You know what else I like, though I have seen no actual footage as of yet?
THIS.
Much Ado About Nothing, from Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon + Whedonverse alums + Shakespeare? One of my favorite of Shakespeare's comedies? Plus more original songs from Mr. Whedon? How will this not be one of the most awesome things ever?!
Answer: it will have to be the most awesome things ever. No other possibility.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Special Features: Commentary With (Insert Name of Actor Here)
Question: how often do you take advantage of the option on DVD (or Blu-Ray, I suppose) special features to watch a favorite movie or TV episode with commentary?
I've been aware of this option for about as long as I've known about DVDs of things I like, but until recently I've never really taken advantage of it. There are a number of reasons for that, I think, which I'll get into here.
One of the first times I ever watched anything with actor commentary was Serenity, which was awesome because it has the entire cast (and Joss Whedon). Of course the quieter folk like Summer Glau hardly said anything, while chatterers like Nathan Fillion and Mr. Whedon talked a lot, but still, it was fun. I should say that I only watched the movie with commentary after I'd seen it without many times. Maybe that's why I haven't watched much actor commentary for TV shows, though: there aren't that many TV episodes that I've watched often enough to want to watch with actors and directors talking over pivotal lines and scenes.
It makes some sense, then, that the first ep of TV I ever watched with commentary was "The Doctor Dances", one of my favorite Doctor Who eps about which I have already written. It had commentary from writer Steven Moffat, and actor John Barrowman. (I would have loved it even more if Christopher Eccleston had joined in, but I guess he doesn't do that much, which is too bad.) I had already seen the episode at least three times, and I like John Barrowman, so I gave it a shot. It was okay. Not earth-shattering, but there were some amusing and interesting things to be heard, especially from Mr. Barrowman. There was more interesting stuff in the commentary for "The Girl in the Fireplace" (also Doctor Who). Part of that was the dynamic between Sophia Myles and David Tennant, who were dating at that time, and a larger part of it was that David Tennant is just so charismatic and so much of a fan of the show.
So there's another criterion: the commentators have to be people from whom I'm interested in hearing more. I'm not usually all that excited about hearing just director or writer commentary, to be honest. Maybe that makes me some kind of a Philistine, but it's the truth. I think I'd make an exception for Joss Whedon, though - so when I go back and rewatch certain episodes of Buffy or Angel, if he does commentary, I'd give that a shot. He's usually very much worth listening to. But I haven't wanted to spend the time rewatching most of those yet, since there's so much new TV to watch. There's another factor in my decision, then: it has to be an awesome enough episode (or movie) that I feel like I can justify the time spent on rewatching it instead of moving on to some newer material. That was definitely the case for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which has the added draw of being the only thing I've ever heard of that has musical commentary from the cast, director, and writers. Seriously, if you liked Dr. Horrible and haven't watched it with commentary yet, you are missing out big time.
I'm disappointed that most if not all of the seasons of The X-Files don't have either Gillian Anderson or David Duchovny doing commentary. (I should go back and check to make certain no eps do have commentary with them.) I love to hear them interacting with each other in almost any circumstance, and to hear their musings on their show would be fantastic. It would probably be hilarious, too, especially since they say in interviews that they've forgotten so much of it. Heh. Unlike with Mr. Whedon, I really don't want to hear Chris Carter talk about his show, because I usually find him boring. Sorry, CC. As I said, I prefer actor commentary to any other kinds.
Now, as soon as my sister and I started to acquire seasons of The West Wing on DVD, we were eager to see which episodes might have commentary. I may have mentioned a few times that I love this cast and this show so very much. Any actor commentary would have to add another layer of awesome, right...?
...For the most part, so far, the answer is yes. I have watched every ep that has actor commentary on it of the DVDs that we own & have seen that is available. That means "In The Shadow of Two Gunmen", parts 1 & 2, "Noel", "Manchester" part 1, and "Bartlet For America." All of these have at least one of the main cast members as well as Aaron Sorkin (the writer) and Thomas Schlamme (the director) doing the commentary. I have to admit, sometimes Mr. Sorkin & Mr. Schlamme talk a little too much for my preferences, especially when they seem to drown out the cast member or members that's supposed to be doing it with them. That happened in ITSOTG part 2, which had Martin Sheen. He hardly ended up saying anything, and I highly doubt that was because he doesn't like to talk! That was disappointing. It felt like a missed opportunity.
Thankfully, though, that has been the exception rather than the rule. The others have been quite good, and they really added a lot to my enjoyment of the episodes. My favorite by far was the one I watched today: "Bartlet For America", with Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and John Spencer. My sister and I literally squealed and jumped up and down when we got out the season 3 DVD set and saw that Mr. Spencer was participating in the commentary for this awesome, awesome episode. He was so utterly gripping and engrossing in his portrayal of Leo in this ep that it's absolutely no wonder at all that he won an Emmy for it. And he held his own with the other two commentators (which is to say, they all played off each other very well, not that they were actually competing). It was wonderful to hear about how much he enjoyed the episode, how much detail they put into the courtroom scenes and flashbacks, and how Mr. Spencer and Mr. Sorkin used their real-life experiences with addiction to inform the story. My sister and I also couldn't help being made very happy when we heard Mr. Spencer's thoughts on the relationship between the President and Leo - he agrees absolutely that it's the romance of the show. (Insert "awwwwww" here.)
By far the highlight of this wonderful commentary, though, is the very end. None of them say a word in the pivotal scene with Leo, the President, and the napkin. Then, as Leo cries at the end, it becomes very obvious that Mr. Spencer is crying as he watches, and the others are also deeply moved, if not crying themselves. Then the writer and director tell their star that he couldn't not get the Emmy after that, and their star turns around and tells them that every actor waits his whole career for material like that. And then I wipe the tears off my face, both from the scene and from their reactions to it.
That's how you do a commentary, folks. I hope the other TWW seasons' actor commentary episodes measure up at least most of the way to that level of greatness.
I've been aware of this option for about as long as I've known about DVDs of things I like, but until recently I've never really taken advantage of it. There are a number of reasons for that, I think, which I'll get into here.
One of the first times I ever watched anything with actor commentary was Serenity, which was awesome because it has the entire cast (and Joss Whedon). Of course the quieter folk like Summer Glau hardly said anything, while chatterers like Nathan Fillion and Mr. Whedon talked a lot, but still, it was fun. I should say that I only watched the movie with commentary after I'd seen it without many times. Maybe that's why I haven't watched much actor commentary for TV shows, though: there aren't that many TV episodes that I've watched often enough to want to watch with actors and directors talking over pivotal lines and scenes.
It makes some sense, then, that the first ep of TV I ever watched with commentary was "The Doctor Dances", one of my favorite Doctor Who eps about which I have already written. It had commentary from writer Steven Moffat, and actor John Barrowman. (I would have loved it even more if Christopher Eccleston had joined in, but I guess he doesn't do that much, which is too bad.) I had already seen the episode at least three times, and I like John Barrowman, so I gave it a shot. It was okay. Not earth-shattering, but there were some amusing and interesting things to be heard, especially from Mr. Barrowman. There was more interesting stuff in the commentary for "The Girl in the Fireplace" (also Doctor Who). Part of that was the dynamic between Sophia Myles and David Tennant, who were dating at that time, and a larger part of it was that David Tennant is just so charismatic and so much of a fan of the show.
So there's another criterion: the commentators have to be people from whom I'm interested in hearing more. I'm not usually all that excited about hearing just director or writer commentary, to be honest. Maybe that makes me some kind of a Philistine, but it's the truth. I think I'd make an exception for Joss Whedon, though - so when I go back and rewatch certain episodes of Buffy or Angel, if he does commentary, I'd give that a shot. He's usually very much worth listening to. But I haven't wanted to spend the time rewatching most of those yet, since there's so much new TV to watch. There's another factor in my decision, then: it has to be an awesome enough episode (or movie) that I feel like I can justify the time spent on rewatching it instead of moving on to some newer material. That was definitely the case for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which has the added draw of being the only thing I've ever heard of that has musical commentary from the cast, director, and writers. Seriously, if you liked Dr. Horrible and haven't watched it with commentary yet, you are missing out big time.
I'm disappointed that most if not all of the seasons of The X-Files don't have either Gillian Anderson or David Duchovny doing commentary. (I should go back and check to make certain no eps do have commentary with them.) I love to hear them interacting with each other in almost any circumstance, and to hear their musings on their show would be fantastic. It would probably be hilarious, too, especially since they say in interviews that they've forgotten so much of it. Heh. Unlike with Mr. Whedon, I really don't want to hear Chris Carter talk about his show, because I usually find him boring. Sorry, CC. As I said, I prefer actor commentary to any other kinds.
Now, as soon as my sister and I started to acquire seasons of The West Wing on DVD, we were eager to see which episodes might have commentary. I may have mentioned a few times that I love this cast and this show so very much. Any actor commentary would have to add another layer of awesome, right...?
...For the most part, so far, the answer is yes. I have watched every ep that has actor commentary on it of the DVDs that we own & have seen that is available. That means "In The Shadow of Two Gunmen", parts 1 & 2, "Noel", "Manchester" part 1, and "Bartlet For America." All of these have at least one of the main cast members as well as Aaron Sorkin (the writer) and Thomas Schlamme (the director) doing the commentary. I have to admit, sometimes Mr. Sorkin & Mr. Schlamme talk a little too much for my preferences, especially when they seem to drown out the cast member or members that's supposed to be doing it with them. That happened in ITSOTG part 2, which had Martin Sheen. He hardly ended up saying anything, and I highly doubt that was because he doesn't like to talk! That was disappointing. It felt like a missed opportunity.
Thankfully, though, that has been the exception rather than the rule. The others have been quite good, and they really added a lot to my enjoyment of the episodes. My favorite by far was the one I watched today: "Bartlet For America", with Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and John Spencer. My sister and I literally squealed and jumped up and down when we got out the season 3 DVD set and saw that Mr. Spencer was participating in the commentary for this awesome, awesome episode. He was so utterly gripping and engrossing in his portrayal of Leo in this ep that it's absolutely no wonder at all that he won an Emmy for it. And he held his own with the other two commentators (which is to say, they all played off each other very well, not that they were actually competing). It was wonderful to hear about how much he enjoyed the episode, how much detail they put into the courtroom scenes and flashbacks, and how Mr. Spencer and Mr. Sorkin used their real-life experiences with addiction to inform the story. My sister and I also couldn't help being made very happy when we heard Mr. Spencer's thoughts on the relationship between the President and Leo - he agrees absolutely that it's the romance of the show. (Insert "awwwwww" here.)
By far the highlight of this wonderful commentary, though, is the very end. None of them say a word in the pivotal scene with Leo, the President, and the napkin. Then, as Leo cries at the end, it becomes very obvious that Mr. Spencer is crying as he watches, and the others are also deeply moved, if not crying themselves. Then the writer and director tell their star that he couldn't not get the Emmy after that, and their star turns around and tells them that every actor waits his whole career for material like that. And then I wipe the tears off my face, both from the scene and from their reactions to it.
That's how you do a commentary, folks. I hope the other TWW seasons' actor commentary episodes measure up at least most of the way to that level of greatness.
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