Season One Dvd Review.

[Guest Second Coming]

The Old Man hit it right on the head. The set is hardly barebones, look at some of the HBO sets for examples of barebones. And I really don't understand how you would rather watch old video tapes than the new dvds. Unless there's some nostalgia to watching worn out vhs. And I couldn't watch 4 episodes without getting up. Those complaints were really odd to me. I myself am interested in the the making of the logo etc....because I feel it and the music really captured what the essence of the show was for me. I can't wait to see it. Interviews, commentaries, making of, a thing on the real academy group and the logo thing. How is that bare bones? At this point for a show that's been off the air since 99 we are lucky just to get the episodes.

[Guest amnesic]

whnever i've watched TV in the US i've always been surprised about how crap the picture quality was. i'm sure those who have only had MM recorded with a crap picture and ads every 8 minutes will love having the DVD set. and people like me, who have 3/4 od S1, and half of S2 and S3 (becasue i had to get someone else to record them when they were fianlly shown a couple of years back) will be really glad its out. i seriously can't wait for S2

[Guest Second Coming]

Well you have to consider that it doesn't have a big of fanbase as the X-Files and Fox didn't have much interest in releasing it. But they got prodded by Staddon.

I was under the impression that "bare bones" meant basically nothing. This is far from nothing:

Commentary by Chris Carter on the pilot

Commentary by director David Nutter on "Gehenna"

"Order in Chaos: Making Millennium Season One" documentary

"Chasing the Dragon: A Conversation with the Academy Group": a look at real-life profilers

Creating the logo and title sequence

Pilot TV spots

And I seriously don't know how anyone could argue that they would rather watch old vhs tapes over the new dvds.

[Guest se7en]

....i'm almost at a loss for words..........almost! lol!

...unless it means something different over the pond,"bare-bones" in the states means that you get the episodes and nothing else; in other words "th-th-that's all folks!"

...dvd, like it's father the laserdisc is meant to be primarily a collectors medium. but that does not equate boat-loads of extras. the facility is there to any studio who wishes to take advantage of it.

...the thing that confuses me is that details of the extras were released months ago, so unless he just wasn't aware of it, i don't understand the big letdown of there being not a lot of extras and it being barebones,which it surely is not! i just don't understand the big-surprised-letdown when all the extras were known, and even described!?

...ah,well, who knows? i don't know. don't care either cos my season-1 just shipped today via priority mail and will arrive on the day of it's official release here in the states!

~HAPPY VIEWING ALL!,

se7en

[Guest ModernDayMoriarty]

I consider anything that does not have decent features that I find arresting to be little better than bare bones. It simply doesn't have anything that I am interested in seeing; it is cleary styled to make you believe that MLM is always like the Pilot and I object to that because that is false advertising of a type. I basically am fed up of shoddy sets from 1013. I have had to fork out untold millions (it seems) for the XF sets and they all displayed this very dry approach to presentation. The commentaries on XF and MLM are not interesting! They don't talk about the stories or the mytharc; they simply comment on the processes involved in making the episode which all starts to sound the same after a while.

For me, the set is of interest to someone who has no knowledge of what MLM is or what they are getting at. Then the feature on the Academy Group becomes useful as does the documentary. I just felt that, as a fan, as someone who knows what MLM is about, there was nothing for me in particular. Same goes for the XF sets. I am firmly of the school that if something is done, it must be done right. I don't accept that we should be grateful for anything we get; if it isn't the best you can do then don't bother.

I accept that people are grateful to own MLM on DVD and to a first time buyer/viewer, I think the set is quite good (technical niggles aside). But as a fan, it doesn't enhance my MLM experience at all. Perhaps, because the UK has had MLM screened fairly continuously by Sci-Fi for years now, I am less enthused over owning the set through familarity. I have all of S1 and I ensure you, I vastly prefer the VHS medium. Wading through menus and credits just annoys me, so from an entertainment perspective I am continuing to use my tapes. However, the DVDs should prove useful when reviewing episodes.

I don't mean to come across as some kind of never satisfied ogre here; I just wanted something a bit more special I guess. Severely limited internet access of late has curtailed most of messages to very short bursts. I am glad to say that the DVD set has encouraged me to get my overview of MLM's mytharc underway for Seven's book though so it isn't all bad hey?

[Guest se7en]

I consider anything that does not have decent features that I find arresting to be little better than bare bones. It simply doesn't have anything that I am interested in seeing; it is cleary styled to make you believe that MLM is always like the Pilot and I object to that because that is false advertising of a type. I basically am fed up of shoddy sets from 1013. I have had to fork out untold millions (it seems) for the XF sets and they all displayed this very dry approach to presentation. The commentaries on XF and MLM are not interesting! They don't talk about the stories or the mytharc; they simply comment on the processes involved in making the episode which all starts to sound the same after a while.

