From the opening moments of tonight's episode, with Andrew making like Allistair Cook (or, for those of you of more recent vintage, Allistair Cookie), I thought, "Espsenson. Gotta be written by Jane Espenson. This has got her style all over it." Sure enough. One of BTVS's most consistent and imaginative writers comes through again. Solid B+ Entry.
Although there's one unfortunate relapse into Buffy "People are going to die!" speechifying, tonight's ep was more emotionally driven than plot driven. We get a quick overview of Sunnydale High's Most Horrifying Hits, including a wonderful riff on the Invisible Girl episode from season 1 that rewards long-time viewers with a reference that only they will fully appreciate. These days where some people expect comic books to cater to fans with the attention spans of fruit flies, it's nice to see a long-running series that doesn't hesitate to exploit its own rich history, sometimes in almost throwaway fashion.
Andrew finally grows up a few notches, forced to come to emotional grips with the evil he's done. Plus his Rashomon-esque turns on his time with the Evil Trio are a hoot. Yes, granted, we've seen that kind of thing before (including an entire Jonathan-centric episode, "Superstar"), but it's always fun when done right. From the deftly edited redo of last season's climactic blowout with Dark Rosenberg (took me a minute to realize all the Willow material was unchanged) to the deliriously insane "We are as gods!" that almost makes you wonder if that's how terrorists imagine the eternal award that awaits them (serve 'em right to be stuck with Jonathan, Andrew and Warren. You wanted virgins? You got virgins) proves that it is possible to write eps of BTVS that can capture some of the old charm.
The Spike/Wood subplot is starting to bubble over. I give it one, two eps at most before Spike has *got* to realize the principal's out to kill him. And considering Spike's characterization seems to have dead-ended, I'm *really* worried about his longevity. Damn. If he gets dusted, I hope the coat doesn't go.
I'm really starting to think the main reason Kennedy was introduced was to make Dawn less annoying in comparison. And I thought Buffy was just a little too blase about a student's head exploding. That *is* what happened, isn't it? I know she's seen a lot, been through a lot, but a studen'ts HEAD EXPLODED. And she's commenting he should've had a foot rub? Maybe she really has been doing this for too long.
PAD
Posted by Peter David at February 26, 2003 02:56 AM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingLiving in England, I'm a few weeks behind and haven't seen this episode yet. I've read the Wildfeed at www.leoffonline.com, and it sounds like a good one.
Just one minor thing... as the creator of a sexbot and a rapist, I wouldn't put Warren on a list of virgins... complete wankers yes, but not virgins.
I did like the throwback to the invisible student deal as she was being ingored and then became invisible. I found it hilarious when buffy gave her a slap. (guess she learned ) I was looking forward to more referances to older episodes, perhaps one season per act but alas ( the nerdsplosion as I am assuming it was from a past episode I missed). At the begining when Andrew was video taping Buffy fighting the vamps in the graveyard did he say that vampires did not appear on video? I really don't recall and now I wish I had paid attention to the beginning "goof off" as I like to call it. Later in the episode he video tapes Spike and he appears on tape when I thought just his floating cigarette would show up. The reason I wonder is because after Buffy, on the repeat of Angel they made it a point as to where Angel did not appear in a mirror......of course he did not need permission to crash and break inside Ravens house either. The point being where does having a soul make you appear on film and not in a mirror or do the writers just decide when it happens or doesn't happen.
The Anya and Xander deal I thought was a throw back to when they first did it and Xanders reaction was totally the opposite. Years back when Anya said it was over and done with and out of her system so to speak and waited for Xander to say otherwise. He did then, this time he didn't.
The Wood and Spike conflict is kinda cool, but I dunno if it plays into the whole aspect of the show. What I mean is I would rather have Spike around then Wood and I'm sure most viewers would and I'm sure it will come down to one dying, leaving, dusted, gooed, eaten, skinned, turned into a worm etc....... and i think we would all prefer it not be the guy who used railroad spikes in the past.
Vampires don't show up in anything involving a reflective surface. Video cameras, to the best of my knowledge, have no mirrors in their design. Nor do digital cameras. Which is why vamps show up in them.
PAD
I like Kennedy. I don't see the problem.
Good stuff:
"Why can't you just masturbate, like the rest of us?"
Andrew's fawning over Xander, especially the "window" scene.
"We are gods! We are gods!"
Spike doing his "scene" again.
Great episode, my appreciation of Andrew goes up again, for finally growing up a bit, and because he spared us another "inspirational" speech by Buffy- am I the only one who thinks speeches that boil down to "you're all incompotent and weak, and will die painfully" aren't that inspiring? Maybe I'll try it at work sometime.
Just as a sidenote, wasn't there a semi-controversy over Willow and Tara, and whether or not they could be shown kissing on screen? Made it interesting when Willow and Kennedy making out was just thrown in as an aside a few years later...
But the Xander-worship was great.
Andrew actually asked how come vampires (or Vampyres as he calls them) do show on video.
I loved the first scene where Nietzsche books are mixed with Star Wars comics (and Star Wars comics covers are framed with very expensive looking frames).
As for Kennedy, I think they should have called her Wood, since that's how she's acting.
