Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Vampire

[TheCorpulent1]

True, the crossovers are as self-contained as inter-show crossovers can be. I think the only one that really connects between episodes is the one where Angel goes to Sunnydale in a Buffy episode to secretly help with some demons and then Buffy finds out at the end of the episode and goes to LA to confront him about it in his show. The other crossover appearances are just one or two random characters appearing in the opposite show without a lot of backstory.

 

[Hush]

Yeah your talking about when Angel shows up in Season 4 twice, he beats the **** out of Riley which was awesome and then him and Buffy go and talk in the hallway. The other one was what you mentioned and what caused him to come back in the episode that he fought Riley. He also comes back for the Funeral of Joyce and she goes to see him after she comes back to life in Season 6. Also do the damn nerds end up being the villians this entire season (6) because if so that is so ****ing lame.

 

[O'Haire]

Also do the damn nerds end up being the villians this entire season (6)

Nope. **** gets crazy at episode 19.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Nope. **** gets crazy at episode 19.

Indeed it does! I'm not a big fan of the nerds as villains but what they lead to by the end of 6 makes it worthwhile


Bad Eggs;

The Good;
Neat opening scene with the mirror. Some creepy 'Invasion of the Bodysnatchers' stuff including the great scene where Giles' looks at the kids at the bottom of the stairs, you think they're already possessed. Great scene with Giles and Joyce in the library (love the way that even possessed Giles still covers up Buffy being the Slayer) and a genuine shock when Giles' sticks the creature on her. Not really much else.

The Bad;
The Gorch's are pathetic as an enemy whilst the monsters are very badly done.

Kinky dinky;
Buffy being swallowed up by the beast in the cellar reminiscent of vore fetishism (beautiful women enjoying being swallowed whole by giant snakes, carnivarous plants etc PM me if you want the link)

Best line;
Xander; "You've got to keep your egg safe and teach it Christian values"
Willow; "My egg is Jewish!"
Xander "Then teach it that dradle song"
and
Giles "The Gorch's made their name by massacaring a whole village full of Mexicans"
Buffy "Par for the course"
Giles "No this is before they became vampires"
also like;
Xander "Well I guess we know what happened Professor Whitmore"
Cordy "He saw this and ran away?"
Xander "Try best case scenario!"

Questions and observations;
Considering what we learn in 'Normal Again' Buffy's remark to Joyce about saving the world from vampires is very reckless. What's painful about this ep is that Buffy and Joyce obviously love each other and Buffy wants to be a good daughter but slaying always gets in the way.
The Gorch's know Angelus? They really don't seem to be his kind people. Jonathon back once more. In a previous post I stated that Giles and Tara were the only Buffy characters never to go bad but I was wrong, Giles is possessed here so Tara seems to be the only one who never went evil. Cordy refers to having sex in a car, so she's no longer a virgin? (if so the first of the younger Scoobies to be so). Love the way Buffy and Willow get so maternal about their eggs. BUT Angel mentions for the first time that he can't have children although we later find that isn't true, at least in Connor's case. Buffy fighting the parasite is very like the scene in Aliens where Newt and Ripley are trapped in the lab with the facehuggers, right down to the plucking strings music. Buffy and Xander and ultimately everyone else knocked out. Presumably the parasites need a conscious/sleeping host which is why they lock them in the closet. No one dies although actually that's not as unusual as I first thought, Halloween, When she was Bad, The Witch and quite a few other eps have no human deaths whatsoever.
Joyce refuses to buy Buffy an outfit because it makes her look like a streetwalker. Considering some of the things Buffy DOES wear in the first three seasons it must have been the full Julia Roberts?

4/10, awful story saved by the character elements and a few good lines, very nearly the worst episode of Buffy ever

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Suprise

The Good;
Everything! Buffy's opening dream is superb. The fight, the Judge, Dru and Spike and THAT ending! Also the clever way you think Jenny is leading Buffy astray but is actually just leading her to the party. Love Oz's reaction to discovering the truth about Sunnydale

The Bad;
Are you crazy, this is Buffy at it's best!

Best line;
Dru; (after the Judge burns Dalton) "Do it again! Do it again!"

