Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season

Rating:
Summary: Slayer vs. Slayer
Review: This season is definitely the best yet. The stand-alone episodes (such as Band Candy, Gingerbread, and The Zeppo) are all amazing, but Joss Whedon and the folks that bring you Buffy have outdone themselves with the story-arc episodes. The twists and turns are great; first, Faith (Eliza Dushku), the new slayer (after Kendra died in Becoming, Pt. 1), and Mr. Trick, a powerful vampire, arrive in Sunnydale. At first, Faith and Buffy team up, and Mr. Trick does his own thing to fight the slayers. But then comes the Mayor. Mayor Richard Wilkins III is not human; he is over 100 years old, and he built the town of Sunnydale on the Hellmouth for a reason: to give demons and vampires a feeding ground to play in (also, the Master (Mark Metcalf, who comes back in The Wish) was buried there). The Mayor wants to "ascend" to a higher being, and on graduation day, he will. He recruits Mr. Trick to help him out, and soon, Faith joins him as well. The humor, the horror, and the emotions that this show delivers are amazingly strong. The gang is back; Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Xander (Nicholas Brendan), Willow (the beautiful Alyson Hannigan), Giles (Anthony Stuart Head), Angel (David Borneaz), and Cordelia (Charisma Carpentar), and now Oz (Seth Green) all give stellar performances. This season is definitely one of the best.
P.S.
Some of my favorite episodes include:
Band Candy, The Wish, Doppelgangerland (two Willows, very nice), and Graduation Day, Pts. 1 and 2.

Rating:
Summary: Third Season...by far the BEST season of the whole series
Review: This is a great dvd set to own as a true Buffy fan, it's the best season of all and it's a season that still leaves many people wondering "Why didn't Xander and Willow stay more than just friends?" I love the whole Xander/Willow saga and wish they had become a couple, but that didn't happen. Still great to watch them in the third disc on the set.

The episodes include:

Anne - My least favorite of the season but interesting to watch Buffy deal with the aftermath of her killing Angel.

Dead Man's Party - Joyce has a mask that has the power to resurrect dead people and all hell breaks loose during the Welcome Back buffy party the scoobies throw due to all the dead people.

Faith, Hope and Trick - New Slayer Faith arrives to Sunnydale. Buffy feels a little left out when everyone likes Faith.

Beauty and the Beast - It seems that Oz as a warewolf may have killed a student but it turns out to be a guy who's been doing the whole Jekyll/Hyde mad scientist bit.

Homecoming - One of my favorite episodes. Buffy decides to run for homecoming queen when Cordelia doesn't tell her about the yearbook pictures but things get crazy when they have to battle some killers that night at what Trick has denominated "Slayerfest 98" (they mistaken Cordelia for Faith). Willow and Xander start seeing eachother in a differnt light after they try on clothes for the dance and kiss.

Band Candy - LOL Hilarious episode. Grownups begin to act like immature teenagers due to some mysterious chocolate that's being sold to raise money for the band. Principal Snyder is great in this episode, you'll laugh hard watching him in this episode.

Revelations - One of other favorite episodes due to the awesome kiss Xander and Willow share behind the bookcases. A new watcher arrives in town to look after Faith and with news on a demon named Lagos who's after the Glove of Myhnegon.

Lover's Walk - Great episode, one of the best. Spike captures Willow and Xander so that Willow will perform a love spell on Drusilla. Also, Cordelia and Oz catch Xander and Willow making out. Unfortunatley, this is the last Xander/Willow episode.

The Wish - Cordelia wishes Buffy never came to Sunnydale and Anya (demon Ayanca) makes it come true. When it does, Cordelia finds herself in a differnt, scarier Sunnydale, ruled by vampires.

Amends - During Christmas, Angel's past victims begin haunting him and entice him to kill Buffy.

Gingerbread- During one of Buffy's nightly patrols she and Joyce discover two dead kids and this results in Joyce creating a force who want to kill all witches, including Willow and Buffy.

Helpless - Buffy looses her Slayer powers due to a test given to slayers on their 18th birthday by the council.

The Zeppo- Xander saves the day when a group of dead guys have a bomb set up and no one has a clue because they're all dealing with yet another demon.

Bad Girls- Buffy gets a new Watcher which prompts her to take Faith's advice and rebel but it all turns ugly when Faith accidently kills man.

Consequences- Angel tries to help Faith see the error of her ways

Dopplegangland- Another great episode. Willow comes face to face with Vampire Willow. Gotta love how Vamp Willow beats up Percy and he does his homework

Enemies- Faith and the Mayor find a way to rid Angel of his soul, but the joke's on them. Great twist.

Earshot- Buffy can hear everyones thoughts. The first part is hilarious, especially Xander and Oz. Later Buffy hears someone think that they will kill everyone at school at that same time the next day.

Choices- After Buffy and Angel steal a box containing demonic spiders for the Mayors Acension, he and Faith kidnap Willow.

The Prom- A classmate plots to set loose three hell hounds at the prom after a girl rejects him and Buffy is out to stop it. Angel also breaks up with Buffy. Xander buys Cordelia a prom dress which brings them both to peace with eachother. Buffy gets a special award. Guranteed to make you bawl :)

Graduation Day 1 - Faith shoots Angel with a poisonous arrow to distract Buffy from the Mayor. The cure? The blood of a Slayer. This causes Buffy to set out to kill Faith in order to save Angel

Graduation Day 2 - The big day has arrived. Graduation and the Acension. Everyone prepares for the event. What the Mayor doesnt know is that the whole class is prepared to fight back. Also, Angel leaves town. You'll laugh till you cry when the Mayor as a big snake eats Principal Snyder. Soooo FUNNY!!!

This season is AWESOME!!!! Buy it, love it, live it!

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
Review: Season Three has been analyzed so much that declaring it is about 'change' is a hackneyed expression. From Joss Whedon's cryptic comments in interviews onward to the most esoteric of critics, we all can honestly say that Season Three offers the viewer no sense of stability. It is the year of character development, and few end the season as they began it. Yet, on reflection, I can't think of any Buffy season that isn't about change. And, equally as obvious, the vampire metaphor has transformation embedded within it. So why is this season different from its predecessors?

Perhaps it is because each main character faces crises and rituals that refine them, making them faceted individuals rather than Slayerettes. At the end of Season Three, all the main characters have become special in the eye of the viewer. An in facing the horrific reality below the surface they have confirmed their reality as a team. Goodbye Slayerettes, hello Scooby Gang.

Goodbye infatuation, hello love, as well. Generally not as one would expect it either. What develops between Angel and Buffy this season is quite different from Buffy's Season Two girlishness. Now their roles are often reversed. There is more genuine give and take. For Willow and Xander, who officially come of age in Season Three, love becomes something else besides mooning over the unreachable.

Season Three really sets the standard for overall acting. The start of the season lacks the peaks and valley of previous seasons, but the calm is illusory. The truth is that everything is more intense, and the displays of actor's art are now to be expected. I will carry the image of Willows tear's in the bathroom scene forever, and Faith's almost inescapable descent into evil as well. We've come to count on the tensions of Buffy and Angel, but the endearing weirdness of Anya is a treat. And then there is the Mayor, who makes sleaze a term of art - in a fatherly sort of way.

Well, you wouldn't be reading this review if you didn't already want to buy this set. Not only is the price excellent, but there are countless little interviews and mini-programs on the aspects of Buffy. Rather than bore you further with esoteric mutterings about Kantian absolutes, let me assure you that Season Three really was better than you remember it was and this is an opportunity to make sure that Buffy is forever yours.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent season and worth owning!
Review: My favorite season is still number 2, but the 3rd season is a strong competitor for that top spot. The soap opera aspect continues as the third season opens and Buffy is dealing with the pain of having to kill her boyfriend, Angel. Obviously, we see that Angel is resurrected but the consequences of loving him are still the same. New villains are introduced like the Mayor and a new slayer comes to town, Faith, who eventually turns into a villain. You'll also get to see an alternative universe where Willow and Xander are vampires. You'll see Joyce, Giles and Principal Snyder turned into reckless teenagers (Emotionally). The popular character of Anya is introduced as well and this will also be Cordelia and Angel's last full season with the scooby gang. (season 4 has a couple crossover episodes with the series "Angel" where they are reunited and a brief crossover in season 5). Also, a new watcher comes to town, Wesley...which would be his only season on Buffy (he eventually came back and joined the Angel cast in mid season one of the Angel series). Anyways, great writing, great plots, witty humor and a MUST SEE season. The only flaw of the season is the lack of Spike who only appears in one episode.

Rating:
Summary: You Gotta Have Faith
Review: The third season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is the most enjoyable of the series so far. Creator Joss Whedon and his staff reved up the storyline in year three. As Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and the rest of the gang prepare for their senior year in High School, they are challenged by the Mayor of Sunnydale, (Harry Groener), who is up to no good. This season long story arc is made even better with the introduction of fellow Slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku). At first the two slayers don't trust each other, but as the season rolls along, their relationship takes some dramatic and unexpected turns. Meanwhile, Giles (Tony Head) is replaced as Buffy's Watcher (or teacher), by Wesley (Alexis Denisof) Also making a splash is a very old vengeance demon (Emma Caulfield) who will become important to the series in the future. A fellow classmate named Jonathan (Danny Strong) will also play a pivital role now and then. Buffy's pal Willow (Alyson Hannigan) continues to further explore her Wicken side. Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) continue to date...but not for long. Buffy's mom (Kristine Sutherland) gets in on the whole slayer deal; Buffy and Angel (David Boreanaz) contemplate very different futures, while Principal Snyder (Armin Shimmerman) gets what's coming to him for sure.--Behind the scenes-Reality hit home when 2 episodes had delayed air dates after the shootings at Columbine High School mirrored plotlines of "Earshot" and "Graduation Day Part 2"

The 3rd season box set is fashioned with some great extras. The powers that be have made this set the best yet. The commentaries on selected episodes are the real gems though. I only wish that more episodes had commentary tracks. They are well done and never lag. The six DVD box set is a must for any fan of great T.V.

Rating:
Summary: Buffy's back, Angel too and also a menacing new evil
Review: still a great show with a great cast that brings in Seth Green(Oz) to the beginning credits, which kicks ass. in the first episode "Anne" Buffy comes back at the end and then to her friends into the next episode. the 3rd episode enters Faith(Eliza Dushku) who plays a pivitol part as the new slayer after Kendra(Bianca Lawson) died at the end of season 2's "Becoming Part1 and the good return of David Boreanaz(Angel/Angelus). relationships also break in "Loverswalk" as Spike(the always great James Marsters) comes to town and the passion of Willow and Xander is revealed. Xander and Cordelia break up but Willow and Oz keep going in the episode "Amends". we are also introduced to some evil villians including Mr. Trick(K. Todd Freeman) and Harry Groener(who seems so nice but then so deadly as Mayor Richard Wilkins III). and of course we have the everso cool Wesley Wyndham Price(Alexis Denisof) who goes to season 1 of Angel and stays there. the good episodes include "Dead Man's Party", "Faith, Hope and Trick", "Beauty and The Beasts", "Loverswalk", "Amends". "Gingerbread", "The Wish", "TheZeppo"., "Dopplegangland", "Enemies", "Earshot". "The Prom and GradDay 1 and 2". in this season David Boreanaz(Angel) and Charisma Carpenter(Cordelia Chase) leave the show so they can go to Angel, which is still on and Spike(James Marsters) is a cast member

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I loved this season it starts off with buffy in LA okay episode.. and they just get better from there angel comes back all thou he isnt in the season a whole lot. I wish they had used him more. Def better then season 2 of buffy. At the end of the season Is where i think buffy should have stoped. While season 4 is not bad with out angel it is just not the same. He leaves at the end of this season for his own show which i have to say I find 100 times more entertaining then the season of buffy that fallow this season

Rating:
Summary: Introducing Faith
Review: This was a good season, there were some great episodes, the introduction of the sultry bad girl slayer Faith(Kendra's replacement), and a great big bad the Mayor. There weren't many stand out episodes but this season had a lot going for it.

