All Rise...

Judge David Johnson was banned from the YMCA for placing bets on his backstroke lap times.

The Charge

The greatest moments in Cincinnati Reds history.

The Case

From MLB, a living tribute to one of its more historic franchises.

Bench. Rose. Larkin. Junior. Lots of big names have donned the Red gear over time. And, yeah, Marge Schott, too. Reds Memories starts from the beginning and moves forward, right to the doorstep of the contemporary Red club. You'll be able to relive the franchise's first title from the 1919 World Series, the 1935 premiere of the sport's first nighttime game, the years of the Big Red Machine, Pete Rose's record-setting numbers, Junior's big homerun milestones and the 1990 championship team. They may not have racked up a huge number of titles, but at least they won them when fans of each generation were able to enjoy the taste of victory.

The program runs about 70 minutes and is masterfully produced. Players, coaches, beat writers, most every knowledgeable source affiliated with the team gets to say a few words about the Reds (Pete Rose, too). These snippets are intermingled with game footage and the boilerplate slow-panning-over-still-images. It's all high-quality and for your neighborhood Red fan would be a viewing experience to be appreciated.

This being a booster DVD, the more contentious episodes of Reds history (Schott's comments and, obviously, Rose's lifetime ban from the sport due to gambling) aren't the primary focus. Those are bad memories. Reds Memories is interested in belting out the good stuff, and though I didn't know nearly as much about Reds lore as I guess I should have as an American citizen, the club's mythology is indeed impressive.

The feature looks great, too, presented in a clean 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. A solid amount of extras accompany: the last at-bat of Tom Browning's perfect game, a moronic stunt where Billy Bates races a cheetah in 1990 (?!), Ken Griffey, Junior's 500th and 600th homeruns, Johnny Bench's homer on his final night, Pete Rose's eclipse of Ty Cobb's hit record, the last at-bat of Tom Seaver's no-hitter, a tribute to Johnny Vander Meer and Johnny Bench's Hall of Fame speech.

The Verdict

Unlike Rose, Not Guilty.

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