Geekshow

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Chosen Collection Review

A Recipe For Success…. Take a handful of young, attractive and gifted actors. Mix well with Horror, Drama and Comedy. Sprinkle liberally with clever and insightful dialogue. Bake in DVD player for 6,480 minutes. Garnish with audio commentaries and behind-the-scenes featurettes. What you should end up with is one of the most innovative and original television programs of the past decade. Join me as I review the collected DVD Box Set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A wooden stake and a crucifix are strongly recommended before you continue.

WARNING: Contains Minor Spoilers!

Sunnydale is a small town located in Southern California, close to Los Angeles. Beneath the local high school sits the center of mystical convergance, aptly named The Hellmouth. This irregularity often produces all kinds of manifested evil, and as a result, a short life expectancy for Sunnydale’s inhabitants. Enter Buffy Summers, a troublesome cheerleader who was kicked out of her old school for burning down the gymnasium because it was crawling with vamp– Asbestos.

Buffy is in fact The Slayer, a chosen warrior with enhanced abilities, destined to stop the spread of evil in Sunnydale and eventually the world. Buffy herself is reluctant to perform such a task. Luckily, she does not face these threats alone. This is the true nature of the show. It uses the supernatural as a metaphor to depict the hell of high school life and ultimately, growing into adulthood. The show also stresses the importance of family and friends, as time and time again, Buffy’s success is due to the support of those around her. Were it not for these crucial characters, she would not have made it past her first year at Sunnydale.

This is also true of the show itself. The cast and crew were able to elevate the material introduced in the campy, guilty pleasure of the original 1992 film, into what has now become cinematic storytelling of intense, moving drama, all on a weekly basis. Buffy the Vampire Slayer also raised the bar in the way television programs would be produced and appreciated. TV was often cited as the lowest form of quality entertainment. TV was once where failed movie producers and dwindling actors went to die. Thanks to creative minds like that of Joss Whedon, the medium of television has now risen to the level of epic, greek tragedies full of groundbreaking ideas and promising acting talent.

 Sarah Michelle Gellar, in her portrayal of Buffy Summers, helped to usher in a new era of strong female role models for young women. The Chosen Collection DVD Set is like a time capsule of sorts, an evolutionary chart in box, if you will. From the series premiere in March of 1997 to the finale in May of 2003, the viewer can witness growth in skill and ability through every aspect of production. From humble beginnings of 16 milimeter film stock and midi scoring, to 35 milimeter, cinema quality picture and orchestral sound. Buffy taught us you don’t have to go to the theater to see a great movie. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That should you be struck down, you can rise from the ashes like a phoenix, more powerful than ever. Above all else, the show taught us, as long as you have the love of friends and family, you can come out of the darkness and into the light and you are never truly alone.

The Chosen Collection, while packaged differently is the exact same as the individual season box sets that are available. This is both good and bad. Many fans often debate on the program’s aspect ratio. While it is possible to purchase the Region 2 set in Widescreen, this is not how the show was intended to be viewed. Joss Whedon makes sure to point this out in a personal note to the fans included in this box set. He states that the show was shot and produced for the standard, square shape of your television. I’ve been told by some, that the widescreen presentation reveals some off-putting moments. For example, in the Season Four finale, "Restless" the infamous Cheese Man can now be seen standing at the far corner of the frame, just waiting to step in and deliver his lines. Except for "Once More With Feeling" from Season Six, all other episodes are presented in their original Full Frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Because this is a direct transfer of the previous editions, the picture quality in some areas can be grainy or fuzzy. I’ll exclude the transfer of the first two seasons from this complaint, since those episodes were shot on 16 milimeter film and such noise is inevitable. As for the remaining seasons, the picture quality can range from good to VHS tape-like in appearance, which should be a big no-no when it comes to Digital Video Discs.

For the most part, the colors in the series are very vibrant, especially the warmer tones. From the red felt of the pool tables in The Bronze, to the sun-baked skyline of California, the show’s brighter hues are very lush and have a nice pop to them. The photography in certain episodes play a major part in noticing some of the noise and spottiness of some images. The blown out dream sequences in "Restless" and old-school feel of "Once More With Feeling" look very beautiful.

Season Four itself looks especially good for some reason. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for much of Season Five. The darker scenes in "Fool For Love" look especially poor, similar to the 16 milimeter stock, and the exterior sets in "The Real Me", "Buffy Vs. Dracula", "Triangle" and Season Six’s "Gone" look more obviously like the fake, backlot structures that they are. I wonder if that has more to do with the show changing its Director Of Photography in Season Five than anything else. Michael Gershman brought a dark and brooding quality to the show. The last three seasons under Raymond Stella, looked personally to me a bit too bright, cartoonish and candy-coated. Having said that, he did manage to shine in a few key places. The blue filter used at the end of Season Seven’s "Beneath You" and throughout "Conversations With Dead People" evoked a look and feel as far back as the pilot episode. I think his best work is "Normal Again", probably due in part to his reteaming with Halloween 2 director, Rick Rosenthal.

The audio portion of the discs are surprisingly top notch, especially when you take into account the 2.0 sound mix. The dialogue, sound effects and music never overpower each other. A Pro Logic output will produce clean and clear audio, with no static whatsoever. The dusting of a vampire sounds especially nice. Christophe Beck’s sweeping and spine-tingling scores for episodes like "The Wish", "Hush" and "Restless" are strong standouts.

All in all, a decent picture quality, but could definitely use improvement in places. The sound does make up for it, though. Having said that, I would gladly make the triple-dip effort for a high definition transfer.

The amount of Special Features within this set seems to fluctuate, as does their quality. Exclusive to The Chosen Collection, you will find a disc containing some cast and crew interviews, most notably an hour long Roundtable Discussion with the likes of Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon, David Fury, Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, Drew Goddard, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield and Danny Strong. Listening to it, you’re sure to get nostalgiac for the days when the show was new and exciting, just before it hit mainstream popularity. You might even get a little choked up. If there’s one fault of this particular recording, it’s the absence of other show regulars, like for example, Sarah Michelle Gellar. The other featurettes on this exclusive disc are nice, but are kind of a tease, since they’re obviously just snippets of random interviews.

The audio commentaries are kind of all over the place, and I mean that in every sense. We get a nice episode guide booklet with this box set, but there’s still the problem of having to search through each disc if you want to find a specific feature. Luckily, I’m going to take this opportunity to point out where exactly the commentaries can be found. You might want to get a pen and paper for this, or you can do what I did. Print out your own little commentaries list and stick it in the box on top of the episode guide. The entire first season sports only one. The good news is, it’s by Joss Whedon, and those are usually tops. Plus, he does manage to cover both episodes of the pilot, "Welcome To The Hellmouth" and "The Harvest" (disc one).

Season Two gives us three seperate tracks (four if you divide the two-parter, "What’s My Line?"). David Greenwalt discusses "Reptile Boy" on disc two, cementing the fact that the episode is a big, Public Service Announcement about the dangers of alcohol, to be reinstated later by "Beer Bad". Marti Noxon steps in on disc three for "What’s My Line?" in a two hour discussion about what it took to put the expansive episode together. Finally, we have Joss Whedon returning, this time on disc four with "Innocence". It’s definitely the best commentary for Season Two. However, I feel there were a few other episodes that could have really benifited from the commentary treatment, such as "School Hard", "Passion" and "Becoming, 1 & 2".

Season Three gives us an even four commentaries, most of which can be found on disc four. David Fury talks about writing "Helpless", Doug Petrie talks about "Bad Girls" and Michael Gershman discusses "Consequences". We also hear from Jane Espenson on the controversial episode, "Earshot", located on disc five. Curiously, there’s nothing in regards to "Band Candy", "The Wish", "Amends" or "Graduation Day". Oh well.

Season Four gives an astounding seven commentaries, and is probably the best set of the lot in terms of production and content. On disc two, we get a very fun and informative track for "Wild At Heart" by Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon and Seth Green. They even continue talking after the episode has ended and we’re left with a black screen! For some unknown reason, this track seems to be absent from Region 2 discs. It’s a real shame, too. We also get Doug Petrie on the same disc, chiming in about "The Initiative". Disc Three gives us Joss Whedon for his wonderful episode, "Hush". Doug Petrie returns once again, this time to talk about "This Year’s Girl", located on disc four. Jane Espenson can be found on disc five, discussing the wackiness that is "Superstar". Disc six gives us David Fury and James Contner together on "Primeval", while Joss Whedon gives one of my favorite commentaries for one of my favorite episodes, "Restless". The odd man out this time seems to be "Who Are You?" the second half of Faith’s two-part exit.

Season Five brings us back down to four commentaries. The two Davids, Fury and Grossman hit disc one with "Real Me". Doug Petrie gives us his thoughts on disc two’s "Fool For Love" (another personal favorite on both counts). Jane Espenson can be found on disc four with "I Was Made To Love You". Joss Whedon sits down for the brilliant but difficult to watch "The Body", on disc five. Sadly, no love for "The Gift".

Season Six kicks off with disc one’s "Bargaining" two-parter from David Fury and Marti Noxon. Disc two gives us the always entertaining Joss Whedon with more brilliance in "Once More With Feeling". Disc three gives us Drew Z. Greenberg on "Smashed". On disc five we have David Solomon and Rebecca Rand Kirshner discussing "Hell’s Bells", while Rick Rosenthal and Diego Guttierez discuss "Normal Again" (very interesting). Disc six offers up "Grave" with David Fury and James Contner. Unfortunately, we get squat on "Tabula Rasa" and "Seeing Red".

