Product Details

• Actors: Clive Owen; Rupert Holliday-Evans; Claire Skinner; Frank Harper; Alexander Morton; Liam Noble; Simon Bateso; Selina Boyack; Helen Hathorn; James Greene (III); Elizabeth Hurran; Thomas Wheatley; Benjamin Smith (IV); Finbar Lynch; Tom Felton; Rebecca Egan; Julian Protheroe; Stephen Reynolds; Rebecca Hazlewood; Carol Royle
• Directors: Edward Bennett; Jonas GrimÃ¥s; Maurice Phillips
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: WGBH BOSTON
• DVD Release Date: August 5, 2003
• Run Time: 1200 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009QGA7
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,062 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > British Mystery Theater > Second Sight

• This is item 2 in The Second Sight Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Second Sight 2 follows the critically acclaimed, highly popular miniseries Second Sight--a co-production of BBC1 and WGBH (via the latter's Mystery! program on PBS)--with three bracing, two-part thrillers challenging ordinary notions of perception and deduction. Clive Owen returns as Chief Inspector Ross Tanner, whose eyesight is failing (his doctor sounds less certain this time that Tanner will absolutely go blind), subjecting him to blurry, distorting vision and even occasional hallucinations. Unwilling to give up his job, Tanner continues to rely upon confidantes working under him in his Special Murder Unit (now called the "Special Money Unit," investigating cold crimes and unusual cases), particularly Catherine Tully (Claire Skinner), who became Tanner's "eyes" in Second Sight and is his lover in the first story here, "Hide and Seek."

Created and written by Paula Milne, Second Sight was most interesting as a study of a man who can no longer use his eyes to solve crimes and must turn to a kind of sixth sense, heightened intuition, instead. Second Sight 2 extends that idea into chilling storylines in which only Tanner can "see" what his colleagues merely look upon. "Hide and Seek" is a strong and tragic tale in which Tanner re-opens an investigation into the apparent murder of a world-class violinist. While the SMU team pokes through three possible murder scenarios, Tanner takes the extraordinary measure of building a mock-up of the victim's home within police headquarters. (Meanwhile, Catherine endures the humiliation of being found out as Tanner's secret girlfriend.) "Parasomnia" is an absolutely spooky story about a sleepwalker (who fascinates Tanner on several levels) who has no memory of crossing town in her nightdress and bashing in her fiancé's head. Finally, "The Kingdom of the Blind" finds Tanner's young son missing during an investigation into the racially charged killing of an activist. Through all of these, Owen's laser-focused, powerful performance is something special to behold. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
Inspector Ross Tanner must solve three mysteries, before his colleagues solve his. Clive Owen (Gosford Park) returns as Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner in three new cases of Second Sight. Afflicted with a rare and incurable eye disease, Tanner's vision is slowly dimming, yet his crime-solving senses are as sharp as ever. He's just been chosen to head the Special Murder Unit, an elite group assigned only the toughest cases. Tanner must hone his observation skills while staying several steps ahead of his colleagues—who are unaware of his debilitating secret.

Hide and Seek Tanner’s increasingly intimate relationship with Detective Inspector Tully (Claire Skinner) is put to the test as they attempt to unravel the brutal murder of a renowned violinist. Tanner must devise some unorthodox strategies to reveal what his eyes can’t show him.

Parasomnia The daughter of a powerful lord wakes up covered in blood. Then her fiancé is discovered bludgeoned to death in his own apartment. As Tanner gropes for clues in the night, his new deputy Jack Boyd (Mark Bazeley) suspects him of alcoholism, and wants him tossed from the unit.

Kingdom of the Blind Tanner is caught in the middle of a war between black youths and neo-Nazis. While investigating the murder of a young activist, Tanner's son disappears–now the case is personal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloody good!, January 11, 2004

By	Judith Johnson (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Second Sight 2 is composed of three additional Mobil Mystery Theatre episodes. The protaganist is sexy Chief Inspector Ross Tanner (Clive Owen), a brilliant detective who conceals the fact that he has been stricken with a rare virus that is slowly blinding him. Please watch them in order for maximum impact of the character arc which means you may have to watch Second Sight first to get introduced. The series is populated by a large supporting cast, all of whom are excellent, which raises this series way above normal TV fare, yeah BBC.

Episode 2 (my personal favorite) concerns the murder of a prominent musician which was witnessed by her young son. Owen is very convincing in his increasing disability and the interactions with the victim's boy. He uses his own failures as a non-custodial parent to help him solve the mystery. The wonderful Pakistani actor Art Malik (Hari Kumar from The Jewel in the Crown series) is featured in this one.

Episode 3, The Kingdom of the Blind, features a blind villan (nice touch), examines racial hatred and killings and has Tanner finally come to grips with his own disability and his parental responsibilites. Great explosions also!

Bonuses on the DVD include audio descriptions for the visually handicapped. They also describe the genre of visually challenged detective and have cool features if you want to use your CD-ROM.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't be better!, July 3, 2004

By	S. Demizu "j-dreamer" (Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a non-native English speaker I knew I would have a hard time understanding the subtle parts of the mystery without my native language subtitles. But I, for being a big Clive Owen fan, couldn't resist. Now I'm happy I did the right thing. It's worth watching Second Sight 1&2 series again and again. I liked Owen's performances in "Greenfingers" and "Close My Eyes". This role of his, Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner, exceeds them by far.

Each plot of the episode is excellent. What I was so intrigued with was, however, how he faces his problem, going blind. Please watch carefully from Episode 1 to 4 in order.(notes: Episode 1 is Second Sight 1, a little longer than the other three.) You'll see how his eyesight changes from "visually impaired" to "almost blind" and his emotions from struggle and confusion to living finally with the fact. DCI Tanner is not a classical hero of hard-boild story, yet he has the same guts and loneliness, with dignity, at the bottom of his heart. Very cool!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific police procedural/character drama, January 7, 2004

By	"vonniek" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a smartly-written and terrifically-acted show that not only boasts good casefiles but has flawed and complex characters populating its corners. Owen's Ross Tanner is one of the most compelling protagonists from the rich tradition of British murder mystery. Although the first series with Claire Skinner as DI Tully was excellent introduction to the character, this second series builds up on the unique premise (DCI Tanner, the head of the new Special Murder Unit of the Scotland Yard, is slowly--and unbeknownst to his friends and colleagues--losing his eyesight from a rare viral disease) even better. Tanner is a tragic character but he doesn't invite our pity; his struggles, his rage, his loneliness and insights are his own, and he carries the weight of his tragedy with dignity and verve. The cases are wonderful as well--I liked the last installment of the series, "Kingdom of the Blind", particularly well, in which Tanner's interactions with his chief suspect provide us with some of the most intriguing moments in the series. Highly recommended.