And I look at as missing out on 20+ hours of entertainment because of a missing clip that can't be more than a minute long.

So to me, it isn't really that big of a deal. But that is just my opinion.

Favorite season of any drama, and you're not buying it cuz it lacks a one-to-three minute prologue summing up stuff you ALREADY KNOW?! Uh, yeah. The meat is there, man. Just forget about the lettuce on this one.

K

I actually prefer the episodes without the "previously on"'s. I bought the R4 seasons 4-6, and having never watched them before, didn't like knowing exactly what they were going to be dealing with in each episode. Since I was watching them for the first time, and didn't have to wait a week (or more) between each one, I didn't need my memory to be refreshed with what was said three episodes ago. I am VERY glad that I got to see the "previously on" from "The Gift", though. Best lead-in ever!

Season 5 is my second favorite season after season 2 and i will be getting the dvd for my birthday which is this month on the 17th(yeah gonna be tough waiting the extra week i know ) .

JW can NOT be behind this decision. I wonder if he even knows, or cares.

I agree. I consider the other 4 discs I own the "previously on" segment. It just takes me a while to get through it...

DVD Talk's review is up -- http://dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=8523

Good review but I didn't read all of it. I'm afraid of spoilers.

I never watched the show on the air so I'm watching it as it's released on DVD. I already know a few things that I shouldn't but I try to keep it minimal.

Heck....I almost had to throw my friend's girlfriend out last night because she started yapping about the show and saying what happens to each character. My friend luckily spoke up and told her to keep quiet. He could tell I was getting very irritated.

Buffy Season 5

This season has quite a few surprises that really lose a lot if you have any inkling as to what's going to happen. I was ravenous for spoilers when that season debuted, and I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more if I'd gone in blind. I tried to be as un-spoilery as I could in the review, but I'd recommend skipping down to just the technical aspects if you want to go in knowing as little as possible.

Oh.....I scanned your review as soon as it went up and skipped most of it so as not to see anything I shouldn't. It is still a great review and made it the wait for this one even worse than it already was.

I too have never watched it on the air and am just watching it on DVD. I really have enjoyed watching the series in order. I go out of my way to avoid spoilers. in fact, I can honestly say I have no idea what is going to happen. I hope Willow and Zander get together... (sigh) anyway, Can't wait for Season 5!!

I have a question for you Buffy experts....

When Season 4 came out I watched Angel Season 1 at the same time switching back and forth between Buffy and Angel so the crossovers would work.

Do I need to do the same thing with Buffy 5 and Angel 2, or do the shows not crossover anymore? I bought Angel 2 at a second hand shop for $25 last month, (mint condition!!) but haven't watched it yet.

Not really. The closest connection is "Fool for Love" on Buffy and "Darla" on Angel, which aren't crossovers in the "story starts on this series and ends on this other one" sense. They tell a connected story from different perspectives, but they're entirely self-contained. I also wouldn't recommend watching the last few minutes of the Angel finale until you've watched Buffy's "The Gift".

There are two points in which the series cross over.

The first is in the episodes "Fool For Love" from BTVS and "Darla" from ATS. These aren't really crossovers in the traditional sense, but thematically linked episodes. Shouldn't really matter which order they're watched in.

The second is in the final scene of the final episode of "Angel" S5. Conventional wisdom has it that one should see the BTVS S5 finale first, but the scene in question just lets you know that something happened on BTVS, not what it was. The incident in question is pretty common knowledge, anyway.