Season Seven hits us with a whopping seven commentaries, two of which are crammed with people. On disc one, we have Joss Whedon and David Solomon discussing "Lessons". Disc two brings us Drew Goddard and David Solomon on "Selfless", and we also have a very lively recording for "Conversations With Dead People" with Nick Marck, Jane Espenson, Drew Goddard, Tom Lenk and Danny Strong. Disc four has Drew Z. Greenberg and David Solomon on "The Killer In Me". Disc five gives us another energetic track in "Lies My Parents Told Me" with David Fury, Drew Goddard, James Marsters and D.B. Woodside. On that same disc, you’ll find Nicholas Brendon and Drew Goddard talking about "Dirty Girls". Finally, Joss Whedon bows out with "Chosen" on disc six. No track for "Storyteller" though. Probably no room left on the disc.

That brings us to the menu and packaging design. The first two seasons seem to have been handled by two seperate DVD production companies. Season two is kind of overly flashy and unnecessary. You have to navigate your way through some cartoony rendering of a cemetery just about every time you press a button. The disc space required for such a menu could have gone towards more commentaries. The menus for the first season I actually like quite a bit. It’s simple and practical. Seasons 3 to 7 are basically the same. We get a quick montage of images from the season, which are nice but run the risk of spoiling something for first time viewers. This is followed by cut-and-paste backdrops and layers, accompanied by looping music and sounds from an episode. Sometimes, the menus are fine. Sometimes, they’re cluttered and have trouble operating on some DVD players. The Playstation 2 had a difficult time properly displaying the menus for season six. For the most part, the menus and intros are quite nice, but I can’t help wondering if the extra megabytes could have been used for extra commentaries, instead.

I have a sort of love-hate relationship concerning the packaging of The Chosen Collection. First off, common sense should tell you never to stack your discs on top of each other like that. It’s the same thing with vinyl records. Coupled with those plastic cases, the weight can hurt your discs over time. Granted, this stacking procedure does diminish the amount of space a set like this would normally take up, but it hardly seems worth it. Secondly, each season is put together like a kind of book. The problem with that is, the spine seperates from the plastic dividers all too easy, causing them to fall out. What we’re left with is a sort of phone book with too many pages, when it should really be constructed more like a CD wallet.

When stacked upon each other in the correct order, the spines show a cast picture. This is nothing more than a promotional group shot from season three. Why that particular season? Beats me. If nothing else, you can at least amuse yourself by seperating books two and three, thus causing Buffy to suddenly be Canadian. To get to these stacked books, you must first lift the lid of the box and then open the front like a drawbridge. This is all well and good, except that front panel design is kind of flimsy, making the box itself not very good at its job. Plus, I personally don’t much care for the fact that the box is pretty much giving birth to these discs when I open it.

The disc holders are made out of thin, clear plastic similar to the previous, fold-out packaging. This kind of defeats the purpose of repackaging in the first place. Once again, you have to worry about the discs becoming dislodged due to the plastic teeth breaking apart. They might as well have made the thing out of glass, but I digress. Probably the most frustrating aspect of the stacked design is having to pull out one of the lower books. Have fun listening to the wrenching sounds of strained plastic if you want to bust out some season seven, followed by the inevitable thud when all the above seasons come crashing down. Point is, proceed with caution.

The outside look and feel of the box is where the love comes in. It sure is purdy-lookin’. All glossy and embossed. The thick, red color goes quite nicely with the white, faded images of Buffy and her friends. It’s attractive, yet understated. A good example where less is more. Although, it is a huge, white box that doesn’t just say "Buffy" on it in thick, red letters. It proclaims it! "I love Buffy like a fat kid loves cake!" There’s no hiding or denying it. The only thing missing would be for the box to be made of some kind of metal or molded plastic, which probably would have been better. All I’m saying is, the box stands out, so be prepared for the uninitiated to take notice. And remember, although it looks all nice and sleek on the outside, there’s a lot to contend with on the inside.

Hmmm, kind of like Buffy herself. Interesting.

***1/2 out of 4. 

I guess the big question is, "Should you get The Chosen Collection, or the individual Slim Set boxes?" Honestly, either one is good. It’s a give and take. The Chosen Collection comes in the pretty box, takes up less space on the shelf and contains that extra DVD. On the other hand, depending on which vendor you decide to go through, I think the Slim Sets are marginally cheaper on the whole, and they have more solid packaging. I myself picked up The Chosen Collection for close to $140, which equals out to almost a dollar per episode. At the end of the day, it’s what’s inside that counts, and Buffy will always be Buffy, no matter how you dress her, unless she’s The Buffy-Bot. Then? Well, that’s when things just get a little weird.