Alisa says:
Here we have another break in the intensity of the season arc with a Buffy Needs Some Rest episode. Buffy gets sick - which is a bit weird because she's the Slayer; she never gets sick. But, the break works because otherwise, Come On! Someone kill someone already! The fight scene in the beginning of the episode between Sick!Buffy and Angelus reminded me of how she didn't just kill him when she had the chance last episode.
I think though that I'm not the biggest fan of the break in intensity episodes. I noticed random things like the fact that the creepy music for the monster roaming around in the hospital is the music that use for the menu on the DVDs. I also noticed the great credit shot, right at the end after Buffy kills the monster.
This episode does have some awesome moments though. The confrontation between Xander and Angelus where Xander has no chance of stopping Angelus, if he really had to, but that fact doesn't get in the way of him trying to protect Buffy and will damn well go down trying. We see that Xander is a hero. Or a hero in the making.
Verdict: "Tact is just not saying true stuff."
Rachel says:
I dunno, there's something really horrible in the mundanity of Buffy having the flu. And as you may have gathered, I prefer these off-arc episodes. There's only so much you can do with Buffy vs Angelus given that they can never kill each other - otherwise the show would've had a much shorter run!
For this week's monster we get the Kinderstott who is just the right amount of yuck. He almost looks like an elderly person (surely the most terrifying real life thing that kids ever face) but then has the nasty teeth and eyes that eat you. Which is what old people threaten to do to kids. "Oh, you're so adorable I could just eat you up!" It really hits the buttons in what is scary for a kid. Not to mention that it's something the adults can't see and don't believe in.
Other neat scenes in this episode are Cordelia distracting the security guard, Willow's "Frogs! Frogs!" moment and the sequence where we get a little peek into Buffy's childhood. I know I had never thought of her as a little girl before this.
"I feel fine. I mean, the world's spinning a little bit, but I like it. It's like a ride."
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
BtVS: 2.17 Passion
Rachel says:
This was the first Buffy episode to make me cry, and it turns out, it still does. Not Jenny's death per se, but Buffy and Willow's response. So heartbreaking. The other standout sequence is the chase between Angelus and Jenny. The camera angles, editing and low lighting all create a superbly creepy and scary run through the school culminating in the horrible neck snap.
The scene in Giles apartment, where he thinks Jenny is waiting for him upstairs (and I suppose she is) is brilliantly portrayed by Giles, almost to the point where you think there has been some mistake and Jenny really is waiting for him. *sob*
"You know, I think there may be a valuable lesson for you gals here about inviting strange men into your bedrooms."
Alisa says:
I think this episode raises the stakes for the audience. It's here, at the climax of this episode, we learn that all the rules don't apply in Jossverse and that all bets are off - anyone can die, even a main player. And so too, Angelus kills Jenny in an almost anticlimatic, off-hand way, such that I think it becomes all the more shocking and heartbreaking. He doesn't break a sweat. He doesn't stalk and play with her (much). He just does it. Dramatically and with a gorgeous backdrop of the night, framed in that window. And he glorifies in it too but more so because of the anticipated effect on Buffy than for the kill itself.
This episode is about passion and the bookend narration is by Angelus. I think this works beautifully to use the change in POV to show that we, the viewers, should expect the unexpected. That this is not all going to go the way we want it to go. Evil, Angelus may be, but as Willow points out, he is still obsessed with Buffy. Sort of the dark to the lightness that went before.
Even having watched this episode many times before, I still cried in that moment that Giles calls Buffy to tell her what has happened. And it works well. Despite watching it from afar, removed, with Angelus looking through the window, it's still very powerful and desperately sad. And there is a really great shot of Buffy as she sinks down to the ground, absorbing the enormity of what has happened and you can see the realisation dawn to her that this is *real*.
