What's wrong with me? And Red Green DVDs
Feb. 16th, 2006 11:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teddog::whimpers::
Okay, I've been working out at the gym 3 times a week. My mother says that my upper body already looks more solid. I'm fitting into clothes that even up north were kinda tight. This is all fine and good.
Then why the heck am I now at the heaviest I've ever been? It's gone up since I started. Something is very wrong here and I'm a little scared. I know muscle is heavier than fat, but CRAP! I think the scale at the gym is off or potentially in a different area of time and space.
Sooo... when mom came to visit on the Tuesday, she brought me my final Red Green DVDs I ordered. That collection is now complete. My opinion on the DVDs varies from disk to disk. Some disks I totally adore and others I make me think "I'm glad I brought these cheap".
The main "flop" disk is Red GreenPh.D. D.V.D. It was the "first" DVD, even predating the release of the movie. It's a clip special, but doesn't flow like the others. I can watch clip specials. I'll go so far to say I even LIKE the clip specials, since Jen and I can toss one in and have an hour of solid stupid to enjoy. This one special, however, doesn't flow. It's just a bunch of Handyman segements with story scenes from the episode "No Duct Tape" tossed in for no good reason and with little logic in placing them. It's strange. Very, very strange. The bonus features are the only reason to pick this thing up. There's clips of fan meetings down in the states, a tour of a duct tape factory and Steve Smith himself explaining the behind the scenes of the Handyman segements, but not the No Duct Tape segements. Yeah, I know there's one on the Stuffed and Mounted disks, but still! Oh, and I'll mention that getting around the disks is a pain in the butt. Lovely looking menus, but navigation could have been clearer.
The other disks are fairly solid.
The newest one, "We Can't Help It - We're Men" has a ton of video on it. I think it clocks in at around 160 minutes, having 2 clip specials that are about an hour long and then a pile of extra skits from seasons 13 and 14. The material is fairly solid Red Green all around. The clip specials on the disk are decidedly very retro as far as Red Green goes; I remember almost picking up "Of Cars and Men" back when it was on VHS and just came out and "We Can't Help It - We're Men" has the old S&S productions eyecatch at the end. The skits are solid and enjoyable, this coming from someone who prefers older episodes to newer ones. I'm tempted to say if you're just starting into the series or want a taste of it, this one disk might be the place to start.
Now, I probably would have given that title to "Hindsight is 20/20" instead, except that the special has some spoilerish material. Kinda. Hindsight is 20/20 is an odd special, presented like a documentary on the series with interviews with characters. The special drops a few answers to long running questions from the series (making it a gift from heaven for a sucky IP&S RPer that likes to refer to canon =) ) and gives away the ending to one of the few story arcs that the series has. It's cute as heck, otherwise. The extras include full versions of many of the skit clips seen in the special. I think the packaging mentions that all of the complete skits were included, which is a bit of a lie. I know that at least not all of the Adventures segements are there, since only 2 are included and the special shows short clips from about a dozen skits. Lack of the lacross segement in bonus features makes Rachie sad. The big bonus on the disk is a collection of Red Green segements from the old Smith and Smith series. You want old school? We've got old school! So, this is a great starter disk into the series if you don't mind having the spoilers. I'd recommend watching a bunch of episodes beforehand and being familar with the characters first.
Even if you're not in a festive mood, the specials on "It's a Wonderful Red Green Christmas" are still fun. The disk includes the first two specials from the CBC run. There's not much else to say about this disc, except that the specials both have new intros by Steve Smith and the material is fairly solid. The first special, "It's a Wonderful Red Green Christmas", is more classic Red Green than the second one, "A Merry Red Green Christmas". The second is very much like the later part of the series, with a more mature Harold and Walter instead of Bill. The only problem I noted is that the reds on the video can be a little harsh at times. Given the budget of the source material, I don't know if that was an encoding problem or it was filmed that way.
The Stuffed and Mounted series is the only release of full episodes and spans 6 volumes. The disks tend to cost more than the disks for the specials, but there's a lot of material here. Each disk has 8 episodes. The cheapest route would be to pick up the boxed set, which was what I ended up doing. Full episodes alone is reason enough to pick it up. Do I need to give more details? The only extras are intros to each episode by Steve Smith, which are really nifty and character bios, but I know you can find the text for those online aready.
The final DVD of note, and the first one I owned, is Duct Tape Forever. Duct Tape Forever is the feature length movie that was released into theaters back in 2002. The movie doesn't quite hold up in canon now; it was supposed to be Harold's final big bit in the series before the character left. Yeah, that didn't happen and Dawn is just awkward now that Bonnie has arrived. The movie is an neat look at the world of The Red Green Show outside of the lodge. In fact, that's the reason that I found it so neat at the time. The world was the draw, not the plot. Granted, not everything in the movie world looks like it's tv counterpart. The movie's structure totally different from the episodes we're used to and the humour is different and slightly lower in quality (a problem suffered by MST3K: The Movie as well). Rather than complaining, this is how I think about the movie: it's a fan fic. Really! This is a Red Green plot!fic, only it's canon! The extras include a commentary by Steve Smith and a "Behind the Scenes" documentary handled in the same fashion as Hindsight is 20/20, with actors all in character.
That's all for now, fellow dorks. :P
Okay, I've been working out at the gym 3 times a week. My mother says that my upper body already looks more solid. I'm fitting into clothes that even up north were kinda tight. This is all fine and good.
Then why the heck am I now at the heaviest I've ever been? It's gone up since I started. Something is very wrong here and I'm a little scared. I know muscle is heavier than fat, but CRAP! I think the scale at the gym is off or potentially in a different area of time and space.
Sooo... when mom came to visit on the Tuesday, she brought me my final Red Green DVDs I ordered. That collection is now complete. My opinion on the DVDs varies from disk to disk. Some disks I totally adore and others I make me think "I'm glad I brought these cheap".
The main "flop" disk is Red Green
The other disks are fairly solid.
The newest one, "We Can't Help It - We're Men" has a ton of video on it. I think it clocks in at around 160 minutes, having 2 clip specials that are about an hour long and then a pile of extra skits from seasons 13 and 14. The material is fairly solid Red Green all around. The clip specials on the disk are decidedly very retro as far as Red Green goes; I remember almost picking up "Of Cars and Men" back when it was on VHS and just came out and "We Can't Help It - We're Men" has the old S&S productions eyecatch at the end. The skits are solid and enjoyable, this coming from someone who prefers older episodes to newer ones. I'm tempted to say if you're just starting into the series or want a taste of it, this one disk might be the place to start.
Now, I probably would have given that title to "Hindsight is 20/20" instead, except that the special has some spoilerish material. Kinda. Hindsight is 20/20 is an odd special, presented like a documentary on the series with interviews with characters. The special drops a few answers to long running questions from the series (making it a gift from heaven for a sucky IP&S RPer that likes to refer to canon =) ) and gives away the ending to one of the few story arcs that the series has. It's cute as heck, otherwise. The extras include full versions of many of the skit clips seen in the special. I think the packaging mentions that all of the complete skits were included, which is a bit of a lie. I know that at least not all of the Adventures segements are there, since only 2 are included and the special shows short clips from about a dozen skits. Lack of the lacross segement in bonus features makes Rachie sad. The big bonus on the disk is a collection of Red Green segements from the old Smith and Smith series. You want old school? We've got old school! So, this is a great starter disk into the series if you don't mind having the spoilers. I'd recommend watching a bunch of episodes beforehand and being familar with the characters first.
Even if you're not in a festive mood, the specials on "It's a Wonderful Red Green Christmas" are still fun. The disk includes the first two specials from the CBC run. There's not much else to say about this disc, except that the specials both have new intros by Steve Smith and the material is fairly solid. The first special, "It's a Wonderful Red Green Christmas", is more classic Red Green than the second one, "A Merry Red Green Christmas". The second is very much like the later part of the series, with a more mature Harold and Walter instead of Bill. The only problem I noted is that the reds on the video can be a little harsh at times. Given the budget of the source material, I don't know if that was an encoding problem or it was filmed that way.
The Stuffed and Mounted series is the only release of full episodes and spans 6 volumes. The disks tend to cost more than the disks for the specials, but there's a lot of material here. Each disk has 8 episodes. The cheapest route would be to pick up the boxed set, which was what I ended up doing. Full episodes alone is reason enough to pick it up. Do I need to give more details? The only extras are intros to each episode by Steve Smith, which are really nifty and character bios, but I know you can find the text for those online aready.
The final DVD of note, and the first one I owned, is Duct Tape Forever. Duct Tape Forever is the feature length movie that was released into theaters back in 2002. The movie doesn't quite hold up in canon now; it was supposed to be Harold's final big bit in the series before the character left. Yeah, that didn't happen and Dawn is just awkward now that Bonnie has arrived. The movie is an neat look at the world of The Red Green Show outside of the lodge. In fact, that's the reason that I found it so neat at the time. The world was the draw, not the plot. Granted, not everything in the movie world looks like it's tv counterpart. The movie's structure totally different from the episodes we're used to and the humour is different and slightly lower in quality (a problem suffered by MST3K: The Movie as well). Rather than complaining, this is how I think about the movie: it's a fan fic. Really! This is a Red Green plot!fic, only it's canon! The extras include a commentary by Steve Smith and a "Behind the Scenes" documentary handled in the same fashion as Hindsight is 20/20, with actors all in character.
That's all for now, fellow dorks. :P
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 02:45 pm (UTC)I'm finding the advice on squats useful. I HATE SQUATS. This is great (http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=9#vomit), because I sometimes have this problem if I go full tilt.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 01:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 02:21 pm (UTC)One day, I'm going to build a Red Green fan page. Just you wait.