Silk Stalkings is television series from the mind of Stephen J. Cannell from the early 1990s. The series is basically cop show about two homicide detectives who work for the Palm Beach Police Department. The major difference from other cop shows is the unique setting Palm Beach, Florida provides. The two homicide detectives investigate high-profile crimes of passion. Their usual suspects come from the upscale wealthy types. As such, the series has a very strong erotic appeal, which really helps differentiate it from other cop shows. In my first season review of Silk Stalkings, I accused the show of lacking appeal and being too generic. Despite how that sounds, the first season was not terrible, but it wasn't very enticing either. Like many other shows, it started off a little shaky. This second season was done a lot better. It is a major improvement and offers stronger characters and some better stories.

In my first season review I felt the two main characters, Chris Lorenzo (Rob Etes) and Rita Lance (Mitzi Kapture) were not developed very well and they were hard to connect with as characters. In this second season the characters flow much better. The main reason comes from how the two interact. Their relationship as just good friends gets clearly outlined in the first episode of the season and their playful banter becomes much more acceptable. This season also adds a reoccurring character who adds a humorous and fun aspect to the series. Cotton Dunn (John Byner) is mentally a genius, but he's made some bad decisions in life. So it's no surprise most of his undertakings are of dubious origins, but he is still a good at heart. On more than one occasion he joins up with Rita and Chris as a snitch.

As for the season two stories, they follow a similar format from the first season. In most of the episodes, really rich upscale snotty folk get mixed up in murder with things like money and lust being the driving factor. In "Bad Blood" two brothers become suspects when their parents are brutally murdered. Of course, despite all of the evidence leading towards the brothers, things aren't exactly what they seem. What really makes this an interesting episode is not the crime itself, but rather the characters. One of the brothers is quite messed up and it makes for an interesting case. Another good episode is "The Queen is Dead". It gives Chris a chance to do some undercover work in a beauty pageant. Hello Miss Congeniality! The episode "Crush" is all about twisted love. A kid on the basketball team Chris coaches gets murder and the truth reveals a very twisted love triangle. The episodes "Soul Kiss" and "Star Signs" both give Chris and Rita more opportunities for undercover work and ultimately, episodes that deviate from the show's somewhat generic format.

Overall, the episodes in this second season offer more exciting stories than first season. The characters are presented better and seem to flow much better. I found it easier to enjoy who they were and the added reoccurring character of Cotton Dunn was a delight. While I did enjoy this season much better than the first, it is still not a surefire winner. The show can be fun to watch, but it isn't something I imagine wanting to watch over and over again.

Episode Guide
1. Social Call
2. The Wild Card
3. In Too Deep
4. Bad Blood
5. Hot Rocks
6. Scorpio Lover
7. Love-15
8. The Queen is Dead
9. Irreconcilable Differences
10. Jasmine
11. Crush
12. Was It Good For You Too
13. Dead Weight
14. Kid Stuff
15. Night Games
16. Meat Market
17. Giant Steps
18. Soul Kiss
19. Look The Other Way
20. Star Signs
21. Voices
22. Crime of Love

The DVD
Maybe it was a typo or someone was looking in the wrong spot, but the box set claims there are twenty-three episodes in this season, but there are really only twenty-two. There is also an issue with the episode "Dead Weight". Its runtime is under 37 minutes, while the other episodes average 47 minutes in length. You can contact Anchor Bay for a replacement disc. Please visit this link for details.

Video:
This DVD release is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The quality of the picture isn't bad or good; it's average and adequately fits the needs of this feature. The picture houses a slight grain with minor compression artifacts.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. In terms of sound quality, it's pretty much similar to any other television release. The dialogue remains fairly flat. As well the music tends to feel the same way. Regarding the track's stereo capabilities, there is very little distinction between channels. Despite that, the audio track remains to be very clear and audible. For this release, it sounds very good. There are no subtitles with this release, but it supports closed captioning.

Extras:
Similar to the first season release, the bulk of the extras are interviews. There are a total of four interviews with Stephen J. Cannell Parts 1 & 2, Mike Post, and Cannel & Post. The total runtime is one hour and twenty five minutes! There are also clips of "Was It Good For You Too?" in Spanish and "The Queen is Dead" in French, the script for "Crush", and a photo gallery.

Final Thoughts:
Silk Stalkings is a television series I used to enjoy in the past. However, with my review of season one, I found the show to be somewhat limited. The characters and stories did not seem to offer a lot. This second season is a clear improvement, and presents both the characters and stories in a better manner. But while season two is more entertaining than season one, the season is not extremely strong. It is fun to watch, but has limited replay value. It's definitely worth renting if you like cop shows with a slight erotic appeal.