In New Packaging

Verified Purchase
I have been the biggest Buffy fan since the show first appeared on BBC 2. Not having sky I was
a little behind and when BBC eventually stopped showing it I had to wait for the original VHS
boxsets to be released to watch them all. I had gradually started buying the DVD versions but had
always wanted a complete collection with 1-7 but they were always so damn expensive! Then I saw this
one for just £50 so I sold the few seasons I had and invested in this because it is very good value for
money. The show is awesome, if you disagree, then why are you reading these reviews. I'm not going to
go into lots of details about the show, everybody else has. I am going to talk specifically about this edition
of the Buffy boxset season 1-7 in NEW PACKAGING released in Oct 2011.

1. Great value for money. Even if I hadn't sold the seasons I had for £15 it still would've been a steal.
To get all 7 seasons with bonus features in a neat little package for £50, bargain :)
2. I haven't played all the discs yet but I randomly selected 2 discs from each season to test them. They play
just fine. Picture quality is very good as is sound. I wanted to see if there were any problems as it will take me
while to watch them all. I had no problems and am assuming all the discs are ok.
3. This boxset is nice and compact. Previous ones have been un-necessarily large and I wanted something that
wouldn't take up too much space. This takes up no more room on a shelf than 7 regular dvds.

I have given this 5* but there is a couple of things to mention that some people may not like but I didn't feel
they were worth deducting a star in the review.
1. The 7 seasons are each in a normal sized dvd case which are absolutely fine, there are only pictures of Buffy
on them and not of other cast members like on other versions of the boxsets, this doesn't bother me as I bought
it to watch the dvds, not look at the pictures on the cases. I like the new designs and each image on the front
of each season will have meaning to avid Buffy fans! But some people may prefer other versions and the picture
Amazon has put up doesn't necessarily show this.
2. The outer box that the 7 seasons are kept in is incredibly flimsy. The cardboard used is really just very thick
paper and mine had a little bit of damage when it was delivered. Which probably happened during transit. The corners
already look a little scruffy and I've barely touched it. I can't imagine as it is the box will last very long and
it's nice to have the whole 7 seasons in one box. I have taken to the inside of the box with selotape to reinforce it
somewhat and will be asking for help reinforcing it some more from my sister, who is very good at things like that, when
she visits. Until then I am treating it with kid gloves. This did bother me a little. I recently bought Supernatural
season 1-5 and it was cheaper and the box it came in was much stronger and better made and will last a lot longer.
I think the new packaging could have come in a stronger box without it increasing the manufacturing costs very much
at all. And as the retail price is low, most people would've probably happily paid a small amount more to get something
of slightly better quality. Howver this does not effect the discs which are obviously the most important part.
If the box ends up knackered, it isn't the end of the world.
3. There are no episode guides or lists of the episodes in any of the seasons. When you play a disc you can see which
episodes are on it but there is not a list on the case that says which episodes are on which disc and unless you have the
episode names and numbers memorised if you wanted to play a specific episode and wern't sure where abouts in the season
it was it may take a couple of tries to put the correct disc in! Now I get that they didn't include episode guide
booklets to probably keep the cost down? But again, it wouldn't have been difficult to have a list on the inside
cover that said Disc 1 and then a list of the episodes, disc 2 ect. As I watch the sets I plan to make a little list
for each season and put it in the case myself so in future if I just want to watch one episode it will be easier to
find. This again is not a big issue to me, but it's pretty standard to have a list like that!
4. Back to episode guides. I have watched Buffy so many times that I know what the episode is just by the name and don't need a description. Also I have the 3 Buffy official season guide books that have detailed descriptions of all the
episodes if I need them any way so I do not mind one bit not having them in the boxset. If you are less familiar and are looking for an episode but can't remember the name of it then an episode guide would be useful and the lack of one may be more of a problem.

So yes there are a few little issues with the design. Probably the worst one to me is the box, it's a bit pathetic really!!
But not why I bought the set so I'm letting it go, and enjoying the episodes for their amazingness. I couldn't justify deducting a star for my nit picking but others may find these flaws more of an issue and the description on line doesn't mention any of these things. For what I paid this was excellent value, I finally have all 7 seasons to watch and re-watch to my hearts content. If you are really interested in owning Buffy then this is exactly what you are looking for, but the box may not make it passed its 1st birthday!

10/10