The last two video calendars I've watched - 1997, 1998 - were opposite polar ends in terms of quality. '98' was great and '97' barely average. I didn't plan to see, review them in this order but the '1996' edition somehow lands right in the middle. Many known Playmates here, yes, but more importantly hot scenes with good camera work and no lack of continuous nudity. Thankfully the visuals are on point and I won't have to sound like a broken record again. It's gonna take me some time to erase '1997' from my head.
"Miss January" is Kelly Gallagher - Sept 1994 - and I don't usually mention the initial pic they show of the women, but the one chosen for Kelly looks really old fashioned or touched up way too much. In any case, her first scene is a leisurely strip at a country cottage. She comes off very much "girl next door" and gets down to naked from her summer dress(es) quickly. Whenever in a chair or on a swing the scene has a habit of showing off her vintage bush. For the 2nd segment, she's done up more heavily with makeup as she gets naked in a bed that still delivers lovely views of her. Lotion comes out and gets applied to her boobs in closeup (4.5 mins). "Miss February" is Cindy Brown - May 1995 - looking very cute playing basketball indoors. Once again a likable "girls next door" vibe. There's a nice tease involving her butt and pulling up her jersey top to see it. Then in what seems like a running theme her hair, makeup is done much more glamorously as gemstones are shown off in between shots of her naked from the start that capture all the right places (4 mins).
"Miss March" is Maria Checa - Aug 1994 - a Columbian hottie who's shown in footage that continuously jumps around. In the mix is a nice shot of her holding a cigar, naked on a couch and thankfully the nudity comes regularly and sometimes with closeups. Second time she gets out of her bra, panties and ends up either posing standing or laying naked on a bed and there's some juicy closeups again. I first saw Maria in other Playboy vids and I wasn't a big fan, but she's grown on me and the material here is pretty hot in places (4 mins). "Miss April" is Stacy Sanchez - PMotY 1996 - who's always been a standout to me begins by stripping in the countryside. Lots of nice shots naked but also some clothed in a few tops, shorts briefly. This footage comes from her Mar 1995 Playmate profile for anyone that cares before she made PMotY and she looks, acts more down to earth versus in later material. Next doesn't waste any time getting down to no clothes and plenty of gracious closeups of her bod particularly her butt. A high energy number with a suitable music track and plenty of quick cuts (4 mins).
"Miss May" is Lisa Marie Scott - Feb 1995 - and as a real life ballerina the first scene taken from her profile uses this theme. The good news is it focuses more on her naked - yummy yummy - than the dancing by far. Then it's a staple of Playboy vids - the moody bedroom strip - which again gives lovely views of Lisa's beautiful body. Many tracking shots of her different poses in bed are great (4.5 mins). "Miss June" is Traci Adell - Jul 1994 - hot busty brunette Playmate that I didn't know about until now. A quick check yields she didn't do many PB vids as why. The bad news about the first scene is a lot of her clothed, blowing up balloons, etc on a set takes up most of the time. An art themed piece thankfully makes up for this. She gets naked quickly and is shown this way until the end in a bunch of simple but satisfying poses that show off her figure and mighty bustline (4 mins).
"Miss July" is Rhonda Adams - Jun 1995 - and there's no getting around the odd choice of having a "surprise party" for a scene, but no one is there but her. Is she supposed to be looking thru her gifts after everyone has left? Lol in any case naked or in lingerie Rhonda looks good and the nudity is consistent. Next she's in warehouse and quickly naked. Dripping water is a nice touch and you get plenty of closeups of her body once it starts. Then it's a bunch of quick but hot shots in succession to end things (4 mins). "Miss August" is Danelle Folta - Apr 1995 - who strips in an abandoned mansion as part of a ghost theme. Dry ice, objects floating in middle air or moving on their own - that sort of stuff. There's good shots of her naked, but they don't happen enough. Then it's a lite Sci-fi theme and she's basically naked right from the start. It's a bit of a step up, but also not super hot (4 mins). "Miss September" is Elisa Bridges - Dec 1994 - who takes us back to the country theme as she's shown at a farm. There's some nice shots of her dressed - liked the denim vest, jean shorts - but of course I liked her lovely face, figure even more sans clothes. In a fantasy segment in a barn the nudity comes quicker and there's many nice sights of Elisa in closeup (4.5 mins).
"Miss October" is Melissa Holliday - Jan 1995 - and this busty blonde starts off being a magician's assistant. There's some nude shots sprinkled throughout, but also many that aren't. As a throwback to classical films, she strips at a bar and this delivers better as a whole. Many nice views of her naked on a couch though the lasting feeling I had was she didn't get shown off the best (4.5 mins). "Miss November" is Victoria Zdrok - Oct 1994 - and wow a younger Victoria with an all natural body. She begins by stripping in a library that has a bunch of hot shots, nice angles. Then it's an strip on a bed harking back to French Victorian times with appropriate tunes as it switches over to her posing standing or on a staircase. As someone who knew her more for later in her career - fake boobs, Penthouse Pet and now hardcore action I hear - this was a delightful find (4.5 mins). "Miss December" is Julie Cialini - PMotY 1995 - who starts off simply getting out of a bikini on a set. Standing or in a chair there's some nice views and she gets silly for the camera briefly. The follow-up in a bedroom is a step up visually in the sense she looks good in her blue/black lingerie, but it takes way too long - 2 mins - before she's shown naked and then it's over a minute later (5 mins).
