America's Funniest Home Videos: Volume 1

America's Funniest Home Videos: Volume 1 contains material culled from the first season of the Tom Bergeron years, i.e., 2001 and beyond, after the comedian took over hosting duties from Bob Saget and a series of short-term successors. Otherwise, it's the same old show: amateur videos are procured from the public and grouped into different categories, such as kids, pets, acts of machismo gone wrong, accidents, downright disasters, and more. Typically, an average episode sometimes looks like fodder for sadists: toddlers terrified by some idiot in a scary costume, animals frantically trying to remove their heads from bags and cups left behind by stupid litterbugs, a guy hit in the teeth by a golf ball. For the most part, though, what's here is innocuous and occasionally extraordinary: a small child standing in a stream casually scoops up an enormous carp from the water; during a civic awards ceremony the recipient accidentally knocks a dignitary into a lake; and while guests are attending a pool party, the pool (one of those assembly-required, metal frame jobs) falls apart. There's also the weird sight of baseball-size hail assaulting some poor lad out in a rowboat; a dog that pulls the pajama bottoms off a little boy while the dad swings the kid by his arms; and a pair of do-it-yourself home repair types knocking down a wall by throwing a bowling ball through it repeatedly. Featuring 12 episodes, plus a bonus two-part celebration of the show's 300th episode spotlighting some of the greatest hits, this is--when all is said and done--still a pretty lowbrow affair, and therefore a very optional purchase. (T. Keogh)