I don`t know, I actually felt that something was missing in this episode. Even though it was kinda fun.
Can someone actually confirm to me what Andrew said?
Did he say "vampires do not appear on film" or "how come vampires appear on filme", the sound quality of the one I watched wasn`t very good. Yes Yossi jsut said that he said `"do", but I`d like a second opinion. Read both Stiney`s and Leoff wildfeeds before watchin back in monday, but Stiney said~"don`t" and Leoff did say "do", so which one was the actual one? Cause if it was the first case, it was another huge problem in timeline, and nipticks, from another Jane Espenson episode. Cause in halloween back in S2 we did see Spike taping Buffy fighting with a vamp, and Angel did appear several times on film and photographs. As PAD stated, scientifically saying they shouldn`t appear, because of that whole not appearing in mirrors thing,but still, as paradoxal as it may seems it was done before.
Johny
PAD -
I was wondering also what you thought about Smallville?
As I remember it the statement was to the effect of "How come vampires show up on video?" Let's not get bogged down in irrelevant detail this early (and read Peter's comment again: he said they should show up, not that they shouldn't).
I think we've reached the turning point in the arc: the characters have finally found something proactive to do against the cause of their problems, rather than just putting out fires. This was show #16 of the season, so we're close to the home stretch, and things should be coming to a head soon. (As an aside, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the nice new high school; the old one never went through this much abuse. Though keeping Xander employed is a good thing. I wonder if there was any significance in the repeated "NO ONE" graffiti on the walls?)
I agree that it looks like they're setting it up to lose Spike; they seem to be putting his affairs in order, so to speak. I wonder if he might sacrifice himself saving Buffy rather than being killed by Wood, however (although it could be both; you never know) because that would seem to be an appropriate capper to the redemptive arc he's been going through.
IIRC the issue with Willow and Tara was that the WB didn't want to show them kissing; you'll notice that the first episode last season (i.e. the first one on UPN) casually showed them smooching. (Not to mention the highly-charged imagery in Tara's song in "Once More With Feeling...")
This was a great episode. Inventive and humorous, emotional and enthralling. This is the kind of quality writing we should be seeing more of, after all, we’re used to it by now.
I must admit to being a little disappointed that Buffy didn’t kill Andrew. Not because I don’t like Andrew, in fact he’s becoming one of my favorite characters, but for the reason that it would be against the television norm. That it would be shocking and uncharacteristic. As it is now we pretty much know what everyone will and will not do because we know what’s expected of them as a character. Television rarely gives us what we weren’t expecting. Oh well.
Warren’s rewinding of Anya and Xander’s conversation with Warren mouthing the Anya lines perfectly, was a riot. If there’s a spin off show I really hope he’s on it.
I loved how Wood almost staked Spike in the midst of battle. And of course the invisible girl bit was classic.
I’m starting to feel bad for the regular cast members of the show. Dawn, Xander, Willow, Anya … they all had such big roles last year and this year Dawn (for one) has barely had 20 lines. I remember Joss stated in an interview last year that he was going to devote more time to Dawn’s character. Show her more grown up and have her more a part of the Scoobies. Guess that’s not happening.
Johny – Andrew asked Buffy “Tell me again why vampires show up on video?” Trust me, I recorded the episode. :)
I don't know if this is general knowledge or not, so spoiler text on: Emma Caulfield was doing a radio interview for "Darkness Falls" a few weeks ago and mentioned that this is definately her last season on Buffy because her contract was not renewed.
Originally posted by Doug Atkinson: I wonder if there was any significance in the repeated "NO ONE" graffiti on the walls?
Maybe, with all the griping about how PAD is stealing stuff from Buffy, they were (and I'm stretching here) giving a nod to him and Captain Marvel (y'know, how Rick was told that the entity who killed Shinga Dun was No One?). Eh, it's just a thought.
This show has brought ignored people/students to the front in the past. You've got the invisible girl, Jonathan's attempted suicide, and the frat Holloween episode where Xander was ignored.
This episode seemed to me to be catching everyone up on what has happened before next week's rerun or whatever (since we didn't see a preview for the next new episode, I'm assuming it'll be a rerun). While it went over mostly what we already know, it was still hilarious. I laughed more from that episode than I did all season so far with the Simpsons.
Rob R.
As an addendum to the CNN link about Sarah's decision to leave, check out this article from TV Guide.com. It discusses the Faith spinoff, which is reportedly dead as Eliza has signed on to do a pilot for a new Fox show called "Heroine."
I have a tendency to sound all know-it-all sometimes, but there actually is a plausible explanation of why vampires cannot not appear in mirrors or on film or photographs, but can be videotaped, and it's basically what PAD has already stated; reflective surfaces. Mirrors, Film and Photographs all use similar reflective surfaces. Videotape is actually recorded magnetic pulses. If you don't believe me put a copy of your favorite VHS tape next to a powerful magnet and say bye-bye.
I'm not so sure that Spike is a goner. It's more likely that Wood is. Black people don't seem to fare very well in Sunnydale. I'm just marking the days for Wood and the Black slayer-to-be.
(Heh heh. Wood and Spike, who comes up with these names?)
