A number of other reviews in this forum berated the poor video quality of this package and other production values. Perhaps I have a later edition, or perhaps my standards are lower, but I have no complaints about the overall quality. It does appear that they came from an analog master (digital broadcasts still being in their relative infancy in 2004), but compared to my VHS recordings of the same games, I have no complaints.
Regarding the games themselves, my only two issues are (1) the absence of the ALDS, which to me (and many other, apparently) is inexplicable, and (2) the fact that they edited out most if not all of the pre- and post-game studio pieces, which would certainly help put each game in its context. Fortunately, I have both these discrepancies on my own personal recordings (again, VHS, but better than nothing), so I'll probably edit together my own supplemental set.
My only complaint is regarding the Bonus DVD. The 2004 World Series Film is about the quality you'd expect from MLB, so no problem there. The remaining features, or really featurettes, are by and large laughable. Let's review:
SCHILLING SPEAKS TO FANS -- a brief piece showing Schill taking a few questions in a fan forum at Fenway after the season, with very poor audio quality and equally poor editing, and dialogue (when audible) that really adds nothing to what we already knew.
CELEBRITY FANS ON THE BIG WIN -- a brief piece showing three, unidentified, supposedly celebrity Sox fans talking about their memories from the season. One of the individuals is Denis Leary; I have no idea who the other two are (their names are on the jacket, I later realized). Captions might have helped. More to the point -- are these the top 3 "celebrities" they could dig up? I generally consider a "celebrity" somebody I'd recognize without any help.
AROYO: PITCHER BY DAY, MUSICIAN BY NIGHT -- Bronson Arroyo says a few words, walks into a studio, and we see him singing "Dirty Water." This would be worthwhile if (a) he knew the words, (b) they didn't edit out the last verse, and (c) Arroyo actually could sing. Other than that, it was pretty good...
ALCS GAME 7 POST-GAME CELEBRATION -- Interesting at first, but we've seen many of these clips in separate features already, and the editing could be a lot better.
FRANCONA TAKES OVER -- Expecting a feature on how Francona was hired and his early days at the helm, maybe getting into Spring Training, we get a 2-minute sound-bite from his press conference. That's it. Nothing else. Really.
BEST OF ORTIZ WIRELESS -- Generally inaudible or unintelligible snippets of Big Papi throughout the season talking to other people.
ALCS GAME 1: TIMLIN & EMBREE WIRELESS -- Idle comments of two relief pitchers during batting practice. Yawn.
MILLAR SPEAKS WITH DAN SHAUGHNESSY -- Millar makes his now-famous statement "don't let us win tonight" prior to Game 4 of the ALCS.
DAMON SHAVES BEARD -- Yippee.
RED SOX VISIT THE WHITE HOUSE -- About what you'd expect, but marred by two incidents when the (single) cameraman inexplicably points his camera skyward during the President's remarks. Nice clouds up there.
WORLD SERIES LOCKER ROOM CELEBRATION -- See ALCS Game 7 postgame, above.
2005 RING & BANNER CEREMONY -- This was the first one I watched, as I wanted to see if it was the same as the "History Rings True" DVD I already purchased. It wasn't. It was dreadful. Laughably bad. This video appears to have been shot on somebody's flip phone from the Yankees dugout. There is no narration, just the inaudible PA announcer, and no captions, so you have no idea what's going on. They only show some of the players, skip the most poignant moment (of Johnny Pesky getting his ring), and then show *part* of the banner raising. Unbelievably bad.
All this to say -- buy it for the games. Even the three games they lost are worth watching (admittedly easier today as we know the final outcome) and it's a shame these losses are omitted from the 2007 and 2013 sets. I forced myself to watch them and was glad I did, and it's good to have them on archive. Just don't expect much from the Bonus DVD other than the World Series Film (which to most fans won't be anything new, but it's a good production).
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Like new! Delivered on time. Husband loved it and now has all the winning World Series in his collection. The fact that it came from a place in Massachusetts made it a little sweeter. It’s like having a piece of Boston here in Arizona! I gave it to him for his 52nd birthday to go in his sports room. Now he can relive the most awesome event in sports history. The Redsox breaking the curse!!!
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Mr. P. Hargreaves
season to remember
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 1, 2009