I want to finish by saying how rightly it depicts how CREEPY it is for one's Vampire to sit and watch one sleep. (*cough* Bella Swan *cough*)
This was the first Buffy episode to make me cry, and it turns out, it still does. Not Jenny's death per se, but Buffy and Willow's response. So heartbreaking. The other standout sequence is the chase between Angelus and Jenny. The camera angles, editing and low lighting all create a superbly creepy and scary run through the school culminating in the horrible neck snap.
The scene in Giles apartment, where he thinks Jenny is waiting for him upstairs (and I suppose she is) is brilliantly portrayed by Giles, almost to the point where you think there has been some mistake and Jenny really is waiting for him. *sob*
"You know, I think there may be a valuable lesson for you gals here about inviting strange men into your bedrooms."
Alisa says:
I think this episode raises the stakes for the audience. It's here, at the climax of this episode, we learn that all the rules don't apply in Jossverse and that all bets are off - anyone can die, even a main player. And so too, Angelus kills Jenny in an almost anticlimatic, off-hand way, such that I think it becomes all the more shocking and heartbreaking. He doesn't break a sweat. He doesn't stalk and play with her (much). He just does it. Dramatically and with a gorgeous backdrop of the night, framed in that window. And he glorifies in it too but more so because of the anticipated effect on Buffy than for the kill itself.
This episode is about passion and the bookend narration is by Angelus. I think this works beautifully to use the change in POV to show that we, the viewers, should expect the unexpected. That this is not all going to go the way we want it to go. Evil, Angelus may be, but as Willow points out, he is still obsessed with Buffy. Sort of the dark to the lightness that went before.
Even having watched this episode many times before, I still cried in that moment that Giles calls Buffy to tell her what has happened. And it works well. Despite watching it from afar, removed, with Angelus looking through the window, it's still very powerful and desperately sad. And there is a really great shot of Buffy as she sinks down to the ground, absorbing the enormity of what has happened and you can see the realisation dawn to her that this is *real*.
I want to finish by saying how rightly it depicts how CREEPY it is for one's Vampire to sit and watch one sleep. (*cough* Bella Swan *cough*)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Shiny Issue 4
The Fix have given Shiny 4 are really great review. Thanks for the heads up.
Of Bren MacDibble's "Being Bella Wang", Smith writes: In this short tale, MacDibble expertly evokes an exotic locale full of magic, as well as vivid, interesting characters with a strong bond.
Of Michael Merriam's "All the Leaves Your Bed”, she says: Merriam deftly skirts the well of sentiment that could so easily have drowned this story, and takes it to surprising places. There is an image near the end that is simply breathtaking.
And of Rhonda Parrish’s “Skitter Skitter,” - Parrish does a great job with teen exasperation as Chloe describes their progress, often talking in the purple clichés of teen writing... The rest will please readers who like the illogic of go-for-the-grue horror.
Take advantage of our special promo and purchase Issues 4 and 5 for the special price of $5 and get Issue 4 in your inbox now and Issue 5 very very soon.
Of Bren MacDibble's "Being Bella Wang", Smith writes: In this short tale, MacDibble expertly evokes an exotic locale full of magic, as well as vivid, interesting characters with a strong bond.
Of Michael Merriam's "All the Leaves Your Bed”, she says: Merriam deftly skirts the well of sentiment that could so easily have drowned this story, and takes it to surprising places. There is an image near the end that is simply breathtaking.
And of Rhonda Parrish’s “Skitter Skitter,” - Parrish does a great job with teen exasperation as Chloe describes their progress, often talking in the purple clichés of teen writing... The rest will please readers who like the illogic of go-for-the-grue horror.
Take advantage of our special promo and purchase Issues 4 and 5 for the special price of $5 and get Issue 4 in your inbox now and Issue 5 very very soon.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
BtVS: 2.16 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Alisa says:
For a very long time I used to say this was my least favourite episode of the whole series. Hated it even. But having just rewatched it twice in recent weeks (let's not talk about bad notetaking), I think in truth, it's quite a fun little episode. We have Xander subverting the gender stereotype and being the lovelorn teenager who convinces Amy to cast a love spell to get Cordelia to love him (and take back the breakup which she so heartlessly delivers on Valentines Day). Course, as is a must in Jossverse, the spell goes horribly wrong and every girl but Cordelia, including Buffy, Willow, Drusilla, Joyce, Miss Calendar and even Amy, comes after Xander with lovelust. I love the moment that Cordelia finds out he cast the spell for her -
"Would've worked fine, except your hide's so thick, not even magic can penetrate it!"
It's funny because it's true - you can always rely on Cordelia to avoid the glamour and see the world as it is and not for how others want her to. So often the spells miss her - like the one on the previous Halloween with Ethan's spell on the costumes for example. And she proves her true colours at the end of the episode when she tells Harmony where to stick it and stalks off after Xander. Yay!
I think my favourite bit (apart from Buffy's, "I seem to have a slight case of nudity here") is where Oz comes up to hit Xander because Oz had listened to Willow cry for an hour on the phone the night before ... over Xander. But that's just cause I have the Oz Love.
So why did I hate this episode for so long? I think it's because Buffy is hardly in it. She was guesting on Saturday Night Live the week they taped it and so they did all her bits on the Monday and she took off. In retrospect, she actually appears for a good half of the episode, and these days I am less Buffy obsessed so it didn't bother me as much. Though I will say that it's a very distinct break in the Angel-goes-psycho plot-line and for me I think I always felt jarred by the standalone nature of this episode after so much season arc.
Rachel says:
Just plain fun. They went all out with this, ramping up the absurd to hilarious levels. It's never scary - even with all the chasing and the axes and the kitchen knives - because it is just so crazy. Although it's painful watching Buffy debase herself in such a way, mega points to Xander for coming through.
I love that Angel gets chased away from Xander by Drusilla and it's good to see Amy again- she's starting to turn bad!! A real cheer-er upper which is refreshing after all the arc-heavy angst of recent episodes. We even discover that Oz's band's name is Dingoes Ate My Baby - suitably wrong but a little thrill for us Australian fans.
"And you know what? I'll date whoever the hell I wanna date. No matter how lame he is."
For a very long time I used to say this was my least favourite episode of the whole series. Hated it even. But having just rewatched it twice in recent weeks (let's not talk about bad notetaking), I think in truth, it's quite a fun little episode. We have Xander subverting the gender stereotype and being the lovelorn teenager who convinces Amy to cast a love spell to get Cordelia to love him (and take back the breakup which she so heartlessly delivers on Valentines Day). Course, as is a must in Jossverse, the spell goes horribly wrong and every girl but Cordelia, including Buffy, Willow, Drusilla, Joyce, Miss Calendar and even Amy, comes after Xander with lovelust. I love the moment that Cordelia finds out he cast the spell for her -
"Would've worked fine, except your hide's so thick, not even magic can penetrate it!"
It's funny because it's true - you can always rely on Cordelia to avoid the glamour and see the world as it is and not for how others want her to. So often the spells miss her - like the one on the previous Halloween with Ethan's spell on the costumes for example. And she proves her true colours at the end of the episode when she tells Harmony where to stick it and stalks off after Xander. Yay!
I think my favourite bit (apart from Buffy's, "I seem to have a slight case of nudity here") is where Oz comes up to hit Xander because Oz had listened to Willow cry for an hour on the phone the night before ... over Xander. But that's just cause I have the Oz Love.
So why did I hate this episode for so long? I think it's because Buffy is hardly in it. She was guesting on Saturday Night Live the week they taped it and so they did all her bits on the Monday and she took off. In retrospect, she actually appears for a good half of the episode, and these days I am less Buffy obsessed so it didn't bother me as much. Though I will say that it's a very distinct break in the Angel-goes-psycho plot-line and for me I think I always felt jarred by the standalone nature of this episode after so much season arc.
Rachel says:
Just plain fun. They went all out with this, ramping up the absurd to hilarious levels. It's never scary - even with all the chasing and the axes and the kitchen knives - because it is just so crazy. Although it's painful watching Buffy debase herself in such a way, mega points to Xander for coming through.
