what the heck is the point of dvd commentary tracks?

alafairnadia

so I'm rewatching for the kazillionth (third) time the series firefly and thought 'gee, this time, maybe I should watch it with the commentary on ...' and about 5 minutes into the first episode thought 'omg, this is fuckin' retarded!' and am now just watching the regular series again w/o commentary.
fwiw, I'm watching this while I work (work work work - it's all I do lately) so it's ok that I'm partially distracted from the series. that's why I thought the commentary track might be nice. or interesting. instead it was joss whedon (or nathon fillion) talking about being stoned. booooorriiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

shishkab

ah, yes, grasshopper, but not all commentary track are the same...

ever hear Bruce Campbell during his commentary tracks? Hilarious stuff!

doctorj

Subject: Re: what the heck is the point of dvd commentary tracks?

alafairnadia wrote: instead it was joss whedon (or nathon fillion) talking about being stoned. booooorriiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Sounds horrid. Stoners are so boring. I am so glad I don't need drugs to make me boring.

steve

Ah, always nice to see a fellow Browncoat out here in the 'verse.

alafairnadia

steve wrote: Ah, always nice to see a fellow Browncoat out here in the 'verse.

I still don't get the point of the dvd commentary track, though.

whyfi

alafairnadia wrote: I still don't get the point of the dvd commentary track, though.

They have the potential to be interesting... though there's also the potential of simians flying out of one's ass...

alafairnadia

WhyFi wrote: [quote=alafairnadia]I still don't get the point of the dvd commentary track, though.

They have the potential to be interesting... though there's also the potential of simians flying out of one's ass...

yeah. seriously. I guess I remember the days of getting tv shows on VHS. sometimes the director/creator would give a brief intro to each episode - the significance of this or that, some sort of behind-the-scenes blah-di-blah regarding that particular episode or an event in the episode, etc. now you don't really get that - you get "bonus features" which include outtakes and random interviews and you get this commentary track which is little more than some asshat doing bad improv and "oh, I split my pants during that scene, didn't I?"

steve

I'm not so big on the commentaries, I do really enjoy the battlestar galactica podcasts though. Amusing and somewhat insightful commentary, particularly as they come out with the show and have some iperspective on fan reaction. Very meta

alafairnadia

steve wrote: I'm not so big on the commentaries, I do really enjoy the battlestar galactica podcasts though. Amusing and somewhat insightful commentary, particularly as they come out with the show and have some iperspective on fan reaction. Very meta

I guess I'm the wrong type of person to even appreciate these things. about as meta as I get is reading tim gunn's blog on bravo.

steve

I think another reason I don't mind the podcasts is because I don't have to actively watch the movie or whatever at the same time. It's easier for me to do more than one thing at a time....add.

drano

Good commentary tracks, in my opinion:

The Limey
Dig (all three)
Phantasm
An American Werewolf in London

I know I've heard other good ones, but those are off the top of my head. Tracks for TV shows always seem to disappoint.

devincf

Commentaries are good for people who are actually interested in filmmaking.