Glee: The Complete Second Season arrives on Blu-ray

     Now available on Blu-ray is Glee: The Complete Second Season. Year two is quite eventful for McKinley High's glee club students, and a number of them go through some big changes. There are the obligatory romantic pairings and splits, and some real social issues get dealt with, too.

     Homosexuality plays a large part in season two. Kurt (Chris Colfer) is forced to transfer to a new school after being bullied by Karofsky (Max Adler), who is secretly gay. Fortunately, Kurt soon meets Blaine (Darren Criss), who not only helps him feel comfortable with himself, but proves to be a love interest. Also, Santana (Naya Rivera) struggles with her feelings for Brittany (Heather Morris), who seems to like guys and at least one girl.

     In other relationship developments, Emma dates Carl (John Stamos), and Will (Matthew Morrison) falls for Holly (Gwyneth Paltrow), which provides a distraction to keep them apart for awhile. Finn (Cory Monteith) goes back to Quinn (Dianna Agron) for a time, despite his feelings for Rachel (Lea Michele). Quinn takes an interest in Sam (Chord Oversteet). Puck (Mark Salling) does his best to woo new member Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink). Artie (Kevin McHale) loses Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) to Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.), but soon dates Brittany.

     Among the other new characters is Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones), the new football coach who befriends Will. She is such a unique person, that she certainly adds another layer to a very diverse cast. Jones, a talented actress, is a nice addition.

     There are some pretty special episodes in Glee's second season. "Britney/Brittany" boasts all Britney Spears music, and an appearance by the singer herself. "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" takes on the musical "The Rocky Horror Show." "A Very Glee Christmas" is the series's spin on a Christmas special, complete with holiday tunes. "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" aired after the Super Bowl! "Original Song" marks the beginning of premiering all new music on Glee. Finally, "New York," the spectacular season finale, is set and filmed in New York City as the New Directions compete at Nationals.

     The nice thing about this release is that Glee is meant to be watched in HD, which Blu-ray allows. The picture is very detailed and crystal clear, while the songs sound pitch perfect. There is much detail in the setting, and high def picture allows one to see each and every one of those. It's great to get such a great quality for the music, since this show is so melody heavy. Glee: The Complete Second Season has 5.1 DTS-HD surround sound, and is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio.

     There are lots of bonus features on Glee: The Complete Second Season, mostly drawn from the previously released DVD sets. Glee puts out a release mid-season, so one can buy the year in two parts or one, but only the full season is available in Blu-ray, so that is recommended.

     Over ten minutes are spent examining how the cast shoot the season finale, "New York," in New York City. It's especially touching to see all of the fans that show up to see the actors. Eight minutes of "Guesting on Glee" features interviews with guest stars including Katie Couric, Carol Burnett, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cheyenne Jackson, Charice, Kristin Chenoweth, John Stamos, and Jonathan Groff.

    Cory Monteith takes viewers behind the scenes and spends five and a half minutes talking about building an auditorium set. A real auditorium is used in season one, but for the second year, a set is built on a sound stage. The featurette takes you through the entire process of creating the set, from sketching, to actually putting it together.

     "The Wit of Brittany," which is about two minutes of some of Brittany's (Heather Morris) best one-liners, is fun, as she does provide a good laugh. Even better, an almost six minute short takes fans into a "Day in the Life of Brittany." Morris is in character, but touring the set. Extremely amusing.

     I like "Getting Waxed with Jane Lynch," in which we get to see some of the process it takes Madame Tussauds's to make a Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) wax figure. Two minutes of Sue's one-liners have their own track. Santana gets almost three minutes of her slams put together. There are also fifteen minutes from the Glee panel at the San Diego Comic-Con from summer 2010. "Stevie Nicks Goes Glee" spends three and a half minutes on the Steve Nicks music-heavy episode.

     "The Making of The Rocky Horror Glee Show" is a seven minute look at the very special Halloween episode. Bits of trivia are doled out, such as that Carl was originally supposed to sing "Sweet Transvestite," though Mercedes (Amber Riley) eventually gets the number. Jayma Mays gives the low down on some of the "ab-ulous" going-ons. In general, the cast is very relaxed and talkative about the experience, which is what one wants in such a featurette.

     One feature that is truly disappointing is the exclusive bonus song from "The Rocky Horror Glee Show." Called "Planet, Schmanet, Janet," it is about a minute long. There isn't anything new filmed, just the old red-lips-mouthing-the-words trick used for the opening. The music itself is enjoyable, but longs for something more substantial. There is also inexplicable screaming throughout.

     As always, the Glee Music Jukebox is included, to allow fans to find their favorite musical numbers with a click of the remote. There is a shuffle option, but it only lets you shuffle between pieces from the five or six episodes on the disc currently in the player, so that's a little disappointing.

     It's not a bad lineup, of extras, but it's too bad there aren't some episode commentaries or further discussion with the cast and crew.


     Buy Glee: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray today.

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Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Glee: The Complete Second Season on Blogcritics.