****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Trust me, you're gonna want more. I made the 'mistake' of buying this(the single-disc version of their 'best of' box set) awhile back because I remembered watching this when i was a kid back in the 70's, but didn't fully remember how much i enjoyed it. So i played it safe and bought this bargain-priced sampler dvd with 5 episodes(spanning the series entire run including the pilot episode). Anyway, when i first saw it again, i just had this big grin on my face as nostalgia of me watching this as a kid went through my mind. Unfortunately, after i exhausted the 5 episodes, i was craving for more. Then i realized...I should've bought the bigger, 20-episode, 'Best of'(@ about $40) box set. Solution? I'll just give this to my nieces to introduce them to this wonderful 70's 'kids' show, while i order the box set for me. Don't worry, i'll share the box set with my nieces as well.About the show though, it's been said that it was a show for kids to help them learn, and be interested in, reading. The reason why so many adults like it now and can still appreciate it though(outside of it being a nostalgic 70's time capsule), is because it taught its lessons through clever, interesting, or hip comedy skits and animations. It helps that you had a great cast of regulars too like Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, etc and even Spider-Man! And the list of memorable, long-running skits and animated segments is just too numerous to mention here. And that theme song...catchy as heck. And the ever-changing, opening montage credit sequences set to that theme song...cheesy and fun as heck.Ok, the dvd. It comes with a few minutes of outtakes, trivia to open and close the episodes, and a nice Rita Moreno interview(who also does the episode intros). I'm not a dvd-expert, but the picture quality looks great considering this is a 70's public broadcasting show. The mono sound you're gonna have to turn up, but hopefully you've got some type of enhanced audio system anyway(some good musical bits plus the theme song demand that you have a stereo hook-up at the very least). Overall, if you're unfamiliar with this show, the 5-episode $10 version is a great intro and highly recommended. But i can almost guarantee you're gonna want to see more and you're probably going to purchase the 20-episode $40 version at some point so keep that in mind. Die-hard fans(esp with kids) should go straight to the box set, or hope they release season sets soon.
