Customer Reviews

Stories from the Vaults

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

 

 

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from these 30-minute segments - or as Tom Cavanaugh as host. What I got was much more than expected: a fun, fast look behind the scenes of the nation's most prestigious museum. Learn about magic lanterns, Phyllis Diller's thousand-joke card catalog, taxidermy, and more.

I was really impressed. Cavanaugh kept the content from becoming too boring. He is lively, and his bounce is the perfect balance to the quiet personalities behind the museum.

These are short and easy to watch - perfect for home schoolers, or those who like tidbits of trivia. Definitely worth the watch.

The host seems intelligent enough, but he seems to think that his constant patter of silly humor makes the content more appealing. It doesn't. I think he could be a good host and guide, however, he needs to tone it down and remember that the content he is presenting is more important than his charming, fun-filled personality. As my wife said, "The subject matter was good, but he needs to stop bouncing off the walls."

Stories from the Vault is a great video showing how things end up in museums. Sounds somewhat boring, but with Tom Cavaunagh hosting the show, anything could happen in a hilarious adventure. Can't wait for season 2!

...is Tom Cavanaugh. His constant "look at me, look at me" silliness detracts greatly from what could be a very interesting series. It needs a whole lot more content and a whole lot less Tom. Honestly, how many times can he mug for the camera, run into trees, trip, etc before somebody, somewhere goes, "Uh, Tom, you wanna knock it off. Yes, you have cute dimples and you can be fairly appealing, but STOP!"? His constant (Yeah, I know I used the word "constant" before, but it is what it is) interuption of the experts at the Smithsonian with stupid remarks, the camera minutes wasted with his antics just ruined the whole series for me.

I like the whole idea of going back into the inner workings of the Smithsonian and see the incredible amount of items they have stored. Information like the different buidings, the shear size of the place, and focusing on various items is interesting, which is the reason I bought the thing to start with.

He's in both the first and second series, unfortunately. Were I the one in charge I would have gotten someone like Leonard Nimoy to do the next one. Regardlyss, I won't be getting STORIES FROM THE VAULTS II, even though I love stuff like this, simply because Cavanaugh is the "host" - and I use the word with tongue in cheek.

Seriously, pass this one by and get Nova's THE VIKINGS instead. More content, less stupidity.