Dirty Sexy Money: Complete & Final Second Season [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

The ABC drama series "Dirty Sex Money" created by Craig Wright ("Brothers and Sisters", "Lost" and "Six Feet Under") definitely made its impression when it took out an ad back in 2007 using Paris Hilton's jail sentence to promote its show. The series which was originally given 22-episodes for its first season and ran into bad luck (as with other shows) due to the WGA writer's strike. The first season only received 10 episodes and by the time the second season came back on air, it was ten months since the season finale.

Needless to say, the writer's strike definitely made "Dirty Sexy Money" a TV series casualty and unfortunately, the series was unable to get back on its feet. The remaining final episodes came back on by July 2009 but needless to say, with so many delays and its unpredictable schedule, many people were lost and eventually missed out on episodes. But fans who committed to the series will fortunately get a chance to see "Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete and Final Second Season" released on DVD and give people a chance to catch up on the final season.

The main premise of "Dirty Sexy Money" revolves around a successful lawyer named Nick George (Peter Krause). A family man and dedicated lawyer, he takes the position of becoming the family lawyer of the very rich and well-known family from New York known as the Darlings. His father was originally the lawyer of the Darlings but since his mysterious death, he feels its necessary to take care of the family.

The Darling family is a powerful family in New York led by Patrick "Tripp" Darling III who wants nothing but the best for his children Patrick, Karen, Brian, Jeremy and Juliet. Unfortunately, his children to get themselves involved in some trouble and thus, its up to Nick to help bail them out.

Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode featured in "Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete and Final Second Season":

DISC 1:

* EPISODE 11: The Birthday Present - Six months later, Nick becomes an important part of the Darling family. Patrick's wife has had enough of his lies and does something about it, meanwhile Nick catches his wife Lisa making out with Jeremy Darling. Meanwhile, Karen Darling and Simon Elder's relationship grows stronger.
* EPISODE 12: The Family Lawyer - Letitia Darling is accused for the murder of Devlin George and Nick must represent her. Meanwhile, Nola's and Jeremy have a sexual relationship.
* EPISODE 13: The Star Witness - Nick wants to know from his mother about her final conversation with his father and to let her know that she will be the star witness for Devlin George's murder trial.
* EPISODE 14: The Silence - Karen makes an important decision for her relationship with Simon. Meanwhile, Patrick takes his anger out on his father, leading to near-tragedy.

DISC 2:

* EPISODE 15: The Verdict - Simon Elder and Karen Darling make their marriage public and have a party for their engagement. Meanwhile, Brian's wife has been diagnosed with cancer. Meanwhile, Nick finds out that his wife's gallery is being funded by Jeremy and he has had enough.
* EPISODE 16: The Injured Party - Letitia gets into an accident and hits a cyclist named Wrenn Darcy. Wrenn stays at the Darling home temporarily. Meanwhile, Lisa now divorced from Nick acts on her impulses and becomes close to Jeremy. Meanwhile, we learn how evil Simon Elder can be and why Nola is forced to work for him.
* EPISODE 17: The Facts -A gossip columnist interviews Clark the chauffeur about scandals that involve the Darling family especially about Juliet and a time when Patrick was interviewed by Dan Rather.
* EPISODE 18: The Summer House - The partnership between the Darling family and Simon Elder begins. Meanwhile, Letitia goes off on Wrenn Darcy.
* EPISODE 19: The Plan - Brian's ex-wife's cancer worsens but they grow closer to each other. Brian's relationship with God becomes close again. Meanwhile, tries to reveal Nola Lyons secret to Nick. Meanwhile, Nick has to deal with Chase Alexander (brother of Patrick's wife Ellen) who believes Patrick murdered her.

DISC 3:

* EPISODE 20: The Organ Donor - Chase has escaped from the authorities and plans to exact his revenge on Patrick.
* EPISODE 21: The Convertible - Nick and Lisa get into a custody battle over their daughter Kiki. Meanwhile, Nick and Karen grow closer to each other once again.
* EPISODE 22: The Unexpected Arrival - Brian gets himself into trouble with Andrea once again. Meanwhile, as Nick and Karen begin their budding romance, he finds out something that may put a damper on their relationship. Meanwhile, Nola and Jeremy take action against Simon.
* EPISODE 23: The Bad Guy - Nick's ex-wife Lisa writes a tell-all book on the Darling family and wants Nick back. Meanwhile, Simon Elder drops a major bombshell on Nick in regards to what happened to his father.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete and Final Second Season" is featured in widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1:78:1, enhanced for 16×9 television. For the most part, the picture quality of "Dirty Sexy Money" is good as expect from a drama series on DVD. But one of the positives of the series is that there is quite a bit of outdoor shots and definitely utilizes an elaborate set design to create the luxurious world of the Darlings.

As for the audio, the series is featured in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The series is primarily a dialogue driven series with front and center channels being the main source of audio distribution. Dialogue is clear and understandable. But for the most part, the audio is satisfactory for this drama series, this is not a series that doesn't feature any major scenes that involve surround sound usage.

Subtitles are presented in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete and Final Second Season" includes the following special features:

* Directing the Darlings - (11:31) Director Jamie Babbit talks about directing the series. Behind-the-scenes footage of Babbit working on certain scenes from the series. Also, interviews with the executive producers and more.
* A Total Knockout - (8:41) A day in the life of Natalie Zea (who plays the character of "Karen") on the set of "Dirty Sexy Money". A featurette about Natalie and her character and other talent talking about what they like about working with her.
* Dirty Sexy Crafty - (9:15) Meeting with Josh Kuhn, the Mobile Craft Service Specialist who prepares the food for the cast and crew. The talent talk about the food they eat on the show and the top 5 things that people on the show love to eat and also behind-the-scenes look at Josh serving food to the cast.
* Faux Pas - Bloopers from Season 2 - (1:52) A short blooper reel featuring the cast of "Dirty Sexy Money".
* Deleted Scenes - Seven deleted scenes which include: A Darling Cover-up?, Letitia Romances Tripp, Unwanted Guest, Patrick's Politics, Stinking Up the Place, Brian's Complicated Life and Done!. The final deleted scene actually gives some insight of how the series could have ended.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Dirty Sexy Money" was a series that I really enjoyed when it first aired on television. The first season showed promise but it was such a shame that the WGA Writer's Strike really put a damper on the series. Not only was the series cut short but its schedule was too erratic.

By the time it came back on television for season 2, it was already ten months later. Too much time had passed since the finale and to make things worse, when the second season did air, again the season was out of whack as the final five episodes took several months to air after it was reported that the series was canceled. Needless to say, the series did not have much of a chance to get back on its feet.

After watching "Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete and Final Second Season", not only did I enjoy it, it was bittersweet because the series ends with a major bombshell and you know there are no future episodes to continue the storyline.

Overall, I feel that fans of the series can find some closure with this final DVD set and find some satisfaction from the final 13 episodes. As mentioned, the final episode was quite intriguing and again, it's a shame that the series will not be continued.

As for the characters, I found them all quite intriguing and you eventually become drawn to that character's storyline. I was also drawn by the drama and the multiple infighting between the characters, and it's quite interesting because one can find similarities with this drama series to 80's drama series such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty" which involve corporate greed, families that were born with luxury and of course, those few characters on the outside who seem to despise that lifestyle.

I felt that the trimming of the first season down to 10 episodes possibly took away from much needed character development and for the second season, although I enjoyed the series, I did have some problems with seeing the disintegration of Nick and Lisa's marriage but also seeing this somewhat unlikely storyline involving Simon Elder and Nola Lyon. It was a bit farfetched and in someways, I just felt that the character of Simon seemed a bit too young to be the rival of Tripp Darling and therefore, for me, it hindered the storyline as these two rich corporate behemoths would go against each other. It just didn't seem right.

I did enjoy the part of Karen Darling because her character could have been handled as the typical socialite (ie. which fits the character of Juliet Darling) but easily redeems herself as a person that wants to be love and wants to love someone. So, it was quite interesting to see how her character started to evolve through the second season.

As for the DVD release, "Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete and Final Second Season" does feature solid picture quality for a drama series on DVD and for the most part, the series doesn't have poor lighting issues or heavy noise during low-light conditions that some drama series tend to have. I felt that the set design and even the costume design was well-done for the series and capturing that style and feel of the rich Darling family and their living space. Audio was quite clear and there are a few special features included. Although, I do wish there was some sort of commentary track included, especially for the final episode.

Overall, fans who dedicated their time into watching "Dirty Sexy Money" will want to definitely check out this final second season if you happen to miss the episodes on television. Again, the final season will provide enough closure for the viewer but then instantly give you a feeling right at the end of the final episode of wanting more.

It's hard to recommend a TV series on DVD especially when the series has been canceled but for the most part, fans who loved the series or those who missed out on how the series ended, will find "Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete and Final Second Season" satisfying but at the same time, a bittersweet feeling that you want even more "Dirty Sexy Money", but knowing that there will be no more continuing episodes.

Very good series. Too bad they took it off the air. 2 years just wasn't enough. Every character was right for the part and always a surprise in each episode. Peter Krause was always a pleasure to watch. Would highly recommend this show.

A masterpiece,

I truly enjoyed the behind the scenes footage.

Dirty Sexy Crafty , hahaha that was truly entertaining.

I wish I could start my own Network and bring back DSM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!