The producers and writers for “Body of Proof” went all out this second season with more action, heavy hitting episodes but also shocking storylines and deaths of major characters that I never saw coming! “Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season” is highly recommended!
© 2012 abc studios. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season
SERIES DATE: 2012
DURATION: 20 Episodes (854 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
COMPANY: abc studios
RATED: TV 14 DSLV
RELEASE DATE: September 18, 2012
Directed by Nelson McCormick, Christine Moore, Matthew Gross, John Terlesky
Written by Christopher Murphey, Matthew V. Lewis, Diane Ademu-John, Andrew Dettmann, Corey D. Miller, Sunil Nayar, Sam Humphrey, Matthew Gross, Lawrence Kaplow, Allen MacDonald
Produced by Jim Klever-Weis, Bryan Oh
Co-Producer: Paul Gadd
Supervising Producer: Diane Ademu-John, Sam Humphrey
Executive Producer: Matthew Gross, Christopher Murphey, Sunil Nayar
Co-Executive Producer: Corey D. Miller, Richard Heus, Andrew Dettmann
Music by Daniel Licht
Cinematography by Patrick Cady
Edited by Jennifer Pulver, Lynn Willingham, Randy Jon Morgan, Tirsa Hackshaw, Eric Litman
Casting by Rosalie Joseph, Gayle Pillsbury
Production Design by Steven Wolff, Kenneth Hardy
Art Direction by Jeremy Woodward, E. David Cosier, Gina B. Cranham
Costume Design by Roberta Haze, Roberta Haze
Starring:
Dana Delany as Megan Hunt
Jeri Ryan as Kate Murphy
John Carroll Lynch as Bud Morris
Nicholas Bishop as Petr Dunlop
Sonja John as Samantha Baker
Geoffrey Arend as Ethan Gross
Windell Middlebrooks as Curtis Brumfield
Mary Mouser as Lacey Fleming
Nathalie Kelley as Dani Alvarez
Jeffrey Nordling as Todd Fleming
Joanna Cassidy as Joan Hunt
Dr. Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) may have a prickly personality, but she’s a brilliant medical examiner with unique techniques for solving even the most complex crime. Relive every unique medical mystery as Megan seeks justice for each victim, while also putting her life back together and repairing her personal relationships with the living. Dissect each distinctive case with ABC’s “Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season†on DVD, plus exciting bonus features!
From writer and producer Christopher Murphey comes a new ABC medical drama titled “Body of Proof” which made its debut on March 2011 replacing a canceled drama series. With a short nine episode first season, the drama series was renewed for a second season and garnered positive reviews around the world where it has aired.
“Body of Proof” is a series that centers on Dr. Megan Hunt, a brilliant neurosurgeon who was a workaholic but was also away from her family which led to a divorce and losing custody of her daughter Mary.
One day, while trying to talk on her cell phone, she got into a car accident and now she doesn’t have full control of her hands to do surgery and thus ended her career as a neurosurgeon.
So, now Dr. Hunt works as a medical examiner and is trying to establish a relationship with her daughter but also assists Detectives Bud Morris and Samantha Becker on their criminal cases along with her partner Nicholas Bishop, a former police officer now medico-legal investigator.
The characters of “Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season” include:
Dr. Megan Hunt (Dana Delany, “Desperate Housewives”, “Castle”, “Kidnapped”) – A former neurosurgeon now medical examiner who was a dedicated, brilliant neurosurgeon but broke her marriage and prevented a true relationship with her daughter which was followed by a life-changing car accident which ended her career. Now, a medical examiner, she uses her knowledge and investigative instincts to help police solve cases. She’s not very sociable, doesn’t have any friends due to being a workaholic.
Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop, “Home and Away, “Walking on Water”) – A former police officer and now a medico-legal investigator. A partner to Dr. Megan Hunt assisting her on medical cases.
Dr. Kate Murphy (Jerry Ryan, “Star Trek: Voyager”, “Down with Love”, “Shark”, “Boston Public”) – The chief medical examiner and forensic anthropologist. Always concerned with the work budget, as Megan’s superior and the first female chief medical examiner in Philadelphia, she is sometimes at odds with Dr. Megan Hunt. She is also dating Megan’s ex-husband.
Detective Bud Morris (John Carroll Lynch, “Zodiac”, “Gran Torino”, “Shutter Island”) – A hardheaded homicide detective. Despite having personal problems due to a failing marriage, he does his best to solve his cases but often he and Dr. Megan Hunt are at odds when she oversteps her boundaries.
Detective Samantha Baker (Sonja John, “The Wire”, “Bringing out the Dead”, “Shaft”) – A partner of Detective Bud Morris and a person who respects Dr. Megan Hunt for being straightforward.
Dr. Ethan Gross (Geoffrey Arend, “(500) Days of Summer”, “Garden State”) – The young and enthusiastic fellow medical examiner.
