Bring Buffy (And Angel) Home

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Bring Buffy (And Angel) Home - Region 2 DVD

Luke'Buffy's Boy' presents... Home Page
Season One Buffy
Season Two Buffy
Season Three Buffy
Season Four Buffy
Season Five Buffy
Season One Angel
Season Two Angel
Bring Buffy (And Angel) Home - Region 2 DVD
Luke's Buffy/Angel Links

Digital slaying... Do you want to own the Buffster, Angel and pals on DVD? Do you want to view their slaying in wicked picture quality, then feast upon extras after seeing the main feature? Then buy the DVDs, morons! :)
	Buffy Season 1 - Region 2 See page 'Season One Buffy' for more details on the season arc and individual episodes. Packaging - The crucifix-style fold-out packaging is gorgeous and a lavish change from the book-style packaging used for the following seasons. The effective blue colour scheme is the same that was used on the VHS Season One release, and there are some delicious pictures of SMG to make those chapter stop lists all the more appealing. The discs will not get scratched, leaving the only negative aspect of the design to be that the rather flimsy case (in which the folded crucifix rests on your shelf) could get damaged. Packaging verdict - * * * * Picture and sound quality - As this was the premiere season, it suffers from being filmed on a low budget and therefore does not look that great. In later seasons, the grade of film used was of a higher standard. However, now we have to be content with a 4:3 grainy presentation - it's not too beautiful but it's minimally better than the VHS picture and the episodes make up for the poor quality. As for sound, it's not great but for a TV show you can't really expect cinematic sound quality. However, the music and dialogue are all distinguishable so there's no real query when it comes to this area. Picture and sound quality verdict - * * * Extras - The menus aren't too involving but get the job done. Unfortunately, Region 2 peeps don't get the additional Joss Whedon episode interviews included on the Region 1 set (don't fret too much though, as they are said to be short) but we do get a simple 5-minute talk about the series courtesy of Joss and David Boreanaz. Not too exciting but fun to watch once or twice... However, Joss Whedon lets us in on a lot more during the commentary for the two premiere episodes. This is an involving and witty talk, featuring lots of re-treaded info but also lots of new and hilarious tidbits. Fans of the show MUST listen to this - at least twice. Hehe... From here on outon the extras front, though, it's a little dire. We have an irritating video courtesy of Hepburn (who have never appeared on the show), a couple of static (and ultimately boring) scripts, and the usual biographies and photo galleries. Oh, and a trailer. We're so lucky... rolls eyes One further nice addition, however, is the booklet that comes with the package - if you've read The Watcher's Guide then you won't be all that interested as the content is taken from the book. If you haven't got the book, though, this is a worthy episode-by-episode companion for the first season. All in all, the extras are a lot better than what you normally get with TV/DVD transfers but don't compare with some of the stuff we get on the following sets. Extras verdict - * * * 1/2 Overall - This is a worthy debut for Buffy on DVD. The episodes are like old friends, and fun ones at that. However, the picture quality does not do them justice - this is hard to avoid, though, considering the low grade quality of film used. The extras are worth a look but the only really informative thing is the Joss Whedon commentary. For around 30ish quid, what we get aside from the episodes is complimentary enough though and it looks great on your shelf. A good start! Verdict - * * * 1/2
Buffy Season 2 - Region 2 See page 'Season Two Buffy' for more details on the season arc and individual episodes. Packaging - The crucifix packaging is gone, and in it's place we have a book-style DVD package which fits into a slip-case. While not as original as the inventive fold-out crucifix, this is equally as aesthetically pleasing. Working with a red colour scheme, the book opens with six or so pages of episode descriptions accompanied by various promo shots of the cast. Then we get to the DVD holders. While many customers complained about the way the DVDs got scratched when being taken out of their wallets, I have had no such problem and find them to be very compatible. As a result, the packaging works and sits nicely atop a shelf. Packaging verdict - * * * * 1/2 Picture and sound quality - Because the second season was filmed using the same film used in