The Second Season

Girlfriends is a television sitcom about the daily lives and relationships of four African American women and their male friend. The series first aired on UPN in the fall of 2000 and it was very successful. Since, the show has continued to be well-received by viewers and even had a spin-off series The Game in 2006. It was created by Mara Brock Akil and has Kelsey Grammar (Frasier, Cheers) as an executive producer. For more details about this series, refer to DVD Talk's review of season one.

In Girlfriends' second season, there is a lot of drama and laughs surrounding the girls' romantic interludes and relationships. The season picks up where season one left off. Toni was faced with a predicament, two men wanted to marry her. On the one hand there was Greg; he is a poor artist, but she genuinely loves him. Then there is Clay; he is rich and handsome, money is hard to say no to. Toni accepts Clay's proposal, but realizes she wants to be with Greg. Joan, however, accidentally tells Greg about Clay. Toni's relationship with Greg goes down the tubes, as well as her friendship with Joan.

The second season begins with Joan finding Toni (nearly naked) and Sean (also nearly naked) in her living room. Toni tried to get back at Joan by sleeping with her sex-addicted boyfriend. In the aftermath, Joan accepts Toni's actions as something someone does in the heat of the moment and forgives her. Following, Joan starts to feel the hardship of her life and sees a therapist (Fred Willard). Her therapist indicates the problem is Toni and her constant reliance on their friendship, despite whatever self-centered thing Toni has done lately. The therapist and Joan's friends suggest she take a breather from Toni. Despite, friendship is stronger -- Joan and Toni work things out.

As the season continues, there are several storylines about the girls and their relationships. Joan and Sean part ways. With Sean in New York City and Joan in Los Angeles, the distance becomes too much for Sean. As a sex-addict, he needs to be able to "do it" everyday, not once a month. Joan is heart-broken, but treks on and dates other men, including a younger man named Chris. Toni doesn't find anyone serious, but she dates around. Toni's biggest development is not relationship related. She learns what it means to be poor. Her real estate sales go downhill and she turns into a penny-pincher. Fortunately, things get better when she opens her own firm.

Lynn's life has a lot of changes on the horizon. When she comes back from Jamaica in the beginning of the season, she brings a friend with her. John L. Adams (The Dead Zone) guest stars as Vosco. Vosco comes to the United States and moves in with Lynn (and Joan). When Joan finds out he is staying at the house, she kicks them both out. Lynn and Vosco move into Maya's mom's garage. Lynn is also forced to get a job as a waitress at the local Japanese restaurant -- while Vosco lounges at home "pretending" to look for work.

Maya's story is the biggest development this season. Midway into the season, she meets a dashing fellow named Stan (Don Franklin). From Maya and Stan's first encounter, they had chemistry. At first, their relationship is innocent and something that Maya refers to as an "emotional affair". The two spend time together and become very close without physically connecting. All the while, Maya lies to her husband Darnell (Kahlil Kain) and forces her Joan, Toni, and Lynn to lie about it too. Despite Maya's intentions, her relationship with Stan becomes complicated when they share a kiss and Stan befriends Darnell to get back at her for calling it off.

William and Yvonne's relationship is also at the fore throughout the season. In the close of season one, they got engaged. In season two, their relationship goes up and down with various pre-martial roadblocks. Some of the important issues they tackle include a pre-nuptial agreement, Yvonne leaving the police force, William buying a house, William picking the best man, and saying goodbye.

Overall, Girlfriends' second season has a similar feeling to the first. The comedy is light hearted and the characters are likeable, albeit a little over-the-top. However, the second season content tends a little more dramatic than the first, with more dramatic storylines about the characters. The good news is the humor is still there and the cast works well together.

