Bob the Builder [TV Show] (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

The ones who won't be bored at all are the ones who ask questions and then have the patience to sit through long explanations, and boys or girls who want to know a little background to all of the rescue episodes and equipment. Here, we get an introduction to many of the familiar characters, along with shots of their real-life counterparts and a better sense of what each piece of heavy equipment does. In truth, Sen. Obama and other dads would probably find this more fascinating than many of the youngsters in the targeted 2-5 age range--though kids will especially perk up when the skate park is designed and built.

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:
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, and female characters do pop up on occasion so girls might too, especially since the episode is a universal theme: "Birthday Surprise."

Bottom Line:
Don't look for standard "Bob the Builder" episodes on this disc. The On Site series integrates real-life footage with cartoon narration that's pure non-fictional instruction rather than fictional escape. As a result, it won't be for every child, even regular fans of the TV show.

---

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---