Customer Reviews

Melrose Place - The Second Season

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Season 2 was "Melrose Place's" breakout season; cementing it in primetime soap history forever. This is when "Melrose" really began to rock. There are tons of awesome eps during Season Two. Get Season Two and your DVD player will sizzle!!!

These are the Stars of Season 2, all were on the entire Season, unless otherwise noted:
Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga)
Amanda Woodward aka Queen of the Jungle (Heather Locklear)
Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro)
Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue)
Jane Mancini (Josie Bissett)
Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith)
Jake Hanson aka Handsome Hanson (Grant Show)
Matt Fielding (Doug Savant)
Reed Carter (James Wilder) - recurring from the middle of the Season, until Jo harpoons him!
Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton) - recurring from the 2nd ep
Dr. Kimberly Shaw aka Zipper-Head (Marcia Cross) - recurring during the first half & last quarter

These were some notable Season 2 guest stars; none were on the entire Season:
Lauren (the ho) Ethridge (Kristian Alfonso)
Palmer Woodward (Wayne Tippit)
Bruce Teller (Stanley Kamel)
Dr. Katya Petrova (Beata Pozniak)
Nikki Petrova (Mara Wilson)
Marion Shaw aka Mother of Dr. Kook (Janet Carroll)
Steve McMillan (Parker Stevenson)
Robert Wilson (Steven Eckholdt)

Here's all the eps from Season Two:

Much Ado About Everything 9/8/1993
Amanda has a party at the building but makes Alison work late so she can be alone with Billy. Keith pays a homeless man to make filthy calls to Alison. Michael and Kimberly shack up.

A Long Night's Journey 9/15/1993
When Alison goes back to Keith's hotel room to take him to the airport he tells her that he has been stalking her and then tries to rape her! This ep was sorta unrealistic (in a foolish way.) Because Alison was attacked by Keith, reported the attack to the police, Keith was arrested and interrogated by the police and the DA decides not to file charges ~ this all happens in 1 evening!

Revenge 9/22/1993
Billy shows up at Keith's work to tell him to stay away from Alison. After being shot down by Alison over the phone Keith takes his own life. Sydney gets her kicks by cleaning Michael's dirty laundry.

Fire Power 9/29/1993
Amanda almost fires Alison when she enjoys just a little too much of some of the hair of the dog that bit her!

Of Bikes and Men 10/6/1993
Jake realizes that he accidentally burned down his shop.

Hot and Bothered 10/13/1993
Billy and Alison try to get Jo and Jake back together. Jane's divorce is finalized. She goes out to celebrate with the girls and then feeling lonely goes to Robert's apartment and has sex with him on his floor. Sydney passes out on Michael's couch after his party.

Flirting With Disaster 10/20/1993
Furious, Jane throws turn-coat Sydney out after she learns that Sydney went to Michael's party. Amanda rents Sydney an apartment. Michael and Sydney get it on when Kimberly is out of town.

No Bed of Roses 10/27/1993
Palmer offers Jake a job. Sydney blackmails Michael into sex by threatening to expose him. Jane wants to take things slower with Robert.

Married to It 11/3/1993
Sydney takes a job at Shooters as a server. Kimberly catches Sydney in bed with Michael then runs to Jane for sympathy. Alison is jealous (yet again) when Steve starts to casually see Jo. By the way, I love it when Jane says to Alison, "my sister, that's really sick." Honey, she ain't seen nothing yet.

The Tangled Web 11/10/1993
Jo, Billy and Alison go to Steve's ranch. Jake finds out that Palmer is a cheat.

Collision Course 11/17/1993
Michael gets back into Kimberly's good graces by having dinner with her and then giving her a fancy diamond (engagement) ring. On the way home from the restaurant Michael drives d runk and gets into a h orrible a ccident. The police suspect d runk d riving and in an effort to save Michel's b utt Matt agrees to change his blood level on his medical hospital records. Sydney meets Lauren Ethridge, a proprietor of a high-class h ooker ring.

Cold Turkey 11/24/1993
Amanda sends Alison out of town on business during Thanksgiving. The FBI orders that Jake help out in their on-going investigation against Palmer. When Jane refuses to spend Thanksgiving with Syd she goes over to Lauren's home to spend the holiday with her new "family." Marion brings her daughter home to Cleveland.

