Thursday 1 April 2004, by Michelle : Just one little thing. Seth Green did audio commentary for the Season 4 or 5 DVD. I can’t remember which.Thursday 1 April 2004, by Michael Mackenzie : That’s true. It was, however, added to the US release which came out a couple of years after the European releases. I only own the UK set of Season 4, so it slipped my mind when I was writing it.Thursday 1 April 2004, by AlexG : great dvd, you guys will enjoy it when it comes on the 5thThursday 1 April 2004, by Ron H : "Almost universal" that Season Seven sucked? I’m sorry, Michael McKenzie, but despite what you say there ARE a ton of people who did like season seven. It seems that everywhere I go on-line, there are people who deride the last two seasons of the show, saying it had a huge drop in quality, etc, etc. People who liked Season Seven wouldn’t dare say it’s "almost universally" accepted that season seven was terrific; I wonder why fans who DIDN’T like it are constantly mentioning how many of them there are, and how everyone else is in the minority. Next time you do a review for a DVD boxed set, perhaps you could focus a little more on what the collection includes, and a little less on how you personally think "everyone" (your personal circle?) felt about the direction of the series. Saturday 3 April 2004, by zack : What a horrible review! I hate when people speak for the fans and say people didn’t like season 7 (or 6 for that matter). Well guess what? There are people who don’t like season 1-5 also. There are also people who don’t like Buffy at all. As a fan, Season 7 is one of my favorites and I think it was the perfect way to end the series. It had everything I wanted in a show comedy, drama, mystery, character development, and a big bloody war to end it with. I loved it.Saturday 3 April 2004, by Thurisaz : So sorry, but when I read this review one nagging thing came to mind that I thought I would address. The fact that the reviewer thinks that Spike having a soul didn’t change him and therefore was pointless. Well, Spike didn’t change, and if he had, it would have been inconistent with his character. Angel and Spike are different characters (I’m assuming, of course, this is from where the belief stems). As Liam, he (now Angel) focused on the pleasures of life, which translated to being a cruel killer as Angelus. Then when he got a soul, he saw this pain through a conscious. William, on the other hand, was always about the women in his life: his mother, Cecily (for whom he wrote poetry), Drusilla (for whom he became the Big Bad), and finally Buffy (which was his reason behind every noble thing he’d done, including shutting down the Hellmouth). His soul did serve a purpose (no idea where this "evil can’t be changed" theme was pulled) as a plot device to tie in with the amulet because Angel was planning on wearing it. This all ties in with the First and why It wanted Spike and Angel dead. Angel is who he is because his soul magnified his passions while Spike’s is a by-product of his love. See and understand the difference. The one thing I will agree with in the review was the thoughts on Kennedy. What a useless character! Sunday 4 April 2004, by Slayer : By referring to the First as a pathetic villain, you are missing the point. The First not being able to touch anyone is absolute genius. It represents the inner battles Buffy has faced within herself since she was called as Slayer. Season 7 is an extremely strong season and offers complete resolution of the series. Anyone who suggests otherwise hasn’t got a clue and obviously only likes the gloss on Buffy.Monday 5 April 2004, by Slayer : "Boredom and a villain with no real power"?? You really can’t appreciate the First at all can you??? Sure, you say that it was "initially" a good idea. I think it could possibly be my favourite season - I’m torn between it and season 3, having a Rogue Slayer was inspired. The First was by no means boring. Like I said, it not being able to touch anything - AND it could choose who could see it at any one time - is highly representative of inner battles. Making people doubt themselves. My only nagging point is this - I wish that it had appeared previous big bad’s (Glory, the Master etc) form more than just at the end of episode 1. As for people slagging off the potential slayers - I think that was a great idea too. Sure, some of them were annoying. But so was Buffy before she was called and accepted her destiny. Season 7 was spectacular, and was the fantastic send off that my favourite TV show deserved. Wednesday 7 April 2004, by Anonymous : I am so tired of people slagging off season seven which I really loved. From where I stand opinion was divided on season seven some loved it, some hated it. I am going to address the concerns in this article one by one: Lack of Xander - best summed up by Nicholas Brendan himself or more accurately his Mrs - he may not have said a lot but when he did come into the foreground it was really important and what he did say and what happened to him was very powerful. Unchanged Spikey - not true. A lot of people said this but they miss stubtlies. He went through a number of changes before seeming to revert to the same person he was before BUT he wasn’t. If he had been then Principal Wood would not have survived his vengence gig. A lot of Spike’s persona is a bit of front and he had to get tough to fight big evil. People think that just because he doesn’t do the permanant brood like Angel he hasn’t changed but Angel was turned from souless to ensouled and spent the first 100 years as one in a void. Spike sort of evolved into an ensouled vampire and spent the first nine months as one in a war zone. There is also a fair amount of front to the Spike persona who will not allow people to see how much things affect him and this cloaks what most people see. You mis-understand the character sir and the message is the opposite of what you believe. Sometimes even the seemingly irredemable can be redeamed you see. Potentials - a lot of them were a bit undeveloped and some of them downright irratating but it was a interesting idea and I think the idea of the Buffster swamped by these near-strangers whose lives she was responsible and some of the consequences of this were interesting. Kennedy - it’s a hard thing to have to fill the boots of a beloved character like Tara but I thought she was an interesting constrast to Tara. The chemistry wasn’t quite the same but it was nice to see Willow happy. I quite liked Kennedy for being positive in standing up to the fake Eve trying to depress people as the First and supporting Willow, making her believe in herself again. The First - the thing I love about season seven is that people are weakened and made strong by words enacting what they believe themselves to be. If you believe something has to strike you to damage you then you have never experienced the mind games of high school girls (I spent my school years having my life turning into hell by people’s words - the old adage of sticks and stones is rubbish) - sometimes you can take someone apart just by what you tell them. The First was frightening because it knew everyone’s weaknesses and how to play on them. It could be anywhere and be anyone who passed on - it could appear as people’s beloved’s and tell lies to them - demoralise them (willow), sew suspicion about their nearest and dearest (Dawn) and persuade them to do awful things (Andrew). It could even brainwash someone (Spike). I’d probably rather be beaten up someone then have my mind controlled. It may have worked through minions but two of it’s minions were extremely hard and Caleb was deeply unpleasant and menancing. Thursday 8 April 2004, by Slayer : Whoever wrote the description of the First there dated 7th April, commenting that it was scary because it knew everyone’s weakness - I agree, words can be far more hurtful and effective. (By the way, it’s not just high school GIRLS who get it tough - when I was a kid at high school, it was a nightmare for me too!! :D )These comments are an anwser to this article : Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7 DVD Review
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