Major Crimes: The Complete Second Season (DVD Review)
You know me, I’m always for some good television, especially shows that deal with the nitty gritty of the streets of Los Angeles. I also like police drama shows and such. I understand that Major Crimes is a spin-off show from The Closer, which I never saw an episode of. I saw that it ran for almost ten years. Some of the old cast have to transferred to Major Crimes, which is cool with me. The complete second season on DVD runs at a nice and hefty 19-episodes and has quite a few special features. How will the overall product rank? Let’s find out!
The Show 
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this review I was not familiar with the world of The Closer or Major Crimes at all. I knew they were connected somehow and later found out that Major Crimes was a spinoff of The Closer. Works for me. I have no vested interest in anyone; so for me, it’s a start from scratch scenarios, and hope that there isn’t a major storyline cutting through the season that will completely lose me. Thankfully there isn’t. Well, there is, but it didn’t lose me. I think I knew I was in for treat when Lt. Provenza (G.W. Bailey) first walks into the frame and starts talking. Provenza is crabby and hilarious all at the same time. In later episodes you’ll get to see a warmer side while still being hysterical.
I should mention that Mary McDonnell is the lead in Major Crimes, where she plays Captain Sharon Raydor. She’s a very intelligent and empathetic police officer is “soft” but firm when need be. Keep in mind that Major Crimes focuses on A LOT of characters – at least a dozen, with half a dozen of them appearing in every single one since the show started. As far as I can tell from the goings on that spilled over into this season of Major Crimes, Rusty Beck (Graham Patrick Martin) is under police protection and has been taken under Captain Raydor’s supervisory guard until Rusty testifies against a shady character named Phillip Stroh. Who is Stroh? I don’t know, because I haven’t watched the first season yet.
Rusty’s story arc or at least he and his problems with adapting (he has a pretty depressing past) is one of the major anchors of the show, because he practically lives at the police station and interacts with the entire team. Rusty also has behavioral issues and tends to lash out at the detectives. Rusty is one variable of the show and the other variables(s) are that Los Angeles is a dangerous place to live. Major Crimes deals with cases taken right from the local headlines and expanded on. I’m surprised that there wasn’t a disclaimer present about changing the names to protect the guilty and the innocent. Some cases hit very close to home in terms of current events.
The show does not hold back on the graphic content and we do get the occasional curse word. I’m assuming that standard cable television shows are less restrictive than shows on regular network television. It’s fine with me. Major Crimes works on many levels and those are mainly due to how cool everyone is with each other. I’d say the one new character that can be really grating due to her “alpha” personality is Deputy District Attorney Emma Rios (Nadine Velazquez). She’s very intense and tends to clash with everyone. At times her condescending gets to be a much and it’s a fresh breath of air when the detectives check her.
Honestly, I would love to go on and on about how cool Major Crimes is but I have to set up my television series queue and line-up Major Crimes season one in order to complete circle. I binged viewed Major Crimes: The Complete Second Season and it was excellent. Now I must go back and start at season one before going back even further and start watching The Closer. You know, I really do love my job! Happy viewing!
Episodes
Final Cut
False Pretenses
Under the Influence
I, Witness
D.O.A.
Boys Will Be Boys
Rules of Engagement
The Deep End
There’s No Place Like Home
Backfire
Poster Boy
Pick Your Poison
Jailbait
All In
Curve Ball
Risk Assessment
Year-End Blowout
Return To Sender
Return To Sender (Part 2)
Video 
Encoding: MPEG-2
Resolution: 480p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Clarity/Detail: As is typical with DVDs this television is no different with the limitations of the format. Edge enhancement is present throughout the show but contrast and sharpness levels remain normal. As normal as can be.
Depth: There really isn’t any pop to the show, because the image is a bit flat and it’s also not a noir-ish looking show. It reflects the real world more or less and the transfer reflects that real world setting, too.
Black Levels: Black levels do crush here and there but it’s kept to a minimum.
Color Reproduction: Minor banding issues aside the color palette is more than respectable.
Flesh Tones: Unless you’re lying on a slab then flesh tones look great.
Noise/Artifacts: Noise and artifacts creep up here and there but consider the source (DVD).
Audio
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Dynamics: Major Crimes is presented in 5.1-surround sound @384 kbps. It’s on the lower end of the 5.1 spectrums but comes through quite clear and loud.
Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer channel handles the low end nicely.
Surround Sound Presentation: The rear channels handle the various instances of ambiance and occasional action effects without any problems.
Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue is clean and crisp and you’ll be able to understand everyone with a problem.
Extras
Major Crimes: The Complete Second Season is loaded with deleted scenes on just about every disc in this 4-disc DVD set. Disc 4 has two additional featurettes.
- Major Crimes: Personal Conviction (SD) – Here’s a feautrette were every actor gets to talk about their character. It’s an honest featurette that doesn’t sugar coat anything. It’s definitely not your typical talking head generic stuff.
- Behind the Scenes (SD) – Here’s a short and interesting featurette with the writers, producers, and creators of the show. It’s a fascinating look at how they craft some of the stories. Their head writer is a former homicide detective and brings a wealth of knowledge to the show to give it that authentic touch.
- Deleted Scenes (SD) – 18 deleted scenes are included on this DVD set. All were trimmed for pacing reasons and rightfully so.
Summary
Major Crimes: The Complete Second Season is a clear winner among the chaotic and cluttered world of television. The third season is now airing, so if you’ve caught up with season two then you better get on with that. The DVD set is comprehensive enough, with average video and an above average soundtrack. There plenty of deleted scenes spread though all four discs and two very cool featurettes. I have some work to do in going back starting from The Closer’s humble beginnings and getting up to speed with Major Crimes: The Complete First Season. If the first season is anything like the second season then it will be smooth sailing!
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