Click & Clack’s As The Wrench Turns (PBS DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C+
In the
transition between network radio drama and the rise of TV, several radio hits
became his TV show, like Dragnet, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy and (even infamously) Amos & Andy, but that was back in the 1950s and all were shot
on film. A half century later, PBS has
taken the characters Click & Clack from the NPR radio show hit Car Talk and turned it into an animated
spinoff TV show. Click & Clack’s As The Wrench Turns is the result.
A good,
but not great show, I did not find any big laughs here in the 5 hours of shows,
though I was amused at times by the radio hosts/car enthusiasts. However, it was just not that good and anyone
who says you have to hear the radio show to enjoy it is seriously wrong. The show needs to stand on its own and this
show barely does, looking like so many better animated shows going back to the
1960s. Not bad and maybe Red Green Show fans might like it, but
it is an acquired taste at best,
The letterboxed
1.78 X 1 is soft with aliasing errors, some blur and color is one of the few
consistently good things about it. This
should have been anamorphically enhanced.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is about what I expected for a new show,
but it is dialogue-based in nature.
There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