Duet for One 12/1/1993
Matt gives Michael the bad news; that Kimberly has died! Michael arrogantly says, "I should sue that b itch for taking her out of here;" obviously referring to Marion Shaw! He's then transferred to a rehab center but is able to guilt Jane into letting him come stay with her. Furious with Alison (for spending Thanksgiving out of town with Steve), Billy goes to stay with Jake. Meanwhile, Syd goes to work for Lauren. One of her clients enjoys kinky sex games which isn't something Sydney is into so she skips out. Suffice it to say, Lauren is FURIOUS and threatening when she says to Sydney, "don't you ever put my name or my livelihood behind the 8-ball!"

Strange Bedfellows 12/15/1993
Alison goes to Steve's ranch but (like Kirstie Alley did) realizes that he isn't the man for her. When Michael falls off the sofa (at Jane's apartment) Syd hears his agonizing cries and offers to help him, only after he agrees to apologize for the way he treated her. On the rebound from Alison and on the rebound from Jake, both Amanda and Billy spend the night together.

Under the Mistletoe 12/22/1993
Billy is able to sneak out of Amanda's apartment without Alison seeing him (although he is half nude.) I really like how they played the Christmas Music as Billy was scurrying through the courtyard holding his pants; it really added a touch of class & Christmas cheer! Matt puts together a Christmas party for his stepdaughter, Nikki. In the spirit of Christmas, Alison and Billy get back together. Sydney makes a tearful confession to a priest, "I'm a p rostitute."

Reunion Blues 1/5/1994
Amanda makes threats to Billy when she finds out that he's back with Allison. When Sydney is busted for hooking Michael bails her out. He then blackmails Syd into helping him chase away Robert (from Jane's be d!)

Michael's Game 1/12/1994
Alison goes over Amanda's head at D&D and complains to Bruce about her. Bruce doesn't like Amanda (any more than Alison does) so he rightfully doesn't take Amanda's side. (It's absolutely surreal to see Amanda be put on her place, and by a man, no less!!) Sydney gets one of her little h ooker-friends to sleep with (a very h orny) Robert during a business trip. The s ex is videotaped and an anonymous package is sent to Jane who subsequently throws Robert out in the middle of the night (when she finally gets around to watching the video.) With enjoyment in his eyes (and ma lice in his heart,) Michael watches the fight from upstairs out Syd's window!

Arousing Suspicions 1/26/1994
After Michael rejects her (once again) Sydney tells Jane about Michael's involvement in scheming to break her and Robert up. Michael tries to explain to Jane but she throws him out anyway as he says, "like I drove her kicking and screaming into the w horehouse." Jane tells him that Syd has made her mistakes but she would rather have her sister in her life than his sorry self!! I loooooove it!!

The Young Men and the Sea 2/2/1994
Amanda and Jake invest in Reed's business. (Who knows why, because about the only thing that Reed looks qualified to do is strip.) Jane files a restraining order against Michael when he starts harassing her. When Michael shows up at her apartment Sydney comes running down to hide him so he won't get arrested.

Parting Glances 2/9/1994
Jake and Amanda bail on Reed's business venture. Sydney hears Michael talking in his sleep and puts two and two together; finding out that Michael was drunk on the night of the accident. Alison goes to NY to see Billy.

Swept Away 2/16/1994
After being kidnapped and held captive and beaten, Jo harpoons Reed! Somehow he's able to get back onto the boat when Jo shoots to kill. Sydney blackmails Michael into letting her move in with him.

With This Ball and Chain 2/23/1994
Amanda gets an excellent attorney to represent Jo (on the murder charges) who's able to get the charges dropped. At Billy and Alison's engagement party Jake punches Billy because of his little Christmastime fling with Amanda. Despite his protests, Sydney thinks that she and Michael are made for one another.

Otherwise Engaged 3/2/1994
Sydney and Jane get into a horrible catfight that spills over into the swimming pool when Jane sees Sydney wearing her wedding dress. Inside her apartment Jane says to Syd, "OMG, take it off now and get the hell out." Syd says, "fine I'm leaving," as she runs out with the dress still on! The girls' fight spills over into the pool as Jane says to Sydney, "you are trash Sydney, with the rap sheet to prove it." Later in the ep, Mrs. Andrews (Gail Strickland) comes to the beach house to try to get Sydney to come back to Earth. Syd says to her mom, "why don't you take your broom and fly back to Chicago!" And, she goes ahead with the wedding and the only guest is Matt (who little Syd is also blackmailing.) Michael takes Sydney on a honeymoon and implies to Matt that he is going to be a widower in the near future!

