In the second season of Scorpion, fans saw the quintet of genius misfits expand their A-Team-meets-Big-Bang-Theory-meets-MacGyver adventures across the globe. This season features the team finding themselves in even more high-octane scenarios as they deal with a nuclear satellite, a Soviet submarine, a speeding train, a 7.8 earthquake, and an F4 tornado, all while trying to navigate personal issues and relationships. If you’re a fan of the show and want access to Season 2, you have a few options:
1) If you’re a CBS All Access member, you have free access to the season through your subscription (Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu subscribers do not)
2) Amazon and iTunes both offer HD epsiodes for $2.99 and the full season for $19.99 and $24.99 respectively
3) You can purchase the DVD set (all 24 episodes plus over an hour of bonus features), currently available on Amazon for $33.49
And that’s where the number crunching comes in. The main difference here (other than having a hard copy on the shelf) is the bonus features, none of which are included in the “buy the season” option on Amazon or iTunes (all they include is a three minute Season 1 recap). Based on Amazon’s price of $33.49, the cost-per-episode on the DVD set divides out to around $1.40 (versus 84 cents per episode if you get the whole season digitally for $19.99), so before you pull a trigger on either, consider how much these extras mean to you:
Storytelling:
- “Unlikely Heroes” – Nick Santora (creator/producer) examines the story arcs of Walter (Elyes Gabel), Paige (Katharine McPhee), Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Happy (Jadyn Wong), and Sylvester (Ari Stidham) in Season 2.
- “Quintis” – a two minute mini feature with the actors talking about Episode 17 (“Adaptation”) and how it promotes the relationship between two of the characters
- “Scorpion: The Comic Book” – Nick Santora (creator/producer) and Nicholas Wooton (writer/executive producer) talk about the comic book from IDW based on the series that was created for distribution at Comic-Con
Insider Info/Behind the Scenes:
- Audio Commentaries – Nick Santora, Nicholas Wootton and Don Tardino (producers) along with Ari Stidham (Sylvester) and Eddie Kaye Thomas (Toby) talk about production and inside jokes for “Fish Filet” (Episode 3) and “White Out” (Episode 13)
- Gag Reel – seven minutes of amusing bloopers from Season 2
Production:
- “Creating Reality: Visual Effects” – Larry Detweiler (visual effects supervisor) geeks out about the show’s new in-house production company for VFX and highlights some of his favorite effects of Season 2
- “Geeky Gadgets” – Bob Good (props master) discusses the joys and challenges of creating the tools the characters use in their exploits
- “Breaking Brilliance” – A half-hour feature narrated by Sam Hill (producer/director) that walks viewers through the production process of an episode of the show, including brainstorming/writing, pre-production meetings, scouting, etc., filming the episode, post-production work, and more
- “Location, Location, Location” – Murray Miller (location manager) talks about how helpful it is to be able to capture so many of the season’s international locales by shooting in southern California (in Season 2 the team goes to Area 51, the United Nations, Africa, Antarctica, and even… The Price is Right)
If you’re a mega fan who really appreciates knowing how everything comes together production-wise, these features may add a lot of value for you. If, however, you just want to watch the show without peeking behind the curtain, this is one instance where you may just want to go the digital route.
