Save your receipt, parents, because you get a 1-year free subscription to Parents magazine.
Scrambler the Goat Herder is a fun episode that whisks everyone off to Snowcap Mountain, where the task is to turn an old barn into a weaving studio for Meg. Giddy the goat makes an appearance, as the gang try to figure out how to get him from the mountain top to the shearing station.
Packer's Big Delivery finds Sunflower Valley getting its first store . . . if, that is, Bob and the gang can build it. Barbara sends Packer and Scrambler to retrieve the items to be sold, but the biggest challenge is getting that goat's milk down from Flowery Ridge. When Packer gets stuck, Bob and Scrambler come to the rescue.
Video:
The video quality for "Bob the Builder" is good but not great. The grain is plain to see, but the colors are so cheerfully bright that they tend to offset any graininess. Kids won't notice, in other words. The picture is presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
The audio is similarly good but not great. It seems to be a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, but there are times when it feels like a good Mono instead, with a flatness of sound that doesn't feel nearly as 3-D as the animated characters.
Extras:
Save your receipt, parents, because you get a 1-year free subscription to Parents magazine with your purchase. That's a pretty decent bonus feature. Included on this disc is an episode of another Welsh children's series, "Fireman Sam," which is structured the same as the "Bob the Builder" stories. Each character has a catch-phrase, too, like Sam's "Great Fires of London!" and the station officer's "Action stations, Men!" Boys ought to like it. I'm not so sure about the "Fifi & the Flowertots" episode "Spotty Pop." They're little leaf- and flower-headed androgynous creatures that seem far more suited to little girls. But who knows? There are also profile/introductions to three new members of the Can-Do Crew: Dodger, Packer, and Tumbler. And some trailers for other DVDs like "Thomas the Train," if you count those as bonus features.
Bottom Line:
For the target audience of little boys ages 2-5, "Bob the Builder" constructs a pretty good formula each episode for teaching subtle lessons that the kids should also be learning in pre-school. It's a good reinforcement, and for those not yet in pre-school, a good introduction to those important character and social concepts. And yes, they even learn a few things about construction! These episodes transport the builders to different locations and introduce new characters.
Packer's Big Delivery finds Sunflower Valley getting its first store . . . if, that is, Bob and the gang can build it. Barbara sends Packer and Scrambler to retrieve the items to be sold, but the biggest challenge is getting that goat's milk down from Flowery Ridge. When Packer gets stuck, Bob and Scrambler come to the rescue.
Video:
The video quality for "Bob the Builder" is good but not great. The grain is plain to see, but the colors are so cheerfully bright that they tend to offset any graininess. Kids won't notice, in other words. The picture is presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
The audio is similarly good but not great. It seems to be a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, but there are times when it feels like a good Mono instead, with a flatness of sound that doesn't feel nearly as 3-D as the animated characters.
Extras:
Save your receipt, parents, because you get a 1-year free subscription to Parents magazine with your purchase. That's a pretty decent bonus feature. Included on this disc is an episode of another Welsh children's series, "Fireman Sam," which is structured the same as the "Bob the Builder" stories. Each character has a catch-phrase, too, like Sam's "Great Fires of London!" and the station officer's "Action stations, Men!" Boys ought to like it. I'm not so sure about the "Fifi & the Flowertots" episode "Spotty Pop." They're little leaf- and flower-headed androgynous creatures that seem far more suited to little girls. But who knows? There are also profile/introductions to three new members of the Can-Do Crew: Dodger, Packer, and Tumbler. And some trailers for other DVDs like "Thomas the Train," if you count those as bonus features.
Bottom Line:
For the target audience of little boys ages 2-5, "Bob the Builder" constructs a pretty good formula each episode for teaching subtle lessons that the kids should also be learning in pre-school. It's a good reinforcement, and for those not yet in pre-school, a good introduction to those important character and social concepts. And yes, they even learn a few things about construction! These episodes transport the builders to different locations and introduce new characters.
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