Melrose Place - The Second Season (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)Season 2 was "Melrose Place's" breakout season; cementing it in primetime soap history forever. This is when "Melrose" really began to rock. There are tons of awesome eps during Season Two. Get Season Two and your DVD player will sizzle!!!
These are the Stars of Season 2, all were on the entire Season, unless otherwise noted:
Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga)
Amanda Woodward aka Queen of the Jungle (Heather Locklear)
Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro)
Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue)
Jane Mancini (Josie Bissett)
Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith)
Jake Hanson aka Handsome Hanson (Grant Show)
Matt Fielding (Doug Savant)
Reed Carter (James Wilder) - recurring from the middle of the Season, until Jo harpoons him!
Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton) - recurring from the 2nd ep
Dr. Kimberly Shaw aka Zipper-Head (Marcia Cross) - recurring during the first half & last quarter
These were some notable Season 2 guest stars; none were on the entire Season:
Lauren (the ho) Ethridge (Kristian Alfonso)
Palmer Woodward (Wayne Tippit)
Bruce Teller (Stanley Kamel)
Dr. Katya Petrova (Beata Pozniak)
Nikki Petrova (Mara Wilson)
Marion Shaw aka Mother of Dr. Kook (Janet Carroll)
Steve McMillan (Parker Stevenson)
Robert Wilson (Steven Eckholdt)
Here's all the eps from Season Two:
Much Ado About Everything 9/8/1993
Amanda has a party at the building but makes Alison work late so she can be alone with Billy. Keith pays a homeless man to make filthy calls to Alison. Michael and Kimberly shack up.
A Long Night's Journey 9/15/1993
When Alison goes back to Keith's hotel room to take him to the airport he tells her that he has been stalking her and then tries to rape her! This ep was sorta unrealistic (in a foolish way.) Because Alison was attacked by Keith, reported the attack to the police, Keith was arrested and interrogated by the police and the DA decides not to file charges ~ this all happens in 1 evening!
Revenge 9/22/1993
Billy shows up at Keith's work to tell him to stay away from Alison. After being shot down by Alison over the phone Keith takes his own life. Sydney gets her kicks by cleaning Michael's dirty laundry.
Fire Power 9/29/1993
Amanda almost fires Alison when she enjoys just a little too much of some of the hair of the dog that bit her!
Of Bikes and Men 10/6/1993
Jake realizes that he accidentally burned down his shop.
Hot and Bothered 10/13/1993
Billy and Alison try to get Jo and Jake back together. Jane's divorce is finalized. She goes out to celebrate with the girls and then feeling lonely goes to Robert's apartment and has sex with him on his floor. Sydney passes out on Michael's couch after his party.
Flirting With Disaster 10/20/1993
Furious, Jane throws turn-coat Sydney out after she learns that Sydney went to Michael's party. Amanda rents Sydney an apartment. Michael and Sydney get it on when Kimberly is out of town.
No Bed of Roses 10/27/1993
Palmer offers Jake a job. Sydney blackmails Michael into sex by threatening to expose him. Jane wants to take things slower with Robert.
Married to It 11/3/1993
Sydney takes a job at Shooters as a server. Kimberly catches Sydney in bed with Michael then runs to Jane for sympathy. Alison is jealous (yet again) when Steve starts to casually see Jo. By the way, I love it when Jane says to Alison, "my sister, that's really sick." Honey, she ain't seen nothing yet.
The Tangled Web 11/10/1993
Jo, Billy and Alison go to Steve's ranch. Jake finds out that Palmer is a cheat.
Collision Course 11/17/1993
Michael gets back into Kimberly's good graces by having dinner with her and then giving her a fancy diamond (engagement) ring. On the way home from the restaurant Michael drives d runk and gets into a h orrible a ccident. The police suspect d runk d riving and in an effort to save Michel's b utt Matt agrees to change his blood level on his medical hospital records. Sydney meets Lauren Ethridge, a proprietor of a high-class h ooker ring.
