DVD
Review | Profiler (Season 2)
Written by: Kage
Alan
Okay, so it’s not quite as accurate as it could
be, but for someone who doesn’t have a discerning eye or who may not
be in the business, “Profiler” comes close enough to showing the
thought process of a real life profiler as viewers will ever get. The
fact that there’s also an intuitive woman at the center of the show
doesn’t hurt either. Actor Ally Walker has managed to perfect just
the right amount of hauntedness behind her eyes balanced with regular
ol’ human pain, rage and love. It’s quite a mix for one character,
but then her (the character’s, not the actor’s) husband was murdered
by a serial killer and she’s been stalked ever since. Come to think
of it, Season One’s finale had the lead in said serial killer’s lair
(or at least one of them).
Picking up after the cliffhanger, Samantha (Walker)
is suspected of murdering an innocent victim, or was the woman an
innocent casualty of Jack’s as well? As she sets out to discover the
truth and clear her name, several other cases pop up, she finds some
unlikely assistance from someone higher up in the government, the rest
of her co-workers have issues of their own and Jack finds a girlfriend
the group names Jill (Traci Lords). Boss Malone (Robert Davi) is coping
with his daughter, who shot him in the Season 1 finale, Grant (Julian
McMahon) has an old enemy after him to settle a score, Grace (Roma
Maffia) is pregnant, George (Peter Frechette) faces some old demons and
Marcus. Payton (Shiek Mahmud-Bey) joins the cast.
While several of the episodes are one-offs with
Samantha (Sam) solving all sorts of cases, all of them quite riveting,
it’s the ones with Jack that really stand out. With Jill on board to
assist him, Jack begins an even deadlier game than ever before. As for
Jill, she likes what she does too much and begins to get a bit, well,
unpredictable. Too bad for Jack. He should have chosen someone a
little less psychotic. The finale, as with the first the first season,
leaves us hanging and wondering what in the heck is going to happen
next. There’s nothing like a good old fashioned cliffhanger to keep the
blood pumping.
One of the major strengths about “Profiler” is the
background stories and dramas we get with the supporting cast. They’re
very dark and rightly so. If I have a complaint, it’s that some of the
middle episodes feel extremely disjointed, as if scenes of the
characters’ home lives were inserted just to keep the running time up.
It causes some irregularities. Also, one episode has Bailey’s daughter
in front of a judge after she turns herself in and then still out on the
lam in the next. It doesn’t quite make sense.
A&E has released “Profiler (Season 2)” in its
original Full Screen ratio. Picture quality is fairly good, but there
is some grain present throughout in many of the darker scenes (of which
there are plenty). Audio isn’t bad, though it’s not extremely dynamic
at all. As for extras, we’re given some cast biographies and an audio
commentary by real life Investigative Criminal Profiler Pat Brown.
While I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I started listening to her,
she provides some wonderful insight into the differences between the
show and what she really does in the field. It was definitely a
highlight. Unfortunately, that’s all there is and I find that
disappointing. Why not another cast commentary? How about some
retrospective interviews or even a featurette? And a gag reel? That
might be fun. Alas, none of those will be found here.
“Profiler” was one of those shows that was shown on
television just a little later than I liked staying up because of work
the next morning. Staying home sick or being on vacation were the only
times I was able to watch “Profiler” and I remember having fond memories
of it, though I couldn’t always keep up with what was happening.
Rediscovering it through A&E’s DVD sets has been extremely gratifying.
I almost prefer to watch television shows like this; an entire season in
four or five sittings. Best of all…no commercials!
Season
Rating:
B+
DVD Special Features: C
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