"Smallville" and especially "Buffy" this week made my very sick wife smile and laugh, which in her current strep-throated state I didn't think was possible.
Paul F. P. Pogue
I think the Spike / Principle Wood storyline is all a set up for Spike to go evil again. I think Spike killing Wood would sent him over the edge, causing his new soul to snap and not in the losing ones mind way. Espically if they plan to keep him around next season when Sarah Michelle Gellar is reported to leave the show. I've read reports where Eliza Dushku (Faith) is rumored to take the lead role next season. IF the show stays around it will be interesting to see how they step up the gang as well.
Also is it just me or is Willow acting a lot older than her age? I know they all have grown up and matured, but she is seems to me as already an old witch.
Concerning my comments on Willow -
Willow has always been on of my favorite characters and it is disconcerting to me for her character potrayed in this manner.
In reply to Rob R., next week's 'Buffy...' is indeed a rerun.
But it's a rerun of "Selfless"!!
WHOO - HOO!!
Hooper
Incidentally, I loved how Andrew nerdily and pretentiously pronounced 'vampire' with the nerdy and pretentious spelling: 'vampyre'!!
Hooper
Not an Andrew fan, so I found this to be a lesser episode, but I was doubly-amused at the fading student... not only because it was an "are you paying attention" reference, but because having just finished watching the first season on DVD and starting the second, I was reminded that it was a moment that we couldn't have seen in season one. When you hit that first episode of season 2, it's blatant that that was where they got a real effects budget.
Hey, all of a sudden all the comments are showing up as hidden. Maybe if I put in a close font tag....
Enjoyed the episode a lot, and especially loved the incompleteness of the ending.
"We are as gods" is going to be stuck in my head for a week, though.
So...if Sarah Michelle is moving on at the end of this season, and it's increasingly unlikely that Eliza Dushku will be the lead in any resultant spin-off, what do we have to look forward to next season??
"Kennedy The Vampire Annoyer"??!
Hooper
I just thought that I'd chime in with a few comments. The "We are Gods" scene was the first time in a while that I actually laughed out loud in a long time from watching TV. I thought the scene where Andrew is the criminal mastermind and describes his plan to turn Buffy magnetic was pretty funny too.
"My plan all requires us to go belt-less!"
One thing to think about regarding observing vampires by pictures and videotape is that I seem to recall the "not appearing in mirrors" legend to be based on the concept of "mirrors reflecting the soul" or something like that. Since vampires don't have souls, they wouldn't show in reflective surfaces.
Regardless, the previous posting regarding video and digital recorders saving their information using magnetic pulses is just that... how the data is saved, not how the image is observed. The camera inside has lenses that pick up the light reflected off of an object just like your eye would.
I would theorize that you can't see a vampire second-hand (light reflects off the object-a vampire- then off of a reflected surface), but you can see it first-hand (your eyes or a camera pick up the light reflected off the vampire/object directly).
Sorry to overanalyze this. Anyone want to wonder how vampires smoke if they don't breathe, or get drunk if they have no blood circulating to get a pulse?
I must be the only person who likes Kennedy. She can be annoying (I didn't like her drill sargeant stuff last week), but I think that she's got a lot of...potential!
Great episode, but I definatly want to hear what Peter things of Smallville, particularly how the message at the end from his parents is compared with the past storyline of Superman.
I second (or maybe it's third or fourth by now) the request to hear PAD's commentary on "Smallville." (I personally thought it was marvelous.)
Also, this has nothing to do with "Buffy" or "Smallville", but both PAD and PAD-fans might be interested to know, if they don't already:
This week on "Ninth Art" (website featuring critical commentary of comic books) there's an essay about whether there's anything in your average modern comic book store that children can genuinely enjoy. It contains quotes from a twelve-year-old girl -- who lives in London, I believe-- who was asked what comic books she likes and why.
Among the comics she professed to enjoy were those that, as she put it, mixed a lot of humor in with the drama. Her first example of such a book? "Young Justice." Her second: "Spyboy."
Kind of cool.
Scotts, you're not the only one who likes Kennedy. There are rarely 'bad' characters, just bad writing. Heck, even Deanna Troi managed to have a couple of good spotlight episodes in the later seasons of TNG. For some reason, last week Douglas Petrie decided to write many characters--Buffy and kennedy, primarily--as pod people.
Vampires can smoke because, while they don't have to breathe to survive, they can if they want to. That, and it looks cool for bad boy Spike to light up.
Overall, I wasn't impressed with this episode. There were a numbver of little bits that shone through(the Masterpiece Theatre openning and finally (it seems) resolving the Xander/Anya relationship) but the overall episode felt like filler.
The good:
- The "her she goes again"-type comment by Andrew as Buffy inspires the troops
- inviso-girl
- Andrew's retro-continuity
- Xander/Anya seeming finishing. Since it sounded liek Emma didn't want to continue after this seaon it frees up Nick to carry forward into either this spin-off or guesting on Angel.
The bad:
- no Giles for a secon week in a row. At least explain where he is. Collecting another slayer, contacting remaining Watchers.
- Willow and Kennedy doing the smoochies in public. This was extremely out of character for Willow.
