Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Vampire

[Primal Slayer]

I think the whole "I'm a full blown Lesbian!" thing would have been better if she hadn't been with Kennedy you know?

It felt forced to me. She was fully in love with 2 guys and even VampWillow had a preference for both. But Oz dumps her, she falls in love with Tara and goes "no boys for me". And Kennedy was so out there in personality as opposed to Oz and Taras laid back personalities.

And I wish we could get a graphic novel or something just by Jo Chen. Im surprised DarkHorse hasnt gone beyond the comic form with Buffy since it is a huge success.

 

[Sawyer]

I'm still sticking by wanting to see John Cassaday do at least covers for a Buffyverse series.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They need to get everything they do with Buffy approved by Whedon.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I quite liked Jeanty's work on the season 8 comics.

At least in the Buffy comics you can recognise the characters and be able to understand what's going on! Some editions of Angel;ATF leave me truly baffled

I think Joss wanted Willow to have another girlfriend to show that Tara just wasn't an experimental phase for her, that she wasn't Katy Perry (or Satsu). Kennedy was deliberately as different as possible than Tara so as to avoid the lesbian cliches, Kennedy was a replacement for Tara but not a Tara clone. Personally although she defines herself as gay I think the evidence suggests Will is bi as I point out on my rewatches, note she doesn't tell Oz that they can never be together because she's gay, she still holds out hope for him if they ever run into one another in Istanbul.

Homecoming;

The Good;
Buffy and Cordy's campaign is the funniest thing ever! Jonathon! Love the ending, love the hunting, love Cordy facing off with Lyle Gorch, love the Mayor and Mr Trick, love everything about it, truly fantastic.

The Bad;
Find me some? Actually, why bring back Lyle Gorch who is a stupid villain if there ever was one?

Best line;
The Mayor; "Oh no, that wouldn't be a problem" (wonderful line from Harry Groener, it's all in the way he delivers it, perfectly polite and reasonable but with all the menace in the world)

Wheldon Cliches;
Character death;
Shot; no, despite all the lead flying around. Odd to see Buffy using a gun although it seems to run out of ammo awfully fast.
Tied up;
Knocked out; yep, Giles again and Buffy
Women good/men bad; Scott dumping Buffy but he has his reasons. Faith and Buffy plan to pick up a couple of studs, use them then dump them as revenge on the male of the species. Although I'm sure they won't be complaining!
Kinky dinky; Willow and Xander, awwwwwww. Even the most dedicated of Tara's kittens can't help but be charmed by this scene, especially the music. How does Buffy get her SDH 'letterman' jacket for her campaign? Borrowed from Larry or as a gift in return for her favours? "That thing with her mouth that boys like"? Or is it Xander's from his time on the swim team? Buffy describes Cordy as a 'vapid ****e'. Xander refers to Cordy as his 'conquest' whilst Oz and Willow are 'rounding 2nd' which is apparently slang for heavy petting.
Calling Captain Subtext; just as they're getting serious Scott dumps Buffy. But in Conversations with Dead People we discover why, I don't think his Homecoming date would have got too far either (he earlier comments that he's a bad liar). Willow's attraction to Xander gives more credence to her status as bi. Xander refers to Buffy and Faith in the library 'Getting all sweaty' whilst Oz suggests that Buffy and Cordy have been mudwrestling. Essentially in this ep Faith asks Buffy out on a date to the Homecoming dance and Buffy says yes. She also says 'Boys should break up with you more often' Plus half-naked musclely German men wrestling for no apparent reason.

Questions and observations;
Love the list of Buffy's rivals set of strengths and weaknesses especially that going out with Xander is considered one of Cordy's weaknesses. What does PB crazy mean? Playboy? Just what are the chances that the shack that Buffy and Cordy stumble upon has a working phone? Love Faith's little trick against Scott. There is no Vulcan deathgrip. Wonderful introduction for the Mayor, Harry Groener is just amazing. Nice line where Mr Trick tells him that the whole 'not fitting in' concept was old even before he became a vampire (although one ventures that the undead really couldn't care less about human concerns such a racial politics just as Spike doesn't care about the Nazis in 'Why we fight?'). The picture scenes are smashing and lovingly recreated in the SDH Yearbook. Faith believes rage 'gives you an edge'. Buffy asks if she's invisible, well not yet. Xander refers to his relations with money, presumably not Uncle Rory. The only time we see Faith all dolled up at the dance and she looks beautiful. Buffy tortures the hunter in the trap.The SDPD seem to overcome Mr Trick very easily. Joss bascially reuses this storyline for the second episode of Dollhouse, it's derived from the famous short story 'The Most Dangerous Game' which in turn inspired real life serial killer Robert Hansen who hunted and murdered over twenty people after kidnapping them, releasing them into the Alaskan wilderness and giving them a head start.


10/10 no question

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh, I know we moved on from goofy Angel moments a while ago, but I just saw this again and can't not post it:

 

[Dugath]

Heh, I know we moved on from goofy Angel moments a while ago, but I just saw this again and can't not post it:

Just one of the many reasons I loved this show.

 

[Hush]

I saw that the other night when i watched that episode and laughed my ass off, if you can find the credits for that episode its hilarious. Oh and I just watched the episode The Ring and it was freaking awesome.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I saw that the other night when i watched that episode and laughed my ass off, if you can find the credits for that episode its hilarious. Oh and I just watched the episode The Ring and it was freaking awesome.

I didn't care for The Ring that much although it does introduce Lilah and Wes and Cordy's police double act is good. Frankly any time the characters dance is a treat

Band Candy

The Good;
The more Joyce in an episode the better it is. She and Ripper and all the adults are just hilarious. Also lovely to see Ethan Rayne (I always figured that if Giles was to die he would reform and become Buffy's new Watcher). Love to have seen Buffy's dream but that would be probably beyond the SFX department. Altogether fabulous.

The Bad;
Lurconis looks a bit lame but certainly better than the preying mantis. It rather spoils the suprise of Ethan Rayne being the villain when Robin Sach's name is in the opening titles

Best line; Buffy (as Joyce produces the cuffs) "Never tell me!"

Wheldon Cliches;

Character death;

Shot; Giles threatened with a gun and uses it on Ethan but no shots fired

Tied up; Ethan and possibly Joyce or Giles in handcuffs

Knocked out; for once Giles stays conscious but knocks out a policeman

Women good/men bad;

Kinky dinky; see Tied Up. Personally I always thought that Joyce and Giles had had sex on the hood of the police car but maybe that's just me?

Calling Captain Subtext; "Wanna swap?" What a shame we never got to see an Oz/Cordy relationship (not even in any fanfic I've ever read) I mean Cordy has dated plenty of guys in bands before? Also when Xander says he wants to marry Miss Barton (always had a thing for older women) Cordy replies "Get in line!"

Guantanamo Bay; Buffy beats up Ethan for information

Questions and observations;
Joyce and Giles drink that awful Khalua stuff (or however you spell it) Could Joyce be the ****ty pumpkin? (a prize to whoever can recognise THAT reference!). Whoa Summers you drive like a spaz! Nice to see that Buffy isn't necessarily good at everything, always annoyed me about Xena that she was brilliant at everything even if she was a demi-god (except cooking and music but Joxer and Gabby could each do both for her). Ethan obviously has a few reservations about what he's doing to judge by his expression when Trick kills the worker. Joyce like's 70s singer Juice Newton who's big hit was interestingly "Angel of the morning". Whenever I see a green 4x4 nowadays I always think 'the Geek machine' or 'The Joyce mobile'. You do feel pity for teenage Snyder, he apparently did Tae Kwan Do which is SMG's martial art. What happens to Ethan? They tie him up but then what? You can kill vamps with a pencil? Their skin must be a lot softer than human.
Buffy refers to the 'Real World House' another modern reference she wouldn't know if she was really a mad girl in an asylum. According to the Sunnydale High Yearbook the Band Candy raised $600,000 for the band. Lovely to see Joyce and Giles take centre stage for once
What does Dawn do as Joyce revisits her youth? Xander and WIllow, awwww. Buffy drives without insurance or a licence. But she spends her life walking around with offensive weapons so breaking the law should come naturally to her. No Faith this week, she's not even mentioned. Love the Mayor/Trick scene at the end, once again Harry Groener is subtly threatening (not what he says, how he says it) whilst Todd Freeman gives a great performance, trying to be cool and offhand but obviously scared witless. Love the reference to Death of a Salesman.
Need you ask? 10/10

 

[TheFuture]

The thing with Kennedy is taht she just seemed kind of forced. They wanted to put Willow into another relationship and just kind of seemed to pick Kennedy. I never really liked how they decieded to make Willow into a full on lesbian instead of just having her be bisexual.

Joss never seemed capable of having Buffy and Willow stand on their own two feet for a sustained period of time without needing a man/woman in their lives. There was no need for Kennedy in S7, the last thing Willow needed in S7 was another love interest.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I think Whedon bows to conventional dramatic wisdom a bit too often. Drama conventions say that romance is a great source of drama, so he has all kinds of romantic entanglements that come off kind of awkward. Drama conventions also say that while romance is great, actual happy relationships get boring, so he's fond of splitting people up and never letting them get too happy. Drama conventions say that major character deaths are a great way to drive home how important certain scenes should be, so he goes crazy offing some of the best characters in each of his shows during their series finales. I'm sure there are others, but those are the main ones that jump out at me in his work.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I think Whedon bows to conventional dramatic wisdom a bit too often. Drama conventions say that romance is a great source of drama, so he has all kinds of romantic entanglements that come off kind of awkward. Drama conventions also say that while romance is great, actual happy relationships get boring, so he's fond of splitting people up and never letting them get too happy. Drama conventions say that major character deaths are a great way to drive home how important certain scenes should be, so he goes crazy offing some of the best characters in each of his shows during their series finales. I'm sure there are others, but those are the main ones that jump out at me in his work.

I think the death toll in Buffy/Angel (about one regular/recurring character every 10 eps or so) is pretty realistic, given the nature of their work they're all living on borrowed time. I think there always has to be some form relationship for the central characters, they're more interesting that way. Kennedy is in many ways is a necessary step in Willow's recovery from the events of the end of season 6 and Joss pleasing the subtext fans in terms of Will's sexuality

Revelations

The Good;
A great performance from Serena Scott Thomas (when you know she's Kristin's sister the resemblance is starling). Some excellent action scenes and love the idea of the glove.

The Bad;Not much, strong ep
Best line;
Post; (of Giles) There's talk in the council that you've become too American
Buffy; HIM?

Wheldon Cliches;

Character death; Buffy kills Gwendoline, her first human. Faith comments that she has a problem with her authority figures who keep ending up dead. She's right, her mum, first Watcher, Post, The Mayor, Wes, Lilah and Lindsay all end up dead. If I was Giles I'd watch out

Shot;

Tied up;

Knocked out; Angel, Willow, Giles and Xander which must be something of a record

Women good/men bad; Faith comments that you can't trust guys when relating her past boyfriends to Buffy.

Kinky dinky; Cordy remarks that Xander is trying to give her a lapdance. Faith's motto is 'Get some, get gone'. She refers to Buffy 'boinking the undead' which I suppose is technically necrophilla.

Calling Captain Subtext; Buffy hinting that she and Faith are 'going out' together. Doug Petrie always keen to play the lesbian angle. The scene where Faith disparages her past boyfriends to Buffy could easily be interpreted as her chatting her up whilst her antipathy to Angel could be seen as jealousy

Guantanamo Bay;

Questions and observations;Exactly what possible use would the Labryinth maps of Malta be in Sunnydale? Does Giles know about Willow and Xander? His expression suggests he does. Note Oz doesn't say a word during the confrontation scene in the library. Personally I find little good to say about the Spartans who on the whole were a horrible bunch. Post tries to train Faith in the traditional Slayer way (like Kendra) but it's Buffy's links to humanity that actually keeps her alive. The beginning of Faith's eventual alienation. Buffy rather dresses like Jackie-O in the final scene. Really what is the point of having a glove that you can't take off even if it gives you the ability to throw lightning bolts? What's she going to do, shroud it in bandages and pretend it's a cast?

8/10 strong ep although not brilliant

 

[The Question]

I think Whedon bows to conventional dramatic wisdom a bit too often. Drama conventions say that romance is a great source of drama, so he has all kinds of romantic entanglements that come off kind of awkward. Drama conventions also say that while romance is great, actual happy relationships get boring, so he's fond of splitting people up and never letting them get too happy. Drama conventions say that major character deaths are a great way to drive home how important certain scenes should be, so he goes crazy offing some of the best characters in each of his shows during their series finales. I'm sure there are others, but those are the main ones that jump out at me in his work.

I would say that is a weakness of his writting. He definitely takes his "happy people are boring" mantra a bit too far.

At the same time, I am very very glad that some of the reationship splits happened as it yielded great character development and the relationships didn't seem like they would realistically last anyway, like with Buffy and Angel.

 

[Primal Slayer]

He never shouldve broken up Xander/Anya. It wouldve been so nice/releving to have a happply married couple on the show.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Anya went out like a champ, at least. What really pissed me off was Renee in the comic. He set her up to be an adorable, perfect match for Xander, and then boom, dead.

 

[Sawyer]

Not to mention that she was just a gateway drug to get him to Dawn, which is just icky.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yes. That.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Ya D/X is just a no. Just like Cordy/Conner was a NO. Xander watched Dawn grow up since she was a child...They couldve used Dawn to kind of branch out and bring in new characters that arent slayers or vampires or demons.

 

[Kii]

Xander and Dawn aren't that far apart, age wise.

 

[O'Haire]

What really pissed me off was Renee in the comic. He set her up to be an adorable, perfect match for Xander, and then boom, dead.

Yeah. Joss needs to tone that stuff down. He does it so much now it's not even shocking anymore.

 

[Sawyer]

Xander and Dawn aren't that far apart, age wise.

That's not really the point. The point is that the series often portrayed them as being like brother and sister.

 

[Kii]

That's not really the point. The point is that the series often portrayed them as being like brother and sister.

*shrugs*

Well, that's how Xander viewed their relationship, but Dawn had a fairly massive crush on him for quite a while.

 

[Primal Slayer]

She had a crush on him in Season5. It appeared to be gone by the time season 6 came around.

 

[ComicChick]

Heh, I know we moved on from goofy Angel moments a while ago, but I just saw this again and can't not post it:

i literally just watched that episode. the end credits of angel and wesley dancing are hilarious!

 

[ComicChick]

I think the death toll in Buffy/Angel (about one regular/recurring character every 10 eps or so) is pretty realistic, given the nature of their work they're all living on borrowed time. I think there always has to be some form relationship for the central characters, they're more interesting that way. Kennedy is in many ways is a necessary step in Willow's recovery from the events of the end of season 6 and Joss pleasing the subtext fans in terms of Will's sexuality

8/10 strong ep although not brilliant

are you actually writing those synopsis or just posting from another site?

 

[Metamorpho1977]

Chiller channel is running a Buffy marathon tonight. The Valentine's episode with Xander getting Amy to cast the love spell is on. One of my favorite episodes.