BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Commemorates 20 Years of Slaying in a DVD Box Set

Jeri Jacquin

It has been twenty years since Buffy introduced us to a series that still brings fans to their feet. If you are ready to revisit the gang, well, 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment has put together an amazing boxed set that is going to deserve a special space in your home entertainment library with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER!

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a young girl going about her life as any other teenager would arriving in Sunnydale with her Mom Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). Except for one thing, Buffy isn’t exactly a normal teenager. In fact, she comes from a line of Vampire Slayers who battle the forces of evil. Getting her through it all is her Watcher Giles (Anthony Steward Head) and the Watchers’ Council.

Trying to start over, Buffy attends Sunnydale High and meets Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan). It doesn’t take long before The Master (Mark Metcalf) becomes a threat wanting to take over Sunnydale through the portal of Hellmouth.

Buffy and the Scooby Gang also deal with the vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) (although I find the name Spike hilarious). The young Slayer also finds love with Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire who has a curse that could put a stake right through their relationship. Devastated by the pain she thinks she has caused, Buffy leaves Sunnydale.

Not for long however as Angel needs her help but that isn’t the only thing that is about to change as Giles is replaced by the Watcher’s Council with Wesley (Alexis Denisof). Buffy isn’t happy with anything they are doing and decides to go it on her own. Of course all of this as Graduation Day approaches and the Mayor (Harry Groener) decides to become a total demon – literally – bringing about one big graduating sending off!

Buffy and Willow decide to attend college in Sunnydale but Xander decides to become a member of the working class. Buffy learns there is a military group called The Initiative below the campus and Spike’s return doesn’t last long. Giving him a little technology boost, Spike becomes one of the Scooby Gang. Buffy meets Riley Finn (Marc Blucas) and they begin dating but all the joy is put on hold when a creature named Adam (George Hertzberg) go after Buffy and The Initiative.

When a Hell God named Glory (Clare Kramer) is on the search for a special key, what comes next hits closer to home, especially when the key is Buffy’s sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). Giles returns because of Buffy’s demands to The Watcher’s Council as Spike comes to terms with his own feelings by leaving. Buffy discovers that Glory has taken Dawn and the only way to get her back is by her own life sacrifice.

But her life isn’t about to be taken without the Scooby Gang coming in to help but Buffy isn’t exactly happy about the return. The crazy continues when Xander after proposing to Anya (Emma Caulfield) is left at the altar, Dawn is lashing out, Willow is addicted to the unusual and now The Trio is trying to kill an already worn out Buffy. When Giles tries to help set everything back to order, Spike loses control and seeks out a demon who will help make him evil again. He wants to hurt Buffy in the worst way and the demon obliges!

When the Turok-Han vampire army is raised, there is a shaking up everywhere. The Watchers’ Council is demolished and Slayers begin seeking refuge with Buffy. Led by Caleb (Nathan Fillion) who is an evil preacher, the Hellmouth bursts with demons. Willow must help to bring power to the Slayers and Angel returns to help as well.

In an epic finale, all the vampires and Hellmouth begin a battle with an ending no one could see coming!

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Bonus Features include **New** Official Buffy Dark Horse Comic Book Featuring Exclusive Cover and Coloring Sheet Inside Packaging as a Gift with Purchase for a Limited Time Only, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete series Season 1-7 along with Special Features Material from Previous Seasons.

Created by Joss Whedon, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER began it’s run in 1997 on The WB. The series would continue until 2003 (and that’s quite a run folks) signing off on UPN.

That didn’t stop the Buffy-ness train from rolling strong as fans continue to celebrate all things BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. The spin off ANGEL is another series created by Joss Whedon giving the dark character time in Los Angeles as a private detective. There would also be cross over appearances because, lets be honest, you can’t keep these two apart for long.

There is also the comics of BUFFY that was taken on by Dark Horse with Whedon writing an eight-issue storyline. There are also BUFFY novels published by Pocket Books with sixty stories in all. If video games are your thing then know that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER has it’s place there as well.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER made lists that included TV Guide, Empire, The Hollywood Reporter, Time, AOL TV and Rolling Stones 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

That means that you get to celebrate Buffy and the Scooby Squad again and again with this frakken cool as hell box set from 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment. There are 39 discs containing 144 episodes and Special Features that are going to blow your mind.

The Comic Book by Dark Horse and the Original Coloring Sheet are extras that are more fun than a vampire slayer admirer should be allowed to have.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is a series that took risks and reached into the farthest parts of our imagination to thrill us each week. Gellar and the amazing cast of characters gave us action, thrills, suspense, mystery and made it all look so very seamless and easy.