- Spike walking into the kitchen as the sun streams in. Like "First Date" they not even trying to maintain vampire legend. What, once you have a soul, people can see you in a mirror and sunlight has no effect. I know from previous seasons that both Spike and Angel can survive longer exposures to the sun then other vamps. Why? I don't know. Heck, Luke (right hand vamp for the Master) was dead as soon as a little ray of sunshine struck him.
- the blase manner Buffy had about the exploding student. I know she (and the scoobs) have reacted this way when villians (demon and human) have died in explosive manners but they've never treated the death of an innocent this way.
- The overall story felt like filler
Buffy was pretty good, but Smallville completely blew it out of the water.
Those bastards even threw in the Superman theme.
Since no one's mentioned it yet, if you didn't stay tuned through the Mutant Enemy credit you missed "Grrr Arrgh" being replaced with "We are as gods!".
And in that same vein, note that just after Invisible Girl goes to Buffy "You noticed me! You really noticed me!" (or something close), Buffy's distracted...and when the camera cuts back to a view that should include Invisible, she's not there. Nice touch.
And in terms of continuity, I think we've established that Amanda the local SIT is Willow's long lost younger sister. I mean, Amanda's now apparently living in the Delta Delta Summers sorority house and her parents don't seem to have noticed or care, putting them up at Willow's parents level of ignoring their kid.
Still waiting for Xander to actually explain to Anya why he bailed. He's apologized, and said it wouldn't work out, but he hasn't told her why.
Generally good episode, and a *lot* less painful that I expected 48 minutes of Andrew to be...although that boy needed some serious help vis a vis his fantasy life and memories. :-)
Finally a GREAT episode!!! I think this season has sucked (hee-hee) for the most part, and this episode had me laughing and remembering the old days when the show was great! I too HATE Kennedy. I miss Dawn. Remember when Buffy loved her? She seems to ignore her now. I also agree that Willow ( one of my fav characters too) has changed for the worst. So many of the characters have. Don't die Spike-don't die Spike!!! If Buffy killed Andrew I would have hated her and it would have gone againest character whether you want a shock or not, it would not have worked. Andrew is a lovable villian. All in all I loved this show and I have loved the Buffy gang until this year. It will be sad for it to end, but it looks like it's time.
Pretty Cool. Both the episode of Buffy and what Jason just said.
I've liked Andrew since he started being involved in this story. I'm a sucker for supporting cast members, especially ones like Andrew and Xander. It's nice that he's being matured a bit. It makes you wonder where this is going to lead for him. Though, it probably won't lead anywhere in the far future, considering this is probably the last season. A very entertaining episode.
Smallville was great too. I Loved the fact that they finally got into the Krypton stuff. My favorite part was that they played the theme music from Superman: The Movie in the background. That was a really nice touch.
Agreeing on all points concerning Smallville. What about that Superman theme? Wasn't it fantastic! The crisp sound of the trumpet sent chills down my spine. That show is continually suprising me. It is by far one of the best shows to ever be on and for it to be about one of the legends of the comic book world just gives comics even more credit as a viable medium.
It will be interesting to read the good Mr. David's comments about this week's episode.
"Buffy was pretty good, but Smallville completely blew it out of the water.
Those bastards even threw in the Superman theme."
If I am recalling correctly, those music bits were from the "Fortress Of Solitude" scenes in the original movie. Very nice touch.
Christopher Reeve was great as always and there was a definite "passing of the torch" feeling there.
By the way, does anyone else think that when the professor got zapped in the cave, and later became catatonic with "information overload" the were possibly seeing the possible origin of Brainiac?
I enjoyed the episode. I knew buffy wasn't going to kill Andrew at the seal, but I thought she was trying to scare him into ruining his pants. I figured if the blood consecrated the seal (the translation) then perhaps peeing his pants would be the desecration needed. Not a tear.... how many times has a tear saved the day now (not just in buffy I'm speaking more in general terms).
Yeah, Angel established that vampires don't reflect in mirrors but can be caught on tape. I'm fine with that, I heard that the actual vampires dont have reflections in mirrors actually stems from the fact that Mirrors were polished silver at one time and it was believed that a pure substance like silver wouldn't reflect something unholy like a vampire. I don't know the validity of that though, and it isn't what Buffy's vamps are based off anyways.
For Michael, Spike and Angel get more resistance to sunlight because they are "Named" not "Minion" or "Generic NPC" class characters. :) It is like how Mr. Trick gets to lament on the situation ("No. Oh No. this is not good at all") when he is staked but countless others go poof without a whisper (yeah so they are getting lazy with the whole sun thing....) Also if I recall correctly, Luke didn't die to sunlight, he died to a stake.
And for Tom, actually I am pretty sure (id have to check the tape) that invisi girl was still there after buffy ignored her. You can catch a glimpse of her backside as she runs off camera. Admittedly this could have been someone else but I thought it looked like the clothes invisigirl was wearing (I only notice this because I was looking to see if she was still around after Buffy ignored her, maybe you aren't meant to see her she just got caught on camera and the director said "oh well, good enough").
Missed Smallville (it involves me driving about 30 minutes from home to watch at a friends house since my cable company doesnt offer WB) but I hear it was excellent.
"I know from previous seasons that both Spike and Angel can survive longer exposures to the sun then other vamps. Why? I don't know. Heck, Luke (right hand vamp for the Master) was dead as soon as a little ray of sunshine struck him."
Actually, Luke got staked. Buffy broke the window and made him think the sun was up, long enough for her to stake him while he was freaking out at being "burned".
The only vampires dying by sunlight I can recall are The Annointed One and one of the hostage-taker vamps in "Who Are You?". Granted, they both died pretty quickly, though The Annointed One's death was off-screen and he screamed for a bit, suggesting it wasn't instantaneous. The other vamp writhed for about half a second then burst into flames.
So as to why Spike and Angel have more sun resistance than other vampires, I don't think there's any real reason beyond dramatic convention. It's funny for drunken Spike to wake up to the sun lighting his hand on fire, so he survives a little bit longer than mook vamps do. That said it has been established since the first season that only direct sunlight harms vampires. Incidental light is harmless. However, Spike has kind of been pushing the limits of that lately. It'd be nice if they either kept the shades pulled, or had Spike stick the basement during the day.
"possibly seeing the possible origin"
Arrrhhh! I hate it when I forget to proofread posts!
Michael said:
"Heck, Luke (right hand vamp for the Master) was dead as soon as a little ray of sunshine struck him."
If I'm remembering the right guy, he was the one that died in the second episode right?
It wasn't sunlight that killed him, remember? Buffy tricked him to distract him, but it was just an ordinary light, as sunrise was still hours away...then she killed him, remarking that he wasn't too bright...
Posting earlier that next week's rerun will be of the sublime 'Selfless', got me to thinking ( "A dangerous past-time"/"I know" ) .
But remember when 'Selfless' first aired? Rememeber how, back in September, October and November, 'Buffy...' was on a roll that started from the season's first episode?? Looking back, doesn't it seem that the last truly great episode of what is looking to be the last year for the show ( as we know it ) ended with the jaw-dropping image of an ax blade speeding toward Giles's neck?? Save last night's episode, doesn't it seem like the last four or so have just been marking time??
I trust Joss & Co.....although I'm now starting to cringe when I see Marti Noxon's name on a writing credit....so I'm still along for the ride. But let's hope it gets to be a thrill-ride once again before it comes time to gather up our personal belongings and exit to the right of the vehicle!!
Hooper
"If I am recalling correctly, those music bits were from the "Fortress Of Solitude" scenes in the original movie. Very nice touch."
I taped the episode and plan on watching it again, but I heard at least two distinctly different themes, both from Superman: The Movie, during the Christopher Reeve scene.
God, that was great! Made me want to go out and buy the John Williams score.
I almost forgot!
As the Festrunk Brothers ( The "Wild 'n' Crazy Guys" ) used to say on 'Saturday Night Live":
"Here is something!"!!
Though not deaf as a post, I've had problems with my hearing, ever since I ( temporarily ) lost it when I was six years old due to an ear infection. Therefore, I have the closed-captioning turned on my T.V. 99 & 99/100% of the time. Heck, I'd be up frellin' Dren Creek without it when 'Farscape''s on!!
Last night, when Wood was possessed by the basement aperture, and got all blank-eyed and growly-voiced, he rebuked Buffy for: "Screwing that vampire".
The next line that we heard was: "You filthy whore!". However....! What appeared on the closed-captioning was: "The monster that killed..."!!!
Since Wood's back was to the camera...being slammed into the wall and such...and CC often goes by the shooting script ( For example, the line: "So, Spike....wanna see what a real vampire looks like??" was not captioned, leading me to think it was added in post, to help explain to the viewers what they were seeing! ) , I think a last-minute re-dub was in effect!!
Innnnnnteresting, yais??
`Makes me wonder how the 'Spike/You killed my mother' shoe will drop, when it does!!
Hooper
One of the vamps who took over the church in Who Are You? was killed by direct sunlight, although it happened off-camera. The only other one I can think of off-hand is Russell, from the first episode of Angel.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the very brief appearance of the Cheese Man from Restless during the Mexican dream sequence. Wonder what it means?
I'm I the only one who thought the scene with the pig was hilarious?
Originally posted by Brandon: By the way, does anyone else think that when the professor got zapped in the cave, and later became catatonic with "information overload" the were possibly seeing the possible origin of Brainiac?
Y'know, somebody brought that up on the CBR boards, and I was thinking that it might be the Eradicator instead of Brainiac. Eh, whatever.
Rob R.
`Didn't see 'Smallville' last night. I get Time-Warner Digital in Tampa, and my VCR can only tape the channel 'coming through' the box. On Tuesdays at 9:00, what with 'Smallville', '24', 'Frasier' AND Bonnie Hunt all vying for my already-limited attention, that channel is usually Fox. Let's just say I'm glad ABC Family re-runs 'Life With Bonnie'/'Less Than Perfect' on the weekends (well, they used to, anyway ) , I can listen to 'Frasier' on my Walkman while I'm at my drawing table, and the WB knew what it was doing when they dubbed a 5 pm Sunday re-broadcast of 'Smallville' "Easy View"!! Whew!!
Suffice it to say, 5:00 this Sunday evening can't come soon enough!!
Hooper
>>Among the comics she professed to enjoy were those that, as she put it, mixed a lot of humor in with the drama. Her first example of such a book? "Young Justice." Her second: "Spyboy."
Kind of cool.<<
Considering the first was canceled adn the second hasn't been able to sustain a readership and comes out irregularly, to me it seems kidn of sad.
With her luck, this poor reader has probably just discovered SUPERGIRL as well.
PAD
Andrew wrote:
"For Michael, Spike and Angel get more resistance to sunlight because they are "Named" not "Minion" or "Generic NPC" class characters. :) It is like how Mr. Trick gets to lament on the situation ("No. Oh No. this is not good at all") when he is staked but countless others go poof without a whisper (yeah so they are getting lazy with the whole sun thing....) Also if I recall correctly, Luke didn't die to sunlight, he died to a stake."
My bad about Luke.
I do understand use of dramatic for certain characters and I'm quite happy about it. Especially in the case of Mr. Trick.
What bothers me is that Spike doesn't seem to even fear the sunlight anymore.
All I'm asking is to so Spike making an effort to avoid the sunlight. If they did that, I would be happy.
Yeah if spike feared the daylight a little more I'd be a bit happier too since the errant beam through the leaves kept him from having an outdoors wedding you'd think he would care more.
I was thinking Braniac. They even put little doo-dads on his head.
As my friend Pete pointed out, a dramatic divergence will come if Clark gets a sibling. "There is no Fred Kent." - perhaps they could name her Kara, though.
And what was with that misleading commercial for Gilmore Girls?---um...never mind.
Some thoughts on Smallville:
1. Didn't catch a Fortress theme, but right after Reeve delivers the line about the "second message," the very opening of the "Superman March" begins. I was especially pleased that it was nice and subtle...not blaring out at us.
2. Loved the nicely subtle use of red, yellow and blue on the disk when it activates, and in the stream of light that hit Clark. Hey, foreshadowing is fun!
3. Really lovely job by Reeves. Nice to know that he's still got those fine acting chops I remember from "Deathtrap."
4. Where can I find a good Kryptonian font? :)
5. Speaking of that, who keeps the standards on what Kryptonian looks like? Anyone know which artist designed it originally for the comic books?
6. The interplay between Reeve and Welling during the spot for the Christoper Reeve foundation was charming as hell.
7. Where the hell is Clark getting a wireless signal from in the barn, in the middle of Kansas? Yeah, I know, picky...and that cord could have been a phone cord, which makes me wonder how long the cord is coming from the house.
8. Chloe and Lana finally start with the jealousy out in the open! Yay! This series has better stuff in ten minutes on teenage relationships thn something like Dawson's Creek had in years.
9. John Schneider and his father stuff in the episode was the icing on the cake. Who woulda thunk a Duke brother could deliver like that?
All in all, a supremely satisfying episode. Especially with the third message.
During the last act of "Smallville," I jumped to the edge of the sofa when those familiar strains from "Superman: The Movie"first emerged within the incidental music.
By the time, they gave us the snatch from the main theme, my wife and I both had goosebumps. I'll have to watch again Sunday to be certain, but didn't the excerpt from the main theme stop just shy of the part that actually sounds like someone saying "Superman" ? Richard Donner talks with great enthusiasm about that part of the theme on the Superman DVD commentary.
Anyway, if it did stop shy of that part, then I think it was a very nice little touch. Almost like the music was saying, "you're on the path to becoming Superman, but you're not quite there yet."
We also both enjoyed the revelation about Kal-El's intended mission on Earth. Its straight from Byrne's revamp, I believe. Comics fans might have been expecting it, but the general public has certainly been floored by this change to the legend, just as I was floored last week by Martha's pregnancy. Nice surprises for the long-time fans as well as the newbies; now that's what I call a great adaptation of a comic book legend.
"Didn't see 'Smallville' last night. I get Time-Warner Digital in Tampa, and my VCR can only tape the channel 'coming through' the box."
I can't speak for Tampa, but here in Chicagoland, you can still get the basic cable channels direct through your TV or VCR without the cable box even if you have digital cable. I have a splitter on my cable with one line going to the box and another going directly into the VCR so I can record anything off basic cable without having to worry about what channel the cable box is on. You might want to see if the same works for you, could help alleviate your recording woes.:)
Looks like this week's the one for me to be a dissenter.
After the teaser, we said, "Alistair Andrew. Okay, could be fun." (And yes, the bookshelves w/ Star Wars posters were terrific.)
After a first act that felt as if 'twas about an hour long all by its lonesome, Lisa turned to me and said, "Okay, either we'd better get major character growth here or he needs to be dead by the end of the hour." I agreed.
Another act later, she said, "Forget the growth. He needs to die."
There were lots of little bits that I liked here and there, most especially things like the return of inviso-girlness and Buffy having seen it all before ("just not all at once").
But Andrew, at least in our house, is now pretty much a textbook case of someone completely and utterly wearing out his welcome.
Andrew worked beautifully well when the whole nerd trio was there -- all three of them were different enough in their particular nerdish tendencies that they tended to balance each other out pretty well. Now that it's just him, it's absolutely unrelenting -- and this episode, at least for me, crossed over from "sometimes annoying, often funny" to "okay, folks, move the hell on."
