Featured TV on DVD Review: Mythbusters: 10th Anniversary Collection

January 11, 2015

Mythbusters: 10th Anniversary Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD

Mythbusters has been on the air for just over a decade starting with three specials that aired in early 2003. Since then, the series has amassed over 250 episodes / specials. This 10-disc set collects 50 of them, as chosen by the five hosts. Is this set worth picking up for fans of the show? Is it worth picking up for those who have been buying the full-season DVDs as they've been coming out? The answer to the second question is no, because there are no extras on the DVD.

The Show

For those who don't know what Mythbusters is, it's a show hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, two special effects experts, who research various myths and put them to the test. For instance, the very first TV special involved whether or not you could attach a JATO to a car and have it fly in the air. Most episodes they are assisted by a build team and for most seasons that build team consisted of Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara. Usually the two teams work separately and they get through two or three myths an episode. However, sometimes they all work together to tackle one big myth. I used to watch the show regularly and even own some of the DVDs, but I haven't seen in regularly in a while. My original plan was to watch two of three episodes per disc, just to see if the show was as good as I remembered. It was. In fact, it was so good that I ended up watching every episode. So if you are like me and haven't seen the show in a while, it is worth checking out.

That said, there are no extras on the DVD, which is a shame. Each of the five people picked their ten favorite episodes and I was really hoping there would be introductions explaining why each person picked each episode. Some of the times it was relatively obvious. One of Kari Byron's picks was Blue Ice, in which the Build Team explored the myth of an airliner toilet water turning into a frozen lump that can hit the ground. During this, she went skydiving for the first time, so that's an obvious reason to chose that episode, but I would have still liked to hear the people involved talk about why they choose each episode. Also, at 50 episodes, it is just over two seasons long and the price is nearly $70, after Amazon's discount, which isn't exactly cheap.

The Extras

As I said, there are no extras on the DVD.

The Verdict

I'm of two minds when it comes to the Mythbusters: 10th Anniversary Collection DVD. On the one hand, there's a lot of entertainment on this ten-disc set. On the other hand, there are no extras, it's a double-dip, and the price isn't really cheap. Overall I think it is worth picking up for fans who don't own the previous DVD releases, but I can't be enthusiastic about that recommendation.


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