Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37996 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen, Box set
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6

Amazon.co.uk Review
The fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about illusions and the truth that they often reveal; suddenly Buffy has a younger sister, has always had a younger sister. Michelle Trachtenberg as the moody, gawky Dawn achieves the considerable triumph of walking into an established stock company of well-known characters--Xander, Willow, Giles and so on--with the perfect assurance of a long-term member of the cast. Of course, nothing is as it seems; even Glory, the mad brain-sucking beauty in a red dress who is the villain of the year, turns out to be even more than she seems. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy manages to convey heartbreak, self-involvement and real heroism as her relationship with her emotionally dense soldier boyfriend Riley hits the shoals and the blonde vampire Spike starts to show an altogether inappropriate interest.

This season is also about the hard truth that there are some enemies it is impossible to fight. Even being around Buffy and Dawn is dangerous for their friends, as Glory and her minions proceed by a process of elimination. The eventual confrontation, when it comes, is genuinely shocking. Meanwhile, the vampire Spike's obsessed desire for Buffy takes them both to some very strange places and Willow and Tara have their love tested in the most gruelling of ways. And in the quietly upsetting episode "The Body", the cast produce their most impressive performances yet as they have to deal with another enemy they cannot fight. --Roz Kaveney

DVD Description
Contains all the episodes from Season 5:

• Buffy vs. Dracula
  
• Real Me
  
• The Replacement
  
• Out Of My Mind
  
• No Place Like Home
  
• Family
  
• Fool For Love
  
• Shadow
  
• Listening To Fear
  
• Into The Woods
  
• Triangle
  
• Checkpoint
  
• Blood Ties
  
• Crush
  
• I Was Made To Love You
  
• The Body
  
• Forever
  
• Intervention
  
• Tough Love
  
• Spiral
  
• The Weight Of The World
  
• The Gift

Special Features
Disc One:

• Script for 'The Replacement'
  
• Commentary for 'Real Me' by writer David Fury and director David Grossman

Disc Two:

• Script and commentary for 'Fool For Love' by Doug Petrie

Disc Three:

• Script for 'Into The Woods'
  
• Featurettes:
  Buffy Abroad
  Demonology - A Slayer's Guide
  Casting Buffy
  The Stunts Of Buffy
  
• 6 trailers

Disc Four:

• Script for 'Checkpoint'
  
• Commentary for 'I Was Made To Love You' by Jane Espenson

Disc Five:

• Commentary for 'The Body' by Joss Whedon

Disc Six:

• Featurettes:
  The Story Of Season 5
  Natural Causes
  Spotlight On Dawn
  
• Stills gallery

DVD Technical Information:

• Region Code: 2
  
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen
  
• Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
  
• Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Customer Reviews

Probably the best series yet
Series 5 of 'Buffy' is probably the best yet, remaining consistent in its unique blend of drama, comedy, horror and tragedy. The series sees the arrival of Buffy's sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg - Harriet The Spy), who apparently has always been there. There's also the new Big Bad, Glory, a seemingly unstoppable foe. It's impossible to know where to start with such a constantly innovative show, although it's fair to say that once started it's easy to run on because there is just so much here that's worthy of note.

The pilot, 'Buffy Vs. Dracula', side-steps potential corniness to put a post-modern spin on the tale. Indeed, for anyone who's read the book it's a real treat to see Buffy and her gang adopt personas from the book and witness an absolutely hilarious ending as well as get a few allusion to what is to come. Other episodes worth pinpointing are 'Fool For Love', an outstanding episode that deserves kudos for its technical innovation as we get to see how Spike killed two Slayers in the past. As usual though the Joss Whedon penned episodes are the best, with 'Family' moving forward leaps and bounds in its gentle depiction of a normal lesbian relationship in Willow and Tara. However, it's 'The Body' that is perhaps not only one of the best 'Buffy' episodes yet but one of the best moments in the whole of television history. Set over one day we get to see, in four scenes only, the gang's reaction to the horrific death of someone close to them. Quite simply, it is the best study of grief that I have ever witnessed, either on the small screen or in the cinemas. Whilst Buffy is too shocked to say anything, Dawn breaks down, Willow becomes paranoid about how she should be acting and Anya achieves a glimpse at mortality that terrifies her. Any other show would be tempted to have a sentimental episode filled with tears and heartache but Whedon manages to get you crying from single lines - in particular Willow's yearning 'Can't I just be a grown-up'? Never has television been so painful, so gripping and so outstanding. There's also an impressive use of the long-shot and a complete lack of any score that adds to the poignancy and realism of the episode. Whedon also wrote the season finale, 'The Gift', which offers a fantastically mounted confrontation between Buffy and Glory as well as a conclusion that's shocking and heartbreaking.