Trying to be a normal teen is hard enough but when you are a slayer and evil is pretty much guaranteed to show up on your doorstep, Buffy and the gang gave us their all. This is a group of characters that fans line up to see again and again with no hesitation in their dedication to good storytelling and fantastic characters.

Now, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Commemorates 20 Years of Slaying with one of the best boxed sets I’ve ever seen. This is a marathon waiting to happen like no other and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment does it in style.

In the end – they brought slaying to a whole new level!

BONES Brings its Final Season to DVD: All Twelve Season Come in a FLESH & BONES Box Set!

Jeri Jacquin

This week is a big one for 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment with the release of BONES The Final Chapter but that’s not all. The FLESH & BONES COLLECTION is also here with all 12 seasons together for the first time ever!

In 2005, television audiences were introduced to a series that was intense and different. The story created by Hart Hanson brought the writings of Kathy Reichs to life. Reichs was a novelist and forensic anthropologist which provided a treasure trove of stories to be told.

Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist who is part of the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C. FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) discovers that Brennan, who he nicknames Bones, has the skills he needs to help investigate unidentifiable remains. These two come together to seek out the answers through science and a little humor.

Discovering that actually need one another to solve crimes that doesn’t mean that Brennan doesn’t make her feelings about it all quite clear. When boss Dr. Daniel Goodman assigns her from season one, this leads to 12 seasons of the most fascinating stories on television.

The finale of season one was emotional when Booth looks into the disappearance of Temperance’s parents and a reuniting with her brother Russ but a strange message left by father Max is the cliffhanger. That is only season one as the intensity grows well into the final season.

Immediately the season takes off with a bang when Zack kidnaps Bones but it doesn’t last as Booth has come to understand his ways. Being blamed for a series of murders, Zack becomes a target and knows that Temperance and Booth are the only ones who can help.

Turning 40 for Temperance starts out with helping co-workers, Booth is surprised at what is happening with her but can’t linger on it. Their next case is the death of a man who helps autistic children. Perhaps that is what brings on Cam and Arastoo wanting to adopt but also Booth and Brennan thinking of expanding the family.

That gets put on hold when the priest who married them is discovered murdered, but was he? Booth investigates deeper and discovers there is a darker truth to it all. It becomes clear as he uncovers more that the family may be in danger. Max helps defend the family and the truth surfaces. Aubrey is also faced with a difficult decision regarding her own family member and it isn’t an easy one.

Zack’s case has been waiting for an appeal but Hodgins thinks there may be evidence to help his case. Getting help from Gordon Wyatt and Angela, they take it all step by step and believe they have enough to solve the case but it might not be enough.

Bringing the series to a close I’m sure wasn’t an easy one as each of the characters in BONES is distinctive and, after 12 years, have become part of our weekly viewing. In the next to the last episode, the six main characters are telling us a story from their perspective. I’m actually not going to get into detail because this is definitely an episode that begins to clear the decks but don’t think for a moment it isn’t intense!

David Boreanaz takes the helm in the final episode that is filled with emotion and twists that are everything the television audience has come to expect from the show. I will admit my jaw dropped a few times followed by “I didn’t see that coming”.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

The 525 minute 3-disc DVD of BONES The Final Chapter includes the episodes The Hope in the Horror, The Brain in the Bot, The New Tricks in the Old Dogs, The Price for the Past, The Tutor in the Tussle, The Flaw in the Saw, The Scare in the Score, The Grief and the Girl, The Steel in the Wheels, The Radioactive Panthers in the Party, The Day in the Life, and The End in the End. Also, the Special Feature of Back to the Lab: A Bones Retrospective and, of course, A Gag Reel.

THE FLESH & BONES COLLECTION of BONES is amazing with all 12 seasons together for the first time ever which includes over 6 hours of Bonus Features. Those features include Back to the Lab: A BONES Retrospective, BONES at Comic Con, BONES: Inspired by the life of Forensic Anthropologist and Author Kathy Reichs, A Visual Effects and Making of Featurettes, Audio Commentaries on Select Episodes, Gag Reels, Deleted Scenes and so much more!

Deschanel as Temperance took that character to places and emotions that were ever changing.  Boreanaz as Booth was the yin to Temperance’s yang and I couldn’t even begin to imagine this series without these two actors. It’s always emotional when our favorite shows come to an end but, there is good news as well for BONES fans.

All 12 seasons means you can once again journey with your favorite characters and storylines because 20^th Century Fox understands our need to keep our favorites close. Watching BONES from the very beginning gives us all a chance to pick up on nuances we may have missed and remember why BONES became such a hit series!

In the end – they gave us heart and humor and we can only give out heartfelt thank you for an amazing ride!