Southeast Alaska Adventure

Gordon McCallister is the host for this nicely filmed but curiously flat travel video on Southeast Alaska. Following the Inside Passage, the program makes stops at Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Haines, Skagway, and Glacier Bay. Representative of the way the program operates is the opening visit to Ketchikan. McCallister stops off at Dolly's House Museum, mentions the former resident Dolly Arthur, and then leaves it up to the viewer to figure out who she was (apparently a madam-but the tape doesn't say so). Although the dancers of Sitka who perform Russian dances, and the Native American art, dance, and handicrafts shown at Haines Village are interesting, the non-extended snippets are just puzzling. We are shown the Gold Rush Graveyard, and the tomb of Jefferson R. Smith, as if we're going to be told a story-but the video shifts to Glacier Bay and a wordless closing tour (words can't describe the beauty according to the narrator). Although the program is reasonably clear in the visuals, the focus of the "story" seems lost. Rand-McNally Videotrips: Alaska is a much better choice at $19.95. This one is not recommended. (Available from most distributors.)