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Blu-Ray : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: December 18th, 2012 Movie Release Year: 2012

Shameless: The Complete Second Season

Overview -

Season Two of Showtime's boldest bravest series dives headfirst into the sweltering heat of a Chicago summer grabs Gallagher family life by the throat and never lets go. Boozed-up Frank's scams constantly fizzle. Grammy Gallagher visits after a stint in prison. Bipolar Monica returns to fan Frank's flames. Hard-working Fiona plays the field.until Steve comes back with a hot new wife. Lip drops out to care for his and Karen's baby. Ian's gunning for West Point. The Gallaghers may lack rent money and toilet paper but there's never a shortage of heart or a moment of shame in this acclaimed drama starring William H. Macy Emmy Rossum and a brilliant ensemble cast.

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
UltraViolet digital editions of all 12 episodes
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
600
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.78:1
Audio Formats:
TBA
Subtitles/Captions:
French, Dutch, Spanish, German
Special Features:
The Shameless Christmas Carol
Release Date:
December 18th, 2012

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Season two finds the Gallagher family still living in their squalid states, but you no longer have to feel cold every episode. The frigid winter Chicago air has given way to summer. The kids are out of school and Fiona's (Emmy Rossum) workload is doubled trying to keep everyone busy. The summer must be spent wisely. Everyone has to pull their weight and contribute money to the Squirrel Fund (a coffee tin full of cash for the tough winter months ahead). Since this is 'Shameless,' however, nothing goes according to plan.

The second season tries to outdo the first at every turn. It's more perverse in its humor and insane in its plotting. There are key plot points that, if they were in any other show, would cause an audience to throw up their hands in frustration and exclaim, "Well, this show just jumped the shark." With 'Shameless' it's easy to take the absolutely ridiculous in stride – like for instance when Carl shoots a bald eagle in their yard with a discarded gun he found – because it's 'Shameless and we expect and welcome it.

The entire family seems to be dealing with even more issues this season, if that's at all possible. Fiona is faced with the prospect of getting back together with Steve (Justin Chatwin), except he's shown up with a new Brazilian wife. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) finds it increasingly hard to deal with his sexuality since his unlikely partner doesn't want anyone knowing about them. Lip (Jeremy Allen White) is one of the strongest focuses of the season. He wants to get back with Karen (Laura Wiggins), but after she gets married, he simply wants to have an influence in his baby's life. Frank (William H. Macy) is still devoted to extracting money from anyone he possibly can. He hooks back up with Shelia (Joan Cusack) in hopes of getting his hands on her late husband's life insurance money. Except when he mother Peg (Louise Fletcher) shows up his entire world changes. If you thought that Frank was a terrible person wait until you hear the narcissistic hate-filled things that come out of Grammy Gallagher's mouth.

This show has a unique way of setting up the most improbable character pairings just to see what comes of it. It's a pinball narrative that thrusts people together that you wouldn't necessarily put together. For instance, Shelia and Peg are complete opposites, so naturally the show pairs them up to see what will happen. The conclusion may surprise you.

Along with these wacky couplings, the show is always able to focus on the hilarious and serious at the same time. Its humor is the kind you're not really sure you're supposed to be laughing at, but you do anyway. You've heard the term "nothing is sacred" thrown around with shows like 'Family Guy' and 'South Park'. 'Shameless' takes it to a completely different realm. Everything is fair game. And 'Shameless' takes an aim at it all.

What's so admirable about this show is the way it handles its characters. Because it's a comedy you'd expect each episode to be a half hour sprint. Instead a full hour is devoted to each episode, which leads to detailed character arcs, humorous asides, and honest-to-goodness "I can't believe that just happened" scenes in just about every episode.

If anything the writing and plotting has gotten stronger in the second season. It's a beautifully chaotic hour of television.

Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Shameless: Season 2' comes to Blu-ray on two 50GB Blu-ray Discs. They're packaged in a standard keepcase that slides into an outer slipcase. Contained inside is a small pamphlet that lists the episode numbers, their titles, and synopses. The set is region free.

Video Review

Ranking:

Like the first season the second season of 'Shameless' has grittiness to it. Although, the grittiness in question doesn't mean the presentation looks awful. On the contrary, the 1080p picture provided by Warner Bros. looks quite stunning.