Questions and observations;
Xander mentions giving Buffy a 'pre-birthday spanking', a display of kinkiness that will become apparent in all the Scoobies to a greater and lesser degree over the course of the series. Jenny back in the gang but with her true self revealed, all the Scoobies keeping secrets over the years. Buffy loses her virginity, as the age of consent in California is 18 this is technically statuatory rape. Oz refers to past groupies although he doesn't have any now
Spike in a wheelchair, he seems reluctant to release the Judge, again showing his more human side. The Judge senses it, commenting that Spike and Dru share jealousy and affection (love Spike's confrontation with him "Yeah, what of it mate!?" as though the judge has spilled his pint or something). Dalton also seems to have retained some humanity (enough for the Judge to burn him), perhaps because he was sired by Dru or Spike? The fact that reading is considered sufficently un-demon like behaviour to warrant a fiery death speaks volumes as to why humanity rules the Earth and demons don't any more. Dru hates the flowers, I thought roses were supposed to repel vamps anyway? Brian Thompson back again and the wonderful Vincent Schavelli.
Why not just sink the Judge's arm into the Pacific? Why does Dalton still need his glasses, surely as a vamp his eyes would have healed up like Darla's heart condition and Spike's mum's tuberculosis? Maybe they're just for effect? Small point that Xander says "Hello mom" on the phone and then still needs to say "It's Xander". Does he have siblings or is she just too drunk to understand what he said?

10/10 and more!

 

[Hush]

I'm looking at the various "soundtracks" that are out there for Buffy and having trouble deciding which one a fan should get, some help guys?

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I'm looking at the various "soundtracks" that are out there for Buffy and having trouble deciding which one a fan should get, some help guys?

Radio Sunnydale is very good, especially good is Transylvanian Concubine which if ever there was a song that summed up Drusilla that's it

Innocence

The Good;
As Joss says "Buffy in pain, show good!" And he really puts her, Jenny and Giles through the wringer here (Willow also has her pain but Oz is there to thankfully not kiss it better) But you know what? It doesn't matter because in the final scene she ends up back in Joyce's loving arms (and probably Dawn's too in everyone's memory) and it's all too beautiful for words.
Stunningly brilliant in every way, quite possibly the best episode of Buffy ever.

The Bad;
Ummmmmm?
Actually one thing I don't like is Angelus killing the hooker in the alley (She is lovely in a trashy sort of way, the Gorch's were wrong!). Such a misogynistic cliche, couldn't he have killed some guy emptying the bins or something?

Best line;
Xander (to Cordy) "Wear something trashy...er" (unkind actually as CC's outfit is very nice although a little school-uniformish).
Plus;
Giles; "I'd say we've hit rock bottom"
Xander; "I have a plan"
Cordy; "Oh no, there's a lower place!"
But best dialogue;
Joyce; "So how was your birthday?"
Buffy; "Got older"
Joyce "You don't look any different to me" (nice contrast between the scene where Joyce senses something different about Buffy after she's lost her virginity)
What the fanficcers thought; Angelus kills the scoobs but others take their place-http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3006642/1/Deadscoobies

Questions and observations;
So much good stuff, the dream sequence and the scene where Angelus kills Jenny's uncle especially good. But how does he know he's in town? Did Dru have a vision?
So Sunnydale has it's own army base (couldn't the Initiative have been based there?) as well as an airport big enough for a 747, zoo, docks etc Not bad for a town of under 40,000. How come Spike is prepared to destroy the world now but not in Becoming pt2? You can start to see his jealousy of Dru and Angelus almost from the start, without Darla the Fanged Four are out of balance. Although, like the Harvest or Adam or the Mayor turning into a big snake it would have been bad but would the Judge really have been the end of the world? Buffy using a firearm is a rare sight (I always thought she chucked it away afterwards but obviously she saves it for Season 7 'Him', couldn't she have used it on Adam or Glory?). It was always one of the things that troubled me about the supernatural threat, that really faced with modern technology they're not really up to much (love the Judge's ignorance of what he's facing followed inevitably by death) Buffy says she beat up Willy the Snitch again. I think most people fell in love at this point with Oz, ironically because he DOESN'T want to kiss Willow. Jenny leaves the Scoobies here and realistically will never get back in. Alison Hannigan shows some superb acting skills upon her discovery but all the actors really shine here. Oz joins the Scoobies from the beginning. This makes the Scoobs offically;
1. Buffy
2. Giles
3. Willow
4. Xander
5. Angel (for the course of the ep at least)
6. Jenny
7. Cordy
8. Oz
the biggest they'll ever be until season 5

10/10 and more of I could make it, just superb and a whole new era for Buffy

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Phases

The Good
Wonderful opening scene, Oz's reaction to the news he's a werewolf, the burgeoning Oz and Willow/Xander and Cordy relationships, the mislead with Larry is hilarious and a nice subplot with Theresa as Angelus and co are not forgotten.

