What It’s About: When Ren and Stimpy premiered in 1991 it was an instant hit with kids and adults alike. The frenzied show about a sweet doofus cat and his sadistic Chihuahua pal was full of gross-out humour, nonsensical songs and animated violence. This formula worked well for the first and most of the second season but once the show hit the third, it was pretty much dead. This three-disc set includes the third season as well as some episodes from the fourth and while they are rocky at best. There is still some comedic genius to be found on occasion, you iiiiiiiiidiot.
How Does It Look? The shows are presented in their original 1.33:1 fullscreen format and the colours are very bright and the picture sharp. There is quite a bit of blurriness during action scenes but that tends to happen with animated DVDs and isn’t so horrible it will bug you to no end.
How Does It Sound? Not bad. The Dolby Digital 2.0 is nothing to scoff at and it gets the job done nicely.
Extras? Not too much. There are 11 (!) audio commentaries including some from the original animation team and the mastermind behind the whole thing John K. who left after the first season. As you can tell in the commentaries—they’re a wee bit bitter.
Final Verdict: While these aren’t some of Ren and Stimpy’s best episodes on this collection, it is still a must for fans and Paramount does create a solid DVD presentation.

What It’s About: Vin Diesel, known for such films as XXX and The Chronicles of Riddick, gets all sensitive and plays a babysitter. We were expecting a complete disaster of a film here but surprisingly…he pulls it off.
Starring as Lt. Shane Wolfe, super-tough Navy Seal, Diesel proves he does have a comedic touch. It’s not drop down funny but you’ll smile and perhaps even chuckle out lous as Vin tries to deal with five kids—especially the youngest ones.
How Does It Look? Disney is known for their great DVD presentations and they don’t disappoint here—the film comes in its correct theatrical ratio of 2:35:1 with both full screen and widescreen available. Most of the film takes place in daylight and the sky is a beautiful blue, the grass is a magnificent green…shall we go on? It looks fantastic.
How Does It Sound? Pretty good. The Dolby 5.1 sound is more than adequate and the dialogue originates mostly from the centre channel. The one big action scene sounds great as well so the mix is done well.
Extras? It seems like there are a lot but there is nothing exciting: a couple of super-short deleted scenes and some kind of boring commentary. Oh, and the usual ton of commercials:
Outrageous bloopers
Deleted scenes
On the Set With Vin Diesel
On the Set With Brad Garrett
Audio commentary with the director
Special Ops TV commercials
Final Verdict: An inoffensive bit of family fluff that demonstrates a new side of Vin Diesel. Oh, and we love Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) as the love interest.

What It’s About: The 2004 American presidential race. Sound boring? If you haven’t seen The Daily Show yet, please do yourself a favour and watch it quick! One of the funniest shows maybe ever, this faux newscast makes fun of everything and everyone—and does so in an extremely witty and intelligent manner. This 3 DVD set brings together the best moments of the show during its election coverage and makes American politics more than watchable—extremely enjoyable! Jon Stewart is the master of deadpan delivery and wry humour and his group of correspondents is just as funny.
How Does It Look? Just like on television. The show is presented in a mock newscast format and it’s green screen moments are very obvious. Otherwise, there isn’t much to talk about in this full screen presentation.
How Does It Sound? Just fine. There is a little bit of noise on the Dolby Digital soundtrack but nothing too noticeable and the dialogues is clean.
Extras? These are almost the best and funniest part of the entire set. The third DVD contains all the extras and they include:

o Our National Anthem sung in 4-correspondent harmony
o The First Presidential Debate: The Squabble in Coral Gables
o Election Night '04: Prelude to a Recount
o Daily Show Rock! Presents: Midterm Elections
o John Edwards Campaign Announcement
o Stephen Colbert's "Interviews I Could Get"
o Rob Corddry: Democratic debates in NY and Detroit; The Secretaries' Tour
o Ed Helms: Original Introduction; Principle Spinner
o Samantha Bee: Block the Vote; So You Want to Bee...A 527 Organization?
o Continental Skiff Boat Oarsmen for Veracity
o Steve Carell: Trail and Tribulations following the Howard Dean campaign
o Bob Wiltfong: Sticker Shock

Final Verdict: Since season DVD sets would be practically impossible (too many episodes and the jokes are simply time-specific) this is a great way to remember and relive some of your favourite moments from the show.

