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"Popular" The Complete Second Season DVD Review
Chronology and constantly-continuing storylines make it difficult to jump in at the start of Season 2, but nonetheless, that's what this reviewer did. Going through these episodes, one can begin to piece together much of what happened before, but it's still probably a good idea to see the premiere season (which is reportedly better) first.
The two young protagonists of "Popular" are Brooke McQueen (Leslie Bibb) and Sam McPherson (Carly Pope), both now juniors at Kennedy High School in San Francisco, California. Though Brooke and Sam were originally from different social circles, Season 1 centered on each being pushed in the other's life when Brooke's father Mike (Scott Bryce) and Sam's mother Jane (Lisa Darr) became romantically involved. And so, Brooke, a cheerleader and the most popular girl in school, and Sam, a thoughtful unpopular girl who writes for the school newspaper, unwillingly became sisters.
Season 2 picks up by addressing some of the previous May's cliffhangers. The return of Brooke's mother, who had been out of her life for years, complicates matters for everyone, especially when she and Mike contemplate getting together again. Things are less complicated for Brooke and Sam, who begin their junior year as friends occupying common social ground with most of their acquaintances mutual.
Seven of those acquaintances comprise the "regular cast" and each gets a fair amount of screen time. Heading the sect of cheerleaders (known as "The Glamazons") are the bitchy Nicole Julian (Tammy Lynn Michaels) and the bizarre Mary Cherry (Leslie Grossman), who have reputations for being fashionable, unfriendly, and vain. Also now a Glamazon is Carmen Ferrara (Sara Rue), a hefty "wannabe"-turned-cheerleader. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there is Lily Esposito (Tamara Mello), a cause-conscious vegetarian. Providing a male perspective are: down-to-earth football star Josh Ford (Bryce Johnson), who begins the season as Brooke's boyfriend, his massive but lighthearted teammate "Sugar Daddy" (Ron Lester), and Harrison John (Christopher Gorham), Sam's best friend whose social status effortlessly rises throughout the year.
With such a diverse mix of personalities and the hour-long format, it's easy for one to familiarize with the characters, each of whom is given a fair amount of storylines and development. Patterns emerge. Romances blossom and die. Brooke and Sam test each other's friendship. Nicole cattily schemes to stay close to the top and dish out pain and embarrassment to those below. And there are plenty of ridiculous plots involving Mary Cherry, whose Southern accent, unique mispronunciations, and mental ineptitude suggests she is not of this planet. Many episodes revolve around Miss Bobbi Glass (Diane Delano), the gang's sadistic chemistry teacher whose return surprises the class (who had her for Biology the year before). Miss Glass is another bold individual, who puts down her students at a rapid pace in a near-yell.
Between Miss Glass's chemistry class (and she is just about the only teacher we ever see), the backstabbing and cliques, Kennedy High is a pretty intense and mean-spirited place. This acerbic atmosphere renders the show none too appealing. I can appreciate the efforts that went into making something different from the romanticized high school of other television programs. But "Popular" is still romanticized in its own way, albeit a cruel, Undoubtedly, the world of "Popular" is thoroughly and skillfully designed. Creators/executive producers Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews have since taken their talent onto other projects, most notably, the FX show "Nip/Tuck" and the feature film 13 Going on 30 respectively. Clearly, a lot of thought went into creating and developing the characters and plots; Murphy wrote a good number of Season 2's scripts. In spite of this effort and attention, there's a fair amount of predictability to the writing and the gag of fast-paced harsh dialogue grows tiresome quickly. Nonetheless, the acting is very good. It's difficult to separate the actor from the personality; each convincingly conveys their part and, as with any hour-long drama, is given time to find nuance in their performance.
Another big problem with the show is that it's so uneven. The first few episodes juggle sudsy parent drama with the high school hipness. If it's trying to connect with two different audiences, the clashing styles are bound to alienate half of them half the time. The seemingly sincere approach to the parents and serious subplots is drastically juxtaposed with dark comedy. Later, comedy seems to exit the equation altogether, and you get episodes that are heavily dramatic.
