"KYLE XY: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Matt Dallas as KYLE Marguerite MacIntyre as NICOLE TRAGER Bruce Thomas as STEPHEN TRAGER April Matson as LORI TRAGER Jean-Luc Bilodeau as JOSH TRAGER Chelan Simmons as HILLARY Chris Olivero as DECLAN MCDUNAUGH Kirsten Prout as AMANDA BLOOM Jaimie Alexander as JESSI Magda Apanowicz as ANDY JENSEN Rated TV-14 Studio: Touchstone Television Created by: Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
“Kyle XY” is the hit ABC Family series about a mysterious teenager with incredible powers of the mind that shows up one day on the doorstep of the kind family the Tragers. Last season, Kyle tried to adapt to a new school and a new life, making friends with the Tragers. He eventually moved out to be with his “father,” a man from whom he was cloned. This season sees Kyle learning more about himself and his history. He learns he was gestated in a tube for years before escaping and finding the Tragers.
Now, Kyle teams up with the sometimes good and sometimes bad friend named Foss to learn more about Zzyxx, the corporation that made him. Meanwhile, Kyle also discovers that he has a female counterpart – Jessi. She is less stable than Kyle, and her integration into his family, school and life proves to be rocky and sometimes dangerous.
WHAT I LIKED
The elements I liked the most about the first season of “Kyle XY” were stepped up a bit in this second season. While the first year was more concerned with the teenage soap opera that was the life of the Trager children, I was more interested in finding out more about Kyle’s abilities, his history and the various other science fiction elements to his story.
There are still plenty of teenage soap opera moments. After all, it wouldn’t be an ABC Family show if it didn’t have that. However, I really appreciated the fact that the show explored some of the more fantastic elements of its own structure. Where the younger Josh Trager has been given a more prominent role, along with a girlfriend who is battling cancer, he’s taken on the brunt of the soap opera elements. Lori Trager has taken a firm back seat, which is okay by me because I was never that fond of her character. And the mother, Nicole Trager, has been reduced quite a bit in the show... again, not a big loss for me.
Of course, the most interesting part of the show has been the new addition of Jessi (Jaimie Alexander) to the cast. Originally appearing as a possible nemesis for Kyle, Jessi has a lot of complexity and a strong dark side. Her character development doesn’t happen as fast as it could, but her presence does offer a gray element to the show and a nice foil for the do-gooding Kyle.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Certain elements of the soap opera nature of this show has spawned some parts I really don’t care for. While certain characters, like Lori and her mom, have been diminished, other elements of teen angst drama have been bolstered. Most of this comes from Josh’s Earth child girlfriend Andy (Magda Apanowicz) and Kyle’s courtship with the pretty but relatively dull Amanda (Kirsten Prout). While Andy is a strong character, she’s a bit over the top. Conversely, Amanda isn’t given much depth and only works as a focus of Kyle’s longing.
Still, it was nice to see Teryl Rothery come on the show as Amanda’s mother. I’ve missed her from television ever since her character of Dr. Frasier was killed off on “Stargate: SG-1.”
DVD FEATURES
Like the first season, “Kyle XY: The Complete Second Season” comes with a nice selection of bonus features. There are oodles of deleted scenes with an alternate ending, which comes with an explanation from the producers.
There’s also a behind-the-scenes featurette called “Livin’ with the X’s,” which follows Matt Dallas and Jaimie Alexander on the set. Another interesting featurette is “The Science of Kyle XY,” which talks about how real science is used in the show.
Finally, select episodes include audio commentaries from the cast, writers and producers.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of the show and teenagers with a science fiction interest that don’t mind a dash of soap opera.
