Product Details

• Actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head, James Marsters
• Writers: Joss Whedon
• Producers: James A. Contner
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Studio: WB Television Network, The
• DVD Release Date: September 19, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000ARSJVU
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143,728 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Horror > Series & Sequels > Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• For more information about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Collector's Set" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

*Seasons 1-7 on each disc

Bonus Disc: **Introduction by Joss Whedon **Back to the Hellmouth: A Conversation with Creators and Cast **Breaking Barriers: It's Not a Chick Fight Thing **Love Bites: Relationships in the Buffyverse **Evil Fiends **Buffy: An Unlikely Role Model **Buffy Cast and Crew: Favorite Episodes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Save space and money by getting "The Chosen Collection" version of "BtVS" , December 10, 2005

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I have to say that my assumption here here is that by the time all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were released on DVD the vast majority of fans who were inclined to do so had gone out and bought all seven sets. So while I am sure there were a few frugal fans who were waiting for something along the lines of "The Chosen Collection," but they would be relatively few in number (something akin to being a vampire with a soul). Of course I had all of the episodes of "BtVS" (and "Angel") on video tape (even made up my own special boxes with cover art and episode synopses on the back) before I went out and bought all of the DVD sets, but I had occasion to buy "The Chosen Collection" as well.

That is because my oldest daughter is away at college and she was not allowed to take my "BtVS" DVD sets with her. I had purchased the first season for all three of my kids (two are away at college so it is not like they are all in one place) and was intending to eventually get them the other six but "The Chosen Collection" is too good of a deal to pass up and not just because of the price. This one big red and white box takes up a lot less space (a bit more than a third). That is because when you open it up inside you will find wallet-like cases for each of the seven seasons. So it seemed an appropriate gift for someone turning 21 who writes about Buffy whenever possible in her college classes.

I have covered each of the seven season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" elsewhere, so here I want to talk about the "EXCLUSIVE, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN EXTRAS" included on the 40th DVD in "The Chosen Collection" (Yes, the other 39 discs are the same produced for the individual series sets):

"Back to the Hellmouth: A Conversation with Creators and Cast" is a casual 54-minute conversation amidst candles and old books with Whedon, Marti Noxon, Doug Petrie, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Danny Strong, David Fury, Jane Espenson, Charisma Carpenter, Drew Z. Greenberg. Topics covered include first Buffy moments (for Joss it all goes back to a scene in Invisible Girl), favorite Buffy moment, and assorted behind the scenes stories, all with choice inserts from episodes (e.g., Nick in a Speedo) and piano music. Noxon does a good job of getting off topic to interesting things (e.g., Joss writing the musical during his down time), but the fact that writers talk more than actors is hardly surprising. This is the best extra, what with finding out how Fury got Giles fired ends up getting Allyson Hannigan married and all, plus how being a mid-season replacement allowed Whedon to make the first twelve episodes before their aired so that the WB was denied the opportunity to tinker with the show. There is enough new stuff here for those who do not pick up this set to make friends with someone who has to check this out at least once.

"Buffy Cast and Crew: Favorite Episodes" is short and to the point, although the choices are basically made by those listed above with a few other additions. However, if you are waiting for Sarah Michelle Gellar to weigh in on any of these featurettes you will be totally disappointed. Hannigan only popped up once, which is not enough for me and I suspect many others as well, but cast members Amber Benson and Danny Strong both speak well for the series and David Greenwalt shows up as a key talking head as well.

"Buffy: An Unlikely Role Model" begins with Joss Whedon's explicit intention of creating a role model and has the cast and crew talking about why it actually worked (personal actions are key) without getting into ivory tower explanations.

"Breaking Barriers: It's Not a Chick Fight Thing" focuses on Buffy stunt double Sophia Crawford and Stunt Coordinator Jeff Pruitt and details how she got the gig (she had good kinetics according to Joss) and what they tried to do in terms of developing Buffy's martial arts fighting style, with some of Crawford's best fights (e.g., "Anne") caught by behind the scenes cameras. So you really get to see familiar things in a new way with this one.

"Love Bites: Relationships in the Buffyverse" looks at most of the major romantic entanglements as things went from metaphorical sex to the real thing for Buffy and her friends. Vampires are always rich in veiled sexuality and the show combined that with the imperative that teenagers need to be punished for sex (see "Friday the 13th," et al.). There are a few insightful comments from a few actors and writers on this featurette.

"Evil Fiends" is a brief look at not so much the individual Big Bads but rather at the philosophy on the show of turning teenage problems into tangible monsters. Nothing really new here and it is so short it hardly seemed worth including and ends the bonus disc on a weak note.

But then I am hardly arguing that this one disc justifies picking up this set if you already have the complete "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," because it does not. I do think it is an ideal present to stop family and friends from always want to borrow your sets, although I can also see where you might decide to buy this one for yourself and let the kiddies (or whoever) take your old ones (I kept those but made sure I got to see the bonus disc, twice, before she takes it back to college). Of course, now the next generation of fans are going to want the "The Angel Collection."