Of course, it would be wrong to talk of 'Buffy' and not mention the performances. Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance in the title role constantly speaks actress of a generation, especially in the episode 'Forever'. The show always gives each actor a chance to shine though. Nicholas Brendon shows amazing versatility in 'The Replacement', where he gets to play both his good self and his useless self. Alyson Hannigan puts in her best performance yet in 'The Body', Clare Kramer puts in a wonderfully over-the-top performance as Glory and Michelle Trachtenberg shows amazing maturity in her performance in 'Blood Ties', an episode that has more than a passing reference to adoption. It's commendable that any actress could fit so well into an already well-established cast.

The only real thing to say is that this is a show that has matured along with its characters and audience. It started off excellently, something original that cleverly used metaphors to represent life as a teenager. Who'd have thought that it could have sustained its excellence across what is now seven series? It remains innovative, involving and constantly interesting. If it wasn't for its title and people's bias that this is a children's show (it's not) this would be seen for what it is: a landmark in television history.

Buffy begins to mature
Yet another change in direction sees the cast of Buffy begins the maturing process both in terms of characterisation and content. Episodes like "The Body" provide the whole cast with ample opportunity to shine in their roles, while the script manages a tight balance between the heavy emotion and maintaining characterisations that could easily have spoiled the impact of the episode, while "The Gift" provides us with one of the best season finales to date.
While relationships between the characters are explored on a new level, so is the issue of Buffy's mortality. Although dealt with in previous seasons, this is the first time we really get a sense that the Slayer's life-span is a limited one, and the group as a whole can be seen as completely vulnerable. This tends to be what sets a trend of seriousness that is further explored in the following season.
As always there are the odd disappointing episodes (none as dire, however, as "Beer Bad" and "Superstar" in Season 4), but the season still keeps up the pace with its fine mix of humour and horror. The wonderful thing about this programme is the constant back-referencing, leaving you feeling that, after consuming a season or two, you have watched one long film. Season 5 succeeds in adding to this experience admirably. A must for all Buffy fans - you won't be disappointed

Best Buffy Ever
After the mediocrity of Season 4, Buffy returned to its classic brilliance with season 5. While adopting a much darker tone and focussing much more on drama this time round, the Season is incredibly strong. The ambitious main storyline is successful due to the great writing and acting (special shout to newcomer Michelle Tractenberg whose talent belies her youth).
Instead of being about teen problems, this Season starts to see the Scoobies as grown ups (after all, they're in their 20s now). Sarah Michelle Gellar is as stunning as ever, effortlessly portraying the entire range of human emotions. (She suffers a lot this Season). Alyson Hannigan is still excellent as Willow and Nick Brendon and Tony Head get much more on-screen time - great for Xander and Giles fans. Also pleasing are some good character developments for newcomer Tara (Amber Benson) and the loss of the show's dullest character fairly early on.
While there are a few poor episodes (Buffy Vs. Dracula, Triangle, Crush), the gems outweigh them. No Place Like Home, Fool For Love, The Body, Intervention, Tough Love and The Gift are all masterpieces in their own right. If you're a Buffy fan, you NEED this. Buy it and remind yourself why Buffy leaves every other TV show in its dust.