Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Limited Edition Complete Boxed Set (1 Viewer)

[Dave Mack]

Jay, S6 ROCKS!

At that point the cast were so good and worked and played off each other so well even when fighting with each other it was a mavel to behold. And I think Angel as a character became much more interesting once he left and got his own show. The fact that Buffy was attracted to Spike even though he was soulless was VERY interesting in my opinion.

 

[Jay_B!]

I feel exactly the same. If the show stayed on WB all seven seasons, I am pretty sure Buffy would've had a grand finale treatment. It was pretty disheartening to see WB send Dawson's Creek off in grand style a week earlier (almost the way NBC sent Friends out) while UPN just aired the episode in a one hour slot with no fanfare, hype or interviews (I remember in between commercial breaks for Dawson, there'd be "Joshua Jackson's favorite Dawson's Creek moment", etc...), only makes me wonder... what if Buffy had stayed on WB? lol

 

[Jay_B!]

I agree with everything you said. I honestly wonder, since Angel is a very beloved show here, maybe even moreso than Buffy, if that is part of the reason people hate the latter seasons, especially the UPN years, is because... just like Angel was able to move on without Buffy and get on with his life, Buffy had the same ability, and I think some Angel fans hate seeing that Spike took Angel's place as the resident vampire fighting for Buffy's love.

Some people are so hung up on Buffy and Angel being together that they just weren't able to accept the fact that Buffy moved on with her life after Angel moved to L.A.

 

[Lyle_JP]

You're making the assumption that UPN was the reason Buffy did not get a royal finale? From everything I've read and heard, Joss moved Buffy to UPN precisely because they gave him more money and more freedom. If he had wanted to air a three-hour finale with limted commercial interruption, UPN probably would have let him.

We got the finale that Joss created. It's as simple as that.

-Lyle J.P.

 

[Jay_B!]

I'm not talking the finale itself, but the way UPN treated the final episode when it aired. When Dawson's Creek's final episode aired, WB made a point that between every commerical break, there were interviews with the cast, clips from the wrap party, etc.... WB really made sure to make the night about saying goodbye to the show. Whereas UPN treated the Buffy finale that aired one week later as just "another episode" instead of actually giving it a goodbye sendoff that you'd think a show of Buffy's calibre would've received.

I really do think if either 1. Buffy stayed on WB, or 2. Buffy was on UPN from day one (maybe the UPN didn't really care because five of the seven seasons were on another network... would be like CBS buying Lost several years down the line), that the last episode of Buffy would've been treated as the event that it really was, because IMO, when Buffy ended, it was a bigger deal than when Dawson's Creek ended, and WB treated the end of Dawson's Creek the way NBC treated Friends and HBO treated Sex And The City when those shows ended.

 

[MarkHarrison]

I found on my second run through the series that I enjoyed seasons 4, 5 and 6 more than before. I've always liked season 3 the best and the other seasons really let me down. Watching the second time through, knowing that they weren't as good, I found myself not expecting as much. That let me enjoy them more this time around.

Season 7 was different. I actually hated it more the second time through. I just hated the whole slayerette thing. This final season should have been the chance for the group we've followed all along to shine. Instead, they got pushed to the side for some annoying girls.

 

[Joel C]

I was never able to get over the fact that, for me anyway, the characters were written into corners that made the show a pale shadow of what it once was. The "darkness" of Season 6 is one thing, but the characters still could have had some spark... Buffy really became lifeless after she came back from the dead....

But even if that was the point, the writing got really sloppy in general, with huge continuity gaps, bad dialogue, anvilicious metaphors, and poor character development. ESPECIALLY season seven, which makes almost no sense at at any point and feels really thrown together.

I like Chosen by itself, but nearly every heroic moment is unearned, particularly the "core four" talk right before the last battle. At that point, the characters had grown apart so much they really weren't even friends.

I like Angel better not because of anything to do with the Buffy/Angel relationship, but because the show more or less stayed on top of its game, even when saddled with the ludicrous, network-mandated move to Wolfram and Hart.

 

[Jim Harvey]

For Canadians, I found this box set pretty much everywhere, for prices from $180 - 250, and a little higher. There is a bilingual slipcover, but that can be easily removed and discarded.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Yeah, for me the problem with season 6 was not the "darkness" (I don't know that it was any darker than some of the episodes from the third season, anyway), but the poor writing. Everything started to be divided into soapy "drama" scenes and unfunny "comedy relief" scenes, and they lost the hybrid of drama/comedy/action that made the show what it was. Not only were the first few seasons better than seasons 6 and 7, but I actually think the movie was better than most of what came out of those last two seasons.

Also, the longer the show went on past the first three seasons, the less and less Xander had to do; since Xander was the best character on the show for those first three years, it was a shame to see him taking a backseat to dull romance storylines and overused characters like Spike. If Xander had gotten the "Initiative" storyline in season 4 -- it was supposed to be for him, but Riley was written in instead to fill what should have been Xander's role -- things might have been different.

 

[Jeff#]

The movie better??! With Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry? You gotta be kidding me!

That film looks quaint and even though it's from the early 1990s still looks dated compared to the far superior series.

As far as the show goes, the first 2 years were OK but Buffy got better every year. The introduction of Spike and Drusilla enhanced the 2nd season. Faith and the crooked Mayor of Sunnydale in the third. Since it made perfect sense to have a team of soldiers secretly caprturing and experimenting on demons in town all those years, the Initiative storyline in the fourth year was excellent. I say that in spite of the less seen of Xander (who after all, decided not to go to college after graduating). I felt Xander was still put to good use -- particularly in the remaining seasons.

The fifth season (the last on the WB) is when things started to fall apart with the Glory arc and Giles going back to London (was the spinoff with Anthony Stewart Head "Giles" ever produced??), but there were still some masterful tales including the change of pace when Buffy's mom died in "The Body". Joss Whedon surprised everyone given that Joyce's death was not a supernatural one. The season finale was a perfect ending for the WB network, and the next season's 2 hour premiere on UPN nicely picked up on that.

You already know what I think about the last 2 years.

 

[Jeff#]

Well, gotta go down to the post office to pick up Buffy!

I'm glad I got these discs in time to watch and enjoy again over the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays. I also bought a second set of the same for my sister.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Not better than the good seasons of the series, obviously, but yes, better-written and better shot than the last few seasons of the series, and closer to the vision of "Buffy" as a ridiculous premise played with surprising seriousness.

 

[Jay_B!]

nowhere in your post do I see "IMO", which what you're saying is. A lot of people disagree with you on the last two seasons, so it is all opinion, not fact.

The Buffy movie from 1992 is an embarassment (IMO) and even for $1, I'd never add it to my collection. That movie actually kept me from checking the series out for a few seasons until I finally heard enough good things from people to give it a shot.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Oy, not that again. Anything anybody says about whether a show/movie/whatever is "good" or "bad" is by definition an opinion. There is no need to add "IMO" to something that is obviously not a statement of fact.

Anyway, the movie was a good but flawed attempt at telling the comic/serious/horrific/metaphorical tale of a shallow girl who realizes that she is meant for something more. It's not as good as the series, but the funny parts are funnier and the serious parts are less embarrassing than the season 6-7 episodes. (No IMO required, since it is by definition IMO.)

 

[Dave Mack]

Giles didn't start going back to England til' S6.
And the movie? eeek!

Just my opinion....



I love Buffy as a whole and even if every show is not great it's still Buffy. And even bad Buffy was better than 90% of the crap that was on TV at the time.

And I for one liked the soap opera elements of S6, (and there were plenty of those moments back when Angel was with Buffy too!) My life was often just like a soap opera, (albeit with no demons and vamp... well...) so I identified WAY more with S6 than any of the first 3 seasons.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I think what people mean about "soapy" elements of season 6 and 7 is that there were like 3 separate stories in each episode that often never connected in any way. So you'd have Willow doing some bad metaphorical magic stuff and Buffy sleeping with Spike for 39 minutes, then for the last 2-3 minutes Buffy and Willow would have a short talk... fade out.

It wasn't bad, but the connectivity of the group split in season 6... which felt right for that season and that storyline. Season 7 should have brought them together for the end, but felt like more of the same... making the change in the finale all the more unrealistic.

 

[Jeff#]

I'll take the WORST episode of the series ("Once More -- with Feeling!", or as the network called it in their promo ads: "Buffy - the Musical") over the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie any day.

 

[MattFini]

I can definitely see where people could be turned off to S6, but I strongly disagree with the assessment that the writing of Season 6 was sloppy and the character development was bad (I can't really argue too much about the metaphors, but it worked I thought). I LOVED the progression of the main characters and thought it was entirely logical-especially Xander's arc. From his cold feet to how he reacts after finding out Spike slept with Anya and Buffy...that stuff struck a chord with me and I thought his behavior/reaction was pitch perfect.

I also can't argue terribly about Season 7. I agree with most of what has been said here.

 

[Josh-F]

Jeff#- that's the second time that you've posted about how much you hate OMWF. Can you explain why? I think it's one of the top episodes of the entire show, and so does a lot of the fandom. I don't get your hatred for it, but I'd like to hear about it.

 

[Bill>Moore]

I couldn't resist the Buffy box since I only had picked up s1-4 so far. With the DDD sale, and trading my four seasons for seven (ebaying the four I'd bought), I ended up trading just about even up - thus getting the last three seasons free. Cool!