Buffy Season 7 coming out earlier than expected? (1 Viewer)

[Matt Stone]

I am dying not knowing. Please someone, confirm.

 

[Dave Mack]

I just got my R2 S7 set 2 days ago and have watched 10 eps. so far. I missed a couple when broadcast, (was busy...)
and now watching these back to back without a week or sometimes several in between, I've gotta say that like S6, I'm much more into them the 2nd time around. Since I know where it's going and all of the major twists, I'm just appreciating the execution and not stressing on where I would have wanted the story, characters to go. Just enjoying the ride. Basically my take is it's the jazz version of Buffy. They have changed up the rythyms, and the structure that we have been accustomed to. Whether 1 likes it or not, it IS something a bit different. So far I'm liking it. And it is VERY unpredictable IMHO. And several eps. are downright eerie. Except for "Hush", Buffy never really gave me the Willies (save for a well placed jolt here and there) but some of these eps. like "conversations" are genuinely freaky. The fact that everyone is a bit different character-wise adds to this. 7 seasons of the same characters acting the exact same can get kinda dull. Like David Lynch got his hands on a Buffy treatment. And there is actually a sense of danger. Like ALL of the Scoobies can get their asses handed to them and even die. The fact that the First can mess with your head so much and you never know if a character is REAL or not is a bit unnerving IMHO. Spike is pretty menacing in these first few, like he can actually do some damage again. The scene where he grabs Anya's arm while she's going through his clothes is great, but then plays out TOTALLY differently than you'd think. Now I do seem to recall by the last 2 eps. it's kinda back to normal, saddle up, face off, Faith back but SMG in charge again... and that's all good, like the end of S5, But for the 1st 1/2, I'm into the fact that it's out there. I know there's a dull, talky patch ahead prior to the last few, but with these actors now as good as they are, SMG simply a marvel to behold and Marsters doing exemplary work, I think I can handle it. And I have missed a few, so there will be a few surprises in store..... I personally find the "dark, broody" Buffy eps. far more interesting than the peppy, goofy all is good by the end types that dominated S1 and part of S2.... Now, I'm not saying it's the best, (either S3 or S5 is IMHO... S2 I've always felt was a bit overrated...) but it's certainly the weirdest and in many ways perhaps the most intruiging Season.

So, let the arrows fly, I know I'm in the minority.
But if one can watch these like I'm doing back to back, it might be better or more interesting than the way we were forced to by the broadcast year. Certainly was revelatory to me...

All this is of course, just my opinion....


D


And for the love of Osiris, can we find out about OMWF..?!?!?

 

[Scott Kimball]

To an extent, I agree, Dave. S7 plays much better in rapid-fire. I recently watched the 2 episodes per day as FX ran them, and I enjoyed it more than the original broadcast.

Still, S7 lost it's way in the middle third. It started off reasonably strong, had a truly awful second act, and managed to pull itself up for a respectable (if not rousing) finale.

I liked the finale to S5 much better, and the series would have gone out stronger if it ended there.

However, there was an episode or two that I liked early in S6, then OMWF, and the Dark Willow arc which I liked (I know many others don't). Then theres a handful of good episodes in S7. So, for want of about 10 episodes, I'm glad Buffy continued past S5.

If they had taken the lull out of S6, and the lull out of S7, and squished what remained into one season... now we're talkin.

-Scott

 

[Adam_ME]

I got mine a month ago and I've still only watched "Lessons" all the way through. I don't know what it is, but I can't motivate myself to get through this set. And I managed to finish the Season 6 box set in just over a week last year(same goes for Angel Season 4 back in March).

Oh well, I'm sure at this pace I'll be done with the set by some time in 2006.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I always used to say that about season 6-7, combine them and make on HUGE send-off... would have been better.

The episodes will likely be much more entertaining in a 3-5 day span, as opposed to a whole 8 months.

 

[Dave Mack]

Well, I'm onto disc 4, enjoying it.. The 1st 3 discs looked great transfer-wise, on par with S6 and suddenly on Disc 4.. ACK!!! Suddenly MAJOR Edge Enhancement. I mean MAJOR. Like Pantom Menace, Die Hard 3, Tombstone level. And there's virtually none on the 1st 3 discs. What the hell...? Did someone supervise the first 1/2 of the season transferwise and someone else who likes EE do the 2nd half??? What a shame. I mean, it's REAL bad. S6 looked GREAT, had virtually none. This looks like the pic. has a ghost, like an old Ch.2 NYC rabbit ears....

Damn EE.... pet peeve by the way.... Hopefully it stops soon....

 

[Judy Y]

Have to agree with the above comments on content of season 7. I have not seen ANY Buffy on tv and have only ever watched the DVD's. It seems like the favored season of Buffy is season 3 and then season 5, (and season 3 is one of my least favorites). I have enjoyed all seasons of Buffy but find I like them more the second time around. I had read so many bad things about season 7 that I was shocked that it was as good as it was. It must be that it is a better season to watch one after the other than to have to watch one a week.To me, it seemed like season 7 was more consistent. There weren't really any stand out eps or completely wasted eps- like season 6. Season 6 had some really outstanding episodes and then some that were really just painful to watch. (Yes, I know, it's only my opinion.)