Cold Turkey 11/24/1993
Amanda sends Alison out of town on business during Thanksgiving. The FBI orders that Jake help out in their on-going investigation against Palmer. When Jane refuses to spend Thanksgiving with Syd she goes over to Lauren's home to spend the holiday with her new "family." Marion brings her daughter home to Cleveland.
Duet for One 12/1/1993
Matt gives Michael the bad news; that Kimberly has died! Michael arrogantly says, "I should sue that b itch for taking her out of here;" obviously referring to Marion Shaw! He's then transferred to a rehab center but is able to guilt Jane into letting him come stay with her. Furious with Alison (for spending Thanksgiving out of town with Steve), Billy goes to stay with Jake. Meanwhile, Syd goes to work for Lauren. One of her clients enjoys kinky sex games which isn't something Sydney is into so she skips out. Suffice it to say, Lauren is FURIOUS and threatening when she says to Sydney, "don't you ever put my name or my livelihood behind the 8-ball!"
Strange Bedfellows 12/15/1993
Alison goes to Steve's ranch but (like Kirstie Alley did) realizes that he isn't the man for her. When Michael falls off the sofa (at Jane's apartment) Syd hears his agonizing cries and offers to help him, only after he agrees to apologize for the way he treated her. On the rebound from Alison and on the rebound from Jake, both Amanda and Billy spend the night together.
Under the Mistletoe 12/22/1993
Billy is able to sneak out of Amanda's apartment without Alison seeing him (although he is half nude.) I really like how they played the Christmas Music as Billy was scurrying through the courtyard holding his pants; it really added a touch of class & Christmas cheer! Matt puts together a Christmas party for his stepdaughter, Nikki. In the spirit of Christmas, Alison and Billy get back together. Sydney makes a tearful confession to a priest, "I'm a p rostitute."
Reunion Blues 1/5/1994
Amanda makes threats to Billy when she finds out that he's back with Allison. When Sydney is busted for hooking Michael bails her out. He then blackmails Syd into helping him chase away Robert (from Jane's be d!)
Michael's Game 1/12/1994
Alison goes over Amanda's head at D&D and complains to Bruce about her. Bruce doesn't like Amanda (any more than Alison does) so he rightfully doesn't take Amanda's side. (It's absolutely surreal to see Amanda be put on her place, and by a man, no less!!) Sydney gets one of her little h ooker-friends to sleep with (a very h orny) Robert during a business trip. The s ex is videotaped and an anonymous package is sent to Jane who subsequently throws Robert out in the middle of the night (when she finally gets around to watching the video.) With enjoyment in his eyes (and ma lice in his heart,) Michael watches the fight from upstairs out Syd's window!
Arousing Suspicions 1/26/1994
After Michael rejects her (once again) Sydney tells Jane about Michael's involvement in scheming to break her and Robert up. Michael tries to explain to Jane but she throws him out anyway as he says, "like I drove her kicking and screaming into the w horehouse." Jane tells him that Syd has made her mistakes but she would rather have her sister in her life than his sorry self!! I loooooove it!!
The Young Men and the Sea 2/2/1994
Amanda and Jake invest in Reed's business. (Who knows why, because about the only thing that Reed looks qualified to do is strip.) Jane files a restraining order against Michael when he starts harassing her. When Michael shows up at her apartment Sydney comes running down to hide him so he won't get arrested.
Parting Glances 2/9/1994
Jake and Amanda bail on Reed's business venture. Sydney hears Michael talking in his sleep and puts two and two together; finding out that Michael was drunk on the night of the accident. Alison goes to NY to see Billy.
Swept Away 2/16/1994
After being kidnapped and held captive and beaten, Jo harpoons Reed! Somehow he's able to get back onto the boat when Jo shoots to kill. Sydney blackmails Michael into letting her move in with him.