Season One, there is no difference in picture quality and no noticeable difference in sound. The presentation is adequate enough for you to enjoy the episodes but it would have been nice to get a better picture - however, the film used explains the grain and smearing. Picture and sound quality verdict - * * * Extras - It is in the extras area that we get an upgrade from the first box. The discs open on a computer-animated graveyard and are more engaging than the Season One menus. However, they can be lengthy which is one drawback. To make up for this, we get double the amount of commentaries which is a big plus. David Greenwalt's (the episode being 'Reptile Boy') is probably the least enjoyable, as he explains too much about the action on screen - there are some valid pieces of info, though, so listen to it once. Meanwhile, we get two commentaries from Mrs Noxon. Marti talks over the 'What's My Line?' two-parter. As it is a two-episode commentary, there are a couple of dull moments - but, when it comes down to it, Marti should be congratulated on offering up loads of juicy info and behind-the-scenes goss for the most part. The king of commentaries, the Whedonator, has the final say though on his episode 'Innocence; - this wry and humourous dissection of the ep is totally fun and accompanies his first two (on the Season One set) admirably. This time around, we also get featurettes - three in fact. 'Designing Buffy' is a look at the sets and the work of Carey Meyer, the set creator. We get a guided tour through Buffy's home which is fun and quite surreal. 'A Buffy Bestiary' takes time to look at all the bad guys of the second season. The actors behind the make-up talk about their devious characters and the producers share info on the metaphors each bad guy represents. 'Beauty And The Beasts' looks at the work of Todd McIntosh and John Vulich, the monster guys if you will. While this documentary features a lot of techno-babble, it's ultimately worth it because we get to see how a vamp is made, the warehouse in which all the robotic monsters and suits are made, and the crazy work these guys do. And that's about it for real meat. To finish off the set, we have scripts that accompany the commentary episodes. These are fun to skip through (as they contain some cut scenes, for instance) but are ill-thought-out. We get set design blueprints, galleries containing promo stills, the obligatory trailers, biographies, character profiles, and here is where the lesson endeth. Extras verdict - * * * * 1/2 Overall - This is how it should be done! While I am not the biggest fan of Season Two (more accurately, early Season Two), the extra material makes up for it. We finally get some interesting additional material. However, all is not well when it comes to picture quality still so full marks can not be given. Verdict - * * * *
	Buffy Season 3 - Region 2 See page 'Season Three Buffy' for more details on the season arc and individual episodes. Packaging - Following the style of the second season's DVD packaging, we have pretty much an identical box/book design but with different images and colour scheme. Pretty impressive... Packaging verdict - * * * * 1/2 Picture and sound quality - While the third season is not widescreen (boo hoo), the picture quality does step up this season. The better quality of film used means colours are sharper, shadow detail is easier to make out, and everything basically looks better. Still some instances of grain, though. As for sound, all systems go - the dialogue and music are done justice to. Picture and sound quality verdict - * * * 1/2 Extras - We have the usual scripts (for 'Faith, Hope & Trick', 'Band Candy', 'Lover's Walk' and 'The Wish') that are worth a glance, a couple of trailers, stills, and cast bios. Yawn? Now, to the good stuff... Commentaries rule! Here, we have a decent selection - actually, there should be more than a measly four but the info we do get is cool. David Fury speaks over 'Helpless', and he is enjoyable - not exactly rousing but interesting for Buffyholics. Next up is Doug Petrie, one of my fave commentators; his enthusiasm for the series (and Faith dancing) has no boundaries, and he talks rapid-fire during 'Bad Girls', golden nuggets every few minutes. Michael Gershman, director and lighting guy, provides a talk for 'Consequences' - he is worth a listen but he seems a little unease at first and we don't get to some juicy bits for a while. He may be dry but directors might be interested in listening, as there's loads of technical talk. Last but not least is the wonderful Jane Espenson on legendary ep 'Earshot'; while she does talk about onscreen action now and again, she's a joy as ever. Now, time for featurettes! The 'Season 3 Overview' marks a trend for every other DVD set that follows, a docu on the season in question lasting for around fifteen to thirty minutes. This one is a good 'un - while clips may be a little too frequent, a host of stars talk including Eliza Dushku, Harry Groener, Charisma Carpenter, Danny Strong, etc. The writers are present, of course, too! 