Plot: What’s it about?
The Real World, believe it or not, is now ten years old. Who would have thought that this would be the new standard when it came to television? With the success of Survivor, Big Brother and every other "new" reality show, we have to look back to this little show that aired on MTV and give credit where credit is due. Originally shot in New York, the follow up shows were located in Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively. As the show’s popularity grew, so did the budget. In this case, the cast members were treated to several exotic vacations and this is the title of the DVD in question. While it’s certainly not the most entertaining thing I’ve ever seen, it’s only 50 minutes long and we get several glimpses of our favorite stars in their bikinis and whatnot.
The casts from the last eight seasons (London to Chicago) are featured here and the program is hosted by Amaya, Jamie and Theo (c’mon…you know which casts they’re from)! But in case you don’t, Jamie is from New Orleans, Amaya is from Hawaii and Theo is from the Chicago cast. Essentially they just jaunt around the globe showing scenes from the shows. But, titled "The Real World: Exotic Vacations", we can expect to see some pretty scenic sites and there’s plenty of eye candy for the men or the women. While I don’t really know if this disc is worth your hard-earned money, it is rather interesting – especially if you’re a die hard fan of The Real World. Clocking in at just under an hour and some minor supplements are included, it’s a tough call to recommend this or not. Possibly something to pass the time on a rainy day seeing people better-looking than you doing things you wish you were doing!
Video: How does it look?
The video quality of the DVD is about average. Composed entirely of shots from older shows, the full-frame transfer obviously doesn’t benefit from anaomrphic enhancement. Then again, we want the picture quality to be good enough so that we can see all the bikinis…There is a mild amount of edge enhancement and a bit of grain in some of the shots, but they’re all so varied that it is nearly impossible to assign a "grade" to the way this looks. Comparable to cable (or satellite), viewers should be amply pleased.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, the audio is standard Dolby Digital surround (not 5.1) and it more than serves its purpose here. The action is limited mainly to the front speakers and for the most part, they do the job. Dialogue is a bit hard to understand at times because of partying going on, but this is a fault of the recording and not the audio processing. Frankly, it’s a mix that you won’t notice that much…it doesn’t stand out as being good or bad. It’s just kind of—there.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Unlike a majority of Paramount’s discs, this contains a few supplements though they’re not that robust. Some travel tips are included (for that jaunt off to Tahiti you’ve been planning) as well as some vacation photos and some cast bios on the hosts. For true die hard fans of the show only, but something to otherwise pass the time…