That would be fine, only that some of the show is just so ridiculous that it's hard to take things seriously when it tackles subjects like cough syrup highs, eating disorders, alcoholic family members, and leukemia. And that's just the first half of the season.
Its clashing tone seems to aspire for both hilarity and the profound. In recent years, I can immediately think of one hour-long high school series that successfully provided that mix: "Freaks and Geeks." That NBC program launched the same year as "Popular", but didn't get to see its second season. This fact does not go unnoticed by the Kennedy High class, though. There is a Bring Back "Freaks & Geeks" Club at school. Having endured over 15 hours of "Popular", which lacks most of the heart and skill of that other series, I can't help but echo that sentiment.
In the end, "Popular" was cancelled for not living up to its title. Its ratings plummeted pretty consistently throughout the 2000-01 season. There is a wide range of constituents which make up "Popular"'s cult following, so the show clearly possesses appeal for some. Personally, I found this series unfortunately unsavory. While well-defined, the characters were unidentifiable and on the whole, unlikable. While comprehensive, I found the storylines unsatisfying. While promising, the blend of comedy and drama proved uneven.
It's worth noting that a few songs included in the Season 2 episodes when the first aired have reportedly been replaced. Having not seen the original airings, I can't attest to that or provide specifics, but that's not an encouraging practice. One can understand the challenges of clearing music, though, particularly when music is as ubiquitous as it is on this show.
There is a firm chronology to the show and therefore production order is the same as airdate order, which is of course, the one and only way to present the series and how it is presented here. Each episode runs between 43 and 45 minutes and is accompanied by an average of six chapter stops (usually coinciding with commercial breaks).
A fair amount of the show's value surely lies in following the storyline and discovering what happens next. If you're unacquainted with the show, but think you'd like to check it out, perhaps you should stop reading synopses after a few episodes to leave the inherent surprises ahead.
DISC 1
1. Timber! (Originally aired September 22, 2000)
2. Baby, Don't Do It! (Originally aired September 29, 2000)
3. Citizen Shame (Originally aired October 6, 2000)
4. The Sweetest Taboo (Originally aired October 13, 2000)
DISC 2
5. Joe Loves Mary Cherry (Originally aired October 20, 2000)
6. Style and Substance Abuse (Originally aired November 3, 2000)
7. Ur-Ine Trouble (Originally aired November 10, 2000)
8. Misery Loathes Company (Originally aired November 17, 2000)
DISC 3
9. Are You There, God? It's Me, Ann-Margret (Originally aired December 8, 2000)
10. The Consequences of Falling (Originally aired December 15, 2000)
11. Fire in the Hole (Originally aired January 19, 2001)
12. The Shocking Possession of Harrison John (Originally aired January 26, 2001)
DISC 4
13. Mary Charity (Originally aired February 2, 2001)
14. The News of My Death Has Been Greatly Exaggerated (Originally aired February 23, 2001)
15. It's Greek to Me (Originally aired March 2, 2001)
DISC 5
16. Fag (Originally aired March 9, 2001)
17. Coup (Originally aired March 16, 2001)
18. The Brain Game (Originally aired April 27, 2001)
DISC 6
19. I Know What You Did Last Spring Break! (Originally aired May 4, 2001)
20. You Don't Tug on Superman's Cape...You Don't Spit Into the Wind...You Don't Pull the Mask Off the Ol' Lone Ranger...and You Don't Mess Around with Big Bertha Muffin (Originally aired May 11, 2001)
21. Promblems (Originally aired May 18, 2001)
For an interesting read of what might have happened in Season 3, check out the always-useful TV Tome.
VIDEO and AUDIO
"Popular" is presented in its original 1.33:1 broadcast aspect ratio and the picture quality is without incident. As these episodes are only four years old, it's not too surprising that they are not inflicted by age or poor source material. They were shot on film, which gives them a distinguished look. Sharp, detailed, and perfectly clean, "Popular"'s video pleases as it displays the often-dark palettes satisfactorily.
