Oh well, maybe a free map inside each issue would have helped. Putting together a compilation tape is always a sort of crap shoot, as the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And believe me, folks, the weakest “link” I’ve ever seen were the ones joining the segments in National Pornographic, Volumes 1 and 2.

Not that the segments were in too good shape, either.  Some careless film lab technician must have lost the soundtracks, because all the clips in both volumes are dubbed over in the most atrocious manner since Godzilla Versus The Smog Monster.  In between these sometimes grainy sequences hostesses Lori Lovett and Susie Sushi (plus Mark Arnold in Vol. 2) add some action of their own (how economical of the producers to find an actress who can host Oriental and lesbian scenes!).

It is difficult to review a compilation tape sometimes; obviously aficionados of each particular subgenre of erotica will want that particular tape, and if it’s a turnoff to others, then that’s that.  There are, however, certain criteria that any adult video should meet.  The entertainment value on these tapes is almost nil, thanks to shoddy production values and some randomly chosen sequences. Many of the stars on the tapes are identified, and the “start and stop” feel of each volume leaves the viewer hanging.

National Pornographic was certainly a fine concept; one can imagine hosts traveling the world in search of bizarre sexual customs, or a shot of the first erotic encounter at the South Pole.  With what the producers have offered in these two volumes, though, it’s quite possible that, like their namesakes, these tapes will soon find themselves packed away and forgotten in someone’s basement.