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1[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/commentary.png]]]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:"[[Creator/KevinCostner I'm]] sorry, I am really sorry, I don't know [[Film/ThePostman what I was thinking]], but ''Film/FieldOfDreams'' was good, wasn't it? [[ClicheStorm Made us all believe again?]]"]]
3
4->''"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I'm Ronald Haver, and I'm here to do something which we feel is rather unique ... the ability to switch back and forth between the sound track and this lecture track."''
5-->-- '''Film historian Ronald Haver''' on the first ever audio commentary for the 1984 Creator/TheCriterionCollection laserdisc release of the original ''{{Film/King Kong|1933}}''
6
7The UsefulNotes/{{DVD}} (and UsefulNotes/BluRay, by extension) Bonus Content with the highest ratio of "disappointment when it isn't included" to "likelihood you'll actually sit down and watch the whole thing." If you've bought a DVD, it's assumed that you like the movie or TV show or whatever. Fair enough. It seems logical that a good chunk of the viewing audience would want to know more information about the film they're watching, and also to have a compelling reason to rewatch a film you've seen in the theatre. The creators or other experts get together to record an audio (and rarely, video) track to be played during the movie. This track comments on the production process. The Director often provides comments on the creative decisions. However, for some movies, there might be comments from special effects creators, set designers, stunt coordinators, or in cases where the film is old enough that little or no members of the crew will even be alive anymore, a film historian.
8
9Though its inclusion is increasingly common, there are several famous directors who refuse to allow commentaries to be recorded for their [=DVD=]s. The most famous examples are Creator/StevenSpielberg, Creator/DavidLynch, and Creator/WoodyAllen. Spielberg says he doesn't want to distract the viewer from watching the movie and anything he has to say about the film can be found on the DVD features. Lynch is insistent on the DeathOfTheAuthor issue and doesn't want to give his own, 'definitive', interpretation of the MindScrew works he's famous for (it's for the same reason that he's a master of the ShrugOfGod). Allen has stated that he hasn't seen any of his films since they were released (and most of the [=DVDs=] don't even feature stereo sound) and has also given the explanation that he thinks movies should stand on their own merits.
10
11Keep in mind that filmmakers are, first and foremost, artists, and are sometimes much better at expressing themselves via visual media rather than verbally (Creator/TimBurton is particularly notorious for this, as he admits that he has poor communication skills).
12
13At their best, DVD commentaries can be a wealth of informative, entertaining insights into the creation of the film, especially if the speakers are adept at the process. They may also have [[WordOfGod the canon answer]] to things that [[AllThereInTheManual need some explanation]]. At the midpoint of quality, everything in the commentary is interesting, but was already discussed in other (shorter), special features on the DVD -- making listening to it feel sort of pointless. At their worst, it can quickly devolve into an awkward self-congratulatory session.
14
15Sometimes, the commentary is nonexistent for long stretches, sending you grasping for the remote to see if you inadvertently turned the track off. A rule of thumb is that commentaries which feature more than one person commenting together (in the same studio, not spliced together) will be more entertaining (though not necessarily more informative) than a solo track. Some filmmakers have started including subtitles for the commentary.
16
17Still, it's always nice to know the commentary is there. And if it's not there or if it's poorly done, there's no reason why fans [=and/or=] haters can't decide to [[AlternateDVDCommentary go into the commentary business for themselves]]...
18
19If the actors are staying in character, then you have a case of InCharacterCommentaries.
20----
21!!Examples
22[[index]]
23* [[DVDCommentary/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
24* [[DVDCommentary/LiveActionFilms Films — Live Action]]
25* [[DVDCommentary/WesternAnimation Western Animation]]
26[[/index]]
27
28[[foldercontrol]]
29
30[[folder:The Abridged Series]]
31* Quite a few have made one or two commentaries (basically another video with commentary, since alternate audio isn't available in most video sites), but hbi2k has made the most, with all the episodes of ''WebVideo/BerserkAbridged'' given commentary episodes.
32* ''NewNeonMenacesEvangelion'' has commentary for the first two episodes that is a direct (and hilarious) satire of the various actual commentaries for ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
33* Creator/LittleKuriboh briefly released the first episode of ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' with commentary, but never re-released it after his first account was banned from Youtube. A mirror has been placed [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Abridged_Audio_Commentary here,]] however.
34* Nick Landis and Scott Frerichs have provided commentary over their work on ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', looking back on their work and the troubles it felt along the way, like when the first time their channel was terminated. It can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowPV6LoP6fpF418zj3L8hjnSXth2DdZr here]].
35[[/folder]]
36
37[[folder:Anime And Manga]]
38* A number of Creator/FUNimation's distributed works have these done by the English voice actors and script adapters. They range anywhere from just a little bit snarky to pretty damn snarky (for example, in a commentary regarding ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'', Creator/ChrisPatton stated that he is ''never'' going to let Jacuzzi Splot [[UnfortunateNames live that name down]]).
39* ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' is an interesting case. Creator/ADVFilms normally removes most or all of the special features on their box sets to encourage fans to buy the single volumes when they first come out, but the boxset for ''Tutu'' actually featured ''additional'' commentaries that were recorded to explain some of the choices made in the dub (for example, translating the name of the main character).
40* ''The Wings of Honneamise'' has a commentary by the director and assistant director, and gives a lot of insight in how the film wouldn't have been as well-received as it was if they didn't basically just sit back and constantly take input from other members of the project.
41* ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' features a commentary track, which involve several of the voice actors--in some cases, even for the secondary characters! Unfortunately, only five episodes had a commentary track.
42* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamKnight,'' a collection of anime shorts, is worth watching just for the commentary track with Kevin Conroy (voice actor of Batman in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', those shorts and ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'') and veteran Franchise/{{Batman}} writer and editor Dennis O'Neil commenting on the different perceptions of the character over time.
43* The English dub of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' has a few commentaries. Two are with voice acting cast, and they are quite hilarious.
44* The ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' movie ''The End of Evangelion'' has 3 of the English voice actors/writers, who spend nearly the entire movie riffing. This particular commentary effectively polarized the fanbase as to whether it was entertaining and (occasionally) insightful or insulting to the SeriousBusiness that is ''Evangelion''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrUvol0Hr7U Check out a few clips and decide for yourself.]]
45** [[spoiler:Rei's arm drops off at the beginning of part two -- "Dropped somethin'"]]
46*** "Hey Rei, give me a ''[[{{Pun}} hand]]''!"
47** And don't miss Creator/AmandaWinnLee singing a brief, improvised [[FilkSong filk]] of Barnes and Barnes' "Fishheads" when the Mass Production Model [=EVAs=] appear.
48** [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark "Oh my god! They killed]] [[spoiler:Kaji!!]]"
49** "The true meaning of Evangelion is [[FreudWasRight sex]]!"
50** [[NumberOfTheBeast #667]] = "The Neighbor of the Beast"
51** In response to [[spoiler:Rei/Lilith disintegrating, a.k.a. the {{Gorn}}iest scene in the film]]: "Ow."
52** At the end of the movie, they (jokingly) discuss the potential sequel, "''Eva 2: Electric Boogaloo''" (Made HilariousInHindsight due to the now-popular "''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' = sequel" theory.)
53** Don't forget ''Death & Rebirth'', for which they recorded a separate commentary which also included some moments of comedy gold (and a few surprisingly insightful observations about the movie -- ever notice that the opening shot of [=EoE=] is a mirror image of the closing shot of ''Death''?). Best (or, some might say, worst) of all we get to hear about some Spike Spencer outtakes that tragically never made it onto the DVD, such as one in which he apparently made up a song based on an Unintentionally (though you can never be too sure with Eva) phallic-looking shot of Gendo in the graveyard entitled "Shadow Bone".
54** Also on the subject of [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Eva]] commentaries, the TV series got a few of its own with the Platinum edition, ranging from Creator/MattGreenfield and the sound editors divulging largely uninteresting technical details about the remastering process to "[[EpilepticTrees explanations]]" of the series' symbolism from PromotedFanboy Sean [=McCoy=], and probably most interesting, an episode with commentary from Creator/SpikeSpencer in which he actually admits to being emotionally invested in the character and a rare commentary from the elusive Creator/AllisonKeith.
55** ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion 2.22'' features a "commentary" of sorts -- actually more like a series of interviews between Creator/MikeMcFarland and various cast members (in order: Creator/SpikeSpencer, Creator/BrinaPalencia, Creator/TiffanyGrant, Allison Keith-Shipp, Creator/JohnSwasey, Creator/TrinaNishimura, and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg a sound engineer]]). Highlights include Spike Spencer dispelling the myth that he hates Shinji, Tiffany Grant describing her unspeakably adorable encounter with the daughter of Creator/YukoMiyamura, and John Swasey invoking TheOtherDarrin trope by name.
56* The ''Manga/{{Planetes}}'' anime includes commentary from the Japanese voice actors, director etc., with an interesting twist: they do their commentaries drunk, which makes them much more interesting and enjoyable.
57** ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', animated by the [[Creator/{{Sunrise}} same studio]], does it too, and also has (sober) commentaries from the American dub crew. They're all interesting, but sadly not as funny as the ''Planetes'' commentaries ([[AuthorAppeal butts!]]).
58* The DVD release of ''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}'''s anime adaptation has the ''characters'' rather than the creators comment on the episodes, with dialog written by the author of the original LightNovels, which basically consists of them MSTing themselves. And wondering where the stalkers with the cameras had been hiding all this time.
59* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has audio commentary by a rotating group of actors and staff, the only constant being Creator/JunFukuyama (Lelouch's seiyuu). There is some semi-official discussion, but mostly it tends to be stream-of-consciousness rambling. Sometimes this provides interesting insight into the show's production or answers questions relevant to a specific episode, but a lot of it is [[RuleOfFunny just funny]], like the discussion of Ohgi's perm ("The hairdresser probably screwed up, then lied and said it looked awesome to cover her tracks."), trying to figure what Zero's mask is made of (the four lead actors eventually settle on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-reinforced_plastic fiberglass-reinforced plastic]]), and getting to hear first-hand that the people who made the show love [[EnsembleDarkhorse Jeremiah]] just as much as the fans (as seen by Creator/AmiKoshimizu chanting "Orange, orange, orange..." just before the bridge scene in Episode 4).
60** Not to mention there's a [[OnceAnEpisode once per commentary]] session of affectionately bashing Lelouch. Topics include his fitness ("Even though he has no endurance, he still ran up all those stairs. I'm proud of him"), his plans (often the childishness of them), and his, um, fabulousness ("He must have practiced that. He wouldn't have wanted to get it wrong in front of everyone...")
61** For extra fun, the final episode has two different commentary tracks, one with the four lead actors (Creator/JunFukuyama, Creator/TakahiroSakurai, Creator/{{Yukana}} and Creator/AmiKoshimizu), and another with staff members like director Goro Taniguchi and head writer Ichiro Okouchi, who are also the creators of the series.
62* The commentary tracks for the English DVD releases of ''Anime/HellsingUltimate'' are both informative and at points downright hilarious. They are fronted by dub producer Creator/TaliesinJaffe, who is joined usually by 2 voice actors whose roles are prominent in that particular episode. Jaffe regales viewers with tales of dining with Mr. Hirano and discussing with him how the dub should sound, whilst the various voice actors discuss their characters, stories of conventions (Creator/CrispinFreeman apparently cosplayed as Alucard at one, and part of his payment was that he would get to keep the outfit; Jaffe got the throne), awful theatrical productions, comparisons of English and American acting techniques, and ''Film/TheWarriors'' references. All recall the terrors of matching mouth flaps, working on the previous anime adaptation and how the Ultimate version differs, getting yelled at over "obviously fake" British accents ''especially'' when the actor is genuinely British, and Jaffe's in-depth research probably getting him on every government watch list ever.
63** Ralph Lister (Walter) describing Schrödinger's sexuality as a "moist bud", causing Creator/KariWahlgren (Rip Van Winkle) to be disgusted ("Don't use the word ''moist!''").
64** The English actors unexpectedly crushing the Americans in the game of Turn Everything Anyone Says Into A Euphemism, temporarily driving Jaffe to despair.
65** [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And tax advice!]] (Specifically: if you like creepy books, work on an anime that justifies declaring your creepy books a business expense.)
66** Every commentary past the series midway point also somehow manages to bring up ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'', primarily in that vampires ''[[YourVampiresSuck should not sparkle]]''.
67* ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'' has commentary, in Japanese, from the director being interviewed by a Japanese-speaking American, with subtitles provided. It is ''very'' worth watching the series at least once with commentary to figure out what parts of the series are [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic supposed to mean something]] and what parts are [[QuirkyWork just there to be weird]].
68* The US DVD release of ''Literature/FullMetalPanic: The Second Raid'' retains the commentary tracks recorded by the Japanese cast, including Creator/TomokazuSeki, Creator/SatsukiYukino, Creator/ShinichiroMiki, and Creator/{{Yukana}}.
69* About one episode on every disc of the American release of ''Manga/BusoRenkin'' has commentary. The Episode 6 commentary was quite hilarious.
70* When Central Park Media rereleased ''Anime/ProjectAko'' on DVD, they went an extra step and included a full-length commentary from the movie's director (with subtitles, to boot -- allowing one to watch the film AND read the commentary at the same time, which was actually pretty neat).
71* Creator/FourKidsEntertainment actually did DVD commentaries for some of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' movies. Specifically, ''[[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie Mewtwo Strikes Back]]'', ''[[Anime/{{Pokemon 3}} Spell of the Unown]]'' and ''[[Anime/Pokemon4Ever Voice of the Forest]]''. The first two of these feature the show's head writers, Norman Grossfeld and Michael Haigney. The one for the fourth movie features Grossfeld and Haigney [[Creator/VeronicaTaylor with most]] [[Creator/RachaelLillis of the]] [[Creator/MaddieBlaustein main cast]].
72* The ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' English [=DVDs=] had this. Since the episodes are five minutes long, there were varied result of off-topicness. Creator/EricVale and Creator/JerryJewell somehow got on the topic of [[{{Eagleland}} strippers, crack, and cheeseburgers.]]
73* The R1 ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' Remix [=DVDs=] have some episodes with commentary by the English crew and actors, while other eps have subtitled commentary by the Japanese. Mushroom Samba deserves special mention, as the claim that Ed was at least partially inspired by composer Yoko Kanno starts to become a ''lot'' more believable.
74* Several English ''Franchise/LupinIII'' releases include exclusive English commentaries with people in the North American industry who are big fans of Lupin, including Mike Toole (an editor at Anime News Network) and Reed Nelson (who runs the fan site [=LupintheThird=].com).
75* Playing up the entire "''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha TheMovie 1st'' [[RecursiveCanon is an existing movie in the Nanohaverse that was sponsored by]] TheFederation after the events of ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]''" gimmick, the DVD Commentary of TheMovie was provided by [[InCharacterCommentaries Subaru, Teana, Erio, Caro, Vivio, Adult!Fate, and Adult!Nanoha]].
76** Ditto with ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha TheMovie [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs 2nd A's]]''. This time, the commentary cast is ''three times bigger'' than before: Adult!Nanoha, Adult!Fate, Adult!Hayate, Signum, Vita, Shamal, Zafira, Reinforce Zwei, Agito, Subaru, Teana, Erio, Caro, Vivio, Einhart, Rio, Corona, Miura, Lutecia, Adult!Chrono and Adult!Yuuno. A SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome when ''all'' 21 members are gathered together to comment the final battle.
77* ''Anime/HaloLegends'' featured a commentary for all the shorts with overall director Joseph Chou and ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' mastermind Frank O'Connor.
78* The English Manga/OnePiece [=DVDs=] include one or two commentaries per set.
79** The commentary for episode 335 (a filler episode) actually has a joke storyline following ADR director Creator/JoelMcDonald interviewing the cast and crew in bizarre circumstances such as robbing a bank, living in a homeless shelter and even persuading Creator/MikeMcFarland not to jump off a building [[LongRunners because of how much work the show is]]. The commentary actually manages to throw some genuine fan-submitted questions too.
80* Subverted with ''Anime/OsomatsuSan'', where one week after the Losermatsu Special, the episode was replayed with the seiyuu's commentary over the episode, first half the older brothers, second half the younger brothers. It was later put on video release as episode 13.5.
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Fan Works]]
84* D'ark Torgam'i, the author of ''Fanfic/LightAndDarkDEUXTheNewAdventuresOfDarkSoichiro'', joined a dramatic reading of the story, and during the reading sessions, he provides information on the story at times, explaining some of the things that inspired certain scenes, among other details.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Literature]]
88* The author of ''Literature/ConstellationGames'' wrote a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the novel on his blog (link to the first one [[http://www.crummy.com/2011/11/29/0 here]]), which details a number of differences between various drafts, points out minor plot holes, and otherwise serves a purpose pretty much identical to a DVD commentary track.
89* In his book ''The Complete Book of Scriptwriting'', Series/BabylonFive creator Creator/JMichaelStraczynski singles out laserdisks and latter DVD's that have the director's or screenwriter's commentary. Some movies even have the shooting script, which JMS feels is an invaluable resource for aspiring writers to get a handle on writing for TV and movies.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
93* The season three premiere of ''Series/{{Alias}}'' features a track by Erin, the show's Website/TelevisionWithoutPity recapper, and another fan who won a radio contest. Though clearly hogtied to some extent by the show's lawyers (without reading her recaps you'd get the feeling Erin is far more fond of season three than she really is) it's still good fun as they easily find things to chat about through the whole episode and even get in the odd jab at the show ("What was the point of the dress?").
94* Creator/JossWhedon's commentaries for his ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episodes are occasionally enlightening, but always funny. His commentary for "[[{{Recap/FireflyE14ObjectsInSpace}} Objects in Space]]", however, is very philosophical, as the episode was inspired by the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. His commentary on "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E22Restless}} Restless]]" is almost required to actually understand what the hell is going on. And anywhere he appears with comic Creator/SethGreen (Oz) is hilarious.
95** In ''Series/{{Angel}}'' Season 5, Joss, Alexis Denisof (Wesley) and Creator/AmyAcker (Fred) were all on the commentary track for the extremely grueling TearJerker "[[{{Recap/AngelS05E15AHoleInTheWorld}} A Hole in the World]]". The performance is so powerful that all three are struck silent for a large part of the show, at the end of which Joss jokes it was the "[[WorstWhateverEver Worst. Commentary. Ever]]."
96** Creator/NathanFillion and Creator/AlanTudyk did commentary for "[[{{Recap/FireflyE10WarStories}} War Stories]]", during which Tudyk makes excuses for his physique[[note]]saying he had a big lunch before shooting one of his shirtless scenes[[/note]] and ends with Fillion inviting Tudyk to watch porn with him. No, really.
97*** This one also features Tudyk speculating on what Wash was up to during the Unification War: spending most of it in prison after getting shot down on his first mission ferrying supplies (though for which side is up for grabs), and surviving in prison by entertaining fellow prisoners with shadow puppets (apparently SeriousBusiness in the ''Firefly''-verse). Many fans have taken this as their {{Fanon}}.
98** The (not Joss) commentary for the ''Buffy'' episode "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E17Superstar}} Superstar]]" pretty much tells you nothing you couldn't figure out by watching the episode.
99** Jane Espensen recorded commentary for some of the episodes she wrote for in ''Buffy'' season 3, which provide a decent insight into the production process and what it was like to write each episode [[ShowRunner alongside Joss Whedon]]. The one for the episode "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E18Earshot}} Earshot]]" in particular includes a brief note about how she's [[ViewersAreGeniuses surprised more people don't seem to laugh]] at the fact that [[WrongGenreSavvy Giles assumes]] Buffy's skin irritation is maybe due to something like "[[ComicallyMissingThePoint using a new fabric softener]]", considering her [[ChekhovsGun recent exposure to a demon's blood]] and the fact that "[[NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast they live on the Hellmouth]]!"
100* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
101** The classic series home video team aim to get commentaries recorded by surviving cast and crew for DVD releases of ''every'' surviving serial; as of 2022, the only released serial that has no commentary is "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E3TheEdgeOfDestruction The Edge of Destruction]]". "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild An Unearthly Child]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks The Daleks]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E6TheMoonbase The Moonbase]]" only have commentaries for select episodes. Otherwise, the entire serial is commentated.
102*** Rereleases occasionally come with a new second commentary. For example, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath The Robots of Death]]" was first released in 2000 with a commentary featuring producer Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe and writer Creator/ChrisBoucher. Its rerelease in 2012 tossed in a second commentary featuring Creator/TomBaker (The Fourth Doctor), Creator/LouiseJameson (Leela), Creator/PamelaSalem (Toos) and serial director Michael E. Briant.
103*** The 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]" has three commentaries: the Special Edition {{recut}} has the commentary included in the 2000 Region 1 DVD with Creator/PeterDavison (The Fifth Doctor) and Creator/TerranceDicks (the writer) while the original TV cut has two new commentaries: a regular commentary featuring Creator/CaroleAnnFord (Susan), Creator/NicholasCourtney (TheBrigadier), Creator/ElisabethSladen (Sarah Jane Smith) and Creator/MarkStrickson (Turlough), and an EasterEgg commentary with Creator/DavidTennant (The Tenth Doctor), Phil Collinson (producer during the Creator/RussellTDavies era) and Helen Raynor (a writer and script editor for the Davies era and ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'') having a huge nostalgia kick.
104*** Along with the normal commentary on the DVD of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival Survival]]", the third episode also was commentated on by a group of fans who won a contest in ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine''.
105*** Many classic ''Who'' commentaries do like to playfully mock the episodes. Creator/PeterDavison has said that he prefers doing the commentaries with the actors, and not members of the production staff, as the actors are usually more willing to take playful jabs at the silliness of it all (although some fans get very upset about the negativity of Davison's remarks about some stories, and even more so Creator/JanetFielding's).
106*** The Blu-ray season box sets port over every commentary from previous DVD releases but largely eschew recording new traditional commentaries (with only "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Destiny of the Daleks]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E1TheLeisureHive The Leisure Hive]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E4StateOfDecay State of Decay]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks Revelation of the Daleks]]" receiving new ones by the release of Season 22 in June 2022) in favor of a "Behind the Sofa" commentary featurette series with an episode each for every serial - basically ''Series/{{Gogglebox}}'' with ''Doctor Who'' serials, watched by surviving cast and crew from the box set's season on one set of couches and by cast and crew of other ''Doctor Who'' eras on another set of couches.
107** The [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie TV movie]] had two commentaries. The first featured a straightforward commentary from director Geoffrey Sax about the casting, filming, and special effects shots. The second was moderated by Creator/NicholasBriggs, and featured Creator/SylvesterMcCoy and Creator/PaulMcGann talking about how much fun they had during filming, gushing about co-star Daphne Ashbrook, and making fun of the movie's sillier moments.
108** With regards to the revival series box sets, Series 1-4 had cast and/or crew commentaries for every episode. The post-Series 4 specials had to go without. From Series 5 onwards, only a handful of episodes/specials from each season get commentaries. Sometimes the choices of which episodes get them and which don't are odd; from Creator/PeterCapaldi's tenure, fan punching bags "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon Kill the Moon]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E9SleepNoMore Sleep No More]]" received commentaries, but not his massively-scaled multi-part {{Season Finale}}s!
109* The ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'' DVD includes on average of two and a half commentaries ''per episode'', including one done by three "teachers" in character and one by [[PromotedFanboy posters on the biggest F&G fanboard]]. Creator/JuddApatow and Paul Feig freely admit that they made the occasion of recording commentaries a de facto cast reunion.
110* In ''Series/NewsRadio'' all the seasons have at least 2/3 of the episodes have commentary by the creators, writers, actors, and in Season 1 & 2 even network execs. They reveal just how off-the-wall both the writing and acting staff where, even going so far as to revealing who was sleeping with who, as well as admitting to chain smoking, drinking and even doing drugs (Andy Dick) on set.
111* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' has tons of commentaries by the cast and crew.
112* The commentary track for ''Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace'' was done by the three main stars of the show: Garth Marenghi, Dean Learner and Todd Rivers. While Garth and Dean are intensely knowledgeable and passionate about the show, it quickly becomes obvious that Todd has never actually watched the finished project before and only has a vague recollection of the scenes that he was in due to his rampant alcoholism at the time of filming. Thus, Todd has little interest in what's going on and constantly draws attention to the various flaws of the show. Meanwhile, all three men (loudly) eat crisps and drink beer while they comment. Additionally, "Todd" makes Richard Aoyade crack up for real by proposing a line of make-up for black women called Ethnic Cleansing.
113* The commentary tracks in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' were filmed during breaks in the filming of the show proper and released on the internet as the episodes aired. Consequently, the lineup sometimes changes halfway through an episode as the actors arrive on set or leave to shoot a scene, and the commentators occasionally have to be shushed -- or even bleeped -- when they accidentally start talking about an episode later in the season.
114** The shushing/bleeping is especially frustrating for owners who saw the series first on the DVD set and were unaware, because they're listening to actors being shushed on plot points and are thinking to themselves "But what sort of idiot listens to the DVD commentary BEFORE watching the series through?"
115* ''Series/{{Lost}}'''s commentaries feature some terminology that can be found on this very wiki, including "SchmuckBait" and "[[LampshadeHanging hanging a lantern on it]]." The commentary for the pilot episode stops and cuts to "making of" footage in a few places. Some wound up being only "cast & crew having fun". The one for season 3's "A Tale of Two Cities" has writer Damon Lindelof and actress Elizabeth Mitchell telling little useful information and a lot of jokes -- even calling it "their own ''[=MST3K=]''".
116** A lighthearted Season 4 commentary between Jorge Garcia and Evangeline Lilly (Hurley and Kate) includes Lilly sheepishly asking what happens when someone needs to go to the bathroom while recording a commentary track. After the act break, she returns and laments that now she's going to be forever known as the girl with the tiny bladder.
117* In the "A Series" DVD of ''Series/{{QI}}'', turning factoids on gives you 'concealed elf banter' (which acts as commentary, and tells you stuff they didn't have time to put in the show) whenever the QI magnifying glass comes on the screen.
118* Every single episode of ''Series/RedDwarf'' (except for Series X) gets a DVD commentary track from the entire cast for that whole series. The exception is Series V, which Creator/CraigCharles (who plays Lister) couldn't show up to the commentary recording for due to being ill -- so instead the other actors all ''imitate him'' and mercilessly make fun of him while he's not there. Series V and VI also include a fan commentary on the most popular episode of each series. The one for "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVBackToReality Back to Reality]]" had someone from the studio sitting in to make sure the fans didn't just quote the entire episode as it happened.
119** Series VII also features Chris Barrie commenting on episodes he doesn't appear in (his character left in episode 2 but appeared in flashbacks in two more episodes after that) and for one episode he basically complains how boring it is, and the rest of the cast agree.
120** Older than DVD! A VHS boxset containing one episode from each of the first six series was released, that came with an audio CD containing creator commentaries on each of the episodes.
121* ''Series/SledgeHammer'': During the recording of first season DVD's commentaries, an earthquake apparently takes place. It's not entirely clear if it's real or not.
122** Probably not. The same thing happens in a single commentary from Season 2. More to the point, the "earthquakes" occur when Series creator Alan Spencer is about to reveal whether or not Sledge and Doreau love each other and get together, and as a result of the "quakes", never reveals said information.
123* On ''Series/TheWestWing'', the DVD commentaries (usually featuring Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and one of the show's stars) fall under the "awkward self-congratulation" category.
124* ''Series/TheWhitestKidsUKnow'''s first season DVD commentary consisted of four-fifths of the group making fun of Sam for two episodes (he was an hour late and showed up when they were starting on the third episode), talking about funny things that happened during the filming, and retelling Trevor's life story before he started sketch comedy [[spoiler:he was a lawyer in Branson, MO with a wife and three kids]].
125* Many of the commentaries for ''Series/MrShow'' feature cast members providing ad-libbed commentary as various fictional characters, some of which appear in the episode and some of which are only tangentially related to the show.
126* The [=DVDs=] for the second season of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' features a commentary with Jason Segel (who plays Marshall) watching a Marshall-centric episode while doing a joint commentary with the writer of the episode. Eventually it devolves into both of them disrobing to their underwear in what sounds like Gay Chicken. For the third season DVD, Segel apparently demanded to have the writer do another joint commentary, for an episode the writer didn't actually have any involvement in. Segel shows up drunk, with 12 condoms. 10 condoms are left by the episode's end.
127* ''Series/TheWeirdAlShow'' had fascinating cast/crew commentaries for every episode, addressing the amount of ExecutiveMeddling they were subjected to, among many other things. They also frequently mocked the quality of the show, in essence MSTing their own work.
128* Many of ''Series/TwentyFour'''s commentaries are the self-congratulatory sort, but one for the fourth episode of Day Two features gags about ProductPlacement ("Is that a Daewoo?")
129** There were two hilarious commentary intros for the third season. In her commentary Mary Lynn Rajskub introduces herself as Reese Witherspoon, and later on in the season during their commentary with producer Tim Iacofano, Carlos Bernard introduces himself as playing 'Tony the Pizza Man', and James Badge Dale says he plays "Chase who delivers Chinese Food".
130* As part of a joke in Creator/TheUmbilicalBrothers live show ''Speedmouse'', out of nowhere commentary is heard in the theatre, stating they had no idea how to end the current joke; on the DVD it turns out that it's part of the show's actual commentary. The rest of the commentary is frequently sidetracked or interrupted by other characters from the show, and when they do provide behind-the-scenes information it's false. Several times, they claim that various imaginary props and characters were actually present in the theatre, but were digitally removed in post-production. At one point, they admit that a particular imaginary character really was just a voiceover, then claim that it was intended to be a visible CGI-animated character but all the earlier digital object removal broke the CGI budget.
131* ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' has commentaries sprinkled over a number of episodes with various pairings of directors, writers, and actors. It's very interesting hearing the contrast in commentating styles among the different parties. Creator/IanMcShane and Creator/TimothyOlyphant are clearly at a loss, and mostly just comment on trivial things like their hair and how tall the various actresses are. Creator/MollyParker and Creator/AnnaGunn, on the other hand, provide a rather intellectual analysis of the show's themes and characters.
132* The shortlived ''Director's Commentary'' TV series was a rather good parody of the genre.
133* Creator/EddieIzzard's stand-up DVD ''Sexie'' has a commentary, immediately lampshaded by im referring to it as an "audio commentary for an audio commentary". So.. yeah.
134* Creator/JMichaelStraczynski did commentaries for several pivotal episodes of ''Series/BabylonFive'', including every season finale. Lots of great information about the production and his writing strategy, and it ultimately becomes very moving when he audibly chokes back tears while watching the series finale.
135** In addition, many of the cast member commentaries are hilarious, full of affectionate jabs at each other (particularly when Bruce Boxleitner and Jerry Doyle are involved). But the funniest moment of all is the one in "Interludes and Examinations" where Boxleitner apparently realises for the first time ever while doing the commentary [[spoiler:that the apparition of Sheridan's father when Kosh is killed was actually the dying Kosh talking to him]].
136* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' had a commentary by [[TheVoiceless Thing]] and [[TheUnintelligible Cousin Itt.]]
137* ''Series/SesameStreet'' Old School: Volume 3 features a commentary on episode 1316 by Maria’s actress Sonia Manzano.
138* On the commentary for the DVD of the Australian comedy show ''The Late Show'' it was mentioned the possibility of some things being removed due to legal reasons. Due to his commitment and love of all things DVD, when this happens Tony Martin (cast member and producer of the DVD) cuts into the commentary track and explains what happened, and fills the blank in with jokes to ensure the commentary doesn't have any awkward pauses.
139* The [=DVDs=] for ''Series/GenerationKill'' have commentaries for each of the seven episodes. They range from giving insight into the making-of (with directors Susanna White and Simon Cellan Jones sitting for some episodes) to a few extra anecdotes from writer Evan Wright. The actors mostly take the commentary seriously; Stark Sands discusses the real Nate Fick and war, while in contrast Alexander Skarsgaard and James Ransone spend the fourth episode saying, "I'm not onscreen! This episode sucks."
140* ''Series/{{Community}}'''s first season has a commentary for every episode, each of which include at least four people and all of which feature series creator Creator/DanHarmon. Generally, those who accompany him are two or three of the actors (usually those whose characters had the greatest impact on that episode's plot) and occasionally the episode's writer or director.
141** For the third seasons, actors Creator/GillianJacobs and Creator/YvetteNicoleBrown are the constants, with one or both appearing in every track. They also lack contributions from Creator/DonaldGlover (who was on tour at the time) and Creator/ChevyChase (who had... issues with the production).
142* The commentary for ''Series/BlackBooks'' is almost as endlessly quotable as the series themselves, due to the cast's ability to be off-the-cuff hilarious and the relaxed attitude to actually talking about the show.
143-->'''Bill Bailey:''' "We will settle this... the Gypsy way."
144* ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', ''Series/BlackBooks'' sister show, also has a frequently laugh-out-loud commentary track, which manges to include as many as possible of the regular and guest cast, but Edgar Wright tends to pull the actors back towards relevance when they start riffing, sadly...
145* On the commentary for the ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' episode "Sister City", guest star Fred Armisen "leaves" partway through and Raul, the character he played in the episode, shows up to complain about how badly he was portrayed. Eventually, Raul "leaves", at which point Armisen just happens to "return".
146* The actor commentaries for ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' are always great fun. None more so than when David Hewlett's dog, Mars, sat up and growled when a Wraith came on the screen (until that point no one listening to the commentary would have known he was in the room at the time during the recording) and the time Hewlett and the others involved decided on a whim to phone a guest star in the episode they were commenting on and discuss his acting.
147* Unfortunately the commentary for the DVD release of ''Series/PoliceSquad'' is pretty boring -- they hadn't seen the series for a while and spend more time laughing at the jokes and saying how wet behind the ears they were then letting you know anything interesting. They only offer it on three out of the total of six episodes, too -- and not even the best ones. They spend half the time talking about how they had to fight against having a LaughTrack added -- [[{{Irony}} and then their commentary is mostly... a laugh track]].
148* Most of the commentary for ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' is hilarious. Most episodes are commented by lots of the cast at the same time, and they have fun teasing each other. On one George-heavy episode the rest of the cast calls Creator/JeffreyTambor on the phone, and he plays along while driving until cut off in a tunnel.
149* ''Series/MadMen'' features scads of commentary, with two tracks for almost every episode. The quality varies widely, though. Creator/JonHamm and Creator/JohnSlattery together are ridiculously funny, as are Creator/ChristinaHendricks and Robert Morse, and Creator/AlisonBrie and Vincent Kartheiser. Creator/ElizabethMoss is a boat anchor, though, especially in the first-season commentaries, where she spends three whole episodes going on at excruciating length about how challenging and rewarding her fat suit acting was.
150* ''Series/{{Treme}}'' has a slew of great ones by the cast and crew, plus two radio personalities who write a blog about the show's music. Plenty of information about filming in New Orleans, cultural phenomena that the show doesn't fully explain, the few historical liberties taken, and identities of locals who were given small roles. Also, Creator/DavidSimon says that he's written a request for a second line into his will, complete with song list, which will probably be the only one his particular cemetery will ever see.
151* ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' doesn't do many commentaries, but one tradition seems to be that Daniella Ruah (Kensi) and Eric Christian Olsen (Deeks) always do one together each season. The tracks are hilarious and if you believe their commentary then it becomes clear the writers are not stretching for the banter between the characters. Also, after the first one in Season Two, you get the feeling those two should not be allowed in the booth without a script.
152* Creator/RonMoore recorded commentaries for ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' which he originally released for free as a podcast before they were included on the [=DVDs=]. He recorded the majority of these at home, rather than in a booth, and the sound of neighbors mowing lawns and telephones ringing could occasionally be heard[[note]]at first, he was apologetic for the distractions, but eventually started [[DearNegativeReader telling listeners to deal with the noise after the complaints started getting on his nerves]][[/note]]. He was often joined by his wife, Terry aka "Mrs. Ron", who'd make her own observations, or by David Eick or castmembers. Eventually, Moore settled into a routine where he'd start most commentaries by audibly lighting up a cigarette and taking a swig of scotch before telling the listeners what brands he'd be enjoying for the duration of the recording.
153* ''Series/BreakingBad'' jumps back and forth between being incredibly amusing and informative as all the cast and crew riff on each other giving anecdotes, and awkward congrats sessions. In particular, creator Creator/VinceGilligan is such a nice man that he pretty much makes sure to congratulate everyone for everything.
154* The commentaries for ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' are good in different ways. The commentary for "[[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink A Study in Pink]]" (Episode 1) has Creator/StevenMoffat, Creator/MarkGatiss, and Sue Vertue (Moffat's wife and co-producer of the show) having a lengthy, informative conversation about all the various Doyle references they snuck in and what the casting process was like. The commentary for "[[Recap/SherlockS01E03TheGreatGame The Great Game]]", though, is Gatiss and stars Creator/BenedictCumberbatch and Creator/MartinFreeman (who hilariously, has to leave halfway through) joking around, trying not to label-drop all the excellent clothes they get to wear, and generally having a very good time.
155-->[[MemeticMutation "Rupert Graves is good at football and has five children."]]
156* ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' epic best of compilation features an excellent commentary where Ian and Paul watch and make more jokes -- on one notable occasion, Paul is utterly mortified when his past self makes a funnier joke about a clip immediately after he does.
157* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has plenty of good ones, the main attraction being the one by Creator/GeorgeRRMartin on the episode of each season he wrote himself. They also feature the showrunners/writers, directors, actors, producers, designers, etc. Lots of great notes on adaptation issues, relations between the actors, and insights into the characters. The child actors even get their own commentary, and start it off by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t92ukx0A2fk singing along to the main theme!]]
158* Season 2 of ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'' features some good ones with the actors, most notably Clea Duvall's rather embarrassed commentary on her sex scene with Nick Stahl.
159* Only a few episodes in seasons one and two of ''Series/{{JAG}}'' have audio commentaries and since they were recorded nine to ten years after the episodes were made, they can be characterized as remembrance style.
160* The premiere episode of ''Series/{{Profit}}'' features a trio of people in the booth. The track itself is pretty good, but it takes them a while to recover from the intro.
161-->'''David Greenwalt:''' Hi, I'm David Greenwalt, co-creator.
162-->'''John [=McNamara=]:''' I'm John [=McNamara=], co-creator.
163-->'''Adrian Pasdar:''' Adrian Pasdar, actor.
164-->'''John [=McNamara=]:''' Your voice is so awesome. I want you to read me to sleep every night.
165-->'''all:''' *crack up laughing*
166* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S5E5TheLastNightOfAJockey The Last Night of a Jockey]]" has probably one of the most hilariously awkward commentaries ever courtesy of an ''extremely'' cranky Creator/MickeyRooney who proceeds to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR4YhS_Ru_I antagonize his interviewer]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm1b8vbfBdc&feature=youtu.be&t=22s like the world's biggest "crotchety old man" stereotype]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6SPnetR2UE every step of the way]], and at one point even claiming no one is going to listen to said commentary because the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VCceZUuV8g younger audience]]" is "watching...[[TheInternetIsForPorn sexy things]]".
167* ''Series/WonderShowzen''
168** Season 1, [[http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20854/wonder-showzen-season-1/ per DVD Talk]]: ''On "Space", Screamin' Steven J. Hawkins -- a parody of Stephen Hawking -- speaks in a computerized voice about all manner of subjects, including how since "ignorance is bliss," that means he, being the smartest person in the world, must be the most miserable. ("More misery than anyone on this God-forsaken planet could possibly understand.") Over "Diversity", the band PFFR (featuring the "Wonder Showzen" guys, and predating the TV show) plays its weird electronica music. And on "Nature", actor Dick Gregory (who plays Mr. Sun on the show) rambles amiably about ... um ... the episode, sometimes, and sometimes just about whatever. It's not as funny as the Stephen Hawking thing, but it's admirably weird... [and] one more commentary, from author Gordon Lish, who has no prior connection to "Wonder Showzen" as far as I can tell. He offers commentary on the "Patience" episode, talking more or less about the subject of patience without ever actually referencing the episode. When the episode starts playing backwards halfway through, Lish's commentary does the same thing. At the end, when the episode goes to fast-forward, so does Lish.''
169** Season 2, [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/11/17/wonder-showzen-season-two?page=2 per IGN]]: ''The commentaries once again have hardly anything to do with the show itself. Rather, the episode "Genocide" has "Screamin' Stephen Hawking" and Samantha Power, a real Pulitzer-Prize winning author. And "Time" has a professor of theoretical physics from the City University of New York. Both professors simply lecture on their subject for a half-hour. To be honest, these commentaries are amazingly interesting and worth a listen. Watching the show play as the professor talk about their work is a fascinating bit of art.''
170* The season 2 DVD for ''Series/GavinAndStacey'' has in-vision commentaries on all six episodes. This at least proves that most of the cast members were present, even if some of them go whole episodes without saying anything. We also get to see their delight when a lackey turns up with drinks for them.
171[[/folder]]
172
173[[folder:Music]]
174* Music/BeastieBoys did this for all of their albums (save ''Licensed to Ill'' and their two newest albums) to celebrate their special-edition reissues throughout 2009.
175* The website Genius (formerly known as Rap Genius before they expanded their scope) provides annotations with analysis and explanations on various song lyrics. Some songs will have official annotations by the artist themselves, and these will be marked in green. One particular example is the one for [[https://genius.com/4598539 Jadakiss's "Why"]] where he, among other things, [[ConspiracyTheorist insists that George Bush knocked down the twin towers and that they are withholding a cure for AIDS.]]
176* The 25th anniversary special edition of ''The Wake'' by British prog rockers IQ includes a DVD with a video of the band sitting listening to the music and commenting on how the album was made. Since it's a video commentary about an audio track, this could be seen as a deconstruction of sorts.
177** The 30th anniversary edition of ''Tales from the Lush Attic'' also includes a commentary, but this time it's presented as an audio [=MP3=] with the music playing in the background.
178* Kill Hannah did this for two albums ''Until There's Nothing Left Of Us'' and ''Wake Up The Sleepers'', making them available with pre-order. (The latter, in addition to specifying the many special guests of the album, originally told the listeners ''exactly'' what sort of drug binge the lead singer was on to inspire the album's first single. His exhortation never to do that particular drug is rather less effective now that the commentary's been censored.)
179* Music/PetShopBoys: When their album ''Yes'' was initially released, the [=iTunes=] Store version came with a bonus track of the duo providing song-by-song commentary.
180* Music/{{Qbomb}}'s album ''HYPERPUNK'' had a release on their Website/{{YouTube}} called ''HYPERPUNK: [[SelfDeprecation Pretentious Edition]]'', where two of the band members listen to the album and share behind-the-scenes info on the songs.
181* Music/{{Trifonic}} included a 30-minute commentary track for their debut album ''Emergence'' as a hidden track, when purchased as a download from their online store.
182* Music/XiuXiu has produced release-length commentaries for most of their major albums, with the interesting variation that these are specifically ''drunk'' commentaries, wherein lead member Jamie Stewart discusses each track while intoxicated. Alcohol is not the only substance used; others listed in the Bandcamp descriptions include weed, whippets, and paint thinner.
183[[/folder]]
184
185[[folder:Music Video]]
186* The Music/TheyMightBeGiants video collection ''Direct From Brooklyn'' features commentary by John Flansburgh and John Linnell on all of their videos (as well as the WesternAnimation/TinyToons ones for "Particle Man" and "Istanbul"), with the exception of "Snail Shell": in lieu of actual commentary, they recorded an entire new song, "Complete Paranoia", that very obliquely comments on some of the things happening in the video ("I hold out my hand like a claw / the German scientist guy turns around").
187** The commentary for their documentary ''Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns'' is entertaining. The Johns are joined by the director (A.J. Schnack) and [[Radio/ThisAmericanLife Sarah Vowell]], who's interviewed in the movie. Schnack mostly sticks to talking about making the movie, Linnell mainly points out little oddities in the film, but Flansburgh and Vowell (usually in tandem) go off on all sorts of weird tangents that have no relation to the movie, and sometimes the others go along with them.
188* The Music/PetShopBoys' band commentary on the ''PopArt: The Videos'' compilation is pretty much like watching a Podcast/RiffTrax. They hold nothing back in the snarkery, and both of them go into hysterics at their most embarrassing dance numbers.
189* Music/FallOutBoy released their ''Believers Never Die -- Greatest Hits'' album with a DVD featuring all of their videos, with commentary. The general consensus places it in the mid-to-low quality range.
