Whedonesque : Comments on 11104 : Veronica Mars S2 DVD gag reel features Joss.

Ooh, another set I'll have to import (though since it's my current favourite show that was a given already).

I look forward to seeing Joss in the gag reel, but it looks as though very little thought was given to DVD extras again this time. That's too bad. And no commentaries???

palehorse | August 14, 03:36 CET

Lack of commentaries is very disappointing, they are probably my favourite dvd extra if done well(though I do like a good gag reel). Not sure why VM is getting so short changed when it comes to extras, it's a cult show, the kind that generally have good extras because the fans are so into them that they really care.

If a region 1 set has better extras than a region 2 set for a show/movie I'm a big fan of then I'll definitely considering importing the region 1 version which implies that extras are pretty important, at least to me.

Paul_Rocks | August 14, 04:16 CET

Joss should record some of his own casual commentaries and throw them on the web somewhere... could anything be better?

Manosdvd | August 14, 04:27 CET

Didn't Joss say 1st season DVD was lacking commentaries in his review. Tsk Tsk Tsk!

delirium_haze | August 14, 04:30 CET

The lack of DVD commentaries is probably the curse that comes along with the blessing of the DVD being released so quickly after the season finished.

bstrassburg | August 14, 04:52 CET

Not that it would be legal or anything, and not that I would encourage people to do something that isn't legal or anything, but, um, someone is going to post the Joss outtakes on the interwebs somewhere, right? ;-)

billz | August 14, 04:57 CET

I think I read somewhere that you can get a commentary for this one too from Rob Thomas's website. Like you could with the pilot on Season 1.

Andrew Tom | August 14, 05:11 CET

I rarely find a commentary I like anymore. Joss Whedon is the master of them - because he's funny and informative. Don't ever let an actor near a commentary (unless it's Jodie Foster). And I love Tim Burton's movies, but his commentaries suck.

Commentaries used to be THE special feature for me. Now that every man and his dog in Hollywood thinks they can do them, their value has plummeted enormously.

I think I've got DVD extra fatigue. Though I hate to buy a vanilla version if I know there's a feature-packed one in some region of the world, am I really going to watch any of these more than once?

crossoverman | August 14, 05:17 CET

Yay, my favorite gag reel material is ad-libbed stuff rather than line-flubbing stuff (which can get a little repetitive). So this makes me look forward to this gag reel significantly more.

brimtoast | August 14, 05:34 CET

Personally, I think it might be a good idea to sell episodes with commentary, as the season airs, through a service like iTunes, and then release them on the DVD set. This would increase online sales of the show as well as give fans (especially those without access to the internet releases) another reason to buy the set, when it's released.

Of course, you'd probably lose a lot of the fond hindsight that accompanies many commentaries.

Knuckleball | August 14, 05:36 CET

Rob Thomas mentioned in an interview that the lack of extras/commentary on the season one discs was because they wanted to get them out the door asap, to try and grab as many viewers as possible for the second season. I suspect a similar set of circumstances for season two as well.

herb | August 14, 06:10 CET

Personally, I think it might be a good idea to sell episodes with commentary, as the season airs, through a service like iTunes, and then release them on the DVD set. This would increase online sales of the show as well as give fans (especially those without access to the internet releases) another reason to buy the set, when it's released.

Of course, you'd probably lose a lot of the fond hindsight that accompanies many commentaries.

That would definetely be interesting, but very doubtful considering, production schedules for the whole season, which is already pretty tight.

I wonder how far has the iTunes "dominion" really reached, and I aim my question mainly at how far it has reached outside the US.

Numfar PTB | August 14, 06:12 CET

Well - I wasn't planning on getting these DVDs, but I don't think I can resist this. I know. I'm weak.

sari | August 14, 06:13 CET

Hey, if Ron Moore can do podcasts for every episode of BSG, I don't see why anyone else couldn't.

pat32082 | August 14, 07:02 CET

Ron Moore delegates a lot of work to David Eick, that's why he has free time to do that.

delirium_haze | August 14, 09:43 CET

And Ron Moore is more (ho ho) laid back, i heard one of those, and he was recording it from his home, with his wife comming in and adding a few comments, while he was smoking a cigar and drinking whiskey - so clearly you can do such podcasts while being very relaxed!

An interesting example is are the Stargate DVD's, they've had commentary on every single episode since season 3.

Pumps | August 14, 12:39 CET

I wonder how far has the iTunes "dominion" really reached, and I aim my question mainly at how far it has reached outside the US.

I can't answer that, but I can give an insight: absolutely *none* of the people I know, here in france, has an iPod or uses iTunes (for audio or video).

Concerning DVD extras, the "worst" case I know is the West Wing R2 DVD: they have absolutely no extras (except the complete boxset of S1, which has a little featurette). Strangely, this does not bother me at all. The show is so good I don't really want to get "outside"; I find that extras tend to "kill" the magic of the show, sometimes. Without extras, you are bound to "live" with the characters and only the characters, not the actors/producers, the other side of the curtain.

Le Comité | August 14, 13:35 CET

Sorry. please delete.

[ edited by Ashley on 2006-08-14 19:32 ]

[ edited by Ashley on 2006-08-14 19:32 ]

Ashley | August 14, 14:15 CET

Ashley: Please keep news of such activities to yourself. Post no links to any such material on Whedonesque. Do have a look at the rules of this site, which states that there is no linking to copyrighted material.

herb | August 14, 15:10 CET

Numfar PTB, iTunes has reached Canada, but currently only sells music, music videos and Pixar animation shorts.

Brisco | August 14, 18:28 CET

Sorry herb, didn't really know where the legal line was in regards to just clips. Feel free to delete the previous post. Trust me, I want everyone to buy the boxset, thought it might just be a temptation for everyone to go buy it.

Ashley | August 14, 21:34 CET

I can't answer that, but I can give an insight: absolutely *none* of the people I know, here in france, has an iPod or uses iTunes (for audio or video).

There's more going on there, though, as Apple has had a number of run ins with the French government, who are currently suing them to open iTunes/ITMS to their competitors.

zeitgeist | August 14, 22:42 CET

Really looking forward to VM season two dvd release next Tuesday. As for the subject of this topic, I'm sure it doesn't become a shocker (for us, at least) that Joss had a good time on the set. And I've no problem with Rob spinning it up. Wouldn't you?

Madhatter | August 15, 01:45 CET

August 14 2006