Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[GKarsEye]

Though Jonathan's planned use of a sniper rifle to kill himself is indeed awkward, I can forgive it since the episode gives us Buffy learning that Giles and her mother had sex on the hood of a police car twice. LOL

Yeah that was good, and actually reminds of something I was thinking but didn't want to bring up for fear of side-tracking the conversation and bringing an old argument from the B5 threads but what the hell...

What's with all the not fucking on this show?

The most egregious case is Xander / Cordelia. Two people attracted to each other for purely physical reasons, at least at first. And it's a whole running joke about how they sneak off together to make-out. And they were together for a good while it seemed. So, two hormone-filled attractive teenagers full of hate-love and secrets... if there ain't some fuckin' happenin' at that point, I don't know what to tell you.

From a purely entertainment perspective, the set-up for the context of Xander finally losing his virginity was worth it. But, man, dating a Cordelia without rounding home, that's rough.

Oz / Willow- this one makes sense at least since WIllow is a goody two-shoes and Oz is a robot.

And let's not get into how Buffy is punished brutally for engaging in sex.

And yeah until the reveal about Giles and Joyce, the on-screen action seemed to imply that they didn't get around to sex yet. At least as I remember it (pot/Cream records, burglary, beating up a cop, then running into monsters and Buffy). So that reveal was not only funny but made me happy.

Of course now that Giles is no longer officially Buffy's watcher there's really nothing preventing he and her mom to hook up again...


In a previous post I said I would finish the season last night, which was just due to poor arithmetic on my part. So maybe tonight I finish?

 

[vacantlook]

Well, if your last episode was "Earshot," then you've got four episodes left to the season. "Choices," "The Prom," and the two-parter finale "Graduation Day." Choices and Graduation Day are arc stories. Some people really love The Prom; I'm only so-so on it. It's got some good moments and a particular line of dialogue from Giles that I love, but I'm not all that interested in the villain of the week aspect of it, which thankfully doesn't take up too much time.

 

[GKarsEye]

Oh yeah then I'll definitely knock 'em out tonight.

Btw I rag on Oz/Seth Green, and he and Cordelia are my least favorite characters, but I do love his self-deprecating cracks about his own band. Last night he pointed out that some bands actually no more than 3 chords, and when told they sounded like they had sausages taped to their fingers, he agreed that it was a fair comment. Also I love their singer- you can just imagine that guy fronting Matchbox 20 or whatever douchebag group was popular for like 8 weeks in the spring of '99.

 

[KoshFan]

Relax, GKE. You'll get your fucking.

(And how!)

 

[GKarsEye]

Relax, GKE. You'll get your fucking.

(And how!)

TWSS

Break between episodes....

First I watched the thing about the box full of crabbies. Another wonderfully put-together fight scene in the mayor's office. Another Jackie Chan like sequence, I'm impressed. This aspect of the show, like Gellar's acting, is something I didn't hear about amongst all the praise for the show before I watched it.

Faith looked like she had the makings of a moral crisis on her face when she saw how horrible those crabbies are. Now in the finale two-parter, I expect her to turn good at the right moment and save everyone.

Then there was an episode that had a prom in it. I believe it was called "How Angel Gets A Spin-Off Show." Her little umbrella award was the kind of moment only TV can give us- extremely corny, and embarrassingly touching.

 

[GKarsEye]

a particular line of dialogue from Giles that I love

Is the blueberry scone bit? That was cute.
I think the funniest moment was the Family Guy cut scene to why the guy tried to ruin the prom.

 

[vacantlook]

a particular line of dialogue from Giles that I love

Is the blueberry scone bit? That was cute.

Indeed it is. "You have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone!" It has just the right touch of absurdity that I find hillarious. :thumbsup:

 

[GKarsEye]

a particular line of dialogue from Giles that I love

Is the blueberry scone bit? That was cute.

Indeed it is. "You have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone!" It has just the right touch of absurdity that I find hillarious. :thumbsup:

I'm not much of a baked goods eater, but a lightly toasted blueberry scone with a bit of butter is some seriously scrumptious shit right there.

Ooh, Buffy's back on...

 

[GKarsEye]

Well this season certainly went out with a bang.

 

[vacantlook]

And you got to see it: the second half of the 3rd season finale was another episode that the network refused to broadcast because of Columbine.

Fun fact: Allison Hannigan/Willow and Alexis Denisof/Wesley some time after the 3rd season started dating, and they're currently married and have a child.

As for the dream that Buffy/Faith had (it's never made absolutely definitive whether or not Faith was an actual participant in Buffy's dream) there is some coded foreshadowy statements -- particularly Faith's line, "Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet counting down from 7-3-0. -- to the fifth season; yes at least as early as here Joss had very firm plans for elements of and moments in the fifth season.

 

[GKarsEye]

Love the CGI of the mayor demon. Reminds me of classic B5.

Xander's soldiering talents consisted of yelling "fire" and "fall back." Good work there, buddy.
The big reveal of everybody coming to graduation armed was pretty sweet, and a nice pay-off of the umbrella award at the prom.

Yeah the Faith/Buffy dream thing was confusing... is it some weird shared slayer consciousness thing? I know Faith appears in Angel, so we'll see how "good" or "evil" or whatever she is.

I'm bracing myself of a jarring jump into season 4, with Angel and Cordelia on the spin-off (yeah I peaked ahead), but mostly because the high school element is gone.

I'm ready for that list of episode chronology now.

 

[vacantlook]

Faith does do some time on Angel, but she also shows up on Buffy more too. I don't think it's ever absolutely declared whether the dream was just Buffy's mind or if it was a bit of share consciousness; I like to think the latter, but Faith isn't exactly a friendly person when she finally comes out of her coma.

Yup, Cordelia is on Angel; so is Wesley, eventually. From what I've read, some fans of Buffy really had trouble adjusting to the idea of Buffy no longer in high school. For some people, season four is their least favorite, but I happen to enjoy it. It does have one episode -- "Hush" -- that tends to end up on most people's favorite episodes lists.

The chronology for Buffy4/Angel1 is easy. Start with an episode of Buffy, then watch an episode of Angel, then the next of Buffy, then the next of Angel, and continue onward until you finish the season. From the info I've seen of the broadcast dates of Buffy4/Angel1, they were shown on the same night with Buffy first then Angel.

 

[vacantlook]

But to be more specific, here's the broadcast chronology breakdown by episode title.

Buffy -- The Freshman
Angel -- City of
Buffy -- Living Conditions
Angel -- Lonely Hearts
Buffy -- The Harsh Light of Day
Angel -- In The Dark
Buffy -- Fear Itself
Angel -- I Fall To Pieces
Buffy -- Beer Bad
Angel -- Rm w/a Vu
Buffy -- Wild At Heart
Angel -- Sense and Sensitivity
Buffy -- The Initiative
Angel -- Bachelor Party
Buffy -- Pangs
Angel -- I Will Remember You
Buffy -- Something Blue
Angel -- Hero
Buffy -- Hush
Angel -- Parting Gifts
Buffy -- Doomed
Angel -- Somnambulist
Buffy -- A New Man
Angel -- Expecting
Buffy -- The I In Team
Angel -- She
Buffy -- Goodbye Iowa
Angel -- I've Got You Under My Skin
Buffy -- This Year's Girl
Angel -- The Prodigal
Buffy -- Who Are You?
Angel -- The Ring
Buffy -- Superstar
Angel -- Eternity
Buffy -- Where The Wild Things Are
Angel -- Five By Five
Buffy -- New Moon Rising
Angel -- Sanctuary
Buffy -- The Yoko Factor
Angel -- War Zone
Buffy -- Primeval
Angel -- Blind Date
Buffy -- Restless
Angel -- To Shanshu In L.A.

 

[vacantlook]

Oh, and in the first episode of Angel, you might recognize one vampires in the opening bit of the show: he played Sawyer on Lost.

 

[GKarsEye]

Thanks VL.

Alternating eps between series was my assumption, but I do remember you or someone saying that that changed at some point for some reason.... I'm sure we'll cross that bridge blah blah.

Poor Xander- wants to be Jack Kerouac but of course will fail (otherwise how can he continue to be a major character).

I love that Xander is going through a Kerouac phase. He's one of those ridiculous literary figures that young morons might worship and then get over, the kind that seem so deep and important and brilliant but then you grow up and realize how silly they are and you can't or shouldn't model your life after them, like J.D. Salinger or Ayn Rand or C.S. Lewis or Allen Ginsburg. Xander going through that phase is so perfect.

Willow will be evil at some point, probably soon. There's no way being into all that witchcraft won't have horrible repercussions. I also hope that her over-cuteness will be muted at some point now that she's out of high school. It was fine for now, but I'm giving the actress the benefit of the doubt to assume she doesn't talk like that in real life. Like when I first saw Katie Holmes and Drew Barrymore speak outside of movies, I was surprised to see they really do sound and look slightly retarded.

Anya is the Spock of the show now?- non-human learning to understand what it's like to be human or something, So far, good for a laugh. I also actually like the fact that she's not gorgeous. Don't get me wrong, the fantastic eye candy was a primary draw for me, but when you're looking at Buffy, Faith and Cordelia on the screen at the same time, you forget it's a show about teenagers and vampires and think you're watching a Penthouse video. Or, you know, I do.

My download of Angel is not working well right now... that's OK for now I wasn't planning on watching tonight, hopefully it'll get better. God I really hope he gets more tolerable. Other characters I didn't like at first I was able to warm up to (Willow, Cordelia, Wesley, Oz), but Angel is rough.

Hey what did everyone think of that scene when Buffy got Angel to drink her blood so he'd be cured? It was really bad and I loved it- the kind of over-the-top operatic theater shit that I get a kick out of. Subtlety is for pussies and David Simon shows. Vampire body-slamming his one true love slayer girlfriend while guiltily sucking her blood- more please!

 

[vacantlook]

Yeah, the broadcast order does some really strange stuff eventually, but I've got those episode lists too, so I've got you covered.

 

[admiraldave]

It's not strictly necessary to watch 1 Buffy, then 1 Angel. There are only a handful of intersections throughout the season.

 

[KoshFan]

Hey what did everyone think of that scene when Buffy got Angel to drink her blood so he'd be cured? It was really bad and I loved it- the kind of over-the-top operatic theater shit that I get a kick out of. Subtlety is for pussies and David Simon shows. Vampire body-slamming his one true love slayer girlfriend while guiltily sucking her blood- more please!

As I believe Whedon said afterward, "Not our most subtle moment."

Me, I loved the aftermath more -- especially the Mayor's reaction to Faith's injuries.

Actually, I pretty much love the Mayor every time he's on screen.

 

[GKarsEye]

Just found the profound time-waster that is buffyguide.com.

It confirms that the mayor-demon did indeed Larry the once-closeted bully jock and alterna-universe White Hat.

This show has magic shops. Has anyone here ever seen one? I mean obviously such a thing wouldn't have real magic but maybe some Spencers-like gimmicky thing that caters to tourists and "wiccans?"

 

[vacantlook]

It confirms that the mayor-demon did indeed Larry the once-closeted bully jock and alterna-universe White Hat.

Did you leave out the word "kill"? Yes, Larry was killed in the big battle of the end of season three.

This show has magic shops. Has anyone here ever seen one? I mean obviously such a thing wouldn't have real magic but maybe some Spencers-like gimmicky thing that caters to tourists and "wiccans?"

Yes, you've seen magic stores so far and will again. So far, you saw Jenny Callendar go to one to get the "Orb of Thessala" that she needed for the re-ensouling curse for Angel. You also saw a follow-up visit that Drusilla made to the same shop. They even made the separation as a joke the way you did: When Jenny showed up the shopkeeper was all boogedy boogedy mystical, that is until she mentioned she was there to buy the orb, at which the shopkeeper dropped the act and dealt with the "real" magic side of his business. You also saw a magic shop in the third season when Willow was trying to do the "de-lusting spell" and Spike overheard her and got the idea to make Willow do a love spell on Drusilla for him. There might have been other appearances of magic stores that you've seen so far in Sunnydale, but I can't remember them off the top of my head. And, as I said, you will see more of magic stores in the future of the show too.