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Television
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $27.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Show On TV
Review: I must admit that when my brother first introduced me to the concept of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I immediately denounced its credibility, ingenuity and mass appeal. Who wants to watch a show about an ultra-petite, blonde bimbo whose resume largely encompasses slaying vampires and other eerie, under-the-bed creatures of the night? Certainly not a sophisticated, know-it-all such as myself, but I eventually realized my monumental fallacy. I recently bought the first season on DVD, and I must say that in a mere period of two days, I'd completed watching the entire set. Season one, like all subsequent seasons, thoroughly enthralls my attention, releasing only when the final scene is finished and the last witty, one-liner is uttered. I can't articulate how to describe the exhilaration I feel after the conclusion of each episode. The clever coalescence of action, drama, horror, romance, and comedy truly captivates my senses and definitely contributes to the wide-ranging allure. If you've ever experienced the dilemmas associated with high school life (and I'm sure you have), then you'll absolutely relate to the characters attending the high school from hell, or, well, directly above hell's mouth. I would recommend purchasing this DVD set to any fan because it's well worth the money. The acting is wonderful, the writing is magnificent, the individual and continuity episodes are excellent, and overall Joss Whedon is an extraordinary genius!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: good start to a great show!
Review: The first season of Buffy is a must have for us buffyaddicts! It is packaged in a handy fold out holder and picture and sound is as good as it can get. Loved it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer--The Complete First Season
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this series of episodes. I found it surprisingly refreshing, funny, and engaging. Normally, I'm into Star Trek, but I find the Buffy series a very good diversion from my normal fare.

The juxtaposition of "horror" and comedy among high school students is wonderful. Vampire slaying becomes a metaphor for the dealing with the struggles of life. I'm an old guy, but I could identify with the metaphors.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: yea, this is scary!
Review: it reminds me of a 6 hour Douche commercial

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best on DVD
Review: The first season of Buffy is a must have for any fan! The special additions are ok, you probably have seen them before if you had bought the VHS tapes. The quality is mostly good, with only a couple of exceptions. Buy all the seasons! It will be worth it!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the hellmouth is a wonderful place
Review: When you break it down, all it took to make Buffy was great writing and great casting.

That is, of course, like saying all it took to make the Sistine Chapel was paint and a ladder.

How good is Buffy? So good it's scary. Or should be, to the witless clods who produce most television shows. Unless Joss Wheedon made a deal with a real demon (maybe not such a farfetched idea) he had no more and no less to work with when he started than anyone else. His show is just another television show, after all. No different, really, than, say, "The Greatest American Hero" or, for that matter, "Charmed." It's all just silly entertainment, right?

Ladies and gentlemen, to quote Stephen King (and who is more appropriate to quote here): "You can drink your Dom Perignom from Waterford crystal or a Flintsones jelly glass, but folks, there IS a difference."

Here is the difference. Buffy is not just entertainment, of either the guilty pleasure or the "good-bad" variety. It is great storytelling, told by great actors with terrific chemistry, backed up by people who believe in the show. It is television for people who hate television. It is horror/fantasy for people who hate horror and fantasy. It is just plain good (insert your favorite expletive).

What gets me when I watch the first season on DVD is that A) this show was a mid-season replacement (!) and B) that it was predicated on the largely forgettable movie of the same name, which came out in '95, two years before the TV show's debut. That's the creative equivalent of being picked 27th in the NFL draft and then turning into Joe Montana.

The DVD is of course "light" due to the fact it is only half a season (12 episodes) long, but who gives a damn? When every bullet in your gun is a magnum, you don't exactly need a thosuand rounds, do you?