'Buffy Speak', 'Wardrobe', and 'Weapons' are short but fun, focusing on the dialogue, the dress code, and the weaponry respectively. 'Special Effects' is a little more in-depth, giving us a chance to see the guys who deal with all the fancy CGI. We see how vamping occurs, how Larconis was created, how dusting is carried out on computers, and how the snake that wrecked graduation was conceived. Extras verdict - * * * * Overall - This is a treat for all Buff fans. The picture quality is a little better, and we have remarkably cool extras - however, a couple of the featurettes are a little, well, little. And no Joss commentary brings the score down somewhat... Verdict - * * * *
Buffy Season 4 - Region 2 See page 'Season Four Buffy' for more details on the season arc and individual episodes. Packaging - Nothing new to be said about the packaging. It's sturdy, it's good-lookin' and not too bulky. Reddy/purple colour scheme this time... Packaging verdict - * * * * 1/2 Picture and sound quality - Wooooohooooo, widescreen has landed. Giving the episodes a much more cinematic feel, the widescreen format is a blessing. Watch the Gentlemen float through Sunnydale in all their glory for the first time - while some grain is still noticeable, the detail is much more sharp. Brilliant! As for sound, no big upgrade from the last season but it'll still give your speakers a decent workout... Picture and sound quality verdict - * * * * 1/2 Extras - We get some real extra meat on these sets. The featurettes accompany the episodes well, and we get five. The 'Season Overview' is around half an hour long - while the interviewees pretty much only explains the plots of the episodes, there are a couple of interesting moments amidst the clips and synopsis'. The 'Hush' featurette is incredibly short but backs up a blinding episode, basically praising it. 'The Sets Of Sunnydale' is an updated version of the featurette included on the second season DVD, only the sets that are part of Season Four are looked at this time around. 'Introducing Spike' features a very chatty James Marsters for all you ladies out there, whilst 'Inside The Music' is a wonderful look at both Chris Beck's scoring efforts as well as a couple of Buffy bands - we even get a live version of the theme song! Yippeeeee... Next up, we have commentaries. And this time we get a yummy total of six to devour, and two of these are courtesy of Joss. 'Hush' and 'Restless' are dissected by Whedon, and add to the experience of two already-exceptional pieces of work - Joss rarely pauses, and there's loadsa info to absorb. Cheery Doug Petrie also does two ('The Initiative' and 'This Year's Girl') and his one-liners rival those of his boss - we also get mucho Faith-ogling, which is always fun! The least exciting commentary is that which looks at 'Primeval' - it's great to hear director Jimmy Contner alongside Fury but the talk does not give us info that Buffyholics don't already know. Jane Espenson makes up for this dud, though, on her gigglesome take on 'Superstar'. The selection of commentaries is probably the best so far, even if some are better than others - if only the discs could handle more! And that's what we have, folks. You can also take a look at the scripts (which are actually worth looking at this time because the scripts ae those that were made into gimmicky 'how did they write that?' episodes), trailers, bios, stills, etc. Extras verdict - * * * * 1/2 Overall - This is more like it! The featurettes, while entertaining, aren't blindingly brilliant but the ace commentary tracks make up for this, and the whole thing looks remarkable onscreen especially the gorgeous menus and the top selection of episodes too. One of the best... Verdict - * * * * 1/2
	Buffy Season 5 - Region 2 See page 'Season Five Buffy' for more details on the season arc and individual episodes. Packaging - Packaging verdict - Picture and sound quality - Picture and sound quality verdict - Extras - Extras verdict - Overall - Verdict -
Angel Season 1 - Region 2 See page 'Season One Angel' for more details on the season arc and individual episodes. Packaging - The first Angel boxset follows the Buffy trend of book-in-case packaging. A blue/black colour scheme is used, the disc fit in snuggly, and it looks good. What more do ya want children? Packaging verdict - * * * * 1/2 Picture and sound quality - For a season that was apparently filmed in widescreen, it is very disappointing that we only get pan-and-scan picture. Although the episodes look good enough, it would have been great to have the product the way it was meant to look. Big thumbs down but the sound is as good as the Buffy discs, with the explosions and Chris Beck scores giving your speakers 'oomph!'. Picture and sound quality verdict - * * * 1/2 (no widescreen, grrrrrr arghhhhh) Extras - The first Angel boxset isn't very full when it comes to extras, something which will probably be rectified when it comes to the Region 1 discs. The menus are nice enough, we have the usual trailers, scripts, bios, blah blah bliddedy blah. But the real meat, while good, is sparse. For 'City Of' we get a rapid-fire and entertaining commentary from Joss and David Greenwalt, while 'Rm W/A Vu' has an equally engaging commentary track from queen of farce, Jane Espenson. That's it for commentaries - over, finito. We get a measly TWO audio tracks and that's it. If the Region 1 set has, like, five then I'm gonna scream. And if it's in widescreen, as Willow would say, 'I'm writing an angry letter'. Meanwhile, we get a couple of below-par featurettes. The 'Season Overview' does include all of the cast, as well as key writers/directors, but about half of it is comprised of clips and mentioned cast/writers/directors telling us info we already know. 'I'm Cordelia' and 'Introducing Angel' are pithy character pieces that are worth a look for the interviews with the character's alter-egos, David and Charisma, but nothing else. 'The Demons' is a fun but throwaway look at the first season's bad guys. All in all, the extras aren't as full a plate as I would like... Extras verdict - * * 1/2 Overall - The first season of Angel has good episodes and also has a pretty decent intro on DVD. However, there could have been more featurettes or commentaries and the fact that a widescreen transfer was not used is unforgivable! Verdict - * * * 1/2
	Angel Season 2 - Region 2 See page 'Season Two Angel' for more details on the season arc and individual episodes. Packaging - The usual but a gorgeous purple/black colour scheme this time around. Some awful spelling mistakes when it comes to the chapter stops and episode descriptions, though... Packaging verdict - * * * * 1/2 Picture and sound quality - Widescreen, wooooohooooo! This is how the first season should have looked. While the transfer looks best during bright colourful scenes (which aren't frequent on this show), there is minimal grain and the wide version gives the show a more epic feeling. The sound, too, adds to the lie that this is more than just a television show... Picture and sound quality verdict - * * * * 1/2 Extras - OK, first we have two commentaries to judge. Yes, two - again. Only two. Mmmphh! However, Tim Minear's affectionate look at 'Are You Now...' is a joy, as he obviously feels a great deal for this episode of his. There's a lot of unknown info, and a lot of behind-the-scenes talk, making me realise how much work was put in to create the 50s feel. While Fred Keller's effort ('Over The Rainbow') pales in comparison, it's fun to hear a director's perspective again even if he does yammer about the purpose of the show a little too much, as well as praising the actors every five or so minutes... Next we have commentaries. There's only four but these are a little more in-depth than those featured on the first DVD set - only a little though (but that doesn't matter when we have widescreen episodes, wooooo!). 'Inside The Agency' walks us through the sets of Angel, the hotel being the most dominant (although we do check out Cordy's pad and Caritas). 'Making Up The Monsters' shows us Andy Hallett being transformed into The Host, and discusses some of the better demons, as well as the weirdness that was Cordelia's hair during the second season. The 'Stunts' docu is perhpas more suited to the first DVD, as a lot of clips are from this season, but it's fun nonetheless and contains behind-the-scenes footage of the big 'Disharmony' fight. To round things off, we have the usual look at the season at hand - this is entertaining, has more cast members offering opinions (kudos to Julie Benz and Juliet Landau), and is more fulfilling than the first season overview. In between the real good stuff, we have two scripts, trailers, bios, set blueprints, stills, yada yada yada... Extras verdict - * * * * Overall - An improvement! While there still could have been a lot more extra material, the fact that this is in widescreen makes it worth it. Good stuff... Verdict - * * * *