General

The Biggest Loser Workout, Vol. 1

Six workout routines designed for weight loss that are used in the television reality program \""The biggest loser\"".
Genre: Exercise/Fitness
Rating: NR
Release Date: 20-DEC-2005
Media Type: DVD

Project Runway - The Complete Second Season

A group of up and coming fashion designers are presented with weekly design challenges in an attempt to win a large cash prize and a photo spread in Elle magazine.
Genre: Television
Rating: G
Release Date: 20-MAR-2007
Media Type: DVD

Fabulous from head to toe, Project Runway differs from many of its reality-show peers in that 1) its contestants are actually skilled at a difficult trade (in this case, fashion design) and 2) it boasts the most engaging hosts (supermodel Heidi Klum and Parsons Fashion chair Tim Gunn, who's become a breakout star himself). Season Two benefits from a more streamlined process--gone is the model-picking cattle call every episode--and a cast twice as memorable as Season One. Compare the ideas of kind fashion teacher Nick vs. wearable-technology geek Diana; the profound commentary of South African boho-chick Kara ("there's a life to the garment") vs. dim-bulb early cast-off Heidi ("I thought it was just, pretty… I mean, she looked pretty"). Revel in the arrogant musings, over-the-top designs, and dead-on Tim Gunn impressions of Santino Rice, who was wrongly mislabeled the villain of Project Runway. That honor truly goes to bossy witch Zulema, who never met an excuse she didn't like, and broke a gentleman's agreement by swiping Nick's "muse," model Tarah, halfway through the season (In a bittersweet end, Zulema's subsequent ousting forced an early exit for Tarah as well). There's even a surprise return of Season One's Daniel Franco, whose quivering voice and shuffle added even more spice to the pot.

This season's challenges included designing for Barbie, heiress Nicky Hilton, figure skater Sasha Cohen, and supermodel Iman; creating outfits from the clothes off their back; and designing a garden-party dress out of flowers and plants. Watching their creations (which are, in many cases, impressive) criticized by grumpy judges Michael Kors and Elle fashion director Nina Garcia makes for some of the best drama on television.

The DVD includes the full, uncut versions of Santino's runway argument with Nina and flamboyant contestant Andre's weepy breakdown in front of the judges (9 minutes, 53 seconds); more musical numbers invented by Santino and Nick ("No one's gonna sew no mooooore"); footage of the cast's audition tapes, and a Where Are They Now? featurette with Season One's contestants. A must-have accessory for fans of the show. --Ellen A. Kim

Project Runway - The Complete Third Season

International Supermodel Heidi Klum returns as host of Project Runway Season 3 heading up a glamorous panel of celebrities and fashion icons in search of the next great fashion designer. System Requirements:Run Time: 800 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 796019807524 Manufacturer No: 80752

The third season of Bravo's reality hit boasted the most evenly matched upper roster of aspiring designers thus far in the series, and maintained the show's reign as one of the best in reality television (it's been nominated for an Emmy every year). It also featured not just one clichéd villain, but several: Keith, the impossibly arrogant menswear designer who believed he was "above" all challenges (and refusing to design the dog outfit mandated as part of that challenge); Jeffrey, the tattooed rock-star designer who was as condescending as he was innovative (yet, because of his bluntness, successful sobriety and impossibly cute son, you couldn't help but like the guy a little); and Vincent, the slightly perverse '80s-era designer who famously cashed out his 401(k) to try the business again and whom always seems two sandwiches short of a picnic. The season's challenges included making a dress out of materials from the contestants' apartments, modernizing the look of a fashion icon (from Audrey Hepburn to Madonna), and designing an evening gown for Miss USA (the later fallen Tara Conner) to wear in the Miss Universe pageant. Later in the season, the remaining finalists were able to jet off to Paris to be judged by designer Catherine Malandrino, whose criticisms were actually harsher than host Heidi Klum's ("You look rideeeculous," she tells one. "You look like a fehk pop stahr." ). Other guest judges during the season included Vera Wang, Kate Spade, Ivanka Trump, and Richard Tyler.

