SOAP-COMPLETE 2ND SEASON (DVD/3 DISC/P&S 1.33/MONO)

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Product Description

It doesn't seem possible, but the second season of Soap is even better than the first. Only the greatest primetime sitcoms achieve triple-threat genius: Casting, writing, and direction reached their zenith as the 1978-79 season began with a resolution to season 1's cliffhanger murder. Chester (Robert Mandan) loses his memory and wander out west while his ditzy wife Jessica (Katherine Helmond) enjoys a fling with the detective (new cast member John Byner) she'd hired to find Chester. Across town, the working-class Campbells have their own melodramas to contend with: Despite being gay, stepson Jodie (Billy Crystal) is an expectant father and moves in with pregnant Carol (Rebecca Balding), and later a lesbian roommate; Mary (Cathryn Damon) suspects Burt (Richard Mulligan) of having an affair; Corrine (Diana Canova) and ex-priest Tim (Sal Viscuso) have a baby that's demonically possessed; and Burt is abducted by aliens!

Exorcisms and flying saucers might suggest desperation on the part of writer-creator Susan Harris, but the opposite is true: the controversy that plagued Soap's first season had subsided (thanks to valiant defense by ABC President Fred Silverman), and Harris and Jay Sandrich (who directed 20 of these 22 episodes) were able to push their spoofy plots to even greater heights of absurdity without sacrificing the show's core integrity. Jimmy Baio (as Billy Tate) gets his moment to shine, and Robert Guillaume (as Benson) deservedly won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Most impressively, Soap built its madness upon a solid tragi-comic foundation, with risky shifts of tone and characters invested with surprising depth and compassion. The episodes are consistently full of classic scenes and side-splitting dialogue. In a 20-minute bonus featurette, Harris and coproducers Paul Witt and Tony Thomas reveal how luck, timing, talent, and network support brought the series to life. Simply put, it doesn't get any better than this. --Jeff Shannon

• Actors: Lynne Moody, Richard Libertini, Eugene Roche, Marla Pennington, Gregory Sierra
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
• ISBN: 1404950273
• Language (Original Language): English
• Region Code: 99
• Release Date: 2004-07-20
• Running Time: 566 minutes
• Theatrical Release Date: 1977-09-13

Customer Reviews

Reviewed on 2008-07-17 Sillier than Season 1 Season 2 of "Soap" picks up where Season 1 left off. Finally, Peter's killer is revealed; Fr. Tim and Corinne get married; and Jodie moves in with Carol. These events give rise to a new series of story arcs, including Eunice falling in love with an escaped convict, Corinne giving birth to a demonically possessed baby, and Chester losing his mind and running away from home. I bought the first two seasons of "Soap" after spending most of my childhood hearing, from my parents (who saw it when it was first on TV), just how funny it was. It took me a while to get around to watching it, because I was convinced that it could not possibly live up to what my parents had told me, but when I did finally get around to seeing it, over 30 years after it was first aired, I realized that everything my parents had told me was true. "Soap" is, without a doubt, one of the funniest TV shows I have ever seen, and it holds up extremely well after all of these years. The story lines in the second season of "Soap" are sillier than those in the first, and whether this is a good thing or a bad thing will largely depend on your point of view. I, personally, liked the "out there" story lines. Aliens, evil babies, cults, all of these things are great as far as I'm concerned. However, my mother preferred the more reality-based plots of the first season. The best thing about Season two is that it allowed some of the characters who were in the background in Season one to become more developed. Eunice (Jennifer Salt), for example, whom I considered to be essentially a "non-character" in Season one, now gets a major story arc and proves that she is just as funny as her fellow cast members, although Jodie (Billy Crystal), who had a major part in Season one, slips into the background. Finally, as with Season one, Season two also ends on a cliff-hanger (or three). One that will make you want to keep watching into Season three.

Reviewed on 2008-06-08 great gift for my mom :-) my mom likes the old school comedy... so far I've bought the 1st and 2nd season of Soap for her and she's thrilled. Excellent choice :-)

Reviewed on 2008-05-29 A blast from the past Oh, how I loved to watch SOAP when it first aired. My entire family would congregate in the living room and laugh away. Recently, my family discovered this dvd series. I was thrilled to see the show stands the test of time and still enthralls my children as much as it did me. The show has also triggered intelligent questions from my children regarding sociological issues dealt with in SOAP. It is also just a hoot!

Reviewed on 2008-04-22 Soap is gone. Long Live Soap! Love it! Love it! Love it! One of the funniest shows ever made for TV.

Reviewed on 2007-12-17 Soap DVD Bought for a Xmas gift for my husband. They came quickly. How can you say anything bad about this show!

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