Dora The Explorer – It’s Haircut Day! (Nickelodeon DVD) + Glee – Encore (Fox Blu-ray) + Gulliver’s
Travels (2010/Fox Blu-ray w/DVD) + Tightrope
(1972/Network U.K.
Region Two Import DVD Set)
Picture:
C+/B-/B- & C+/C Sound: C+/B-/B
& B-/C Extras: D/D/D/C- Main Programs: C+/D/D/C+
PLEASE NOTE: The TV series Tightrope is an import DVD set in the
Region 2/PAL format that can only be operated on machines capable of Region 2
and PAL formats; it can be ordered exclusively from our friends at Network U.K. at the
links below.
And now
for a brief look at the latest children’s and family fare.
You can’t
seem to go wrong with Dora The Explorer
and some of these titles become unintentional howlers as is the case with It’s Haircut Day! Yes, children need to know the basics of life
and how they operate. The cover is a
hoot in itself, but is one of four episodes on this latest single disc. Her friend Boots the Monkey needs the haircut
(yup, it’s that kind of show) so he can look good for a picture for his
mother’s birthday! I like the show’s
spirit and give them credit for continuing to come up with new ideas for shows
and discs.
Then we
have the compilation Glee – Encore
based on the overrated hit TV show, though my fellow writer seems to have enjoyed
it more:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10443/Glee+%E2%80%93+The+Complete
I have
not been impressed by the few shows I have seen, but this set of the music
numbers where the cast remakes and ruins good songs and makes bad songs worse
is a torture test. Is this supposed to
be funny? Maybe, but I was not laughing. Also, the characters are somewhat
two-dimensional and the singing leaves something to be desired in most
cases. Stick with actual episodes or
avoid altogether.
I can say
the same for the extremely unfunny, unnecessary, latest remake of Jonathan
Swift’s classic book Gulliver’s Travels. This time, we get a horrible 2010 version
with the obviously bored-to-death-on-auto-pilot Jack Black as the title
character. This lifeless, overly
digital, tired retread is pointless, is never funny, is often desperate and
should have never been made. Like Poseidon and Around The World In 80 Days, here is yet another multi-million
dollar production bomb of material that was not made that long ago as a TV
mini-series. What were they
thinking? Jason Segel shows up, dooming
the project further and even the likes of Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet, Billy
Connolly and IT Crowd co-star Chris
O’Dowd can’t save this from bombing.
Sad.
You might
want to try these versions instead:
1939 Fleischer animated feature
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8372/Max+Fleischer%E2%80%99s+Gulliver
1996 Ted Danson TV Mini-Series
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7502/Gulliver%E2%80%99s+Travels:+Speci
Finally
we have a British TV mini-series called Tightrope
(1972, no relation to the Clint Eastwood thriller) involves teens at a school
who become part of a Cold War plot in before he knows it when a car nearly hits
him while he is riding his bike. It was
originally taped in color, but all 13 half-hours have survived only in black
and white, but the copies are in good shape.
Though the plot is dated and the stories are stretched out a bit more
than I would have liked to accommodate their young audience, it is intelligent
TV you hardly ever see getting made for that age group and it expects said
audience to be intelligent. Besides its
nostalgia value, it reminds us how great TV used to be all around before its
dumbed-down decline. Spencer Banks and
John Savident star.
The 1.33
X 1 image and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Dora
is the equal of all the previous DVD releases in that series, but the disc has
no extras. The 1080p 1.78 X 1 AVC @ 23
MBPS digital High Definition image on Glee
and 1080p 2.35 X 1 AVC @ 26 MBPS digital High Definition image on Gulliver disappoint with motion blur,
digital limits and shots that are often generic in nature. The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 mix
on Gulliver has the D-BOX motion
bass signal for those who can access it, but the mix is nothing special,
professional, warm and well recorded as it is.
Glee has the same mix, but
minus D-BOX and less of a soundfield. The
anamorphically enhanced DVD version of Gulliver
is even weaker with weaker color, weaker Video Black and other detail issues;
the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is no match for the DTS-MA on the Blu-ray. The 1.33 X 1 image on Tightrope is second generation and again is a monochrome/black
& white version of lost color tapes, so it shows its age and has detail issues
throughout. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
also suffers and is more than a generation down, while stills are the only
extra.
Extras on
Gulliver include BD Live interactive
features, Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices, an unfunny Gag Reel,
four Fox Movie Channel pieces on the film, a featurette, Gulliver’s Fun Pack
and Deleted Scenes. It is amazing how
all of those are so empty. We did not
get a Blu-ray 3D version as of this posting, but hope to see that down the line
to see if 3D can help this any.
As noted
above, you can order the Tightrope
DVD import set exclusively from Network U.K. at:
http://www.networkdvd.net/
or
www.networkdvd.co.uk
- Nicholas Sheffo
