I’m not sure when Playboy produced their first Playmate Video Calendar. I think these originated in the Eighties, but it may have been a little later than that. In any case, they’ve been around for quite a while, and here we get the newest version with the 2006 Video Playmate Calendar. As the title implies, we get 12 different sessions, one per Playmate. Here’s how they break down:

Jillian Grace (Miss March 2005): Stephanie appears in two segments. For the first, Jillian struts outside in a western setting complete with tumbleweeds. The second shows her in bed as she strips and poses in seductive ways before she gives herself a sponge bath. Jillian brings a light charm to her segments that makes them memorable. She shows an ease in front of the camera and doesn’t try too hard to impress us.

Hmm… I barely remember Jillian as a Playmate, but after my screening of this video, I’m not sure why I forgot her. She’s much closer to the Playboy “girl next door” ideal than most, as she has an apple-cheeked beauty and a wonderful natural body. She’s gorgeous and a great model to start this collection.

Scarlett Keegan (Miss September 2004): This one starts with Scarlett as she romps around a lush green outdoors setting. Next she heads inside to put on some makeup and look around naked. The banal nature of the scenarios harms the effectiveness of these clips, though Keegan tries her best to make them work. She offers a relaxed presence, so she milks the sexiness out of the segments – at least as much as we might expect from such boring situations.

I feel like I should be all over Scarlett. She’s a natural redhead, and I normally go for that type. However, Keegan just doesn’t do a lot for me. Maybe it’s that tacky tattoo on her hip, maybe it’s that her head seems way too big for her very skinny body, or maybe I just see her and think too much about Heather Christensen, another redheaded Playboy model I prefer. Scarlett’s just not one of my favorites.

Kimberly Holland (Miss October 2004): For her first piece, Kimberly boasts a college girl look as she laughs, spins and strips. After this she heads to the desert for a photo session. Kimberly is a lovely woman who never seems comfortable in front of the video camera. Her poses and expressions are awkward and render these clips less memorable than I’d like.

I’ve liked Kimberly since I first saw her as a “Cybergirl” on the Playboy website. She possesses a slightly off-beat beauty; at first glance, she looks like just another blonde, but further examination illustrates that she’s more distinctive than that. I wouldn’t call Kimberly a favorite, but she’s gorgeous and sexy.

Amber Campisi (Miss February 2005): A photo session in front of neon-colored backdrops opens this segment. From there Campisi dances around a kitchen and douses herself in oil. I think Amber would be sexy if she read the phone book, though the photo shoot piece taxes my patience; it does little to take advantage of her charms. The second one is much more successful, though, as the shots of Amber as she rubs oil on herself make the video worth watching.

Three words describe Amber: wow, wow, wow! She’s bigger than the average Playmate – geez, she looks like she outweighs scrawny Scarlett Keegan by 100 pounds – but don’t take that as a negative. In fact, it’s a positive. Amber boasts a stunningly voluptuous body along with a gorgeous face. At this writing, I maintain hopes – slim though they may be – that she’ll be the PMOY from 2005. She’s a winner.

Kara Monaco (Miss June 2005): In her first scenario, Monaco strips out of some men’s clothing. Next she wanders the countryside partially clad in a gauzy dress. Neither of these does much to register. Both are decent in and of themselves, but Kara doesn’t bring enough spark to them to make them memorable.

After four straight silicone-free models, Monaco stands as our first “enhanced” Playmate here. That’s too bad, as she’s otherwise pretty attractive. I can’t say I’m wild about her angular face, but I can’t complain or criticize other aspects of her look. I don’t like the breasts, though, and the rest of her appearance isn’t impressive enough to make her a favorite.

Qiana Chase (Miss July 2005): Initially Chase gently fondles herself and applies some soapy substance to herself in a shadowy setting. The next segment puts her indoors as she romps around a large abode. The first piece is moderately hot due to the soap application, but it’s shot in too many closeups to stand out as appealing. The second clip goes nowhere, and Qiana seems too detached to make either one work well.

While I suppose Playboy deserves credit for choosing a Playmate with an untraditional look, that still doesn’t make Qiana appealing to me. That bizarre Michael Jackson in The Wiz hairdo of hers remains an enormous turn-off and makes it absolutely impossible for me to appreciate any charms she may possess. And she does have ample charms, with a terrific natural body. I just can’t get past that absurd hairstyle, though, so Qiana’s my least favorite of this DVD’s models.

Jamie Westenhiser (Miss May 2005): For the first clip, Jamie romps around and in a large steamer trunk. Then she heads to what appears to be a southern mansion to strip and take a bath. The first segment’s too silly to be sexy, but the second succeeds. Granted, I dig water motifs, so this isn’t a tough sell. Still, Jamie sells it with her sudsy action in this sexy clip.

Jamie would be literally perfect… without the implants. She has everything else going for her, but I don’t like her chest. Granted, I’ve seen worse examples of “enhancements”, but Westenhiser’s implants don’t match her tight body well; they stand out because they spread her breasts too far apart from each other. She’s still so sexy that I like her, but the breasts knock her down more than a few pegs.

Colleen Shannon (Miss January 2004): Shannon rides a mechanical bull and then seduces some stud. The first segment easily works the best. If the sight of a hot naked women astride a mechanical bull ever fails to turn me on, then it’s time to put me out to pasture. The second piece is less inspiring, though, as it lacks real steam. Still, Shannon’s a reasonably sexy presence in both.

Shannon is the kind of Playmate I shouldn’t like, as she looks like she came straight from the Hef Cloning Factory. She’s not – and never will be – a favorite, and her tacky tattoo don’t help. That said, she’s quite sexy and stands as a good Playmate.

