# Buffy Season 3 DVD defect **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726 "2003-01-15T13:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jeevmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jeevmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevmon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/1 "2003-01-15T13:44:33Z")
Dear Dopers: I recently received my Buffy Season 3 DVD from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), and was joyously looking forward to many nights of watching it. Unfortunately, there was a glitch on at least one of the discs. On Disc 2, there was some kind of defect that caused the disc to skip over part of the “Homecoming” episode. No big deal, I thought. Maybe just a random scratch. Sometimes it happens. So, I go to [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), print out the return label, and get the package ready to ship out. I ask them to send a replacement. I get an email this morning reading as follows: > [@](#): > > Thank you for writing to us at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). > > I am sorry to hear that your item "Buffy the Vampire Slayer > > - Season 3" was problematic. > > It seems that the problem with this item is more widespread > than we originally thought, I hesitate to send you a replacement. > We will investigate and remedy the situation with the item; > however, I cannot guarantee when the error may be fixed. > > We will gladly refund you in full for the return of this item. > > Please use the return mailing label you printed from our web > site. > > Again, please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience. > We value your business and hope that you will continue to consider > [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) for your online shopping needs. > > Thanks for shopping at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). Has anyone else encountered this problem? I don’t mind getting a refund if I can replace the item elsewhere, but if there is a widespread problem with this disc set, I won’t be able to do that. (On another note, I had a similar problem with the Buffy Season 1 box set, but a replacement took care of it.) ---
**Author:** ![SillyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@SillyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SillyGirl)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/2 "2003-01-15T17:44:05Z")
Just watched the Homecoming episode the other night. The disk seemed to work fine. That is the only episode I watched from that disk however, so while I cannot be sure… it seems that would be good news for you. ---
**Author:** ![sWitchazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@sWitchazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sWitchazel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/3 "2003-01-15T20:54:37Z")
I tried to rent it this past weekend, but the clerk said they had to return the majority of their copies because of some type of problem. FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/4 "2003-01-16T00:02:43Z")
There was a glitch on the first disc in my set – I just figured I needed to clean the DVD player or something. Sounds like they have a big problem. I’m okay with a minor glitch in one episode – I just hate to return things. Have you watched the whole thing yet? There was just the one instance? ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/5 "2003-01-16T00:08:22Z")
I’ve got a glitch like this in my Season 2 set, on the episode with John Ritter. “Ted”? Sucks big time. Nothing wrong (so far) with my season 3, though. I’m on disc 5 right now, so my fingers are crossed! ---
**Author:** ![jeevmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jeevmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevmon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/6 "2003-01-16T02:52:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AuntiePam \* > \*\*There was a glitch on the first disc in my set – I just figured I needed to clean the DVD player or something. > > Sounds like they have a big problem. I’m okay with a minor glitch in one episode – I just hate to return things. > > Have you watched the whole thing yet? There was just the one instance? \*\* I didn’t get through the whole thing. The one glitch, which was basically a reproducible event, was enough. It skipped over the whole scene with Cordelia and Lyle Gorch. I thought it might be my DVD player too, except that it was that one particular part of the disc. I would expect that if it was the player, the glitches would be more random, not focused on that particular moment on the disc. alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer is reporting similar problems. It appears to be a packaging issue, where they just didn’t secure the discs properly in the package prior to shrinkwrapping. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/7 "2003-01-16T03:13:18Z")
Yuck. I had to get them by international mail order and it’s already on its way. I guess I’ll have to watch all of it as soon as it arrives to make sure it’s OK. 😃 Seriously, is this caused by physical damage to the disks? Can you detect them by just looking at the disk? ---
**Author:** ![jeevmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jeevmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevmon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/8 "2003-01-16T04:14:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scr4 \* > \*\*Yuck. I had to get them by international mail order and it’s already on its way. I guess I’ll have to watch all of it as soon as it arrives to make sure it’s OK. 😃 > > Seriously, is this caused by physical damage to the disks? Can you detect them by just looking at the disk? \*\* I saw a slight blemish on the surface of the affected disc. I tried rubbing it off after the defect manifested, but it seemed to have no effect. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/9 "2003-01-16T04:44:26Z")
Same here for my season 2 error. It was just the tiniest glitch, I think I lose about 2 seconds of the scene where they are playing miniature golf. I just use the fast forward and it eventually skips it. Still. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/10 "2003-01-16T15:19:43Z")
Production quality on this series has been pretty abysmal – I’m thinking in particular of a couple scenes from the Season 2 discs where it looks like someone decided to give the original film a good mudbath and loofah before transfering it to DVD. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![jeevmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jeevmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevmon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/11 "2003-01-17T13:32:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cliffy \* > \*\*Production quality on this series has been pretty abysmal – I’m thinking in particular of a couple scenes from the Season 2 discs where it looks like someone decided to give the original film a good mudbath and loofah before transfering it to DVD. > > –Cliffy \*\* Ah, yes, the “Some Assembly Required” locker search scene. (At least that’s where it is on mine- the other eps look OK). ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/12 "2003-01-17T13:37:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jeevmon \* > \*\*I saw a slight blemish on the surface of the affected disc. I tried rubbing it off after the defect manifested, but it seemed to have no effect. \*\* Thanks for that info. I haven’t had DVD players long enough to have scratched disks. Can they be cleaned the same way as CDs? ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/13 "2003-01-17T15:28:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jeevmon \* > \*\*Ah, yes, the “Some Assembly Required” locker search scene. (At least that’s where it is on mine- the other eps look OK). \*\* Yep – also, the scene in What’s My Line where Buffy and Angel have just fought that dude on the ice rink. It’s particularly bad because the camera cuts between an over-Buffy’s-shoulder view of Angel and an over-Angel’s-shoulder view of Buffy and the quality of one is so much worse than the other it is impossible to see it as a single conversation, instead of what it really is, the stitching together of shots taken at different times. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/14 "2003-02-01T16:40:50Z")
Okay, I just started watching “Bad Girls” from Season 3 (Disk 4). I clicked on “Play” and I got the writer’s commentary audio overlapping the episode. Hmmm. Clicked on “Writer’s commentary” and it’s the same thing. Tried clicking to specific scenes. I still hear this guy’s voice. Does anyone else have this problem? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-season-3-dvd-defect/148726/15 "2003-02-01T16:42:41Z")
Oh, and in my version Season 2 there’s a defect in the Frankenstein episode (Spare Parts? – the one where the brother is trying to rebuild a woman for his deceased brother, Darryl). It starts pixeling on me or something, where the little squares are out of whack.