190* An EasterEgg on the ''Music/WeirdAlYankovic Live'' DVD activated commentaries by Al for the two music videos included ("All About the Pentiums" and "The Saga Begins") -- they're more entertaining and informative than some full-length tracks.
191* ''The Directors Series'' [=DVDs=] were compilations of the work of notable music video directors; the Creator/SpikeJonze and Anton Corbjin discs included musician commentaries, and the Mark Romanek disc included director commentaries for all 26 clips and musician commentaries on certain videos.
192* ''{{Music/Oasis}}: Time Flies 1994-2009'' has Noel Gallagher doing a commentary on the band's music videos. He watches some of them for the first time and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfNqyjZcleI he's definitely not impressed.]]
193* {{Music/Weezer}}'s ''Video Capture Device'' has commentary on the music videos by three out of the four members (singer/guitarist Rivers Cuomo didn't take part). Since he joined the band in 2001 and the DVD covers the band's career from 1991 to 2002, bassist Scott Shriner sort of takes on the role of TheWatson, asking the other two members the kinds of questions fans might have or getting them to clarify statements they make.
194[[/folder]]
195
196[[folder:Video Games]]
197* Factor 5's Platform/{{Nintendo 64}} game ''Star Wars Episode I: Battle For Naboo'', a ''VideoGame/RogueSquadron'' SpinOff, may very well be one of the first games with an audio commentary. In each of the standard levels, there are at least five minutes of audio commentary from the games developers. On a ''cartridge'', no less!
198-->'''Developer:''' [[ShoutOut This is]] Creator/{{NPR}}, Naboo Public Radio.
199* Factor 5 also included audio commentary in the Platform/GameCube game ''[[VideoGame/RogueSquadron Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader]]''.
200* ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick: VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay''. In the Developer's Cut, at points in the game you'd come across a bubble, and when activating it would get to hear one of the designers talk about the level you're in/enemies you're fighting/scene you're about to see etc etc.
201* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
202** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'''s [[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition Legendary Edition]] has a DVD with all the cutscenes from the preceding two games. You can turn on the DVD commentary to hear three of the game's makers (including Creator/{{Bungie}} founder Jason Jones) talk over them.
203** Those who bought ''VideoGame/HaloReach''[='s=] own Legendary Edition got access to a Developer Commentary, in which Bungie staff talk over a two-hour edited playthrough of the game.
204* Starting a NewGamePlus in ''Disgaea DS'' can unlock commentary on cutscenes by one of the MascotMook Prinnies, [[VerbalTic dood]]. (While the regular scene takes place on the lower screen, the Prinny's comments show up on the top.)
205* Valve Software's more recent games (starting with ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Lost Coast'') offer a similar ability; while playing through the game with commentary active, little rotating speech bubbles can be found throughout each level. "activating" these bubbles begins an audio commentary track. Some of these actually take temporary control of the player character, in order to show closer views of certain objects.
206** Most of Valve's games with commentaries makes your character immune to damage or be ignored by enemies, which is nice because frankly, being attacked while trying to listen to the commentaries is a big no no. Of course achievements cannot be earned due to you being in god mode.
207** In ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' specifically, certain commentary nodes spawn a copy of whatever they're talking about. [[OhCrap One of them talks about The Tank...]]
208*** ...Which will ignore you and go after the bots, allowing players to cause shenanigans by spawning the Tank through the commentary node over and over again.
209* ''VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus'' has level commentary tracks from the developers, but you need to complete NintendoHard time trials to unlock em'.
210* Season One of the new ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' series has commentary from the designers about how some of the scenes were made and what got left out of the games (including subtle foreshadowing being dropped because too many people were getting it and an over-complicated puzzle being changed). It was available on the Telltale website for a period of time.
211* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'' has commentary crystals in every level, but you have to beat all the levels in each region and find the secret items in order to unlock them. Even when you are listening to the commentaries, Lara will still be attacked.
212* ''VideoGame/Jak3'' has unlockable versions of cutscenes with commentary by the game's designers and animators, giving insightful little tidbits about the game's cutscenes and machinimia in general. One of the most amusing commentaries is for a cutscene that lasts a whole five seconds: "There's a really funny story behind this scene, but I really don't have the time to tell it!"
213** Likewise, creator commentary for cutscenes can be bought in the secrets shop in ''VideoGame/JakX''. It offers insight in how the scenes were animated, ideas that didn't make it into the game, and a crew member doing [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments an imitation of a colleague]] who couldn't be there during recording.
214* To some extent, ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'' has this in the form of Kayin Nasaki's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l-kBGr-tB8&feature=related own]] LetsPlay of it. Besides the commentary it's somewhat satisfying for others to see him get a taste of [[PlatformHell what he's unleashed]].
215* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'':
216** In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction'', the "[[PunBasedTitle Tools of Production]]" cheat unlocks Infobots scattered around the worlds that provide commentary on various things,.
217** [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 The]] [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando first]] [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal three]] ''Ratchet & Clank'' games have commentaries by Creator/InsomniacGames alumni Mike Stout and Tony Garcia on the [[https://www.youtube.com/user/uselesspodcasts/featured uselesspodcasts]] Website/YouTube channel, done over Let's Plays of the games themselves.
218* The director of the "movie" ''VideoGame/TheDeadlyTowerOfMonsters'' constantly speaks about behind-the-scenes details and other minutia regarding the production of the film, all as you play through the film.
219* In the ''VideoGame/MonstersVsAliens'' video game each level has unlockable commentary, mostly in character by whichever monster the level featured, but in a few cases by the developers who worked on the game.
220* Hideki Kamiya has done what's basically a LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' where he discusses Creator/PlatinumGames' experience creating the game. The translated commentary is uploaded bi-weekly on Creator/PlatinumGames' site.
221* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' has a podcast on Snake's in-game [=iPod=], in which the developers talk about various aspects of the game's design.
222* A patch/DLC for ''VideoGame/MarkOfTheNinja'' added interactive commentary in the same vein as Valve's. In various parts of the level there are "nodes" which allow the player to read commentary by attacking or interacting with them (there's even a few achievements for doing so in the steam version).
223* The Director's Cut of ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' features commentary cued by the player being in certain locations, which the player can activate or ignore depending on game circumstances. As an added touch, portraits of the people commenting appear in the player's HUD, similar to the in-character infolink.
224* ''Deponia: The Complete Journey'', the first three Deponia games merged into one, big package, comes with various bonus goodies, developer commentary in both German and English included.
225* ''VideoGame/GoneHome'' has an option to enable commentary mode, which appears in the form of lightbulb icons scattered throughout the house. The majority of the commentary is from the developers about the game's story and production, but a few of commentary nodes is from Music/HeavensToBetsy, mostly about the RiotGrrrl music featured in the game.
226* ''VideoGame/CopyKitty'': After completing both characters' campaigns, a Boki-exclusive mode is unlocked called the Lost Levels featuring versions of scrapped or heavily revised levels from prier versions of the game. Commentary by co-creator Azure recounts the several changes as the game was in development, and provides insight on the creation process.
227* One of the volume settings in ''VideoGame/ThomasWasAlone'' allows you to turn up a developer commentary done by the game's creator, Mike Bithell, rather than the normal story narration done by Danny Wallace.
228* Completing ''VideoGame/{{Wandersong}}'' allows you to unlock developer commentary as a NewGamePlus feature. As you go throughout the areas, little glowing orbs appear that spout off trivia about the area and development process.
229* ''VideoGame/DinnerBell'': After you beat the game, you're given a command you can use to turn commentary on. Playing the game with commentary will occasionally post messages related to jokes in the game.
