Featured TV on DVD Review: Femme Fatales: The Complete Second Season

July 21, 2013

Femme Fatales: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon

I recently reviewed the first season of Femme Fatales and while it had its limitations, there were several great episodes. Can the second season improve upon the first? Will we get more episodes that focus on story?

The Show

We have some good news right away, as the three-disc set starts with Family Business. On a side note, I said three-disc set, not season. The episodes are not in the same order they were on TV. This episode involves a detective, Tara Radcliffe, trying to take down the new mob boss, Nikki Griffin, and using a mutual ex-lover, Ashley Hamilton, to do so. It actually has a strong plot and is not just a weak excuse to show nudity. Trophy Wife is also one of the better episodes. It involves a wife, Leilani Sarelle, who hires a man to kill her rich husband. That might seem cold, but her husband and his mistress, Shani Pride, are planning to kill her. In Gun Twisted, Antonio Sabato, Jr. meets a woman, Diana Gettinger, at a gun range and there is an instant connection. However, it's not romance, but bank robbery that is in the air. On a side note, Kyle Gass has a guest spot in this episode, but despite that, it is not as good as the first two. In Killer Instinct, a woman, Mirtha Michelle, is recruited out of prison to become a government assassin. However, after her first mission, she is captured and tortured for information. It's not a bad episode, but the big twist was way too obvious. 16 Minutes of Fame is one of the weaker episodes, as all of the characters were annoying. Bad Science is a bit of a departure for the show, as it is a Sci-fi story involving time travel. It also involves a guest spot by Robert Picardo, who is a great character actor. If you like Sci-fi, you will probably like this. However, if you vastly prefer the Film Noir type stories, you might consider this episode one of the weaker of the season. I liked it.

In Extracurricular Activities, two college professors, Scott Logan and Sandra McCoy, are having an affair. But when his wife, and the dean of the school, Vivica A. Fox, find out, there's trouble. Vivica A. Fox is one of the best actors on this season, which helps lift this episode above the average. (There's also a couple of cameos from Girls Gone Dead, which is fun.) Will Poston returns in Jailbreak, still playing the good prison guard getting mixed in with bad women. There are some good twists in the episode. Kate Luyben stars as the titular Mad Mary, an innocent women in prison. She was accused of murdering her husband, but when she sent to a institute for the criminally insane, the real killer is sent there as well. There is some good acting here, but an overused plot twist hurts. In One Man's Death, a woman, Sadie Alexandru, looks into the death of her lover, Daniel Capellaro, and gets help from the most unlikely of people, his wife, Jes Macallan. Definitely one of the better episodes. Good mystery, good twist. In Hell Hath No Furies, Diana Elizabeth Torres stars as the mistress of a Mexican cartel leader, El Jefe. She's locked away on Christmas day before refusing to reveal who El Jefe is, but she tries to warn the cops that El Jefe will find her and kill her. They don't listen. The final episode is Libra. In it, Betsy Rue stars as the titular Libra, a woman dressed up in a super hero costume looking to bring down the gangsters in Cuesta Verde. It has one of the more in-depth stories and brings a lot of the old characters and storylines together, which adds to the overall continuity. Usually there is no such continuity in anthology programs like this, so this is a real asset for the show.

The Extras

Like last time, there are a ton of extras on the DVD, starting with audio commentary tracks on each episode. There are also a lot of other extras, but they are all on disc three. These extras include an extended version of Libra. There are also featurettes on the making of Libra and the making of Family Business. There is an extended Libra motion comic. Femme Fatales Defined is an eight-minute interview featurette with the cast and crew saying what they consider Femme Fatale to be. Up next is a three-minute look at Lilith, played by Tanit Phoenix. The last featurette is a three-minute look at some of the actresses who played the Femme Fatales. There's the alternative opening for Hell Hath No Furies, inspired by 1970s cop shows. There's a short look at the season two red carpet event, plus promos for season two. The longest extras is an 18-minute ComicCon Q&A. Finally, there are 13 minutes of deleted and extended scenes.

The Verdict

If you liked the first season of Femme Fatales, then Season Two is worth picking up as well. The quality of the show remained steady, while there is a ton of extras on the three-disc set. It still has the same weakness in season one, including a reliance on sex to the detriment of the story.


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Filed under: Video Review, Vivica Fox, Kyle Gass, Sandra McCoy, Robert Picardo, Betsy Rue, , Tanit Phoenix, Kate Luyben, John Enos, III