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Television
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Second Season

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Second Season

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

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The cast did an incredible job
Review: First of all the second season was way better then the first. All the main characters did an even better job this season then the last. Xander was even more hilarious, but we had also viewed his serious side when Willow gets into danger during the first episode. It is also cool to watch Giles and Buffy interact with each other, do to their completely seperate personalities. Also, in the second season Willow begins her magic abilities which leads to the suspensful, and rather cool ending to the sixth year. All in all, this season was awesome, and the collection is a must buy for buffy fanatics. Can't wait for the third season.(whenever it comes out)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: the episodes are great, the DVD not so
Review: Though I don't think the DVD is quite as bad as some reviewers have said, much of it is very grainy--especially anything shot at night or that's dark (which is a lot in a show like Buffy) I realize that the first 2 seasons were shot on 16mm film, which is just grainier than 35mm (so maybe season 3 on will be better--as they were shot on 35mm)--but the quality of the video tapes was better.

I had no problems with the audio, and I liked the extras--and of course the show itself is amazing. The 2-part season finale (Becoming parts 1 & 2) is one of the most amazing things ever on TV.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good season, not so good DVD
Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a solid and refreshing show which is a lot of fun to watch, as noted in previous reviews.
However, the DVD quality varies significantly. Some episodes are very good, some (e.g. Disc 1, episodes 2 and 4) are transferred so poorly that the digital artefacts make me prefer watching them from VHS recorded in LP mode. The first season had its ups and downs but definitively nothing nearly as bad as this one. Makes me wonder if anyone checked the discs before replication.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sickle cell anemia (4 1/2 stars)
Review: I was in high school when this glorious ode to the institution I was a part of came out. Actually, its not an ode to high school but just life, I guess, but I'm babbling. Anyway, Buffy had a good first season, one that I watched off and on, but I waited for the second season to see if improvement was on the horizon. Jaws dropped and disbelief was the order of the day when I realized I was watching something truly original and ridiculously great. Only after the whole season was done did I realize how much had happened and how much everyone had developed. Joss Whedon had started to develop a kind of Lars Von Trier-esque attitude towards his main character, basically meaning that he was going to put Buffy through every hell imaginable and see how she would turn out. This season centered on the relationship that brewed between B and Angel in the first season, it goes horribly awry and everything just collapses, in the worst possible way this season. And the last episode is an unforgetable piece of TV that will always be a highmark for this show and the medium in general. Spoilers aren't going to be in this review, suffice it to say, going in with no prior knowledge is the best possible way to experience this show, it continually subverts cliches and takes turns no one can predict, and basically just keeps you guessing and entertained while making you basically fall in love with the characters, in a TV sort of way. Last thing, David Boreanaz surprised me a hell of a lot with his Angel performance in this season, it was just another in a long line of surprises this show serves up. I like the DVD presentation, considering the lack of both budget and means, this show looks astoundingly good. Even now, there is still this insane level of hesitation to like this show from my friends and siblings, they don't take it seriously, but I will make them damn it, and this season will help me.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: These are amazing works in visual storytelling.
Review: The long wait was definitely worth it (with Season 3 tentatively slated for release in winter 2003). The Second Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has achieved mythical status, and it certainly lives up to the hype.

Season 2 is where creator Joss Whedon put every single character through the emotional grinder...and achieved some astonishingly powerful moments. Nicholas Brendon really comes into his own in this season, developing the character of Xander into an ever-more-complex character; Sarah Michelle Gellar rises to the challenge as her character is subjected to incredible emotional strains, from her mother's new boyfriend to her tumultous relationship with Angel (David Boreanaz). Angel and Buffy's relationship makes for some beautiful (and tragic) moments. Season 2 also introduced two secret weapons -- James Marsters is just stunning as Sid Vicious-inspired vampire Spike, charming, vicious and hilarious at the same time, and Juliet Landau plays the insane vampire Drusilla with a unique creepy charisma. The twisty relationship of Drusilla, Spike and Angel makes for a top-notch subplot in the season. Honorable mention also to Robia LaMorte and Anthony Stewart Head -- their characters provide a much-appreciated contrast to the teenage characters with their more grown-up perspective.

The terrific scripting, a Buffy trademark, is once again in abundance. Aside from Whedon's own scripts, which always push the envelope, another standout is Marti Noxon (not surprisingly, she went on to become co-executive producer on the show), who penned some of the best scripts in Season 2 with "What's My Line" and my favourite episode of Season 2, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", a rollicking comedic masterpiece about Xander's romantic misadventures.

Needless to say, I derived much enjoyment out of this mammoth six-disc set, and my respect for the series continues to grow. Can't wait for Season 3.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy is one of the best shows on TV!
Review: I'm a late Buffy bloomer: I just started watching it last year. I read critics' praises of the show and about its cult following but at the time I thought, "Why are they ranting and raving about 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'?" When I finally watched it, I was quite impressed with how witty, sly and suspenseful it was all at the same time without contradicting itself. The characters are quite aware of the absurdity of some of the situations they get into and play it off with a somewhat campy nature. It is completely different than Buffy the movie and that movie is the furthest thing from your mind while viewing the show.

This dvd is perfect for the Buffy fan from the early days, late bloomers like myself as well as those skeptics who have yet to be converted -- and hooked!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: commentaries worth price of admission
Review: So you think you don't need this set since you've already got the 6 best episodes from Season 2 on VHS tape?.....THINK AGAIN! Joss's commentary for Innocence is, as always, droll and informative. Marti Noxon comments on "What's My Line part 1 and 2", and Greenwalt comments on "Reptile Boy". The only two things that could make it better: a) list the episode titles on the CDs, and b) include outtakes or deleted scenes.

Go. Buy. Now. (But please, wear pants. (You'll have to listen to Joss's commentary to get this reference.))

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Don't read
Review: Before you click not helpful just listen. This not really a review, I'm writing one later. You don't even need to read this. I'm having technical problems :~( Anyway this a great dvd

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must have for true Buffy fans
Review: Well this is arguably the best season as far as story development and soooo much happens this season. Joss Whedon is at his best with teen angst and no one does the heartbreak of relationships better. It's great to see Buffy move from being a very vulnerable trusting girl to someone who at the end of the season has lost everything. Bad stuff happens, but it's not as depressing as some of the other seasons.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An optimal presentation of the series
Review: Season Two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer looks great, as good as it's going to on dvd. The common view is that anything can be done to remedy picture quality issues in the source materials during the dvd mastering process. Short of completely reshooting or spending thousands of dollars (and passing that cost on to consumers) on drastically digitally embellishing the few scenes in the one or two episodes of the dvd set which exhibit some much-complained-about grain and lack of definition would be the only way to get around the fact that the dvd is merely representing--better than any home video medium before--the limitations of the original 16 millimeter source prints. In a word, the transfer of Season Two is faithful. If anything, dvd--with its much improved resolution--will reveal more of the shortcomings in these original prints that VHS could only suggest, which is why I suspect some are alleging that previous tape editions of this season have actually looked better than these discs. Rubbish.

It should be noted that most--if not all--of the offending shots in these episodes were photographed in extremely low light conditions, and the 16 milimeter photography seems to default to grain in the absence of light. Again, these few scenes occur early on, in the first few episodes. With the exception of these rare trouble spots, these Buffy discs are bright, crisp and sharply defined; the state of the art way to view this series.


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