Dr. Curtis Brumfield (Windell Middlebrooks, “Miss March”, “Enlightened”) – A former chief resident at Seattle Grace Hospital and an orthopedic surgeon. Was married with Dr. George O’Malley. Later, she has a sexual relationship with Dr. Mark Sloan (in order to prove to herself that she is heterosexual) but is now starting to understand her feelings that she is a lesbian and exploring her relationship with Dr. Arizona Robbins.
Todd Fleming (Jeffrey Nordling, “Flight 93”, “Tron: Legacy”, “Once and Again”) – The estranged husband of Dr. Megan Hunt, who is dating Megan’s boss, Dr. Kate Murphy.
Lacey Fleming (Mary Matilyn Mouser, “Bride Wars”, “Son of the Mask”) – The estranged daughter of Dr. Megan Hunt.
Dani Alvarez (Nathalie Kelley, “Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift”, “Loaded”) – Delivers the deceased to the medical examiner’s office and becomes the love interest for Peter in Season Two.
“Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season” features 20 episodes on four discs. Here is a basic summary of each episode (Spoilerless summaries):
- EPISODE 10 – Love Thy Neighbor – A car goes over an embankment and a man is found dead. Who is responsible?
- EPISODE 11 – Hunting Party – A young new wife is shot at the family deer-hunt outing, who is responsible for killing her?
- EPISODE 12 – Missing – A young nanny is run over and the 5-year-old charge has been kidnapped and he desperately needs his medication.
- EPISODE 13 – Lazarus Man – A man who is on the examination table who is presumed dead, walks out off the table.
- EPISODE 14 – Point of Origin – Peter saves a young woman in a house fire but is upset that he didn’t know a person died in the fire.
- EPISODE 15 – Second Chances – A horse-riding champion is found dead in the woods, who is responsible for the murder?
- EPISODE 16 – Hard Knocks – A teenager dies at a party and someone made the 911 call. Who may be responsible for the teen’s death?
- EPISODE 17 – Love Bites – A pharmaceutical rep is found murdered and the team must find out who is responsible.
- EPISODE 18 – Gross Anatomy – How did a murdered woman’s body end up as a medical school cadaver?
- EPISODE 19 – Your Number’s Up – A lottery winner is found stabbed to death. Who is responsible for the murder?
- EPISODE 20 – Falling For You – Who killed the bride on her wedding day?
- EPISODE 21 – Shades of Blue – A cop is executed at a truck stop, but another cop is a suspect. Is he responsible?
- EPISODE 22 – Sympathy for the Devil – A woman found innocent for murder is killed. Who was responsible for the murder?
- EPISODE 23 – Cold Blooded – An Italian restaurant owner is found dead in a freezer. Who is responsible?
- EPISODE 24 – Occupational Hazards – Two cards with bodies found inside the trunk, now the team must solve two cases.
- EPISODE 25 – Home Invasion – Parents of a perfect family are killed. Did the surviving son do it?
- EPISODE 26 – Identity – Two young girls are involved in a tragic car accident but the wrong girl is pronounced dead and the car accident may not be responsible for the death of the girl.
- EPISODE 27 – Going Viral, Part 1 – The team must solve a city-wide virus outbreak.
- EPISODE 28Â – Going Viral, Part 2 – Death tolls continue to rise in the city, the team must find a way to treat the virus!
- EPISODE 29 – Mind Games – A serial killer is back and wants his revenge on Megan.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season” is presented in Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 televisions. This is one of the few drama series on television where a lot of the scenes are shot outdoors, to there is good natural lighting and the series does look good on DVD. I didn’t see any major noise or compression artifacts. For the most part, the seventh season does look very good on DVD.
As for audio, the series is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the series is primarily dialogue and music driven. Dialogue is clear and understandable, while the music has always played a major part for the series and definitely enhances certain scenes. Did notice the surround used in scenes with cutting of flesh (during surgery) which was quite clear. There are a few mild action sequences but for the most part, this is a dialogue-driven drama series.
The show is presented in English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season” includes the following special features:
- Design of Body of Proof: Living Spaces – (2:27) A short featurette on the production design of the series.
- Bodies of Body of Proof – (2:35) A short featurette about the dead bodies featured in the series. Technical Advisor Gary Kellerman talks about the research that goes into the auditions and using pig parts and having Dana Delany practicing the incisions on them and make-up design for the deceased.
- The Stunt Work of Body of Proof: Taking the Plunge – (4:58) A featurette on the stunt work featured in the series and how executive producers wanted to see much more action in the seconds season.
- The Stunt Work of Body of Proof: Prepping the Stunt (Part 1)Â – (2:57) The creation of the high speed stunt.
- The Effects of Body of Proof: Playing with Fire – (3:29) Featuring the burning down a house for an episode and what was involved in the creation of that scene.
- The Fashion of Body of Proof – (2:36) A featurette on the fashion for “Body of the Proof” from Susanna Puisto (Costume Designer).
