1986 Mets DVD Collection

In this, the 20th anniversary of the Mets' great 1986 World Championship season, A&E Home Video has released a Collectors' Edition 9 DVD set containing the full play-by-play of all 7 World Series games, game 6 of the LCS vs. the Astros and a supplemental disk with interviews and highlights of the clubhouse celebrations. I would like to thank the people at A&E for sending me a set to review.

If you're a devoted Mets fan who's not old enough to remember 1986 or who has never seen these games, then clearly, you should own this set. Watch them in sequence and enjoy. If, on the other hand, you remember the Mets' 1986 season as I suspect most people who were fans at the time do, then watch the bonus disk first, then watch either of the game 6's anytime you need some cheering up or just want to put yourself in a good mood.

At the time of these games, I had just returned from the hospital where I had undergone elective surgery. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure when the doctor gave me a choice of dates, I picked the one I did so that I knew I would be home and on sick leave from my job so I could watch every inning of every game of the playoffs and World Series on TV, which is what I did. And what a job these games did of helping to put me back into good health and leaving a smile on my face. That said, I see no point in re-watching most of these games, although it's nice to know they are available.

Would I have done the set differently ? Absolutely. If you're in to completeness, then I suppose a full disk devoted to each game makes sense. But how often (if at all) would a Met fan want to watch a 1-0 game won by the Red Sox where the only run was scored on an error ? (And if you remember who made the error, who hit the ball, and in what inning, you definitely don't need to watch it.) I suppose part of the reason for this release was to be the definitive record of the series and not just a highlight reel, which has been done before. Yet, I would have included more of the Houston series, more in-depth interviews especially with Frank Cashen and Davey Johnson examining how the team was built player by player, and probably a profile of every player on the team including a "where are they now ?". I would have also liked to see some regular season highlights. While I can recall the playoffs and World Series in intimate detail, I don't remember much about the regular season. Obviously the Mets won 108 regular season games, but a month by month summary with game highlights could have brought back some memories.

Is this set worth owning ? If you're a Met fan, the obvious answer is "yes", but for me, it could have been so much better. Still, I appreciate receiving a copy and recommend it highly as a gift, especially for Mets' fans who came on board after 1986, and I applaud its release.