Out of This World

From the famous ice carving festival in Japan to a knife throwing mother (her young children are the bulls-eye) to a five-legged cow, a four-year-old lion tamer and a man who drills nails into wood with his bare hands, this compilation of "bizarre" and/or lame acts plays like a non-stop Ripley's Believe It or Not. Some of the segments are ridiculously weak (see the Nose Championship in Germany) but idle curiosity (or, not having a life) keeps viewers patiently waiting for the next event. There may be dozens of shows like this on TV, but sans commercial interruptions this program (and the knowledge that there’s a gift shop in the Los Angeles Coroner's Office with a coffee cup waiting for me) is just fast enough to qualify as total junk food for the tabloid addict set. Note: An expanded double-cassette deluxe version is also available for $29.95. Optional. (N. Plympton)