Rollergirls: The Complete Season One

The ladies of the Texas roller derby circuit are the focus of this perfunctory 2006 reality-TV entry, which stretches a rather thin concept to the breaking point over 13 episodes. The skaters of the rival teams Rhinestone Cowgirls and Holy Rollers are just like ordinary women—they have the usual trouble finding decent babysitters and suffer through injuries sustained while Jell-O wrestling—except that they also wear little shorts and skirts and push other women wearing the same around on the roller rink. Which is not as titillating as it may sound: we're meant to see these women in the same vein as nurses or teachers or other regular Joans juggling jobs and family. Of course, a show like this would never be made about nurses or teachers, but the producers can't really find it in themselves to give in to the exploitive possibilities of roller-derby gals, either. One would be tempted to think this was all fake (the derby announcers are like Christopher Guest's mockumentary dream), but it's definitely too boring to be invented. DVD extras include a bonus episode, player profiles, casting tapes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more. Optional. (M. Johanson)