With This Ball and Chain 2/23/1994
Amanda gets an excellent attorney to represent Jo (on the murder charges) who's able to get the charges dropped. At Billy and Alison's engagement party Jake punches Billy because of his little Christmastime fling with Amanda. Despite his protests, Sydney thinks that she and Michael are made for one another.
Otherwise Engaged 3/2/1994
Sydney and Jane get into a horrible catfight that spills over into the swimming pool when Jane sees Sydney wearing her wedding dress. Inside her apartment Jane says to Syd, "OMG, take it off now and get the hell out." Syd says, "fine I'm leaving," as she runs out with the dress still on! The girls' fight spills over into the pool as Jane says to Sydney, "you are trash Sydney, with the rap sheet to prove it." Later in the ep, Mrs. Andrews (Gail Strickland) comes to the beach house to try to get Sydney to come back to Earth. Syd says to her mom, "why don't you take your broom and fly back to Chicago!" And, she goes ahead with the wedding and the only guest is Matt (who little Syd is also blackmailing.) Michael takes Sydney on a honeymoon and implies to Matt that he is going to be a widower in the near future!
Love, Mancini-Style 3/16/1994
Michael attempts to try to kill Sydney but just can't do it. Matt confesses to Jane why in fact Michael agreed to marry her little...Read more›

Click Here to see more reviews about: Melrose Place - The Second Season (1992)

A nighttime soap opera about the lives, careers, trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward, head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.

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Melrose Place - The Complete First Season (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Melrose Place" is pure '90s excitement! Do you remember this super-cool 90210 spin-off? I sure do. I loved this show. Although, like many fans I didn't start watching until the mid-second season. When I used to watch repeats of the first season I never really enjoyed it. Because it was so different from the rest of the series (it's sorta like the difference between the first season of "The Facts of Life" compared to the rest of that series.) There were different characters and the stories were nowhere near over-the-top. There was no trashy sex or backstabbing. Although, now when I watch the first season I have a whole new fondness for this show. It's almost like looking at baby pictures of an old friend. She may have looked like an "ugly duckling" but I know that she's gonna turn out to be a knock-out!
I like to think of the first season of "Melrose" more as 3 mini-seasons. Because the entire first season is rather diverse and unique. I suppose the producers and writers (not to mention the actors and actresses) were still trying to find their way (i. e. make the show a hit,) which made them retool it more than once during that first faithful season. Let's see... There's the Sandy Era (Amy Locane,) which is the shortest of all season one's mini-seasons. This only lasted 14 eps (technically, 12 since the pilot is actually 1 ep and Sandy wasn't on the ep prior to her last one.) Then there's The Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga) Era, which picks up right after Sandy leaves for NY (actually, 1 ep later.) The Jo Reynolds Era takes us through the end of '92 and the beginning of '93 which is also the start of the third and final season 1 mini-season. Then God said, "let there be Heather" and a "special Guest Star" was born! Of course, I'm talking about Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear) who totally assisted in transforming season 1 into it's final incarnation, The Amanda Era!
