"8 Simple Rules: Season 2" Reviewed
Packaging & Design
The set comes with a thin box covering the Amaray case which holds the 3 discs. The box & Amaray case have the same design, so the box really seems rather pointless. I could understand if it were for continuity reasons, but Season 1 came in a similar case without the box. The set's colour scheme is yellow, the front-cover has a picture of the family (sans Paul) on a couch, with a picture of Paul hanging in the background. The rear cover-art has a synopsis of the show, a few pictures from the show, and a picture of Paul and the kids. One one of the box's spines is a picture of Katey Sagal, on the other a picture of John Ritter.
The case itself is a standard Amaray case, inside however it houses 3 discs each on separate panes, so no overlapping discs! There's an insert with the episode titles & descriptions on the left pane. The discs are better designed this time, each has a picture of some of the cast, unlike last time's plain discs. Paul & Kate on Disc 1, the kids on Disc 2, Jim & CJ on Disc 3. The only downside is that the case is black, so there isn't anything on the reverse of the cover. Pictures of the cast, maybe just John, could have been there and made it better.
Rating 4/5.
Picture/Sound Quality
The picture quality is extremely good. The episodes are presented in wide-screen, and the picture quality is perfect. The sound is fine, but it's only 2.0 stereo. Last time around we had 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. While it's true that sitcoms don't take much advantage of surround sound, it would have been nice for this set to use that format.
The episodes don't appear to be edited, but the introductions Katey Sagal provided for John's final 3 episodes are missing. They should have been included on this set, it's inexcusable not to have them.
Rating 3.5/5.
Bonus Features
There aren't any.
Rating 0/5.
Summary
Lions Gate provided a mixed bag here. It's great to have all the episodes at last, the packaging is much improved, the picture quality is perfect (though it was last time, too), but the lack of special features is quite a big disappointment. This was John's final season, but no special features to commemorate that appeared. The introductions for his final episodes are missing, which is deeply disappointing. There was much that could have been added. James Garner & David Spade joined the show, so interviews with them would have made sense. Interviews with the cast might have been possible. There was great potential, but nothing made of it, which is a great shame.
Overall Rating 2.5/5.