Featured TV on DVD Review: Blue Bloods: Season Two

September 11, 2012

Blue Bloods: Season Two - Buy from Amazon

Blue Bloods barely got renewed last season, despite averaging more than 12 million viewers, which is amazing for a Friday show. However its ratings in the prime age group are much weaker, barely half the average for CBS, which is a network that tends to skew to the older side of demographics. Does it make sense that so few young people watch the show? Or does it deserve a wider audience?

The Show

First a recap of the show. Tom Selleck stars as Frank Reagan, who is from a family of cops. He is the current commissioner of the NYPD, although the season begins with that job being a little uncertain. Frank's father, Henry, was also a cop and also rose to be the commissioner. Frank had four kids, three of them became cops, Danny, the eldest; Jamie, the youngest; and Joe, who was killed in the line of duty. His one daughter, Erin, isn't a cop, but works in law and order as an assistant district attorney. We also know Erin's daughter, Nicki (Sami Gayle) and Danny's wife, Linda, as well as Danny's partner, Jackie Curatola.

Season two begins with a new mayor, Carter Poole, who clashes with Frank Reagan right away. The old mayor warned Mayor Poole that Frank had a problem with authority, and that conflict is an important storyline throughout the season. Most of the episodes are one-offs dealing with the usual crimes you would see in a show like this set in New York City from organized crime to sex trafficking to terrorism. The show also touches on political issues, including the new mayor, racial tensions, etc. It is a very old-fashioned show, so you don't get a lot of action or CSI-level technical work. You won't see cops staring at a glowing machine as it analyzes DNA samples. In fact, it is arguably more of a family drama involving a family of cops than a hard core police procedural.

The first time I reviewed this show, I mentioned Jesse Stone, and for good reason. Both this TV series and the TV movies star, Tom Selleck, are police procedurals, and both have very similar styles. If you like one, you will very likely enjoy the other. I would argue that season two is a significant step up from season one and there were no episodes that were misses. The show's consistency is incredible.

The Extras

Extras on the first disc include deleted scenes on three episodes and a featurette on Tony Bennett's guest appearance in the season premiere. Disc two has a deleted scene for one episode. Disc three has deleted scenes for three episodes and audio commentary tracks on two. Disc four has deleted scenes for two episodes, as does disc five. The final disc has deleted scenes on two episodes. The final disc also has a short behind-the-scenes featurette, a nine-minute overview of season two, with a focus on the technical supervisor. There are two bigger featurettes that focus on the stories more than the technical aspect of the police work. Finally, there are four minutes of outtakes. This is better than the last season's DVD release.

The Verdict

Blue Bloods slipped a little bit in the ratings last year, even though its quality rose. Additionally, the extras on the Season Two DVD is better than they were on Season One. If you bought the first season, then the second season is worth picking up as well. If you like shows like Jesse Stone, then it is again worth buying. If you just want a police show that's more about the cops than the technology they use, it is worth picking up.


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