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Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season

List Price: $59.98
Your Price: $44.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Joss' baby turns 3....
Review: Overall, I love Buffy, which means I was going to love this set. Buffy is one of the most well thought out shows on television, cleverly disguised as a bubblegum-fluff. Third season, as the show was just hitting its stride, we meet Faith and the Mayor, two classic Big Bads who I can love to hate. Still, I can be objective. Here's what you get:

The media:
The images is very crisp and clear, an improvement over the last 2 seasons which showed their roots in the lower tech filming process. In contrast, every episode of Season 3 is sharp with amazing sound. The case is fold-out, instead of the lower quality clamshells. I would have liked to see the episode titles printed on the DVDs themselves (with their numbers) to make it that much easier to find a particular episode. Some discs have 4 eps each, some have 3, so you have to refer to the table of contents each time.

The episodes:
Season 3 is the last "high school" season, before Buffy and the Scoobies head off to college and the real world. As the show gained more popularity, it also expanded its budget, as is evidenced in the special effects and writing. We meet Faith, the second slayer and see her drawn over to the "dark side". We also see Angel and Buffy's relationship finally draw to a close, as Angel moves off to his own show for Buffy's fourth season. There are a lot of very allegorical coming-of-age episodes, where Buffy and the gang have to learn the realities of growing up, facing parent and heartbreak. This season is full of very deep, moving, thoughtful episodes.

The extras:
This is the only area in which I found the DVDs lacking, but I won't reduce my rating because I believe the season itself is a worthwhile purchase. There are fewer commentaries on this set than the previous. I felt like the producers, seeing the popularity of the previous two DVD releases, felt like they had to do less to keep the fans happy.

There is no commentary by Joss himself, which is a huge disappointment, especially considering some of the strongly allegorical storylines included in this season. In fact, the first commentary, but writer David Fury for the episode "Helpless" was fairly lame because it was only the second episode that he had written for the show. I think that he wrote a great episode, but I felt very much like he was second string, both in talent and in history with the show, especially compared to Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon, and David Greenwalt.

There are several featurettes, which are quite interesting. I especially liked the "Season 3 Overview", which showed the depth of planning for the season. There were also several interviews with Joss, but I would have liked a full length commentary by either he or one of the main actors.

The conclusion:
Yes, this is a fantastic set, as you can see by others' reviews. I give it a 5+ for content. For the special features, I'd like to see more, but I'm a Joss Whedon fan, and I expect the very best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Can't Beat the Buff
Review: The third season DVDs from Joss Whedon's masterful series, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer...

This is a climatic season, when good girls go bad, loves are lost, and yet another apocalyse is approaching. It's up to a handfull of high school seniors to save the day. Luckily they have a vampire slayer on their side!

Whether your new to the series or just expanding your collection, this is a great deal!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: While No Season 2, Buffy stills kicks some major butt!
Review: Season 3 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer continues the shows trend of creating exciting television. Witty dialogue, heartfelt performances, intense drama and incredible fight sequences. While it does not top the dramatic intensity of Season 2, Season 3 is one of the best seasons of the series. Only a few episodes aren't worth watching over and over again, such as the disappointing season opener Anne and the boring Band Candy. Other than those 2 episodes each episode is either thrilling, hysterical, and intesnse. Best episodes include The Wish, where Cordelia wishes Buffy never came to Sunnydale and introduces us one of the series best characters Anya. Dopplegangland is hysterical as Willow casts a spell and Vamp Willow comes to Sunnydale. Then there is the introduction of Faith, played the incredible Elisa Dushku. The intense new slayer who turns againts Buffy and her friends to end the world. The scenes between Buffy and Faith in such episodes as Bad Girls, Consequences, and Enemies are classic. This is also the season where the continuity is perfect. Season 3 shows us things to come in future seasons leading all the way up to Season 7. This is where we first hear about Willows lesbianism and The First (Amends). The one thing that makes this show worth watching is the acting from the incredibly talented cast. Charisma Carpenter remains just as caddy and sarcastic this season, but this is the season where we all grew to love Cordy. Nicholas Brennan is hysterical as always as Xander, but finally brings some drama and intensity to his role this year. Alyson Hannigan starts dabbling in more witchcraft, and her Vamp Willow is hsyterical. One of the most charming and likebale actresses in television today. Then there is Ms. Sarah Michelle Gellar who holds the show together with her witty delivery, her passion for Angel. and bad girl tendencies this year. A gifted actress who perfectly does comedy and drama and should have had won an Emmy for her work in Such eps as Earshot and Graduation Day Pt 2.
One of the best moments of television comes in Season 3 in Grad day Pt 2, mainly because of the performances by Sarha and David Boreanaz. I can go on and on about how incredible this show is, but I'll just leave it at watch it! You wont regret it. The best show on television.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Finally a good transfer
Review: This is not a content review, just a comment on DVD quality.
I had quality issues with R1 DVD's of both previous seasons, particularly with several episods of the second season which clearly showed compression artefacts. The third season is a vast improvement - the picture quality is really good (I do not know whether they've started filming Buffy with better equipment in this or the next season), the only problem remaining occasional slight stuttering not unusual for DVD editions.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy Season III
Review: Season I -GOOOood
Season II - Very GOOood
Season III - ROCKS!!!!

The best part is Faith, Mmmmmmm.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Here's Why.....
Review: 1st: the naimated menus are gone beacuse alot of people (myslef included) got very frustrated with them! they are very annoying!
2nd: the grain isnt Fox or the DVD Transfers fault, its beacuse of the file mused to shoot the original NTSC masters! every season they get better, as the budget went up, they could afford better film!

saba

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Slayer Rules
Review: Buffy Anne Summers is there to save the world.Trained as the Slayer of this generation you would thik she would be more...Secretive.
However with her modern aproach to life and kick back wanna be a normal teenager additued more people know who she is then should.Not only having to worry about her mother Joyce she also has to protect her friends;Willow,Xander,Oz,and Cordellia...Well more of a tag a long.Along with some -help- with the new Slayer Faith Buffy and her watch Rupert Giles and the soon to be new watcher Wesely Whyndem Price they try to save the world...Again.
When Angel returns from the dead he trys to figuer out why and seeks for some peace.
One of my favorite seasons I find it humorus,dark,sad,gorry,and alot more then what meets the eyes.

SEASON 3
Anne Buffy, working as a waitress under an assumed name, foils a demon plot to enslave marginal LA youth. Ep035 (3.1)
Dead Man's Party Maurauding zombies crash Buffy's welcome home party and ease Scooby/Mom vs Slayer tensions. Ep036 (3.2)
Faith, Hope & Trick New Slayer Faith comes to town, followed by the revengeful Kakistos & his associate Mr. Trick. Ep037 (3.3)
Beauty & the Beasts Oz-wolf falls under suspicion when an abusive dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde starts mauling people; meanwhile Buffy stumbles across a wild beast-like Angel running lose in the woods. Ep038 (3.4)
Homecoming Cordelia & Buffy vie for the title of Homecoming Queen while Mr.Trick organizes Slayerfest '98. Ep039 (3.5)

Band Candy Ethan's cursed band candy causes Sunnydale adults to revert to teenage-hood. Ep040 (3.6)
Revelations Faith's New Watcher (Gwendolyn Post) arrives; meanwhile the gang discovers Buffy's been hiding Angel. Ep041 (3.7)
Lover's Walk Spike (dumped, depressed & drunk) roars back into Sunnydale, stirring up trouble in all the gangs' love lives. Ep042 (3.8)
The Wish Bitter Post-Xander Codelia's wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale is granted by Demon Anyanka. Ep043 (3.9)
Amends The First Evil takes credit for Angel's return, prodding him to kill Buffy. Ep044 (3.10)
Gingerbread Sunnydale citizens (lead by Joyce) embark on a witch hunt after 2 children are found murdered. Ep045 (3.11)
Helpless The Watcher's Council imposes a birthday challenge on Buffy by neutralizing her Slayer powers & releasing a crazy vamp. Ep046 (3.12)
The Zeppo Xander deals with a rowdy undead gang while the rest of the Scoobies concentrate on averting an impending apocalypse. Ep047 (3.13)
Bad Girls Demon Balthazar comes to Sunnydale looking for his amulet. Ep048 (3.14)
Consequences Faith tries to elude responsibility for her accidental murder of Finch. Ep049 (3.15)
Doppelgängerland Anya's attempts to get her powers back bring Evil Vamp Willow to Sunnydale. Ep050 (3.16)
Enemies Faith's attempts to turn Angel evil give away her switch to the Mayor's cause. Ep051 (3.17)
Earshot Buffy's infected with demon telepathy & overhears plans for a school massacre. Ep052 (3.18)
Choices Buffy must return the box of Gavrock to the Mayor in exchange for Willow's life. Ep053 (3.19)
The Prom Hellhounds threaten the Prom; Angel breaks up with Buffy. Ep054 (3.20)
Graduation Part 1 Everyone prepares for the ascension. Ep055 (3.21)
Graduation Part 2 Buffy cures Angel with her blood & The Mayor ascends. Ep056 (3.22)

