Dog Whisperer – Season 4, Volume 1 (Screen Media DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C+
Though
Cesar Miller seems like a good guy and anything or anyone that helps dogs and
people get along is a plus, but I am amazed Dog Whisperer is as famous and successful as it is. No fan of “reality TV”, it at least is not as
exploitive as most such shows are, though its editing style can be ridiculously
melodramatic and I was reminded of this again as I poured through Season 4, Volume 1. That half a season takes 5 DVDs says
something about how drawn out this gets.
But here
it is on DVD and at least you can skip segments where the dogs and/or their
owners become obnoxious, boring or in a few cases, you wish the dogs would maul
their owners so we can get on with the next segment!
With that
said, the odd side of this show is that it has to make all dogs bad to work and
that is simply not true, so I would suggest that the show inadvertently
demonizes them and may even have led to cases of abuse that some might find
justified. “Reality TV” has that kind of
uber-negativity built into it in almost every case. If you are a fan, here’s a set for you, but
the rest should just skip it.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot on High Definition video and is a little weak
here throughout, including more motion blur than expected throughout and detail
limits. It is cleaner than low-def
broadcasts, but also has weak Video Black.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is passable, but has its location audio
issues as all such shows do and the music can seem harsh, while some of the
sound editing is bad. Extras include
Bloopers, some unaired segments and the series’ 100th Episode.
- Nicholas Sheffo
