Hookers, football players, Bugs Bunny, and Abigail Breslin, Play All is not your typical DVD column. We open the door to everyone and everything that interests us and might interest you. We know what you're saying - "There are dozens of DVDs released every week. How do you pick what makes the cut for Play All?" Well, we consciously try to spread the net and offer a little something for everyone every week. In this chapter, for example, TV fans, kids, classic animation lovers, and sports nuts will all find something that slipped through the cracks of the new releases section but that might pique their curiosity. Quit complaining about how boring this year's World Series is and just hit Play All.

Cathouse: The Series
Studio: HBO
Features: Cathouse: The Musical

"The Girls at the Cathouse Are Always Open For Business." HBO has two faces. There's the side that they present to the Academy, the one that focuses on prestige projects like John Adams and Band of Brothers and then there's the side that played G-String Divas every night at midnight for years.

The series Cathouse kind of tried to fall in the middle of the two sides. Yes, it was full of just enough titillation to keep lonely men entertained but they also tried to at least present an interesting side of the world's oldest profession.

At Nevada's world-famous Cathouse, filmmakers were allowed unbelievable access to working girls and their clients. The honesty at this legendary brothel is stunning.

I'm curious about a few behind-the-scenes things, like how the show got such open access, if anyone on either side of he transaction said no, if there was something that went down that was even too crazy for HBO, and other technicalities (if the john is on camera, do ya think the filmmakers got the bill?) that the DVD could have enlightened. But instead HBO just provides the 17 half-hour episodes that made up the show. There is one extra - a 40-minute musical about hooking starring Bunny Love, Lexi Lovelace, and the rest of the ladies. For hardcore (no pun intended) fans only.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Studio: New Line
Starring: Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Glenne Headly, Julia Ormond, Jane Krakowski, and Chris O'Donnell
Features: American Girl Movie Trailer Gallery, DVD-Rom PC Enhanced Features

From hookers to a G-rated American Girl movie that won the "Truly Moving Picture Award" - Play All plays no favorites. Kit Kittredge is the first film to bear the brand of American Girl, a worldwide chain of dolls that is so immensely popular that it's kind of frightening.

I'm in Chicago and there's an American Girl store and restaurant in the downtown area of the Windy City that I'm pretty sure always has a line of giggling girls and their mothers waiting outside of it, no matter the weather or time of day. For the right age, American Girl is THE phenomenon of the last decade. It's Cabbage Patch Kids, Tickle Me Elmo, and Furby combined. So, why not use the brand to make some movies?

Having said that, I'm not sure the right setting for a kids movie is the Great Depression. That's where fans will meet Kit Kittredge, a girl whose family has to take in boarders to make ends meet after dad loses his job. A mystery involving stolen money and the accusation of one of the boarders comes in and young girls learn a lesson about not judging a book by its cover.

Considering the popularity of the brand and the likelihood that this DVD will be sold in stores next to the hottest new doll, I'm surprised that New Line/WB didn't do more for fans in the special features department. But then again, it's hard to watch DVDs when you're waiting in line to get into American Girl.

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6
Studio: Warner Brothers
Starring:
Features: All-New Documentary Profile Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices, Commentaries by Animators, Historians Profiling Specific Cartoons, Characters and Creators, Music-only and Music-and-Effects Tracks on Selected Shorts, 2 Looney Tunes TV Specials Starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Bonus Rarities from the Vaults, Including Friz Freleng at MGM Cartoons and The World of Leon Schlesinger Gallery

Looney Tunes restored and remastered is a dream come true for fans of the right age. I wonder if kids nowadays watch Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck any more? If they have good parents, they do. I'm pretty sure that from age 4 to 15, I saw every single Looney Tunes cartoon more than once. And for the last few years, Warner Brothers has been lavishly remastering and releasing classic Looney cartoons in beautiful sets under the Golden Collection banner. The sixth such volume includes over 60 cartoons from the golden era of TV animation.

The first disc features Bugs, Daffy, and the rest of the big faces, the second includes the wartime shorts, the third is made up of adventures of Bosko and Buddy, and the fourth is a collection of the most requested, previously unavailable favorites include the great "Horton Hatches the Egg". The shorts alone make every volume of the Golden Collection must-owns, but the special features are equally impressive with an all-new documentary about Mel Blanc, commentaries, TV specials, and other bonus rarities including Friz Freleng at MGM and The World of Leon Schlesinger. If you're cheap or REALLY don't like Bosko, Buddy, or Horton, you can also buy the Spotlight Collection, which contains just the first two discs of this set along with 8 bonus cartoons from the vault.

The Rivalry: Michigan vs. Ohio State
Studio: HBO
Features: None

Being from Michigan and with parents who both went to University of Michigan, the rivalry between the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes has been a part of my life since before I was born.

I didn't even realize until I was much older how widespread the rivalry reached or that it was nationally known as one of the best in sports. The two teams have been playing each other since 1897 and each school has developed impressive histories of winning in the 100+ years since. And impressive histories of hating each other.

The first college-sports documentary from HBO Sports chronicles the origins, milestones, and unique aura of the annual clash between these two incredible teams. The hour-long doc incorporates rare and archival footage and recent interviews with renowned players including Heisman trophy winners Desmond Howard and Archie Griffin, alumni and coaches.

Every major peak and valley of the century that it has taken to cook this rivalry to the heated level that it's at now is examined in-depth. People may not realize it, but HBO does sports very, very well. The Rivalry should appeal to all sports fans and would make a great holiday gift for anyone personally caught in the war between U of M and OSU.