The Dolby Surround track is more active than sitcoms and older television programs, but still not the dynamic experience you might expect from a modern-day feature film. Music is a key element, and both the score and pop selections are rendered well. (Unfortunately, some of the latter have apparently been modified.) Dialogue is crisp, volume levels are consistent, and there's really nothing to complain about as far as this sound presentation goes. There's even a surprising amount of bass in some segments.
BONUS FEATURES
Two episodes are accompanied by optional audio commentary, though each features fewer participants than did Season 1's set. Disc 3's "The Shocking Possession of Harrison John" reunites cast members Leslie Bibb, Bryce Johnson, and Chris Gorham. "The Brain Game", on Disc 5, offers commentary with just Bibb and Johnson. Johnson takes off less than twenty minutes in, leaving Bibb to speak solo for the remainder of the show. She does her best to keep the track going on her own, but there gets to be a lot of dead space and some narrating of what's on screen. During those dead spaces, the show's dialogue fills in. The group atmosphere lent more insight, but Bibb is easy to listen to and even if she doesn't have so much to say, her recollections from the set are interesting.
The only other bonus feature is "A Popularity Contest", which oddly resides on Disc 4. It's actually well-designed and quite a bit of fun. Though it makes it seem like it will tell you if you're popular or not, it's really a personality quiz which poses you four different responses to hypothetical situations. There's a different test for members of each gender, and when you're done, you are told which character of that gender you're most like. There are appropriate little clips from the show sprinkled throughout, and after you're done with the personality questions, you're tested on facts from Season 2 which have scrolled past in between each question. While it doesn't lend insight into the series and it's pretty short, it's clear that effort went into this and it's a fun and inspired little extra.
From a bit of research, it sounds like there were scenes that were filmed but deleted for time on some episodes. Unfortunately, these are not included anywhere on the set.
Sneak Peeks reside on Disc 1 for the now-available Felicity: Season 4 and Sweet Valley High: Season 1, plus upcoming Boy Meets World: Season 3 and Scrubs: Season 1. The Sneak Peeks menu adds DVD previews for The Golden Girls: Season 2, Home Improvement: Season 2, Alias: Season 3, and a spot for "Hope & Faith" on ABC's TGIF.
MENUS and PACKAGING
The Main Menu on each disc is animated and features footage that looks like it could have come from the opening credits, only it doesn't. Each disc's Main Menu is different, although the music is the same.
The six discs that make up "Popular": The Complete Second Season are housed in three separate clear slim keepcases, each of which features unique cover art on the front, two discs inside (each disc features a different female character), and episode descriptions and credits on the back. Volume 1's cover art features Brooke and the popular students, Volume 2 has Sam and the less popular, and the entire clan adorns Volume 3. These three slim cases fit comfortably in a colorful cardboard box. The only insert is a mail-in certificate for a $10 rebate. To get this money back, it looks like you have to have purchased Popular: Season 2 first, and then pick up the First Season set between March 8 and September 30, 2005. I don't think too many fans will be taking this approach, which makes offer not the most valuable one.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Fans of "Popular" will be glad to revisit this series that hasn't been on the air in years. While the show presentation is satisfactory, the bonus features are sparse. I can't recommend the show to those unacquainted with it. Much more interesting and likable characters have roamed the halls of high school television series, and these episodes offer unsavory plot lines, frustrating arcs, and an uneven blend of mean-spirited comedy and heartless drama.
More on the DVD / Buy from Amazon.com / Buy Season 1 DVD from Amazon.com
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Related DVD: Popular: The Complete First Season
Related DVD Reviews - High School TV Series
UltimateDisney.com | DVD Reviews | DVDizzy.com: New and Upcoming DVD & Blu-ray Schedule | Disney / Buena Vista TV Shows Page | Search This Site
Reviewed March 8, 2005.
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