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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Walk on the Wild Side-Series 1 (2009)

Walk on the Wild Side-Series 1 (2009)

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Released 3-Apr-2013

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Featurette-Behind The Scenes
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2009
Running Time 169:01
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case ?
RPI ? Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio Varies Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     Sometime last year, a mate at work suggested that I watch a really funny video on YouTube entitled 'Funny Talking Animals' or something like that. It started with the absolute star of this series, a groundhog (or similar) yelling to his mate Alan. I did not realise until sometime later that this YouTube video was actually some highlights from a BBC television show called Walk on the Wild Side which started on the BBC in 2009 but has only recently been seen in Australia. I understand that the show is now in its third season on the BBC after a couple of years break.

     The concept is simple - take BBC natural history footage of animals and birds and overdub it with comedic voices pretending to be the animals. The result can be hilarious such as the Alan bit mentioned above. Not everything in this six episode first season is hilarious but there are certainly a lot of laughs to be had for parents and children alike. There are quite a few highlights including the bird playing night-time/daytime, the singing sharks, the bird doing a Michael Jackson tribute and the many variations on the Alan sequence including the version starring Ozzy & Sharon Osborne as celebrity voices. Other guests include Stephen Fry (as a panda), Rolf Harris, Richard E Grant & Tom Jones. The guys who do the voices more generally are not overly well known but do a good job. Some segments are repeated too often through the six episodes with slight variances in the dialogue. The six episodes are on one disc and they run a bit less than 2 hours in total.

     A lot of fun can be had here for children and parents.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is restricted by the archival nature of some of the footage used.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio for this show but probably not for all the original footage. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was quite variable due to the varied sources of footage. Some was sharp and clear but other sections were grainy, soft and infested with blocking.

     The colour was decent but varied with the picture quality.

     There was some mild aliasing, motion blur and macro-blocking at times.

    There are subtitles available in English which are clear and easy to read.

     There are no noticeable layer changes during playback.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     This disc contains a English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0.

     Dialogue was generally clear and easy to hear and understand although some of the regional English accents were hard to pick up and the subtitles were useful at times.

     The music (mostly excepts from songs plus the theme tune) sounded pretty good.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    

Menu

    The menu included music and motion.

Behind the Scenes (13:54)

    Footage of the comedians recording the voiceovers and mucking about while waiting for their next piece. Includes various stuff-ups. OK but hardly essential.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This show is available in the same format in the UK but not in the US at this stage. Buy Local.

Summary

    A funny but somewhat repetitive show from the UK which puts voices to BBC natural history footage.

    The video quality is restricted by the archival footage used.

    The audio quality is good.

    The extra is minor.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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