The Guild Comes to DVD

By: Jill Rayburn
05/21/2009

For those who have been following the exploits of The Knights of Good, there is good news throughout the land. As of this week, seasons 1 and 2 of The Guild are available on DVD from Amazon.com. As with most DVDs, there are commentaries and other extras on these discs, and I have just finished watching many of the extras that are not available on the web.

Each season's extras are a bit different. Both seasons have 2 commentary tracks, one with the actors and one with the directors and producers, but the season 2 director/producer commentary includes show creator Felicia Day. The commentaries discuss the behind the scenes workings of the show and you learn quite a bit about making the show as well as the show itself. Personally, I prefer the actor commentaries, which are almost as funny in spots as the episodes. The actors talk about how scenes were shot, and also aspects of their characters.

Season one has cast interviews that provide great insight into both the characters and the actors. Season two has another set of cast interviews, including the actors views on how their characters have changed and evolved from season one to two, and that part is very interesting. Also on the season two disc are interviews with crew members and extras. The cast interviews are nice, as viewers can get a concept of the jobs performed by the different crew members. As for the interviews with the extras, I have to be honest and say I was not really impressed with that, especially as a separate feature. It would have made more sense to me if they had included it with the crew interviews, instead of feeling like they wanted more extras so added that one.

At the show's official website (www.watchtheguild.com), you can see one gag reel from each season, but on the DVDs, you can see even more. Each disc has three separate gag reels, covering different episodes from the seasons. As with most gag reels, the clips are hilarious, and I think the ones from The Guild even more so as it is a comedy. You can definitely tell that everyone has fun on the set and they all work together well.

Both discs include a special Christmas video. The video from season one, Christmas Carol, is also available on the web. However, the season two disc has the short Twas the Night Before Xmas, which cannot be viewed on the web. These videos are great, humorous, and definitely fit with the characters and the show. Also included on each disc is audition footage for some of the cast members. It is interesting to see this aspect of the process. One feature on the discs is only accessible by computer - .pdf files of the scripts. Season two also includes some incredible fan art. It is nice to see fans take such an interest in the show. One of the commentaries even mentions that the season two episode intros were created by a fan that had sent in some of his art.

I highly recommend getting The Guild on DVD. Sometimes when you get a DVD, you find that the extras are not really worth it, but in this case, I think they are. Much of what you see is not available on the web, and the extras are both fun and insightful.

Photos:  WatchTheGuild.com, Amazon.com

Author: Jill Rayburn

Jill Rayburn is a columnist for Roddenberry.com. Her column "Artistic License" is published every Tuesday thru Saturday.
Contact: jrayburn@roddenberry.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Jazdan

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