Love, Mancini-Style 3/16/1994
Michael attempts to try to kill Sydney but just can't do it. Matt confesses to Jane why in fact Michael agreed to marry her little witch of a sister. Jane uses this info to stir up trouble for the new Mr. and Mrs. Mancini.

The Two Mrs. Mancinis 3/23/1994
Billy goes back home with Alison for a family event. Alison begins having strange nightmares. Michael and Sydney show up at Gram's will-reading hoping to get a piece of the action when Jane is awarded $100,000.00. Katherine Andrews says to the two (in such an overdone, over-the-top way,) "I will never forgive you for showing such disrespect during my mother's funeral." Later on, Matt shows just a little backbone when he decks Michael.

In Bed With the Enemy 4/6/1994
Alison sees a therapist to help her find out what her dreams mean. Amanda acts as a go-between for Michael and Jane.

Psycho Therapy 4/20/1994
Amanda and Jo catch Ted (a handyman that Amanda recently fired) (Christopher Gartin) peeping from a vacant apartment. Michael learns that Dr. Levin enjoys dirty sex with hookers and uses the info to his advantage. He brings one of Levin's favorite hookers to an event at Levin's home prompting the good doctor to say, "how dare you bring that trash into my house." In which Michael replies, "trash today, bucking bronco tonight." Levin has no choice but to promote Michael. Michael's finally starting to enjoy being married to Syd; as they kiss the screen pans very far away to the outside beach...to a watchful Kimberly! (Incidentally, Marcia Cross is unbilled in this ep, I suppose that was so no one would know that she would be seen at the very, very end!!)

The B itch Is Back 4/27/1994
Kimberly shows up, "looking like a refugee from the night of the living dead" as Michael put it (in Season 3.) Michael then dumps Sydney and she sics the cops on him. When Kimberly shows up again at the hospital Sydney faints at the shock of seeing her. "Finally the response I was waiting for," evil Kimberly says.

Imperfect Strangers 5/4/1994
Amanda hires her mother's lover, Chas Russell (Jeff Kaake) which really annoys Alison because the only thing Chas likes to do is talk about his sexual proclivities with Amanda. Meanwhile, Sydney goes to Jane saying between pathetic sobs, "I think I'm having a nervous breakdown, can you help me." Jane says to her in such a hateful (and incredibly condescending tone,) "No Syd, I can't" right before she slams the door in her face! Later on, Kimberly threatens Sydney when the little idiot won't take "no" for an answer. Sydney's hooker party is broken up by the newly freed Lauren who also threatens Sydney's life. Boy, Syd isn't have a very good day, is she?

Devil With the G-String On 5/11/1994
Billy tells Alison to keep quiet about Chas (there is actually nothing to keep quiet about because Chas made all this up to start a little trouble.) Michael and co. find Sydney stripping under an assumed name, "Jungle Jane." Billy blurts to Jake that Amanda slept with Chas when he becomes drunk. Michael is demoted when Kimberly set him up to sabotage. Kimberly then bullies Jane into forking over money from the business and tires to use the money to take out a hit on Michael.

Till Death Do Us Part 5/18/1994
Jo just wants Amanda to step aside so she can be with Jake. Hilary Michaels (Amanda's mother) (JR's wife, Linda Gray, of course) refuses to believe that Amanda did not seduce Chas. Chas then files suit against D&D and Bruce refuses to support Amanda. Sydney is assaulted by a few street hookers. Kimberly consoles her and over some ice-cream in the park they plot to kill Michael. Billy's old college buddy comes to town for the wedding and gets really chummy with Matt. The two men share a passionate kiss, but FOX was too h omophobic to air it; so it was completely edited out. Jake and Amanda fool around and Jo catches him coming out of Amanda's place half nude. Jo then breaks it off with him. Amanda tries to butter Alison up in the hopes that she will not testify against her during the sexual harassment arbitration. Kimberly and Sydney attempt to kill Michael but Jane comes to his safety (by accident.) Kimberly steals Jane's car keys at the wedding. Just before Alison is to walk down the isle she remembers that it was in fact her father who molested her as a child. Mr. Parker (Monte Markham) threatens to kill her if she says anything. And Alison flees out the window and goes to Meredith's (Tracy Nelson) home in San Francisco. Chas' claim is thrown out when Hilary hears him taunting Amanda. As Michael is coming out of the hospital Kimberly runs him over in Jane's car. In syndication, this is a 2-part ep.

