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 singing less, but nothing was ever said about why Alyson couldn't make any contributions to dancing either, even though other untrained dancers like Nicky were giving it their best shot. During "Life's A Show" it's noticeably Emma and Amber backing up Sarah and having to have learned and practised yet more dancing choreography, while Alyson is again just in the background watching. Alyson really seemed to have a way with Joss, it makes me wonder if there's any truth to the rumours that they stalled on dark Willow in season 6 because Alyson begged Joss not to make Willow herself evil, hence the intro of Rack and "DarkWillow"

[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.