Wild Discovery: Cheetahs [VHS]

Manufacturer: CBS Television Brand: CBS Video

America has spoken. Survivor was one of the rare lightning-in-a-bottle television events that became an instant pop culture phenomenon, like Roots, the first season of Twin Peaks, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Suddenly Susan (just kidding). Sixteen contestants were left to fend for themselves on the most famous tropical isle since Gilligan's. What begins as a happy and healthy competition inexorably turns, in contestant Jenna's words, "malicious and evil." And the whole world was watching. For devotees of the show who yearn to go back to the island, this two-and-a-half-hour video souvenir replays the most memorable moments of season 1, including all the tribal councils that sealed the castaways' fates. What makes this video collectible are the never-before-broadcast audition tapes (Susan's is a jaw-dropping hoot), as well as each castaway's parting words after being voted off the island (Stacey is particularly bitter). There is gratuitous rodent skinning, uncensored profanity (from Susan and B.B.), and nudity (unfortunately, all Richard). Thankfully, we are spared Sonja's ukulele playing. The one mystery that remains is why the castaways didn't pull a Lord of the Flies on hokey host Jeff Probst. Even those who originally avoided the show like a rat dinner will have to admit: from Jenna's heartbreak at learning that her video greeting from home did not arrive to Susan's classic what-goes-around-comes-around "snakes and rats" speech, Survivor is compelling television. ...

Manufacturer: MTV Brand: MTV Model: 2237954 Color: Color

The very best of the fascinating reality series about 13 men and women who set out to make names for themselves in the grueling and punishing world of pro wrestling with the hopes of winning a World Wrestling Federation contract. 2001/color/49 min/NR. If the complete seven-hour boxed set of the MTV/WWF reality-TV show Tough Enough isn't enough to satisfy your thirst, this "behind the scenes" program provides an additional 50 minutes of cut footage, plus contestant profiles and submission tapes. If you're looking for juicy interactions or more with WWF superstars, however, you won't find it here: This mostly works as a Cliff's Notes recap of the show, with added profanity tossed in. For example, the clips of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Mick Foley, and others are the same as you see on the TV show. There are several amusing additions, however. The embarrassing qualifying videos, sent in by rejects with character names like "the Custodian," "Vampyre," and "Ice," are so ridiculously passionate and over-the-top that they almost make Behind Tough Enough worth watching. Almost... --Dave McCoy

Manufacturer: MTV

Thirteen people chasing a dream. The Prize: a World Wrestling Federation contract. Who will survive until the end? Who is Tough Enough? Includes MTV exclusives of the cast submission tapes, the mud fight, lunch with Stephanie McMahon, yoga with Tori, dinner with Pat Patterson, conditioning, the road trip, interviews with Vince McMahon, and exclusives of WWF Superstars Triple H, Kurt Angle, the Hardy Boyz, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Disc 1: Casting Special, Welcome to the Jungle, Jason Crumbles. Disc 2: If You Can't Stand the Heat, Dispatching Darryl, Tears Idle Tears, A No-Win-Ski Situation, Dropping Like Flies. Disc 3: The Vicious Circle, Timing Is Everything, The Rules of the Road, No Hill Too Tall nor Water Too Deep, That's Not the Story, The Beginning. There are a couple of ways to look at Tough Enough, MTV and the WWF's collaborative effort to join the fantasy worlds of sports-entertainment wrestling and reality television. To cynics (and hard-core wrestling fans), this is a cheap attempt by both companies to try to capitalize on the reality-TV fad. On paper it reads like Big Brother meets Smackdown: 13 would-be wrestlers are trapped inside a house trying to pick each other off and win a guaranteed WWF contract. Meanwhile, to ensure wrestling fans will watch, a different WWF superstar (Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Hardy Boyz) pops by each episode to offer encouragement or demean their efforts. Now, wrestling fans will complain (accurately) that in...

Manufacturer: Bci / Eclipse Brand: BCI ECLIPSE LLC

The Three Stooges - The world will never forget these zany kings of madcap! The pie-in-the-face comedy trio are at it again in four hilarious subjects: Disorder in the Court Malice in the Palace Sing a Song of Six Pants & Brideless Groom. (68 min)Laurel & Hardy - No one has brought the world more laughter than the comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Nor is anyone more beloved than these two funny gentle men- the thin one and the fat one. Flying Deuces is a perfect example of this duo's unique and hilarious comedy style! (69 min)Abbott & Costello - Abbott and Costello were one of the greatest comedy teams in the history of show business. They mastered the straight man/clown relationship creating a magical chemistry that would take them from the burlesque stage - to radio - to Broadway - to film and finally to television. Africa Screams is a true testament of their comedic genius. (79 min)W.C. Fields- One of the world's greatest comedians W.C. Fields was a master mimic whose humor and mock pompousness was accompanied by a unique combination of nasal drawl wooden expression and flawlessly timed gestures. He ad-llibbed many of his radio and movie scripts and maintained a cynic's role both on and off the screen. In these hilarious programs - The Dentist The Fatal Glass of Beer & The Golf Specialist- you will see why everyone loves this comic legend! (60 min)Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 787364400591 Manufacturer No: 44005-9

Manufacturer: Dv&a

Coming soon to a casino lounge, wedding, or bar mitzvah near you: it's the contestants of American Idol. This 90-minute highlights recap extends the proverbial 15 minutes of fame for the hopefuls who galvanized the nation as they contended for a recording contract. This talent show--part Star Search, part The Gong Show, part A Chorus Line--was an instant pop-culture phenomenon, but the breakout star of this series was arguably not winner Kelly Clarkson, she of the powerhouse voice, or even runner-up Jason Guarini, he of the Sideshow Bob hair. One of the judges, record producer Simon "Prince of Darkness" Cowell, emerged as the show's villain who audiences loved to hate. (A bonus segment on this DVD, "When Judges Attack," replays Simon's nastiest feuds with disgruntled contestants and fellow judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.) Relive the agony (staged comedy bits and bloopers with series hosts Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman, who, if nothing else, gave Saturday Night Live's Jimmy Fallon a prime target for parody), the triumphant solo performances, the cheesy ensemble numbers that went out with Up with People, and the onstage drama over who America would next vote offstage (the Tamyra Gray contingent is no doubt still in shock). On the DVD, a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage documenting each stage of the contest process should satisfy Idol-philes. --Donald Liebenson

Manufacturer: R2. ENTERTAINMENT

Dvd-American Idol ~ American Idol: The Search For A

Manufacturer: Alpha Video Brand: Bayside ENT Dist Model: 2289725

Four hilarious episodes of the classic TV quiz show on each DVD, featuring the wit of Groucho Marx.

Manufacturer: Alpha Video Model: 2233310

Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, "You Bet Your Life" made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs.