Getaway-Volume 2: Getaway to New Zealand (1992)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Interviews-Cast-Ben Dark Outtakes
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	78:06 (Case: 86)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Nine Network Sony Music	Starring	Catriona Rowntree Ben Dark Sorrell Wilby David Reyne Brendan Julian Lochie Daddo
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$19.95	Music	Georgie Fame

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Varies	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The Nine Network's Getaway program is one of the mainstays of the travel and leisure genre on television, having been aired each year since 1992.

    To further promote the show while it was in summer recess, a series of four DVDs have been released all revolving around a different theme. Titles focusing on Winter Wonderlands and Viva Italia have already been reviewed, while the remaining title in the series was dedicated to sunny destinations (Getaway To The Sun). This is volume two in the series and is wholly dedicated to the marvellously beautiful country that is New Zealand.

    The travel and tourism industry in general has suffered big time in the last couple of years. The war on terror, September 11, and the SARS epidemic saw visitor numbers to most countries decline for the first time in many years over the period 2002 and 2003. But one country has bucked the trend and continues to move from strength to strength and that is of course New Zealand. Recent figures suggest the New Zealand tourism industry has weathered many of the problems faced by the rest of the world. An amazing 2.11 million foreign visitors travelled to New Zealand in 2003, which was a three per cent increase on 2002. As would be expected, most of those visitors came from Australia, with one-third, or just over 702,000 making the trip across the Tasman, thanks in no small part to a decent exchange rate, magnificent scenery, good food, pleasant people, and maybe a small amount of interest generated by a little known movie trilogy called The Lord Of The Rings.

    In fact, Peter Jackson has almost single-handedly made his homeland THE country to visit in all the world. With the three films having been shot entirely in the country and with stunning locations ranging far and wide across both islands, who can argue.

    The Getaway team know a good thing when they see it and so what we have here is a whole 70 minute programme dedicated to visiting some of the well known (and less well known) regions of this amazing country.

    So just where do the team travel to I hear you ask? Well, ignore the packaging of the disc for a start since it is a little misleading. Sorrell Wilby treks along the majestic Milford Track (the packaging lists it as just Te Anau) - often referred to as The Finest Walk In The World and also bike rides from Christchurch to Milford Sound. Former presenter Lochie Daddo heli-hikes along part of the Fox Glacier, while the effervescent Catriona Rowntree drives around the twisting and turning pathways of the Coromandel Peninsula.

    The highlights for me were the larrikin Ben Dark taking the plunge off the Nevis Highwire Bungy near Queenstown (the packaging spells it as Bungee - sorry but in NZ it's definitely Bungy), which at 134 metres is among the highest in the world. Ben also goes fishing in a helicopter off the Great Barrier Islands near Auckland and marlin fishing in Whangaroa harbour. I also had a good laugh at Brendan Julian trying to ski (and mostly fall over) at Mount Hutt. David Reyne enjoys both a scenic flight around Mount Cook, and a drive around the art deco capital of the world in Napier.

    While certainly not being anywhere near as good as being there, this disc will provide a real taste for what makes New Zealand such a great place to visit. If you have just been or are planning on a trip in the near future, you would do well to check this one out.

Video

    Much like the other disc I have reviewed, the video quality on offer here is a bit of a mixed bag, though overall it is far better with no annoying aliasing present.

    It is again sourced from several episodes of the programme from several different years since there is a mix of material in the conventional aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and some in the new widescreen digital television aspect of 1.78:1. The content is probably split about 50-50 in favour of the newer style. With the whole program 16x9 enhanced, the older 1.33:1 material is shown in the 16x9 frame with black bars on the left and right.

    All of the material is of a consistent sharpness, with the newer images just that bit sharper and more detailed. There is no sign of any edge enhancement and I saw no low level noise. Grain is also mostly absent.

    The colours are well rendered and there are no problems to contend with other than the overseas material looking a bit more washed out.

    No MPEG artefacts are evident, and the whole transfer is free from any annoying aliasing or shimmer on several surfaces.

    There are no subtitles.

    This is a single layered disc only.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There is only one audio track available, this being an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at a bitrate of 192 Kb/s.

    There isn't a whole lot for this soundtrack to do with most of the sound being dialogue based. Said dialogue is clear and concise at all times. Audio sync isn't an issue during any of the segments.

    There is no surround nor subwoofer use.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Introduction

Menu Animation & Audio

Interviews-Cast

    The affable Ben Dark spends 3:12 discussing his favourite parts of the country, what scared him the most, and any tips he has for travellers to New Zealand. It looks like it was filmed in a small pub on Stewart Island at the very southern tip of New Zealand. It's a shame there were no stories from that part of the country.

Outtakes

    Compiled from various bloopers over the many years of Getaway, what we have here is 2:42 of outtakes featuring some of the previous presenters such as Jeff Watson and Rebecca Harris stuffing up several lines. Ben Dark rounds out the bloopers with several attempts at a very simple couple of lines.

    This disc is not available in Region 1.

    Getaway - New Zealand is volume two of the four titles released in the series showing some of the best places to visit in the land of the long white cloud.

    The video is a mix of conventional 1.33:1 and 1.78:1 aspect ratios all within a 16x9 enhanced frame. The older material is slightly softer, but all the footage is without serious flaw.

    The audio is perfectly functional for the job it is required to do.

    The extras are pretty light.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall