It Was a Thought At Least

[infinitewhale]

I thought it would be a cool idea to rip the audio commentaries of the episodes for fans who only have access to the show via netflix (which doesn't have commentaries, I don't think?) but now I'm thinking it's not such a hot idea. It's been a struggle. I started it like 2 months ago and I don't think I want to listen to any more

Comments

[frelling_tralk]

Lol I remember that on Spike fan boards at least, Doug Petrie got mocked a LOT for his obsession with Marc Blucas on the commentaries (it was either for The Initiative or As You Were, I can't even remember any more?) There was always that vibe that he was originally seen by ME writers as the perfect guy for Buffy in season 4, but really the signs were there all along with the way that they were writing him, so that the switch in direction actually managed to fit pretty smoothly with the arc of his downfall in season 5

And yeah I always thought it was a bit rich when Joss started praising Alyson during Amber's song and dance in OMWF for having the harder job to do in having to react to the person singing and dancing. But then I've never understood who Alyson was the only cast member who got out of doing any extra work for that episode. Fair enough that she really can't sing, but I've always wondered why her lack of dancing never gets mentioned? It was discussed a bit at the time that Michelle asked for a dance solo in exchange for

[infinitewhale]

Honestly, if it were just OMWF it would be one thing, but if you listen to Wild at Heart and Hush, it's pretty nonstop there, too. Everyone else gets maybe a line or two here or there in praise, but nothing as lavish. I think the only people who talk about SMG is the director who did Normal Again and Danny Strong in CWDP. So, yeah, I do actually think there's some truth to the Dark Willow rumors especially since Willow was his favorite character. I remember FPJ making a comment about how Sarah (and others) weren't appreciated much on the show during S7. Fans didn't like it but going by the commentaries, there might have been a lot of truth in it.

[spikesjojo]

My understanding is that Joss is best buds with Alexis and AH. Since the commentaries came after the shows, I wonder if that's part of the attraction. People do tend to retrofit memories.

So what did they have to say about season 6? Isn't that when the big Buffy vs Joss got started? Or maybe Joss just was on a rampage against leading females - he certainly did a number on Charisma the same year he stopped appreciating SMG.

[infinitewhale]

The only commentary that was after the show was S7, IIRC. I think 1-3 were done during S6 and 4-6 during 7. They mention stuff from S6 in S4.

I don't think there was really any big thing between any of them. It's just you were part of Joss's Shakespeare club or you weren't. Aly and he were friends, so it's understandable, I guess. Kinda unprofessional if you ask me. That's my beef with the BTVS commentaries in general, though. Like they make fun of the actress in Wild at Heart and some of the makeup work in Bargaining. You were exec. producers, guys. If something wasn't right, it's your job to say something. Dont' make fun of someone else's work years later.

[papricasantiago]

"everyone licking the screen when Aly is on is annoying"

Are...are you, like, jealous or something? :o I've never seen anybody fret over something like that. You've perplexed me! :)

[shapinglight]

I stopped listening to the episode commentaries after the one for Hell'S Bells in season 6. It was so boring. I learned nothing from it. Forty minutes of my life I'll never get back.

To this day, I've never listened to the season 7 ones.

[infinitewhale]

Yeah, Hells Bells was definitely a snoozefest. So is Grave. And Normal Again. OMWF is about the only good one. You'd think Bargaining would be good, but it's basically just Marti and Fury doing rifftracks and mocking things. Pissed me off, to be honest. I'm not here for TWOP commentary, guys! As I said, I find it terribly unprofessional to go back and make fun of things you OK'd before. Just feeds the notion that Joss and Co. ran a very passive-aggressive set.

Even on the AtS commentaries, it's typically the actors who give things a shot in the arm. I do hope they'll put new ones on the BRDVDs if they release them. Of course since Joss hates them, probably no one will do any.

[frelling_tralk]

I'm *hoping* for a LOT of new stuff if they ever do release Bts on blu-ray (I'm also hoping there might be an announcement of that next year for the 20th anniversary!), but honestly I doubt that we'll get much :( The X-Files basically just bundled the existing dvd features together, and so I'm expecting Bts to do pretty much the same, it's hard to get everyone back together for in-depth retrospectives years after the show has finished. They could possibly include the Paley reunion from a few years ago at least though, that would be a nice extra, and maybe more deleted footage and outtakes? The alternative ending to Smashed for one, they could probably get a lot of the casual fans more eager to buy them if they emphasised them containing 'never-before released footage"

[infinitewhale]

I think they'll be slapped together as well. The only way I'm going to buy it is if it has the 4:3 option. I don't care about Joss's vision or any of that crap, I just don't want it cropped off the top and bottom to make it wide.

I can't imagine they'll include deleted scenes. :-/ This is all assuming they'll even put it out on BR. Given the bad reviews, they might not see it as worth it.

[morgana]

Not going to be on AIM until Thursday but damn. :| I'm in Whaleland right now. Missing some of the storm action because of it, though it looks like it's going to be windy as hell going back to LI next week.