(And anyone who knows me knows that it's certainly not a deep-seated antipathy towards all things nerdlike. "Ah ... Captain Archer" a few weeks ago was bust-a-gut funny. :-)
What I was reminded of, honestly, was the horrible "Voyager" episode years ago where Neelix decides he's going to be a "Good Morning Voyager"-type journalist. It was not a pleasant reminder, given that I always found Neelix one of the most annoying Trek regulars ever. Andrew's not there yet, but of all the Buffy recurring folks past and present he's now the one who's come the closest.
I do so wish that we'd killed Andrew and kept Jonathan half a season ago. Jonathan's someone with enough history and enough depth that devoting an episode to him was no problem. Andrew ain't there.
It probably didn't help that we'd finally caught up on "Angel" the night before, and so finally seen the big Cordy/Lilah/Angelus stuff we'd been so careful to avoid spoilers for. After that high, "Storyteller" felt like a precipice.
As I said, some good moments -- the little ME guy's "we are like gods!" was highly cute, for one, and seeing the pig again was good for a chuckle. Overall, though, one of the least entertaining Buffy episodes I've ever seen, and definitely not the way I wanted to go into reruns.
TWL
I too noticed the Cheese man in the mexican dream sequence.
I think he's the first evil.
If you go back to restless and replace the word cheese with evil....
"You don't wear the evil, the evil wears you..."
"I made a place for the evil..."
See he's the first!
I need shot.
Let's not forget Spike's and Wood's "sexual tension you can cut with a knife." Seemed to me like a nod to the fandom's slash writers.
RE: Xander's reason for bailing- I always thought it was kinda obvious that Xander backed out because of his parent's lousy marriage. He felt that if he married Anya, they'd turn into his parents. The demon that impersonated his "future self" played on those fears- showing a crappy homelife and them ending up at each other's throats.
What I don't get is why he hadn't said anything about it though he'd been given several opportunities to lay his cards on the table. Then in the episode where Anya caused the bloodbath in the frat house (or a diff ep, I'm not sure), Xander pretty much said "I didn't marry you because you were a demon, i was afraid of this."
My guess is- the writers are disagreeing as to what should be the reason, so they are "leaving out" the seemingly apparent reasons presented in the actual wedding episode itself.
I just wonder if, when it comes down to the Spike/Wood confrontation, the principal says, with a Castillian accent:
"Hello. My name is Robin Wood. You killed my mother. Prepare to die."
PAD
Okay, so I'm not the only one who's heard Wood utter that (paraphrased) immortal phrase.
I'm going to state again: the only potential Kennedy has is to annoy the crap out of almost every viewer (I'm willing to entertain the idea that certain male viewers will turn all Xander at the very sight of her) and, hopefully, die in an entertaining fashion. Any death of Kennedy will be entertaining in that I won't have to watch Miss I-Have-One-Effin'-Expression ever, ever again. Why her? Why does she get to be a Scooby? The token-black-girl slayerette is far more interesting. But she's never on screen, to the point where I've no freaking idea what her name is. But I know Kennedy. Dammit.
Andrew's fantasy sequences had me laughing so hard I teared up. This is the first time in ages I've laughed like that while watching the show.
>>Why her? Why does she get to be a Scooby? The token-black-girl slayerette is far more interesting. But she's never on screen, to the point where I've no freaking idea what her name is.<<
I dunno.
Lately, though, I'm starting to like long, tall Amanda!!
Hooper
Ok. The writing-out-of-character thing. I don't know if it's still the case - it was for a long time - that the last stage in the writing process of Buffy and Angel was a final dialogue sweep by Joss Whedon. Sometimes this was just a little tweaking here and there, sometimes a full-on page one rewrite.
This has been stated in many interviews with the writers over the years, due to precisely this kind of situation. They've basically said that no-one writes (Character X) better or worse than anyone else, 'cause it all goes past Joss... and if it's not right, you can bet he'll be changing it.
Maybe it's the actors' fault...
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but I remember Angel said a long time ago that cameras (even older ones with mirrors) can photograph vampires because "it's metaphysics, not physics."
And of course Chordelia saw a picture of Angel from 1952 and commented "it's not that vampires don't photograph, they just don't photograph well."
As for the Andrew bits, I loved them. It's a great follow-up to Superstar. Especially how he re-wrote last year's season finale. And you gotta love the line "Gentlemen, in my plane we have no belts."
Maybe I'm misremembering, but doesn't the line read, "...in my plan...we are beltless!"
"Ok. The writing-out-of-character thing. I don't know if it's still the case - it was for a long time - that the last stage in the writing process of Buffy and Angel was a final dialogue sweep by Joss Whedon. Sometimes this was just a little tweaking here and there, sometimes a full-on page one rewrite."
I believe Whedon hasn't been able to do that this season and last because he had too much other stuff on his plate, which may be why things have seemed inconsistent.
>>Why her? Why does she get to be a Scooby? The token-black-girl slayerette is far more interesting. But she's never on screen, to the point where I've no freaking idea what her name is. But I know Kennedy. Dammit.<<
Her name is Rona, Cat!!
