Buffy the Vampire Slayer-Season 5 Box Set Part 2 (2001)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Vampire	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Script-Checkpoint Audio Commentary-I Was Made To Love You; The Body Featurette-The Story Of Season 5 Featurette-Natural Causes Featurette-Spotlight On Dawn Gallery-Photo
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	469:02 (Case: 495)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Joss Whedon James A Contner Michael Gershman David Solomon
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Sarah Michelle Gellar Alyson Hannigan Nicholas Brandon Anthony Stewart Head James Marsters Emma Caulfield Amber Benson Michelle Trachtenberg Marc Blucas Kristine Sutherland Clare Kramer Charlie Weber
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$79.95	Music	Thomas Wanker Christophe Beck

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	Danish English Finnish Norwegian Swedish English Audio Commentary	Smoking	Yes, only bad people smoke!
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5 Part 2 — you should read my review of Part 1 first.

    If you don't want to know anything about these episodes, please skip to the discussion of the transfer now. I've used quite a few spoiler tags, but I can't mask everything.

    This box-set contains the following episodes:

    Everything climaxes in this half of the season. I was a little surprised to learn how long Joss Whedon has been planning all of this — apparently there are hints in Season 3 regarding the events of this season (yes, the references to Little Miss Muffet, and that cryptic comment about 730 were all intentional, and do refer to this season). He even told Kristine Sutherland some of what would happen way back then, so we're not relying on his word alone. It seems some of the reason had to do with the final episode of this season being episode 100 of the show - 100 episodes of a show is a big milestone, and to have it fall on the final episode of a season (due to Season 1 being a short season) was too big an event for Joss to pass up.

    You may be one of those who argue that the show went downhill after the end of Season 3, or even Season 2. Allow me to disagree. Sure, things were simpler back then. Buffy knew what was right, and did it. Things were cut-and-dried. She killed Angel to save the world from being sucked into Hell at the end of Season 2 — straightforward enough, even if it was painful for her. Things started to get a bit ambiguous in Season 3, when Buffy was confronted with choice — Faith represented what Buffy could be if she let go and embraced the darkness. Buffy did things she knew were wrong. Things weren't helped in Season 4, when an authority figure Buffy respected turned out to be an agent of the evil she was fighting, and when she was brought into contact with the powerful primal force that was the first Slayer. This season starts with Dracula telling her about the darkness that is the very source of her power — a statement that is all the more shocking to Buffy because she cannot deny it. This season has many themes, but one of them is Buffy's confrontation with the source of her power. This season is also a study of ambiguity. There are no simple answers, and no right answers, just varying degrees of wrong answers. Yes, Season 2 was simpler, but Buffy has grown up and she's facing some grown up problems.

    Joss Whedon is a strong believer in questioning the accepted norms, the conventions. It was his questioning the norm of the horror movie — pretty young girl goes down dark alley, is confronted by monster, must be rescued by hero — that led to the whole idea of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the first place (pretty young girl goes down dark alley, is confronted by monster, and beats monster to a pulp), so we have to be grateful for this quirk of his personality. Since being vindicated by the acceptance and popularity of Buffy, he has given vent to this in some of the most powerful episodes, such as Hush (the Season 4 episode with no dialogue for perhaps 30 minutes). This season, however, he wasn't just trying to question a norm. This season he wanted to make a statement about a subject very personal to him, a subject most series would consider taboo, and he wanted to do it in a way that would have maximum impact. The result was The Body. This is some of the most unrelenting drama you are likely to see. The events are simple and tragic, but it is the way they are conveyed that has the greatest impact. There are many ways that the impact of tragedy can be lessened. A cut from one scene to another can provide some release, so this episode has no scene breaks between commercials. Even a simple cut within a scene can be a minor release, so there are some amazing sequences without any cuts — something few directors (let alone TV directors) would dare attempt. Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance is nothing short of awesome in the first of these — she is bearing the entire load of the performance, and the camera follows her remorselessly for minutes (in the commentary Joss Whedon mentions that she performed this scene seven times — even more awesome). One of the biggest releases, though, is music, and so this episode has no music at all, save for the opening and closing themes — that is its biggest break from standard television practice. The conventional wisdom is that there must be no silence, because silence gives the viewer a chance to be distracted, and possibly to change the channel. That wisdom is challenged by this episode, but I don't think you can argue that proves it false — the dramatic pitch of this episode is one which could not be sustained by normal TV fare — any attempt to do so would result in viewer fatigue. I think you can say that this episode adds a codicil: a TV show needs music unless it is a tour-de-force capable of holding the viewer's attention through sheer drama. If you bought this season just for this one episode, I think you would be getting your money's worth. I recommend listening to the commentary on this episode, but be prepared — Joss Whedon is uncompromising, and this episode is important to him.

