The Best Disc Commentary? (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

I do like the commentary for the pilot episode of Frasier (Peter Casey, David Lee). I didn’t know that Lisa Kudrow was originally cast as Roz. Unfortunately that series has only one other commentary track.

I have a ton of stuff I haven’t gotten to yet- there are tracks on The King Of Queens, and How I Met Your Mother (I have had those sets for years, and haven’t gotten around to binging them yet). Good to know the tracks on The Dick Van Dyke Show are worthwhile (Reiner does one for his film Oh, God- that one’s a good one).

 

[Charles 22]

I do like the commentary for the pilot episode of Frasier (Peter Casey, David Lee). I didn’t know that Lisa Kudrow was originally cast as Roz. Unfortunately that series has only one other commentary track.

I have a ton of stuff I haven’t gotten to yet- there are tracks on The King Of Queens, and How I Met Your Mother (I have had those sets for years, and haven’t gotten around to binging them yet). Good to know the tracks on The Dick Van Dyke Show are worthwhile (Reiner does one for his film Oh, God- that one’s a good one).

And don't forget the Land of the Lost original dvd set, as if you could ever find it. Thanks for the contribution.

 

[Museum Pieces]

One of the fans who fixed the music on The Fugitive did a commentary for the episode, "Man in a Chariot," about what happened behind the scenes. It was the best commentary I ever heard. I listened to it off YouTube. I assume it is still there.

 

[Lord Dalek]

The Twilight Zone has some good commentary.

 

[Charles 22]

The Twilight Zone has some good commentary.

I'll agree to a degree. I have the BD set, so I don't know if it's the same, but the guys are a little bit strange from what I've seen of the commentary world (and it figures). That was a team that has numerous silent spots in the commentary, but they haven't left. One guy sounds very official, while the other is more into some jokes here and there. I think the latter was the president of some Twilight Zone Fan Club. Thanks for the contribution.

 

[Charles 22]

One of the fans who fixed the music on The Fugitive did a commentary for the episode, "Man in a Chariot," about what happened behind the scenes. It was the best commentary I ever heard. I listened to it off YouTube. I assume it is still there.

Thanks for the contribution. I'm wondering if he also did other episode commentary? If that was off a complete set, you would think so (the reasoning being that commentators usually aren't confined to one episode), unless he was there just for a one episode music commentary. I would think there wouldn't be a lot of need, even on a complete series set, for a guy to comment on music too terribly much.

 

[Museum Pieces]

Thanks for the contribution. I'm wondering if he also did other episode commentary? If that was off a complete set, you would think so (the reasoning being that commentators usually aren't confined to one episode), unless he was there just for a one episode music commentary. I would think there wouldn't be a lot of need, even on a complete series set, for a guy to comment on music too terribly much.

He was talking about the entire saga of music replacement, subsequent identification and restoration, since CBS had hired him to fix it after the lawyers bungled it all. I got the impression he did the commentary on his own, that it was a personal project, not part of an official set. It was really eye opening. It made me realize how as a fan I think I have an inkling of what happens on the other side of the door, in the actual room, but I have no freaking clue. In that sense it was the greatest commentary I ever heard because he wasn't constrained by the studio in terms of what he revealed. Chief of which: it was a lawyer who helped fix it all.

 

[Jack P]

One of the fans who fixed the music on The Fugitive did a commentary for the episode, "Man in a Chariot," about what happened behind the scenes. It was the best commentary I ever heard. I listened to it off YouTube. I assume it is still there.

I tried looking for it but couldn't find it. Hope it's not gone since I would have loved to have heard that and downloaded it.

In a similar vein, I admit I did my own commentaries for all the episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" (for new cuts of the episodes I made myself with deleted footage) since the DVD/Blu-Ray only gave us a commentary for the pilot episode by Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Herb Jefferson, Jr. that was okay but a bit incomplete at times (it was clear that they had spent so many years seeing only the cut theatrical version of the pilot that they'd forgotten completely most of the additional scenes that were part of the original telecast).

 

[Charles 22]

He was talking about the entire saga of music replacement, subsequent identification and restoration, since CBS had hired him to fix it after the lawyers bungled it all. I got the impression he did the commentary on his own, that it was a personal project, not part of an official set. It was really eye opening. It made me realize how as a fan I think I have an inkling of what happens on the other side of the door, in the actual room, but I have no freaking clue. In that sense it was the greatest commentary I ever heard because he wasn't constrained by the studio in terms of what he revealed. Chief of which: it was a lawyer who helped fix it all.

Some commentary literally puts you to sleep with the drone quality, but I think almost all commentary seem that way at first, and then you have to find a few that break the mold, and suddenly almost all of them are worthwhile in some way. I think it's because it takes our minds some doing to adjust to that style. We're literally expecting episode commentary, things pertinent to the episode, maybe doing some of a very modest MST3K sort of thing, and so not getting that time and time again, it takes a while to get over that and get used to digging for what truly is there.

What's really amusing is when the commentary is better than the show itself, which as far as I know, is only exemplified in the Doctor Who series. One thing that's great about their commentary, is maybe as much of half of it is about what's actually going on with the episode they're viewing.