Faith was a welcome addition to the scoobies. We had always known that Buffy didn't want the burden of being a slayer, but Faith was the first idea of what would happen if a slayer were violent and vindictive. She seemed like a savoir for Buffy at first, she could take over the job as slayer for Buffy. She enjoyed slaying to the point that she felt hungry and "aroused" afterwards. Her life wasn't an issue as it had always been spartan, so she adjusted to it because she felt it was what she did.

The Mayor is one of my favorite big bads. He was evil, but with a smiling face. A man who believed in family values, civic duty, pure living, but worshipped otherwordly beings and was planning on ascending to become a true demon, a giant dinosaur like creature. The dymnamic between him and Faith was precious in the latter parts of the season, but I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't seen it.

The other scoobies felt change as well and grew as people. Xander and Willow both go through various relationship ups and downs. Angel returns and the gang accepts that he is no longer angelus even though the memory of the pain he caused is still freash in their minds.

There were only a few bad elements of this season. 1. They didn't really explore Faith's character enough. She felt sometimes like a bit of a cliche, well acted, but still a bit cliche. 2. there weren't many standout episodes, but it made up for it that the ones that did stand out were excellent. 3. They had an intersting henchman, Mr Trick, that seemed to leave the show too quickly.

Highlights of the Season
Faith Hope and Trick: The introduction of Faith, the rebel slayer. They find that she is running from something, a very old vampire and his lacky Trick.

Band Candy: Funny episode with the return of Giles's nemesis Ethan. The group is coherced by the principal. to sell band candy for the school. But the adults that buy it have strange reactions. They start acting more and more immature and irresponsible. It is some sort of ruse to keep the town distracted for a ritual by the mayor.

Revalations: A new watcher, Gwendolyn Post, comes into town to take over Faith's training. She is also looking for a strange gauntlet with magical powers to destroy it before it can be used by dark forces. But the question is brought up, has angel really come back good, or does he have an ultimatum?

The Wish: Cordelia decides that all her problems stem from Buffy. So she makes a wish, that Buffy never came to Sunnydale. Unfortunately she makes it to a "vengence" demon in disguise, anyanka, that grants the wishes of scorned women. This creates an alternate reality where the master was never stopped and rules sunnydale, Xander and Willow are vampire, Angel is a toy for the Master, and people in Sunnydale live in fear.

Gingerbread: great, albiet a bit strange, episode. While Buffy's mom is watching over her on patrol, she finds two dead children with a symbol of magic on them. She becomes obsessed with them and destroying the occult mennace in Sunnydale, going as far as book burning and witch hunts.

Helpless: An example of how cruel and dangerous the watcher counsel can be.

The Zeppo: For all those who wondered what Xander's worth was in the group. It shows what happens to him on a mission they decide is too dangerous for him to participate in, very funny episode, good ending.

Revalations: A new watcher, Gwendolyn Post, comes into town to take over Faith's training. She is also looking for a strange gauntlet with magical powers to destroy it before it can be used by dark forces. But the question is brought up, has angel really come back good, or does he have an ultimatum?

Dopplegangland: The return of the alternate vampire version of Willow. For all those who liked seeing Willow in leather, here it is again.

Earshot: This is a strange episode where Buffy is infected with the blood of a demon, and it gives her their telepathy. But she can't control it, and starts loosing it from not being able to silence the thoughts of everyone she comes close to.

Graduation Day part 1: Angel is poisoned by Faith on orders from the Mayor to keep him from meddling with the Ascension. It needs the blood of a slayer to cure the poison, Buffy decides to use Faith's.

Gradutation Day Part 2: The day of Ascension is at hand, the scoobies feel that they are facing their doom. They don't know for certain what is going to happen and how they can face it. But they band together with the graduating class to try and stop the Mayor, who is giving a speech at their graduation.

Rating:
Summary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season
Review: It has a great plot and character development. 8 out of 10. The show has been a hit since day.I enjoy watching all the characters and the demons they fight.The acting is great, and like the first one there is drama and action.I enjoyed Faith and Anya.This season arc was great don't get me wrong but I enjoyed the first two seasons a little more.Buffy is just as vivid and witty as she's always been.I really reccomend you get this season on dvd; it has 6 discs and an episode guide with alot of bunus footage.If your into vampires or just want something like Dawson's Creek then this is the show for you.(8/10(...)Willow, Xander and Oz continue the business of vampire slaying and wonder where their friend and leader Buffy has gone. Buffy takes a job as a waitress in Los Angeles where she is living in a dumpy apartment and going by her middle name, "Anne." Meanwhile, back in Sunnydale, Giles tries to figure out where Buffy is as well and Buffy's mother Joyce blames the Watcher for her daughter's disappearance. After fighting the evil Ken in LA, Buffy decides to return to Sunnydale. Unfortunately, she arrives and her duties are immediately thrown into motion. During Buffy's senior year at Sunnydale high...
The Scooby Gang fight a demon named Ovu Mobani that came from a demon mask.
We meet another new Slayer (brought on when Kendra was killed) named Faith. Buffy gets a new man named Scott Hope.
The gang fights against two vamps named Kakistos and Mr. Trick.
Angel returns. We are introduced to a killing machine Dr. Jekyll.
A homecoming battle ensues between and the Scoobies and an international gang of vamps and demons lead by Trick.
A cursed candy causes everyone in Sunnydale to act immature.
Faith's Watcher, Gwendolyn Post, seeks the Glove of Myhnegon for evil doing.
Spike kidnaps Xander and Willow in order to get Willow to cast a spell that will make Dru love Spike.
Cordy wishes that Buffy had never moved to Sunnydale creating an alternate reality created by demon Anyanka.
Angel is convinced by a demon that takes the form of his former victims to kill the Buffster and himself.
Two children are killed. The mothers of Sunnydale start an organization called Mothers Opposed to the Occult.
Buffy must fight a ferocious vampire without her powers during a Watchers Council test.
Giles is pink-slipped from the Watchers Council.
A crew of demons wants Xander to join their dead gang. Xander ends up having a one-nighter with Faith.
Buffy gets her new watcher Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Faith kills the Mayor's aide.
Faith becomes an unruly killing machine.
Evil Willow returns when Willow attempts to get Anya's powers back.
Faith moves in on Angel. The evil mayor wants to dust his own soul to get more powerful.
Buffy acquires ESP and learns of a plan for a couple of students to go on school shooting rampage.
The mayor's new evil powers increase in strength.

Angel gives Buff her walking papers. A pack of hellhounds disrupts the Sunnydale prom.
Faith nails Angel with a poison arrow. The only cure: Slayer blood.
Buffy allows Angel to suck her blood nearly dry. The Scoobies take down the serpentine mayor as Sunnydale high is destroyed.
At the season's conclusion, Faith goes into a coma. The Scooby Gang goes to prom and graduates from high school. Angel, and Cordy leave for Los Angeles.

"Buffy's third season has 22 worthy episodes that advance the show's mythology as they entertain, and the DVDs boast good extras."
-- Forrest Hartman, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Rating:
Summary: slaying for fun and profit
Review: Couples are central to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER throughout its seven-year run, so how might one pair the seasons themselves?

If Seasons One and Two of BUFFY could be thought of as Origin Years-- establishing the show's mythos in Season One, then stretching and deepening them in year Two (the show's best season)-- then Seasons Three and Four are definitely Years of Consolidation, playing with, clarifying and reorganizing the show's fictional universe and strengthening the bond between show and viewer before diving into the darker, riskier events of Seasons Five and Six (which we might call Years of Daring and Yearning). (What's that? What about Season Seven, you ask? Well, let's just leave it standing alone in the corner, looking at its shoes and crying because no one wants to hang with it (and can you blame them?).

"Consolidation" has such a compromised tone to it, but that's not what I mean. Seasons Three and Four are excellent, full of fabulous episodes and fascinating developments. It's not a question of quality, which on Buffy was almost always high, but tone-- these are far more playful seasons than those that precede and follow, and there's a wittiness to the way in which series creator/auteur Joss Whedon puts his characters through their paces. Season Three, in particular-- from "Band Candy" and "Homecoming" through "The Zeppo" and "Dopplegangland" and the mayor's speech in "Graduation Day"-- is full of humor. Darkness doesn't go out the door-- the show, particularly in the first half of the season, is forced to grapple with the dark events of the season that preceeded it, and certainly Faith adds a level of psychotics to the proceedings-- but this is certainly Buffy's most optimistic season, and that optimism may account for its overwhelming popularity with fans. Season Three was the highest-rated of any Buffy year in the Nielsens, and this year and the next were the height of the show's media buzz.

It speaks volumes about how Buffy juggles tones that I can write the above with absolute conviction and then turn around and tell you that the show grapples, in its first four episodes alone, with teen suicide, homelessness, broken families, the dark underbelly of fundamentalism, the return of a murderer, the arrival of a rival slayer, and a mayor who has cheerfully sold his soul to demonic forces. To say nothing of such Buffy staples as the horror of high school, the mendacity of teenage cliques and the glorious pain of doomed love.

So, ok, "optimism" and "wit" are relative terms. There are moments in Season Three that are heartbreaking, times when characters must grapple with fear, loss, betrayal and disappointment. The genius of Joss Whedon and his writers is that they give the fans exactly what they want...exactly when they *don't* want it. Whedon is not a moralist (a type that almost always comes in for criticism and mockery on his shows), but his work does have an ethics to it-- there are consequences to actions, and every moment, good or bad, always contains an element of its opposite. Ambiguity reigns in the BuffyVerse, and Season Three, for all its humor, contains moments when even the most seemingly "innocent" of Buffy folk are held up for sympathetic scrutiny.

Still, moreso than any other season, Season Three ultimately grants its characters a level of grace and closure unusual for this normally open-ended show. Even the "villains" are more sympathetic than usual, and far more out in the open. It normally takes the show several eps to establish what fans refer to as "the big bad" for the year, but here, in keeping with the lighter, open tone, it's established early on (by the third episode, in fact) that the season's uber-villain is the Mayor, a deceptively young-looking family man who was granted eternal life and great power by demonic forces. The mayor is my favorite of all of the program's "big bads," a testament both to the ability of the writers to throw curve-balls at their audience and to the great humor and geniality that Harry Groener brings to the role. Whether he's expounding on the genius of the FAMILY CIRCUS ("That PJ!") or telling hard truths to Buffy and Angel, Groener always makes his villainy charming, almost incidental-- you *like* him, and he, like every one on the show, is granted moments of humanity and understanding rare in television characterizations (incidentally, it's been mentioned in interviews that the Mayor is based on series writer/producer (and later ANGEL co-creator) David Greenwalt, and once you know this, it is impossible to watch one of the many greenwalt interviews on the Buffy/Angel sets without laughing).

I don't want to give away any plot twists, but I do want to make brief mention of: the arrival of Wesley-Windam Price, a character who will become even more important to the program's spinoff, ANGEL; the even more important, real-world arrival to the show of writer Jane Espenson, who will write more great Buffy eps over the remaining seasons than anyone aside from Joss Whedon; the wonderfully expanded role of Buffy's mom, played by the fabulous Kristine Sutherland, who has more good moments here than in any other year; the rough charm and deep passion Eliza Dushku brings to Faith, the rival vamp slayer; and the usual outstanding work of series regulars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanez, Seth Green, Nicholas Brendan, Alyson Hannigan, and the always amazing Anthony Stewart Head.

The other way to divide the history of the show, of course, is between high school and post-high school seasons. Season Three marks the dividing line between these two periods, and had the show ended here, it would have been logical and fulfilling, if also deeply disappointing. The remaining seasons of Buffy find the characters shifting, growing, regressing, and hitting new depths (and the show, new heights). Challenges lay ahead, for both characters and fans, but that was good-- after all, no one wants to be happy *all* the time.