Series:

A show that really stands as one of the most popular the Discovery Channel has ever created, "Mythbusters" is a touch of "Mr Wizard" (miss that show) and a few other elements, stirred up for modern audiences. In this case, the series stars Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, special effects experts who - with the help of their team - each week tackle popular myths, including internet legends and more. The group (and one of the reasons why the series works as well as it does is the chemistry between the two leads and between the group as a whole; all of them are different and bring something unique to the table, yet fit well together) has some limitations including a refusal to test on paranormal myths, but otherwise most things are fair game.

Unfortunately, the series has been offered on "Collections" rather than full season sets. At this point, with more and more people watchin...Read the entire review

The latest in a continuing series of reviews written by by guest-reviewing wife, who tackles the releases I'd rather not watch.

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Silly puppies, cute puppies and mischievous puppies
Likes: Cats and kittens are ok
Dislikes: The show's criteria
Hates:

The Show

What's more adorable than kittens? Puppies! And kittens playing with puppies and puppies playing with other baby animals! The spectrum of antics in this second season of America's Cutest ranges from sleepy puppies and kittens to daredevil puppies and kittens to sweet-as-sugar-and-then-some puppies/kittens. Each episode co...Read the entire review

For a science show...you'd think someone there could count. Discovery and Cinedigm have released Mythbusters: 10th Anniversary Collection, a strangely-titled 10-disc, 50-episode gathering--"strange," since the hit Discovery Channel science/blow sh*t up series has been on the air since 2003. Featuring 10 supposedly hand-picked favorites from the five co-hosts, Mythbusters: 10th Anniversary Collection is yet another cool-but-frustrating release for the popular show: "cool" because it gives a big chunk of outings for the fans, but "frustrating" because it's not a complete season offering, in proper air date order. No extras for these okay widescreen enhanced transfers.

I picked up Mythbusters: 10th Anniversary Collection because it's been a few years since I had seen the show, and several since I was a regular, set-the-DVR viewer. I'm always curious to s...Read the entire review

THE PROGRAM

The team at Mythbusters just recently celebrated their 12 years on the air at the Discovery Channel, not counting the initial three-episode run that ignited their rocket like popularity. What once started out as a generally humble "can we do it?" show hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage eventually got so large that a B-team or build team as they became to be known, was hired to tackle the more "mundane" myths. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Mythbusters team has provided countless hours of subtle scientific education, cleverly disguised as entertainment. When I look back at my time reviewing for the site, I'm actually shocked, given my background in the sciences, that I haven't reviewed one of their releases; well, better late than never, along comes "Mythbusters: Collection 11" for me to consume and analyze.

Not having followed the DVD releases, "Collection 11" appe...Read the entire review

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo: A Very Boo Halloween:
Karma is a bitch, and as Lennon said, it can be instant. What did I do, oh lord, to deserve the requirement that I review this DVD? Well, I picked it from the screener pool. Simple as that. Bam! Cause and effect, wot, wot?! I'm so sorry, mom.

I've discussed this with my 8-year-old daughter, she who is not so far removed from 7-year-old Honey, but worlds away in terms of decorum, self-respect, and, sadly, income. Who knows how much skrilla Boo Boo rakes in per episode, to either be deposited in a trust account or squandered by her family, but I wouldn't want that blood money if my life depended on it. The blood of our souls is what is spilled.

At any rate, I'd love to take the advice of my daughter; beginning and ending my review of A Very Boo Halloween with the words "it's terrible." Do I owe more to you, the reader? Do I owe more to ...Read the entire review

The Series:
A thought occurred to me while watching "Moonshiners": why not have moonshiners unite? Strength in numbers, combine to create a corporation, follow rules and reg (go legit), improve production, call it "artisanal" and "small batch" and slap a premium price tag on it. With multiple brewers, you have a portfolio of "brands" - a backwoods Jim Beam.

Of course, with going legit, maybe there's not the Discovery Channel series, but there's also not the pesky aspect of having to continually turn your production into a covert operation to hide it from potentially being busted by the feds. The series has apparently run into some controversy with the local police, who have said that there's not actual liquor being made in the series and that it's a dramatization (or else they would have shut it down already.) The series does walk a bit of a fine line and it's likely upsetting to law e...Read the entire review

The Show:
"Breaking Amish" has become something of a franchise for Discovery Channel, which has taken the concept of throwing Amish young adults into a "Real World"-like situation and watching the fish-out-of-water drama. The first season was undeniably fake in some regards, but it often had a quiet, rather hypnotic quality that at least made for engaging viewing. Yes, this is a TLC series (and my feelings on TLC were summarized beautifully by "South Park"'s "Raising the Bar" episode) and yes, there are fights and drama, but there's also a real feeling of melancholy.

The first season of the show brought together a group that kind of worked well together - Abe, Jeremiah, Kate, Rebecca and Sabrina. The season followed the group as they left the life they knew behind and found themselves living together in New York City. Almost instantly, they are overwhelmed by the bright lights and hect...Read the entire review

As someone who spent many days of their childhood on a lake with a fishing pole in their hand, it's rather wild to watch "Extreme Catches: Off the Hook", an Animal Planet series hosted by wrestler "Showtime" Eric Young. Not a series that doesn't deliver what the title promises, the show focuses on Young visiting with fishermen around the country who use unusual methods to get their catch.

Fishing is wonderful, although it's interesting having grown up with more the "River Runs Through It" style fishing - nothing else around, quiet, just casting by a river or lake. It sounds odd, but fishing is something that really takes a "sense" that builds up over time, being able to look at conditions and get a sense of the how, where and why of the lake. "Zen and the Art of Fishing", indeed - there certainly wasn't anything "extreme" about it and that simplicity is really one of the most enjoyable things ab...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
America's funniest home videos about animals

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Dogs
Likes: Watching dogs
Dislikes: Animal-obsessed people
Hates: Cats

The Movie
My daughter is obsessed with dogs, more specifically puppies, but dogs of any kind will do. As a result, Animal Planet is a frequent stop on our cable box, so she can get her fill of furballs. There are a few shows we don't watch on that channel though, and Bad Dog! is one of them, though now, after watching the first season, it seems that was a bit misguided, as I assumed it was similar to the awful My Cat from Hell. There are still some things about Bad Dog! that don't sit well wit...Read the entire review

I'm not exactly an expert on nature documentaries, but most of them seem to tackle fairly specific subjects: a certain type of animal, a particular weather phenomenon, a unique aspect of life in the wild. When there are documentaries about specific places, like the Arctic, or the African plains, it's usually somewhere that an American TV station believes will be exotic to their domestic audiences. Discovery Channel's "North America" turns the camera around on our (or at least my) own country, in the hopes of exploring the natural side of America's cultural melting pot.

The primary thing "North America" reveals about the land is how diverse it is. Although the episodes attempt to narrow their focus a little with titles like "Born to Be Wild" and "Outlaws and Skeletons", each one is generally free to hop back and forth across the country, from the icy upper reaches of Canada to the jungles of Panama. A...Read the entire review

The Series:

Claiming to be a 'crash course in all things dog,' Animal Planet's Dogs 101 has been entertaining and enlightening viewers for a solid four seasons now - and there's a good reason for that: a lot of people love dogs. It's more than just tapping into this that makes the show work, however. Yes, there is a certain segment of the dog loving populace that would probably watch this show if it were nothing more than a bunch of cute and cuddly canines prancing around the park or walking around city sidewalks but in order to attract a larger viewership and actually make a show worth watching the producers behind the show delve into what makes each breed of dog unique. As anyone who has had any interaction with more than one dog knows, breed specific traits and behaviors can and do play a huge role in how we interact with our four legged friends and, just as importantly, how they...Read the entire review

THE SERIES:

Let's cut to the chase: if you're reading this, you are probably, like me, a "cat person," or at least someone enamored enough of our feline friends to consider watching a five-episode documentary series on the subject (or re-watching it, if you happened to catch it during its initial run on the Animal Planet channel, which originally produced and broadcast it), so the only real question to answer regarding whether or not Cats 101 is for you is, to what extent does it gratify your admittedly compulsive kitty-love? Is it up to the task of widening and enriching your grasp of our remarkably appealing feline friends, which is its ostensible reason for existing? Or, if not, does it at least meet its obligation to pack as much cattitude...Read the entire review

July 31st, 2011! I'm writing this review on a day I'm sure plenty of you have had marked on your calendars for months now...the launch of this year's Shark Week, an annual tradition on the Discovery Channel for nearly a quarter of a century now. Before the first Shark Week in 1987, most people's knowledge of sharks was limited to what they'd heard in sensationalized newscasts or saw on the big screen in Jaws. Shark Week sets out to demystify these mighty creatures of the deep blue sea, honoring their strength and ferocity while also documenting that they're not bloodthirsty man-eaters by nature...that sharks are an integral part of the food chain that

Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/44724 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 02:35:30 UTC Highly Recommended "This is one very wet, very cold maximum security prison." "Bottom line: if you really want to go for crab, you know, sometimes you got to go barbaric." The most emotionally involving season of the series so far. Discovery has released Deadliest Catch: Season 6, a five-disc, 16-episode collection that looks at the 2009's king crab and 2010's opilio seasons for the now-world famous Northwestern, Time Bandit, Wizard, and Cornelia Marie crabbing boats, documenting the sorrow and inspiration, as well, engendered by the death of the series' most popular captain, Phil Harris. Hours and hours of bonus footage, interviews, and After the Catch episodes gives the series' fans a complete look at this particularly intense season. Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/43442 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:58:01 UTC Recommended The Movie: For whatever reason, people seem to be fascinated with sharks. There's something sinister about them, their eyes look soulless and their reputation as some of the world's deadliest killing machines obviously gives them a truly ominous vibe. At the same time, they're also rather beautiful in their own strange way. This fascination has lead to an onslaught of programming geared towards these creepy creatures, which has been airing now for two decades semi-regularly on The Discovery Channel. Image has packaged up six 'Shark Week' programs and slapped them onto a pair of DVDs, and thus we have the Shark Week: Jaws Of Steel collection. Here's a look at what this latest collection includes... DISC ONE: Blood In The Water: (80:67) Spielberg's Jaws were inspired by some actual shark attacks that took place in 1916 off the coast of New Jer...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/41317 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:45:31 UTC Recommended All that, so a guy can stuff his face at Red Lobster™? Discovery Channel has released Deadliest Catch: Season 5, a 5-disc, 17-episode collection that covers our now-famous "real men in danger" Bering Sea captains' and crews' 2008 king crab and 2009 opilio crab seasons. With the sixth season premiere of the hit reality series Deadliest Catch coming up in April, and with the recent death of (arguably) the show's most popular captain, Phil Harris, making headlines all over the world this past January (one would assume this will be dealt with in the new season), I would expect viewer interest in the series to peak. I've followed it from the first season, and while Deadliest Catch: Season 5 may not be the strongest offering of the show, it's still worthwhile reality TV viewing. Plenty of extras for fans of the series makes this an attractive buy. Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/41300 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:03:58 UTC Rent It The Movie: Extreme Bodies had a short lived run on the Discovery Channel and while its name may give you images of muscle bound body builders or something to that effect, it really focuses on people who live with rather unusual and unorthodox physical conditions. Rather than go the 'freak show' route and exploit the people that the series investigates, the show instead introduces us to the personalities that are there behind what may, on the surface, seem very unusual. This DVD is broken up into a quartet of different segments, the first of which is Conjoined Twins. Here we meet Lori and George Schappell, two twin sisters who were joined at the head when they were born. The siblings each have their own brain and as such, have different personalities and characteristics - they are simply joined by the skull that they share. This episode shows us how these two have lived ...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/38869 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:24:01 UTC Highly Recommended Review: The Discovery Channel series "Treasure Quest" ("The Historic-est Catch"?) follows Odyssey Marine Exploration, which is an incredibly ambitious company that combs the bottom of the oceans in search of buried treasure and historic shipwrecks. The crew - made up of scientists, technicians, archeologists, engineers and many others - heads out with state-of-the-art equipment in order to try and hunt for history (and riches - not long before the show was filmed, the company managed to find a site that contained half a billion - yes, billion - in lost treasure.) The find sent the company's stock soaring (albeit briefly), but then caused it to run into trouble with nearby governments (which I have to imagine is not an uncommon problem for those in the treasure hunting business - 15 minutes into the first episode, a French navy recon plane starts aggressively and what appears to the...