The Cast of Season 2 was awesome. It's hard to say who my favorite is. Perhaps Reed Carter. Wasn't he so hot? He looked a lot like Jake but he had some more meet on his bones. He was a crazy ex-con, but that didn't seem to matter to Jo. I loved when Reed said to Jo (when she broke out of the boat-dungeon that he put her in,) "stupid Jo, really stupid." I guess the writers liked that line a lot, too. Because they used the exact same lines (in a very similar plot) a Season later with Jo and Jess (Dan Cortese.) Although, this time it lost some momentum because Jess was no Reed Carter! I also really started to appreciate Syd during Season 2. She proved that she wasn't just a stupid hooker when she blackmailed Michael and then turned around and plotted with Kimberly to kill him!

Michael wins the hutzpah award. Of course by Season 2 he shows his true colors and we all learn that he's nothing more than a cheat. But he is intent on living his life according to his own set of rules. You gotta give him credit for that. I especially loved it when Michael set Robert up with one of Syd's hooker-friends. When Robert comes to the hospital and accused him Michael even admits it! And Robert says, "Jane still knows there's a big difference between you and me." And, Michael replies (without blinking,) "There is a difference, I cheat with doctors, not WH*RES!" I also liked how Michael used Ingrid (another of Sydney's hooker-friends) to blackmail Dr. Levin (Carmen Argenziano,) saying, "trash today, bucking bronco tonight."

(Very) Slight Continuity Error:
I am not sure which ep it is. Perhaps "No Bed of Roses" or "The Tangled Web" or another ep around this time. It's a very brief error, you have to be watching very carefully and closely. Jo comes to D&D to see Amanada. I believe it was about photographing Jake. Anyway, before she goes into Amanda's office, she stops and chats with Alison. You will notice that Jo's hair has that "just woke up look" with fly-aways. It was cute, but it looked somewhat undone. Anywho, Alison directs Jo to Amanda's office; more or less, you know how people at D&D just barge right into everyone else's offices. And by the time Jo gets to Amanda's office her hair is fixed! Keep in mind there wasn't a commercial (that would at least help to explain if Jo stopped and went to the restroom.) Nope, she kept walking right from where she was with Alison straight into Amanda's office! And when you look at Jo's hair (while she's inside Amanda's office) you can see that her hair is nicely styled. It's soft and flat without any fly-always. We all know that they film, take after take after take. I suppose the director noticed that her hair wasn't "Melrose Perfect" and decided to splice 2 scenes together? But couldn't he have re-shot the first part?

You'll be shocked.... ...You'll be mortified... You'll be stunned... You'll be terrified... ...You'll hate yourself... ...if you miss it...!! You never know what they're gonna do, you just want to be there when they do it!

I think this season is already better than the first. It's so trashy and yet addictive and I love it.
Continuing right on from the end of last season, Amanda throws a party to celebrate her buying the building and moves into Rhonda's apartment. As you could probably guess, she starts setting her sights on Jake who is still with Jo. Michael gives Jane divorce papers, and plans to move in with Kimberly. Further on in the season, the drama continues as Sydney becomes a more permanent fixture. She's the evil and manipulative sister of Jane and she's the character you love to hate. Michael gets addicted to pain killers, Sydney blackmails Michael, Billy and Alison get engaged (but not before various troubles in their lives) and so on and so on and so on.
This has all the makings of a typical Aaron Spelling production and it is the kind of show you will take the phone off the hook for. I love it and can't wait to watch all these episodes again. Be warned; you will get hooked.

Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off, but takes off in an entirely new direction. Gone are the mundane "after school special" lessons of the first season episodes. Madness, murder, mayhem, and backstabbing abound as Billy, Alison, Amanda, Jo, Jake, Michael, Jane, and Matt try to live life. The relationships between the characters become more complex. Amanda moves from messing things up between Billy and Alison, to driving a wedge between Jo and Jake. Alison and Billy become engaged, but as their wedding approaches Alison begins having horrible nightmares which lead to startling revelations about her father. Jo's new beau, Reed, kidnaps her and she ends up having to kill him. Michael and Kimberly become engaged and buy a beach house together; Michael "kills" Kimberly drunk driving, is blackmailed by Sydney into marrying her when she finds out, and later dumps Sydney when Kimberly comes back. Kimberly comes back wrong though, and runs Michael down in Jane's car, framing Jane. It's been years since I've seen this season so I don't really remember much about Jane's new relationship or what Matt did in this season (other than help Michael cover up his role in Kimberly's "demise").

I highly recommend this season, as this is when the show became a "must-see" hit. Also, Marcia Cross and Doug Savant (Desperate Housewives) and Courtney Thorne-Smith (According to Jim) aren't the only Melrose alum back on tv... check out the Courtney Cox show "Dirt" to see Grant Show (Jake on Melrose) in a very interesting role!

I was in high school when this show was on the air and every monday night was melrose place night. Remember the tagline "mondays are a bitch" with a big picture of Heather Locklear? This show was so much fun, I was too young to really get into Dallas or Dynasty or even Knott's Landing, so Melrose Place and 90210 were my primetime soaps! Season Two was when it really started getting good, season one was so boring, in these days of come and go TV shows, Melrose and 90210 were both lucky they survived such slow and sometimes absurd first seasons to really mature into addictive drama the way they did in their second seasons. I can't wait to buy this and I can't wait for season 3 which is the best season of the entire series, in which Kim blows up the building, we meet poor little rich girl Brooke and watch Alison become a raging alcoholic. So much fun, so much drama!

This is were being nice stops...and the real tacky,raunchy,back-stabbing,two-facing,selfish behavior kicks in.Heather Lockear's character "Amanda" really made this show,with her no-hold bars antics with co-workers,employees and her tenants.Melrose Place made Falcon Crest,Knots Landing look mild.You definately would have to put this series in the family with Dynasty where Heather started out and Dallas.
Nothing but a dysfunctional group of people all under one apartment complex....can't get no better than that!!!

This is the second season of Melrose, the 90's icon show...it is full of surprises and fast and furious action, and introduces show favorites such as Sidney, Kimberly, and Amanda...all of the famous fights and drama are here, and for those of us who grew up watching it...it feels good to be home again....

This season is truly outstanding. There are lots of twists and turns in this show - you'll never be bord.
I should also mention that I have watched all 8 discs, and they all played without any problems. I will say, however, that discs 7 and 8 are grainy, especially disc 7. It is really sad that these discs were not re-done. In this day and age there is just no excuse to not fix a disc to superb quality. After all, we are paying for these discs and we expect quality.

Season 2, though enticing in its twists and turns, is painful to watch owing to its wretched picture quality. Even on a Sony Bravia 32" by way of a blue-ray player(blue ray improves the picture of even regular DVD's by 2.5 times) there is visible fuzz on the screen. I cannot imaging watching this on a regualar TV and a standard DVD player. It's laughable how bad the characters look thanks to an abysmal video transfer. CBS needs to publish Melrose Place on blue-ray to make the show watchable, lest fans cringe like Michael when he learned Kimberly was "dead."
I realize all older shows leave something to be desired in terms of picture quality, but this is a mess! Here's hoping the DVD sets of Season 3 or 4 are better.

Even juicier than the first season- great to watch if you love drama! Included in this season is Alison's stalker, Michael and Jane's divorce and Sydney sleeping with Michael...

It was a pleasure to see this series after all these years. I remember when we used to eagerly await Tuesday nights at 9:30pm for our dose of the Melrose gang.

Season 2 is one of the best of the entire series with classic storylines throughout. It's also where Heather Locklear's character really took over and she is simply brilliant throughout. It's not just her though that has made this the classic it is. You have Laura Leighton who shines as Sydney, Marcia Cross as Kimberley, and then there is the annoying but likeable Alison (played by Courtney Smith).

Look out for those famous scenes ie.
-where Kimberley removes her wig to reveal a nasty scar from the accident.
-Sydney hits rock bottom and becomes a prostitute
-Amanda throwing her weight around at work
-Billy and Alison's constant fights

The show actually holds up very well after all these years. Sure, it's far fetched at times and trashy, but there are also some true heartfelt moments which gave the show a human touch.

This is a risk free purchase. A must own!