The Sandy Era was when we got introduced to the entire cast (or should I say residents?) of 4616 Melrose Place. There was Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue) and Allison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith,) the building's sweet and sometimes homely roommates. Dr. Michael (Thomas Calabro) and Jane Mancini (Josie Bissett) were almost like the parents of the apartment. They were like an old married couple that everyone came to for help or advice; after all they were married for almost a whole 2 years! There was the resident hearthrob and cool loner, Jake Hanson (Grant Show.) As you may recall, Jake parlayed his tie-in role on "90210" first. In the first few eps of "Melrose" Jake could often be seen shooing away Kelly Taylor (Jenny Garth.) Then there was Matt Fielding (Doug Savant,) who really didn't have much to say or do during season one. Although this was one of the first times that an (openly) g-a-y character ever had a recurring role on an American coast-to-coast series. The only thing unbelievable about the character of Matt was his sense of style. Wouldn't you think a g-a-y man living in West Hollywood would understand the importance of fashion and dressing well a little better? (It makes me gag to think that poor Matt wore that hideous sandal-sock combo more than once.) Rhonda Blair (Vanessa Williams, not the Miss America) was the sexy, outspoken resident in this trendy building. During The Sandy Era her character was very well developed and we got to know Rhonda rather well; she was a sweet and sexy fitness instructor (teaching "cardio funk.") And, finally completing The Sandy Era was none other than Sandy Louise Harling (Amy Locane.) Sandy we hardly knew ya! Sanda is sorta like the Lana Shields of "Melrose Place" because she seemed so sexy, yet rather sexually frusterated. Sandy was an aspiring actress, who got her "big break" and left 4616 for the bright lights of the Big Apple to star on "Forever & Tomorrow." My favorite episode with Sandy is "Lonely Hearts." This is the one when she gets stalked. I always thought that Sandy and Jake would have made a great couple, and they did date, but nothing ever came of it. And, before we got a good chance to get to know her she was gone! Halfway through The Sandy Era, it also seemed that this mini-season was slightly retooled. Did you notice how the stories started to get more serious, however insignificant; Jane's pregnancy, Alison's married lover and Billy's attack.
The Jo Reynolds Era is when the series was completely retooled. Gone were the pool parties, barbecues, friendly chats in the laundry room, group parties and fun-loving get-togethers. The arrival of Jo brought a whole new concept to this soapy drama. The eps got more grittier and serious. I also enjoyed Jo because she was like a breath of fresh air. Jo was very beautiful and always managed to add a bit of common sense to the storylines. In the very beginning (for her first and maybe even second ep,) she had somewhat of a rough exterior. But that was just a facade because Jo was petrified of letting people into her life. Once I got to know Jo, I found a new resident at this complex that was just as likeable (if not more,) than all the others! During this mini-season, we learn that Jake has an estranged son. And another aspect that I noticed was that Rhonda was now being fazed out. Did you notice that Rhonda almost only exclusively had dialogue with Matt or with Terrence Haggard (John Marshall Jones,) who was her future hubby? Also during The Jo Reynolds Era we got to meet some more supporting/recurring cast members. Dr. Kimberly Shaw's (Marcia Cross) character was more developed. You may remember that she actaully spent X-Mas with the other tenants at "Melrose!" And we got to meet Jane's pesky little sister, Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton.) Although, not much was really learned about Syd during The Jo Reynolds Era, except for the fact that she was obviously a bottle redhead during season 2!
The Amanda Season was the final and very best mini-season of "Melrose's" season 1 because the storylines got so much deeper and more serious. The actors were also much more polished and they seemed more confident. As it's been said many times before, Amanda Woodward was what "Melrose" was all about! She really helped make this show! During this era, we saw a rather entertaining love-triangle develop between Billy, Alison and Amanda. Of course that was after Alison left her on-again/off-again lover, Keith Gray (William R. Moses.) (Keith is actually introduced to Alison during The Sandy Era, but the most interesting eps with him are during The Amanda Era.) Alison even quit her job and moved to Seattle to be with Keith! I loved it when Amanda said to Alison, "and when it was obvious that Billy wasn't going to run to Seattle to chase after you you came back!" During this time, the character of Lucy Cabot (Deborah Adair) was also more prominently seen. Yes, Lucy was the typical cliche of the "modern American professional lady" but she also showed a lot of compassion to Alison. During this era, Jake and Jo have an AIDS scare when one of Jake's former lovers contracts the virus. We also got to see another transformation during The Amanda Season. This was when Jane and Michael's marriage started to unravel. It was also around this time that Michael turned into the sneaky snake that he was known for in following seasons. Of course Michael carried on an illicit affair with Kimberly. And when Alison confronted him (she caught the 2 kissing at the hospital,) he arragantly said to Jane, "this is just malicious gossip." By the way, am I the only one who thought Michael was much more sexier when he was nice? I never found him attractive in following seasons because he just came off as such a dirty cheat.