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/42414 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:39:18 UTC Rent It The Movie: Occasionally I'll read a survival story and marvel at the intestinal fortitude it must take to perform a task out of one's comfort zone. Consider Danny Boyle, who we last saw direct the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, is working on a film based on the ordeal of Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who was forced to amputate his own arm after it became trapped under a rock. That type of decision, your arm vs. your life, is one we only discuss as part of a party game, whereas Ralston actually had to make that call Then we have a guy like Bear Grylls, a nature--and survivalist--enthusiast who might be misguided here and there. That's not to say he's crazy; Grylls is a former British Special Forces soldier who climbed Mount Everest when he was only 23. He's an outdoorsman, or at least he's very pass...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/40398 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:33:47 UTC Recommended THE SHOW You know, I always greatly appreciated Bridget Marquardt on the Playboy reality show, "The Girls Next Door." She was the most mature (a plus in my book), the most naturally endowed (take that however you like), and perhaps the most clever Hefner concubine of the trio. I'm hardly suggesting the woman is a bespectacled Rhodes Scholar, but her ditzy blonde routine was consistently transparent, a fizzy act for the probing cameras to help secure her burgeoning Playboy legacy, along with a prized room inside the hallowed halls of the mansion. Bridget also came across as the most carefree of the "Girls Next Door" trio. While Holly hip-checked her way into alpha bunny status and Kendra was...well, so very young, Bridget established a fun-lov...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/42057 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:55:14 UTC Recommended Alien Planet: Call it 'Walking With Aliens' and you've got the gist of Alien Planet. Though I was skeptical at first, this woozy sci-fi fantasia eventually roped me in. Conceptually, it's all academic - we really have no idea what alien life might look or act like - but the producers of this Discovery Channel film have done an excellent job of coming up with, you'll pardon my language, some bizarre shit to populate their plausible planetary creation, Darwin IV. Nerds, neophytes, and the non-interested alike should all end up enjoying this episodic look at another world. As with similar CGI-based documentaries of long gone historical beasts, Alien Planet mixes full-CG environments with real-life-expert interview sequences. Stephen Hawking and others speak on the possibilities of alien life with measured enthusiasm while referring to all the creatures on Darwin IV as if they act...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/41578 Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:02:38 UTC Recommended In 10 Words or Less If Jackass was about science and escape artists Reviewer's Bias* Loves: If Jackass was about science and escape artists Likes: Jonathan Goodwin, Jackass Dislikes: Seeing people in pain Hates: The Show If Johnny Knoxville gave a crap about the science behind his stunts, and he focused on getting out of trouble, instead of into it, Jackass would look a lot like One Way Out. British escape artist Jonathan Goodwin, assisted by his two American pals Mikey (on comic relief) and Terry (an engineer), explores various factors that influence safety (or as he calls them, jeopardies) and then tries to combat them in a big escape attempt. In trying to prepare for the jeopardies, ...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/40237 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:23:14 UTC Recommended What is there to say about Destroyed in Seconds (2008), a Discovery Channel reality series produced by Pilgrim Films & Television and released as a two-disc DVD set via Image Entertainment? Not much. If you like to watch things crash, implode, explode, fall over, disintegrate and/or take a beating - as this critic sometimes does - then this is for you. The 22-minute episodes, 12 in all, are spread over two single-sided discs and, amusingly, are numbered backwards from "00:12" to "00:01," like a ticking time bomb. There are no extra features, but each episode has at least several awesomely spectacular scenes of destruction. 　 For what it's worth, the series is hosted by Fox/NFL sportscaster Ron Pitts, who introduces each episode from what looks li...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/39170 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:30:19 UTC Recommended Review: "Dhani Tackles the Globe" features Cincinnati Bengals football star Dhani Jones going across the globe and visiting a different culture in each episode. While having an NFL player being the host of a Travel Channel show is not an obvious match at first, but after the opening credit discussion, it makes perfect sense. The series is a variation on the Travel Channel formula - while "Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern talks about how the best way to learn about other cultures is to experience their food, Jones discusses how the best way to learn about other cultures is to experience their games. In other words, this is sort of "Bizarre Games", although "Dhani Tackles the World" is a better title. The series is a pleasant surprise; Jones is a jazzy, loose host who doesn't have any trouble riffing off the situations that he finds himself in, starting with a trip to Englan...