At first glance, it is quite easy to see why this show has been compared to Sex and the City by many critics, and is about to again by yours truly. Mainly this comparison occurs because of the shows’ similarly humorous approach to sex, never wavering from any sort of topic therein. The first similarly I noticed though was the meta-cinematic use of our heroine Hannah (who escorts under the moniker “Belle”) when she talks to the audience directly. This device was only utilized in Sex and the City’s first season but we still see a similar mix of voice-over narration (which would take over Sex and the City) and the viewer being acknowledged (used more often than not with Secret Diary…).
This second season of Hannah’s trails dealing with having a secret life is changed in typical sitcom fashions, that is, introducing a main love interest (a man named Alex whom she mistakes for a client in the season opener) as well as a goofy pseudo-side kick by way of a young girl calling herself Bambi who wants to prostitute simply for the money. The drama revolves mainly around Hannah and Alex’s romance as Hannah loses the thrill of escorting in exchange for the desire to build something ‘real’ with Alex. At the same time, Hannah does face some moral questions throughout the season regarding her profession. Of course, these internal dilemmas (often accompanied by slow-motion shots of a Hannah/Belle looking about blankly) are mainly squashed immediately, or else the show would stop all-together. With the season lasting only 8 quick episodes, thankfully her brooding bits don’t get enough time to became too tiresome to witness, although the drama certainly amplifies (less wink-at-the-camera moments) as the season passes the halfway point.
What really happens in this season is not so much Hannah discovering a new life for herself romantically, but Hannah becoming more like the real-life Belle, author Belle De Jour (a tasty escort moniker, eh?) who wrote The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, as she finds an alternate career as an author, but not necessarily using that to stop her first career.
The acting is decent enough from all the supporters. Billie Piper, as Hannah, won me over by choosing to be silent during certain heavy emotional moments in the final episodes. Her expression was like still water that runs deep and I enjoyed an actor choosing simplicity to create profundity.
The direction can also be called good. Some episodes has camera types being switched for certain shots, making the quality alter in more obvious ways, a brave move to make in a television show these days when it is not meant to be stylized. The same goes for lighting choices, but these experiments are rare and sometimes hard to pinpoint in the season (for that matter, I might even be remembering them better than they were).
Video
The 1.78 Widescreen picture looks good. The colours look very nice and everything remains clear even though the majority of the scenes are in lower lighting, or meant to highlight dark but warm tones of colour (since so many scenes take place in expensive hotel rooms). Places that are meant to look chic, do.
Audio
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or 2.0 available. The music and scoring is mainly comprised of bass heavy jazz, which sounds quite nice in surround. The dialogue is clear and well-balanced along with any music and/or background sounds.
Subtitles available in English and Spanish.
Special Features
Disc 1
Billie on Belle: An interview with the star of the show, Billie Piper. Here she talks about the character, how she is based on a real author named “Belle” who blogged about her experiences as an escort and became a smash hit. She also defends the show’s light view of the prostitution world and how she understands that there is certainly a much darker world that they go NOWHERE near in the show.
Also on this disc is a series of trailers for other Lionsgate DVDs releases.
Disc 2
Webisodes: a series of monologues by two of the supporting characters that helps to delve deeper into those that around the main character. This allows someone other than Belle a chance to address audience and detail parts of their lives. Something for those who are really into the characters/story as there is nothing terribly interesting about them aside from some fluffy bits of extra character trivia (or simply camera mugging).
Final Thoughts
This show is better for not being too long. The episodes, and the whole season itself in fact, do not overstay their welcome. Those that become fans will want more and those that are simply accepting will not be overwhelmed. For a show that is, for all intents and purposes, really about sex, it does not rest simply on being edgy. This is the sort of show that can contain a scene where a politician is urinated on in its opener, and not seem all that shocking.
