Customer Reviews

The Red Green Show - 1997 Season

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, I would like to mention that I was recently in Canada; Vancouver, British Columbia to be exact, visiting relatives for about 3 weeks. This set was released early in May. I could not find one store that usually stocks DVD's in the Vancouver area that carried this title. Being a Canadian show; I thought this rather odd. That changed when I started asking about it. One store would have ordered it for me for $49.99 Canadian, which I thought was a little pricey for 17 episodes. But, I do like this show, so I waited till I got home to the US and bought it here. It was well worth the wait.
I first found out about Red Green as most Americans did; from watching the program on PBS. I found out later that some of us closer to the border like Detroit, Buffalo and Seattle could pick it up on the CBC network directly. I was hooked from the start, for those of you who have never seen the show, it's like "Home Improvement" meets "Green Acres". But Steve Smith (Red Green) isn't as obnoxious as Tim Allen. Red Green is the leader of the Possum Lodge on Possum Lake; which is approximately 120 or so, beer stores north of Toronto, Ontario. Red Green thinks of himself as quite the handyman. He always finds a way to fix, repair or mend things with duct tape or as he refers to it as; "The handyman's secret weapon." Red has probably done more advertising for the 3M company than anyone else in the free world. In this set he makes a double wide limo out of two exact model and color, compact cars, that just happen to have been side-swiped on opposite sides. They are held together by; you guessed it, duct tape. When his van breaks down he uses a boat trailer and a 4 door Ford LTD to make a tow car (truck). It's amazing what he can do with a little ingenuity and lots of duct tape. These little jewels are included in the "Handyman Corner" segment of each episode. The funny thing about these hare-brained ideas of his is that they all seem to work! Well, probably for a little while anyway.
Some of you may wonder why they decided to start on season 7. I think I know the answer and Steve Smith confirms this in the program notes included with this set. When the show first started, it was just Red and his nephew Harold (Patrick McKenna) that were on the show. They were doing the show from smaller studios at independent networks with enough room for a couple of sets on the sound stage. Gradually, they started adding on characters. But 1997 was a indeed a lucky year for the show. The CBC network picked them up, gave the series a bigger budget and a larger studio set. The first studios only held about 100 people. The newer studio sat 300. They were able to do two shows of the same material in one night in front of two different audiences. As Steve Smith recalls; "The show probably would not have lasted for 15 years if the CBC hadn't picked us up." They were also able to do a lot more of the skits outside the studio, this was especially nice for some of the Handyman Corner segments. This is the same year that they re-named the series "The New" Red Green Show. So as I stated before; there are 17 episodes in this set on 3 single sided DVD disks. I own all 6 of the "Red Green Stuffed & Mounted" series and there are two episodes from the Stuffed & Mounted series that are in season 7. They are as follows.

"The Good Old Hockey Game" (Stuffed & Mounted #5)
"The Splinter Lodge" (Stuffed & Mounted #6)

There are program notes on disk one as well as biographies for just Red and Harold. These are the same biographies that are in the Stuffed & Mounted Disks. There is an individual episode play as well as "play all" option on the menu. It's easy to navigate through.
My only complaint is that the colors are a little dark and when there is a dark background, it darkens the colors even more. But the picture is crisp with no drop outs, so that makes it a little easier on the eyes.
The characters we all know and love are also included, Mike Hamar, Dalton Humphrey, Edgar Montrose, Ranger Gord and many others. And of course, my personal favorite, Hap Shaughnessy; the captain of the only ferry that crosses Possum Lake. Hap has done everything from playing for the 1967 Stanley Cup Champion, Toronto Maple Leafs to replacing Keith Richards on a Rolling Stones Tour. He also invented Christmas lights during World War II. When he was under the command of Sergeant Pepper. They were out of ammo and he invented the flashing lights so the German's would think they were still firing their weapons. Field Marshall Montgomery awarded him the Medal of Honor for this. Hap always has a tall tale to tell.
One of my favorite lines is. "It's time once again to talk about those three little words that men find so hard to say"....and the audience responds in unison with a loud "I Don't Know!"
I highly recommend this set to Red Green fans. So; if you are looking for something entertaining and laugh out loud funny, all I can tell you is, you can't go wrong with Red Green. So go ahead and get it, you won't be sorry.

