A fun, sexy romp through modern-day mythology.
What They Say:
She’s impossible to resist.
Bo is back, and she’s ready for action! As always, her mortal bestie Knezi is along for the ride, eager to add a human touch to Bo’s supernatural existence. The new season gets off toa bang as the Succubus finds herself navigating a web of seduction between Dyson, Lauren, and a Dark Fae she just can’t resist. As if Bo’s hands weren’t already full, there’s a new Ash in town, and he has his own agenda for Bo. Throw in some shocking revelations by Trick, a new boy toy for Kenzi, a Fae-devouring beast with firey wings, and it’s enough to make any girl head straight for the spa. But Bo’s not just any girl. She’s a Succubus to be reckoned with, and juggling the romantic entanglements of a modern woman while saving the Fae world from fire and brimstone is what she does best.
The Review:
Audio:
Each episode is presented in Dolby Digital stereo. The sound was fine, if unspectacular. The dialogue was easy to hear and the sound level didn’t spike too badly during action scenes.
Video:
Each episode is presented in Fullscreen. The transfer was fine with no discernible issues.
Packaging:
The case is wide, but not as wide as it could be given that the 22 episodes are spread over eight disks. The disks are housed in inserts attached to the spine. The setup is loose enough that it’s easy to get to the disks but secure enough that they don’t rattle around. Overall it’s a nice design.
The front cover features three of the main characters, Bo, Lauren, and Dyson. Bo is facing out. Lauren is to her right, staring at her, and Bo is caressing her chin with her fingers. Dyson is to her left and slightly behind her. His mouth is close to Bo’s ear and the entire scene is rather sensual. The picture is in black and white with the only color being the unnatural blue of Bo’s eyes. Underneath that is the Lost Girl logo and the words Season Two. Below that is a quote from MTV Geek, saying “Lost Girl is the kind of jolt genre TV nees right now.” In the lower right-hand corner are the logos for Prodigy Pictures Inc. and Giant Ape Media.
The spine has a nice minimalist deisgn. The number 2 sits at the top and a wisp of blue smoke trails down from it to the title: Lost Girl Season Two. The Prodigy and Giant Ape logos sit at the bottom. Moving on, the back cover continues this minimalist design. A strip of scenes from the season runs along the left side. The right contains the show’s summary as well as another quote from MTV Geek (“Full of sex, magic, humor, and gore.”). Underneath the summary are the credits and the specs for the disks. Overall this is a good design that matches the tone of the show.
Menu:
The menu for all eight disks is the same. The Lost Girl logo sits at the top. Underneath that is the season and disk number. Below that is the same strip of still images from the show as seen on the back cover of the DVD case, and at the bottom are the options Play All, Episodes, and Setup. The extra features are on the final disk.
It’s a solid menu setup that may not be as impressive as some of the more ambitious menu layouts that include animations, but that also means that the menu is clean and easy to use, which is more important.
Extras:
I’m not a huge fan of extras, but I have to say that the ones on this collection are pretty good. I love a good blooper reel, so that was my favorite, but the making of feature and the cast interviews were rather interesting.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
When Lost Girl first started airing I wrote it off as fanservice. I was wrong. While there are moments of that in this show, they never become the driving focus as I feared they would. Sure, there are some very sexy moments (Anna Silk is a beautiful, sexy woman), but they make sense within the context of the story and the personalities of the characters. This show could have easily devolved into the kind of softcore porn you see on HBO and Cinemax (as much as could be allowed on basic cable, that is), but the solid cast, strong writing, and even stronger mythology make this much better than I thought.
Bo spent most of her adult life not knowing who or what she was. All she knew was that her love was deadly because her kiss could kill a person. She finally discovered that she was a Fae, more precisely a Succubus. Now she lives in a world of werewolves, witches, sirens, and Blood Kings while maintaining a foothold in the human world thanks to her friend Kenzi. The Fae align themselves into two groups: Light and Dark based on how they view humans (as cattle for slaughter or as beings worthy of life and respect), but Bo remains unaligned, putting her in a unique position. She can move in both worlds, and uses that freedom to work as a sort of private investigator of the Fae world.
