Hung: The Complete Second Season [Blu-Ray]

After the first season of Hung struggled to find its footing, flipping between partially inconsistent secondary characters while telling the story of high school sports coach turned gigolo Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane), it was debatable whether the series would follow in the same footsteps as another awkwardly conceived four-letter HBO series: Huff. Fortunately, this second season shows growth, consistency and tonal confidence, exploring Ray's struggle with passivity and empathy as a man-whore, quashing his controlling male instincts for feminine needs. He's still pining over ex-wife Jessica (Anne Heche), whose disappointment with her emasculated, soft, corporate replacement husband, Ronnie (Eddie Jemison), is starting to take its toll. Their teen twins, Damon (Charlie Saxton) and Darby (Sianoa Smit-McPhee), are having a hard time at school as outsiders, being aesthetically unconventional and socially awkward. And while these storylines do a good job balancing stability and obligation with the new horizons of service role coitus, much of the focus and comic ire come from the pimping battles between failed writer Tanya (Jane Adams) and savvy business bitch Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff). When they're not competing for clients and insulting each other's techniques, they're trying out different management tactics with their endowed product, coaching him on banging pregnant chicks and elderly women. They also frequently bicker, resulting in the theft of a dog and the occasional mishap with a new client. Since the characters are all finding their natural groove and the writers are figuring out how to make them work together on both a cohesive and conflicting level, the show has a natural comfort and trajectory, even though it's rarely laugh-out-loud funny. There are still amusing scenarios, such as Tanya's battle with a horny, blackmailing boss, but the drama element of the series is more effective, demonstrating insight into Jessica's parenting problems and Tanya's many insecurities. Included with the Blu-Ray set are five commentary tracks, which cover the cast complimenting each other, as well as a "behind the scenes" supplement that shows a lot of clips from the show mixed with a few interview snippets.