'1996' is a solid calendar that has a bunch of familiar, likable Playmates and a few pleasant surprises as well. While there's a few lackluster moments or ladies that don't get shown off the best, there was also names I wasn't familiar with that delivered great segments that got my blood boiling. I'll give this another watch - for scientific purposes of course - before I catalog it away in my Playboy memory archives. It's not at the height of '1998', but it certainly isn't joining '1997' amongst the bottom.
"Miss January" is Kelly Gallagher - Sept 1994 - and I don't usually mention the initial pic they show of the women, but the one chosen for Kelly looks really old fashioned or touched up way too much. In any case, her first scene is a leisurely strip at a country cottage. She comes off very much "girl next door" and gets down to naked from her summer dress(es) quickly. Whenever in a chair or on a swing the scene has a habit of showing off her vintage bush. For the 2nd segment, she's done up more heavily with makeup as she gets naked in a bed that still delivers lovely views of her. Lotion comes out and gets applied to her boobs in closeup (4.5 mins). "Miss February" is Cindy Brown - May 1995 - looking very cute playing basketball indoors. Once again a likable "girls next door" vibe. There's a nice tease involving her butt and pulling up her jersey top to see it. Then in what seems like a running theme her hair, makeup is done much more glamorously as gemstones are shown off in between shots of her naked from the start that capture all the right places (4 mins).
"Miss March" is Maria Checa - Aug 1994 - a Columbian hottie who's shown in footage that continuously jumps around. In the mix is a nice shot of her holding a cigar, naked on a couch and thankfully the nudity comes regularly and sometimes with closeups. Second time she gets out of her bra, panties and ends up either posing standing or laying naked on a bed and there's some juicy closeups again. I first saw Maria in other Playboy vids and I wasn't a big fan, but she's grown on me and the material here is pretty hot in places (4 mins). "Miss April" is Stacy Sanchez - PMotY 1996 - who's always been a standout to me begins by stripping in the countryside. Lots of nice shots naked but also some clothed in a few tops, shorts briefly. This footage comes from her Mar 1995 Playmate profile for anyone that cares before she made PMotY and she looks, acts more down to earth versus in later material. Next doesn't waste any time getting down to no clothes and plenty of gracious closeups of her bod particularly her butt. A high energy number with a suitable music track and plenty of quick cuts (4 mins).
"Miss May" is Lisa Marie Scott - Feb 1995 - and as a real life ballerina the first scene taken from her profile uses this theme. The good news is it focuses more on her naked - yummy yummy - than the dancing by far. Then it's a staple of Playboy vids - the moody bedroom strip - which again gives lovely views of Lisa's beautiful body. Many tracking shots of her different poses in bed are great (4.5 mins). "Miss June" is Traci Adell - Jul 1994 - hot busty brunette Playmate that I didn't know about until now. A quick check yields she didn't do many PB vids as why. The bad news about the first scene is a lot of her clothed, blowing up balloons, etc on a set takes up most of the time. An art themed piece thankfully makes up for this. She gets naked quickly and is shown this way until the end in a bunch of simple but satisfying poses that show off her figure and mighty bustline (4 mins).
"Miss July" is Rhonda Adams - Jun 1995 - and there's no getting around the odd choice of having a "surprise party" for a scene, but no one is there but her. Is she supposed to be looking thru her gifts after everyone has left? Lol in any case naked or in lingerie Rhonda looks good and the nudity is consistent. Next she's in warehouse and quickly naked. Dripping water is a nice touch and you get plenty of closeups of her body once it starts. Then it's a bunch of quick but hot shots in succession to end things (4 mins). "Miss August" is Danelle Folta - Apr 1995 - who strips in an abandoned mansion as part of a ghost theme. Dry ice, objects floating in middle air or moving on their own - that sort of stuff. There's good shots of her naked, but they don't happen enough. Then it's a lite Sci-fi theme and she's basically naked right from the start. It's a bit of a step up, but also not super hot (4 mins). "Miss September" is Elisa Bridges - Dec 1994 - who takes us back to the country theme as she's shown at a farm. There's some nice shots of her dressed - liked the denim vest, jean shorts - but of course I liked her lovely face, figure even more sans clothes. In a fantasy segment in a barn the nudity comes quicker and there's many nice sights of Elisa in closeup (4.5 mins).
"Miss October" is Melissa Holliday - Jan 1995 - and this busty blonde starts off being a magician's assistant. There's some nude shots sprinkled throughout, but also many that aren't. As a throwback to classical films, she strips at a bar and this delivers better as a whole. Many nice views of her naked on a couch though the lasting feeling I had was she didn't get shown off the best (4.5 mins). "Miss November" is Victoria Zdrok - Oct 1994 - and wow a younger Victoria with an all natural body. She begins by stripping in a library that has a bunch of hot shots, nice angles. Then it's an strip on a bed harking back to French Victorian times with appropriate tunes as it switches over to her posing standing or on a staircase. As someone who knew her more for later in her career - fake boobs, Penthouse Pet and now hardcore action I hear - this was a delightful find (4.5 mins). "Miss December" is Julie Cialini - PMotY 1995 - who starts off simply getting out of a bikini on a set. Standing or in a chair there's some nice views and she gets silly for the camera briefly. The follow-up in a bedroom is a step up visually in the sense she looks good in her blue/black lingerie, but it takes way too long - 2 mins - before she's shown naked and then it's over a minute later (5 mins).
'1996' is a solid calendar that has a bunch of familiar, likable Playmates and a few pleasant surprises as well. While there's a few lackluster moments or ladies that don't get shown off the best, there was also names I wasn't familiar with that delivered great segments that got my blood boiling. I'll give this another watch - for scientific purposes of course - before I catalog it away in my Playboy memory archives. It's not at the height of '1998', but it certainly isn't joining '1997' amongst the bottom.