes allowed, thus it was good to hear the commentary of why certain things were cut out and not included in the final cut. And of course, additional featurettes that really go into the series and the talent behind the series which was great to see.

As mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed the character dynamics and how everyone just really works well with each other. I don't think I've been this giddy by a youthful sci-fi drama series since "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and it was one of those series on which I couldn't stop watching each episode on DVD one after the other. It's that good!

Overall, a fantastic series on DVD. This DVD set of "KYLE XY" is loaded with special features that I'm sure fans of the series will definitely be thrilled about. Highly recommended!

I purchased this TV series on DVD as a birthday gift for my 13yr old daughter. My daughter and I have a love of movies & TV shows but I had no interest in this series until she hounded me to watch it with her. Man, was I surprised at how good it was! Great concept along with the writing, fine casting, holds your interest like you wouldn't believe, and if you're not careful, it'll really hook you. I found myself addicted and couldn't wait to get into each new episode. The set was offered at a very good price, transaction was smoothe & was received quick. I recommend this 3 season series very highly if your a sci-fi fan, like mysteries, covert operations themes, and stories involving genetic engineering. Matt Dallas' portrayal of Kyle is superb. You really feel his frustration as he tries desperately to solve the puzzle of who he is and where he came from. You also experience his awe as he discovers things about everyday life that we take for granted. I'm so thankful that my daughter hung in there and got me to watch this with her. Thanks Kat!

This show is one of the more less known gems on the ABC Family Channel. It mixes Sci-fi really well with the everyday life of being a teenager and living with a family, but the teenager is anything but ordinary. The cast is so amazing, especially Marguerite MacIntyre, who does an incredibly great job as Nicole Trager the mother figure of the whole show. Her performance is so moving and even the most subtle facial expressions convey so much meaning in their execution. The rest of the cast is amazing as well and it is one of the few shows on anymore that I actually look forward to watching every week. Sadly it seems that ABC Family is contemplating canceling the show, though it is unofficial, we will know for sure the 1st of February. I cannot stress enough how at this stage of the game it is important to support the show by buying these DVDs. I promise it will be entertaining for all people of all ages!

the people who where responsible for this show being cancelled should hang from their balls by a rusty chain hooked to a rock in the middle of a raging waterfall: they're such idiots. This movie: i love it times ten

Kyle XY is one of the kind series. It's something about quality of thought, humanity, humble, friendships, family relationship and so on. This is something that really difficult to find in the vast amount of sci-fi series. I am really don't think Kyle XY could catagorize as Sci-fi series. Unfortunately the network can only think about rating and money.

Well, what can I say? This season not only lived up to the first season, but surpassed it. We got action, we got drama, we got mystery, and even a little bit of romance. What's better, it had a whole lot more episodes than the first season. None of which were squandered in useless filler episodes.

Even though this is (I guess) more of a teen show, I just can't help liking it. The actor that plays Kyle just completely sells that role - the earnest, innocent, and caring personality just feels real. Even the new addition, Jesse XX, feels like a step in the right direction. The actress playing her did a good job in bringing that fish-out-of-water feel to the new character. I love how she also added a little bit of creepiness into her - in the sense that because she just doesn't understand boundaries yet, she tends to do what you and I would consider creepy. Sometimes I don't know whether to feel sorry for her, like her, or dislike her, which I find great! I love complex characters that divide my loyalties.

I can't wait for the 3rd season.

I purchased this DVD on line last week via Amazon and it arrived at my door on December 30th - the actual release date. I am the Mom of Jaimie Alexander who plays Jessi XX - and in my opinion this DVD is just excellent. Besides all of the great episodes from Season 2, the bonus features ABC selected to include are just fantastic and really bring through who these actors all are as individuals. Very proud to see how it turned out! Season 3 Premiere is January 12th!! Tune in!--lots of surprises this season!

This show is quite clever and very funny. Although the Kyle character is something of a "Mary Sue" (i.e. a too perfect character) he has enough quirks to make him endearing.
The major problem with the show is the constant introduction of new and different secret organizations out to get our hero without really resolving the problem with the old secret organization.
There are also a few too many "learning moments" in the family situation. Still, I found the second season to be very entertaining.

I've been watching so many other ABC Family shows so I figured I'd give it a shot. Plus, the entire series is up on hulu, which is a huge plus.

Kyle XY tells the story of a teenage boy who wakes up in the middle of the woods with no clothes and no memories. He's taken in by a psychologist, her husband, and two kids (Josh and Lori) who slowly teach him how to fit in with regular society (he lacks all semblance of social skills, originally even lacking speech, though he learns this quickly). The series follows Kyle as he adjusts to life as a regular teenager and tries to discover the secrets of his past.

In the beginning, I was somewhat disappointed:

As a general rule, I dislike voiceovers. For them to be worthwhile, they have to be both informative and used sparingly. otherwise they become irritating. A good example of well used VOs is Grey's Anatomy: they lead you in with cues of what the characters are struggling with and ends with what they've taken from the cases they've dealt with. A poor example of VOs would be Sex in the City where they continue throughout the show, are rarely informative, and are mostly redundant with exactly what you will see in a second. In Kye XY, the voiceover is mostly redundant. We can see that Kyle doesn't know how to answer the history questions, we don't need him to tell us that.
The entire gimmick of the show is that Kyle is not normal (he has no navel, he woke up in the middle of nowhere with no clothes, he remembers nothing but feels most comfortable sleeping in a bathtub, he's freakishly smart). And while we do see a lot of Kyle being unfamiliar with the world around him, in five episodes we have yet to see or hear any possible hints towards his origins. Instead, the drama around him is learning to become part of high school (which because of his voiceover is less funny or more solemn) and worrying about a murder that he may or may not have witnessed.
As far as a show about normal teenagers trying to navigate through high school goes, the show does a decent job. It's certainly nothing special. Just the standard teen issues of finding friends, dealing with "the chill," and trying not to look stupid in front of friends...

Though the first few episodes were slow and un"Kylie-history" related, it really picked up from there. They began delving into Kyle's background, explaining Tom, the Professor, etc. In fact, I would argue it got a little ahead of itself since it basically solved all the mysteries by the end of the first season. And the last couple are answered quite casually (ie- lack of navel and lack of memories) by the end of the season two premier, leaving little else for us to wonder about.

Not to say there isn't more happening, as we already know that Kyle is no longer one of a kind and depending where his "sibling" (taking a cue from Dark Angel here, where all the mutants consider each other siblings) ends up, their interaction could be a lot of fun. But unless they don't see each other for a while, Kyle and family should easily recognize someone whose story and behavior is just like his. But maybe the upgraded super-baby is smarter or learns faster? What if the "sibling" is taken in by someone who hates the Tagers?

My other complaint would be that while Lori and Josh took center stage the first few episodes, they've taken a total back seat since, largely because Kyle doesn't include them in his mysteries and their social problems have resolved themselves. I hope one way or another the two get brought in more. Well, that and I don't care for the mother all that much. She doesn't really do anything but ignore her kids and obsess over Kyle (and not just when he leaves to go with his "parents.")