Product Details

• Actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head, James Marsters
• Writers: Joss Whedon
• Producers: James A. Contner
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: WB Television Network, The
• VHS Release Date: January 11, 2000
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000035Z1V
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,789 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Television > Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  #4 in	Video > Horror > Things That Go Bump > Vampires
  #27 in	Video > Horror > Television

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer rocked the foundations of television and redefined the one-hour action-drama genre with its bleeding-edge humor, smartly crafted teenspeak, fascinating mythology, and the most ambitious of all themes--you know, that good versus evil thing. At the show's heart is the romance between Buffy (the charming Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel (hunky David Boreanaz), the tortured vampire destined to walk the earth with a soul. These six episodes take the Buffy-Angel pas de deux from ecstasy to agony in a now-classic plot arc from the show's second season. You see, if the cursed Angel ever experiences true happiness for a moment, he'll revert to being an evil vampire again. And guess what happens after Buffy and Angel finally declare their love for one another and consummate their relationship...

Episodes "Surprise" and "Innocence" chart the events of Buffy's 17th birthday, when evil vamps Drusilla (Juliet Landau, Martin's daughter) and Spike (drolly wicked James Marsters) plan a nefarious surprise party for the slayer, and Buffy wakes up the morning after to find her beloved Angel transformed into (literally) the boyfriend from hell. "Passion" and "I Only Have Eyes for You" chronicle the evil Angel's ascent to power and the love-hate relationship that grows between him and the emotionally wracked Buffy. And the series' ostensible high point, "Becoming, Part 1" and "Part 2," finds Buffy going up against Angel as she fights to save the world from being sucked into hell. It all sounds like horror-action mayhem (and there are great ass-kicking fight scenes), but Buffy grapples with its themes of good and evil with amazing depth and intelligence, not to mention prentention-deflating humor. And oh man, the love story! Buffy and Angel's tragic relationship is one of the most heartbreaking you'll ever find. Buffy's final dilemma finds her having to save the world at Angel's expense, and Gellar (who deserves a passel of Emmys for her work) is phenomenal at telegraphing Buffy's swirling conflicts between love and duty. Fans of the series, as well as newbies to the world of Buffy, will find this outstanding video set indispensable--it's some of the best TV ever made, period. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

This three-tape gift set features the episodes "Surprise" and "Innocence" (tape 1), "Old Passion" and "I Only Have Eyes for You" (tape 2), and "Becoming, Part 1" and "Becoming, Part 2" (tape 3).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Buffy, August 21, 2000

A Kid's Review

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.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Star crossed lovers, November 27, 2000

By	Aixla (USA) - See all my reviews

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!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buffy & Angel Chronicles, January 25, 2000

By	[e-mail] (United States) - See all my reviews

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.