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October Road on DVD: Season 1 • Season 2
"October Road" The Complete Second Season DVD Review
Television is a risky business. The jobs of many rest on the Nielsen ratings, for better or worse. Films have the luxury of waiting to see how audiences respond after the product has been completed. Television series, on the other hand, are never complete unless the creators feel it's time to go (a rarity these days). More often, the network pulls the plug. The small-town drama focused primarily on Nick Garrett (Bryan Greenberg), who left his home of Knights Ridge, Massachusetts for a whole decade. During this time, he managed to write a novel based on his hometown and friends, painting neither in the best light. Upon returning, he's met with disdain and is shocked to find out how much has changed since his departure. Now he must earn back the trust of those he left behind for so long.
The second season's character arcs all continue what was left off in the debut season. Nick's high school sweetheart Hannah Daniels (Laura Prepon, "That '70s Show") is engaged to his nemesis Ray "Big Cat" Cataldo (Warren Christie). Owen Rowan (Brad William Henke) disowns his best friend Ikey (Evan Jones) after finding out Ikey slept with his wife, Alison (Elizabeth Bogush). As such, the rest of the group also shuts Ikey out. The town's resident ladies' man, Eddie Latekka (Geoff Stults), gets into his first true relationship with the physically insecure Janet (Rebecca Field). Physical Phil (Jay Paulson) is a shut-in who hasn't left his house since the World Trade Center attacks, but his perky, unnamed girlfriend (Lindy Booth) manages to bring optimism to his life.
"October Road" got off to a solid start in its first season, The actors' natural performances continue to be the highlight here. While other shows find their strengths in snappy dialogue, a signature style, or intricate storylines, "October Road" really finds its niche in its cast. Everyone involved is honest and understated. Characters that may come across as awfully unpleasant on paper become far more approachable thanks to genuine craft and skill.
If there's anything the program suffers from, it is predictability. While the show is entertaining and even engaging at times, it's often easy to figure out what's going to happen next. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but shows that run into this problem find ways to distract from it. As said earlier, the cast all around is excellent and truly invests into the ensemble of characters, but besides that there isn't a whole lot for the audience to latch onto. The anticipated plot points are easier to take than the astounding number of coincidences found in the first season (though a couple more do crop up here), but they still hamper some of the drama slightly.
"October Road" was a series that ended too soon. It had only two short seasons in which to find an audience, and it apparently didn't find one large enough for ABC's liking. This is unfortunate as some of the most beloved television shows of all-time overcame awkward beginnings to finally hit their stride. There was some good potential here, and considering what a step-up the second season was from the first, one only can only imagine how much slicker a third season could've been. As it is, audiences are only left with two decent seasons' worth of material to spend in the close-knit town of Knights Ridge. Spending time there becomes easier this week as Disney and ABC Studios make the remainder of the show available in The Complete Second Season DVD.
Disc 1
1. Let's Get Owen (42:32) (Originally aired November 22, 2007)
2. How to Kiss Hello (43:10) (Originally aired November 26, 2007)
3. The Infidelity Tour (42:59) (Originally aired December 3, 2007)
4. Deck the Howls (42:40) (Originally aired December 10, 2007)
Disc 2
5. Once Around the Block (42:31) (Originally aired December 17, 2007)
6. Revenge of the Cupcake Kid (42:21) (Originally aired January 7, 2008)
7. Spelling it Out (42:32) (Originally aired January 14, 2008)
8. Dancing Days Are Here Again (42:14) (Originally aired January 21, 2008)
9.We Lived Like Giants (42:31) (Originally aired February 11, 2008)
Disc 3 10. Hat? No Hat? (42:29) (Originally aired February 28, 2008)
11. Stand Alone By Me (42:27) (Originally aired March 3, 2008)
12.The Fine Art of Surfacing (41:47) (Originally aired March 10, 2008)
13. As Soon as You are Able (42:16) (Originally aired March 10, 2008)
VIDEO and AUDIO
"October Road" returns to DVD in the anamorphic 1.78:1 aspect ratio of its HD airings. The results are quite good overall. As with many other programs set in rural New England, this one contains an almost constant autumn color palette that's replicated faithfully here. Some shots are a bit soft, and slight compression artifacts are noticeable in outdoor transitional shots. Still, these cases are infrequent, and the image generally is clear and detailed.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack gets the job done. Sound effects are understandably minimal as dialogue is the primary element. That aspect comes across well, even showing a bit of directional mixing at times. The sound field really opens up during the many pop and rock songs throughout the season. They can be a bit heavy, but this seems to be more of a sound mixer choice than mastering problem. The tracks meet expectations regardless.
BONUS FEATURES, MENUS and PACKAGING
Like the first season, "October Road"'s second season DVD has quite a desolate collection of supplements. It begins with "Bumps in the Road" (2:54), a short blooper reel featuring the usual sort of outtakes. It's not quite long or boisterous enough to truly make an impression.
"The Scenic Route: A Behind the Scenes Tour" (6:06) takes a look at the different sets that appear in the series on a regular basis. Laura Prepon, Tom Berenger, and Geoff Stults each serve as host to the locations where their respective characters are most often seen. It can't substitute for an actual "making of", but it does allow the viewer to appreciate all the easy-to-miss details.
The final feature is certainly the most valuable of this set. "Road's End: The Final Chapter" (9:51) is an epilogue created specifically for this DVD. When the series wasn't picked up for a third season, unanswered questions were left dangling in the season finale. ABC agreed to let the cast and crew film a brief epilogue that gives an actual conclusion to the series. The catch was that ABC wouldn't finance it themselves, forcing the creators to put their own personal money into the conclusion. As such, the presentation is more confined than a normal episode, and it's been shot with digital cameras rather than film ones. None of that, however, is really as relevant as to whether or not the content satisfies.
The answer is both yes and no. It's difficult to wrap two seasons worth of storylines into 10 minutes. After a scene that takes place a few months after the season finale, there's a flash forward ahead to seven years involving a now teenage Sam leaving for a post-graduation road trip. Almost the entire main cast returns to bid him farewell, revealing who they're with and how they're doing. The only notable cast member missing is Brad William Henke, who was busy filming "Lost" at the time of this shooting. The third disc opens with previews that can also be accessed via the Sneak Peeks section. These include "Army Wives": The Complete Second Season, Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Proposal and Disney Blu-ray discs. An additional promo for SoapNet is exclusive to the Sneak Peeks menu.
The menus offer a similar feel to the ones from the first season's DVD. The slightly animated main menu shows the program's titular road leading to Knights Ridge while the show's instrumental theme plays. All other menus (except the bonus material menu) are static images of different landmarks, but they each feature unique pieces of score.
In a surprising move, all three discs contain full-color artwork, something of a rarity nowadays. Each disc showcases a different character (Nick, Hannah, and Ray, respectively). They all housed in a dual Amaray case which places the first and second discs on opposite sides of a swinging tray. The only insert included is a pamphlet for Blu-ray titles.
Review continues below...
CLOSING THOUGHTS
"October Road" is one of the many television series out there that ended prematurely. Offering some improvement over the previous season, this second and final one laid the groundwork for more promising things to come. While fans won't find out how the creators would've used what they learned from this series to its advantage, there's at least solace in the fact that no major questions were left unanswered. Unfortunately, that new epilogue is the only bonus feature of real worth. Considering the extra time given to shoot the finale, some final thoughts from the cast and crew would've been potent. At least the episodes are presented satisfactorily on DVD. Fans of the series will surely want to own this release. Those who are new are encouraged to rent the first season to test the waters and get a sense of what might've been.
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Reviewed May 4, 2009.
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