Special When Lit
SCORE: 81
I am amazed at how blessed we are at
Family Friendly Gaming. Here we are in April, and we were given the
opportunity of watching a screener of Special When Lit. This two hour
documentary will be airing May 21, in the year of our Lord 2011 on the
Documentary Channel at 8pm ET/PT. It is all about pinball. Yes I said
pinball. I am old enough to remember pinball tables. I also remember
being given the choice of playing pinball or video games. We will get to
my choice later.
The first thing I noticed about the visuals in Special When Lit is how
artistic the tables are. Many of them have flashing lights that pulsate
in a mesmerizing way. There is a sexual nature to many of the pinball
tables. The documentary does a wonderful job of exploring this. As does
a young Dan Rathers. Special When Lit does not try to sugar coat or
gloss over this historical truth of pinball tables. So there are some
sexual imagery in this documentary.
Special When Lit rolls around an amazing realness of these people. I
could understand their motives, interests, and love for pinball. I came
away from Special When Lit feeling bad for them. Kind of like how I feel
bad for someone who loses their job because of automation. The world
moved on. Video games pwned. I am sorry to those who love pinball - but
it is a fact. There are a few words here or there that you may not want
young children to hear.
I love history. Special When Lit does a wonderful job of giving the
history of pinball machines. There is a lot of history to them that I
was not aware of. I did not know they were illegal for thirty years. At
least before I watched Special When Lit. I also did not know there was a
world champion. Special When Lit touches on a dizzying amount of pinball
content. I wish they had shown some of the pinball based video games,
but that was not addressed at all. I have watched this special a few
times, and enjoyed it each time.
The people in Special When Lit are some very unique characters. Watching
it is kind of like going to E3. There are some very geeky people there,
and that is how Special When Lit is. Some of them are more planted on
terra firma than others. I am not trying to be cruel. I completely
understand that they are doing what they enjoy, and what they feel is
right for them. I applaud them for ignoring all of the naysayers. But
man, they have a real obsession over pinball.
The competitive circuit of pinball is also very unique. I honestly had
no idea that kind of thing happens. I feel bad for them that Milli
Vanilli draws more people. A disgraced Dan Rather also draws more
people. This is a shame in some ways because pinball was a major part of
American culture for some time. The lesson I learned from Special When
Lit is things come and they go. I really do hope that Special When Lit
will interest some more people in pinball.
Okay I said I would get to my decision, and I believe in keeping my
word. I was given the choice of playing pinball or video games when I
was younger. I choose video games. I had tried pinball, and was not
impressed. I know the pinball lovers will not understand this. But it
did not do anything for me. Video games reached me, and continue to do
so. I will happily play a pinball video game, but I have no interest in
playing a real live table.
- Paul
Graphics: 78%
Sound: 77%
Replay/Extras: 81%
Gameplay: 88%
Family Friendly Factor: 80%
System: DVD/DISH/DIRECTV
Publisher: Documentary Channel
Rating: 'NR' for
Not Rated
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