The Bad;
Very little, excellent ep

Best line;
Willow; "Three days a month I'm not much fun to be around either"
Is just beaten by;
Giles "Let's not jump to conclusions"
Buffy "I didn't jump, I took a tiny step and there conclusions were"

Questions and observations;
Willow and Cordy seem to be bonding despite Will's reference to CC as a 'skanky ho', their disparaging of men smacks mightily of subtext. That said Willow says she 'Wants smoochies' and seems less alarmed by Oz's possessing chains than intrigued. He doesn't wear them however unlike Buffy who finds herself helpless once more, caught in Cain's net. Cain's suspicion of Buffy and Giles in a May-to-December romance seems incredible but what else would the pair be doing in lover's lane at mignight? Buffy's comments on the male nature of the werewolf are positively misandrist (and later we'll see the female werewolf is deadlier than the male). Cordy refers to the things she can't tell her father about because he still thinks she's a good girl? It's pretty clear Xander doesn't have sex until The Zeppo so how far do they go?
The scene where Angelus offers to walk Theresa home is just chilling. I think what makes it so effective is that he seems so plausible, the devil with the Angel's face.
Much better werewolf than we'll see later, note they switched back to the more traditional image for Nina on Angel. Oz is shot for the second time and knocked out for the first whilst Xander kills his second vamp. It had to be pointed out to me at the time but now it seems hard to miss the 2 guys pushing Giles' car as it arrives at the Bronze.
So presumably Oz's cousin bit him whilst human? So a werewolf can infect someone even in human form? Willow better not let Oz give her any lovebites. And did Oz's cousin get bitten or does being a werewolf run in famillies, Teenwolf style? How come Oz wakes up the second night naked and wondering what happened but not the first? Probably the best ever example of Slayer strength, Buffy bending the barrel of Cain's rifle in her bare hands, totally impossible for any human to do.
I always thought the Owen who Buffy spots cheating on his girlfriend in Lovers Lane was the same Owen from Never Kill A Boy on a First Date but it's not (nice to see that despite her own heartache Buffy still likes romantic gossip). Nice reference to The Witch too with Oz examining the cheerleader trophy. Larry and Xander is a wonderful scene, one of my favourite of the entire series. Surely even the most fervent of Tara's kittens can't fail to be charmed by the Willow/Oz romance?
The series just hitting a series of straight sixes right past the boundary every time, 10/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

The Good;
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better! Pretty much everything, even the music is superb, especially when Xander does his slow walk through the school. It really does set the bar for other eps.

The Bad;
Are you insane? This may well be my favourite Buffy ep EVER!

Best line;
Dru; Don't fret kitten, mummy's here. How do you feel about eternal life?
Xander (terrified); We couldn't just start with coffee?
Angelus (bemused) Boy I really did drive you insane!

Wheldon cliches;
Character death-0
Bondage-0
Knocked out-0
Shot-0
Women good/men bad-0
Kinky-dinky; yep, Willow enthusiastically telling Xander that 'Force is ok' showing the naughty girl behind the softer side of Sears (love her impish smile as she says this). Buffy striptease too.

Questions and observations;
Lovely to see Amy and Jenny back and Harmony playing a fairly major role. Buffy's slit leopardskin mini-skirt is just SCANDALOUS, is this the outfit Joyce refused to buy her in Bad Eggs? Xander meanwhile seems to be dressed as though he's auditioning for Life on Mars, you could go handgliding with that collar. I always knew Cordy and Buffy and Jenny were lovely but here I think for the first time you realise the incredible sexiness of Alysson Hannigan, all the more remarkable for her wearing a man's shirt at the time. Joyce has been introduced to Cordy and greets her by name when she turns up at the door. Exactly how long are Cordy and Xander running around, it's light when they leave the school but dark when they reach Buffy's house?
If I was to single one performance out from them all it would actually be Robia LaMorte for playing Jenny, the way she tries to talk to Giles whilst being gradually overcome by her irresistable attaction to Xander. Amy's *****y comment that Jenny is old enough to be Queen of the World is a bit much as she's only 28 at the time of shooting.
Note Spike's charming present for Dru contrasted to Angelus' hideous gift, his humanity once more shines through. The jealousy between the three shows through, AngeIus tormenting Spike in all sorts of subtle little ways. I once read a very short but hugely funny slashfic where Amy's spell goes wrong in a slightly different way, resulting in all the boys lusting after Xander rather than the girls, even Angelus. Anyone else read that one? You can find it here;
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1039504/goolcaptain

10/10, just terrific in every way

 

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