This review is from: Talking Baseball with Ed Randall - Philadelphia Phillies - Vol. 1 (DVD)
A MUST-have DVD for any Phillies (or baseball) fan - especially if they are over 50! I have to admit, up front, that I'm not a big baseball fan these days. But back in the late 1950s and 60s I was a huge supporter of the Philadelphia Phillies. And, even though TV host, and interviewer, Ed Randall has logged over 500 half-hour taped TV interviews with baseball's greatest players over a 15 year period, - under the title Talking Baseball - he was new to me. But, after watching this one 100-minute DVD featuring five 20-minute shows recorded in the 1990s (commercials were deleted), I'm a huge fan of Randall's. He's knowledgeable and personable and makes the interviewee and as well as the viewer feel relaxed and entertained. And he knows how to bring the best out of each player.
Anyone who remembers the "Golden Age of the Phillies" in the 1950s will definitely want this DVD. Two of the players were part of the "Whiz Kids" team of 1950. Richie Ashburn was still in his broadcast career when the interview was done and he shares the interview with his broadcast booth partner, Harry Kalas. They have such fun with Randall that even the non-fan would enjoy this segment. The other Whiz Kid, Robin Roberts gets his own segment and this one alone makes the DVD worth owning. Lonnie Smith who was playing with the Orioles at the time of his interview speaks directly about issues of race in Baseball and his verbal bouts with the media. And shortstop Larry Bowa tells how his small stature affected his playing as well as relating the move from Connie Mack Stadium to Veterans Stadium (with it's Astroturf). Last up is Darren Daulton - the most recent player on this volume. While the previous four episodes take place in a TV studio, his was recorded at Mickey Mantle's Restaurant in New York and there are other customers in the room to distract you.
This is one of a series of 13 DVDs of interviews, grouped by teams. Because players moved from team to team during their career, the producers grouped the interviews by the team with which the player was most associated, and not necessarily the team they were with when the interview was recorded (IF they were still playing.).
There is no sports footage included in the shows. It is just Randall and the player talking. But what great talking! Just watching this first volume, got me interested in seeing more (Mays, Banks, Gibson, Rizzuto and Mantle, to name a few.). Anyone over 50 will remember the moments discussed. And what super Father's Day gifts these will make. (Did the producer's plan the release date with this in mind? Somehow I think so!
I usually review entertainment products here and this series of DVDs is definitely entertaining!
-Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
(Phila, PA USA)