 

[Jack P]

One of the fans who fixed the music on The Fugitive did a commentary for the episode, "Man in a Chariot," about what happened behind the scenes. It was the best commentary I ever heard. I listened to it off YouTube. I assume it is still there.

Is this what you were talking about? It wasn't an episode commentary per se but more of a ten minute documentary.

 

[Museum Pieces]

Is this what you were talking about? It wasn't an episode commentary per se but more of a ten minute documentary.

No, but the commentary was by this same guy. It was a full-length commentary for Man in a Chariot. He talked over the entire episode about what happened with the music, how he got hired, and how it got fixed. He had nothing but praise for the people he worked with, including a lawyer who worked really hard to get it right.

 

[Jack P]

Okay then it looks like his commentary has disappeared sadly. I would have loved to have heard that. This one did explain how the recall happened in the first place. Got to admit since I was one of the few who got one of the recalled sets, that means I should technically "upgrade" at some point. I had been led to believe the recall was rooted more in source music things in other episodes.

 

[Charles 22]

I'll add to what I put in my prior post. You can tell with some episodes, either one of the commentators didn't see the episode at all, and are not viewing it as they comment, but instead they're just coming there to talk about their career and nothing else. While at times that can work, especially if they're a favorite actor, that is usually by far the more boring of commentaries, because we want a lot of stuff at least pertinent to the series, probably even moreso the episode itself. Of course, it is rather fun to have them do it practically in terms of being a first reaction video, for they will recall bits and pieces as they watch it, but they are often surprised by other scenes they forgot. I wonder if Shatner ever forgot any of his kissing scenes? Of course I wouldn't include the ones where he was kissing himself. Well, if not kissing himself then kissing a ship bulkhead.

 

[Museum Pieces]

Okay then it looks like his commentary has disappeared sadly. I would have loved to have heard that. This one did explain how the recall happened in the first place. Got to admit since I was one of the few who got one of the recalled sets, that means I should technically "upgrade" at some point. I had been led to believe the recall was rooted more in source music things in other episodes.

I follow this guy on YouTube and FB. I asked him about it and he gave me permission to share his response: "I originally did the commentary for family and friends so they could better understand my contribution, but someone posted it without permission. CBS eventually gave me permission to share the documentary but not the commentary." He's very friendly and accessible and works on all kinds of classic movies and TV shows.

 

[bmasters9]

Just finished listening to Lynda Carter's commentary on the third-and-final-season premiere of Wonder Woman on DVD, "My Teenage Idol Is Missing" (OAD Fri. Sept. 22, 1978 on CBS), and with all the inside stories she dished on how Wonder Woman worked then, I wish she had done more.

 

[Charles 22]

Just finished listening to Lynda Carter's commentary on the third-and-final-season premiere of Wonder Woman on DVD, "My Teenage Idol Is Missing" (OAD Fri. Sept. 22, 1978 on CBS), and with all the inside stories she dished on how Wonder Woman worked then, I wish she had done more.

Ah, I have the BD series now that ought to give new life to it. Thanks a heap! I'm not too sure about the features of the BD series, but hopefully it covers the same ground.

 

[bmasters9]

Ah, I have the BD series now that ought to give new life to it. Thanks a heap! I'm not too sure about the features of the BD series, but hopefully it covers the same ground.

Not a problem-- in fact, this is the first episode ever of anything for which I've listened to a commentary on DVD.

 

[Charles 22]

Not a problem-- in fact, this is the first episode ever of anything for which I've listened to a commentary on DVD.

If for some strange reason you happen to have the Land of the Lost original dvd releases, definitely listen to the commentary, as it's the best I've ever heard, but more for sheer laughs than useful info. Commentary is a bit of an acquired art, so hang in there, and I think you'll find other discs of much the same commentary quality. Another form I like an awful lot, though I think the show is fairly horrid, is the earlier Dr Who's (say up to Peter Davison at least - I just don't buy them later than him) because they're actually commenting often about what is going on in the episode at that time (and every single second of Who is covered by commentary, and usually more than that). If definitely puts a lot more value to an otherwise not so hot show for me (those were my original recommendations).

You might want to skim over the contributors selections here, and see if you have any of them, and that way start your more ascendant journey into the world of commentaries.

Wow, hard to believe you're so keen on this site, and you just got started on commentaries? Son, where have you been? What I said about an acquired taste holds very true, at least it was for me, because I found that I didn't like most of them, but once I got used to what to expect from them, I was listening to what arguably I would had thought were boring ones. Let's face it, it's icing on the cake, and you get more value from the purchase, even if it's usually not as good as the show.

 

[John_Simpson]

I don't know if it's my favorite but I rather enjoyed the commentaries for the TV series Leverage with the caveat that DOESN'T include any of the commentaries where Aldis Hodge sat in. As in, what were they thinking?

 

[Charles 22]

I don't know if it's my favorite but I rather enjoyed the commentaries for the TV series Leverage with the caveat that DOESN'T include any of the commentaries where Aldis Hodge sat in. As in, what were they thinking?

Thanks. I've no clue about that show.