Road Construction Ahead

Do your kids sit enthralled staring excitedly out the window while you patiently wait for the road construction worker to switch the sign from "stop" to "slow"? Neither do mine. On the other hand, there has been a marked interest in the products of the Tonka company on the part of little boys from time immemorial (caveboys undoubtedly had Tonka's "dino cart" or some such). Road Construction Ahead is meant to introduce children to bigtime road construction equipment. The video is hosted by someone named "George," who occasionally strides on to the screen John Wayne style, offers some terse narration about the next step in the road construction phase and then steps back so that we, the viewers, can watch a machine perform a specific function about a hundred times. Viewers will see the road survey crew assess the area, an excavator in operation, the stone crusher pounding rocks, the blasting crew setting charges (followed by umpty-ump explosions, many of them repeated), caterpillars scooping out the debris... all the way to the cooling of the asphalt, and a ride down the new road. The program is characterized by long unexplained shots of machines doing what machines do (granted, watching an "excavator" is more fun than observing an automated bank teller in operation, it's still a far cry from entertainment). Tighter editing and a little more narration would have made this a more enjoyable tape for a wider audience. As it is this is strictly for the undiscerning male aged 4-6. An optional purchase. (Available from: Tapeworm Video, 1229 Montague St., Arleta, CA 91331; (800) 367-8437.)