Exclusive pre-publication book excerpt from Gossip Girl: I Will Always Love You, un-aired scenes, downloadable audiobook, Chasing Dorota webisodes, gag real, featurettes

Gossip Girl is based on the novels of Cecily von Ziegesar and stars Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Taylor Momsen, Ed Westwick, Jessica Szohr, Kelly Rutherford, and Matthew Settle ***

Season 2 of Gossip Girl picks up where the last one left off. Senior year has arrived for our young heroes and the drama shows no signs of letting down. Applying for universities is just a small part of the plot, as drama ensues at lightning-fast speed. At this point, both romantic and family relationships alike will receive the ultimate tests. As with the first season before it, there is no telling what dramatic turns will come next. ***

This set contains every episode of Season 2 - 25 episodes in all, scattered across 7 discs. ***

Season 2 is a good continuation to what started in the first. While this is obviously the weaker of the two seasons, it still stands its ground throughout. The main problem is that the plotlines of the second feel a bit rushed compared to its predecessor. Plots that took damn near an entire season to accomplish before are now done in an episode or two. It's obvious the creators wanted to have more “stand alone” shows this time around, and for the most part they succeed in this regard. Still, the good outweighs the bad and it's hard to complain. ---

Image And Sound:

You can tell Warner used plenty of digital clean-up efforts to make the show look as good as possible for its DVD release. And yet, the image doesn't look overprocessed or anything like that. They did a solid job cleaning up the show for home video, and to top it off, the sound quality ain't half bad either. The show is a dialogue-heavy one, being front-heavy on the sound mix, but there are plenty of scenes her and there that will take full advantage of the sound mix.

A surprising amount of bonus material is present here. Included in the set is an exclusive pre-publication book excerpt from the forthcoming Gossip Girl: I Will Always Love You, which true fans of the show and books are sure to pick up. A collection of un-aired scenes pulled from the episodes are present, as well as a downloadable audiobook and Chasing Dorota webisodes. Rounding out the package is the obligatory gag real and a number of featurettes on the creation of the show. .

Final Words: