Each of the six discs in this set has at least something extra tacked on, totalling around nine and a half hours. Uninitiated viewers should hold off on viewing the extras until finishing the season in its entirety because of the sheer number of spoiler-riddled discussions. The first disc offers a commentary for "Bargaining" with writers David Fury and the touching, incredibly maudlin Marti Noxon. Despite commenting on a two-part episode, there really aren't that many lengthy gaps scattered throughout. They cover a lot of ground in this hour and a half, including Emma Caulfield's gradual progression to becoming Sarah Michelle Gellar Mark II, the meaningless of the numbers on their wardrobe, George Lucas' jaunt to the Buffy set, the proper pronunciation of the name of composer Thomas Wanker, unsatisfying plot points, an originally more graphic sacrifice scene, Joss requesting that Marti avoid watching the Buffy movie, neatly combed post-resurrection hair, an uninviting premiere for new viewers, crazy scaffolding...okay, I think that list is long enough.
"Once More with Feeling" is lavished with the special edition treatment on disc two. First up is a half-hour peek behind the scenes courtesy of David Fury. It compiles footage snapped both during and between takes, compares that raw material to the polished product, and takes viewers into production meetings. We get a glimpse of the choreography, the actors belting it out in the recording studio, and the application of some of the make-up effects. It's a candid look at what goes into making an episode, and this is not only the best extra on this season set of Buffy, it's perhaps the best of any of the six DVD boxsets to date. Singalong versions of "I've Got a Theory / Bunnies / We're Together", "I'll Never Tell", and "Walk Through the Fire" are also provided. It's footage from the episode with the lyrics on-screen, not karaoke in the sense of having the vocals removed. Joss Whedon's commentaries are always a highlight of these DVD collections, and this being such a key episode of the series, he contributes one for "Once More with Feeling" as well. He hardly stops to take a breath for the duration. Joss tackles every conceivable angle, from the intentions of particular songs, incorporating the cast's individual talents into the tunes and dance numbers, suspension of disbelief, the role of Disney animation as a source of inspiration, learning to play guitar specifically for this musical, and trying to avoid making the episode seem like an event. Joss' rapid-fire wit carries through with this commentary as well. An Easter Egg is hidden on the Language Selection menu for the episode, by the way. Selecting a hidden symbol to the left of the "Subtitles" label reveals some footage from a signing of the soundtrack.
This third disc includes another of the most entertaining and informative extras on this set, an hour-long panel discussion at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It was taped on June 18th, 2002 with creator Joss Whedon, director of photography Raymond Stella, production designer Carey Meyer, show runner Marti Noxon, and cast members Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, James Marsters, and Michelle Trachtenberg in attendance. The discussion revolves almost entirely around season six and its aftermath, focusing heavily on the musical, set design, taking characters to such a dark place, the more lurid aspects of the season, taking a more literal approach to storytelling rather than relying so much on metaphors, Joss' work ethic, and the challenges of shooting a show like Buffy. Also on this disc is a commentary by writer Drew Z. Greenberg for "Smashed", the first episode where he had the opportunity to see his name onscreen in the familiar Buffy font. It's a good track, including notes about the headaches associated with using exotic languages for spells and striving for proper 1979 Boba Fett accuracy.
The "Buffy Goes to Work" featurette on disc four runs just over five minutes in length, featuring Jane Espenson, David Solomon, David Fury, Drew Z. Greenberg, Michelle Trachtenberg, Adam Busch, Christopher Buchanan, Joss Whedon, Steven S. DeKnight, Alyson Hannigan, and Rebecca Rand Kirshner reminiscing about their first jobs and noting what their dream gigs would be.
Disc five includes a pair of commentaries. The first is for "Hell's Bells", and Emma Caulfield was originally going to contribute to the track. Instead, she left director David Solomon and writer Rebecca Rand Kirshner to take it alone. Neither have all that much to say other than brief, scattered little quips. A better writer/director pairing quickly follows with "Normal Again", featuring commentary by Rick Rosenthal (Halloween II) and Diego Gutierrez. It's a little dry and slow-moving at first, but it gets better as it goes along. As this was a favorite episode of mine, I appreciated the commentary, particularly their discussion about the ambiguity of the varying realities "Normal Again" presents. The performances and the structure of the episode are also frequent topics of discussion. Though not labeled as an extra, disc five also includes a callsheet for "Normal Again" on the DVD-ROM portion of the disc.
The bulk of the extras are located on the sixth and final disc. "Life Is the Big Bad" is a half-hour overview that takes a different approach to the material than those on previous Buffy boxes. Rather than just go episode by episode with their recaps, the featurette examines individual characters and what happens to them throughout the course of the season. The participants include most of the writing staff and a handful of actors -- Joss Whedon, David Fury, Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, David Solomon, Steven S. DeKnight, Drew Z. Greenberg, Rebecca Rand Kirshner, Michelle Trachtenberg, Alyson Hannigan, and Adam Busch. Another lengthy collection of interviews is the 43 minute "Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Television with a Bite", a TVography that aired on A&E. The overview covers Buffy's origins as a movie, its incarnation as a TV show that the major networks resisted, its rise to popularity and critical reception, crafting a spinoff, and the business of network leaping. Many key episodes and events are touched upon, with special emphasis paid to "Earshot", "The Body", and "Once More with Feeling". Most of the principals are interviewed, including Joss Whedon, Gail Berman, Anthony Stewart Head, Michelle Trachtenberg, Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz, Marti Noxon, James Marsters, Emma Caulfield, and...wow, that's rare...Sarah Michelle Gellar. A fair amount of behind the scenes footage, even some glimpses of storyboards, are also provided. James A. Contner and writer David Fury chime in with a commentary for the season finalé "Grave". Some of my favorite bits in their track centered around what didn't make it into the final episode, including some intended dragon slayage (which made me smirk, considering one of the last lines of dialogue of the Buffyverse from a couple days ago) and an aborted sewer brawl. They also speak at length about how some of the effects were accomplished, and there are even some comments about Sarah Michelle Gellar's questionable on-cue laughs. It's also revealed that although Joss didn't write or direct the season finalé, a first for Buffy, he did pen the climactic speech. The last of the set-top-accessible extras is an outtake reel that captures a couple minutes of flubbed lines and uncontrollable bursts of laughter. Readers with a DVD-ROM can also tap into Willow's Demon Database, which lists the nasties from the first six seasons of the series.
As has been the case with the other box sets up to this point, the "Previously on..."s are still missing in action domestically. Each disc features a set of animated 16x9-enhanced menus, and the traditional length episodes are divided into somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen chapters. A set of brief liner notes provides synopses for the episodes on each disc, and another insert notes the seventh and final season of Buffy will be released on DVD this October.
Courtesy of
DVD Talk |