What It’s About: Unfortunately, Father of the Pride had the worst timing in television history. Right before it premiered, Roy of the infamous Siegfried and Roy duo had an accident with one of his tigers and ended mauled beyond belief. That is the only reason this show got cancelled (on our humble opinion). The show about a group of animals who perform with Siegfried and Roy was an intelligent and witty adult comedy disguised as a cartoon. The animation was great, the jokes were knock-down funny and the premise was genius. This is not a child-friendly show, despite the appearance of cuddly animals as the humour tends to get dirty and raunchy at times. This show was hilarious and deserves to find its audience on DVD.
How Does It Look? The 14 episodes are presented on a double-sided DVD, something we have never gotten into. The anamorphic widscreen picture is stunning, with brilliant colours and unbelievably crisp images. This is Dreamworks after all, and they don’t disappoint.
How Does It Sound? Although the picture is stellar, this is a sitcom and while the Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 surround is nice and does the job quite well, there is nothing spectacular about it.
Extras? A few but nothing too exciting and the three episodes and pilot are part of the original 14 episodes so we think it’s cheating to include them in the extras. Other than those you get:
The Lost Tale (a set of animatics for an episode that was never animated; it’s a pretty funny one)
Commentaries (for four episodes)
Final Verdict: A funny series that was doomed from the get-go but should find fans on DVD. Please keep it away from the kiddies.

What It’s About: A shark. Everybody knows that. Jaws is one of those classics everyone knows about even if they haven’t seen it. The scary music (dah-dum, dah-dum) the red water and Bruce, the mechanical evil star of the film are all cultural icons. Universal releases a 30th anniversary edition this week that is packed with goodies. Although the shark himself may not be so scary by today’s super high-tech special effect standards, the movie remains terrifying. The fact that the woman in the opening scene did actually almost get maimed during filming leads to some incredible screaming and will make you afraid of the beach.
How Does It Look? Pretty much the same as the 2000 release with 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer which is great. The colours are vivid and crisp and the contrast is great.Only some of the darkest scenes are a little muddy but it’s nothing to complain about.
How Does It Sound? Fabulous. Choose from Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, or the original theatrical mono audio track, all of which are great for what they are. We prefer the DTS but take your pick. The screaming and trashing in water sound good on all of them.
Extras? The set comes with an Commemorative Photo Journal that’s almost 60 pages and packed with production photos and explanations. Very cool. Also, you get:
Deleted scenes and outtakes
From the Set: A never-before-available interview with director Steven Spielberg
The Making of Jaws: A two-hour documentary featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider
Jaws Archives: Production photos, storyboards, marketing Jaws, and the Jaws phenomenon
Exclusive limited edition 60-page commemorative photo journal
Final Verdict: A must-have special edition for any classic film lover.