    This half of the season begins with the Watchers' Council arrival in Checkpoint. They say they want to check up on Buffy and Giles; they have information about (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) Glory, and they hold it hostage to Buffy, Giles, and the Scoobies submitting to their inquisition. This sequence is actually quite entertaining, and a welcome relief, but sets the audience up for what is to follow. This episode has one of the most satisfying closing scenes I've seen in Buffy — enjoy it!

    From this point on, the events follow one another rapidly and with no relief. Most episodes begin where the previous one left off. In some ways it is a relief to be watching on DVD, where we don't have to wait for another interminable week before we can go on to the next episode. But in another way it's torture — we don't get the break to relax. There are no good spots to take a break, although there are enforced breaks between discs; I was very grateful for the break between discs four and five, because disc five starts with The Body.

    In I Was Made to Love You, (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) Shonda Farr does a very good job of playing a near-human robot, but Sarah Michelle Gellar does an even better job in Intervention as the Buffybot (a favourite character of many fans). It's interesting to watch Warren's first appearance in I Was Made to Love You, knowing what happens in Season 6. Warren's girlfriend Katrina (Amelinda Embry) appears for the first time in this episode too.

    There's another "sort-of" crossover from Angel in this half of the season. (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) In Crush, Drusilla shows up, looking rather the worse for wear after having been set on fire by Angel. I don't count Angel's appearance later as a cross-over, because there's no reference to events on Angel, and no commonality of storyline.

    Intervention contains Buffy's quest for enlightenment regarding her Slayer self. It helps the viewer, because it provides a welcome diversion (and sets the scene for some amusing farce). It doesn't help Buffy, though, because she misinterprets her revelation from the First Slayer.

    The final episode, The Gift, is the culmination. It starts superbly. Like so many episodes (and all the ones here) it begins with a recap: "previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...", but this recap starts with Welcome to the Hellmouth, the first episode of Season 1. It starts slowly, and accelerates, but manages to recapitulate, recognisably, all five seasons of the show (an impressive feat). (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) Then a vampire chases a boy into an alley. It happens to be the alley behind The Magic Box. Buffy comes out. It's rather entertaining - this vampire hasn't heard of the Slayer. The boy is amazed by her performance, and exclaims "but you're just a girl" — Buffy agrees. Perfect scene setting. There are a few other moments of gentle humour in this episode - I enjoyed the discussion between Buffy and Giles: "How many apocalypses is this?" "At least six, I think...". Each of the major characters gets a moment to display strength during this episode. There are scenes in this episode which deal with events that have been building up throughout the season. And the entire life of the show has been a build-up for the climax - even in the very first episode (even in the movie!) Buffy was questioning the purpose of the Slayer, was asking what it meant, and why it had to be her. The final scene, the still shot, reduced many viewers to tears, and yet contained the wry humour that is so much a part of the show.

    I was unsurprised to hear that people have written PhD theses about Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and not just at American universities, either!). On November 21st there was a full-day symposium in Melbourne on the subject of the Buffy universe, with a variety of papers presented on aspects of the show. I was interested in many of the subjects discussed, particularly given that I was in the process of reviewing this season. What did surprise me a bit was how a considerable part of what was discussed related to this particular season. That wasn't because it is the most recent season to hit DVD — at that time these DVDs weren't on sale in Australia. I can only speculate that it might be because of the important questions raised by the events in this season.

    I am not going to suggest that Season 5 is the best, or the most important, or even the most fun. But I will say that no collection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer should leave out this season. It includes some of the most painful moments in the whole series, but that is part of its value. Get it.

Video

    This show is a TV series. It can be easy to forget that because they put so much effort into each episode, and the results are very impressive. Still, there are faults on occasion, but I'm much more inclined to forgive them.

    Each episode is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The DVDs are the only way to see Buffy in widescreen, which is yet another reason to get them.

    The picture is attractive, almost always clear and sharp (there's a slight lack of focus at 5:55 in Forever), with next to no edge-enhancement. Shadow detail is very good. Some low-light shots are quite grainy, but not all. Perhaps the worst sequence is at the end of I Was Made to Love You: starting about 39:10 and going for a couple of minutes where the footage is quite grainy. There's no low-level noise.