Another striking feature is how quickly the actors took control of their characters and made them into people. For example, it took Anthony Stewart Head less than 3 episodes to have the ultra-complex Giles nailed down. That is incredible when you consider that many actors don't get a real feel for their characters in the first year or even two years of their shows (Patrick Stewart didn't have Capt. Picard down cold until the beginning of "Trek's" third season). It would have been so easy for Head to become a stodgy Van Helsing self-parody, or, in the words of Ethan Rayne, "the snivelling, tweed-clad guardian of the Slayer" (or in still other words, a Wesley Wyndham-Price character), but Head added layers to Giles almost immediately, and never stopped adding them. But to single out Head's skills is unfair, because the whole cast rocks. The actors are so good that just when you have decided on a favorite, somebody else steps to the plate and bam, it's a whole different home run race. Suffice to say good acting is one thing, good writing is another, but you can't buy this kind of chemistry.

My personal picks from the inaugural season (excluding the two part opener):

"Witch": this episode is notable because it establishes right off the bat that Buffy doesn't just stake vamps, and shows how quickly the independent characters became the Scoobie Gang. If you watch this episode as a stand-alone, you will be struck by how smooth the interplay is between Giles, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Buffy. It has the feel of a troupe that's been working together for years. It is the third episode of the first season.

"Teacher's Pet": Buffy's ability to self-parody using humor allows the writers to create the most ridiculous plots imaginable and still make them work. Plus Mrs. French is pretty hot. Who cares that she's really a giant shape-shifting praying mantis who eats teenage virgins? Great work by Nicholas Brendon.

"Never Kill a Boy...." One of the things that makes BVS work so well is the fact that despite being a super-powered babe, Buffy is still stuck with the same problems as every other teenager: love triangles, homework, boy troubles, fights with Mom. In this outing she discovers that Slaying is one lonely gig. This is also a real showcase for the dude who plays the Master, who I'm convinced is the same guy who played Lt. Neidermeyer in "Animal House." (if I'm right about this, somebody please drop me a note)

"I Robot, You Jane" Willow gets to flex against the demon Moloch, who unfortunately gets really, really dead at the end of the episode. Unfortunate because he was a great baddie ("Right now a man in China is transferring funds to an account in Hong Kong to have his mother killed (long pause) Good for him.")

"The Pack" A tour de force for Nick Brendon, who plays a nastily self-confident villain so well you almost forget how bumbling and innefectual the normal Xander is. Probably his turn here got him more villain work in Season Three's "Doppelgangland."

"The Puppet Show" Who doesn't find those damn dolls creepy? This one introduces the great principal Snider, who replaced hyena bait principal Flutie, and utters an all-time great Buffyism: "Being friends with your students....that's the sort of woolly-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten." It also has the funniest scene ever, when the Scoobies make a [weak] attempt to perform a stage version of "Oedipus."

It's worth noting that there are actually no bad episodes in the season, just some that stand out more than others (call it 12 - 0 with six or seven knockouts). Most everything is laid down that needs to be, including the show's basic mythology and the relationships between the characters (Xander's crush on Buffy, Willow's crush on Xander, Buffy's crush on Angel) that are so important to everything that follows later. What's truly amazing is that as good as all of this is, Spike and Drusilla haven't shown up yet, Angel hasn't gone bad, and Faith and the Mayor are way, way off. In other words, the best is still yet to come. What more could you ask for?

Oh yeah....season two.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best show on TV Ever!! A must have!
Review: This show is probably the best written and best acted TV series I have seen. I have seen every episode of it, in now it's 7th and final season. You can go back to the beginning and see how it all began. The characters are unforgettable, their dialog is beautifully written, and personalities are well defined unique to each one. One can enjoy the one liners especially from Xander, Buffy and Cordelia. It is truly hilarious on one side, yet can switch instantly to touching and serious in the blink of an eye. I recommend this DVD set to anyone, and the other seasons available as well. I already own the first three seasons, and I plan to buy season four when it is released.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer ROCKS!!
Review: I have never in all my life missed an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer because I loved it so much! Then I hear Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season One is coming out on DVD, and I was excited I got it the first day it came out.

