Tony Hawk's Gigantic Skatepark Tour is a precursor of sorts to the more recent Boom Boom Huck Jam traveling show that toured around the country in 2003. The basic idea is the same for both tours – a group of the nations best and most famous skaters tour the country and put on a show at different cities across the United States.

This is the third volume of highlights from the tour and the line up for 2002 incldues, besides Tony Hawk, Riley Hawk, Jason Ellis, Mike Excamilla, Jackass extroidinaire Bam Margera, Mike Valley, Buckey Lasek, Eric Koston, Dave Mirra, Shaun White, Alex Chalmers, Colin McKay, Jesse Fritsch, Bob Burnquist, Brian Sumner, Willy Santos, Kevin Staab, Kerry Getz, Kris Markovich, and Rick Thorne. The performers are accompanied by trainer Barry Zaritzky (who also served as trainer on the 2000 and 2001 tours as well), and Sal Masekela and Robert Earl host the whole shebang. Together the cast and crew of the tour make thirteen stops across the country and perform in front of literally tens of thousands of people.

Of course, with a line up like the one listed, you know that the stunts are going to be tight and they are – these guys give 100% and do not disappoint. I find it pretty incredible that they're able to pull this type of stuff off, as I can barely stand up on a skateboard myself. There are also some pretty solid moments involving the BMX riders as well and the level of intensity with which these guys compete is nothing short of astonishing. With both the skaters and the riders, it almost seems like they're flying, as they pull off all manner of tricks and stunts that no sane member of the human race has any reason to attempt.

Aside from the stunt action though, we're privy to plenty of the behind the scenes antics and goofing off. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live on a tour bus full of professional skateboarders, this disc gives you a look into that and let me tell you, it's not exactly pretty. Plenty of pranks and practical jokes are played on and by the crew throughout the duration and it serves to break up the stunt scenes quite nicely.

One thing completists might want to be aware of though is that these episodes are not presented in the identical fashion to which they were shown on TV. Some of the music has been changed in a couple of scenes, and the scenes that were broadcast that featured members of the tour thinking back on some of their favorite moments are missing. It doesn't really effect the overall experience here, as there is so much material to enjoy that it's easy to overlook these minor issues, but for those who are expecting this set to be identical to the way this material was originally presented on ESPN, it might be slightly disappointing. I personally wasn't bothered by it, others might be.

Video:

Seeing as this material originally aired on ESPN, it should come as no surprise that it's presented as it was shot, and it was shot fullframe. Overall, the picture quality is quite nice on this set. Compression artifacts are not a problem (probably due to splitting up the material over two discs instead of cramming it all onto one) and the lighting and colors are well represented here.