Customer Reviews

The Guild: Seasons 1 & 2

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cyd Serman (Felicia Day) is an online gamer, who goes by the name Codex. Her own therapist has dumped her, telling her she spends way too much time online. But when an online friend shows up at her door, mistaking cyber flirting for the real thing, Codex decides to enlist the help of the Guild. And gets them to all meet in the real world.

Felicia Day created and stars in this comedy series created for the internet. Each short webisode begins with Codex talking to the camera, as her video blog, then transitioning to her experiences with her Guild friends and the real world. Hilarity ensues. Codex and her geeky Guild spend so much time in their online game, that interactions in the real world are often skewed. Besides the clever dialog, the casting was perfect for each character. Felicia's Codex is sweet and completely loveable. Sandeep Parikh plays Zaboo, the young man who shows up at Codex's house and mistakenly believes that he has a real relationship with her. Vincent Caso is Bladezz, a young teen who hits on all of the female Guildmembers. Jeff Lewis plays Vork, the Guild leader who takes his job way too seriously. Robin Thorsen is Clara, an extremely irresponsible stay-at-home mom. And Amy Okuda plays Tink, a spoiled girl who would rather not interact with the rest of the Guild, unless she happens to find it amusing.

"The Guild" is a fast and funny web series that is enjoyable for more than just gamers. Anyone who spends a little too much time online will be able to relate in some ways, and enjoy the wacky and sometimes self-deprecating humor throughout. The DVD set offers up great special features as well, such as several gag reels for both seasons. Fans have the option of watching the seasons online still, but the DVD offers exclusive bonus materials. I had never been a fan of web series, besides "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." But I'm now hooked on "The Guild."

DVD Bonus Materials Include:
- Special Insert: Gaming Glossary and Note from Felicia Day
- Cast and Crew Interviews
- Audition Footage
- Gag Reels
- Audio Commentaries
- Table Read
- Script PDF Files
- Play All Feature

How to describe The Guild...The Guild primarily follows the lives (in and out of game) of 6 mmo players. Although the premise of the story is set around the mmo and the guild known as "The Knights of Good" who stand for all things...good, what it really comes down to is the relationships and the inner workings of the group dynamic. What makes it great is you don't have to be that familiar with mmos in order to understand what is going on, although some things are a little easier if you are.

The Guild stars Felicia Day(Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Epitaph One - Dollhouse, ect.)who plays Codex, the core/heart of the guild , Sandeep Parikh (Legend of Neil)aka Zaboo, the most lovable stalker (cyber and literal) anyone could ever interact with/meet , Jeff Lewis (who has had numerous guest roles over the past decade)aka Vork the old guy of the group and rigid rule bound guild leader.

Also included in the cast are Robin Thorsen who plays Clara (real name Clara)the ditsy negligent mother, Amy Okuda aka Tinkerballa who is the princess/ice queen that Disney would never write a story around, and Vincent Caso, the renegade guildie who just can't stay out of trouble who goes by the name of Bladezz.

The cast and crew of The Guild makes the most of an extremely limited budget and yet it never feels like they are cutting corners where it matters most. Superb dialogue, and in season two great stunt work. This show is a testament to what can be done on the internet and has helped to pave the way for web content for years to come.

Based solely on the bonus content on the original season one and two dvd releases I can assure you that this is a bargain that you can't pass up. Buy the dvd and help to support the show, which has just begun on its 3rd season and shows many good things yet to come. If you're unsure, just go find the "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" video. If you still don't want to buy it after watching that then apparently you have no pulse and the zombies ate your brains (Shout out to Jonathan Coulton, Re: Your Brains).

Originally released as two separate DVDs, Amazon is now selling both seasons in one package for a delicious price that's hard to pass up. Like I originally wrote in my review of Season One, it's amazing that we're even able to write reviews here at Amazon for this awesome web series. Consider the first season which was funded by creator and actress Felicia Day with donations/help from the audience and consider how unlikely such a collaboration is. It's amazing that the show has become such a hit, spawning additional seasons and a more mainstream acceptance. In an ideal world, it shouldn't be surprising, since it's probably one of the funniest and heartfelt shows I've seen on either the web or TV.

Stepping back a bit, The Guild is a show about...well, an online guild of friends who live in the local area but only know each other through their online alter-egos. Cyd/Codex (Felicia Day) is struggling with what appears to be an addiction to their current MMO, dealing with a psychiatrist who "breaks up with her" and a gnome warlock who shows up at her front door, thinking they are romantically involved. As the first season continues, we're brought into this zany world of Codex's and all of the great characters who rely on stereotypes, but also represent some people gamers might know.

What works for The Guild is the fact that the characters are so vivid and played pitch perfectly by the entire cast. Yes, they verge on walking stereotypes, but the hilartiy and the love for these people (some of the kinds of people I know personally) gives the show a much needed heart. What's great is that, while a gaming geek will get the most enjoyment out of the show, I have shown this to friends who think gaming is limited to Rock Band and they, too, kept coming back, week after week, to watch it.