It is interesting to watch the entire series and then go back and watch the first season again and see how early the story lines seemed to be set up. And I always love the references to those early days that are used in later seasons!

 

[Dave Mack]

Okay, I scanned the later discs and it clears up. Weird. Was even stranger is that even in the featurettes, S7 overview etc... the clips from those shows look bad as well, so maybe those shows had a problem. I mean, it looks like a 2nd gen. copy in comparison to the others. Aside from the EE, colors are washed out, detail is down and the black levels aren't nearly as good, so it's not just EE. VERY weird. And on those eps. the footage from the "Previously on's.." look great, so it's not the discs. VERY, VERY strange, Bad quality control IMHO.
And this season HAS to be watched back to back. A different type of season, and the music cues are very different, but it's working for me. ALOT of Warren, which surprised me...
And honestly, some of these eps. are just as good as any of the best, but there's a much more mature vibe to them and the consequences seem more realistic.

D

 

[Adam_ME]

That wouldn't surprise me. I thought there was something wrong with the Angel Season 4 transfers, but I think it was just the source material. The only confusing thing about this is why it affects only one disc out of the entire set. I'll check it out later and see if mine has the same problem.

 

[Dave Mack]

yeah, Disc 4, don't know about 5 yet but I think a couple at least might be the same...
And that scene between Dawn and Xander, in "potential", after Dawn realizes that she's not one, not "special" and Xander gives her the compliment about being extraordinary and how tough it is to just be "normal" compared to Willow, Anya and Buffy. Quite a wonderful scene. VERY well written and played by the 2...


Overall, this season is DEFINITELY stretched out and more talky, but in a weird way, when a vamp fight or attack occurs now, it has much more impact then when there's 3 or 4 throwdowns in every ep. some dismissed with just a goofy one-liner at the end. In these, like in Buffy's fights with the 1st Ubervamp
there actually is some tension and danger and the consequences and wounds on the cast seem larger.

Just my op...


And I... oooh! Roadhouse just came on TBS! Movies for guys who like hacked to pieces, non-OAR, non nudity, edited for time and content Male bonding movies....

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I didn't like the inconsistancy. Like how this first Ubervamp took like 2-3 episodes to finally kill... yet in the finale, these girls are staking them with no problems. Only when ganged up were they able to be hurt by them.

 

[Matt Stone]

Amen to that, Robert. Inconsistency in the story and quality of episodes was my real problem with season 7. There are enough single episodes I like to make me buy the season, but as a whole it just can't compete with the other seasons.

 

[Ryan_Guah]

For the record, Joss said he knew what he was doing when he wrote the episode. He knew that ubervamps were harder to kill earlier on, and he said he made them easier in the finale because of 1) time, and because 2) he needed to get the general message of power across.

 

[Matt Stone]

Sure, but just because Joss did it on purpose doesn't make it any more plausible.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Exactly, it just screams of LAZINESS in the writing. It's something that could have been explained in a throwaway line.

"The scythe, when activated, seems to have made us more powerful than just one slayer. It's like we're sharing the power of all the other slayers." (Obviously written much better)

There were multiple things. Like the incredibly EASY way they explained the evacuation of the town, so when it was sucked under, nobody really died.

I'm sure everyone in town was able to afford just buying new houses and being able to just abandon their old ones...

The season had so much potential, and just didn't live up to it, which is the most disappointing aspect of it.

 

[Ryan_Guah]

I was just saying "For the record", I wasn't argueing any point whatsoever. No need to post-hump.

 

[Dave Mack]

Remember in "The Freshman" from S4 when Buffy thought that new College Girl vamp was so bad-ass and Buffy ran off? Turned out that it was Buffy's insecurities and fears that were making her lose the fights, not that the girl was any badder than any other vamp. So maybe it's a bit similar theme-wise. Once Buffy wasn't scared of the Uber- anymore she knew she could kick it's ass just like any other vamp.

JUST an idea.....

And I still have 6 to go. I'll see how I feel at the end. All I know now is that it's WAY better the 2nd time around and viewed rapid-fire... Heck, I'm even laughing at Andrew...

 

[Leslie]

Just watched the R-1 OMWF, hate to say it's not anamorphic.
It's window boxed 4X3. On my system all zoom modes have side bars, although small ones. Max zoom gets rid of top and bottom but leaves slight side bars. 16X9 justified seems best, same as any 4X3 show.

The karioke songs are cute. Tomorrow I'll start from disc 1 1 but I had to see Once More as soon as I got the set.

 

[Dave Mack]

This just blows... I have my R2 anamorphic copy but I wanted this to be annie here so I could have it at the correct pitch. It's only 1/2 step up, not huge but would have been nice. No excuse. We get ANGEL anamorphic, they couldn't do ONE episode, arguably one of the very best properly?? Sux...


:frowning:

 

[Scott Kimball]

Grrrr... Aargh!

-Scott