Punky Brewster: Season Two

The nostalgia with which most of us twentysomethings view our beloved TV shows from ëback in the day' is knee-deep in that first episode you see - how wonderful it was to see the Punky Brewster pilot on that first-season box set - then gets thinner and thinner as the series goes on.

In fact, trying to make it through the eleven-and-a-half hours of this second season edition of Punky Brewster is all but impossible for mere mortals. A little Punky goodness goes a long way, to be sure - how can anyone resist the adorable Soleil Moon-Frye? - but after two episodes or so, most viewers will undoubtedly be crying ëuncle'.

That's what has been so amazing about the revolution of TV-on-DVD: When it was actually on the air, you got a half-hour a week. You were paced. You were given a rhythm from networks as to how often you'd get to see your beloved shows. I remember my house literally revolving around The Cosby Show - when my mom would have school board meetings, she'd bow out early because it was the one time a week everyone in our house sat down and wanted to watch the same thing (trust me - it didn't happen that often). It was special when it wasn't saturated.

But now we get as much Punky as we can stomach, and it's giving us all a collective belly-ache similar to the ones we used to get from eating too much sugar. Again, these shows here are not bad by any stretch of the word - by its second go-round, Punky Brewster was nothing if not a well-oiled machine - but a Punky Brewster marathon is tough. Really tough.

And tack on to that the fact that there are three hours (!) of bonus episodes from It's Punky Brewster , the animated series based on the sitcom that aired on Saturday mornings. I swear - after reviewing as much as I could of all this (the equivalent of about four hours), if I had heard Punky say ìuh-ohî one more time, I would have lit her dog on fire (I don't really mean it, Brandon).

For those who feel they have the stamina to make it, pick this one up. But for the rest of us who enjoyed Punky Brewster but weren't obsessive about it, rent one disc of this collection, watch two or three episodes and call it a day.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Same as the last batch. From my review of Punky Brewster : Season One:

ì Punky doesn't get the THX treatment, but she still looks fairly good. Colors are reproduced nicely, especially the darker reds and blues, and black levels are strong, but detail is poor. Yes, it is an 80s TV show, but I have seen better remasters, especially from Warner lately. There is also much fuzziness and a lack of sharpness. I bet Punky could have looked better than this, but it is still a huge step up from bootleg videotapes and the like.î

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Ditto:

ìThe original mono tracks have been upgraded to Dolby 2.0 stereo, which allows us to savor every click and clack of the low-grade source material. Dialogue is scratchy and the show's music balanced too loudly in the mix. And atmospherics and sound effects are all but nonexistent. This being said, most Punky fans know what they're getting into, so the fact that these remixes aren't top-notch probably won't offend anyone.î

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

We get a short interview with George Gaynes (Henry Warnimont himself), and eight episodes of It's Punky Brewster . Also, for the truly devoted Punky fans, there is a set of collectible stickers inside this DVD box.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

No DVD-Rom features are included on this DVD.

Final Thoughts

				» Buy It: Click for best price   » Discuss: Weigh in at the forum