Season 2 begins pretty much right where Season 1 ends. Codex talks to her webcam, summarizing the events that happened after the first Season. The story that follows deals mostly with a server outage for their game, forcing the members of the Knights of Good to deal with the real world. What makes the second season so much better than the already excellent first is that, now that we've been introduced to the characters, they can be given room to grow. Much more character development is given in this season and the show allows each character to have their individual storylines and key moments, splitting screen time a bit more evenly. The witty writing and the hilarious situations that arise are still here, except I found this season even more humorous than the first.

The story climaxes with a bittersweet cliffhanger of an ending. So it's a good thing that Season Three has already started (you can view it on Xbox Live and MSN). If you haven't given The Guild a chance, this set is the best way of doing it. While I wish it were in HD, like on Xbox Live, this is a terrific package. It's hilarious, witty and a perfect celebration of MMO geek lifestyle, but it can also be appreciated by people who have no knowledge of the lifestyle. It's the rare beast that can cater to both the culture and those not in it and The Guild nails it perfectly.

Anyone who's played an MMORPG will appreciate the humor of The Guild, particularly anyone who's played or had to deal with an addict to WoW. The characters are extremely well done and the RL plot is funny. I doubt that anyone whose life hasn't been touched by such gaming communities will get the humor, though. While The Guild nails its target audience, people outside it will just be n00bs.

Slackers and fellow nerds, stand up. Or, like, whatever. Technology keeps on marchin', and now we even got web serial shows hitting it up big. Cutie-pie actress and self-avowed avid World of Warcraft gamer Felicia Day created, writes, produces, and stars in THE GUILD, a series focusing on a pretty pathetic bunch of online gamers. It's par for the course that these cats spend an unholy amount of awake time logged on to their game, "The Knights of Good," to the exclusion of pretty much everything else. But then real life barges in.

Felicia Day is "Codex" - which is the guild code name of our heroine Cyd Sherman - and Codex is a bit of a sad sack. She's just lost her job and her boyfriend. Her therapist just now broke up with her. And, responding to a knock on her door, Cyd has a face to face with her creepy but genial stalker Zaboo, who just happens to be a fellow gamer in her guild. Zaboo mistakes online flirting with Codex for honest romance, and he quickly becomes a house guest who won't leave. Thing is, Codex prefers her fellow questers where they are, online and not in the same room. However, in trying to cope with Zaboo's intrusion, she hits on the notion of having the guild members meet in person. Uh-oh.

Coming from a non-gamer's perspective, I find THE GUILD to be hugely entertaining stuff. Let's face it, most of us are at least a little bit like these hapless folks, and it's this commonality which keeps me tuning in and it's what made me snatch up this DVD. Felicia Day has mad skills. She's outstanding as the sweet, very insecure Codex, and she can't really be given enough props for juggling all the hats she has to wear to keep this show going. An accomplished violinist, Felicia even rocks the bow and strings in Season 2. The cast is comprised of no-name actors and Felicia's buds from her improv days - Jeff Lewis (the always deadpanned "Vork") and Sandeep Parikh ("Zaboo," a Hinjew) are friggin' hilarious. That the cast comes together like this and consistently produces these bits of awesome... well, it's a triumph for the underdog and the underbudgeted. Fact is, THE GUILD wouldn't have survived if the fans hadn't dropped in their donations; that's how strapped the show was. Felicia Day launches each episode with an entry from Codex's video log, which not only gives us even more of a window into her character but also cements her even further as the show's core character. Personally, I dig these v-logs because this is when Felicia comes up with her best facial expressions. She's so cute, man.

THE GUILD is a web sitcom, its recipe touching on themes of alienation, loneliness, obsessiveness, and sheer social discomfort. And, it turns out, when done right, these themes make you laugh. I'm not a gamer and so some of the gaming jargon zipped by over my head, but I still found plenty of relatable things (although, okay, I'm pretty horrified at how badly Clara neglects her kids - it's one of those "laugh as you cringe" deals). It's cute how the Guild members become each other's unlikely support system, on- and offline. Even Clara, who spends most of Season 2 crazy hammered, tries to fit in.

All 22 webisodes from Seasons 1 & 2 are here. Disc 1 has the first season webisodes and the following bonus stuff: 2 optional audio commentaries for each Season 1 webisode (one with the cast, the other with director/producer Jane Selle Morgan for episodes 1-5, producer Kim Evey, and director Greg Benson popping up from episode 6 on); cast interviews; audition footage with Vincent Caso ("Bladezz"), Robin Thorsen ("Clara"), and Amy Okuda ("Tinkerballa"); Season 1 gag reels; a Christmas Carol video; and the Season 1 script (PC downloadable as a PDF file). Word to the wise, the best bonus segments are the outtakes.

Disc 2 has Season 2, in which we get to know the Guild even better (especially Vork) as they interact with each other even more, and Codex sort of gets an outside life. There are also server shutdown woes and a betrayal from within and a cautionary tale about why you shouldn't ever leave your valuable stuff on a sofa. Also, the very hot, very tall Riley enters the picture, as well as that annoying movie stunt double. Bonus stuff on Disc 2: two commentaries, one with the cast, the other with Felicia Day, producer Kim Evey, and director Sean Becker; Meet the Cast & the Crew & the Extras; more cool gag reels; Season 2's Episode One table read as the cast munches pizza; "Twas the Night Before Xmas" (the Guild version); audition footage of Fernando Chien trying out for the role of "Wade Wei" & Michele Boyd going for the role of "Riley" (with some great ad-lib stuff with Sandeep Parikh); some fan art (meh); and the Season 2 script (PC downloadable as a .PDF file). Lastly, the DVD case comes with a warm thank you note from Felicia to the fans, a graceful finishing touch to this highly watchable labor of love.

"The Guild" made the Amazon Editors' Picks: The Top 100 DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of 2009, IMO, for a very good reason. This is a top notch comedy series -- currently, my very favorite.

The story behind the "The Guild" fascinates me, and fully demonstrates the potential of the internet for a truly creative, and dedicated team to make and distribute high quality entertainment on an amazingly modest budget (particularly early on).

At the center of this creative effort is Felicia Day, a 21st Century 'Renaissance woman', who inspired a Wired online writer to say: "the wonderful girl geeks in history, like Ada Lovelace, Marie Curie and Felicia Day." Felicia Day writes the scripts, has the lead actress role (Codex), co-produces, and promotes this series. IOW, she does it all. I find it truly remarkable what a young woman's (self-professed) 'addiction' to online gaming blossomed into, and how a series that was once supported by PayPal donations eventually picked up the support of Microsoft.

As others have mentioned, while you can watch this online for free, you will get better quality from the DvD as well as many extras, which are well worth viewing. And, you will help support a very worthy effort, IMO, one which is at the forefront of what I think is a new media revolution.

I can't wait for Season 3 to complete, and go to DvD, along with the incredible "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" music video, and the very funny Halloween special episode.

Bottom line: buy this for yourself and your friends. You don't have to play a MMOG to enjoy it; although, my guess is some who do play those games (like myself) may enjoy it even more so. :-)

--George

Late in posting my review, but others already noted plot and character details, so no need to rehash those. Let me just say that Felicia Day and her ensemble deserve every bit of notoriety that The Guild is bringing them. If you're not a gamer, you may miss an occasional bit of innuendo, but the genuine writing and spot-on acting will hook you nonetheless. And, of course, it's funny as hell.

One nice aspect of the boxed set is that you can watch both Seasons 1 and 2 in uninterrupted glory. For me, that really helped bring home the character development between the first few episodes and the second season. It's almost like watching your kids grow, without the headaches. The progression continues in the current (third) season, which I'll be snapping up as soon as it's released to disc.

As an aside, if you're not familiar with Day's bio or other work, check out her Wikipedia and/or IMDb entries. She is an extremely gifted individual -- and talented actress, of course -- as well as a smart businessperson. (In a recent talk with my son, I used her as an inspirational example of what someone can achieve when they're smart, work hard and don't give up.) Her life story would probably make a great movie in itself, and she's only around 30 years old.

I'm not as familiar with the rest of the cast, but my limited exposure to other work from Lewis and Parikh was great fun, too.

Although, as one reviewer noted, you can watch these episodes online, why would you want to? With the DVDs, you get uninterrupted viewing, extras and a picture that looks great on a big screen. The only possible improvement would be HD on the disc. Plus, you're supporting someone who's made a name for herself the hard way -- and given us belly laughs and, really, new friends in the process.

Purely awesome, all the way around!

I actually found this show awhile after it was released (I checked it out after I heard Day was doing a Dragon Age webseries) and I really enjoyed it. I find it amazing that they could find completely unknown actors and make really original and interesting characters. In my opinion, the funniest character is Vork who delivers lots of punchlines in an awesome deadpan. Personally, I've never played MMORPG's but I am a big RPG fan and I've met up with internet friends to play Rock Band together. So I was able to relate with the characters and story, though all of the people I met were pretty average, unlike the show. Here is where one of my issues stand, while the show is very successful at avoiding common gaming stereotypes, they end up adding new ones. I feel like throughout all of the series, not one normal character was introduced, and while I know they wouldn't be conducive to comedy, it does become a bit unreal. My other issue is that there aren't any even slightly overweight men on the show. Maybe I'm biased, but it's just weird when the character I identify with the most is Codex, a cute petite ginger chick (mostly because of her intelligence and slight social anxiety). In the end though, I just absolutely loved the show, and I'd be sure to share it with people I know and re-watch it a couple times.

Love the Guild! When this went on sale I jumped at the chance to buy it, and good thing I did, because a week later they sold out! If you haven't seen this webseries, it's genius, so fresh and original with a great cast and crew. None like I've seen before. Highly recommend it! You will think it's funny even if you don't play World of Warcraft! I don't and I think it's hilarious! :D

If you love 'The Guild' then you'll love this DVD. Comprising the first 2 seasons it's well worth the money spent on it.

It has so many cool special features and easter eggs to find and is an asset to any DVD collection.

If you've never heard of 'The Guild' but are a fan of Warcraft and online gaming i'd say look into this DVD, it might just be your next big belly laugh!