Comic actor Tom Cavanagh (TV's Ed) hosts this informative series exploring the vast holdings of the Smithsonian Institution, which is home to 19 museums and nine research centers. Compiling seven episodes, Stories from the Vaults takes an eclectic approach to various themes, hopscotching through myriad collections of everything from insects to aircraft to vintage Maidenform Bra advertisements. “Famous Donors” takes a look at the many contributions of wildlife specimens donated to the Smithsonian by Theodore Roosevelt, who took some heat in his time for allegedly being a trigger-happy sportsman, but we're told here that the animals Roosevelt collected instead suggest he was a thoughtful naturalist (also examined are the many examples of ocean life that author John Steinbeck helped gather). “No Place Like Home” investigates the concept of “home” from the vantage point of people in a wide range of abodes, from mobile dwellings (trailers, tipis) to mansions. “Beauty,” one of the most interesting episodes, underscores the fact that beauty is relative, whether one is talking about the physical appeal of ants to scientists, or orchids to bees, or the feminine ideal in different cultures (the last topic places Cavanagh amidst a lot of Maidenform lingerie from the 20th century, making for a bit of comic fun). “Firsts” is mostly about inventions, including the hard truth that occasionally those credited with being the originators were actually only the first to obtain a patent (i.e., Thomas Edison's light bulb). Both educational and engaging, this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)
Stories from the Vaults
(2008) 189 min. DVD: $24.98, Blu-ray: $34.98. Smithsonian Networks/Infinity Entertainment Group (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 24, Issue 1
Stories from the Vaults
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.