2002 Tour de France - Four and Counting! (5-Disc Boxed Set)

Rating:
Summary: Camera, Commentary, Excitement = 5; DVD Production = 1
Review: The overall coverage of the Tour can't be beat!

I have a real problem with the production of these discs, though. With ten hours of coverage and five discs to work with, isn't there a way the producers could not split stages across discs? Three of the five discs end abruptly in the middle of coverage of a stage! The editing is so poor that disc four ends in the middle of the commentary, without even the obvious message to insert next disc (used on other discs), leaving the viewer guessing whether the player has malfunctioned or it truly is the end of the disc. Indexing of the discs is all fouled up as well. My player indicates a different disc number than that playing for each of four out of five!

The producers seem limited to putting exactly two hours of material on each disc. Discs 3, 4, 5 begin with an aprroximately 5 minute roll back of coverage from the previous disc. This is the only concession made to mitigate the otherwise amateurish editing job.

I am happy WCP makes these videos available, but in the second year of producing in the DVD format, I believe they could learn a few things about effective use of the medium. I was willing to cut them some slack for the 2001 production, since it was the first year they produced a DVD.

I hope next year doesn't result in a third strike!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Tour coverage!
Review: World Cycling Productions does an excellent job of covering the Tour (as always). The digital quality is excellent. This dvd set is perfect for those who missed the Tour on OLN or need something for all the time on the trainer in the winter. I think the coverage is just a bit better than the 2001 Tour. You'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Tour coverage!
Review: World Cycling Productions does an excellent job of covering the Tour (as always). The digital quality is excellent. This dvd set is perfect for those who missed the Tour on OLN or need something for all the time on the trainer in the winter. I think the coverage is just a bit better than the 2001 Tour. You'll love it!