Buffy the Vampire Slayer- Season 8 Motion Comic Blu-ray

[Clark Kent]

I am about halfway through the Motion Comic Blu-ray now. Save your money if you are not a hardcore Buffy fan and skip it. Read the comics if you want to know what happened after season 7. They had the right idea at heart, but the budget for it puts severe handicaps on the animation and voice-acting. For someone that has watched the real show in its entirety, I think the original actors are almost irreplaceable in those roles. All the voice replacements are questionable at best.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by seregloth

Adding the Buffy movie with a motion comic (with Giselle Loren from the video games doing buffy's voice) of the movie storyline as it was written in the comic (worked more directly as a prequel to the show).

This was my biggest surprise about the motion comic. Giselle did such a great job of Buffy in the video games I got over the differences in just a few minutes of playing. A lot of the original actors worked on the games which was nice, but even the ones that weren't were pretty good (except for the awful Willow in the second game - she sounded like a seven-year old on helium).

It's really clear from the release that none of the actors were in the same room at the same time, and that many of them just were not suited to the roles. It's not the voice actors fault, but the casting director.

I can't say I love this disc, but it is watchable. I'm enough of a Buffy freak that I enjoyed it. But they could have done much, much, MUCH better.

If anything, I hope people buy it to prove there is an audience for Buffy on Blu. What's unfortunate is that even if it was possible, Joss will likely be standing in the way as he detests the widescreen versions so many of us all want. I love the man to death, he is brilliant, but personally I love the widescreen versions (I imported them from the UK). There are probably 2 or 3 instances a season where it's an issue (the notorious keyboard with the pneumatics visible that make it type by itself) but most you wouldn't see if you tried, and it could rather easily be fixed with a little post-work.

Buffy just feels so cinematic and open in widescreen - I get why Joss doesn't like it, because he just sees the empty spaces. But I really do love what it adds to the show, and it really takes the cramped-TV feeling away.

[deadhatetheliving]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

This was my biggest surprise about the motion comic. Giselle did such a great job of Buffy in the video games I got over the differences in just a few minutes of playing. A lot of the original actors worked on the games which was nice, but even the ones that weren't were pretty good (except for the awful Willow in the second game - she sounded like a seven-year old on helium).

It's really clear from the release that none of the actors were in the same room at the same time, and that many of them just were not suited to the roles. It's not the voice actors fault, but the casting director.

I can't say I love this disc, but it is watchable. I'm enough of a Buffy freak that I enjoyed it. But they could have done much, much, MUCH better.

If anything, I hope people buy it to prove there is an audience for Buffy on Blu. What's unfortunate is that even if it was possible, Joss will likely be standing in the way as he detests the widescreen versions so many of us all want. I love the man to death, he is brilliant, but personally I love the widescreen versions (I imported them from the UK). There are probably 2 or 3 instances a season where it's an issue (the notorious keyboard with the pneumatics visible that make it type by itself) but most you wouldn't see if you tried, and it could rather easily be fixed with a little post-work.

Buffy just feels so cinematic and open in widescreen - I get why Joss doesn't like it, because he just sees the empty spaces. But I really do love what it adds to the show, and it really takes the cramped-TV feeling away.

If that's what he wants that what I want. Star Trek and Twilight Zone both look great on BD. I would rather have Buffy in fullscreen on BD than not have it on BD at all. Hopefully FOX doesn't f**k it up. They've been screwing Joss for the past few years.
The motion comic was horrible will not buy.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by deadhatetheliving

If that's what he wants that what I want. Star Trek and Twilight Zone both look great on BD. I would rather have Buffy in fullscreen on BD than not have it on BD at all.

I agree I'd take full screen than not get it at all.

It's just that it's going to be difficult for the bean-counters at the studio to convince them to go to the expense of scanning them all in HD without it being widescreen as well.

In fact, it would take MORE work for them to scan Buffy in HD and then reframe it to 4:3 (referring to the non-16mm seasons, the 16mm seasons were full-frame I believe). The majority of Buffy wasn't shown full frame, it was cropped, so they'd have to scan it in HD, and then crop it down to 4:3 by inserting the black lines on top of the picture.

This is unlike Trek and Twilight Zone, which were shot/shown full-frame. The non-16mm seasons of Buffy were shot in widescreen, and then pared down for 4:3, eliminating the picture information on the sides. So a 4:3 release of these seasons would be matted, losing a large chunk of the picture they just scanned in HD.

Joss apparently can only control this in the U.S., as most other regions of Widescreen versions of seasons 4 - 7. One of two things will happen - Joss will relent (most likely if he is allowed to do some limited "touch ups" to the errors your can very occasionally see because of the wider frame), or they studio just won't bother at all.

[jebhdb]

Currently $13.49 at Amazon.

[blackshadow1981]

well i didnt ever think we would get star trek tos on blu but it came and it was amazing

i love buffy and angel and would double dip for blus of them, my angel box set is getting alittle long in the tooth anyway

also season 1 of buffy REALLY needs upgradeing because the dvd looks like crap on my tv, it gets better from season 3 on

[TylerDurden]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

I am about halfway through the Motion Comic Blu-ray now. Save your money if you are not a hardcore Buffy fan and skip it. Read the comics if you want to know what happened after season 7. They had the right idea at heart, but the budget for it puts severe handicaps on the animation and voice-acting. For someone that has watched the real show in its entirety, I think the original actors are almost irreplaceable in those roles. All the voice replacements are questionable at best.

Thanks for the tip, more money in my pocket.

[Rothwilder Blu]

Anyone heard rumblings about the second half of season 8 coming out in this format?

[Luka]

Nope. I tried to ask it to Dark Horse but the answer was negative. http://twitter.com/#!/DarkHorseComic...21255646654467

[seregloth]

Originally Posted by Luka

Nope. I tried to ask it to Dark Horse but the answer was negative. http://twitter.com/#!/DarkHorseComic...21255646654467

I'm wishing people would motion comic the Serenity titles. Their voices would have to be pretty easy to emulate. Wish I knew who to get in touch with to ask it though.