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/39173 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:04:30 UTC Highly Recommended The Show: The Discovery Channel is no slouch when it comes to giving sofa bound explorers a glimpse at the world. Ever since the television channel began broadcasting there has almost always been some program on that sought to educate viewers and illuminate corners of the globe that they'll never get the chance to see with their own eyes. The latest example of that is Discover: Atlas. Atlas premiered in 2006 and it has collected eleven episodes depicting places and people from around the world. The show's production took over five years and was handled entirely in high definition, meaning the content is robust and the quality of the film is very sharp. While many of Atlas's episodes have been available in the past, Discovery has released a complete collection just in time for the holiday shopping season. The Blu-ray version has been reviewed Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/40647 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:31:33 UTC Recommended The Product: What is it with this latest obsession with ghost hunting? What has everyone from kid vid friendly wee-ones to moonlighting sewer repair men running around abandoned hospitals and prisons looking for poltergeists? Back when Bill Murray and the bunch made ghost busting seem a heckuva lot of fun, we didn't see dozens of TV shows spring up, each one focusing on a different brand of haunt hacker, specious scientific equipment, and an Amityville Horror pile of supposed true stories. Yet for some reasons, you can't surf the endless options of the new digital domain and NOT find someone looking to capture Caspar on video. Heck, Hollywood has even bought into the home grown conceit, giving the fad inspired Paranormal Activity a high profile platform from which to scare the bejesus out of the easily influenced and gullible. In a realm that sees Roto-Rooter technicians...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/39025 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:33:57 UTC Recommended A series that certainly must be a favorite with industrial designers and engineers, "Prototype This" follows a team of inventors (an electrical engineer, an effects wizard and a pair of PhD's, as well as other guests) as they tackle various ideas within their warehouse (or, better described as "lair") on an island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. The back of the box notes that those featured "take on the problems on today's world..." and while some episodes do certainly take on inventions that are relevant to issues within today's society, one does tend to wonder what problem a "Backyard Water Slide Simulator" will solve, aside from possibly much shorter lines and - as noted in the episode - the repetitive nature of pre-existing waterparks. The series adds a layer of tension by only giving the group a very small amount of time (such as two weeks) to take what are often rather comp...Read the entire review ]]> Blu-ray https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/38700 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:26:30 UTC Highly Recommended The Movie: The Discovery Channel started their Discovery Atlas series of programs a few years ago and while there have been DVD and Blu-ray releases in the past, those didn't collect the entire series as this Discover Atlas - The Complete Collection does. For those unfamiliar with the series, it's a nice mix of a fairly standard travelogue combined with some human interest stories that go a long way towards enlightening us westerners to various ethnicities and cultures around the world. The series was shot over a five year period of time that took the crew pretty much completely around the world. The results are quite fascinating, and almost always visually stunning, particularly when viewed in high definition as they are on this Blu-ray release. Here's a rundown of each episode: DISC ONE: South Africa A primer in South African politics expl...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/40512 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:49:39 UTC Recommended THE PROGRAM Anyone who has ever read my review of educational programming, might have recognized I can be very critical of flash over substance. The Discovery Channel has devolved over the years into reality themed programming. It all started with "American Chopper" a show about a family of custom motorcycle designers and builders. I found the show fascinating, until the focus quickly shifted from the building element to the "drama" in the shop. I haven't watched an episode of the series (now on TLC) for a few years because frankly, I have better things to do than watch grown men bicker. "Doing Da Vinci" set off some quiet alarms from the premise alone: a group of engineers and craftsmen come together to bring some of Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous inventions to life. I was drawn to the program after having recently visited a museum exhibit titled "Da Vinci- The Genius" where m...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/40214 Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:03:06 UTC Recommended Review: In recent years, the Discovery Channel has played host to two particularly interesting shows - both very different in approach, but both dealing with how to attempt to survive in difficult conditions around the globe. While Les Stroud's "Survivorman" has unfortunately called it quits due to the wear the production was taking on the show's host, still airing is "Man Vs. Wild", which stars former UK Secret Service Forces member Bear Grylls, who managed to climb Mount Everest at 23. "Man Vs. Wild" episodes see Grylls and the production team (including cameramen) into a remote location and the mission is to survive until he can be lifted out of the area. In the meantime, the host details to the camera all of his tips as to how to survive (find food, shelter, withstand the temps, etc) in the region. The series has had quite a bit of controversy over the years, given the fact tha...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/40087 Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:39:39 UTC Rent It Review: Dave Mordal was one of the better comedians on the first and third seasons of "Last Comic Standing". Mordal is from Minnesota and has the sort of tone and feel of the guy at the small town bar in a Minnesota or Wisconsin that is pals with everyone. The comedian's dry, throwaway style combined with his low-key approach worked quite well. After being entertained by Mordal on "Last Comic", I was pleased to see that he was going to be the host of "Wreckreation Nation", a Discovery Channel series that watches Mordal as he heads to various small town oddball competitions or other unusual activities. These activities include lawnmower racing, bar stool sledding and others. When I first watched "Wreckreation", I found the series watchable but disappointing, and initially I couldn't quite figure out what wasn't clicking for me about the series. There's certainly the aspect th...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/39792 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:08:59 UTC Highly Recommended The DVD: Don't call Anthony Bourdain a "foodie". There's too much history as a renowned New York City chef to warrant such a fad gadget moniker. And don't call him a travel expert. He's been lucky enough to circumvent the globe in search of culinary adventures, yet his passion has always been a combination of location AND lunch. But whatever you do, don't call him a TV personality. He abhors the kind of cook with benefits that advertises themselves on various specialty networks. Instead, the well known epicure and entrepreneur views himself as an edibles archeologist. Bourdain believes in the by now age old adage that to understand a culture, you must indulge in its cuisine. Centuries of heritage and food folklore can be readily found in a loaf of crusty bread or a bowl of piping hot stew. After a less than happy stint on Food Network (which saw the suits filter his fire through some ...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/39769 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:47:01 UTC Highly Recommended First things first: Inside Planet Earth is in no way related to the BBC production of a similar name, though some of the subject matter is similar. This 2009 Discovery Channel production runs just 84 minutes, yet it covers plenty of ground in a short period of time; specifically, the ground beneath our feet. Like most nature-based documentaries, it relies heavily on scenic footage and concise, clear narration to tell its story in an entertaining and educational way. Due to the largely inaccessible areas it looks at, though, Inside Planet Earth uses a wealth of computer-rendered footage to show us how the Earth operates from the inside out. Inside Planet Earth earn...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/39714 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:07:47 UTC Rent It The formula for "One Way Out" goes something like this: The series provides a look at the science behind the physical stunts of escapologist Jonathan Goodwin. No, wait, it's a study of the work an escape artist puts into his craft. Hold on, no, it's just a series of goofy tricks where Rube Goldbergian devices aim to pummel Goodwin and his friends. I've watched hours and hours of the Discovery Channel series and still can't quite figure out what the point is. Sure, it's plenty fun, and like most Discovery offerings, the rewatchability factor is quite high, thanks to a quick pace, fun stunts, and the undeniable charms of its stars. But just what the hell is this show about? When "One Way Out" premiered as a one-off special in April 2008, it knew precisely what it...Read the entire review ]]> DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/38330 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:53:44 UTC Skip It You'd think it couldn't miss, yet Crime Scene University (2008) turns out to be one of the dullest reality show on the planet. For mystery buffs and forensic science enthusiasts, to say nothing of fans of programs like CSI, its premise is almost irresistible: follow 12 Penn State University students as they try to make sense of carefully staged, realistic crime scenarios, from a possible murder-suicide to what appears to be the dumping grounds of a serial killer. And yet for a variety of reasons and against all odds Crime Scene University is unexciting and singularly uninvolving. Adapting an actual Penn State course entitled "Forensic Science 201: Crime Scene Investigation," Dr. Bob Shaler, director of the university's forensic science program and...Read the entire review ]]>