Alphas: Season 2 (2013)

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

I watched this show when it was on SyFy and remember that, at the time, it was a bit slow. Now, 2 years later, I just binge watched both seasons and found the stories and characters to be more interesting and the show better paced than I remembered it.

Are there flaws, absolutely, but there was a good blend of character development and interaction, decent acting with only enough melodrama to keep things interesting, a major bad guy with many minor villains, and an interesting storyline that threaded its way quietly in the background in season 1 and became increasingly more visible in season 2 culminating in a major “event” at the end of season 2.

There has been some comparisons to X-Men although I personally think the main similarity has more to do with the governments overzealous “us” versus “them” mentality which is a common theme in many different mutant, alien, and other simialar movies, TV series, and graphic novels. There was even some of that in Hero’s.

Speaking of Hero’s, in hindsight I think I did what some others might have done when Alpha’s was on and that was to compare it to Hero’s. Even though Hero’s also had its flaws it was a landmark show and, although it might have been unfair, Alpha seemed like a poor substitute for the special effects and scope of Hero’s story.

They say timing is everything and after watching Alpha’s again I think if this show had come out last year or this year it would have had a better chance at survival.

Now for the rant… unfortunately, unlike Eureka and Warehouse 13, both of which ended after Alpha’s, SyFy did not give Alpha enthusiasts any decent closure with the show. The stories in season 1 and season 2 were not simply random stories but were progressing along a planned storyline so the abrupt cancellation of the show felt very arbitrary and last minute.

The final episode of Season 2 predictably ends on a major cliffhanger. The problem is that’s where it is also cancelled. Since Alpha’s was the type of show that I think writer’s would have had difficulty wrapping up neatly in a final two-hour episode the viewer is left with many unanswered questions. There were a lot of back-stories left untold, new characters that could have been introduced, and many “what if’s” that could have been explored for at least 3 more seasons and probably more.

I’d recommend re-watching it if you were a fan and can watch it for free and know what’s in store at the end of Season 2.

If you’re a first time watcher I’d suggest you steer clear unless you like stories with no ending. While I’m a fan of the show I’m not a fan of monetarily rewarding networks for this type of obnoxiously bad behavior.

– W. Oliver

I really, really liked this show A LOT. The characters had REAL depth, the acting was excellent, and the storyline was great. This was a mature show with great talent from the actors, writers and directors.

I absolutely hated the cliffhanger ending with no closure. It’s obnoxious for networks to do that. Basic human decency would call for a final post-season show with closure for viewers. I hope one day that becomes the norm for those shows that get cancelled. Otherwise, they are torturing viewers. Some of us aren’t able to sleep at night from lack of closure!

Some of my favorite characters were Gary who was so lovably quirky. Dr Rozen was superb, but that’s no surprise. Rachel was wonderful. And Cat added a lot. To tell the truth, they were ALL great, and they worked well together on screen.

I just don’t understand why some of the other really stupid shows out there get good ratings, when a quality show like Alphas doesn’t make it.

For those who said this is too much like X-Men, I disagree. X-Men is comic-book like with very extreme characters. X-Men has great effects, but who cares? There’s not much nuance going on there in terms of the characters in X-Men. X-Men has that superhero flashy in-your-face quality to it. And Alphas has real people living everyday lives like you while struggling with the very real struggles of life with extra abilities, which for some of the Alphas are DISabilities. Very real characters with lots of psychological depth.

-Rachel

‘Dime Store’ version of the X-Men…Guess again!!!

The premises’ is that more and more (although they are still quite rare) people are being born with…Special abilities. EX: Super speed, heighted senses, ability to mimic any complex physical action (kickboxing, auto repair, etc.) after on seeing it done once.
Many of these people are social misfits because of the abilities. Some have learned, and are learning to cope, the aid of researcher in this new field or preternatural human abilities. The government fears and monitors all of these people. They also kill and lock up the more violent ‘ALPHAS. Oh, and let us not forget the ‘evil’ ALPHA Leader, that is plotting for war with the non-ALPHA portion of humanity, within the next several years.
What turned me around was that, the main characters are very complex people. And, the plots are never black & white. Just when you think, you have the rhythm of this show down pat, WHAM! They throw you a crave, and change the game in ways would drive most other television show writers and producers insane.

Last but not least, proof that I love this show is the fact that I broke down, and purchased a down load.
I DESPISE DOWN LOADS! I paid for it. I own it. But I cannot burn a personal copy. However, for season two of ALPHAS season 2, I did.

-THE UP TOWN KID

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: David Strathairn, John Pyper-Ferguson
Format: Box set, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: English
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: July 16, 2013
Run Time: 562 minutes