Cast List
Sarah Michelle Gellar ... Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon ... Alexander 'Xander' LaVelle Harris
Alyson Hannigan ... Willow Rosenberg
Charisma Carpenter ... Cordelia 'Cordy' Chase (1997-1999)
Anthony Head ... Rupert 'Ripper' Giles (1997-2001, 2002- )
David Boreanaz ... Angel/Angelus/Liam (1997-1999)
Seth Green ... Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne (1997-1999)
James Marsters ... Spike/William the Bloody (1997-)
Marc Blucas ... Riley Finn (1999-2000)
Emma Caulfield ... Anya Emerson/Anyanka (1999-)
Michelle Trachtenberg ... Dawn Summers/The Key (2000-)
Amber Benson ... Tara Maclay (1999-2002)
Kristine Sutherland ... Joyce Summers (1997-2001)
Mercedes McNab ... Harmony Kendall (1997-2001)
Robia La Morte ... Jenny Calendar/Janna Kalderash (1997-1998)
Juliet Landau ... Drusilla (1997-1998)
Eliza Dushku ... Faith (1998-1999, 2003)
Armin Shimerman ... Principal R. Snyder (1997-1999)
Harry Groener ... Mayor Richard Wilkins III (1998-1999)
George Hertzberg ... Adam (2000)
Danny Strong ... Jonathan Levinson (1997-1999, 2001-2002)
Adam Busch ... Warren Meers (2001-2002)
Clare Kramer ... Glory/Glorificus/The Beast (2000-2001)
Thomas Lenk ... Andrew Wells (2001- )
Charlie Weber ... Ben (2000-2001)
Alexis Denisof ... Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (1999)
Iyari Limon ... Kenendy (2002- )

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Okay, Now I'm Depressed
Review: I've gone through this Third Season like buttered popcorn at a film festival, and now I have to wait till June for Season Four to be released. What a drag. This was a great Season for the show, with a lot of surprises, and some major changes. It also has some of the funniest episodes for Xanders. And some of the most heartfelt moments for all the cast. I have to say that I just don't get tired of it. And it's a good thing I don't, now that I own all three seasons on DVD. I said to my wife, "What am I going to do? The next season won't come out for three months. I'll be done in two more days." Her response, "Well, then you just go back to the beginning, and watch it all again."

Cool.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Bit Overrated
Review: My problem with season 3 of "Buffy" is that it's where the soapy elements of the series finally took over. Seasons 1 and 2 had alternated soapy episodes about relationships and Big Bads (mostly involving the Buffy-Angel romance) with episodes that centred on the high school kids facing teen traumas in the form of demons. By adding Faith to the mix and bringing back Angel, the show became less about high school and the friendship of Buffy/Xander/Willow, and more about Buffy's relationships outside the school and her core circle of friends. Seasons 1 and 2 also had more variety in the kinds of episodes they did, whereas season 3's episodes tend to sort of run together, tonally. Some don't like the occasional cheesiness of seasons 1 and 2; I miss it, though. That said, there are a lot of highlights in this season to make the DVD set worthwhile: "The Zeppo," "Doppelgangland," and the two part "Graduation Day" finale, for example. But ultimately, season 3 is where "Buffy" started to change from a show about friendship into a show about Buffy's outside relationships, and where Xander (my favorite character) started being downgrated from one of the male leads to mere comic relief. From this point on in the series, that core friendship would never really cohere again, and the series would never engage me as much as it did back when the show was about a few friends standing together against the big bad world of high school.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy Buffy Buffy and thats all folks
Review: Well I must say that this is not the best season in my book I liked 5 Im a little strange but it is one of the best so buy it you wont be sorry. I have all seasons on VCD but I will get them all again on DVD when they come out cause thats how great the show is V--V So again Buy it buy it buy it Spike is in it and that right there is enuff to get it.

v--v


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