Project Runway stands out from many other reality shows in that talent was actually a requisite and there was no audience voting to keep undeserving contestants in. Not to say there weren't any frustrating contenders overstaying their welcome (Take Angela, the farm girl who claimed her dresses were "mistaken for Yves Saint Laurent" back home, but felt the need to smother all her creations with rosettes), but the competition was evenly, satisfyingly matched toward the end. The DVD includes the reunion episode, which features a tense exchange between Keith and Klum and pokes fun at den father/breakout star Tim Gunn's "$3 vocabulary." A couple of bonus features follow the finalists post-show, profiles Gunn, and shows an assortment of outtakes. Not featured on the DVD? The many, many Saturn Sky Roadster promotions that preceded every commercial when it aired on television. And for that, we happily say Auf Wiedershen. --Ellen A. Kim

The Simple Life - The Complete Fifth Season (Goes to Camp)

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie unleash their patented brand of mischief and mayhem as camp counselors in the fifth season of The Simple Life. System Requirements:Run time: 220 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 024543488125 Manufacturer No: 2248812

Before Nicole Richie became a mommy and prior to Paris Hilton's brief but well-publicized incarceration, there was the fifth season of The Simple Life. In the 10 episodes that aired from May to August 2007, the former frenemies are again best friends forever and wreaking havoc in a summer camp-type situation. Because this is a reality series (wink, wink), the high-maintenance blondes are placed in fish-out-of-water scenarios that poke a little fun at themselves, but mostly mocks the real "simple" people they're trying to fit in with (at least on camera). Though the show is called The Simple Life, Hilton and Richie go out of their way to complicate matters. When they help run a fat camp, the rail-thin ditzes sabotage their clients' weight loss goals by taking them out for junk food. They teach young pageant girls how to flip the bird. And we won't even get into the anatomy lessons. But none of that is as repugnant as when Hilton coaches an 11-year-old would-be Lothario to pick up women... using a six-year-old girl as bait. There are plenty of actresses who aren't particularly good thespians, but they have a likable presence that makes them pleasant to watch on the screen. There is none of that here: Neither Richie or Hilton are good enough actors to make the viewer believe that any of this is real. And neither is interesting enough to make us forget that there really isn't a good reason to watch them do anything, especially when their humor is based on making fun of everyone who isn't them. That's not hot. --Jae-Ha Kim

Project Runway - The Complete First Season

This sexy and addictive hit show will draw you in with its irresistible combination of creativity and intensity inside the glamorous industry of high fashion! Starring beautiful international supermodel Heidi Klum -- you'll go behind the scenes and take an unguarded look at what it takes for some hip young designers to make it in the highly competitive world of fashion! Featuring every entertaining episode of the acclaimed first season, this must-have DVD collection also includes a wealth of never-before-seen outtakes and reams of bonus material!

Survivor Palau - The Complete Season

Broadcast in early 2005, Survivor Palau was the tenth season of the kingpin reality show, and one of the best. The challenges were often brutal, and the cast was diverse and interesting: Tom, the NYC firefighter, one of the most dominating competitors in the history of the show; gangly dolphin trainer Ian; commanding Jolanda; tattooed fireball Angie; Southern gentleman Bobby Jon; towering Coby; redneck James; Vegas showgirl Janu; schoolteacher Wanda, who wrote her own lyrics for, and didn't stop singing, Survivor-themed songs; and arch-eyebrowed Stephenie. Before the season was over, there would be a setting of teams using a "schoolyard pick" system that eliminated two of the 20 contestants right off the bat, some romance, a shark kill, the first appearance of Exile Island (which would be a bigger factor in later seasons), a marathon final-three challenge with a surprising ending, and a contestant who some fans considered the best female competitor ever and others considered the most overrated.

Each season of Survivor has its signature moments, and in Palau two challenges stood out. One was the two tribes marching in a circle in the surf, each carrying weights while trying to catch up to the other tribe. The other was a slugfest in which contestants from the two tribes stood on a small platform and tried to knock each other into the water. Two of the contestants turned out to be popular enough to make a return appearance in a later season. On the DVDs are 45 minutes of featurettes with new interviews of Tom, Ian, Stephenie, Bobby Jon, Katie, Jen, Gregg, and Caryn remembering highlights of the season. The eight then broke into two groups of four to record spirited and nostalgic commentary tracks on a total of five episodes. In a well-meaning statement of the obvious, the menu warns against listening to the commentaries if you don't already know who won. --David Horiuchi

Twenty Americans are stranded in Palau the South Pacific paradise some call the 8th natural wonder of the world where colorful wildlife dense jungles and an underwater world beyond belief are haunted by the wreckage and remnants of World War II. From the beginning the game will be changed in a dramatic way: everything the Survivors have come to expect will be wiped out in the first 10 minutes. Who will outwit outplay and outlast all others in Palau?System Requirements:Runtime: 725 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/REALITY UPC: 097368898943 Manufacturer No: 889894

The Mole - The Complete First Season

The hit reality series full of mystery, adventure and fun. 10 players work as a team to complete a series of difficult physical and psychological tests. However, one of the players is a "mole" whose goal it is to foil the efforts of the other thirteen players without revealing his or her identity. In the final dramatic episode, The Mole is revealed and the one remaining player wins the jackpot, up to $1,000,000.