I love that Angel gets chased away from Xander by Drusilla and it's good to see Amy again- she's starting to turn bad!! A real cheer-er upper which is refreshing after all the arc-heavy angst of recent episodes. We even discover that Oz's band's name is Dingoes Ate My Baby - suitably wrong but a little thrill for us Australian fans.
"And you know what? I'll date whoever the hell I wanna date. No matter how lame he is."
Thursday, November 27, 2008
BtVS: 2.15 Phases
Rachel says:
This episode works on every level for me. Oz has the horrible discovery that he's a werewolf, and it's a genuine surprise to the rest of us too. The fake out with Larry is wonderful, I just love his speech to Xander in the change room.
Buffy is clearly still cut up by Angel, but is able to (or the writers were able to) put it aside long enough to get on with the job. Saves us all dying of boredom, which is a real danger when characters rant and wail endlessly.
The werewolf costume still looks great, so many years later. I guess we've reached the pinnacle in dog suit technology (furry joke not intended). The Oz-wolf morph is also worth a mention, although the tech used is obvious, it's convincing.
"Welcome to the mystery that is men. I think it goes something like, they grow body hair, they lose all ability to tell you what they really want."
Alisa says:
One of the things I love about Buffy is the constant self-referential and in-jokes. This episode opens with Oz looking at the cheerleading trophy that has Amy's mum, the witch, trapped inside it - her eyes follow you where ever you go. There's also a really cool foreshadowing moment for the rewatcher when Oz defends Willow to the bullies by saying she is an evil mastermind. Uh-huh. If only you knew.
This is an okay episode that brings Oz into Buffy's circle in his own right. I like how nonchalantly he finds out and deals with being a werewolf - almost but not quite like it's not a big deal.
This episode works on every level for me. Oz has the horrible discovery that he's a werewolf, and it's a genuine surprise to the rest of us too. The fake out with Larry is wonderful, I just love his speech to Xander in the change room.
Buffy is clearly still cut up by Angel, but is able to (or the writers were able to) put it aside long enough to get on with the job. Saves us all dying of boredom, which is a real danger when characters rant and wail endlessly.
The werewolf costume still looks great, so many years later. I guess we've reached the pinnacle in dog suit technology (furry joke not intended). The Oz-wolf morph is also worth a mention, although the tech used is obvious, it's convincing.
"Welcome to the mystery that is men. I think it goes something like, they grow body hair, they lose all ability to tell you what they really want."
Alisa says:
One of the things I love about Buffy is the constant self-referential and in-jokes. This episode opens with Oz looking at the cheerleading trophy that has Amy's mum, the witch, trapped inside it - her eyes follow you where ever you go. There's also a really cool foreshadowing moment for the rewatcher when Oz defends Willow to the bullies by saying she is an evil mastermind. Uh-huh. If only you knew.
This is an okay episode that brings Oz into Buffy's circle in his own right. I like how nonchalantly he finds out and deals with being a werewolf - almost but not quite like it's not a big deal.
Monday, November 24, 2008
BtVS: 2.14 Innocence
Alisa says:
Or the loss of ...
Oh poor sweet innocent Buffy! That has got to be the worst feeling to have lost your virginity to the love of your life and for him to not be there when you wake up in the morning nor be contactable and when he does finally show back up ... well to be less than gentle, loving and kind.
Stilll.. mmmm yummy topless Angelus in black leather pants. Yummy.
The best moment in the episode is when Angelus rises, drains the hooker and then blows out the puff of smoke from the cigarette that she was smoking. Does it *get* any hotter? I ask you!
This is a contretemps episode - all the stakes (ha!) are raised and it represents a real pivotal point in the series.
We learn the essential catch in the Buffyverse - that if Angel experiences one true moment of happiness the curse the gypsies put on him is lifted and he loses his soul. Again. And how utterly romantic and beautiful that for him, that moment of happiness was making love to Buffy.
