PBS Kids, PBS Distribution’s New Season, Holiday DVD Sets Will Entertain, Engage Audiences Of All Ages

Courtesy: PBS Kids/PBS Distribution

The unofficial start of the annual holiday season is only days away.  For those who don’t know, that is a reference to Halloween.  As Halloween nears, many are already turning their attention to colder weather and Christmas, including officials with PBS Kids and PBS Distribution.  The companies are scheduled to release two new seasonal DVD collections Oct. 19 on DVD in the form of PBS Kids: 20 Snowy Stories and PBS Kids Christmas Collection.  The collections, one a double-disc collection and the other a single-disc set, are successful new offerings.  Their success comes in part through the episodes featured in the set.  This will be examined shortly.  While the featured episodes do plenty to keep viewers engaged and entertained, the sets are not perfect.  Each collection suffers in the way of their packaging.  This element will be examined a little later.  The sets’ pricing rounds out their most important elements and will also be discussed later.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the collections.  All things considered, they make the collections wonderful ways for families to get into the seasonal and holiday spirit.

PBS Kids and PBS Distribution’s upcoming DVD collections, PBS Kids: 20 Snowy Stories and PBS Kids Christmas Collection are mostly successful offerings from the companies.  Their success is due in large part to their featured episodes.  The episodes are culled from a variety of PBS Kids’ most beloved series past and present, such as Arthur, Splash & Bubbles, and Word World just to name a few.  Also featured are episodes from the likes of Let’s Go Luna!, Dinosaur Train, and World World just to name a few more.  For the most part, the episodes feature stories that match the collections’ titles, too.  The only episode that is out of place is the Dinosaur Train episode, “Cretacious Conifers.”  Featured in the 20 Snowy Stories collection, it has no snow or even ice.  Yes, there is a mention of the winter solstice at points throughout, but it also focuses heavily on more of a Christmas theme as the story progresses.  To that end, it seems more of a fit on the Christmas Collection set.  While the Ready Jet Go! episodes featured in the 20 Snowy Stories collection are a little bit of a stretch – they feature Jet and his friends bringing ice back from outer space to beat the summer heat in two separate ways and for two separate reasons – they do at least fit a little bit.

Courtesy: PBS Kids/PBS Distribution

In the case of the Christmas Collection, its episodes are more uniformly in line with its title.  One of the most notable of its episodes is “Luna’s Christmas Around the World.”  After getting stuck in Antarctica thanks to the captain of the ship on which they are riding, Andy, Carmen and Leo lean from the members of the Circo Fabuloso how Christmas is celebrated in different regions of the world.  By the episode’s end, the kids learn the most important lesson of all about Christmas as they finally get the boat working again and leave Antarctica.

WordWorld’s episode, “The Christmas Star” is another of the most notable of the Christmas Collection episodes.  The title sounds like something that might present a religious theme, but that could not be farther from the truth.  Rather, in this case, Duck is on a search for the Christmas star because it belongs on top of the Christmas tree that he and his friends have put up.  Duck wants to use the star as his present to his friends.  Of course it has a happy ending that also ties in a basic spelling lesson.

Wild Kratts: A Creature Christmas has already been released on a standalone Wild Kratts DVD.  That aside, it is still welcome here.  In this extended episode, it’s up to Chris, Martin and their friends to save a group of animal babies from Zach Varmitech after he kidnaps the cute, cuddly creatures for use as ornaments on his own metal Christmas tree.  As with every other episode in which the guys face off against Zach, they come out on top and get the animals back to the wild and living free.  How it happens will be left for audiences to discover for themselves if they have not yet seen this special episode.  Between this episode, the others examined here and the rest of those in this set and in 20 Snowy Stories, the episodes in whole make for more than enough reason to add these collections to one’s home library.  This is the case even though at least one episode is a bit out of place in its collection.

While the episodes featured in these collections form a strong foundation for the sets, the collections are not necessarily perfect.  The lack of an episode guide anywhere in the packaging detracts from the presentations to a point.  The episode guides are obviously there when audiences put the sets’ discs into their DVD and/or Blu-ray players, but they are not printed anywhere within the packaging.  As a result, audiences are forced to figure out and essentially memorize which episodes are aligned with which discs.  Yes, this is an aesthetic issue, but it would certainly help the presentation because it would save audiences time and effort in trying to decide which episode(s) they want to watch.  Instead of the episodes, the packaging lists the episodes’ sponsors inside the case.  That could have been done on the back of each set’s case.  This is not enough to make the presentations failures, but certainly would have benefited the sets’ presentations.

Keeping in mind that the lack of episode guides in the set is not enough to completely ruin them, there is one more positive to address.  It comes in the form of the collections’ pricing.  The average price point for PBS Kids: 20 Snowy Stories is $7.95.  Rounded up, it is a mere $8.00.  That price is obtained by averaging prices listed through Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Books-A-Million, and PBS’ store.  Books-A-Million and PBS are the only retailers that exceed that price point, while the majority of the others list the double-disc collection at either $6.95 or $6.99.  Best Buy lists the collection at $7.99, which while a few cents over the average, is still right in line with the average price point.  Considering the amount of content featured across the set and the representation of the PBS Kids shows, that affordable price point definitely proves positive and money well-spent.

The average price point for PBS Kids: Christmas Collection is $11.33.  That price was reached by averaging prices at the noted retailers.  Amazon’s listing of $29.99 is either an anomaly or just outright incorrect, but for the most part, it is listed between $6.69 and $9.99, with a middle ground of $7.99, listed through Best Buy and Barnes & Noble Booksellers.  Books-A-Million and PBS each list the single-disc set at $9.99.  Walmart and Target each have the least expensive listing, at $6.69.  Yet again, these prices are mostly such that they will not break anyone’s budget.  Knowing how much content even this set features, that knowledge makes purchasing the set even more encouraging, too.  Keeping in mind the affordability noted in each set along with the content featured in each collection, those elements make the sets well worth owning and successes in their own right.  That is even with the issue of the lack of episode guides in mind.  One becomes one more of this year’s top new family DVDs and BDs while the other more than earns its spot among the year’s top new family DVD and BD box sets.

PBS Kids and PBS Distribution’s forthcoming seasonal/holiday DVD sets, 20 Snowy Stories and Christmas Collection are successful new offerings from the companies.  Their success comes in large part through their featured episodes.  The episodes largely follow the theme of each set’s title.  They also teach important lessons within the stories.  That education and entertainment that they offer is sure to keep audiences engaged and entertained.  While the episodes are the key point of the collections, the lack of any episode guide in either set detracts from the sets’ presentation to a point.  It is not enough to make the sets failures, but still does hurt them to a point.  Keeping in mind the breadth and depth of the content featured in each set, the sets’ pricing proves positive, too.  That is because their pricing proves so affordable for the most part.  Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of the collections.  All things considered, they make each set successful by themselves and collectively.

PBS Kids: 20 Snowy Stories and PBS Kids: Christmas Collection are scheduled for release Oct. 19.  More information on these and other titles from PBS Kids is available online at:

Website: https://pbskids.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBSKIDS

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pbskids

More information on this and other titles from PBS Distribution is available at:

Website: https://pbsdistribution.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBSDistribution.org

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pbsdistribution

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.  

PBS Kids’ ’15 Girl Power Adventures’ DVD Is Problematic, But Not A Complete Failure

Courtesy: PBS Kids/PBS Distribution/PBS

PBS Kids is doing its part to honor its female viewers with a new DVD.  The DVD, 15 Girl Power Adventures, was released Sept. 7 through PBS Distribution.  The episodes featured in this collection –15 in all as the DVD’s title notes – are the main strength for the presentation.  While the episodes are important in their own right, the very fact that they are centered on just female audiences detracts notably from the DVD’s presentation.  It will be discussed a little later.  For those audiences willing to overlook this shortcoming, the DVD’s pricing proves to be its own positive.  When it is considered along with the episodes featured herein, the DVD proves far from perfect, but still entertaining enough.

PBS Kids’ recently released compilation DVD, 15 Girl Power Adventures is an intriguing offering from the network.  The DVD’s primary strength comes in its featured episodes.  The episodes lift from the majority of PBS Kids’ series.  There are some omissions, though (E.g. Odd Squad, Wild Kratts, Curious George, etc.) but by and large, the episodes pull from a respectable amount of the networks’ shows.  Arthur is represented through the episode, “Muffy’s New Best Friend.”  The story here finds Muffy and Francine learning a valuable lesson about friendship even when two people have differing opinions on things, and that those differences can actually help friendships grow.  It is a familiar topic that will appeal not only to young females, but to audiences in general.  This leads to the aforementioned discussion on the DVD’s one main shortcoming, which will be addressed shortly.  Molly of Denali’s episode, “Stand Back Up” finds Molly learning a valuable lesson about pushing on through failings in any situation in life when she learns how to ski.  Once again, here is a show that yes, is centered on a female character, but with a lesson that applies to girls and boys, men and women alike.  Again, it leans toward the DVD’s noted concern.  On yet another note, Let Go Luna!’s episode, “Aren’t We A Pair” centers on Carmen and her Egyptian friend Leyla and their search for their pets.  The friendship element is there, but as with so many episodes of the family favorite series, the episode is more about promoting multiculturalism, which is wonderful in its own right.  The thing is that the series focuses not just on a girl, but a group of friends (two boys and a girl, plus Luna, who is female).  The story is a great way to teach and learn about culture in Egypt.  Again, it will appeal just as much to boys as it will girls.  It is one more way to show the importance of the DVD’s episodes to the disc’s presentation.  That is done as it pulls from yet another of so many PBS Kids series.  On the other hand it is yet another example of how problematic the DVD is in the bigger picture.

While the episodes featured in this disc make for plenty of appeal, the very fact that they will appeal to boys and girls alike as well as men and women alike, it makes the very presentation format extremely problematic.  As noted, the stories and lessons that are presented in the majority of this DVD’s featured episodes will appeal to and connect with boys as well as girls.  Add in that the fact that many of the shows from which the episodes are pulled are examples of PBS and PBS Kids’ long-running tradition of trying to normalize equality among genders, sexes, races, and ethnicities and it just makes the whole presentation seem like a knee-jerk reaction from someone or some people at PBS and PBS Kids.  Given again, a show, such as Molly of Denali is centered on a young girl, but the stories and lessons involve her as well as her friends, who are male and female.  Even a “newer” series, such as Elinor Wonders Why is centered not on just its titular character, but on her and her friends, who are male and female alike.  Once again, the diversity is evident in the episodes and their lessons.  That has been a trademark of PBS Kids shows for such a long time.  It just leads one to wonder why someone would even take the time to try and release a collection of episodes that it claims are “Girl Power” adventures.  The very approach is counter to everything for which PBS Kids has come to be known.  It is really disconcerting.  Even with the concern raised by the DVD’s very presentation, there is at least one more positive to examine, and that is its pricing.

The average price point for 15 Girl Power Adventures is $8.22.  That price was obtained by averaging prices listed through Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and PBS.  The DVD was not listed through Books-A-Million at the time of the DVD’s review.  An average price point of less than $10 for a DVD that for the most part will appeal to boys just as much as girls and that pulls from so many of PBS Kids’ shows new and old alike is not bad at all.  Adding to the appeal is that for the most part, the separate listings are below that price point, save for PBS’ own listing of $9.99 and (surprisingly) that of Walmart, at $12.37.  Target actually has the least expensive listing this time out at only $4.99.  Amazon and Barnes & Noble Booksellers each list the DVD at $6.99 while Best Buy is not the best buy at $7.99.  So in looking at these prices, the overall pricing really is not bad.  It will not break any viewer’s budget.  So taking that into account with the DVD’s content, the whole makes for at least some appeal even despite the incongruous nature of the content with the DVD’s title.  Keeping this in mind, the DVD is problematic.  There is no denying this matter.  At the same time, it is not a complete failure.

PBS Kids/PBS Distribution’s recently released DVD, 15 Girl Power Adventures is hardly the best presentation that the company and its home distribution arm have ever released.  At the same time it is not the worst, either.  The DVD succeeds largely because of its episodes and their stories.  The episodes pull from a healthy cross section of PBS Kids’ shows.  The stories and their lessons will connect to boys just as much as girls because despite the DVD’s title, they are not centered just on females and will relate not only to girls, either.  This leads to the DVD’s one major shortcoming, its titling.  The DVD’s title markets the presentation as being “girl power,” but as noted the episodes are largely a continued display of PBS Kids’ successful efforts to normalize equality among genders, sexes, races, and ethnicities without being preachy.  Keeping that in mind, there really was no reason for any branch of PBS to present such a DVD since it has always treated males and females, blacks, whites, and otherwise equally.  While this is clearly problematic, it is not enough to make the DVD a total failure.  The DVD’s overall pricing proves positive, considering the amount of content presented therein.  The pricing will, for the most part, not break any viewer’s budget.  That selling point (no pun intended) along with the content is just enough to save the DVD.  Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of the DVD’s presentation.  All things considered, they make the DVD problematic but not a total failure. 

15 Girl Power Adventures is available now.  More information on this and other titles from PBS Kids is available along with all of the network’s latest news at:

Website: https://pbskids.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBSKIDS

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pbskids

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.  

PBS Distribution Adding More Content To Its Prime Streaming Channel

Courtesy: PBS Distribution

PBS Distribution is adding more PBS Kids content to its streaming service next month.

Pinkalicious & Peteriffic: A Pinkaperfect Birthday and Let’s Go Luna: Volume 3 will be added to the company’s PBS Kids Prime Video Channel.  In the new Pinkalicious & Peteriffic special, it’s Pinkalicious’ birthday, and she gets her birthday wish — everything turns pink.  The problem is that not everyone is as enthusiastic about everything being pink as she is, so she and her friends take a trip to Fairyland to find the Birthday Fairy to undo her wish.

Let’s Go Luna: Volume 3 continues Luna’s adventures around the world with her friends, the group learning more lessons about different cultures and peoples. This latest collection picks up where Let’s Go Luna: Volume 2 left off, featuring episodes 11-15.

The first short in episode 11 is titled “Guitar To Sitar.”  The strings on Carmen’s guitar need replacement as she is writing a song for her mother’s birthday, leading to the a bazaar where she searches for new strings.  This leads her to the discovery of a sitar.  The episode’s second segment, “Spring Has Not Sprung” continue the group’s adventures in India.  Andy wants to get some photos of Delhi’s springtime settings, but the gray clouds cause some problems for him.

Episode 14 finds Luna and company down under in Australia.  The first half of this episode, “Boomin’ Boomerang,” finds Carmen being asked to take part in a boomerang competition, but she is struggling with her self-confidence.  It’s up to her and her friends to make her believe she has what it takes to compete.  The episode’s second short, “House Music” takes the gang to the famed Sydney Opera House as Andy wants to hear the band Syd and the Sydneys.

Luna herself takes center stage in Episode 15’s first half, “You Can’t Move The Moon.”  Luna has to take the place of Salami Strong in a sumo wrestler match in this episode after Salami is injured ahead of the match.  The episode’s second short, “Lizardzilla!,” reveals the magic of the movie industry and reminds young viewers that movies are just that, movies.  This is done as Leo admits he is too afraid to watch the movie Lizardzilla.

These episodes are just a portion of what audiences can expect in Let’s Go Luna!: Volume 3.  Episodes 13 and 12 are also featured in the new volume.

Families can subscribe to PBS Kids’ Prime Video Channel for $4.99/month. Full episodes of Pinkalicious & Peterific and Let’s Go Luna! are also available for free on PBS Kids/ 24/7 channel on television and online at each show’s official website.

Pinkalicious & Peterific‘s official websites are located at:

 

Website: http://www.thinkpinalicious.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pinkalicious

 

Let’s Go Luna!‘s official websites are located at:

 

Website: http://pbskids.org/luna

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LetsGoLunaHQ

 

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.