SURVIVOR-BEST OF SEASON 2

 PARAMOUNT’s previous dvd release for the reality-based “SURVIVOR” television series was a surprisingly entertaining compilation of the best scenes from the season.  This 2nd dvd compiles the best scenes from the 2nd “SURVIVOR” season, this time set in the Australian outback. 
In both of the settings, the locations chosen create many harsh challenges for the two teams making up the challengers, but the various tensions created by personality conflicts have always been the harshest and most difficult challenge for contestants.  The problem with this 2nd offering lies in the contestants themselves.  They’re just not that interesting or easy to root for.  There’s no “GAY RICHARD” or “DISGUSTING SUSAN” to entertain us now!    We do get to view the audition tapes for the various contestants, as well as highlights from the show, tribal council votes and the last interviews. 

The dvd retains the show’s original full frame aspect ratio.  The image is sharp with fine detail and color values, and one can easily be blown away by the beautiful locations chosen.  There’s depth to every image, save for the mediocre quality audition tape segment. 

Unfortunately, this presentation, unlike the first season dvd, is not presented with a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.  Instead, there’s only a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix which is more limited in range than the previous release.  The show’s music is rich but everything else is subdued.