Her loyalties to both the Fae factions and the people she loves are put to the test this season. Her lover Dyson, made a deal with the Norn—a powerful being able to change destiny. He unwittingly gave up his love for Bo in exchange for giving her his strength in a major battle last season. This inability to love her causes pain for both him and her, and she eventually moves on to Lauren, a human doctor that works for the Light Fae. However, Lauren is in love with another Fae who is in a coma. Bo then finds comfort in the charismatic Dark Fae Ryan Lambert, but finds fault with his callous attitude towards humans.
All of these problems pale in comparison to the Garuda, a sinister, fiery monster that feels off of pain and conflict. Thought extinct, the Garuda returns to reignite a war between the Fae that almost destroyed them several hundred years ago. Bo may be the Fae’s only chance against this monster, but she must first gain the confidence in herself to do so.
What makes this show fun is its mix of interpersonal relationships, pop culture, and supernatural danger creates a very engaging show. As a person with a more than passing interest in myth and folklore, I really enjoyed seeing the series’ interpretation of creatures like The Baba Yaga and the Norn. It was also fun seeing the general Celtic influence. The Dark and Light Fae cold have just as easily been described as Seelie and Unseelie. Seeing these ancient, mythological beings in a modern context was fun and is one of the main draws of urban fantasy.
Of course this would not be enough to make a show entertaining. Lost Girl also benefits from a strong cast and solid writing. The character Bo could have easily come off as a one-dimensional sex pot, but Anna Silk manages to inject humor and even innocence in her role. Sex does play a large role in this story, but it’s treated more as a natural act that works within the plot rather than something sensational thrown in as a callous attempt to gain more viewers.
Silk is also surrounded by a strong supporting cast. Dyson, played by Kris Holden-Ried is a strong character full of pathos, Richard Howland injects a great amount of warmth and wisdom as Trick, and Ksenia Solo practically steals the show as Kenzi. Her character could easily come off as incredibly annoying and offputting due to her boisterous nature and tendency to talk in Buffy-isms and self-inflating, egocentric phrases, but she manages to walk that line between being charming and being tedious.
In this review I was tempted to compare this show to Joss Whedon’s beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While it’s true that there are superficial similarities—the strong female lead who straddles multiple roles and bears the brunt of responsibility of saving the world, the mixture of myth and modernity, and the healthy doses of pop culture—what it misses is the critical eye for the genre. Buffy tended to deconstruct the genre while fulfilling its conventions. Lost Girl doesn’t. This may be why the show ultimately fell short with me. As I said, the concept is fun, the inclusions of myths and folklore is great, and the acting and writing are very good, but I have no inclination to continue watching this show. If Season Three comes up for review, I’ll gladly take it, but I have no desire to start watching it every week. Whatever indefinable something I look for in a show just isn’t here.
In Summary:
Lost Girl has a strong concept, cast, and writers, but it misses something for me. It’s miles better than most of what is shown on SyFy, and it’s much better than the softcore porn the initial commercials lead me to believe, and I enjoyed watching it; however, I won’t pretend that it’s going to be my new Friday night thing either. Whatever strange chemistry it is that makes for a good show for me just isn’t clicking. Still, I can’t deny that it is a quality show and fans of urban fantasy (and, let’s face it, sexy girls) should give it a shot. It may work better for you than me. Recommended.
Features:
English Language, English Subtitles, Interviews with the cast, The Making of Lost Girl, Blooper Reel, Previews
Content Grade: A-
Audio Grade: A
Video Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Menu Grade: A
Extras Grade: A
Released By: FUNimation
Release Date: November 13, 2012
MSRP: $64.98
Running Time: 968 minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Panasonic Viera TH42PX50U 42” Plasma HDTV, Sony BPD-S3050 BluRay Player w/HDMI Connection