My favourite episodes of Season One are "Angel", "I Robot... You Jane", "The Puppet Show", "Nightmares", and "Prophecy Girl". There could have been more Special Features for the First Season of Buffy, but overall it's GREAT! My favourite seasons are Season Two, Season Three, Season Five, and I know Season Seven is still not completely finished, but so far it is one of my favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer Seasons.

If you're a Buffy fan, or if you like action shows/movies buy Season One of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, your life depends on it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Buffy" Begins Its Journey...
Review: The first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was awesome. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilling it is to sit down and watch a television show every week that has witty dialogue, down-to-earth characters, and action-packed scenes throughout every single episode. It's even better to buy a DVD set in which you don't have to worry about commercials or the terrible agony of a cliff-hanger that won't be explained until at least another week. "Buffy" is an amazing show all-around! Most first seasons need a little warming up to do, but not in this case. I can honestly tell you, yes, I am a huge fan of the series, but it is truly a great show. I was eight when the show first premiered. I was sitting in my room one night and was told to go to bed. Of course, being your typical eight-year-old, I turned on the television. Instantly, at age eight, I'm drawn into the world of "Buffy." It's a truly captivating show!

Season One is definitely one of my favorite seasons. It only contains twelve episodes, due to it being a mid-season replacement, but each one is filled with a new exciting theme. The main villain, however, is The Master Vampire. Buffy's objective is to stop him from rising, while dodging everyone he sends to try to stop her. Aside from this problem, there are a couple of episodes that have nothing to do with him, which I think is nice because it offered a break with side-episodes such as "Witch" and "Out of Mind, Out of Sight." Even with an outline of only twelve episodes, Joss Whedon (creator) and friends still manage to fit in these extras without taking away from the main point.

As for the actual DVD boxed set, it couldn't have gotten much better. It has a few nice photos and a small booklet inside which describes each episode. It folds out three times to reveal three discs, each containing four episodes. Those episodes are as follows:

Welcome to the Hellmouth:
Buffy arrives at her new school, Sunnydale High, only to find out that she can't escape her true destiny. There she meets her new Watcher, Giles, and makes a couple of friends, Willow and Xander.

The Harvest:
The second half of "Welcome to the Hellmouth." Buffy and friends materialize for the first time to fight off The Master's vampire gang intended to harvest Sunnydale and release him.

Witch:
One of my favorite Season One episodes. This first non-vampire episode finds the gang dealing with someone harming members of the cheerleading squad.

Teacher's Pet:
With the science teacher dead, things become even more mysterious when kids start disappearing after visiting the new substitute!

Never Kill A Boy on the First Date:
Buffy's attempt at a normal life is shattered when a date is ruined by The Master's latest scheme.

The Pack:
Xander starts acting strangely after a trip to a forbidden part of the zoo -- containing possessed hyenas.

Angel:
Buffy gets to know Angel a little better -- for the worse!

I Robot, You Jane:
Willow is seduced by a demon through the computer.

The Puppet Show:
My other favorite episode about a demonic puppet featured in the school's talent show.

Nightmares:
The season's most wild episode where the gangs' nightmares become reality and anything can happen. In my top-three list of Season One favorites.

Out of Mind, Out of Sight:
Sometimes when people are ignored, they disappear. Only they usually don't come back and try to murder everyone that ignored them.....

Prophecy Girl:
The show's season finale in which Buffy faces The Master and discovers her fate.

Bonus features include:
- Exclusive interviews with Joss Whedon & David Boreanaz
- Full-length commentary for "Welcome..." & "The Harvest"
- Photo Gallery
- Character Bios, and much, much more!

With classic episodes such as "Witch" and "Nightmares," Season One is clearly the best jump-start a show could have! Enjoy! PLEASE BE SURE TO READ MY REVIEW OF SEASON TWO & THREE ALSO!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good starting season...
Review: I started watching Buffy at the end of season one, so watching these for the first time was cool. I was great learning all of the background on the story. So, it was more educational for me. The story telling wasn't too great though. Buy season 3 for the complete package. Buy this one only if you're a fan--like me.


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