Courtesy: Major League Baseball/Shout! Factory
The Houston Astros’ run to the 2017 World Series Championship is an historic part of Major League Baseball’s history. When the city that the team calls home was inundated by flood waters from Hurricane Harvey, the team became a beacon of hope for its residents. The team took that mantle and literally ran with it, giving its all from one game to the next, eventually finishing the regular season with 101 wins before advancing steadily but surely through the post season and on to the World Series Championship. Now thanks to Major League Baseball Productions and Shout! Factory, baseball fans nationwide can relive the Astros’ unlikely season, from the devastation of Harvey this summer to the final out of the World Series’ seventh game in the new 2017 World Series documentary. That story is told through the doc’s bonus material and its roughly 90-minute main feature, both of which are key elements of the doc’s presentation. The doc’s availability on DVD, Blu-ray and digital on one platform is also key in that it allows viewers to take in the story in all three platforms through just one setting. Each element is important in its own right to this forthcoming documentary, which is currently set to be released Tuesday, Dec. 5. All things considered, they make this documentary a solid companion piece for the 2017 World Series Collector’s Edition: Houston Astros.
Major League Baseball Productions and Shout! Factory’s upcoming 2017 World Series documentary is a solid companion piece to the companies’ also soon-to-be-released 2017 World Series Collector’s Edition: Houston Astros. That is due in no small part to the story told through the pairing of the doc’s bonus material and its main feature. The main feature, which runs roughly 90 minutes, takes audiences through the entirety of the 2017 World Series, one game at a time, while also acknowledging the motivation that the Astros had to play so hard. It is told through the words of the men who took to the field on both sides of the ball game-by-game and through footage recorded during each game. That footage includes pre-game warmups by both teams. The frank words from the players does plenty to enhance the series’ importance because it lets audiences know firsthand what they must have been feeling in each game. The original broadcast audio from both teams’ radio networks adds even more emotion to the story. While there is some extraneous narration from Morgan Spector, his verbiage is kept to a minimum, making the experience all the more enjoyable. That minimization allows the teams and announcers to tell the story, again making for plenty of enjoyment. That enjoyment more than ensures viewers’ maintained engagement from beginning to end. Of course the story told through the doc’s main feature is only one way in which the story told here proves so solid. The story told through the bonus material also plays into that strength.
The bonus material included in the 2017 World Series documentary includes two short yet impacting segments — “Houston Strong” and “How They Got There” — that tell the story of the Astros’ motivation to play hard for Houston and the impact of that drive. The prior tells the story in short but concise fashion, the story of Hurricane Harvey hitting Houston and of the Astros’ desire to be there for the city’s people. The latter tells the story of how the team’s efforts got it through its highs and even the lows of mid-season injuries, eventually giving way to the acquisition of Justin Verlander and the return to form for the Astros. The whole thing culminates with the Astros’ ALCS win over the Yankees. Given, it’s an extremely brief mention, but is there nonetheless. The bonus “Clenching Moments” and “Regular Season Highlights” reels add to the story told through the two main bonuses, making for even more engagement and entertainment for audiences. When all of this additional bonus material is set alongside the doc’s main feature, the end result is, for all intents and purposes, an in-depth story of how the Astros went from starting over from 2016’s struggles to taking on the mantle of Houston’s guiding light (so to speak) to Major League Baseball Champions. It is a story that every baseball fan will appreciate regardless of team loyalty, and is just one more reason that the doc in whole proves such a solid companion to the 2017 World Series Collector’s Edition: Houston Astros. The availability of the program on three separate platforms in one single setting puts the finishing touch on the program’s presentation.
Major League Baseball Productions and Shout! Factory have made it possible for audiences to enjoy the 2017 World Series documentary on DVD, Blu-ray and digital platforms in one single combo pack. That’s nothing new for the companies’ World Series documentaries. What is really great for audiences is that they have made it possible for audiences to enjoy the program on all three platforms in one single setting, rather than forcing them to choose between platforms. The average price point of $22.78 ($23 and change with tax) gives audiences all three platforms in one, allowing them to enjoy the program at home and on the go. For those wanting just one platform, the program is also being made available on standalone DVD at an aver age price point of $20.22. That’s not a bad price point, and is cheaper on the surface than the price point for the 3-platform combo pack. However in a 24/7 digital world, the slightly more expensive combo pack that includes a digital download code makes more sense. Not only that but it also allows audiences to watch the program on any platform or even lend one of the discs to family and/or friends without worry. Keeping that in mind, the availability of this documentary on both multi-platform setting and a single platform setting shows how much thought was put even into this aspect of its presentation. MLB Productions and Shout! Factory are to be commended just as much for this as for the product presented through the program’s central and bonus content. When all of this is considered along with the story told through the noted content, the result is a presentation that is just as enjoyable to take in as the actual World Series and that expertly completes the presentation of this year’s Fall Classic.
MLB Productions and Shout! Factory’s upcoming 2017 World Series documentary program is a solid companion piece for the companies 2017 World Series Collector’s Edition: Houston Astros. It takes the presentation in that program and builds on it by giving audiences an even deeper look into the World Series from the mouths of the men who took the field. It also takes audiences through the Astros’ regular and post season with separate highlights reels. Those reels, while short, come together in whole to paint a relatively full picture of Houston’s road to the World Series. The availability of that full story on three platforms in one setting (DVD/BD/digital combo pack) strengthens the program’s presentation even more. Each element is clearly important in its own right to the presentation’s whole. All things considered, they make the 2017 World Series documentary a solid companion piece for the 2017 World Series Collector’s Edition: Houston Astros and certainly another program that every baseball fan will appreciate regardless of team loyalty. It will be available Dec. 5 and can be pre-ordered online now via Shout! Factory’s online store. More information on this and other titles from Shout! Factory is available online now at:
Website: http://www.shoutfactory.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shoutfactoryofficial
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ShoutFactory
To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
philspicks 