230-->'''''Commentary''': I once heard someone on a radio ad say "My dog is larger than life, both literally and physically." It's fun to count the number of things that are wrong with this statement.''
231* In ''VideoGame/BeyondASteelSky'', you can turn on developer commentary when starting the game. Then you'll have prompts appearing at several parts of the game where you can play commentary by the developers. The game recommends you to enable it only after playing the game once, as they can contain spoilers.
232* ''VideoGame/CragneManor'': In a late-game area, you find a walkie-talkie that you can take with you. Turning it on gives you commentary by the writer of the current room you're in, usually describing the development process or their inspiration for the room.
233[[/folder]]
234
235[[folder:Webcomics]]
236* [[Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt Tom Siddell]] started a series of videos with comments on each chapter of ''Gunnerkrigg Court''. You can find the first one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9oF6ogesUA&list=UUqtG2TZZWm-iKJq2-Vzm4Jg here]].
237* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' (and by extension ''EGS: NP'' and the Sketchbook) has a '''Commentary''' section under almost every page. Many of them have links to earlier strips to help explain the callbacks for those who have missed them, while others (particularly the earlier ones) were added at a later date as a thank-you to those who have supported the comic through Patreon.
238[[/folder]]
239
240[[folder:Web Original]]
241* ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' features ''WebVideo/CommentaryTheMusical'', which is less of an actual commentary than a separate, 42 minute long musical about making a commentary. There is also a regular commentary, in case you wanted to know things, rather than be entertained.
242** In which case you will be disappointed, as any commentary featuring Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Creator/FeliciaDay and Creator/JossWhedon (among others) is sure to be hilarious. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments It is]].
243*** It may be the only commentary with its own tropes page.
244* Website/TheOnion's AV Club website includes a running-feature called [[http://www.avclub.com/features/commentary-tracks-of-the-damned/ "Commentary Tracks of the Damned"]] reviewing DVD commentaries of flop movies. All make sure to point out "what went wrong" (in many movies, the guys are so happy talking over it appears nothing did) and "Inevitable dash of pretension" (since there's ''always'' a comparison or compliment too highbrow considering the product on screen).
245* The DVD set of ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'' features a commentary track for ''every single chapter''. Many of the tracks are with the core creative team: Brooke Burgess, Andrew West, and Ian Kirby. Some include other contributers to the series. ''All'' of them feature talkative writer-director Burgess, who spends much of the time telling in-depth stories about how the series came into being, explaining the plot and dialogue in ridiculous detail, making {{Shout Out}}s to his favorite movies, books, and TV shows, and encouraging you ''not'' to listen to his performance as Gabriel on the voice-over track.
246* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' [=DVD=]s feature commentary which are, like the series, hilarious. Initially it featured some of the main crew commenting on unusual shots, remarks about specific jokes including a few that might of been hard to catch and a great deal of back and forth banter between those recording. Later on answering questions posted online was included during slow periods and comments on scenes or jokes that were cut. More commentators were added each season as well.
247** One particular bit is on the Season 1 DVD in which a humorous story is told about Gus, the guy who voices Simmons, and a trip to Las Vegas which was referenced in the series itself.
248* Several ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' cartoons, on both its website and [=DVD=]s, have in-character commentary.
249** One notable one is when Strong Bad gets an e-mail saying "make a cartoon with just u in it, and u do the commentary." When the DVD email collection was released, the commentary on top of the email had a second layer of Strong Bad commentary talking about his previous commentary.
250* Website/ChannelAwesome and WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment feature online commentaries for their videos. Doug and Rob Walker's commentaries for the Nostalgia Critic videos usually give their honest opinions, where they have a kinder word for some of the media they reviewed, even considering some of them GuiltyPleasures. The only instances where they reiterate the Nostalgia Critic's review are the ones for ''Film/TheGarbagePailKidsMovie'' and ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial''.
251** WebVideo/{{Kickassia}} has got so many commentaries: [[http://spoonyexperiment.com/2010/05/22/kickassia-spoony-commentary/ one]] by [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]], [[http://badmoviebeatdown.blip.tv/file/3688218/ one]] by [[WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown Film Brain]], and [[http://www.phelous.com/node/350 a joint one]] featuring WebVideo/{{Phelous}}, Creator/BradJones and Benzaie (with a cameo by [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] in the last part) at least.
252*** The DVD features even more. Doug and Rob have separate ones that both start with warnings that everything the other says is a lie, then go on to include many of the same anecdotes and jokes, though they do strongly disagree on whether a certain scene needed music. Rob also goes into quite nauseating detail on the leg injury he suffered during the shoot. There's also one with Bargo and Mike Michaud with some neat tidbits about running the site on top of the film itself, though after an hour they completely run out of things to talk about and their comments become more and more random.
253*** Now Linkara and Phelous have another commentary, bringing along Obscurus Lupa and Nash for the perspective of people who were just fans at the time. The result is half serious commentary, half jokes about how Lupa and Nash actually were there, and were just doing things off camera the whole time.
254** WebVideo/SuburbanKnights has them too; while overall a much easier experience than ''Kickassia'', there's still plenty of discussion about how the weather refused to cooperate (and they were stupid enough to spend the one day when the weather was good filming indoor scenes) and some people were much more comfortable than others, depending on how warm their costume was and whether they were inside or outside.
255*** Doug and Rob have them on the DVD again, making it clear that while it was an easier experience for the actors, it was a much harder one for them as they struggled to figure out how the project could possibly be completed given the huge weather problems, until they were ultimately forced to make the film far more of a pure comedy than Doug had intended. There's also one by line producers Holly and Iron Liz, which gets off to a rough start as they experience some technical difficulties, but soon settles into providing some more great information about the shoot.
256* The ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'' commentary is excellent for relieving the [[ParanoiaFuel paranoid insomnia]] the series is likely to induce, courtesy of revelations regarding silly obstructions to filming (Entry #7 took forever to film due to cat poop, Tim kept ruining shots by making silly faces...). It helps that they were kind of drunk for most of it.
257* ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' also has commentaries available for purchase, which mostly discusses how they came up with the plot lines and the methods for the filming and "acting."
258* WebVideo/MrCoatAndFriends does a few.
259* ''WebVideo/NinjaTheMissionForce'' has two commentaries--one by Ed Glaser and Meagan Rachelle talking more about the production itself, and one with Glaser and Creator/BradJones having essentially a three-hour discussion about bad movies and the series' homages to them.
260* WebVideo/GameInformersReplay released an episode as an April Fools Day prank where they gave commentary about them giving commentary on a featured game. The video can be found [[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/04/01/replay-replay.aspx here]].
261* ''WebAnimation/BadDays'' creators Junaid Chundrigar and Davor Bujakovic have recorded and released commentaries for all the episodes from the third season.
262* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' comes with two different commentaries. One with the four main voice actors and one with the three main writers of the show.
263* Creator/JamesRolfe has made commentaries for episodes of WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd and WebVideo/BoardJames, as well as some of his original films such as "Legend of The Blue Hole", "Red Zombie", and "The Deader The Better".
264* Scott Wozniak has made commentaries for episodes of WebVideo/ScottTheWoz, together with the two most common of his acting partners Sam Essig and Eric Turney, on Scott's second channel [[https://www.youtube.com/c/ScottsStash Scott's Stash]]. "The Internet and You" also has two separate commentaries, the first one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4175wkmt4E done by Scott and the video's producer Will Kanwischer]], and the second one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcl7ssUnXoU done by Scott, Sam and Eric]] made for the five-year anniversary of that video's release.
265[[/folder]]
266----
267''Hi, everyone. We're the tropers and this is the first ever commentary for a wiki page....''

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