    Colour is very good indeed, and we get lots of opportunity to assess this — quite a lot of these episodes takes place in well-lit locales. There are no colour-related artefacts.

    There are no film artefacts worth mentioning. There are a few minor glitches, though — for example, you can see something like a camera at the left edge of frame at 33:00 in The Body.

    There are some tiny instances of aliasing, and a little bit of shimmer, but you have to be looking hard to see anything.

    There are subtitles in Scandinavian languages, plus captions in English. I watched the English — they are easy to read (with a slight shimmer on occasions), mostly well-timed (once or twice they appear a little early), and not heavily abbreviated.

    The discs are single-sided and dual layered, formatted RSDL, but there is no visible layer change. There are two episodes on one layer, and two on the other.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The English soundtrack is Dolby Digital 2.0, surround encoded. There's no other soundtrack, save for the commentaries.

    The dialogue, such an important part of Buffy, is clearly comprehensible — we can understand every word of Buffy-speak. The audio sync is fine.

    Most episodes are scored by Thomas W***er, except for The Gift. The Gift is scored by Christophe Beck, and I wasn't too surprised to notice his name in the credits — his work is distinctive, and so very suited to this particular episode.

    The surrounds are only used to deepen the score — there are no directional sound effects. The subwoofer is not used, unless your bass management settings redirect bass from the mains into the sub. There's some real bass in the soundtrack, and it's channelled to the mains.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The discs start with an interesting transition sequence — don't look too closely if you haven't seen the episodes before, though. The main (episode) menu features a different photo on each disc. The episodes are arranged more sensibly this time, in a simple vertical list, so it is easy to follow the order. The photos on the menus are really attractive, featuring:

1. Spike
2. Giles and Buffy
3. Dawn

Original Script

    These discs include the script for Checkpoint (184pp).I'm not a huge fan of scripts, but this is a marvellous episode, and the script is interesting to read.

Commentary: I Was Made To Love You

    This commentary, from the writer, Jane Espenson, is chock-full of spoilers — make sure you don't listen to it if you haven't seen all of Season 5 and Season 6 (it gives away some very important things about Season 6).

Commentary: The Body

    A Joss Whedon commentary is always a treat. This is an important episode, and Joss has a lot to say about it. Provided you have seen Seasons 5 and 6, I strongly recommend listening to this.

Featurette: The Story of Season 5 (26:40)

    Interviews with all of the writers on the show, covering the stories and themes of this season. There are some spoilers for Season 6, too, so beware of that.

Featurette: Natural Causes (8:55)

    Discusses the workings of a single episode: (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) The Body.

Featurette: Spotlight on Dawn (7:06)

    This featurette discusses the hints in earlier seasons that led up to this one. Don't watch it before you've finished watching the episodes.

Gallery: Stills

    This is a collection of 28 stills. They are presented in a 16x9 frame, but the edges are just decorative — in fact they intrude into the images.

Web Site

    I just noticed some fine print on the bottom of the box listing a website address: http://www.foxmovies.com.au/buffy — I had a quick look, and, um, it's a bit in need of updating. It only goes up to Season 4, and it says that Season 4 is only available on VHS (it lists the DVDs up to Season 3). Methinks the web master didn't get the memo from Marketing...

    Region 1 has just received Season 3. Region 2 got this season in October. The R2 and R4 discs are effectively identical, and dual-coded. The R2 packaging is the same as last season, sort of photo album style — compact and easy to store, but with the risk of damage associated with sliding the discs in and out of sleeves. The R4 packaging is the same as last season, too: a cardboard slipcase holding a set of standard Amarays — a bit more primitive, a bit more crude, but robust, long-lasting, and protecting the discs well. Choose the packaging you want, 'cause that's the only difference. Even the artwork is nearly identical: same typeface, same copy, same images — slightly rearranged, and with a few regional differences (the ratings, for example).

    I suppose you could wait for R1 to get this season, but judging by the current releases it will have no more extras, and probably won't arrive until at least the middle of next year. I can't see why you'd want to.

    Buffy Season 5 — can't you hear it calling? Buy me, buy me...

    The video quality is excellent, and widescreen 16x9 enhanced. Throw away your VHS tapes — this is better!

    The audio quality is very good.

    There are fewer extras than the first half, but a much longer featurette. I would have been happy just to get the Joss Whedon commentary.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall