The Charge

"'Stro close."

The Case

In 2005, the Houston Astros mounted an improbable run in the Major League playoffs. Coming off its worst start in franchise history, the Astros cobbled together some red-hot stretches to snag the Wild Card berth in National League playoffs, and eventually make a mad dash to the World Series—where they would ultimately be smoked by the Chicago White Sox. Still, it proved to be a great season for a team that had never made it to the World Series, highlighted by some truly memorable performances in some equally memorable games.

Shout! Factory has put together a fine DVD recapping the Astros' impressive sprint to the World Series, spotlighting all the high and low points of the rollercoaster season. The main feature of the disc is the 75-minute season recap. This program tracks Houston's entire season, starting with the spring training and the underwhelming start, moving into July when the team drastically turned around, to August as they were involved in a barnburner face-off with Philly for the Wild Card, then finally into the playoffs, where they would have to get past the always-dangerous Braves and their arch-nemesis Cardinals. The final portion of the program is dedicated to the World Series, an anticlimactic downer for sure as the little-team-that-could got steamrolled by a destiny-toting White Sox squad.

In-game footage, behind-the-scenes stuff, and loads of interviews with the players and personnel are mixed together to form a compelling narrative. And the season was compelling. For this team, all the important games seemed to come down to the very last out and nothing was easy. Each game seemed to be a microcosm of the entire season—up and down and always dramatic. This DVD captures that intensity.

Supplementing the main feature is dugout-load of bonus footage. Included with this disc is:

• Roger Clemens' three innings of relief in the ridiculous 18-inning NLDS Game 4
• Chris Burke's 18th-inning walk-off home run to win it in that same game
• NLCS Game 6, bottom of the ninth inning—Astros win the pennant
• Craig Biggio's "hit-by-a-pitch" record tied and broken (a rather dubious achievement if you ask me)

All told, it's a nice lineup of baseball action, and a release that Astros fans should certainly scope out—no matter how bitter it will be to watch the dream of World Series glory evaporate at the end.

Similar Decisions

• Facing Darkness
• Gridiron Gators: History Of Florida Gator Football
• Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series: Collector's Edition
• California Dreams: Waves Virtual Vacations

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