For me, the set is of interest to someone who has no knowledge of what MLM is or what they are getting at. Then the feature on the Academy Group becomes useful as does the documentary. I just felt that, as a fan, as someone who knows what MLM is about, there was nothing for me in particular. Same goes for the XF sets. I am firmly of the school that if something is done, it must be done right. I don't accept that we should be grateful for anything we get; if it isn't the best you can do then don't bother.

I accept that people are grateful to own MLM on DVD and to a first time buyer/viewer, I think the set is quite good (technical niggles aside). But as a fan, it doesn't enhance my MLM experience at all. Perhaps, because the UK has had MLM screened fairly continuously by Sci-Fi for years now, I am less enthused over owning the set through familarity. I have all of S1 and I ensure you, I vastly prefer the VHS medium. Wading through menus and credits just annoys me, so from an entertainment perspective I am continuing to use my tapes. However, the DVDs should prove useful when reviewing episodes.

I don't mean to come across as some kind of never satisfied ogre here; I just wanted something a bit more special I guess. Severely limited internet access of late has curtailed most of messages to very short bursts. I am glad to say that the DVD set has encouraged me to get my overview of MLM's mytharc underway for Seven's book though so it isn't all bad hey?

.....i can understand you being miffed about the whole "just be gratefull bit", i mean you had expectations that were not filled by Fox and those involved. and while i can now officially say that i disagree mightly about the featurettes, epsecially the "order & chaos" and "Making of the title sequence" but carter's comentary was dry as toast, though at least had interesting facts. ...i still think that for a box set like this Fox made the right choices in it's extras, if not for us hardcore fans.

...for me it was mainly just some of things you said like prefering outmoded,laughable quality even back in the days of the laserdisc-EP-speed VHS quality tapes over the dvds. but,hey that's just my thing you know? i don't begrudge, not that i need to say this, you not liking the set at all. i certainly don't pretend to completely understand it but i sure respect your right to be dissapointed. i think your review came over, i am guessing, as a cold splash of water over an excited board. it almost seemed like the board became defensive about it. -(you and i and many others sure know that feeling in regards to the appreciating the superior S3-LOL!)

...but i do think i should tell you that if you expecting a drastic change or more extras, (at least the U.K.)- for S2/3 then you will almost guranteed be just as dissapointed cos every indication points toward exactly more of the same. in glancing at the S2 extras it actually seems that,in total running time, if not in actual features, will be "less" than that on the S1 set. which i don't mind, but.....................

~se7en

[voidprime]

Well, the Chris Carter commentary on the Millennium commentary is exciting comapred to the pilot commentary (by Chris) for Harsh Realm.

Be Seeing You,

David Blackwell

[Guest Forza]

Well said, Se7en.

Any DVD has its strengths and weaknesses, and while The Group welcomes discussion of the merits of new official MillenniuM set, I think we're all pretty much happy as hell simply to see it available. More extras here or there would have been great, but having the episodes themselves is what carries the day.

[Guest Pencil Machine Operator]

I have to agree with MDM. While I wholly appreciate having the episodes on DVD, and while I would have bought it without any extras, the extras that we get just aren't so hot.

The Acadamy Group stuff is complete filler; if it was on TV, I'd switch it off... I imagine it's something akin to the programming you get on the discovery channel at 3am or something... And isnt 'Chasing the Dragon' a euphemism for snorting coke?

The logo and title sequence info is ok... I liked the designer talking about the obsessive fan... come on, own up, are you a tiwwa member?

The commentaries were awful, but most commentaries are awful anyway. Carter's commentary sent me to the land of nod, but then the clangorous mundanity of the Nutter commentary woke me up (for two minutes...)

the 'making of...' film was rather like the ones on the X-files DVD's, ie. mostly boring and leaves you wishing you'd spent the last 45 minutes watching an actual episode...any episode, even Broken World, for god's sake.

And I don't appreciate getting adverts counted as extras ("Inside Look").

Just my opinion, and all that...

[Guest Demolition Man]

I agree with you here, the disclaimer should appear once on a dvd, not before each episode. Complete overkill. However, watching the credits is a pleasure, they've never been so colourful and clear. You have fast forward button on the remote you know!

Actually you only see the disclaimers at the start of each disc, and they aren't on for very long. I use the time to stretch a little, maybe grab a pop from the fridge and by the time I am back the main menu is on the screen.