DVD Review - Time Out with Britney Spears

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Site created 12/15/97.

review added: 2/17/00

Time Out with Britney Spears
1999 (1999) - Jive (BMG)

review by Todd Doogan of The Digital Bits

Program Rating: B-

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B-/B-/B+

Specs and Features

54 mins, NR, full frame (1.33:1), single-sided, single-layered, custom "flip case" packaging, music videos for Baby, One More Time, Crazy and Sometimes (with optional subtitled lyrics and DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 tracks), behind-the-scenes footage (approx. 17 mins), trivia game (with interview footage if you win), text biography, photo gallery, web access, Disney Channel In Concert (with optional subtitled lyrics), program-themed menu screens with animation and sound, scene access (4 chapters), languages: English (DD 5.1 and DD 2.0), subtitles: none

Man... I'm going to get in trouble with this review. I have a few theories about Ms. Spears, but my restraining order explicitly restricts me from making those theories known. So how am I going to review this disc you wonder? I'm going to tell it like it is. If you're a teenage girl or a very sick adult male, you will love this disc. For the record, I just thought it was okay.

Britney doesn't do much for me as a singer or heartthrob. The disc is set up with several "layers" (as in onion layers, not RSDL). First, it's a behind the scenes look at how she came to be (which is the actual Time Out with Britney Spears part), what she likes and dislikes and stuff like that. She sits in comfy locals discussing herself and how she came to be jailbait. It's interesting and surprisingly long. The quality is pretty good for a video transfer of video material, where slight artifacts pop up along with some NTSC noise. It's not going to win any awards, but for what it is, it's pretty good. The sound is a bit on the low and tinny side. Some of it is annoying and some of it sounds good. Maybe they did it to disguise her voice... wait, I can't say that.

The next "layer" of this disc is videos. The three we all know and love her for are here. Baby, One More Time, Sometimes and (You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix). The videos sound good in stereo mode, but if you flip over to the faked 5.1, it will drive you crazy for sure -- it sounds like crap. The stereo tracks are as good as the CD. How I would know this, I ain't telling. But it's true. The video quality here is also good. If one were to compare these videos to their MTV versions, you'd find that they're about 50% better looking. Don't ask how I know. There's also excerpts of her performing two songs on The Disney Channel In Concert (which also looks and sounds a bit better than the original broadcast). Finally, you get a picture gallery, a text biography, some isolated behind-the-scenes stuff and a trivia game that (if you get the answers right) sends you to an interview with Boo's mom.

All of the footage stuff (the diary aspect, video and concert) is together as one part. But with the handy dandy (and very girl-friendly) menu screens, you can access the material piece by piece. The behind-the-scenes stuff is isolated by itself as well, and is not included in the Time Out part (although it does run at the end after the credits, as its own chapter. It's a bit strange, but it works. Fans of Britney won't mind. All in all, this DVD is a good way to showcase her work. And I'd best quit while I'm still ahead...

Todd Doogan
todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com