Buffy Season 1: Any Spoilers in Special Features? (1 Viewer)

Finally getting around to watching my first season Buffy set that I had purchased back when it was first released.

Do the commentaries and other special features spoil the show? If they do spoil- to what extent? The entire series run or just the current season?

Very curious as to when I can start watching the special features.

Thanks.

The commentaries are pretty good at spoiling the series up until the commentary was recorded. TPTB are assuming you are as familiar with the show as they are. As for the special features, i'm a bit fuzzy but if I remember correctly there are a few (on S2, IIRC) that spoil bits down the road. BTW, I'm 99% sure that one of the commentaries on S1 spoils a character's death in S2.

My advice would be to watch all the seasons then come back and view the special features if you want to stay completely spoiler-free.

Thanks David! I'll take you advice and hold off on the special features for a while.

I just got through watching Season 1 for the first time on Thursday. Don't listen to the commentaries... there are quite a few spoilers in them which made me angry! I just couldn't resist. I don't think there is anything major on any of the other special features.

I envy you :frowning:

A lot. Enjoy the series, fellas

Take care,
Chuck

well, there are certain moments such as what happens at the end of season 2 and the end of season 5 (won't divulge) that even people who don't know much about Buffy are aware of. Kinda like I believe most people who are MASH virgins still knows what happens to Blake, or Dallas virgins know that JR gets shot.

Just from general osmosis. Fortunately, I don't know how these events occur so I imagine I have quite a bit to look forward to. And I'm almost entirely unspoiled for "Angel."

Man, I agree with Chuck, I envy you.

To be at the start of 11 Seasons of Buffyverse, whoa...

I knew every major plot point (of Buffy, not Angel) before I started, and it didn't detract from my enjoyement on bit.

BTW, your use of the expression "the big bad" tells me you've already picked up on some of the lingo .

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H

Thankfully Kevin, even knowing all that, there are still a whole passel of nice little surprises left for you.

personally, i'd save all the special features until after you've finished the entire series.
for one thing, if you're like most of us, once you're done you'll still want more, and the special features are a decent way to gradually wean yourself off the material.

Yep, I'm a decent ways into Season Two now (watched "Ted" last night) and things are really starting to click and I'm enjoying it very, very much.

very true, I got into Buffy around the time the series reruns began running on FX and season 6 premiered on UPN. I knew the majority of the spoilers, but still, seeing them come to fruition is a lot different (and better) than just hearing what happens. So even though you know some of the biggies, it shouldn't actually ruin the series for you because you've yet to experience the context in which these things happen.

Quick question- do the Buffy Seasons ever go to widescreen format?

I know there was a huge amount of controversy over this issue when the DVDs first started coming out and I'm fine with the full-frame presentation here but I'm just curious if this ever changes.

Only one episode of Buffy is in widescreen and that is the Buffy Musical, "Once More, With Feeling" in S6. It's also the longest episode and, imho, the best episode of the series.

Buffy filmed widescreen from at least season 4+.

The episodes were never intended to be seen that way, however.

My complaint is that OMWF isn't anamorphic... grr argh indeed...

the region 2 seasons 4-7 are in widescreen, but except for the aforementioned Once More, With Feeling episode, they are full-frame here. There was much heated debate over this, but Joss Whedon enclosed a letter in with the season 4 set saying that while the shows were filmed in widescreen for the UK market (which switched to widescreen before here), Buffy was intended as a full-frame series.

However, Angel goes widescreen in either season 2 or 3 and the DVD's are presented that way.

Thanks David, Robert, and Jay. I thought I had read a comment that Buffy goes widescreen in Season Four and I guess the info about the UK release clears up that confusion. I was curious about Angel as well since I heard that it *was* widescreen and was confused when the back of the Season One boxset indicated full frame.

Regarding Buffy/Angel crossovers:

I'm nearing the end of Season Three and I already have Angel S1/Buffy S4 sets on tap. I understand there are some crossovers between the two series. My questions:

1)Do they always go one-to-one? I should watch one episode of Buffy followed by one episode of Angel and in doing so will naturally encounter the crossover?

2) Its Buffy first then Angel, correct? IIRC they were sheduled on the same night with Buffy at 8:00 then Angel at 9:00.

3) How many seasons were there crossovers? Was it only until Buffy went to UPN (was that Buffy Season Six)? Even after the network switch if there aren't any formal crossovers do the two series still intermingle on plotlines and characters?

Thanks for the help.

Damn you're fast. I assume that you like the show then?

It would be nice to hear your impressions, good and/or bad.

All those questions can be answered with a cursory search, they've been covered many times. Quick answers:

1- Yes
2- Yes
3- 2, Buffy S4 and S5 run parallel to Angel S1 and S2.

I will go against the grain here and say that personally, I never made a big deal of the couple of crossovers eps.

I watched Buffy S4 and S5 before I got started on Angel, which I watched exclusively as well and it was never a problem. I didn't want to slow down my Buffy progress by watching Angel in between Buffy eps.

Angel, while set in the same universe, was much more different from Buffy than I expected. The tone and mood are different. It's darker, yet has a more modern, less gothic feel. The rapid fire editing marking scene transitions, and the techno-ish music were very jarring at first. The small cast in Season 1 did not allow the same kind of humour you've gotten used to in Buffy. That aspect gets better later as the crew expands. All that to say it's a different show and should be treated as such.

My personal preference of coourse.

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H

Heh, I've got copious amounts of freetime on my hands for a little while .

I love the show a lot but I will say that the third season has been a slight disappointment compared to second. I'm primarily referring to the first third of Season Three which I thought had a good portion of the cast acting out of character, missed character opportunities, and a few plot contrivances I didn't care for that seemed to be forced by the decision to spin off the Angel television show. I do think the show has been much, much better since "Amends" with some of my favorite episodes of the series so far and I've still got 6.5 episodes left in Season Three.

At this stage, I thought Season Two was more consistent and got its "groove" a bit quicker (for me it was "Halloween" that hooked me in S2). I also thought the cast gelled much better in S2. I realize that's the minority opinion with S3 being the favorite of many.

I have one other issue with Season Three which may sound a bit bizarre but I found the first half way too bright and clean from a cinematography standpoint. If I understand correctly, S3 is where they switched from 16 mm to 35 mm and it looks like they got a nice increase in budget too. However by the second half of the second season it seemed to me that they had really adjusted well to the 16mm and I thought there was a lot of great lighting and set design that took advantage of the limitations of the format and I thought the increased grain added a nice gritty texture.

At the beginning of Season Three I found most of the sets overlit and too antiseptic looking. It also made a lot of the environments look like sets vice natural locations. This seemed to change about halfway through, again with "Amends," and since then the show has regained a lot of the texture and atmosphere I felt was lacking early in S3.

Thanks for the commentary on the the stylistic differences between the shows. I had kind of suspected that would be the case and I've been worried about those tonal differences interrupting the flow of either show. I'll probably try to go one-to-one to start with but I won't be shy about deviating if necessary.

6.5 left? So that would mean you're in the middle of "Dopplegangland?"

You've got a ton of great stuff left. The ep you're watching right now is one of the best in the series. The next one, "Enemies," is quite good as well. "Earshot" is fantastic. "Choices" is very good, too. "The Prom" is one of the best of the season, and the two part finale "Graduation Day" is incredible, and though some don't, I put it on the same level as "Becoming." As you can tell, I love season three. However, I think you'll love these episodes even if you didn't like the start of season three. I always thought that Buffy seasons had a tough time starting off, but by the end they were into high gear turning out great ep after great ep. Season three, to me, is the most obvious supporter of that theory.