Getaway-Volume 5: 50 Must-See Places of all time (2004)

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Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    TV seems to enjoy fads almost more than anything or anyone. Take for instance the current obsession with reality television. Since the advent of frontrunners like Big Brother and Survivor the number of reality based programs has skyrocketed. Whether watching the renovation of units, the establishment of hotels, or restaurants or careers under the guidance of a certain multi-billionaire with unrepeatable hair, it seems the nations of the world have become communities of voyeurs. In fact such is the dominance of reality TV on our networks today it is hard to recall what was fashionable before there was even such a thing as reality TV. Don't worry though because with little research I found what tantalised (and still does, be it to a lesser extent) our collective imaginations before the likes of Paul, Ryan and Trevor or Jason and Kristen became such an important part of our lives - lifestyle shows!

    In the 1990s there was an explosion of them, and whilst many have gone the way of the dodo, many remain. Channel Nine's Getaway is one such show, a globetrotting tour de force that enables the couch ridden mugs with mortgages or HECS debts or car loan payments (unfortunately most of us, though hopefully not all at once) to dream of strolling the avenues of Paris, photographing elephants from the back of a safari bus or, less adventurously, spending a few nights at the Hyatt or Mecure in a capital city near you.

    Every now and again the show puts together a special, many of which are available on DVD. In the current case, it is this: 50 Must See Places of All Time, a breathless rocket through fifty destinations, domestic and international, that is sure to contain at least one city, natural wonder, ancient ruin, hotel or village that you haven't been to and/or you'd love to visit.

    I won't give away all of the destinations but here are the favourites, as voted by Getaway presenters and viewers.

• Paris
• Ice Hotel, Quebec
• Machu Picchu
• Safari Park
• New York
• Arctic Circle

    Each of these six is featured in a full length story, taken directly from episodes of the show.

    If you are a travel buff, or wish you were, this is an interesting disc to investigate.

    One thing I found really disappointing was the inability of the DVD producers to edit out all the fade outs and pre-ad tags to make the show run more smoothly. Frankly, I thought it amateurish and demonstrated a lack of time and effort put into the disc's production.

Video

    As expected for a recently produced major television network DVD release the video quality is of very good, if not perfect quality. The first thing to note is that whilst much of the presentation is framed for widescreen television at a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced, material originally shot before widescreen television was being consistently broadcast by Channel 9 is presented at the traditional TV ratio of 1.33:1. The swapping between the two I found a little disconcerting initially, but after a while (like when watching the succession of ads and programmes on TV, some widescreen, some not) you don't notice it.

    Sharpness is generally fine, with good if not spectacular levels of shadow detail. Some of the location shooting is not lit ideally meaning the intrusion of some occasional grain, but this is not a major problem.

    Colours, which range from arctic whites to the opulent interiors of six star hotels to the sun burnished tones of the African savannah are well caught and presented, with accurately rendered skin tones and no instances of oversaturation or colour bleeding.

Film artefacts are absolutely minimal whilst compression artefacts are, whilst more prevalent, not intrusive. Edge enhancement was not a problem, whilst instances of aliasing were noticeable but not disruptive.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    We are presented with a solitary English Dolby Stereo 2.0 track that is unremarkable but perfectly suited to this television derived presentation.

    Audio sync and dialogue are of exemplary quality, whilst there can be no complaints about distortion or unwanted clicks or drop outs.

    The surrounds are given almost nothing to do - only intermittently did I detect a trace of music coming from the rear channels.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Six Episodes: Paris, Arctic, Machu Picchu, New York, Ice Hotel and Safari Park

    Whilst presented in a way that suggests you can select each of the stories on these destinations individually, in fact selecting any of them simply starts a play all function that runs through all the episodes. These are taken directly from the show and are about five to ten minutes in length each, and offer significantly more insight into the destinations than the run through of the Top 50. Each episode features one of the show's presenters, and apparently each was chosen by one of them as being their favourite of the fifty.

Interview with Catriona Rowntree

    This is a laughable attempt at an interview, with questions flashed onscreen before a overly theatrical Rowntree answers only cursorily. An absolute waste of space on the disc.

    Not surprisingly, this is an all region disc, available only in Australia, so if you've got your PAL compatible TV you're set.

    Considering the popularity of these type of shows, and Getaway in particular, this perfectly acceptable release should hold broad appeal.

    The video quality is befitting of a major network's prime time production.

    The audio is unadventurous but without flaws.

    The extras are a good supplement to the main feature, except the terrible 'interview'.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall