Anyone who follows figure skating at all knows about Scott Hamilton: Olympic gold medal winner in 1984, four-time U.S. National Champion, and above all an immensely talented figure skater and consummate showman. An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends shows that even twenty years after his gold medal, Hamilton is still in fine form and full of the charm and energy that make his skating performances so memorable.

The idea behind this program is that it assembles Hamilton and a supporting cast of other talented skaters, to perform group and solo skating to live music from a guest musician, instead of the more typical pre-recorded music. In this case, the "special musical guest" is Michael Feinstein, who performs vocals and piano for an assortment of classic songs from the "Great American Songbook," from artists like Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jimmy Webb. There's quite a bit to like about this program (most notably, Scott Hamilton's performances), but it's far from being as good as it could be.

What works best is the skating: the cast of An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends is made up of extremely talented and athletic skaters. While Hamilton (understandably) doesn't go quite as all-out in his routines as when he was ten or twenty years younger, he still manages to make extremely difficult jumps and footwork look smooth and easy. And don't worry: his signature move, the back flip, doesn't get left out! Several of the other skaters on the program are ones I am particularly fond of, like Brian Orser; other viewers will be sure to have their own favorites as well.

The program runs 1 hour and 38 minutes, with a mix of group routines and solos from the cast. Highlights include Scott Hamilton's performance of "Johnny One-Note," with his characteristic use of humor and on-the-ice props; "Great Balls of Fire," a lively routine from Steven Cousins; and "Pig Foot Pete," which reunites the three skaters from the podium of the 1984 Olympic men's skating competition (Hamilton, Orser, and Josef Sabovcik) to do a routine together; and Hamilton's closing solo, the lovely and serious "One Life."

As I said, though, the program isn't all it could be, largely because the presence of Michael Feinstein is considerably overplayed. I suppose if you're a fan of his music, you'll be thrilled at hearing his introductions and seeing how much visibility he gets... but as for me, the draw is the skating. The cinematography gets downright frustrating at times: in the middle of a performance, the camera frequently cuts away from the skater to linger on Feinstein or his band. I felt like yelling "The skating! I want to see the skating!" quite a few times. Even when the camera is on the skater, the cinematography is lackluster, often choosing angles that don't show the skater clearly, or choosing the wrong focus (like the skater's face when he's doing a complex footwork routine).

All in all, the good points of An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends make it worth viewing if you're a fan of figure skating; even though it's not perfect, there's just not that much ice skating on DVD anyway. And seeing Scott Hamilton skate is sure to be worth the price of admission to long-time figure skating fans.

The full program runs as follows:

The DVD

Video

An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, as shown in its original television broadcast. The image quality is barely adequate, and certainly could have been a lot better. Of most concern is the poor contrast: wherever there's an area that's mostly black, the detail is entirely lost. This is particularly an issue since the backdrop of the skating rink is done in black, and many of the skaters' costumes are wholly or partially in black or other dark colors; it's sometimes hard to clearly see the skaters. Apart from the contrast issue, the image looks adequate; it's rather soft and has some noise, but colors look reasonably natural.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack offers a nice listening experience. The music is clean and pleasant-sounding, which is the main focus of the soundtrack. The introductions by Feinstein and Hamilton sound a bit flat, but are reasonably clear.

Extras

A decent slate of special features is served up here. The first bonus feature is a set of interviews, running 24 minutes in total; we hear from Feinstein, Hamilton, creative directors Jef Billings and Lea Ann Miller, and skaters Renée Roca, Brian Orser, Yuka Sato, Jason Dungjen, and Josef Sabovcik, all with various thoughts on the program. The other special feature is a set of behind-the-scenes segments, totaling 32 minutes; we get to see some of the interesting aspects of how the show was conceived and developed, including the wardrobe and the choreography. Both of these special features have a "play all" feature as well as the option to go directly to specific segments.

Final thoughts

If you're a fan of figure skating, then An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends is sure to please. Although I found the "special musical guest" (Michael Feinstein) hogged the spotlight too much, the true stars of the show are the skaters, and they turn in enthusiastic performances, both individually and in their group numbers. Scott Hamilton, the Olympic gold medallist, does more than just host the program, as he has several excellent solo routines that show off his characteristic style and charm. Recommended.