Everyone's favorite rich people are back in the Second Season release of Gossip Girl on DVD, August 18th. The Upper East Siders are in their senior year, and every relationship spins in countless direction. It's 25 episodes on 7 discs, and this is really a serious package.
As new characters jumped on board, and various people plotted to destroy various other people, the second season of Gossip Girl took things up several notches. Where the first season set off as the story of the have nots entering into the cold world of the rich and famous, the second season takes the gloves off. Now that we've established the general schema of the web of lives and connections, we're free to run wild and see what unthinkable trouble we can think up for Serena, Blair, Dan, Nate, Jenny, Chuck, and Vanessa.
As our crew from the elite society move closer to graduation, the complications are limitless, and the scandals are as outrageous as you can imagine. The frenemy cast of characters weave their way through their own personal network of infamy (like everyone else, I suppose), and at some point everyone learns that when you're making your social ladder up as you go, you can find yourself standing on air at any moment.
The DVD release is a serious contender among TV series efforts. Put together on seven discs, and distributed in a quality package with a generous helping of production style and bonus features, this is definitely one of the better releases you'll find.
Just opening the box and popping in the first disc will tell you that there was a serious attempt at delivering the goods here. The box itself, especially considering this is a 7-disc release, is top of the line. Once the discs are in, the stylish and unusual menu pages are a clear indicator that this is not something that was just knocked out to cash in on a franchise. The episode selections showcase blurbs to remind you of that particular show, and the menu even features the option to play episodes with the recaps on or off.
The special features are a nice collection, and offer quite a bit more than it might seem from reading the list off the package.
5th Avenue Meets Gossip Girl is an interactive series of maps of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island, each with several reference spots for locations we see in the show. Each of these spots gives video footage showcasing that set, hotel, or bar from the show, and includes interview footage with the cast and/or creators. These are all at least a few minutes long, and it adds up to a lot of bonus.
Faces Behind the Design is a 17-minute featurette showcasing the fashion and overall design used in the show. It's up to you how interested you are in this, but then again, you're watching Gossip Girl... Whether this is your cup of tea or not, the feature is solidly produced and offers a lot of content.
Chasing Dorota Webisodes is just what it claims. Six webisodes created as companion pieces to the overall series are included here. The "Downstairs" to the series' "Upstairs," these fun and amusing webisodes detail the quick adventures of the people behind the people.
lol is an 11-minute outtake reel, that's surprisingly funny, and will be a treat for fans.
The set also includes the audiobook of Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me by Cecily von Ziegesar, as read by Christina Ricci.
For a limited time, the DVD release of Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season will also include an exclusive excerpt from the upcoming book Gossip Girl: I Will Always Love You by Cecily von Ziegesar, which will be released on November 3, 2009.
Overall, this is a DVD release that exudes quality and fan consciousness. It's easily one of the best TV series releases I've seen in quite a while.
Gossip Girl stars Blake Lively (New York, I Love You), Leighton Meester (Entourage), Penn Badgley (Forever Strong), Chace Crawford (The Haunting of Molly Hartley), Taylor Momsen (We Were Soldiers), Ed Westwick (Children of Men), Jessica Szohr (What About Brian), with Kelly Rutherford (Melrose Place) and Matthew Settle (Brothers & Sisters).
Own It On DVD August 18th!
Check out a few clips below.
Are You Screening?
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About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
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