Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Chosen Collection (DVD, 2009)

In the past, I've attempted to write rather whimsical, yet informative reviews about dvd tv sets. With this all-encompassing set, however, I simply cannot be either whimsical or light-hearted. For Buffy, you see, is simply my favorite television show of all time, and lemme tell ya, I've seen a lotta tv shows.

Now, this is not ment to be another of those, "...in my day" type of pieces. Hardly. Simply stated, while Buffy nay not be the GREATEST program of all time -- I would place it amongst the top twenty, certainly -- after nearly fifty years of viewing pleasure, it does rank as the show which continues to delight me after many, many viewings. And, since Buffy deals with timeless themes in so very an intelligent way, I dare say the Buffster will continue to enthrall others for generations to come, not unlke "I Love Lucy," or "The Honeymooners." Yes, those are comedies and comedy does tend to age well, but Buffy's skillful blend of drama, comedic overtones, pathoes, teen-angst, horror and suspense make it unique, to be placed into a category of one, like that other '90s stalwart, "The X-Files."

To be honest, I was late in coming to the Buffyverse. I didn't begin to watch it until the start of the sixth season. It didn't take long, though, for me to become captivated. My bad.

I quickly made up for lost time. Purchasing the sets -- all of which are included here -- from season one on, I simply fell in love. The writing, which for me is the most impotant part of any show, is exquisite. Creator Joss Wheadon and the crew have woven a tale about a stuck-up, spoiled, self-absorbed valley-type-girl who, against her desire, is chosen to fulfill a higher calling, that of a vampire-slayer. The one girl on all world. Needless to say Buffy is not impressed. But, over time, she passes through stages of begrudging acceptance to tolleration, all the way to self-identification as THE vampire slayer, the chosen one -- and what a one she becomes.

Buffy does receive help along the way, from a loyal and devoted group of friends, associates, and just plain hangers-on. Plus, she develops a wonderful pure love with a father-replacement figure, that being Giles, a British expatriate, a former bad-boy, who battles his own personal demons all the while serving as a stern, devoted, yet caring father-figure for a whole host youngsters, those not so young and the down-right ancient. The best part of the Giles character, to me, is that he is far from the strict, know-it-all father know's best types. As he teaches Buffy and the others about the arcane and occult, about what it is be adults and have responsibilites to others -- sometimes, even the world -- Bufffy, Willow, Zander et al, teach him about the joys of living, about not taking yourself so seriously that you exclude any and all else. In other words, while Giles teaches his charges about life, they teach him HOW to live.

What I found eternally fascinating about Buffy is how the charactors slowly evolve, change, mature. They grow, not just up, but they mature as people, right before your eyes. They experience joy, pain and anguish, they make horrid mistakes. All this against a back-drop of mayhem and apocalypse.
I constantly found myself empathising with these people, sharing in their triumphs, their tragedies, all the while aware these are but tv charactors, but like any great literary creation, allowing myself to become part of them, and they a part of me. Live forever much, Buffy.

It had been quite a while since I had seen the majority of the Buffy series, but when I started streaming it online I couldn't help but fall back in love with the eternal/forbidden love story between Buffy Summers and Angel, the vampire with a soul. The 40-disc set compiles all the ups and downs of Buffy's life in Sunnydale, as well as the bonus features we didn't get to see as we watched the series play out over it's seven years. Her search for normality as a slayer, to allow herself to have normal love in someone who wasn't a vampire and to find love in someone who was. Dealing with loss, death, homosexuality, and just beating the demons at the hellmouth. Definitely a must for any late-twenty-something's DVD collection, or anyone interested in some occult, mythology, and Buffy's really impressive ass-kicking/slayer skills. Gotta love it!

"Into each generation, a slayer is born. One girl in all the world, A CHOSEN ONE. One born with the strength and skill to fight vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers." Giles - Welcome to the Hellmouth (Season 1; Episode 1)

Ok, if you were like me, when BTVS first came out you were way too cool to watch something with such a stupid name. Big mistake. I ended up buying this DVD collection in a kind of backwards way. I became a big fan of David Boreanaz and Christain Kane from Bones and Leverage. In researching other roles they were in, discovered Angel (both were in it - what more could you want!?), so I bought the Angel DVD's and then discovered that Angel was a spin off from Buffy. I loved the Angel DVD's so thought I would give Buffy a try (you can watch Angel without having watched Buffy, but you do miss some of the 'inside' jokes).

So, I worked my way back from Bones to Buffy and I have to say that I've really enjoyed the trip and am now an even bigger fan of David Boreanaz, Christain Kane and the whole cast of Buffy and Angel. To have such a stupid name, BTVS is really a quality show that draws you into the characters and makes you care about them all. And, yes, it's not just for kids or teens - the show starts out about life in High School (no matter how old you are, you still remember what that was like!), but matures into so many other life lessons including relationships with family and friends as well as star-crossed lovers.

BTVS is witty and fun and will make you laugh out loud but also poignant and will have you in tears more than once during the life of the show. The action/fight sequences are amazing and the special effects are first class, but my favorite thing about the show are the characters, which Joss Whedon was a genius at creating and making them so real that you can't help but care for them all. No matter where you are in life, there is something here that you can relate to.

I highly recommend BTVS (and Angel!).

No series is perfect. They all fall prey to bad episodes/storylines, new characters that quickly lose their usefulness once their original purpose is fulfilled (Riley) or loss of core characters (Angel, Cordy). Buffy was no different. What made it so extrordinary however was the fact that when it did fall prey to these things, it bounced back.

Season One, even though it was perfect & couldn’t have been better, wasn’t even the best which told you a lot about BTVS. It set the tone & explained the rules perfectly & The Master was a great villian. Season Two raised the bar so high however, introducing Spike & Dru while turning Angelius into the perfect villian, Buffy never reached that level again. Season Three was about change and, true to life, change was an uncomfortable experience. I thought it peaked with “Lovers Walk” & was uneven the rest of the way. The Mayor, while interesting, didn’t keep me on edge like most of the Big Bads & I was sad to see Xander & Cordy break-up. The last three episodes were great though, especially “The Prom”. Season Four seemed to be more even keel & was interesting with the supernatural vs science theme but it lacked the energy that infused the first 3 seasons. The addition of Spike & Tara was great for the show & Adam was a cool villian.

Season Five saw BTVS back in top form almost from the opening bell & the energy return. The ‘big picture’ feel was back too with the mystery of Dawn & Glory. Spike became the character a lot of fans wanted him to be & Anya seemed more at home. “The Gift” was my favorite finale. Season Six showed signs of being BTVS’s most intense season ever with Buffy‘s return & her relationship with Spike & Willow‘s addiction. From “Doublemeat Palace” onward however, it went downhill. The Trio quickly became a liability & the manifestation of Willow’s addiction could’ve been handled better (I liked Tara). Season Seven was massive in scope & intense. The First was the perfect Big Bad for the finale; pure evil, pure genius, pure power. I loved The Potentials & the end of The Council. And the ending was pure Joss Whedon genius. God, I miss this show.

I loved the Buffy series and was thrilled that I finaly found the whole TV series on E-bay. The DVD sound, picture and packaging quality is excellent. The packaging was very cool and is a collectable all it's own. Wonderful to find the extras disc with Joss's commentary. Just make sure you read your DVD manuals to hook everything up correctly to the TV. When I first started episode one on my new DVD player the picture was all squiggley and I thought something was wrong with DVD itself, but it was actually that audio/video jacks had to hook directly to the tube and not be routed through the VCR. (Just for you folks that have the older entertainment equipment.) After a nervous, hair pulling half hour of rearranging wires - I got to enjoy watching a Buffy Marathon!! Thank you E-bay !! I highly recommend this full season set to anyone who loves the series or even to people who have never been a fan before. I got my neighbor hooked on Buffy after having a girls night in. Great fun watching a newbie seeing the show for the first time !! Enjoy !!