In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« Commentary Track
Commentaries - Useless, or Useful?
I added this topic as a poll, but it's not getting any interest so I figured a blog post was in order.
I recently finished watching a DVD set with some horrible, horrible commentaries, and that got me thinking; do people like commentaries?
I enjoy a good commentary track, such as the ones on The Shield season 1, or the NewsRadio DVD sets. I asked Shawn Ryan, creator of The Shield, if he went to "commentary school" a few years ago; he has mastered the ability to moderate commentaries to make them both fun, and informative. He allowed the discussion to drift off course, then gently brought it back to a discussion of the show. The NewsRadio commentaries were a blast; Any Dick discussed his drug use, while Vicki Lewis talked about the affair she had with a producer. Those commentaries were almost as entertaining as the episodes.
But I've also heard some horrible commentary tracks, ones that were more "play-by-play" of the events on screen than informative. I strongly believe that a commentary track should feature more than one person, unless that person has the ability to talk non-stop for the entire episode (Paul Stupin - Dawson's Creek - has that ability). Commentaries with one person can become extremely boring, very fast. It's up to the DVD producer to stop the recording and prompt the participant if things are going poorly; many of the commentaries we hear are edited together, at least the good ones are.
So, what are your thoughts on commentaries? Have you heard some good ones, or do you feel commentaries are a waste of time?
Gord
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 2:23 PM
|
|
I have never listened to a commentary track. Maybe if I did, I would like them, but the whole idea doesn't appeal to me. When I'm in the mood to watch one of my favorite shows on dvd, I want to watch the show, not listen to other people.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 2:43 PM
|
|
I think the only way I would enjoy a commentary track is if I'd seen the movie or show episode 50 times for some reason and was looking for something I felt I missed. I can't imagine using them very often. More likely on a TV show DVD set - but even then - not a lot.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 2:53 PM
|
|
I LOVE commentaries! It's always fun hearing behind-the-scenes tidbits from the casts and crews! One of my favorites is the "Underworld" unrated cut, the rapport between Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman is hilarious. The worst, hands down, is "The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen". William Friedkin droned on for two and a half hours....
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 2:56 PM
|
I love commentaries although I've heard some awful ones - i agree the exorcist one was terrible!
the best one man commentaries by far are Joss Whedon! I could listen to his commentaries more then once, hes such an excellent speaker. I also really really enjoy simon pegg and edgar wrights commentaries on Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, they are so incredibly funny.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 3:04 PM
|
|
The only commentaries I've actually sat through were ones for Scrubs but otherwise the idea of sitting through an 2 hour movie or an hour tv show yet again to listen to people blab just doesn't appeal to me.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 3:05 PM
|
Some commentaries are truly awesome and some are truly agonizing to listen to. I have heard some great ones - Field of Dreams comes to mind. They fill in so many details that you would not otherwise know. Field of Dreams was filmed during a draought and the producers had to paint the field green every day because the grass had died! I am a bit of a trivia nut and things like that fascinate me!
I loved the commentary track for Galexy Quest that was done completely in the alien dialect! I laughed for an hour and a half straight, even though I couldn't understand a thing!
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 4:55 PM
|
I like commentaries. I usually watch the whole season of a TV show and then go back and listen to the commentaries. Some good ones - Sex & the City - there were so many little things pointed out, if you like that kind of thing, it's cool.
Movies - once in a while.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 4:58 PM
|
|
hmm. Ranger, I saw galaxy quest but don't remember much about it. I liked it, but didn't love it. It sounds like the commentary might be better than the movie itself.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 5:04 PM
|
|
There are some commentaries I've been meaning to listen to. There are a couple of them on the Freaks and Geeks set where the actors do the commentary AS their characters (high school teachers) and I bet that is hilarious. Maybe if I don't have to work saturday, I'll give it a shot.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 5:06 PM
|
|
Leah - Galaxy Quest was one of those movies like Dumb and Dumber that you have to see a couple of times to enjoy. There are several of those out there for me!
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 6:15 PM
|
I found the Galaxy Quest commentary entertaining for a few minutes, but that's all.
I found one of the commentary tracks for Drawn Together season 1 entertaining. They picked up a day laborer in the Home Depot parking lot and had him watch the show, then asked him what he thought. It had little to do with the episode, but it made me laugh.
Bruce Campbell does great commentary - check out his track on Army of Darkness for some laughs.
Gord
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 6:25 PM
|
I love commentaries, especially ones that talk about the episode that is being commented on. Joss Whedon's are the best as he is entertaining and informative.
Commentaries such as NewsRadio's I do not care for as I do not care who was sleeping with who on the set. Some of them could have been put on ANY episode because the there is not any mention of the episode that is being commented on.
Give me a commentary that gives me information on the episode such as how the guest stars were hired, why a character's arc was spun a specific way or how the story came about and I will be happy. Tell me a stories about how you and your co-stars would get drunk or do drugs for 23 minutes and I will
turn it off.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 7:03 PM
|
Surprisingly, I found Brenden Fraser's solo commentary on The Mummy to be hilarious. His timing was excellent, and he didn't laugh at his own jokes (even though they were funny).
As for TV, some of the Freaks and Geeks commentaries are good, but others tend to be overcrowded. I think two people make for the best commentaries. You get more then that and you have people talking over each other, or one person dominating the conversation.
I tried listening to the Eureka commentaries, but found them dull.
|
|
Oct 24, 2007 10:18 PM
|
As much as I love Galaxy Quest, I tried to listen to the "Thermian" commentary, but only lasted a minute or so.
I don't usually listen to commentaries, although I'm currently trying to go through the Firefly commentaries as I watch the episodes again. However, I received a screener of the Undeclared season set (I wish it had been all of the episodes!) and after I was done with the 7 episodes, I watched/listened to the commentaries. There was even one for the unaired episode that was half-reshot, and they were as funny as the shows themselves. At least one lasted longer than the episode. It was clear that the actors all had fun on the show--especially Fred Willard.
|
|
Oct 25, 2007 1:25 AM
|
|
|
