Well, the second season was quite different from season 1! Season one was full of conflict between the two groups of students; the popular kids, and the wannabes. Season two finds the groups intermingling, and getting along (for the most part). The storylines involving the parents were pushed to the background, and the stories were more dramatic. This season was the "issue" season, where the show focused on alcoholism, leukemia, eating disorders, suicide, STDs, adoption and homosexuality. That's some pretty hefty material!
Video
I don't think I could ask anything more from the video on this release. The colors are vibrant, the print virtually grain-free, and it's sharp. It's mostly filmed content, though there are some scenes where video is used (the characters are videotaping things). There are chapters after the opening of every episode, and each disc contains a "play all."
Audio
I have no idea if season 2 features any replaced music, but there are a lot of recognizable audio tracks. It's a pretty decent audio track, and doesn't suffer from any major problems. There are English subtitles, and closed captions.
Commentary Tracks
There are two commentary tracks on this release; "The Shocking Possession of Harrison John" with Leslie Bibb, Bryce Johnson and Chris Gorham, and "The Brain Game" with Leslie Bibb and Bryce Johnson. Unfortunately Johnson had to leave part way through "The Brain Game" so then Leslie Bibb was left alone.
Popularity Contest
Answer some questions and then you're rated. I'm a nobody.
Summary
I loved season 1, but season 2 is pretty odd. It feels very preachy, and more like a weird "Afterschool Special" than Popular. I enjoyed seeing the two groups get along, but I missed the parents and some of the wackiness from season 1. I noticed a number of episodes were missing certain characters; it's as though each person was only contracted for 17 of the 21 episodes. Worst part of season 2; a cliffhanger episode that was never concluded because the show was canned.
I wish Ryan Murphy was interviewed for this set so he could tell us what he had planned for other seasons. The three cast members touched on this in their commentary track, but no one could know the "grand plan." I'm bummed that the show didn't go on for longer, but they had two good seasons.
