Techtite DVD Reviews

The Film: While Buffy the Vampire Slayer was always the jewel in the WB's crown, throughout its run on their network, it's the second season when the series truly started to shine. From the excellent acting of the cast to the excellent writing (the best of which was penned by series creator Joss Whedon himself), this is one season which deserved at least three Emmy nods. If the reason it never received them was because critics were scared off by the vampire premise, that's their problem. Enough editorializing; the whole season is now on DVD, and if you're a fan of action-comedies (with a fair share of drama as well), you want this DVD set!

The series picks up nicely where the prior season left off, where Buffy has shown her strength as The Vampire Slayer, by defeating the arch-vampire in the prior season finale (as can be seen in the First Season DVD collection). Since then, several plot branches ensue. This includes the first scenes of Willow and Oz, who once a month turns into a Werewolf (which Willow shrugs off with the classic line, "Hey, once a month I'm not too fun to be around, either."). This season also introduces Spike, an old vampire friend (and later, nemesis) of Angel's, who would become a pivotal Buffy character for many seasons to come. At the same time, Buffy's near-death in the first season's finale may not have killed her per se, though was enough for the forces of good to "activate" another slayer, who happens to be less cynical, more studious, and more driven than Buffy (though, as it appears, not as good of a slayer).

The best of the second season's plot branches, however, is when Buffy's boyfriend, Angel, gets romantically involved with Buffy to the point where he has --ahem-- a night of pure pleasure. This is bad news for Angel, whose curse as a vampire-with-a-soul was meant only to give him tormented guilt forever. He wasn't given his soul back to merely be a good guy; he was given his soul back to eternally feel the guilt of what he had done as a soulless vampire. As soon as he feels unmitigated pleasure, the curse reverts itself, making him a normal, soulless, evil vampire again. This was a big shock to fans, who wondered who this season's new "big villain" would be, only to find out it was Angel himself! Will Buffy need to fulfill her destiny as Vampire Slayer on the man whose soul (at least) is her true love, or will her friends be able to find the ancient spell in time, to return his soul to him and make him good again? Let's put it this way; the final confrontation in the season finale is so emotional, the classic "Grrr...arrg!" logo during the end credits was humorously re-dubbed with, "Awww...I need a HUG!" Talk about classic cliffhangers; this is among the top ten best I ever saw.

The fact that the series was finally bold enough to have "cliffhangers" doesn't make the overall season any less worthy of a video shelf. There's any number of way-cool scenes that made the season worth everyone's while. Like the monster who bragged that, "no forged weapon has ever defeated me!" only to have a bazooka aimed at him as Buffy says, "Times change!." There's the darkly comical scene when Spike himself defeats an obnoxious tyke who helped the arch-vampire last season; a brat to annoying that Spike grabs him and throws him into sunlight himself! One of the best lines, however, is when Willow's boyfriend Oz is told for the first time that evil vampires run amok in Sunnydale, and as soon as Willow tries to comfort him about the news, Oz says, "No, actually, that explains a lot!" This is just a short selection of the great one-liners from this season, though admittedly, their delivery, by a talented cast, offers more impact than anything I could type here.

Like many fans of this series, I am disappointed that this series' second season didn't receive an Emmy/Golden Globe nomination, as well as nominations for both Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) and David Boreanaz (Angel). After seeing the similarly macabre, dark humored Six Feet Under receive a Golden Globe, I doubt if this is because voters were turned off by the vampire storyline. It's more likely because the Disney-run ABC and Fox-run FOX network had more publicity muscle to promote The Practice (which received the Emmy for Best Drama that season) and The X-Files (Golden Globe winner). Were those series worthy of such praise at the time? You bet. However, if you have any doubt that Buffy deserved at least a nomination that season, get this DVD set and see for yourself.

The DVD: While the first season DVD set was squished onto three bare-bones DVDs, this set is given the full, 6 disc treatment. Audio Commentaries are available for 3 episodes ("Reptile Boy," "What's My Line?", ""Innocence"). In addition, the episodes already offered on VHS have short interviews with series creator Joss Whedon, which are preserved on DVD as well. Scripts of many episodes are also included.

As you'd expect, the final disc is where the majority of bonuses reside. A nearly 14 minute featurette is offered, called "Designing Buffy." There is also a nearly-half-hour featurette called "A Buffy Bestiary," and a 20 minute stint titled "Beauty and Beasts." The coolest editions for stateside viewers, however, are 2 UK television spots, plus 6 domestic TV spots, which should provide an amusing look into how the series was promoted differently for different audiences.

However, aside from a few photo galleries and updated cast bios, that's about it. However, isn't that enough? It's a trick question for fans, who feel the very preservation of season two is worthy enough for the purchase of the whole set. I feel the same way, and will count the days until this set hits stores. I can't wait!

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. If it wasn't for better publicity campaigns by larger networks, both Sarah Michelle Gellar and Buffy deserved honors for this spectacularly performed season.
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