What It’s About: An indie flick about teenage crime-fighter spies who wear tiny schoolgirl uniforms, I kid you not. The D.E.B.S. are an elite group of she spies who were recruited through scores on a hidden test in the SATs. They are after Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster), an evil criminal mastermind. After a stakeout of what turns out to be a blind date for Diamond, the top D.E.B., Amy Brewster (Sara Foster) comes face to face with the criminal no one has ever fought and lived to tell the tale. Diamond becomes smitten with her and long story short, eventually ‘kidnaps’ Amy (she’s very willing) for a lesbian tryst away from the confines of the D.E.B. world, which Amy is questioning. There is no chemistry between Brewster and Foster and the entire thing just seems forced. There is very little action in this action flick and most of the laughs are stupid jokes that you hate yourself for laughing at later. D.E.B.S. is a pretty lame movie and even lacks any good promised girl on girl action, so your boyfriend will be disappointed.
How Does It Look? Fantastic. They didn’t scrimp on the budget here (perhaps just on the writing). The DVD contains both full screen (bleh) and widescreen 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer.
How Does It Sound? Quite good. The film has English Dolby 5.1 Surround and French 2.0 Surround with subtitles in English or French. Audio is quite well-mixed except for a few scenes in the beginning which have some pretty uneven levels, which is mentioned in the commentary.
Extras? Quite a few but nothing particularly exciting (although one of the deleted scenes contains what would have been the funniest moment in the film and should not have been cut):
Deleted and extended scenes
"Infiltrating D.E.B.S." making-of featurette
Director's commentary
Cast commentary
D.E.B.S. comic animatic
Production stills
Music video "Into the Morning" by the Weekend
Final Verdict: A bad movie with DVD presentation too good for it. We can only hope Angela Robinson’s (the movie’s director) next film Herbie Reloaded makes up for it.

What It’s About: Home Improvement may seem like a male-focused show (the power tools, Pam Anderson on the cover) but in reality, its success stemmed form the fact that it had something for everyone. Women related to Jill (Patricia Richardson), Tim “The Toolman” Taylor’s (Tim Allen) long-suffering wife, and kids loved the three sons and their adventures. Home Improvement ran for eight incredibly successful seasons and this, the second one, has some great moments including the first Halloween special. Some episodes are purely slapstick while others have very serious or emotional moments. This variety is part of what made the show so popular. The set has 25 episodes on three discs.
How Does It Look? Great. With an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, the picture works when stretched to fit widescreen and looks good, while the colours are crisp and vivid.
How Does It Sound? Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is available and it works very well.
Extras? Not too much. There’s a gag reel from the season of line flubs and other things which is quite funny. And that’s all she wrote.
Final Verdict: A quality show with great picture and sound on the DVD set.

What It’s About: A classic Steve Martin movie about a father who has a very hard time letting go of his daughter who has announced her engagement. He and his wife (Diane Keaton) plan the wedding at their house and all things that can go wrong, do. Martin Short stars as a kooky wedding planner and completely steal the movie away from Martin who is simply out-comedic-performanced here. There are many laugh-out-loud moments here and while the sequel was a stinker (mother and daughter pregnant together) this movie remains a comedic classic.
How Does It Look? Transferred over in a widescreen 1.85:1 enhanced picture, it looks good but not especially crisp. This could be because the film is meant to have a magical, glowy aspect to it.
How Does It Sound? The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is even, quiet and clear. It is not particularly astounding or creative but for what the movie is, it’s fine. And it doesn’t help you understand Short’s odd accent in case you were wondering.
Extras? Some, but not nearly as many as you would expect for a special edition:
An invitation to Father of the Bride
Steve Martin & Martin short interview each other
Audio commentary with director/screenwriter Charles Shyer
Final Verdict: A fun frothy film with an adequate DVD presentation.

What It’s About: How cool is MacGyver? He doesn’t need a gun. He uses his mind as a weapon. As cheesy as it sounds, MacGyver was a huge hit and while all his weird save-the-day concotions seem like they couldn’t possibly be real, they are actually all based on scientific fact. Beloved by Selma and Patty on The Simpsons, MacGyver really is one cool dude. The DVD set has six disks and 22 episodes and Terri Hatcher appears briefly on the show but Paramount managed to cash in on her current success by putting a lovely 80’s picture of her on the back cover.
How Does It Look? Like it did on television. It’s a little grainy, washed out and dark. Full screen format.
How Does It Sound? Not too spectacular. The sound is Dolby Mono which has to be expected for that time but we can’t help wishing there was a way to turn it into DTS. A lot of the action sequences just don’t seem spectacular enough.
Extras? None, the show itself will have to do ya.
Final Verdict: A creative show that is beloved by many. We have to hope that the episodes alone will be enough to satisfy their MaGyver lust.

