Customer Reviews

Miami Ink - Season 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my first Tatto DVD show. I felt that the show is really good and worth buying. The stories are very interesting and as far as i saw not a boring episode in this set. I was dissapointed on the censored episodes but hey it's all good. I definetly recomend this series.

While flipping channels one day, I came across the second season of 'L.A. Ink,' with Kat Von D. I don't know how I had been so, out-of-the-loop, to have missed it previously. Now mind you, I'm screeching past, middle-age, and I own NO tattoos, but I was immediately hooked by Kat and her crew, DVR'ing every show.

While researching back-story on Kat, I learned she had started out with the popular series, 'Miami Ink,' which I had not seen either. I wanted to watch Kat's growth, leading to her own spin-off series, a book, make-up, and even a fragrance. This young woman was on a roll! I purchased Season I of 'Miami Ink,' to witness her first exposure. I was pleased, that Kat was in a few of the episodes, because there is a very clear transition from her early appearances on MI, to the Kat of the here, and now. Her appearance has changed, her demeanor, and certainly, her confidence. It was fun to watch Kat's metamorphosis to such celebrity status and success, while defying traditional social norms---a good lesson for all. Yea, Kat!

Okay, so back to MI. First off, this set contains 5 discs, with 21 episodes. I'd call that a lot of, bang-for-the-buck, even if you are just remotely interested in this cast of characters. But, I can almost guarantee, that after you watch a couple of episodes, and become enamoured with the artists, you won't want to miss a single minute. Observing these talented and distinct personalities working long hours, in such confined space, leads to some very unusual circumstances. Sometimes the testosterone runs high ,and yes, boys, will be boys.

The customers can be heartwarming, particularly those seeking to memorialize a loved one. In contrast, some are demanding, and, not too likable. But pleasant, or not, they are treated with respect and some serious artwork. If you have harboured negative images of tattoo shops, in the past, I think these artists may convince you, that many shops operate quite thoughtfully and professionally. Be warned, you may even get the itch to have a tattoo.

Chris Garver is a pleasure to watch, since he is reputed to be one of the best in the business. Of course, Kat brings to life some wonderful portraits; her specialty. Ami, Chris, Darren and Yogi, complete the cast of characters, each with individual stories, worries and some personal baggage. As with all reality series, you will meet their mothers, friends, dates, dogs, and visit their abodes, etc. By the end of the first season, you will feel like you know them, making it clearly understandable why this series has gained such success.

How can you beat over 900 minutes of Great Tattoos!!For 20.00 I would highly recommend this

