Synopsis
Any synopsis is probably beside the point. If you haven’t been watching Buffy by this season,your chances of understanding what the hell is going on will be severely curtailed. Highlights ofthis season include Buffy’s encounter with Dracula, and the moving episode (“The Body”) aboutthe death of her mother.
Audio
The sound is 2.0, but is a pretty energetic mix all the same. As with most television shows,the music dominates the mix, especially at the s…rround level. Still, there are some nice soundeffects too, with some (such as pouring rain) generating a nice environmental effect.
Video
The picture (fullscreen, naturally)is not bad, but is far from perfect. Some of the exteriornight shots are quite grainy. There is also an odd moment on a beach where the skin tones changevalues quite noticeably. On the plus side, the blacks are good, and the colours and contrasts aregenerally quite strong.
Special Features
The feature list is quite impressive. Here it is: commentary by writer David Fury and directorDavid Grossman on ‘Real Me’; commentary by writer Doug Petrie on ‘Fool for Love’;commentary by writer Jane Espenson on ‘I Was Made to Love You’; commentary bywriter/director Joss Whedon on ‘The Body’; scripts for ‘The Replacement,’ ‘Fool for Love,’ ‘Intothe Woods,’ and ‘Checkpoint’; “Buffy Abroad” featurette; “Demonology: A Slayer’s Guide”featurette; “Casting Buffy” featurette; “Action Heroes! The Stunts of Buffy” featurette; seriesouttakes; “The Story of Season 5” featurette; “Natural Causes” featurette; “Spotlight on Dawn”featurette; still gallery; interactive video game trailer; DVD-ROM: Buffy Demon Guide. This listis courtesy Amazon; the screeners under review (Discs 1 and 6) only had a small handful of theseextras. I will say that everyone involved is an enthusiastic speaker in the various commentariesand featurettes, and say quite a bit about what the ideas behind the various episodes were. Themenu has an animated and scored intro, and thereafter is still but scored.
Closing Thoughts
A solid, if unspectacular transfer, but a lot more extras than have been showing up in otherrecent boxed sets.
Special Features List
- Selected Episode Commentaires
- Selected Scripts
- 7 Featurettes
- Still Gallery
- DVD-ROM Buffy Demon Guide
- Video Game Trailer
- Outtakes
