I'll admit, when Extreme Makeover: Home Edition first premiered, I wasn't really sold on the show's concept. But after some steady persuasion from my girlfriend (who's an avowed Extreme Makeover: Home Edition fan), I came around to appreciate the show, particularly its unabashed humanity and goodwill; it's a lightning fast home renovation show with a big heart and it's also powered by a design team that's a compulsively watchable clutch of personalities – host Ty Pennington, Paul DiMeo, Constance Ramos, Michael Moloney, Tracy Hutson and Preston Sharp – who, in a nice touch that cuts some of the treacle, occasionally clash, causing some fascinating sparks.

The basic idea of the show is that a family who has faced some sort of hardship (medical, financial, etc.) is sent away on a fantastic vacation while the design team puts the pedal to the metal and completely renovates said family's home (in the early episodes featured here, the approach was to renovate; in later episodes, the team would demolish and rebuild from scratch - either way, it's exhausting watching them work) in only one week.

Giving themselves seven days makes for inherently compelling TV as you're rooting for the design team (assisted by a veritable army of volunteers, surprise special guests and truckloads of sponsor-supplied appliances) to pull off the nearly impossible and complete the home renovation. The most emotional sequences are invariably when the families return home to see their spiffed up, customized digs and weep untold buckets of tears.

The first season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is pretty entertaining television that actually makes you feel great while you watch it; given that most reality TV is motivated by greed, it's really refreshing to know a show that gives back has sustained itself beyond this nine episode first season.

The first disc features five episodes centered on the Powers, Woslum, Cox, Mendoza and Harris families while the second disc covers four episodes (the Zitek, Walswick, Powell and Cadigan-Scott families) as well as bonus material. The pair of discs is housed in an Amaray keepcase with numerous inserts. Each episode runs about 45 minutes (sans commercials, obviously) and is presented just as it was originally broadcast on ABC.

The Video:

Presented as originally broadcast in 1.33:1 fullscreen, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Season 1 looks fine, as befits a recently filmed TV show. Sharpness and detail are excellent and there's no smearing or grain evident. Overall, a very clean, defect-free visual presentation.

Again, as originally broadcast, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Season 1 jumps to DVD with a Dolby 2.0 stereo soundtrack that's robust and very crisp – dialogue is heard free of distortion, the energetic soundtrack will give your sub a bit of workout and those overjoyed squeals are crystal clear.

Contained on the second disc are the set's supplemental materials: "The Construction of 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'" is a 12-minute behind-the-scenes featurette detailing the insanity that goes into pulling the show together; "Rest and Relaxation," a three-minute featurette that lets viewers see what happens during the (brief) down time on the job site; six minutes of bloopers and outtakes and "Preston and Paul," a two-minute montage of "playful banter," as the liner notes describe it.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Season 1 is a heartwarming, family-friendly TV show that transcends much of the ugliness and pettiness that fuels so much reality TV – it's compulsively watchable, wholly enjoyable and highly recommended for fans and the uninitiated alike.