Fans of the Encounters series, of which there are four volumes on the Cinema Products Video line, might find Erotic Encounters (same producers, by the way) something to consider. The chief difference is, Erotic Encounters is shot on film and more story driven.

But where I was disappointed with the overall tone of Encounters is the same thing that happens with Erotic Encounters. It has its windows of opportunity to make a qualitative statement on sensuality, but seems to be content on sticking with safe ground, neo-porn body clinches. Just another case of an alternative release opting for (or falling into) old familiar rhythms.

There are five vignettes, each of which has a twist— such as you would find in Playboy's Inside Out series. While the encounters in Erotic Encounters are a lot more skin-graphic than those in Inside Out, they're arguably a tad off the mark as far as kindling screen tension, and, get this, maybe a little too plot-heavy for their own good. But this is another example where cable TV either helps or hinders the new alternative product. Where you'd expect or want to see some pre-sex grab-ass and exploration of body parts, valuable screen time is invested in setting the stage with an endless drone of setting-the-table dialogue. Cut to the chase, already. Speaking of which...

The first vignette, entitled "Memoirs of an Invisible Stud", is about as compelling as the Chevy Chase movie from which it takes its title. Carrie Janisse appears in this one, and this must be her month since this is the second title reviewed on these pages where she appears. If I were Carrie, though, I'd keep this particular title off my resume, not that swallowing invisible serum to watch your boyfriend take a shower doesn't make a lot of logical sense.

Ditto Marcia Gray/Shanna McCullough, whose luscious curves seem to be in virtual visual seclusion (even though she gets naked—now there's a trick) in "The Puzzle" — a tale about a mail room girl who sends a guy in the office a series of increasingly more provocative snapshots of herself. It would have been a cute hook if that angle had been played to its logical conclusion, but the plot takes a left turn at the pass before it's fully implemented. Fans of another XXX star, Flame, might enjoy her in "Cruel and Inhuman Punishment", but again the story, not the encounter, insists on dominating — this one with a bizarre statement on Nazi cross-dressers.

The skit entitled "Sisters", a story about a guy who bangs one sister to forget another, comes as close to what T&A is all about, with a nice mix of innuendo, body language and tease. If only the other skits carried the same kind of heat.

Added dealer note: the boxcover scenes are generic and bear no relevance to the contents.