- The Stunt Work of Body of Proof: Collision Course (Part 2) – (3:46) Anya Adams (1st Assistant Director) talks about scheduling the stunts for the series. Lisa Wesels (Stunt Coordinator) talks about the coordination of the stunts for the series and more!
- Body of Goofs – (3:37) Outtakes from the second season of “Body of Proof”.
- Outbreak: Webisodes – Featuring five webisodes (about two minutes long) showcasing a newscaster about a terrorist virus outbreak.
EXTRAS:
“Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season” comes with a slip cover case.
With “Body of Proof” receiving a 20-episode order (compared to last season’s nine-episodes), this gave writers to explore more cases for the second season.
That also meant more action but also taking more risks in hopes that people will continue to watch the series for the third season.
“Body of Proof” is an interesting series because it deals with both the medical side but also the police detective side.
It’s a mix of a medical and police drama series…not to say it’s “Grey’s Anatomy†meets “Castle†kind of hybrid series but you have the medical side and then a medical examiner who tends to overstep the boundaries during a police investigation once in awhile.
But the series does make things different in the fact that the main character, Dr. Megan Hunt, while a talented medical examiner and former neurosurgeon, she’s flawed when it comes to things outside of her career.  She realizes what she lost when she lost and that is a failed marriage and a teenage daughter and a husband who are estranged. And to make things worse for Megan, her boss, is dating her ex-husband and also there for her teenage daughter, which causes resentment and also jealousy within Megan.
You can tell that she buries herself in work to avoid social interaction or to avoid the pain of losing her family but whether or not she likes it, her co-workers are her support, trying to get her out of this funk and make her more sociable but also giving her that extra push for her to have that relationship with her daughter.
Dana Delaney does a spectacular job of playing the character who has confidence when it comes to her job but also her personality flaws when it comes to the more emotional and social aspects of her life. And speaking of Delaney, I definitely love this character role since she played Nurse Colleen McMurphy on “China Beach†back in 1988-1991. A strong character role, intelligent but yet not perfect…just a human being who works hard at her job but also has her own personal issues that she has to deal with.
What I like about this is that many professionals I know are like that. They put in a lot of hours in the office and deep inside, they know they should be with family but because of their dedication for the greater good of saving lives… it’s a difficult choice and lifestyle which is rarely focused in a drama series.
I have to admit that at first, I thought this was going to be a reversed-â€Castle†type series where Dr. Hunt would be overstepping the boundaries of her job during the police questioning of a potential suspect but I’m glad that it’s not that type of drama series and that the writers are trying to do something difference. Also, I like the fact that the other supporting cast were being utilized much more earlier in the series.
While the series has gained critical praise, one thing that I do find the series a bit problematic is its criminal cases are predictable. If anything, we are a bit spoiled in this day and age with many police or investigative series that really make you wonder “who did it?â€, “Body of Proof†is not exactly challenging the viewer as much.
Also, with more episodes, the series goes further into the character development of Peter, Kate, Ethan, Curtis but also exploring the lives of Detectives Bud Morris and Samantha Baker.
The second season also featured a lot of sexual tension. You never knew if Megan or Peter will get together but eventually, both managed to explore other people (as well as other characters exploring romance).
But what made the second season so awesome was that the writers took amazing risks.
The biggest risk was by creating the virus outbreak episodes for “Going Viral” and killing off a pretty important character of the series, followed by the season finale which killed off a major character of the series. And to make things worse, although a third season was green-lit, the budget for the series has been slashed and even more characters are going to be gone for season three.
While I appreciate the fact that ABC is bringing the series back, what made “Body of Proof” so compelling was the balance between medical/police drama. By eliminating so many characters of one side of the series, I really don’t know what direction the series is headed for season three.
As for the DVD release, you get 20-episodes, quite a few special features and overall picture and audio quality is very good on DVD.
With a series like “Body of Proof”, there was no doubt that the writers did so much to make this season exciting. More action, more stunt work and calculated stories which include a major outbreak and a serial killer which leaves two characters dead and also a season finale which would feature the last appearances of important characters.
The writers did a lot to improve the second season and did all they can to give “Body of Proof” its own identity and to distinguish itself from other ABC drama shows like “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Private Practice”, “Castle”, etc.
But with how things have ended with season two and what has transpired since the third season received an order of more episodes and a drastic cut to its budget, needless to say, the third season will be a new chapter in the life of Dr. Megan Hunt and may possibly be a different kind of series that we have been accustomed to, in these past two seasons. It’s a shame because this season really went all out into developing storylines for viewers to learn more about these characters and now, quite a few of them are now gone. It’s like taking “Grey’s Anatomy” and eliminating everyone but a handful of characters.
So, I don’t really know what is in store for season three. But for season two alone, if you enjoyed the first season, you definitely want to watch the second. The writers really went all out with this second season and by the final episodes of the season, you can’t believe where the writers are taking you. I was impressed they saved the best episodes of season two for last!
If you are looking for a fun, well-written, clever and entertaining medical/investigative drama series, “Body of Proof: The Complete Second Season†is highly recommended!