To what R.L. Towler has stated in his great review, there are more than just 2 episodes that are repeats if you have each of the "Stuffed and Mounted" discs. R.L. states that Stuffed & Mounted #5 and #6 are the only repeats, but there are two more.
As stated by R.L. Towler:
"The Good Old Hockey Game" (Stuffed & Mounted #5)
"The Splinter Lodge" (Stuffed & Mounted #6)

Don't forget that the episode "Town Mall" from this season also appears in the Stuffed and Mounted series. Stuffed and Mounted #3 and #4 also had season 7 eps on them. Also is the one where Red teaches Harold to fight like a man. Not a huge deal, since you are still getting 13 new to DVD shows.

This season set is great, and I look forward to more late 90s releases and beyond! A great price as well.

Great ensemble cast and writers make
this show hilarious. 1997 season was
one of best for Red Green show and
this DVD is worth the price! Pick Up
On It!

The New Red Green Show has been around now for 15 year. And like all good shows it is coming to an end this year. This DVD set is the 7th season. Possum Lodge is alive and well. Each episode is still entertaining. To me the show has lost some of it's strength. As Steve Smith explains in his Bios as The Red Green Show increased in popularity they were able to move to a building with more space and money to produce the show. But, they cut the number of characters down for each show. Seasons 4 to 6 is still the best of The Red Green Show. Although they were never released as a single season set. But, in one collection titled "Stuffed and Mounted" which covered the earlier works of the Red Green Show.

This long-running Canadian comedy was popularised by PBS, but for those of us whose PBS stations do not broadcast this highly entertaining mock handyman sitcom, the DVDs are all we have. Steve Smith is Red Green, the host and expert on backwoods do-it-yourself projects, along with Patrick McKenna, who plays Harold Green, Red's geeky nephew and foil. Besides your guides, there are a number of colourful characters from Possom Lodge who are every bit quirky as the lead characters, including some very eccentric guests such as Graham Greene and Dave Thomas.

1997 marks the seventh season of its fifteen-year run, so I wonder why Acorn Media started here instead of at the beginning? Then I comfort myself with the realisation that I can't view these episodes any other way... It's a start (excluding the "Stuffed And Mounted" volumes and specials).

Learn how to turn two cars into a Hummer! What's better: curling or hockey? What do you do when you inherit 137 tubas?

Besides strange, fantastic (as in fantasy) ways to recycle old vehicles and appliances, the scripts are well-written, very witty at times, whilst heavy with puns at others. Usually I do not like puns, but if they are set up well enough, I do appreciate the effort.

There are 17 episodes, Red and Harold biographies, and production notes by Steve Smith. Let's hope the rest of the series will eventually become available.

For now, "keep your stick on the ice."

For those who are familiar with the show, you know that there are many regular segments that you may need the details on also. For example, "Adventures with Bill." Many are memorable in their own right, and may be what prompts you to buy a collection or not.

I was specifically looking for the show with the "Adventures with Bill" segment with the paintball gun fight between Harold, Bill and others - its one of their more hillarious segments. So how to find this level of detail in each episode? Check on redgreen.com, there's a fairly detailed description of each episode (for every season of the show, including this 7th season). There I found the description for '"Episode 152 - "Expropriation" - Red speculates in real estate when he hears about a new highway coming through Possum Lake. Bill and Harold have a paintball war game. Red makes a friend's van into a convertible.' So I am happy to find that this segment is on one of the episodes on this first full season volume to be released, season 7.

Of course, you won't always quite get down to the actual detail of which word was on "Word Game!" (sometimes it is listed, but not usually).

This series does pick up some "speed" (and commercial poilsh) with the advent of "the New Red Green Show" in this season (as detailed in other reviews), but while some of Red's Handyman segments are a little more drawn out and slower paced in older seasons, there are still lots of classic segments in those that are worth seeing again - just don't know if there if there is enough interest for them to do be able to do that (on a season by season basis).

Or how about a DVD of just "Adventures With Bill" (& Walter, etc. for the stretch where Bill was not in those similar segments), or "Handyman Corner," etc?

I just ordered the 97, 98, and 99 seasons and am anxiously awaiting their arival. I have been watching the show since I was in grade school in the early-90's. I started taping every episode every weeknight at ten. By the end of my senior year my buddies and I had collected nearly every episode on VHS. Sadly, the tapes have been worn out, even our backup copies. You can still get the idea from watching them, but I'm afraid the tape will break completely one of these days. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find these DVD's. I just wish there were earlier seasons available. The low-key, dry humor of the first few seasons is irreplacable. I will keep hunting and waiting for their digital release.

The Red Green Show is one of the best comedy's I have seen lately. It is truly an enjoyment for the whole family. There are no dirty words or situations to explain to the kids. We loved it!

This is a great set and contains many great episodes. I highly recommend it to any Red Green fan.

There were times while watching this that I had to pause because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. Good work from the entire cast & crew.