Customer Reviews

Buffy & Angel Chronicles Gift Set [VHS]

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I have seen every Buffy episode since the last two in Season 1! (Except for a few in S2) and have read all the books. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan!

Anyway, in my firm opinion these are the best episodes ever. (Now if only they had "Hush", "Earshot", and "Lie to Me" on video . . .) This set includes the eps "Surprise", "Innocence", "Passion", "I Only Have Eyes For You", and the two-part "Becoming"

"Surprise" and "Innocence" chronicle the events around Buffy's 17th Birthday. It seems Spike and Dru are up to their old tricks again. This time they're trying to resurrct the Judge, a big blue demon that can literally burn the humanity out of you. Meanwhile Buffy and Angel's relationship is growing deeper and deeper. They finally declare their love for each other and have sex on the night of Buffy's birthday. But when she wakes up the next morning, it is to a dramatically changed world. The curse that kept Angel's soul in tact had a catch. If he ever had a moment of true happiness, his soul would be gone and the demon Angelus would reside again. So Angel (I shall now refer to him as Angelus) joins Spike and Dru in their 'wipe out humanity' plot. Buffy defeats the Judge, but her troubles with Angelus are just beginning.

I never saw "I Only Have Eyes For You" so I have no idea what that's about, but I did see "Passion." Narrated by Angelus, it tells the story of his changing passion for Buffy, from love to hate and how he tries to bring her down and break her spirit. He dosn't want to kill her. He wants to torment her. He leaves drawings of her as she sleeps, letting her know that he could kill her at any time and that he is only waiting. Buffy, however, is to strong for that. She finds a spell to keep him out of her house, but not before something terrible happens.

In "Becoming", Spike, Dru, and Angelus once again decide to raise another globe gobling demon. This time, the petrified Acathla, which requires a certain ritual to bring him out of his rock state. Meanwhile Buffy and Willow find the key to restoring Angel's soul (Lost during "Passion") Willow and Giles attempt the spell spell, only to be interrupted during a vampire raid which leaves Willow in a coma, Giles kidnapped, and Buffy charged with murder. Buffy flees the scene only to be confronted with good demon, Whistler, who tells her what she needs to do to stop Angelus. In a surprising turn of events, Buffy is also allied with Spike, who dosn't want to see the world sucked into Hell. And Buffy's clueless mom, Joyce, finally learns of her daughter's secret. Elsewhere, Willow comes out of her coma and tries to attempt the restoration of the soul spell again, and Giles is being tortured by Angelus so that he may learn how to resurrect Acathla. And Buffy finally decides to kill Angelus. She arives just after Angelus performs the ritual correctly. Knowing this, she has only a few minutes before the world is sucked into hell, she fights Angelus to the death. Just as she is about to kill him, Willow finishes the spell and Angel's soul is returned. Buffy, seeing the change in him, knows that Angel is once again the person she fell in love with. Angel, clearly confused, dosn't know where he is, just that Buffy is there with him. In one of the most heart wrenching scenes ever in the history of tv, Buffy gives Angel one last kiss. Then she shoves her sword right through his heart, sending Acathla, and Angel, to hell. The world is safe once more.

This set of three videos includes the episodes "Surprise" , "Innocence", "Passion", "I Only Have Eyes For You", and the season 2 finale "Becoming", parts 1 & 2. These are the episodes that show the crucial moments in Buffy & Angel's relationship where they both experience changes on the personal amd mythical levels. For more info, see reviews on the individual tapes.

Any self respecting Buffy fan has to own these tapes! The tragic love story between Slayer and Vampire comes to a head when Angel loses his soul, and becomes Buffy's worst enemy. The six episodes contained in this set are a treasure chest of Buffy lore, covering Angel's transformation and the death of a major Buffy character.

These episodes deal with the issues all teenagers face at some point in their lives; the decision to have sex, the consequences of that choice, the death of a loved one, the way people can change, and many more. Although they are placed in a supernatural context, the parallels can be drawn. I know one mother who used these episodes as a stepping stone to talking with her daughter about the dangers of pre-maritial sex.

For a long time my roommates laughed at my obsession with Buffy and Angel. That ended when I came home one night and found them watching the last few minutes of "Becoming" part 2. Tears were forming in their eyes as the credits roled, and they told me they finally understood why I said this was the best show on television.

A word of warning, this set will leave you wanting more. The last episode is a bit of a cliff hanger, and you'll want to track down a friend's season 3 tapes to get the conclusion!

The Buffy/Angel Chronicles set is a wondeful introduction to Buffy, but a wondeful collection for established fans. Joss Whedon has crafted along with Ty King (Passion) and Marti Noxon (I Only Have Eyes for You) some perfectly exemplary and heart rendering entertainment.

The two parter of Surprise and Innocence bring Buffy and Angel's relationship full circle with love and trust. Only two have those two things wrenched from him by way of Angel's true happines. This also brings forth a betrayel of a trusted friend. Passion Amazing. This episode is as near to perfect as a program be it small screen or big can get. Very emotional and beautifully written and shot. I Only Have Eyes for You a ghost story that strangely unites Buffy and Angel through poltergeists. The Becomings Amazing. Amazing. Amazing with a daring twist ending, of which likes I've never seen. Highly Reccomended.

i missed the first 2 seasons of buffy and this video box set was incredible. i had always wanted to see the episodes where angel turned bad but none of the stations in chicago were reruning buffy from the beginning. the love that angel and buffy had for each other to be turned against them when angel has one moment of true happiness is pure genius on the writers part. the evil angel is just great with his torment of buffy. i remember a line from xena, where ceasar says when you divide a woman's emotions from her sensibility you have her right where you want her. this is what angel tried to do in "innocence". the sword fight at the end of "becoming part 2" was priceless. i don't see how any other episode of buffy can compare with this. it also gave me a prospective on their reunion on a recent episode of angel in the episode " i will always remember you". for any true buffy fan who doesn't have a copy, pick one up. you will be glad you did.

These episodes were a mistake. How could anyone be so stupid as to put episodes as great as these at the end of the second season? These episodes, starting with 'Surprise' and ending with 'Becoming, Part 2', were so good they could not be topped by any later episodes. Because of this idiocy, the third and fourth seasons have paled in comparison. 'Surprise' and 'Innocence' set the brilliant plot arc in motion, 'Passion' and 'I Only Have Eyes For You' brilliantly foreshadow the paramount achievement of the series: 'Becomings Part 1 and 2'. The results of Angel and Buffy's love are so tragic and epic you will sit in stunned silence for at least a minute after 'Becoming, Pt. 2' has ended. I guarantee it.

Finally--the heart of the Buffy mythos is available on video! These episodes are among the very best of one of the very best shows on TV, and capture the reasons the series hooked me in the first place: the characters, especially Buffy, are real people you can't help but empathize with, and the show consistently uses its supernatural monsters to mirror real-life relationships and, most effectively, the pain of love gone awry. "Surprise" and "Innocence" cleverly offer a supernatural twist on an all-too-familiar real-life trauma--like many another girl before her, Buffy discovers the morning after her first tryst with her beloved that he's changed...into a beast with no soul. It may sound glib, but thanks to excellent writing and a heart-rending performance by Gellar, the story is completely, painfully real. "I Only Have Eyes for You" is one of the show's regrettably few ghost stories, and offers brilliant plotting and poignant, nostalgic '50s atmosphere. And the incomparable "Becoming," parts one and two, offers flashbacks that illustrate Angel's and Buffy's initiations into their present roles as vampire and slayer, respectively. The only viewers who may not appreciate the exquisite agony of this story line should be those who missed the foregoing episodes that established the depth and intensity of Buffy and Angel's love. Everyone else should make sure there's kleenex within reach and enjoy. These are required viewing for any Buffy or Angel fan--and should convert a good many of the unenlightened as well.

If you've been wondering why a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer can draw such raves and inspire such a loyal following, this three tape set will show you why. Featuring the six critical episodes from season two arc when Angel went to the dark side, this set of videos has all the hallmarks of Buffy--great acting, superb storytelling and gifted direction.

These episodes, which aired at about a year after the show started, proved that no one was safe in the show. From Angel's fall to the dark side (superbly acted by David Boreanaz, who shows a great deal of range) to Ms. Calendar's death to Buffy's being forced to send Angel to hell to save the world, this set of episodes show why Buffy is the most unpredictable and entertaining show on television today.

One nice thing about these tapes--Joss Whedon offers commentary at the end of the episode so as to not spoil them for you.

If you've not seen Buffy yet, start here. If you've seen Buffy, you know these episodes are a must have. Give them a try. I gurantee you won't regret it.

This is the story arc that made the series. Buffy actually reached its peak in its third season, but what hooked legions of fans on the series were the episodes in this set - the conclusion of the second season, in which Buffy's unlikely but sympathetic vampire boyfriend became, instead, her undead lover, and in so doing lost his soul.

There's no better place to start watching Buffy than with these episodes. The love and affection built up between Buffy and Angel reaches its pinnacle, and then immediately goes south. Angel loses his soul as the result of a curse, and becomes what he was before he knew Buffy: the most evil and sadistic killer in European history. He joins forces with the two vampires he made himself, centuries before, Spike and Drusilla. Spike is Buffy's present nemesis and the killer of two previous Slayers, and Drusilla is Angel's crowning achievement, a gifted religious psychic whom he systematically drove out of her mind before making her an eternally undead blood-drinker.

As Buffy's great love, David Boreanaz plays Angel as a loveable lug - as Angelus, the scourge of Europe, he is the fiercest and most vile opponent Buffy ever faced. The episodes in this set show him at his skin-crawling worst: stalking, playing sadistic cat-and-mouse games, and murdering the loved ones of Buffy and her friends to demoralize her before going in for the final kill. Buffy has to defeat her own emotions to go up against him, and in the end has her sanity blasted to ashes by having to send Angel to Hell in order to prevent an apocalypse - after he regains his lost soul.

This is tear-jerker drama at its best, amazingly intense without degenerating into soap-opera. These episodes are extremely well-written and -acted, sufficiently that even newcomers to the show will no doubt enjoy them simply on their own merit.

Fans need no recommendation to watch these tapes. As for you newcomers, remember the inscription over Dante's Hellmouth: "Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here" - for to watch these episodes is to fall hopelessly in love with Buffy, and become hooked.

Joss....this is a dream come true! I have been walking around with a scrap piece of paper in my pocket with the names: Innocence, Surprise, Becoming I and Becoming II on it for months. How amazing! And thank you for creating them as a set! I have wanted these episodes forever! Becoming II will break your heart in a million pieces. This is a MUST HAVE! If you are not a Buffy fan, don't watch them, because you will be hooked forever!

Now we need a video of the Buffy crossover to Angel when they made love again and then had to forget it ever happened! Another gut-wrenching episode.

Thanks again! Such a dream come true!