Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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73 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Turning Point Episode and a Must-Have for True Fans!, December 11, 1999
By A Customer
Built up in the previous seasons, Buffy and Angel's relationship comes to a climax on her seventeenth birthday. However, their brief moments of happiness cost Angel his soul and Buffy immense heartbreak when she realizes she must kill her lover. An amazing two-part episode, definitely one of the best of the series.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buffy & Angel Chronicles Vol 1, September 4, 2000
I was so happy when my Buffy and Angel Gift Pack arrived- three cassettes! Since I'd only read BTVS books and none of the episodes (no cable), my expectations for these 6 episodes were quite high. Now, all I have to say is: It was everything I hoped it would be and more.The first cassette contains Episodes `Surprise' and `Innocence', and is coloured in red shades. In Surprise, it's Buffy's 17th birthday, and her friends are planning a surprise party. Buffy's feeling far from festive. Her feelings for Angel have become too hot to handle, and her sleep is disturbed by nightmares of his death. In those dreams, Drusilla and Spike are planning a party of their own. When Buffy learns they're assembling the body of a demon called the judge, she and Angel must crash that party to stop the destruction of humanity. In Innocence, the evil Angelus is back. After one moment of true happiness with Buffy, Angel's curse is broken and he is once again the demonic Angelus. It's now like the old times with Spike and Dru, who have assembled The Judge and plan to destroy the world. But Angelus has his own agenda: to torture Buffy, who had once made him feel human. Meanwhile, Xander comes up with a plan to destroy The Judge, though it' written that `no weapon forged' can stop the demon. BTVS Vol. 1 is a great introduction to the B & A Chronicles with an interview with Joss Wendon, the creator at the end of the two episodes. There are sub plots as well, including Xander and Cordelia, and Willow and Oz, as well as the true identity of Jenny Calendar as Yanna from a gypsy tribe. I still think it's better to get the Gift Pack than the individual tapes because the experience won't be the same. You're worth it so don't cut yourself short.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buffy gets her birthday wish and then things get really bad, October 14, 2000
The Angelus story arc from the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that is captured so perfectly in the three volumes of The Buffy & Angels Chronicles begins with the double punch of "Surprise" and "Innocence" and the transformation of Angel into Angelus after his Faustian moment of true happiness. Angel's final tragic confrontation with Buffy in "Becoming, Part 2" had been a long time coming, set up by Josh Whedon the first time the starcrossed lovers met, and confirming once and for all that Buffy is one of the best series on television."Surprise," written by Marti Noxon and directed by Michael Lange, is the calm before the storm. On her seventeenth birthday Buffy has been having prophetic dreams again (never a good sign). The Scooby gang learns that Spike and Drusilla are trying to reassemble the Judge, who was dismembered long ago because he cannot be killed "by any weapon forged." We learn that Jenny Calendar is really Janna, a member of the Romany gypsies that cursed Angel and restored his soul. Warned by her uncle that Angel is becoming too happy, Jenny gets Angel to agree to take the arm of the Judge on a long ocean voyage. But when vampires recapture the arm and complete the Judge, Angel and Buffy spend the night together. The episode, in which Angel finally tells Buffy that he loves her, ends with only a hint of what has happened, a subtle change in Angel as Buffy lies sleeping. (Note: There was a scene cut from this episode in which Jenny and Giles talk have a very serious talk about Buffy that you can find in the first volume of "The Watcher's Guide.") In "Innocence," written and directed by series creator Josh Whedon, Angel has lost his soul and Angelus is back big time, joining Spike and Drusilla in their effort to destroy the world with the Judge. At first Angel just blows off Buffy, but after he attacks Willow and the Slayer forces the truth from Jenny, the truth is out and everybody has to start dealing with the consequences. Angelus decides he is going to torture Buffy the way he did Drusilla before he turned her. Buffy is not the only one with love life complications, as Willow catches Xander and Cordelia kissing and Oz rejects her offer to make out. However, the immediate concern is the Judge, and Buffy gets around the "no weapon forged" rule by adding a missle launcher to her arsenal. Getting a chance to take down Angelus at the end, she makes her point with the toe of her boot rather than a stake. She might regret that decision. (Note: The Judge is played by Brian Thompson, who played the Master's right-hand vamp Luke in the pilot episodes). The Angelus story arc concludes brilliantly in the two-parter "Becoming" seasone finale. The nice thing about The Buffy & Angle Chronicles is that of the six episodes inbetween these bookend two-parters, they choose the two best--"Passion" and "I Only Have Eyes For You"--for inclusion in Volume 2. Together, the episodes on these tapes represent the heart of soul of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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