:^)
Hooper
If you actually pay attention in the kitchen scene, Spike is hugging the back wall and there's no sunlight anywhere near him. Do we really need our hands held by showing him obviously and self-consciously falling back from a sunbeam every episode?
Hopper sez:
Lately, though, I'm starting to like long, tall Amanda!!
Second to that. If they do a spinoff next season or the season after, I hope they can both keep her and Dawn around. Of all the potentials, she's my favorite.
Hasn't it been long established on Buffy (and, by extension, Angel) that only DIRECT sunlight hurts vamps - i.e reflected light, and light refracted though glass don't burn them.
And S4 showed that vamps could overcome their fear of crosses, so that they didn't shrink in terror at the sight of one (although they still burned from them I think) - why not the same for inderect sunlight?
I've decided this is the BUFFY spinoff I'd like to see:
Nick Brendan and Emma Caufield in MR. AND MRS. HARRIS-- sort of a cross between THE THIN MAN and KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER.
And yes, I'm serious.
This is good: Peter David, the guy who's callously butchered supporting characters in his books with the most sardonic and off-the-cuff prose, is surprised that Buffy was so blasé about a death.
:-)
It's always sad when things die.
"It's hard to believe it's over," said creator Joss Whedon in a written statement released through UPN Thursday. "Well, it's hard to think at all, or stand, or form vowel sounds, so maybe it's time to take a break. I'm just glad I can say we did our best on every single episode. We didn't always succeed, but we never slacked, and I'm immensely proud of my writers, actors and crew for that.
"And I'm proud of what this show means...I truly believe that in years to come, people will look back and say 'that was a show that was on TV.' Yessir. I truly do," said Whedon
The "cheese man"; wasn't that Principal Snyder (played by Armin Shimerman (sp?), perhaps best known for playing Quark on ST:DS9)? And then "Restless" would be the S4 closer?
Ah, the joys of imdb.com; yes, that's right above.
I've been wondering for years what the significance of his showing up in each of the four dreams was, and have hoped that we would eventually find out.
Still hoping....
The cheese man is not Principal Snyder. I also think he was thrown into "Restless" as just something totally random.
"These will not protect you!"
Eric
Snyder (Armin Shimerman) was in Restless, but only in Xander's dream. He was doing an Apocalypse Now riff. The Cheese Man was in all 4 dreams, and played by a completely different actor.
It's always sad when things die.
"It's hard to believe it's over," said creator Joss Whedon in a written statement released through UPN Thursday. "Well, it's hard to think at all, or stand, or form vowel sounds, so maybe it's time to take a break. I'm just glad I can say we did our best on every single episode. We didn't always succeed, but we never slacked, and I'm immensely proud of my writers, actors and crew for that.
"And I'm proud of what this show means...I truly believe that in years to come, people will look back and say 'that was a show that was on TV.' Yessir. I truly do," said Whedon
Where did you read the statement? I haven't been able to find it online.
--Daniel
Daniel,
It's an article on E! Online News about the cancelation of BTVS. I don't think the link will hyperlink itself because it's too long. Just copy and paste it into your web browser.
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,11338,00.html
Random comments:
The "no one, no one" graffiti is a ref to Episode 3.1, "Anne", when Buffy was in LA and kept running into these elderly homeless people who kept saying "I'm no one," only to find that they were actualy young people who had been held in a demon dimension work camp where time moved faster (and they had their identities beaten out of them).
Also note that, in the kitchen scene, Andrew wins over Xander by referring to him as the "heart" of the operation -- referring back to his role in the joining spell that defeated Adam in season 4 and his statement to the Watchers in season 5's "Checkpoint."
And yes, I do believe the Cheese Man in "Restless" was a manifestation of The First, now confirmed by his reappearance in Andrew & Jonathan's Mexico dreams.
My question was, what happened to the five students who had changed into Bringers? Is the act of mutilating their eyes physical or magical (that is, was it cured when the Seal was closed)?
Randall wrote:
> And what was with that misleading commercial for Gilmore Girls?---um...never mind.
That annoyed me too! I was very confused and wondered if I'd misinterpreted it somehow. But then I re-watched the preview. Where did they come up with Rory's "It was just time" or whatever comment, I don't even think that was in the episode!
So, PAD, ever watch the Gilmore Girls? What do you think? :)
Yolande
Randall wrote:
> And what was with that misleading commercial for Gilmore Girls?---um...never mind.
That annoyed me too! I was very confused and wondered if I'd misinterpreted it somehow. But then I re-watched the preview. Where did they come up with Rory's "It was just time" or whatever comment, I don't even think that was in the episode!
So, PAD, ever watch the Gilmore Girls? What do you think? :)
Yolande
i really liked the episode "hallowee", I liked Willows costume and Buffys was really pretty.who else here liked it?
have u seen the episode,"Ted", i though it was wierd when she killed... um... it but then i found out he was a robot thing.i like the episode because she kicks his butt.(when he hits her)Did any1 else like it as much as i did?
wait the seasons ending that sucks like a vampire.(which is so wrong)! I think Buffys the coolest and willow is even cooler i never got to see the last episode what happened? please give me details,did caleb die the wierd insane freak?