Pawn Stars – Season Two (2009 – 2010/A&E/History Channel DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: B+
One of my
favorite shows and the best reality series on television today is Pawn Stars. For those unfamiliar with what a pawn shop
is, it is essentially a shop where you can either sell or pawn an item of
value; there being no restrictions or limits on what that item could be, as
long as it has value. Pawning an item
essentially means you hand that item over to the shop for a set amount of cash
and you have a predetermined number of days to repay that ‘loan’ (with
interest) to get that item back; whereas selling you (obviously) never get that
item back.
Pawn Stars takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada
where the party never stops and gambling reigns king. It seems that the boys at Gold & Silver
Pawn Shop like to take a gamble here and there as they obtain some of the
rarest and strangest items that the world has to offer. The ‘reality’ series features father (Rick
Harrison), his father Richard (‘Old Man’), Rick’s son Corey (‘Big Hoss’) and
Corey’s dimwitted friend Chumlee (Austin Russell). Together the team (headed by Rick as the
brains’ of the operation) appraises and haggles for some of the best and coolest
stuff on the face of the planet. Not
only does the series showcase these astonishingly rare or oddball items, but
the audience is constantly educated as either Rick or an expert Rick has on
retainer comes to give detail and insight about each and every item. The shop as a whole is a class act with
honest and charming employees that make you want to see more, on top of having
a well established and organized shop that destroys all previous notions of
dark, dingy and scummy pawn shops.
Don’t
think for a second that the series is boring as it is NOT simply a glorified Antiques Road Show, but instead it is
the dynamics of the staff and their adventures along the way that are so
enticing. The staff is truly lovable and
the items that walk into that shop are astounding; often leaving you (and the
staff) questioning, where did that person find that?!? It is also nice to see that the staff is very
honest, as they almost always get an appraisal on an item they know nothing or
little about; instead of blindly guessing on an item or ripping a person
off. The class and expertise of the
staff on Pawn Stars a lot more
likable than that of the newer (and very entertaining) series American Pickers, who often find
themselves guessing if an item is worth anything.
It is odd
that only great items are on film, so there must be some extensive screening
process and reshoots, but I am not complaining.
The other option could be that they film everything and if it turns out
to be ‘underwhelming’ they simply do not film or air the clip. So many items appear throughout the season
that it is hard to remember everything, but some items include treasure chests,
rare currency, classic guitars, historical documents, autographed memorabilia,
classic cars, antique firearms/weaponry and so much more.
The
series is fun, fun, fun! My only
complaint is that once I see an episode I generally have no desire to see it
again. Sure I watch them if nothing better is on, but like a mystery series
once the curtain is drawn back the thrill is over. So for those who have not seen the series or
missed the episodes when they originally aired; this is a definite pickup. For those who saw the series, there is
nothing new on this set and keep watching it on TV.
The
technical features are nothing thrilling as the 32 episodes spread across 4
discs do little in terms of picture and sound.
The picture is a 1.78 X 1 matted Widescreen that is not exciting or
enhanced in any way with merely adequate crispness and clarity. The sound is a boring Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo that comes all from the front and where as this is not and action
series, something, anything to enhance the experience would have completely
welcome.
The
extras feature 30 minutes of additional footage that features items that would
fit into the series nicely; probably just edited for time.
Great
series!
- Michael P. Dougherty II
