Against All Odds – Israel Survives: The Complete First Season

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: B

 

 

After covering many documentaries and other programs no Judaism and The Holocaust, the interesting thing about Against All Odds – Israel Survives: The Complete First Season is that it adds more about faith and possible miracles than anything we have seen to date.  Hosted by Michael Greenspan, the 13 half-hour shows in this new 6-DVD box set from Questar features these shows:

 

1)     The Assignment

2)     Miracle At Michmash

3)     The Girl Who Became A Spy

4)     The Miracle Of Survival: Hitler & The Holocaust

5)     A Boy Named Erza

6)     The Miracle Of ‘48

7)     1967

8)     A Warrior Named Kahalani

9)     The People Of The Book Come Home

10)  A Place Of Miracles

11)  Myths Or Miracles?

12)  Rescue At Entebbe

13)  In Search Of A Miracle

 

 

It is an informative series more than anything else, though the obsession with miracles seemed more like something out of Christian philosophy than anything involving Judaism we have ever seen.  Even with that in mind, the good outweighs the things that do into work and even if you are not of any faith, there is plenty to learn about here.  If nothing else, it is worth a look and one of Questar’s best releases to date.

 

The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image is soft and looks a generation down with pasty colors and lack of detail.  Too bad this was not anamorphically enhanced, though archival footage obviously causes the footage to vary in quality to begin with.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is simple stereo at best and is just fine for such a series.  Extras include the photo gallery on the final disc and if you want to stretch the point, an abbreviated feature version of the 13 shows, but it is only 90 minutes and does not do justice to the series overall.  A second season should be interesting.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo