Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Complete Season 3

Amazon.co.uk Review

Action-packed Season Three develops major characters and plot lines brewing over the last couple of years. The Mayor, this season's major baddie, wants to become an invincible demon by slaughtering everyone at Sunnydale High's graduation ceremony but he's going to torture them all by giving his speech first. Bad-girl vampire-slayer Faith wants to get one over on Buffy and becomes even more rotten. Angel comes back from hell but isn't sure what to do about his girlfriend. Willow meets her evil gay vampire duplicate from another dimension. Xander loses his virginity but still has to contemplate his essential uselessness. Cordelia gets less whiny and has to work in a dress-shop when her father becomes bankrupt. Giles wears tweed and drinks tea, though it is revealed that he used to be a warlock and in a punk band. Besides the soap opera, there are monsters, curses and vampires (inevitably). --Kim Newman

On the DVD: The DVDs are presented in a standard television 4:3 picture ratio and in a clear Dolby sound that does full justice both to the sparkling dialogue and to the always impressive indie-rock and orchestral scores. Special features include an overview of Season Three by its creator Joss Whedon, and by writers Marti Noxon, David Fury, Doug Petrie and Jane Espenson and documentaries on the weapons, clothes special effects of the show and the speech/verbal tone which makes it what it is-"Buffyspeak". The episodes "Helpless", "Bad Girls", "Consequences" and "Earshot" have commentaries by, Fury, Petrie, director James Gershman and Espenson, in which we find out some fascinating details about the way the scripts mutate and about the particular illuminations added to scripts by actors' performances. After complaints about the Season 2 DVD packaging, the disc envelopes include a protective coating. --Roz Kaveney

Customer Reviews:

The Best Series of Buffy Ever!!.......2006-01-11

I was a latecomer to Buffy but having seen most of the episodes, Season 3 shines as the best. Why? They're all still in high school, Cordelia's still in it with her comic relief, there's still an element of escapism for me as an adult. It's still really funny - after this season, it goes a bit more serious; a bit darker and to places I didn't think it should go. This for me is the peak. There are seminal episodes such as The Wish - where Cordelia wishes them into an Alternate Universe where things are BAD. Doppelgangland is funny with an evil Willow doppelganger from the alternate universe of The Wish. Gingerbread is great with lots of comedy from the core Scoobies. My other favourites are Band Candy ( Ethan Rayne, cursed chocolate reducing adults to teens...enter Giles and Joyce) and Earshot (almost a follow up to Band Candy with the confirmation of what happened between Giles and Joyce) and Graduation...another belting season finale.
Enjoy the light hearted fun in this season; enjoy Snyder's sarcasm, enjoy the comedy. Enjoy Cordelia's one liners!! Also, enjoy Giles getting cooler with the arrival of Wesley. Giles gets some great scenes - notably in Revelations and Bad Girls as well as the classic Band Candy and The Wish.

Best Season of Buffy.......2004-10-27

BUFFY SEASON 3 is an excellent season.
This was the season that made me become a fan of buffy because it was so good.
From the first episode to the last kept my pulse raising high.
the DVD extra's are good to they give you an insight into Season 3.

Buffy season 3 is brilliant.......2004-06-11

in season 3 we some awesome action in buffy. There is a wide range of episodes and in my opinion The Wish and The Prom are the best episodes and the final episode is also great.
The graphics in the final episode are very good. Overal in my opinion season 3 is one of the more exciting seasons and the mayor is one of Buffy's better enemies.
The thought of the new slayer being a enemy was great, at first Buffy and Faith get on and do some flirting but it does go wrong and the final 2 episodes finish of the season with a bang.
Buffy's final year in high is great and is a must have for any one fan or not.

Buffy's changing...for the better?.......2004-06-11

Season three is certainly not the strongest Buffy offering, and too many faults prevent it from ever reaching the five star mark. So I'll begin with the bad. The Buffy/Angel love story is terribly meandering, and it soon becomes clear that he really did have to leave at the end of the season. As other reviewers have noted, season three does begin to exhibit signs of the dreadful melodrama that marred seasons five and six. Some of the episodes here are absolutely dreadful, with plotlines so shaky they have trouble sustaining the many sub-plots. The worst episodes are undoubtedly "Choices" and "The Prom", although the latter does admittedly feature a beautiful wedding scene, with direction to rival a well-made feature film. "Choices" however, is so devoid of any narrative logic, it is painful to watch (for example, why doesn't Willow escape her captors rather than stay and read a book, when they can already stop the Mayor's plans!) and it becomes obvious that it was filler designed to try and flesh out the rather ambiguous story-arc.

On the story-arc itself, the Mayor is an immortal being who wishes to turn into a ginat snake demon. We are given absoultely no backstory as to why he wishes to do this, and his motives are never clear. The main reason Angelus was such a convincing villian was because we knew him and cared about him. That aside, the Mayor is a joy to watch, with his sinsiter jolly persona. His scenes with Faith, played by the excellent Eliza Dushku, cannot be faulted, as there is such good chemistry between the two. The father-daughter relationship is strangely touching, as these two characters do really care for each other. Faith's gradual descent into darkness is captivating and she is a wonderful character creation. Both the Mayor and Faith manage to steal every scene they are in

When season three of Buffy gets is right, it manages to get it very right. The best episodes are the standalone episodes, with "Band Candy", "The Wish", "Gingerbread" and "Doppelgangland" rising high above the rest. "Gingerbread" is one of the best structured episodes this season, with a clear narrative, and shocking themes undercut with dark humour. The episodes gradual descent into despair is very well played, and the fire scene towards the end is excellent. "Band Candy" is very similar in style, and showcases new story-editor Jane Espenson (who co-wrote the former) as a very talented writer. Most of the other Buffy episodes make very enjoyable viewing and above average television.

Finally, characters that do not normally get a proper look in such as Xander and Willow get their own episodes with "The Zeppo" and the aforementioned "Doppelgangland" (the return of vamp Willow!!!) "The Zeppo" marks a refreshing departure from the usual format of the show, as we get to see a day in the life of Xander, with the apocalyptic storyline becoming a mere backdrop to the episode, working to occupy the other characters. Giles is also given a lot more to do, after being fired as Buffy's watcher in "Helpless". Throughout the season we also get to see more of Buffy's mum Joyce, an extremely likeable character, and the introduction of the hilarious Anya, and new watcher Wesley. We also see the return of Jenny Calendar in the spooky Christmas episode "Amends", and a heartbroken Spike in "Lovers Walk". Whilst the above are given increased screen time, this is to the detriment of Cordelia, who barely features in the latter half of the season, which is a shame after her increased exposure in season two and the first half of season three.

It is remarkable that so much is achieved this season, considering the tiny production budget. The direction is largely flawless, the acting excellent (new characters are very well cast), the sets amazing (see the hell factory in "Anne", and the special effects commendable. Although the CGI mosters do not work all that well, the special effects team have perfected vampire dusting effects and 'morphing'. Also, the destruction of the High School is very well done, and the final battle very well shot.

On the DVD boxset itself, the special features are interesting, but slightly disappointing as they are so short. More audio commentaries woudld have also been nice. The packaging is the same as season two, and the presentation excellent. The disk menu is very well designed, and this time we do not have to endure endless CGI, which is a hige bonus in my book.

All in all a worthwhile purchase whether you are a diehard Buffy fan or not.

Best Buffy Season Ever!.......2003-10-03

This season just kicked ass! I'd pick it for someone just beginning Slayerfast just as easily as a dond rememberance how out of all 7 seasons this was the best - even if season 2 was much bigger on the epic love-hate-love relationship.
But come on? Buffy/Anne in LA? Faith appearing on the scene? Angel back from hell (never was DB more handsome)? The Mayor - greatest villain of all times? Yay!
And for me Graduation day (1&2) rival Becoming (1&2) as the most fabulous moments of 3rd season's BtVS episod!
ersonal favourite episodes(no spoilers): Anne, Faith, Hope & Trick, Beauty and The Beasts, Lover's Walk, The Prom, Graduation 1&2

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