This is a review covering all six seasons. Miami Ink is a reality show on TLC that was located at a tattoo shop in Miami Beach, Florida. It premiered in 2005, and has run for six seasons. The first four seasons were interesting. I learned a lot about the process of producing an excellent tattoo. They talk about the tools and how they make the stencils. Last two seasons were really dragged out. There were only a few interesting moments here and there towards the last seasons. Season Six had the best intro by far. Few interesting people, but really I think Miami Ink died after Kat Von D left. Kat Von D brought a lot of interest to the show. Honestly, I only started watching the show for Kat Von D. She was a family person, she was funny, she cared for her clients, she treated everyone with the same respect, and she had a good relationship with her fellow tattoo artists, except Ami. It's obvious she has her own fan base. I don't blame her for leaving Miami. I'm not into the whole skanky beach scene myself. Granted, she was a bit rude to those biker people in season four. American Chopper? Who the hell cares anyway? If she doesn't want to tattoo them, she doesn't have to. I'm sure there were tattoos Ami didn't want to do, such as script. That leads me to the people who come for tattoos. It is obvious a lot of people make up reasons to get tattoos. There doesn't need to be a reason to get one. If you want one for the hell of it, just get one. I guess the show needed things to talk about though. Other than that, there were a lot of sad stories. All kinds of people walk in to get a tattoo, some more sane than others. Some more fake than others. There were a lot of repeat offenders. Although there were very few tattoos that I would actually get, almost all were intricate and high quality. I'm not sure why Ami and Chris decided to open up a bar. I feel that is more time consuming and not as rewarding as creating art, but I'm sure they did make money from it. It's interesting what kind of homes they bought after a few working five season. I should mention the episode where they went to New Orleans. I think what they did for that man who lost his home was wonderful and that painting was beautiful. I should have become a tattoo artist.
Artists:
Ami James - Ami James is one of those guys who wear their heart on their sleeve. He may be a little OCD. But overall Ami is funny and I see a lot of my personality in him. He's funny and real. His impersonations made me laugh. I can see why he would have conflict with co-workers. It's hard to keep it professional when you have a temper that can go from 0-60. He does nice work. Maybe limited, but professional nevertheless. And I thought it was cool that he talked about Israeli traditions or customs. I also liked that he got a dog Bella, and later a cat. That was unexpected. He also loves kids.
Chris Garver- It's clear that Garver is very artistic. I like his work a lot. He has a lot of knowledge, and flexibility in art and I'm sure he will never have a hard time finding work if he gets back problems again. He is very calm and laid back, which is why he works well with a lot of artists. He is professional and easy to work with.
Yoji Harada-Obviously, Yogi is there because he is friends with the rest of the group. Otherwise he doesn't belong there. I'm not sure to what the extent his artistic capabilities are now, but I don't see myself getting tattooed by him unless it is kanji. He is basically the shop's bitch, but he doesn't do a very good job of managing the shop as far as what I see from the show. Outside of the shop, Yoji has a beautiful baby girl named Sydney. That was pleasant to see. And I liked the episode where Yogi went to Japan to see his mom. He is musically talented. He knows how to play the guitar. I'm not sure why he decided to pursue tattooing over his music. Nevertheless, Yogi is a funny guy that the other tattooists like to joke around with.
Darren Brass - At first I thought Darren was going to be a goof, but he is actually one of the most professional guys in the shop. He can do a wide variety of tattoos. He really got a lot of unique ones. I liked the way he went about his divorce with Carolina. It wasn't talked about over four episodes. It was only one episode. I'm not sure what the problem was, but he seems like a nice guy and Carolina seemed annoying. What seems strange is that he had a hard time having a baby with Carolina while married with her. Yet he goes out with this ugly girl for two seconds and she's already preggers. Strange. I don't know. He and Talea don't look right. I feel that Darren didn't get enough camera time overall. They gave the child birth too much time!
Chris Nuñez-Chris needs to grow up. He really isn't very professional. He shows up late to work for endless partying. There was an episode where he kissed a girl's rear end. Obviously anything with women in bikinis was put into the show for more ratings and viewers. I'm not sure how he can conduct business in a drunken state. He even screwed up on a tattoo on Season Five, episode Two. His habits may have been the result his father's suicide. I'm not sure, but at least he respects his mom. Oh, and I was amazed at how many speeding tickets he got. I have to say, despite all, he can produce some really nice tattoos.
I suggest watching Miami Ink if you are looking into getting a tattoo. I'm kind of sad the show discontinued. Overall, Miami Ink had a lot incorporated that is catered to a male audience, such as, the bikes, cars, cage fighting, skaters, racing, baseball, golf, graffiti, and "fashion" contests. Obviously, it's an all male cast so no surprise there. Anyway, I am glad Kat Von D got a spin off for LA Ink and I am looking forward to watching it.

Pioneer on tattoo tv series, Miami Ink is a perfect way to look better this world of tattoo and piercing. Far away from the long-lasting view considering them as a practice for pirates and excons, tattoos also can be seen as a form of mild self-expression.

THIS IS SO COOL, GREAT ARTWORK, CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER, ALWAYS DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW AND AMAZING, THESE GUYS ARE THE BEST TATTOO ARTISTS AROUND. IF YOU LIKE TATTOOS OR ART YOUR GOING TO LOVE THESE DVD'S

Miami Ink is a great program. There is great artwork, a display of the process for the artists, humor, real stories from real customers (many the kind one wouldn't hear from a stranger otherwise). I recommend this to any form of visual artist, anyone who likes tattoos- or art for that matter. One plus for Miami Ink over LA Ink is that the artists handle more complicated tats like cover-ups and talk about the factor of time's influence in a tattoo's overall quality.

A while back I had heard about this show, and I never really payed much attention to it until more recently. Kudos for it being the first show (that I know of) to feature tattoo artists tattooing real people, and letting them share tattoo stories. However, the kudos end there at that point. Here's the negative...for a series featuring a shop full of dudes, there sure is a lot of drama. A lot of the time, shop owner Ami reminds me Chef Ramsey from Hell's Kitchen and Paul from American Chopper on a bad day. If I wanted to see an airhead on tv, I'd watch those shows along with some of the other drivel they call reality tv. In all honesty, I'm sure he's a good artist, but I wouldn't pick him to do any ink work. The other artists just don't strike me as people that work well together, neither do they seem real appealing. I've met some cool artists in my time that seem like they could be put into a single shop, have a show about them, and they'd probably do better than Miami Ink. Wait for LA Ink to be released on dvd. Every artist featured is far more appealing, there's little to no drama, and it's in a shop with 4 girls and 1 guy. Oh, the irony.