2004 05 MAY RAG - RAG Magazine

Buena Vista Home Entertainment presents an ESPN original entertainmentseries: Playmakers. Playmakers delves into the on-and-off-the-field-lives ofthe fictional professional football team, The Cougars. From the get-go, youwill notice that this is hardly a ringing endorsement of the NFL or its athletes;nor is it a replication of the customary lazy, Sunday-afternoon football heroeswe grew up with. On the contrary, this is a brutal and hardcore quasidocumentarythat aims to showcase the all-too-common-but-largely-ignoredrealities going on behind locked locker room doors: immaturity, rage, jealousy,greed, retribution, adultery, drug abuse, criminal acts, etc. And that is just arecap of the first episode! Oh, how I kid! In fact, the series’ storyline arc wasso in-your-face, antagonistic, and controversial, that rumor has it ESPNdecided not to anger the NFL any further (for fear of losing their tremendousstake in the sports arena) and the show was not renewed; nor have any repeatsbeen spotted on air. That being said, the “powers that be” apparently felt thatsince the damage had already been done, they might as well release thecomplete 11-episode series on DVD! In addition to the series, the 3-discDVD also includes bonus material consisting of the Pilot Episode AudioCommentary by producer John Eisendrath, “Playmakers,” a behind-the-scenesfeaturette, and “On the Set with Snoop Dogg,” an inside peek into the makingof episode 10: Tenth of a Second.February. 1980. Lake Placid, New York. During thisnoteworthy time and place in American sportshistory, the USA Hockey Team accomplished themost unbelievable, unthinkable, and unparalleledquest, by unifying atop the Gold Medalist platformat the 1980 Winter Olympics. But that wasn’t eventhe best part, or the most impressive, or the mostinspirational That distinction came the nightbefore, on February 22, when a team of oncecapableathletes united and emerged as Americanheroes. It would be the night that Americans felt acollective lump in their throats while the restoringelements of patriotism pumped through their veins.Team USA faced-off against the most dominantsquad in hockey’s history: The Soviets. The finalscore of that emotional roller coaster will foreverbe embedded in pop culture, as will sportscasterAl Michaels’ enthusiastic exclamation, “Do youbelieve in miracles?” Still, twenty-four years later,the stunning victory that simultaneously honoredathletics, mended a country, and redefined humancharacter has repeatedly been celebrated for beingthe quintessential sporting moment of the 20 thcentury. That watershed experience, which hasbecome known as “The Miracle on Ice,” can onceagain be experienced –this time on DVD in yourown home. The Walt Disney Pictures DVD includesthe fantastic bonus material “From Hockey toHollywood: The Actors’ Journey” featurette, “FirstImpressions: Herb Brooks with Kurt Russell andthe Filmmakers,” a never-before-seen intimateconversation with the gold metal coach, and “TheMaking of Miracle,” audio commentary by DirectorGavin O’Connor, Editor John Gilroy, and Director ofPhotography, Daniel Stoloff. There is also an outtakesselection and an ESPN roundtable with anchorsLinda Cohn, winning team members Mike Eruzione,Buzz Schneider, and Jim Craig, and actor Kurt Russell.