The Best Of Britney,
Justin & Christina (Mickey
Mouse Club)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C
Yes, fans of Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and
Christina Aguilera go all the way back to their days on the revived-for-cable Mickey
Mouse Club. Outside of any problems
one may have with the stars, or future stars of the revival, the revival of the
classic 1950s hit was always a pale, hollow shell of the original and its
attempts to do a very watered-down 1980s version of already gutted soul always
seemed almost racist. With that said,
the focus of The Best Of Britney, Justin & Christina compilation is
to show the stars when it looked like they would only be known as child stars
and nothing else.
To say they could not save the revived show is an
understatement, as it was one of the most pre-calculated revivals in TV
history, a formula of plasticity that enabled them to become stars long beyond
the show. Skipping overgeneralizations
about the stars and their careers now, it was amazing that Timberlake at his
youngest still was talking as if he were a founder of R&B. Hearing him is bizarre, especially because
he seems to be sincere in all this. His
female counterparts fare about the same, though while Timberlake gets to show
his hometown, Aguilera shows Orlando instead of her hometown of Wexford,
Pennsylvania, as if Wexford was not good enough for anyone to see. As compared to later cable fare, this show
ages badly and even with this disc’s focus, makes no difference. And remember, this was for The Disney
Channel when it was one of the most expensive channels on pay TV.
The 1.33 X 1 image is softer than expected, shot on NTSC
professional analog equipment and color is not always consistent. The sloppy editing and sometimes-awkward
camerawork makes it worse. Shots often
seem too junky and the attempts to look like old Music video are the worst side
of the Michael Jackson cycle you could imagine. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and dated, with no
surround information. Even pay TV of
the time was ignoring surround for the most part, except on the broadcast of
motion pictures. There are no extras,
though you get a section of specific access for some of the star’s highlights. Obviously, this is for diehard fans only, if
that.
- Nicholas Sheffo
