Customer Reviews

thirtysomething: The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just received this DVD set. The commentaries are interesting and insightful, and it's great to see the uncut episodes for the first time in over twenty years. I have only watched one of the discs, but have found what I consider to be a big production problem. On Disc 1, episode 2 "In Re: The Marriage of Weston", the scenes have been edited out of order. It's very obvious, but to be certain I compared the DVD with a copied episode from "Lifetime". Two sequences stand out. On the DVD, early on Hope and Ellyn giggle about the instructor at the art center and Hope intimates he and Nancy have slept together. However, the scene where Nancy gets the art center job and meets the instructor comes later in the DVD. Likewise, there is a scene where Nancy angrily confronts Elliot about contacting a Realtor to sell the house, and rips him for instructing Ethan not to tell her. The scene in the DVD where Elliot is showing the Realtor the house and admonishing Ethan not to tell his mother comes after this scene.

The DVDs are beautiful. I would have given the set 5 stars if not for the production problem

I had forgotten how good and original this series was. 16 years since I first watched it, it still delights, and has not aged, but matured. Some episodes would win awards as free standing dramas. The characterization is excellent, the performances outstanding, the drama real and moving, and the team work unequalled since The Big Chill. The direction and writing deserved the awards they won. Five stars.

That thirtysomething is finally out on DVD (after almost 20 years!) is the answer to one of my most fervent prayers. Or it would be.

Because the DVD is a letdown.

As with the first season DVDs, the technical quality of the remastering wavers considerably. There are entire portions that simply were not remastered at all. It's often one camera track, while the other camera track in the same scene has been remastered. So one moment you're watching a reasonably high resolution DVD, the next moment (cut to the other camera), it's TV and VHS tapes all over again: fuzzy contours, awful colors. And then back to the high resolution. And back to VHS. That quickly. It makes you dizzy. And mad.

In the second season, it gets increasingly worse - as if Shout Factory (the DVD manufacturer) had been running out of money, or time, or just not felt like doing it any longer. The worst episode I've seen to date is "Michael writes a story" (2nd season, # 13). About half of the entire episode is simply not remastered at all. Or only the actors but not the background. Then they cut to the second camera and it's o.k. again.

Btw, the closed captions are sloppy too. That out in La-La-Land, they don't know what "Ardmore" is may be all right, but there IS a difference between saying "I'm scared" and "I'm sorry." In short: bad job, Shout Factory!

I love this series, but this season they really took it up notch above the first season. So many good episodes here. Really good new characters introduced like Miles and Susannah. Miles may be my favorite character...he's definitely my favorite villain.

Because I'm a business guy...I loved the episodes featuring the battles between Miles, Micheal and Elliot.

One of my favorite things about the series is...they weren't afraid to tell each other when they felt the other was wrong. I loved that...honesty. It wasn't honesty simply for honest sake...but out of concern and caring. Sometimes it tested their friendships, but it made their relationships better. Stronger. They became better people as a result.

If friendships and family mean alot to you...tune this series in.


Standtall

There was a writers' strike during this season, so it's the shortest of the four. 17 episodes, where the others are around 21 each. No price break, though.
Still, you have to get it. It's the debut of Miles Drentell, the Dark Lord of Mordor, where the shadows lie!

The second season of thirtysomething was one of turning points, wherein key developments in the arc of its characters' lives from which everything that was to follow in subsequent seasons took root. Recurring, complex characters, Miles Drentell and Susanna Hart, were introduced. Episodes came to rely less on plot, allowing viewers opportunity for introspection, a strength of the series that became one of its hallmarks. Although bonus features are not as abundant as on the season one package, the three included here (profiles of Miles and Susannah, and a feature "W.G. Snuffy Walden and the Music of thirtysomething") are individually substantive, expanding one's appreciation for the season and providing grace notes for the series overall.

It has been so worth waiting for. Fantastic acters and the stories are not out dated.

Although my life was not as dramatic as the gang on thirtysomething, I could have lived next door to these folks. Jobs, babies, personal worries, parents, good friends, etc., etc., etc. We all live this time of our lives at some point, I just happened to when this show aired. It was good to continue the thirtysomething tale.

This was my favorite series back in the day. It's been a long time and I read that it stands the test of time. It sure does! This series is by far the most honest look at human relationships I think I've ever seen. The cast is superb, well acted throughout. The only thing dated about it is the lack of cell phones! A brilliant study of human relationships in very real situations. Family and friendship are the key elements. Classy, dramatic, lots of witty lines, just amazing. I was really upset that Season 2 was so short so now I have to wait for Season 3. Back to re-runs for now!!!

Loved this show from the beginning and couldn't wait until it was finally released on dvd. It is just as good today as it was in the beginning. Bring on season 3 !!