I've been enjoying my new copy of the
four-disc Red Wings DVD set. There's something magical about the fifty-dollar mark that made me think this set was too extravagant to justify buying when I first saw it in stores. But at thirty-something (as on Amazon, or before June 19 at Borders with
this coupon), it's a steal.
Reading the discs' contents to my inexplicably unexcited girlfriend, I had to admit I'd already seen all these games — "but I haven't seen
this one for eight years!" The period graphics are entertainment in themselves. TV infographics look dated after 18 months, and the PASS graphics from 1997 are near antiques. Watch the thrillingly acrimonious Colorado game from March 26th of that year (the only regular-season game included, incidentally) and you'll see what I mean: a dopey-looking PASS stat screen appears, listing the season's power play goals leaders, and the span of time between then and now suddenly yawns open in a newly real way.
Was it really so long ago? Is Darren McCarty really 33 years old now? Ach, glory days; they'll pass you by with the wink of a young girl's eye. Fortunately for those of us who cower at the thought of our own mortality, there are two playoff games from 2002 in this collection, too. That was just a few months ago, right? You might still have these on your TiVo. Watching them inspires much less reflection.
The discs' physical packaging is very stylish, but the menus on the DVDs are a lot uglier than you'd figure they ought to be. As more than one Amazon reviewer points out, a second or two of action has been cut out before and after the original commercial breaks. It's hard to figure why, but it's mostly —
mostly — not a problem.
I was very pleased to find the 1997 and 1998 championship season-in-review features in this collection, since my old VHS copies are being held by an erstwhile roommate. As with enemy combatants at Guantanamo, it is impossible to get information about the status of their detention, or when they might be released.