What it contains: A one hour synopsis of the show, starting with a seven minute recap of the audition process that was already aired as part of the finale (and unfortunately, without much footage of the final 30 being narrowed down to 10). Then comes a summary of each night of performances, each one ending with the elimination and the goodbye video for the eliminated person. Only a few performances are shown, but at least they're shown in full. They are:

Ryan Starr - "If You Really Love Me",

Justin Guarini - "For Once in My Life", "Let's Stay Together" and "A Moment Like This"

Kelly Clarkson - "Natural Woman", "Without You" (the good one from the results show), "Before Your Love" and "A Moment Like This" (from right after she won)

Christina Christian - "Ain't No Sunshine"

Tamyra Gray - "A House is Not a Home"

Nikki McKibbon - "Mary Jane" and "Black Velvet"

Group Sings - "California Dreamin", "Joy to the World" and "That's What Friends are For"

So there are some curious omissions, such as a performance by RJ Helton (who finished 5th, higher than Christina and Ryan) and Kelly's "Stuff Like That There" from Big Band night which was arguably the audience's favorite performance from the entire show. Also, the audio quality for some of the performances is poor in that it's lower than it should be. But overall, the main section of the DVD is great to have even if you taped the shows, since the visual quality is so much better.

The extras, which I won't descibe here due to space, are the best part of the DVD, especially the "Uncensored" blooper reel and the look back at the auditioning experiences of the Final Ten (which contains great interviews and some previously unseen footage, but unfortunately lacks any clips of actual auditioning). They're also almost as long as the main feature of the DVD itself, so they really double the content of the DVD.

A warning to Justin fans: This edition of the DVD does not contain the bonus disc, which has "A Day in the Life of Justin", a 16 minute feature that includes some really great footage (some filmed by Justin himself) of the preparation for the 80's/90's show with the final four.


Missing all the best stuff....   May 5, 2003
24 out of 24 found this review helpful

I am a big Idol fan who was very disappointed with the DVD. Considering this is a two disk set -- lots of storage space -- there is next to nothing on either disk.

The best part of the show are the performances and judges' critiques. We get far too few perfomances and NO judges critiques at all. Who cares about who the producers of American Idol are (incredibly one of the "extras!" on the second DVD). We want the performances. We want to relive Kelly's improvement and emergance at the top. We want to relive all the nasty comments Nicki received towards the end. Instead we're stuck with lackluster group performances (did anyone really need to hear California Dreaming again?) and finalist reactions to "you're going to Hollywood" at the auditions, but not the try-out performances that led up to those words.

Finally, there are NO performances from Big Band night, which most Idol fans agree was the most interesting night of the competition -- and the night where Kelly finally broke away from the pack.


The less you saw the more you will like this DVD recap   February 20, 2003
Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota)
40 out of 44 found this review helpful

I started watching "American Idol" the week after Tamyra Grey was booted off the show. I teach a Popular Culture class so I figured I was going to have to know who Justin Guarini was and why he did not like Simon Cowell. What I discovered during those final episodes was that it was obvious that Kelly Clarkson should win the competition and that in our house we usually agree with Simon's comments. Oh, and that Brian Dunkleman and Ryan Seacrest were two clowns trying to do a job that only required one clown (Seacrest is ten times better this year not having to try to outshine Dunkleman). So when I checked out this "American Idol" DVD it was a combination of seeing what I had missed (Gray's performance of "A House Is Not a Home" and what the finalists did to qualify in the first place) and what I wanted to see again (Clarkson unable to make it all the way through "A Moment Like This" after she won and singing a duet with her idol Reba McIntire). Consequently, like most people who watch this DVD I got some of what I wanted, but not as much as I hoped.

I really think the producers of this "American Idol" recap was geared more for a 90-minute videotape than for taking full advantage of what you can cram on a DVD (oh, and cutting something out as quickly as possible). The limited chapter search does focus on the songs, organized by who sang them, but there are only 15 songs and I really assumed that the DVD would go way beyond what we had from the CD. The focus is more on the competition, so that we get clips of each of the nine verdicts being read along the way and it is not until the final couple of decisions that you get to hear what American had to choose between on that particular night. For the most part the focus is also on the performers rather than the judges; most of those fun moments between the judges and the contestants (and each other) are part of the extra features (pay attention as you go through these options because they loop back on each other in strange ways). The emphasis is also on the top three, who are the only finalists to get more than one song.

Since I missed most of the first season of "American Idol" there was more "new" stuff for me to see than those who rode the roller coaster the whole way. So when I get to hear Christina Christian sing "Ain't No Sunshine," I am ahead of the game but I also know that I also wanted to hear a lot more of the songs these kids sang. As for Simon, not only do I usually agree with his opinions more than those of Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, but I also would rather hear his few choice positive comments preserved than a constant barrage of his caustic comments. He probably told every single one of these kids that they could do better, so where is that golden moment when he says after a performance that for the first time he is looking at them and thinking "American Idol"? I am not going to take the extreme position that we need the entire season of the show available on DVD ..., but 90 minutes is just too damn brief. Then again, I suppose it is because of this DVD that Fox did not rerun the series on FX.


More Like American "Idle"   November 27, 2002
edzaf (Chandler, AZ USA)
29 out of 31 found this review helpful

Don't the producers fo this DVD know that you can fit A LOT of footage on a disc? What we have here can not even be described as a "greatest hits" version of the Fox talent search. I am not asking to see every moment of every show (though that would be nice), but one can not help but notice what is NOT on this DVD at times. First, the positives than a short list of some of the more glaring omissions/negatives:

PROS: 1) The sometimes stunning transformations of the players, some serious makeovers with Kelly particularly "cleaning" up well; 2) Kelly's touching performance of "A Moment Like This" after being named the American Idol; 3) Justin's performance of the same song during the finals and realizing just how much Kelly "made it her own"; 4) Tamyra's knockout performance of "A House Is Not A Home"; 5) Fun outtakes from those otherwise cheesy Ford Focus plugs; 6) Highlights of judge and performer comebacks from the tryouts (including the still-bleeped, but still-hilarious, "Ta-mee-ka" tirade).

CONS: 1) We have multiple selections from finalists Kelly and Justin, but why leave out their signature performances of "Respect" and "Get Here"? 2) Only one solo from Tamyra - though she faired better than RJ, AJ, E-Jay, and Jim who do not even show up on the DVD with a solo performance; 3) We see the finalists trying out for the show and their joy in "going to Hollywood" - but not the audition performance that earned them the trip; 4) The omnipresence of Seacrest and Dunkleman... ugh, NOT the stars of the show.

With the fairly low price of this DVD and on the heels of the sub-par "Greatest Hits" CD released earlier this year, I guess we should not have expected that much. The post-Idol marketing machine appears to be all about getting a product out the door as quickly as possible. I do not discourage American Idol fanatics from buying this DVD, but just gently warn that it is selected highlights and is sure to be lacking at least one of your "greatest" moments from the show.


Excellent look back!   September 17, 2002
RICHARD PAYNE (TULARE, CA United States)
30 out of 34 found this review helpful

This is a excellent chance to look back at a great summer show, and to see all your favorites again. I'm glad that talent won over flash for once. I'm sure all the final ten will do well, and it looks like the WINNER Kelly Clarkson is well on her way! I don't agree with the review above me by the way, because it sounds like sour grapes. Some people love a show UNTIL their pick doesn't win, and is voted off. A dvd to enjoy for sure!!