The opinion shared by many a fan of Joss Whedon’s “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” TV show is that the program – while still miles ahead of standard broadcast fare – hit its peak in episode two.
Oh sure, there have been memorable episodes scattered throughout the show’s six seasons, including “Hush” from season four and the recent musical episode, a critic’s darling. I’m even quite fond of season three, which introduced Buffy’s perfect foil in Faith (Eliza Dushku) as well as the most original villain, the wickedly immature Mayor of Sunnydale. Still, it was with season two that Whedon and company – including Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris) and Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles) – really found its legs and realized how powerful the series could be when it stretched compelling storylines over an arc of shows.Of course, you’ll want to own Fox’ new “Buffy: Season 2” for the final two episodes, “Becoming Parts 1 & II.” Non-fans and newcomers, stop reading, or you’ll learn about Buffy’s true love, Angel (David Boreanaz), losing his soul and regaining it, just in time to meet a tragic death. Once Sarah McLachlan’s “Full of Grace” rises up in the background, I’m a basket case. But for all the good (“Ted” features a great John Ritter cameo, and “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” might be the series’ funniest installment), there are also a few throwaways in this bunch (if I never see “Bad Eggs,” “Go Fish” or “Reptile Boy” again, it will be none too soon).Grade: A-THE EXTRASThis 6-DVD box set from Fox contains almost 1000 minutes of extras for “Buffy” fans to sink their teeth into. Whedon (thankfully) participates a great deal, and it’s always nice to gain insight from the brilliant brain behind this creative series. Interviews with the show’s founder start appearing on disc 4, 5 & 6, and they replace audio commentaries by co-writer Marti Noxon (a regular) and writer/director David Greenwalt. Scripts for actual episodes are also included in the set for “Innocence,” “”Reptile Boy” and “What’s My Line Parts 1 & 2.” The bulk of the extra programming turns up on Disc 6, though, where fans can find production featurettes on “”Designing Buffy;”” a “”Beauty and Beasts”” piece; 2 UK TV spots; 6 domestic TV spots; video trailers for future episodes such as “”Spectacular,”” “”Sensation””, “”The Warrior,”” “”Ultimate Scare,”” “”Deadly Trap,”” “”Big Bad John,”” “”Angel”” video trailer; the official season 2 “”Buffy”” DVD trailer; and a still gallery of set designs and monsters, updated cast bios and additional still photo galleries.Grade: AOVERALL EXPERIENCE: AAfter lackluster seasons on the WB and a network switch to UPN, “Buffy” appears to have lost a slice of its rabid fan base. This collection reminds us why we once altered our schedule on Tuesday nights for some of the finest TV around.By Sean O’ConnellJune 11, 2002