Survivor - The Australian Outback: The Complete Second Season

Survivor Vanuatu - The Complete Season

Producer/creator Mark Burnett unleashed a pop culture phenomenon--and changed the face of early-21st-century television--with his hugely popular reality series SURVIVOR. Singlehandedly ushering in the age of reality-television the action-adventure series more than lives up to its name as real-world contestants are divided into opposing teams and stranded in a remote location to compete in daredevil challenges in pursuit of a million-dollar prize. The team that wins each challenge earns either a prize or immunity while the losing team faces an elimination round where one member is ceremoniously dismissed. Adding a human element to the cutthroat competition are the personal interactions between team members which impact the game through strategic alliances--or dooming enmities. This collection presents every episode of the series' fascinating and highly watchable ninth season which takes place on the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu and includes such memorable survivors as Chris Scout Eliza and Sarge.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: UNRATED UPC: 097368873148 Manufacturer No: 887314

Against a backdrop of volcanoes and earthquakes, the ninth season of Survivor, called Vanuatu: Islands of Fire, got off to a rousing start at a native ritual ceremony full of spears, nasty drinks, a fertility idol, and a lot of sexist attitudes. When the natives divided the 18 Americans into groups of men and women, it stuck, and another battle of the sexes was on. Among the Lopevi members: Lea, the "Sarge" barking out orders; Travis, a.k.a. "Bubba," wearing his Bob Barker T-shirt; Brady, the FBI agent; Chris, whose struggles on the balance beam made him an early target; and outspoken Rory. Among the Yasur members: power broker Ami; big-eyed Eliza, whose motor mouth overshadowed a surprising resilience; acid-tongued Twila; and sheep farmer Dolly. Also on the teams were two players with physical impediments: Chad, with a prosthetic leg, and the spiritual Scout, whose artificial knee made her the most immobile Survivor contestant ever. Age lines were drawn as well, with one group dubbed the "Fat Five." But just when the tide seemed certain, a number of reversals, one infamous broken promise, plenty of tears, and host Jeff Probst's corniest-ever final entrance kept things interesting. Trivia: one contestant with a penchant for nude sunbathing ended up dating Probst after the season ended. Probst, Chris, Twila, Eliza, Chad, Scout, Julie, and Ami return for commentary on five episodes and 35 minutes of featurettes on the DVDs. --David Horiuchi

Newlyweds - Nick & Jessica - The Complete Second and Third Seasons

MTV's reality series about the joys and challenges of juggling a relationship with rising celebrity kicks into a higher gear in seasons 2 and 3 now that Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey have a year of marriage under their belts. With both of them--separately and together--in heavy demand in Atlantic City, at photo shoots, surf meets, parades, football games, movie auditions, television and radio shows, and more, the couple have a hard time finding energy to be together. In the 20 episodes included in the Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica: The Complete Second and Third Seasons boxed set, there are several instances in which the pair go to some lengths to find private time: attending the Kentucky Derby, traveling to be with family over Christmas holidays, and taking a skiing trip that doesn't work out so well for poor Nick.

Meanwhile, Nick and Jessica have to contend with aggressive paparazzi and fans, exhausting hours under hot lights, Jessica's pushy father-manager, and interpersonal conflicts when Jessica's best friend (and personal assistant) moves in with the couple. Compensating for all those trying times, however, is the duo's obvious devotion to one another, made clear through several elaborate, celebratory gestures each makes toward the other. Even if one doesn't find either Nick or Jessica to be particularly stimulating company, or find the process of turning somewhat talented people into larger-than-life celebrities to be interesting, the fly-on-the-wall documentary approach of Newlyweds quickly becomes irresistible to the voyeur in everyone. --Tom Keogh

America's favorite superstar couple, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, are back for not one but two seasons of NEWLYWEDS: NICK & JESSICA! That means twice the romance, twice the Jessica moments, and twice the craziness of being married in the spotlight. Things are more exciting than ever in Seasons Two and Three, with exotic locales, superstar performances, even a new housemate. But will the honeymoon last with lovers' quarrels, swirling rumors, and the paparazzi at the gate?