Rating: 
Summary: 5 Star Season / 2 Star DVD
Review: Now this is one of the greatest seasons of one of TV's best series ever, but the DVD is a BIG disappointment. While the menus and the extras are terrific and a big improvement on Season One, the transfers of many of the episodes are really poor. (Some are a bit better than others.)I know that the show was still shot on 16mm film during this season, but the transfers of Season One to DVD and Season Two to FX for reruns were both better than these transfers. Some are so grainy and muddy in the darker scenes (of which there are many in this series) that you lose facial definition on many characters. Inexcusable. In fact, muddy is the key word for the image quality on this set. While I appreciate Fox trying to keep the sets affordable, I work very hard for my money, and I would rather pay an additional [amount]per set and have the video transfered properly and feel that I got something of quality for my purchase. On the plus side, the sound is terrific. That part of the transfer is first rate. The menus are very cool and evocative and really get you into the fun of watching an episode of 'Buffy'. And the featurettes and commentaries are top notch and most welcome. Thanks Fox for a job well done on that count. Now, I am grateful to have 'Buffy' on DVD, but I would really prefer to see all the images with at least the same quality of clarity that they are/were broadcast (for free.)
Rating: 
Summary: bad commentary!
Review: Season 2 is awesome fun, Buffy rules, etc., etc. but omigawd, the creator commentary is bad.I do not need Marti Noxon telling me OVER AND OVER that the show is filmed on sets! David Greenwalt's is even worse. He basically synopsizes "Reptile Boy" for you while you're watching it. "This is the scene where Cordelia asks Buffy to go to the frat party with her." "This is the scene where people are treating Buffy like a kid and the episode is about how she doesn't like that." It's amazing what little insight some artists have about their work. I'd say about 10% of the commentary is relevant and worth listening to, and the rest is mind-numbing jabber and self-congratulation ("The actors are so good!", "Cordelia is funny!", "Joss wrote that line!", Very little is shared about where the ideas come from and how they're shaped in the creative process, why certain directorial choices are made and not not others, etc. etc. Some commentary from the actors would also be nice too, but seems rare on DVDs generally. The featurettes on the last disc are better, perhaps because the actors are more comfortable than the writers talking about their craft. James Marsters is particularly good, and it was a treat to see Julie Benz because she's so wonderful and has relatively little exposure otherwise. The visual artists are likewise impressive. The mini-interviews with Joss before Becoming's I and II are bad. "Sarah's really good with the sword!" Sarah's good with *everything* and we've all known it for years. I have no eye for discerning the nuances of picture quality...it all looks fine to me, but if it was bad I wouldn't be the one to tell you.
Rating: 
Summary: Good eps, poor DVD
Review: While any long-time fan of the show remembers season 2 with great fondness (yes, season three was more consistent, but season 2 has the highest concentration of "amazing!" episodes, sufficient to make most of us forget the equally low points the season also contained), I was highly disappointed by the DVD release. The extras are pretty blah (and the scripts unreadable--couldn't they have at least made the text sharper? and not white?), but worse still, the picture quality is DREADFUL. It looks like a third-generation videotape that's starting to deteriorate--grainy, bits of snow, just awful. The few videos of this season that were released in the US look better than the DVDs do; so do my poorly-converted copies of the UK release vids (which covered all the eps, not just the handful we got here). Which rather defeats the purpose of buying a DVD copy, does it not? Overall, I'd have to give this set 4 stars for content (because, really, who could NOT like this season? You've got Real!Spike, Interesting!Willow, and FacialExpressions!Angel, not to mention some of the eps themselves--Lie to Me, The Dark Age, Innocence, Passion, and Becoming in particular), but 1 star for quality.
Rating: 
Summary: absolutly brillant
Review: i currently own the first and second season of buffy the vampire slayer, and let me tell you, this season is ten times better than the puny 3 disc first season, the animations are much better, with each episode you choose you take a different path in the virtual graveyard, another high point is the picture quality, the visuals are absolutly amazing, it is quite obvious that fox touched up the visuals. i think that to anyone who likes buffy, this is a must own.
Rating:
Summary: Continuation of This Cult Classic
Review: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' started as a midseason replacement on The WB in early 1997. The lead actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), was pitied by her friends and colleagues who told her 'You'll find a good job next year.' No one expected Buffy to make it past its first episode, let alone the first season. However, the show defied the overwhelming odds when it came back for it's second season in the fall of '97. The second season simply picked off where the first season left off. However, the show became stronger with wittier dialogue, and better, more emotional storylines. Once the characters seemed to be finding themselves and their places on the show, the viewers were easily able to identify with the characters and put themselves in their place. The show wasn't just about supernatural demons. This was a story about a core group of friends facing unbelievable odds much like teenagers do today. The Buffy and Angel romance which was hinted at in Season One, continues much rapidly here. It leads to one of the most popular storylines in 'Buffy' history. Episodes such as 'Surprise,' 'Innocence,' 'Passion,' and 'Becoming Pts 1 & 2,' all play significant story-altering arc episodes. There are many great individual stand-alone episodes as well such as 'Bewitched, Bothered, & Bewildered' in which Xander (Nicholas Brendon) performs a spell in order for Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) to fall in love with him but instead everyone BUT Cordelia falls for him, 'I Only Have Eyes For You,' in which two spirits possess the bodies of Buffy and Angel, and 'Phases' in which we see when OZ (Seth Green) first learn of his werewolf characteristics. The extras in this boxed set are more satisfying than those in the first season boxed-set. There are three very-informative featurettes in which even if the biggest 'Buffy' fan may learn something new, Art galleries, episode scripts, interviews with creator Joss Whedon, and several episode commentaries. Season two is known by legions of fans to be the ultimate Buffy season. This show catapulted many of its stars careers. Any true, loyal, Buffy fan must own this boxed set. And it's out at an amazing price. This can't be missed out on. Now, Season three, must start making it's anticipated release!
Rating:
Summary: Poor Image Quality
Review: I was excited to see that season 2 was going to have more commentaries and special features than season 1 did. I have not had the time to view all of the 6 DVDs yet, however, I am somewhat disappointed in what I have seen so far. After watching the first 3 episodes on DVD #1, I noticed the poor image quality, especially on episodes 2 & 3. Many of the dark scenes have very grainy pixels and look smeared and distorted. I am hoping that the rest of the DVDs are of better quality.
Rating:
Summary: Horror aspect shouldn't extend to picture quality
Review: Hey, this is a great show, and I rushed out to get Season Two as soon as it was available, but I was dismayed to see that the picture quality on these DVDs is REALLY bad. What's going on? In some scenes, the graininess and murkiness is so prevalent that it is actually hard to see what's going on. What good is it if the menus are sharp and dynamic when the shows themselves look like you're watching them on an old TV set that's trying to pull in a decent signal via a bent coat hanger on top of it? Hey, I'm a big "Buffy" fan and I hate to complain like this about a product many fans are looking forward to purchasing, but somebody needs to get its act together here. This isn't brain surgery-- just give us a decent picture!
Rating:
Summary: Less than VHS picture quality
Review: I'll admit I've only watched the first disc so far but was very dissapointed with the picture quality compared with the first season. It's very dark and grainy like an old VHS tape.
Rating:
Summary: Great show, bad DVD
Review: Let me start off by saying that I love Buffy. I think it's one of the greatest shows on television right now. Great writing, incredible acting, inventive storylines, and just the right balance of humor, drama, and action. Were I to give the show a rating, it would be a very high 5+. However, I gave this DVD boxed set such a low rating because of the quality of the DVD. I have never in my life seen such a poor transfer to DVD. It looks as though very little, if any, work was done trying to make this DVD look decent. Picture quality is terrible, color saturation is off, and there is pixelation, macroblocking, and graininess like nobody's business. I have been able to get drastically superior results by capturing my analog cable broadcasts and converting them to video CDs. There are a couple of episodes that are so bad, they are nearly unwatchable. It looks as though certain scenes were filmed with a camcorder. This is particularly distressing considering that the season 1 DVD had very few problems like this. All in all, had they spent some more time and money to get this right, it would be worth every single one of the five stars because of its incredible content. As it, it's about the same quality you'd get with a VHS recording, with a couple of extra features.
Rating:
Summary: She Slays Me...
Review: The second season of BUFFY-THE VAMPIRE SLAYER builds upon its successful first year, thanks to solid writing, and a great cast. At the heart of the season are episodes dealing with the Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel (David Boreanaz) relationship. Their feelings for one another take the series to unexpected places. One of the reasons that this show is a favorite of mine is because of its unpredictable nature. Just when you think you have it figured out, it will surprise you. A quality very rare in television today. Buffy is aided in her fight against the forces of darkness by, what the writers termed, "the Scooby gang" There is Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon), who is quick-witted and has a crush on the Slayer. Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), Cordelia Chase (Charisima Carpenter), a reluctant member and a bit full of herself, and Watcher/Mentor Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) The program has a great supporting cast too. From Buffy's mom (Kristine Sutherland), to bad boy vampire Spike (James Marsters), and Principal Snyder (Armin Shimmerman)
As I said the show has some great writing. Buffy is the kind of show that can cross the geneneration gap. This is thanks to the creative exellence set forth by creator Joss Whedon. For anyone who had an interesting time in High School, you will be able to identify with some aspects of the program. Its mix of horror, humor, and touches of realism strikes a perfect balance. As for the six disc DVD box set, it's another winner, even improved over the season one set. It includes all 22 episodes from the second season. Here are my favorite episodes from year 2: When She Was Bad
Halloween
Lie To Me
The Dark Age
What's My Line (Parts 1+2)
Ted
Phases
Becoming (Parts 1+2) There are a few more bonus features, in this set, as compared to previous set. Four episodes have an enjoyable commentary track with writers/directors on the show. Several episodes have mini-interviews with Joss Whedon. There are also 3 production featurettes and a rather extensive photo gallery. Some scripts, trailers, and tv spots are present as well. All make for a fine set that comes highly recommended.
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