Everyone always talks about Billy and how he was such a dreamboat. I tend to disagree. I was never crazy about Billy. To me, he seemed like a big kid who was still somewhat immature. My "Melrose" dreamboat was Jake. Jake was the perfect man because he was the perfect balance of sweet and tough. Remember how he cared for Matt and took him to the hospital during the "Dreams Come True" ep; I loved it when the cop assumed that Jake was Matt's lover and Jake said, "he's not my lover" because Jake would have done this for anyone.
By the way, look for Joyce Hyser in the "Responsibly Yours" ep. In this show she played Dawn Bonds, Billy's new girlfriend; a single mother who was tying to ignite her stand-up comedy career. Of course all children of the '80s remember Joyce Hyser as Terry in Just One of the Guys!
Another season 1 character who I enjoyed was Joan Campbell (Salome Jens.) Even though Mrs. Campbell (Billy's mom) was hardly seen, she always managed to make a big splash. She almost reminded of Bea Arthur a little. And Joan absolutely loved Alison. Seeing Joan on season 1 always reminds me of Billy's second marriage to Samantha Reilly (Brooke Langton.) (I never could stand Billy's second wife, I probably hated her the most out of all the "Melrose" girls.) Anywho, during the reception, Joan had a little too much to drink (after all, it's a party, right!) and the old thing starts shooting her mouth off to Samantha telling her about Alison and how much she always liked her. Then Joan brings up Billy's first wife, Brooke (played by none other than Kristen Davis whom I love!!) which caused Samantha to really pout. And Joan said to Samantha in her husky Greta Garbo voice, "don't tell me I can't talk about Brooke now."
"Melrose Place" really was the very best nighttime soap. In my humble opinion it was way better than "Dynasty" and even the granddaddy of all nighttime soaps, "Dallas" because all the stories and characters were always so captivating (even during season 1!) If you want to see how it all began, I recommend getting season 1, you won't be disappointed! ...Remember, you are what you watch!


Click Here to see more reviews about: Melrose Place - The Complete First Season (1992)

A nighttime soap opera about the lives, careers, trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward, head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.

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Melrose Place: The Fifth Season, Vol. 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)At last, season 5 lands, albeit volume 1.
Thankfully, CBS DVD are having a change of heart with Melrose and are getting it back on dvd after abandoning it last year in the u.s., and in 2007 in europe... due to poor sales, i believe.
(although, as of feb 09, melrose season 3 has been again delayed in europe...it didn't arrive feb 9th, instead now due late may, but i for one gave up on waiting for these releases and am thankful for the region 1 releases i can get)
THE DVDS:
On this set, you get part one of season 5 on a 4 disc set- episodes 1-20 of 34. (As i recall, episode 18 (Great Sexpectations) is a two parter, which aired as a 2 hour episode during the february sweeps season of 97, subsequently this was split into 2 separate episodes in other countries. on the case, it's named as just one episode of 19 on the set... but i believe we are getting 20 episodes). regardless, we are getting slighlty more than half the season, 17 would have been half..
volume 2 will probably be a 3 disc set of the 14 episodes left (i hope this will come in april or may, Dynasty had volume 1 in august, volume 2 in october last year of season 3, so i hope we're given a simliarly short gap between volumes).