The Gallagher family lives in the slums, but that doesn't mean that the video has to look like crap. This is a sharply refined picture. Lines and edges are cleanly defined. There are occasional times where flatter blacks occur and dull that clarity (most of the time this happens in the dimly lit club scenes). Outside, the weather and image quality are near perfect. Detail shines under the welcomed sun. Sweat forms on brows. Frank's disheveled hair and two-week stubble are accurately lifelike. The precision of the presentation catches some of the more subtle aspects like Fiona's overall beauty juxtaposed by the bags under her eyes from working multiple jobs to keep the house running. Dirt, blood, and grime are perfectly visible on faces and even under fingernails. Frank has some dirty ass fingernails.

Some noise appears on occasion. Again, it's the darker scenes that are the culprit. It isn't horribly bad noise, but it is noticeable. However, it isn't constant and is more like the exception to the rule rather than the rule. Banding, aliasing, and all those other bad compression related maladies are nowhere to be found. If you liked the first season's presentation you'll love this one too.

Audio Review

Ranking:

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track afforded season two is every bit as surprisingly engaging as the first season. The Gallagher household is full of voices, most of them speaking simultaneously. With the show's fast and furious dialogue delivery it's crucial that the mix prioritize effectively. It does.

Conversations off screen, which aren't the main focus, are housed in the rear speakers as ambient sound. Even with all the voices and activity going on around the main dialogue sequences, not a word is lost. Numerous characters chime in and the mix deftly adds their two cents into the seemingly chaotic soundfield.

The rear channels house a ton of sound. Busy city streets, car horns, gunshots, the elevated train, yelling, barking, and sirens. This is a varied and lively track that just keeps on impressing every episode. Some of you may notice a couple hiccups in the show's sound from time to time. There are a couple times where dialogue comes in much lower and flatter than expected. It only happens a handful of times and I'm convinced it has more to do with the way the show is filmed and recorded than the mix itself.

Special Features

Ranking:
  • Behind the Scenes: Writing the 'Shameless' Version (HD, 19 min.) — Producer John Wells, producer/writer Mike O'Malley, writer Latoya Morgan, supervising producer Nancy Pimental, and co-producer/writer Etan Frankel sit down to talk about the series up until this point.
  • A 'Shameless' Actor Discussion (HD, 37 min.) — Each of these interviews are broken into segments that focus on certain characters: "Sibling Rivalry" with Cameron Monaghan (Ian) and Jeremy Allen White (Lip), focuses on the two brothers that find themselves at odds with each other this season; "The Ghetto Girl and the Car Thief" with Emmy Rossum (Fiona) and Justin Chatwin (Steve), shines a light on the complicated relationship between Steve and Fiona; "The Bartender and the Sex-Cam Worker" with Steve Howey (Kevin) and Shanola Hampton (Veronica), talks about the expanded story of the Gallagher's next door neighbors; "Juvenile Delinquents" with Emma Kenney (Debbie) and Ethan Cutkosky (Carl), features two of the youngest and sometimes forgotten members of the Gallagher family; the last entry "The Agoraphobe and the Beautiful Mess", with Laura Slade Wiggins (Karen) and Joan Cusack (Shelia), takes a look at the problematical relationship between mother and daughter.
  • The Complicated Life of Fiona Gallagher (HD, 7 min.) — Rossum discusses Fiona's role this season and how she's taken on even more responsibility when old Gallagher faces start returning.
  • The Art of Acting Drunk (HD, 7 min.) — William H. Macy talking about the finer points of acting as Frank Gallagher.
  • Deleted Scenes (SD, 10 min.) — There are 11 deleted scenes in all. Each from various episodes, all most likely cut for time or pacing reasons.
  • A 'Shameless' Look at Season 3 (HD, 4 min.) — A 'Shameless' Look at Season 3
  • Music Video (HD, 4 min.) — "The 'Shameless' Christmas Carol." Not usually a fan of music videos included as special features, but this one I'll make an exception for. Just watch it. It's hilarious.

It's raunchy, deplorable, and doesn't have a modicum of good taste or decency. 'Shameless' isn't for the easily offended. If you can accept its outright absurdity, then there is a wealth of intricate character designs and outrageously fun plotting waiting for you. The second season is just as fun as the first. With its strong video and audio this second installment comes strongly recommended.