Whether you love or hate it, there is something imbedded into each and every one of us that makes us stop to look at accidents and the like. Be it a car accident, medical emergency, event on the news, or even a routine police stop, there's simply something that causes us to rubberneck for a moment. There is probably some psychological explanation for it all, but whatever the case we just have something firmly rooted within our psyches that make us curious about something out of the norm.

Realizing that everyone is drawn to accidents, TV executives have capitalized on it to the nth degree. From shows such as Cops to ones depicting animal attacks and rare video of horrific events, it seems that almost every channel has released something along the same lines. The History Channel is no different and in 2007 they released Shockwave to the masses.

Like many other programs of the same nature, Shockwave offers video footage of dramatic events that affected the lives of many. The difference with this series is that the History Channel goes in depth to cover how the accidents and natural disasters happened. Eye witnesses are interviewed and the series even goes to extensive lengths to reenact some of the events with computers and graphics. The overall production makes the series feel somewhat similar to Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters, but there is at least a little more variety here in terms of content. If you're also a fan of Nation Geographic, this series can also be compared to Seconds from Disaster which aired from 2004 through 2007.

The first season of Shockwave contains thirteen episodes chock-full of disaster loving goodness. Each episode is absolutely crammed with different disasters to check out and I suppose that's the series' Achilles heel; its focus is just too scattered. The episodes jump from one topic right to the next and it just keeps steamrolling to the credits.

With such a limited amount of time to delve into the details of each disaster Shockwave feels like a rapid firing collection of information, interviews, and video clips. It definitely keeps things fast-paced and helps the show move forward in a brisk manner, but I'm not going to deny that it also makes it a little overwhelming as well. There's something to be said about examine each disaster in more detail and taking the time to really give the viewer something to chew on. This show simply doesn't do that. It gives you what you need to know in order to have a basic understanding of what happened and moves on to the next. It's not necessarily a bad thing mind you; it's just that compared to other shows in the same genre it feels a tad scant.

Despite this there are many episodes here that will catch your attention and deserve being noted for their quality. In particular the first episode contains riveting video that features a firefighting getting engulfed within an exploding building. It's simply stunning to think that anyone could have survived that based on where he was, but he did and he's present to talk about it. After that the episode moves on to feature the famous missile misfiring on the USS Forrestal that involved Presidential Candidate John McCain. The video is pretty amazing and it's a miracle he was able to walk out alive; that's a common theme for most of these episodes.

The four discs in this set contain equally fascinating material that is shockingly engrossing. As I watched I found myself constantly saying "No way", "Holy crap", and "Oh my God!" From a massive explosion in the middle of the desert and a helicopter crash to a Navy officer being sucked up into a jet engine and skydiver hanging on for dear life when his pant leg is caught on the plane. While most of these are due to mechanical failures, there is also a fair amount of stupidity involved in some of them as well as Mother Nature. Chances are very good that you saw many of these on the six o'clock news or read about them in the paper and it's definitely neat to say, "oh yeah, I remember that!"

All in all Shockwave's first season is a success. The History Channel delves deep enough into each topic to keep them entertaining and the episodes never really get boring. Compared to other programs of the same nature this one feels a tad brisker, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The content here is good and the show is finely produced so I suppose that's all that really matters in the end. Check it out if you enjoy watching a fine train wreck.

Once again History Channel disappoints DVD enthusiasts with a cropped widescreen presentation. They keep presenting their shows in this manner and it's really a let down compared to the rest of what's on the market. Even so the content here is pretty good with high production values for interviewed segments and decent computer generated graphics for the style of show this is. The weakest sections of the video quality come from the live footage of each event as it unfolds. These are often taken with cell phone or home video cameras and contain quality equal to what you'd expect out of both of those. Poor lighting, grain, and compression permeate the live-action shots, but the newly produced material is free of any of these flaws.

Dolby Digital 2.0 English is what you're going to get from this show and in all honesty it suits the program just fine. Shockwave isn't the kind of series that needs a thumping 5.1 mix available for it since its mostly just interviews and a narrator. Sound effects and background music are here as well, but they are relatively sparse considering. All around the audio quality is on par with what you'd be looking for with a release such as this, but nowhere near as fine as to be a showpiece for your home theater.

There are no bonus features available for Shockwave.

Shockwave's first season is a lot of fun and it definitely stands as one of the top tier releases of the disaster TV genre. The show's high production values and varied content go a long way to a fine presentation despite the hurried pacing and sometimes lacking information. If you're a History Channel buff, or you're just looking to watch some stuff blow up, you really can't go wrong here. Unfortunately the DVD's cropped widescreen presentation and lack of extras don't win the release any points. Even so this title comes recommended.

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