Episode Guide

1. The Fallout: Joan learns that Sean did not sleep with Toni, but their relationship still is not mended. Joan goes to therapy when the stress of it makes her fair fall out.
2. Just Say No: When Toni learns that Joan has a therapist she tries to talk her out of it. When she can't she insists on going as well.
3. A Full Court Conspiracy: Joan and William defend a sports drink company in a high-profile litigation against a prominent black athlete. Both become pariahs in the black community. Lynn moves into her new garage apartment.
4. Un-Treatable: Darnell is furious when Maya spends $500 on a dress, but is even angrier when she returns tit. Joan has to talk Sean off the ledge when he feels the need for sex, and they eventually break up.
5. Buh-Bye: Joan returns from New York after breaking it off with Sean to the support of her friends. When Toni again crosses the line by airing Joan's private life at the office, Joan ends their friendship.
6. Willie Or Won't He?: William and Yvonne break up after Joan suggests they move in together. When they get back together, William's place is totally feminized. Greg returns and reunites with Toni. Lynn and Maya try to change their men, but it backfires.
7. Trick Or Truth?: Toni catches Greg sleeping with another woman. Lynn and Maya console a distraught Toni and reprimand Joan on her apathy towards Toni's situation. William tries to scare Joan in their traditional Halloween custom.
8. Joan's Birthday Suit: Joan has a meltdown at her 30th birthday party as she realizes all of the things she hasn't done. Determined to shake up her life Joan goes to a nudist beach with Lynn, Maya and Toni and runs into her father. William and Yvonne discuss a pre-nuptial agreement.
9. Maya Takes A Stan: Maya develops a crush on a guy she meets at work. Joan goes out with him in order to save Maya's marriage. Toni joins her church group in a protest against MTV. Lynn quits her job after receiving a grant from the Getty Museum.
10. Mom's The Word: Toni gets involved with a single father of a seven-year-old child. Joan's excitement over dating a celebrity leads him to believe she is stalking him.
11. You Better Watch Out: Maya lies about a Christmas present from Stan and inadvertently creates more hostility between Darnell and Joan. For the first time since she was little girl, Toni has to deal with the fact that she has no money for Christmas. William plays the office Santa Claus.
12. I Have A Dream House: Joan lobbies her law firm to recognize the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but it turns out to be an uphill battle, and William buys a house for his bride-to-be.
13. Sister, Sistah: Joan finds Lynn's white "sistah" offensive, and William reluctantly agrees to let Joan throw him a bachelor party.
14. Willie Or Won't He, II: The Last Chapter: Angry with William because he didn't inform his mother about their impending nuptials, Yvonne calls off the wedding. Joan is in full wedding-planning mode.
15. Can't Stan Ya! : Maya and Stan give in to their feelings and kiss. Afterwards Maya wants to end their relationship and Stan threatens to tell Darnell. William develops a bad attitude towards black women after the break-up with Yvonne.
16. Take Me Out After The Ballgame: Joan is seduced by a handsome younger man at the office, while Maya enlists Darnell to play for the company softball team.
17. Childs In Charge: when a successful real estate tycoon challenges Toni, she makes big plans to open her own boutique office, but as Toni struggles to pull it together, Joan provides her with skepticism rather than support.
18. Taming Of The Realtess: Preparing for her grand opening, Toni keeps losing her assistants because of her exacting standards.
19. X Does Not Mark The Spot: Joan goes on a wild adventure with her new young boyfriend but their trip to a hot dance club leads to cold consequences when she accidentally takes Ecstasy.
20. My Mother, Myself: Joan throws a Mother's Day brunch and everyone's mother comes, even Toni's. Maya is stunned when her mother reveals she is going to sell her house and move to San Bernardino.
21. Just Dessert: When Lynn moves in with William, they console each other after recent break-ups and contemplate moving their friendship into the bedroom.
22. Into The Woods: Joan's ex-boyfriend returns to town with a heart-breaking announcement in the season finale.

The DVD

Video:
This release is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is generally good providing a clear picture with a slight grain, minor color distortions, and compression artifacts. However, there are some periods when the picture looks a little rough.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is given in English Dolby digital stereo sound. The audio sounds pretty clean and is very flat. It is as basic as TV on DVD releases get. This release also supports closed captioning.

Extras:
Girlfriends' second season DVD release has three featurettes. It is a big improvement over the first season's barebones release. Here the breakdown of the special features:

• We All Fall Down: A Closer Look at "Trick or Truth?" (15:29): features Mara Brock Akil, Mark Alton Brown, Dee LaDuke, Reggie Hayes, Jill Marie Jones, and Tracee Ellis Ross. They talk about the episode "Trick or Truth?", focusing on key developments in the season's storylines.
• Creating the Show (17:47): is about featurette about making the series. It begins with a dialogue with creator/executive producer Mara Brock Akil about where the idea for the show came from and continues with additional dialogue from Mark Alton Brown, Dee LaDuke, Reggie Hayes, Jill Marie Jones, and Tracee Ellis Ross.
• Getting the Girls Together (19:24): is about putting the cast of Girlfriends together. Mara Brock Akil, Mark Alton Brown, Dee LaDuke, Reggie Hayes, Jill Marie Jones, and Tracee Ellis Ross are interviewed and discuss various key developments in the process, impressions about the show/characters, etc.
• Episode Guide: On disc 3 an interactive episode guide is available from the special features menu.

Final Thoughts:
Girlfriends is a television sitcom about a four girls and a guy and their daily lives. The show's second season focuses on the various developments in their romantic interludes and the quirky aspects of their friendship. It is similar to the sitcom Living Single, but much richer in content and more story arcs. In the end, Girlfriends is an enjoyable sitcom that will keep you laughing and smiling. It comes recommended.