Returned afresh from its debut triumph "Capital City" successfully serves up more powerfully emotive weekly drama offerings whilst subtly offering a few casting tweaks to the series regular line up. Central to this is the arrival of the new cool, dispassionate Head Trader Sylvia Roux Teng possessing a rather disdainful regard of the working methods of her trading floor staff. This conflict of ideologies is best illustrated in 6th episode which I feel is quite simply is the finest most gut wrentchingly moving script that the entire series has ever offered and a true "Capital City" essential viewing experience. In it Sylvia further destabilises the smooth running operation of Shane Longman by putting key members 'on the market place' without their knowledge. I love the way that Declan sums up Sylvia's actions by saying with understandable bile "for sheer guile and duplicity no one can touch you!" The other 'new face' joining the series regulars is young and ambitious bespectacled… more »

Returned afresh from its debut triumph "Capital City" successfully serves up more powerfully emotive weekly drama offerings whilst subtly offering a few casting tweaks to the series regular line up. Central to this is the arrival of the new cool, dispassionate Head Trader Sylvia Roux Teng possessing a rather disdainful regard of the working methods of her trading floor staff. This conflict of ideologies is best illustrated in 6th episode which I feel is quite simply is the finest most gut wrentchingly moving script that the entire series has ever offered and a true "Capital City" essential viewing experience. In it Sylvia further destabilises the smooth running operation of Shane Longman by putting key members 'on the market place' without their knowledge. I love the way that Declan sums up Sylvia's actions by saying with understandable bile "for sheer guile and duplicity no one can touch you!" The other 'new face' joining the series regulars is young and ambitious bespectacled Hilary Rollinger primarily acting as Michelle's apprentice assistant. Our German trader, sporting a new Purdey style bobbed hairstyle, trains her well and Hilary shines on a few occasions in Michelle's absence like when she is dealing with the magnanimously overbearing Hans Detric Schoenfold (played marvellously by Philip Madoc(ep.5)), working on the Celestron Systems trading issue(ep.10) or even stepping up to bat in the inter-team softball match(ep.3). The highly effective season opener is another 'dream script' for Joanna Kanska's Sirkka portraying once more the shows moral conscience as she attempts to establish a ethical policy against potential customers (like this stories 'Ulman Klein' company) whose trading practices are morally indefensible. There is a beautifully played emotively devastating scene at Michelle's flat where Joanna conveys with passion how utterly dejected she feels that her colleagues cannot initially share the same sense of abhorrent revulsion to dealing with such organisations. Ecology concerns are an ever present factor to the continuing popularity of "Capital City" and the shows green credentials are admirably demonstrated through examples like Peter Longman's tropical island kelp farm project(ep.1), Rachel & Gordon's sprawling horticultural concern(ep.8), the Ramanda Education Foundation(ep.2) and offering promotional advise to The Earth Trust Limited(ep.9). As before the key appeal for viewers is the continuing romantically teasing relationship between Declan and Michelle which despite the occasional bump along the road (e.g. Declan's brief interest in Grand Swiss bank trader Claudine Ray(ep.3)) does reach its eventual and expected joyous conclusion in the season/series finale. Defying established trading convention our slightly hyperactive lateral thinking 'Swaps Man' Max Lubin inadvertently presents us with many comedic highlights the main one being attempting to finance a movie script written by some (supposedly) little known writer called Arnoff Migsnott(ep.6). Once again going beyond the confines of Shane Longman's trading floor the show goes on location to Poland(ep.4), a Berkshire country house(ep.7), a plant manipulation company 25 miles from London(ep.8) and of course the park located close to Battersea Power Station for the softball game(ep.3). Although only fielding 10 episodes in a 3/3/4 config this easily maintains and at some points, like ep.1 and ep.6, surpasses the debut year and is always an absolute morally uplifting, entirely enjoyable viewing experience. Like the first year an extremely cherished DVD box set possession, a thoroughly marvellous series and one of the best television series title purchases I have ever made!