What It’s About: “Oh my gaaa…” we’re confused. The third season of The Newlyweds was their last and ended with the couple moving out of their home. This is not the third season that is included on the DVD set. Make no mistake, this is not the final season of The Newlyweds, Paramount will still have to release that (and make more money, aww we bet they hate that). The last episode on this DVD set is Jessica going on tour and Nick flying her into the town they were married. Still, this is one heck of an entertaining show with classic Jessica moments. Are they getting divorced? Not if their couplehood is such a cash cow.
How Does It Look? Good. The show was shot on video (it is reality television) and while the picture isn’t awesome (it’s a little choppy, too dark or bright at times) on the whole it remains quite decent.
How Does It Sound? There is an English Dolby Digital surround track that isn’t anything spectacular but again, it’s reality television and you’re not watching this for the car chases. Whenever there is mumbling you get subtitles anyway.
Extras? A few:
Deleted Scenes
Nick and Jessica MTV Timeline
Happy Birthday Jessica, Love Nick Special
Jessica “Moments”, Nick “Moments”
Newlyweds Promos
Final Verdict: An addictive show and while we are bitter because we thought this would have the final season, we enjoyed watching these episodes so much, we kind of got over it.

What It’s About: The fifth season of Frasier was a great one and it starts off with a bang (literally) in “Frasier’s Imaginary Friend” where Frasier returns from Mexico and no one believes he met a supermodel zoologist there. Niles and Maris officially split up in this season and Niles begins to attempt to ask Daphne out. Roz gets herself knocked-up and one of the funniest episodes is “Roz and the Schnoz” where she meets the parents of the father of her child. As always, Niles makes the show with his hilarious one-liners and incredible comic timing. The fifth season is better than the fourth and there are many great ones still to come.
How Does It Look? Fine. The picture is full screen colour 1.33:1 and is quite clear, There are some slightly fuzzy moments but they are barely noticeable.
How Does It Sound? Fine, as well. The audio is Dolby 2.0 and while it’s not anything super-exciting, Frasier is a dialogue driven show and it works all right.
Extras? Still none. The last few seasons had nothing and our hopes were up for this one but we are disappointed. You only get the 24 episodes and an annoying bunch of commercials right at the beginning for other Paramount releases that you can only get through using the next chapter feature on your DVD. This means you have to sit there skipping through them for several minutes. Paramount really needs to rethink that as these previews seem to be getting more and more numerous.
Final Verdict: A fabulous season on an adequate DVD set. The show itself is intelligent and witty and worth buying even without any extras.

What It’s About: Pretty and sweet Violet (Piper Perabo) decides to make the leap and move to the big city of New York to try and make it as a song writer. When she realizes that it’s not as simple as batting her eyelashes at a music exec she gets a job at Coyote Ugly, the bar where hot women work and dance on the bar – basically strippers who don’t strip. The film also stars Tyra Banks, Izabella Miko and Bridget Moynahan as her fellow dancers. This is Jerry Bruckheimer’s idea of a chick flick and it’s sad. Nothing happens. The entire point of this film is to watch pretty girls writhe around on a bar and soak themselves in booze with a lame attempt at a plot thrown in.
How Does It Look? Good. The picture is crisp and clear and the dark shots come out well. Widescreen (2.40:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
How Does It Sound? The Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 choices are both stellar and you can hear the leather pants swishing and the boots stomping as the girls dance their hearts out.
Extras? Enough for you to get your Coyote fill (sorry, no pillow fight deleted scenes):
Additional scenes not seen in theaters
Behind-the-scenes featurettes: Coyote 101 - How to Be a Coyote; Inside the Songs; Search for the Stars
LeAnn Rimes music video
Audio commentary with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director David McNally and the Coyotes
"Action Overload" reel featuring the hottest moments from the movie, music video-style
Theatrical trailer
Final Verdict: The movie sucks but the DVD presentation is solid.