The set includes:
Disc 1: Living With Disaster (Sept. 9, 1996)
Over Dlck's Dead Body (Sept. 16, 1996)
Moving Violations (Sept. 23, 1996)
Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love (Sept. 30, 1996)
Un-Janed Melody (Oct. 28, 1996)
Disc 2: Jane's Addiction (Nov. 4, 1996)
Young Doctors in Heat (Nov. 11, 1996)
Mission: Interpersonal (Nov. 11, 1996)
Farewell Mike's Concubine (Nov. 18, 1996)
Nice Work if You Can Get It (Nov. 25, 1996)
Disc 3: Sole Sister (Dec. 2, 1996)
Quest for Mother (Dec. 9, 1996)
Crazy Love (Dec. 16, 1996)
The Accidental Doctor (Jan. 6, 1997)
Escape From L.A. (Jan. 13, 1997)
Disc 4: Eyes of the Storm (Jan. 20, 1997)
Better Homes and Condos (Jan. 27, 1997)
Great S-e-x-pectations : parts 1 and 2 (Feb. 3, 1997)
Catch Her in the Lie (Feb. 10, 1997)
(By the way, episode summaries are returned to the packaging this time, when you open the case, episode titles and summaries are evident)
THE SEASON:
As for the show itself, season 5 was great for me... a lot of changes occurred during the season, particularly cast changes but the show still didn't lose it's momentum, it's ability to shock, it's strong plots and stories and characters that we cared about... at least not until the finale of the season ... season 6 never took off, the show couldn't recover from the mass exodus by the end of season 5. So, this was it really, the last enjoyable season, in years 6 and 7, fans didn't really connect with the new characters or care about them..
But this is a very satisfying season, because the characters we all knew and loved bowed out with strong stories.
There was Kimmy's cancer battle and battle to hold onto Michael's affections once Megan and him became serious,
Sydney finally got to be her own person this year... and not just Michael's lapdog....in season 4, she became nothing but a comical extra to other people's plots.. this year she found love, first with Carter and then with Craig... and wasn't the finale build-up great... Syd taking on Amanda and putting her and D&D out of business!
Alison and Jake seemed to settle down and were ready to start a family, but Alison got cold feet in the end and ruined it all....
Jane, well jane just lost it for the first part of this season! It was nice to see her get back that nasty streak we saw in her early in season 4 before Richard wore her down... I hated Jane the victim, so I was rooting for her crazy stalking of jake and alsion! Plus, it was nice to have a nut in action since Kimmy was mellowed out this year!
Other pluses this year..
Amanda got her spine back, season 4 and the parezi brothers saga made her such a victim too. She lost her edge... But this year, she was back to her bitchy self trying to assume control of d&d.
Taylor was a nice addition to the cast. Her devotion to Peter by the end of the season was shocking, hitting herself with a door to make him think he was abusing her! Genius, just what Kimmy would have done!
Of course, we did get lots of duds/ copies in the cast this year in anticipation of the exodus: kyle was a copy of jake (the macho hothead stereotype), Sam was the new Alison (starting off a nice girl), Jennifer was meant to be the new Syd (fat chance!) Taylor was the new Kimmy etc.
Somehow, the copying of characters didn't really effect the show this year... it was only when the characters we loved had gone in season 6 that it was clear the producers had made big mistakes in allowing so many central character's leave although most had run their course truthfully. The Split Season Problem:
It isn't ideal to have seasons split but i see amazon are today offering it for $26.99, and that is half what i paid for seasons 3 and 4 on amazon on their release date so maybe volumes 1 and 2 of this season will work out similar to what we paid for complete seasons in the past (before sales, reductions). ultimately, fans have to accept that we are a niche market- it's the old supply and demand scenario--not enough people are interested in buying this series to make it profitable, so we have to be prepared to pay some premium to make it viable to release the show any more... and split seasons is this premium.
In short, it is a a pain, it isn't truly necessary BUT I for one am simply glad that season five (the last truly enjoyable season) is making its way to dvd at ALL.
We have a choice: accept what we are getting and be grateful for small mercies and just accept that Paramount could easily do without the hassle and effort of releasing a series that has to date not been very profitable. Paramount can and will make more money, easily and quickly with other titles like CSI etc which have mass and current appeal, Melrose on the other hand won't make them much.
I don't like siding with Paramount ... I know it would be fairer for us as consumers to get complete seasons ... but the past year has taught me to be happy with what we get.
So, enjoy!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Melrose Place: The Fifth Season, Vol. 1

Item Name: Melrose Place: The Fifth Season, Vol. 1; Studio:Paramount

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