Customer Reviews

Second Chances

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

 

 

I'm sure few people remember SECOND CHANCES, the serial created by Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick who also wrote and produced KNOTS LANDING and HOMEFRONT. The serial is set in the sleepy California town of Santa Rita and revolves around the love lives of three women: Diane (Connie Selleca), her sister Kate (Megan Follows), and their friend Melinda (Jennifer Lopez). The first six episodes introduce the characters as well as set up and solve a who-dunnit. The series continued for four more episodes and then was pulled (I seem to remember reading it had something to do with earthquake damage to sets but I could be wrong). The series was retooled and Melinda and her father Sal Lopez were spun off into another serial called HOTEL MALIBU (which is still called SECOND CHANCES here and are the last six episodes on the discs). These last six episodes are as good as I remember them the first time around. Clever writing, witty dialogue, and great casting--especially Romy Walthall who plays Nancy--make this a series that deserved a much longer life. Best off all, most all storylines are resolved so you won't be stuck wondering what happened next. No real extras but it is still a set worth picking up and at a really reasonable price too! Now, would someone PLEASE release HOMEFRONT on dvd?!?!?!?

SECOND CHANCES premiered on CBS as a mid-season replacement on December 2, 1993. Created by husband-and-wife writing duo of Bernard Lechowick and Lynn Marie Latham (former show runners of KNOTS LANDING who later went on to create HOMEFRONT for ABC), the series was given an initial 6-episode "trial run" that led to the network ordering 7 additional episodes to round out the first season.

Unfortunately, only 4 of the planned episodes were completed before the Northridge Earthquake struck the Los Angeles area in January 1994. Production was shut down temporally due to the damage the sets sustained.

To further complicate matters, actresses Connie Selleca and Megan Porter - two of the show's leads -- were both pregnant in real life and by the time production was set to resume, they both would be on Maternity Leave. Their pregnancies were also not written into the show's plot, so their absences would have proven problematic for the writers to explain. This led to a mutual agreement between CBS and the producers that the show's production be shut down permanently.

The first 10 episodes on this DVD box set comprise the original 10 completed episodes of SECOND CHANCES.

Whether the Lechowicks had a 2 series deal with the network or CBS decided to give them a second shot due to the circumstances that shut down SECOND CHANCES, a spin-off, titled HOTEL MALIBU, and featuring the character of Melinda Lopez (played by the-before-she-was-a-megastar, J Lo), premiered as a limited 6-episode run in the summer of 1995.

Unfortunately, ratings for this new series were not as solid as hoped for and the network passed on commissioning any further episodes.

Personally, I found HOTEL MALIBU to be a much better written show -- SECOND CHANCES seemed to go adrift after it's initial 6-episode trial period and I'm not sure how much longer it would have lasted had the Northridge Earthquake not sealed it's fate.

I also feel that if HOTEL MALIBU had aired during the Spring or Fall it would have generated better ratings. Airing a new show smack dab in the middle of summer re-runs (and expecting it to attract an audience no less) was NOT a smart move on the part of CBS.

The final 6 episodes on this box set comprise the complete run of HOTEL MALIBU.

Oddly, the producers chose to combine both shows under the "Second Chances" title for the purpose of this DVD set. IMO, this was a smart move, seeing as how both shows had basically the same behind-the-scenes personnel and the Lopez family characters in common. This was most certainly the only way that HOTEL MALIBU was ever going to see the light of day on video, so kudos to whomever it was who decided this.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT:
Considering this was not a major studio release, I am rather surprised at the high quality of video and audio found on this set. I've seen some major studio releases that lacked half the quality of this one -- RHODA Season 1 from Shout Factory comes to mind.

Another plus - the price. I purchsed the complete 4 disc set from Best Buy in 2004 for under $40, although, now that it's long out of print, I'm not sure what the going rate is on the secondary market.

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT:
My ONLY complaint is that the original opening titles/theme music for HOTEL MALIBU were completely omitted and replaced with an altered version of the SECOND CHANCES opening. The original opening titles will probably never been seen again.

FINAL RATING: 4 Stars (out of 5)

This was one of those shows I remember watching with my late grandmother back in the early nineties. We often got involved in shows that were cancelled after a few episodes :) most of them during the period of about 1993 and 1994 when they would be something to air in the midst of re-runs and such. I only just recently discovered this had been released on DVD so I thought I would pick up the first four episodes just to watch as a reminiscence of (somewhat simpler)times gone by. But then I got right back into the characters and storyline and ended up buying the rest of the DVD's. The story lines were good and engaging and it's too bad they couldn't continue the series. The musical score throughout the episodes is also very good (I think the credits say Mark Mothersbaugh is the creator of the score). And now I want to buy an old pink Caddilac and cruise around listening to Save The Last Dance For Me on the radio, and maybe the fitting Bruce Springsteen classic also. The car was kind of a clunker in the show, but I wouldn't care. As the Boss says, we don't have to drive it, we can park it out in back and just to own it would be fun. Take it from an early fan. This show is definitely no clunker and just as much fun.