Cara Zavaleta (Miss November 2004): For the first piece, Cara roams a villa naked or in various states of undress. The second clip shows her indoors as she does basically the same thing. Despite the lack of creativity in the vignettes, Zavaleta displays terrific sex appeal and a lively nature in front of the camera. The sequences don’t always use her terribly well, but she looks great and makes them memorable nonetheless. Fans who own the 2005 Playmate of the Year DVD will already have seen these clips.

The shots of Cara remind me why she should have been the 2005 PMOY instead of the much less inspiring Tiffany Fallon. Cara has it all: beauty, personality and real sex appeal. She’s one of my favorite Playmates in recent memory.

Destiny Davis (Miss January 2005): First Destiny strips an poses near a wooded setting, and then she spins and twirls amongst some bubbles. Davis presents an unassuming charm that makes her appealing. She isn’t the rawest sexual presence, but she seems comfortable in front of the camera and conveys that in these appealing clips.

Despite my well-advertised dislike of implants, I must say that some aren’t too bad. Destiny’s fall into that category, as they look nearly natural. She has a fresh-faced beauty that helps sell her as a whole package.

Courtney Culkin (Miss April 2005): In the first clip, Courtney roams the city and strips on a taxi. Next she touches herself as she studies and then lets her wild girl side show. Culkin can’t quite sell the bad girl thing and seems unconvincing in both segments. They’re not bad, but she displays a detachment that makes the clips somewhat ordinary.

Davis had pretty good implants, but Culkin’s are less satisfying. That said, they’re not too bad. This DVD shows models with some of the more believable implants; it lacks overblown absurdities like the chests sported by Playmates such as Rebecca Ramos and Jennifer Walcott. Culkin isn’t a great Playmate, but she’s pretty sexy.

Tiffany Fallon (Miss December 2004/Playmate of the Year 2005): For her initial segment, Tiffany poses in classic pinup/fantasy situations. The second shows movie-star Tiffany as she escapes paparazzi and then poses for a guy on a rooftop and in a large theater. As with the Zavaleta sequences, fans who own Fallon’s PMOY DVD will already have seen these. Tiffany is a strangely boring model. She lacks much distinctiveness, and the she never generates any fire. Perhaps she just doesn’t do well in front of the camera, but Tiffany can’t light up the screen or create much sex appeal in these settings.

Physically, I probably should like Fallon despite her bad implants. Actually, they can look okay in photos, but here they come across as bulbous and distracting. Nonetheless, I’m a sucker for brunettes, so I feel as though I should think more highly of Tiffany despite the boob job. She just doesn’t do much for me, I’m afraid. I’ve seen worse Playmates of the Year, but I’ve certainly seen better.

I think this release stands as one of the better Playmate Video Calendars. It includes no really bad Playmates, and it features many who are quite good. The scenarios could use more variety and creativity, but I can’t complain too much about this appealing release.

2006 Playboy Video Playmate Calendar appears in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; due to those dimensions, the image has not been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Many Playboy videos suffer from weak visuals, but Calendar was relatively good.

Sharpness seemed decent to good. A little softness crept into some wider shots, but those concerns stayed modest. Instead, the majority of the vignettes came across as reasonably detailed and tight. Some light examples of jagged edges and shimmering also occurred, but those remained minor, as did edge enhancement.

Source flaws popped up occasionally, which made me believe some - if not all - of these clips were shot on film instead of video. Otherwise, I couldn’t come up with an explanation for the smattering of specks and spots. Artifacting was much reduced compared to most messy Playboy releases. They usually suffer from a really grainy look, but that wasn’t a problem here.

Colors were erratic but also usually pretty good. Sometimes they looked a bit messy, but usually the tones were reasonably natural and vibrant. Blacks seemed good and not too muddy, and shadows were reasonably smooth and distinctive. This wasn’t as appealing a visual package as the 2005 Video Calendar, but it still was more than acceptable.

On the other hand, the stereo soundtrack of the Video Calendar improved on the last version. As always, music heavily dominated the program. Speech from the Playmates usually popped up only during opening and closing parts of their segments, as the vignettes otherwise solely played with music. The 2005 DVD sounded virtually monaural, but the 2006 Video Calendar opened up matters much better. It featured good stereo imaging most of the time and spread those elements gently to the surrounds as well.

Audio quality appeared fine. The minor examples of speech were warm and natural. Effects played absolutely no role in the proceedings; other than the occasional snatches of speech, all we heard was music. Those elements sounded concise and warm, as they featured more than acceptable breadth and range. I wouldn’t state that this soundtrack was impressive, as it remained quite modest. That said, it presented the material well.

As we head to the supplements, we find only a few minor materials. A useful database comes to us with the Playmate Videographies. In this domain you’ll find listings for all the Playmates who showed up in Playboy videos. It’s an easy and effective way to find out where to locate your favorites. Less helpful is the collection of Playmate Datasheets. These present the texts written for the 12 Playmates who appear in the Calendar.

Next we get a Photo Gallery that presents 60 nude stills of the Playmates from the program. We can watch these via the usual stillframe access or a running gallery that jumps from picture to picture on its own. It’s a quality collection of photos.

All multi-model packages like this will have their ups and downs. Nonetheless, the 2006 Playboy Video Playmate Calendar was better than most. It presented many fine models and sexy settings with only a few relative duds. Both picture and sound were slightly above average. Unfortunately, the DVD skimped on extras. Still, there’s enough to like here to merit a recommendation.