Our characters have all pretty much paired off. Poor Willow walks in on Xander and Cordelia and discovers what we have known for episodes now - that he would rather be with someone he hates than we with her. My heart breaks along with hers every single time! But, we see that even though Willow is not yet ready to give up Xander, the adorable Oz loves her anyway - Willow kissage!! And I'll wait! Awwww ....
Xander gets to show how he is useful and that he is an important and valuable member of the Scoobies in his own right. He comes up with the plan to destroy the judge and how to get the weapons they need to save the day.
Buffy: Thanks for my present.
Xander: Thought you'd like it.
I love the rewriting of old for new and the idea that old and mystical works should be read within the context and time in which they were written:
The Judge: No weapon has been forged to destroy me.
Buffy: That was then and this is now.
Yeah, an uzi will probably get the job done. The looks on Angelus' and Dru's faces when they realise whats in Buffy's hand is priceless as is the way they throw themselves out of the way.
But what I love most about this episode is how the stakes are so rapidly raised between Buffy and Angel. In one episode she goes from being in this starcrossed lovers type of innocent and deep and true love to suddenly finding herself in a highly abusive and somewhat twisted relationship. And how many of us don't have our own (perhaps scaled down) tales of the same woe. Or at least who hasn't had the "but I thought he liked me, why did her turn" experience in high school? Buffy's ex-boyfriend is going to torture and ruin her and enjoy it. She goes from this broken, soft and hurt little victim in the beginning of the episode (and understandably so, she just shared something so intimate with the one man she loves and who she thought loved her) to working her way up to killing him. Give me time And I love the way Giles switches from parent to friend in this episode, to reflect her passage, perhaps from innocent to young adult,
"You won't get guilt from me. You'll get nothing but respect."
Rachel says:
I get very angry at this episode. I know Whedon is only making his characters suffer because that makes for good television, but it still rankles that Buffy has sex and then must be punished. And killing a prostitute and smoking is hot for you, Alisa? It's an effective character moment, I'll grant you... but hot??
Gellar outacts nearly everyone in Innocence with her wailing and crying and gnashing of teeth. Boreanaz does not yet have the evil Angelus side quite up to speed, but we will see this more convincingly in later episodes.
Relationships are breaking all over - Willow and Xander, Giles and Jenny. It's really not a very great joy to watch, except that really, they are all getting together too - Willow and Oz, Xander and Cordelia. And then we get to the
Rocket Launcher.
Two things make it work - the dolly shot up to Buffy standing on the concession stand and Drusilla's reaction. Otherwise we would be paying more attention to the ridiculous layout of this shopping centre set, and notice that the launcher looks like a supersoaker on steroids.
I also think that the fight scene between Angel and Buffy after the Judge has gone down is kind of an anticlimax. Well, it's a post-climax because the best bit was the explosion, naturally. So why this petty bickering and groin-kneeing under the sprinklers?
"We're going to destroy the world. Want to come?"
Or the loss of ...
Oh poor sweet innocent Buffy! That has got to be the worst feeling to have lost your virginity to the love of your life and for him to not be there when you wake up in the morning nor be contactable and when he does finally show back up ... well to be less than gentle, loving and kind.
Stilll.. mmmm yummy topless Angelus in black leather pants. Yummy.
The best moment in the episode is when Angelus rises, drains the hooker and then blows out the puff of smoke from the cigarette that she was smoking. Does it *get* any hotter? I ask you!
This is a contretemps episode - all the stakes (ha!) are raised and it represents a real pivotal point in the series.
We learn the essential catch in the Buffyverse - that if Angel experiences one true moment of happiness the curse the gypsies put on him is lifted and he loses his soul. Again. And how utterly romantic and beautiful that for him, that moment of happiness was making love to Buffy.
Our characters have all pretty much paired off. Poor Willow walks in on Xander and Cordelia and discovers what we have known for episodes now - that he would rather be with someone he hates than we with her. My heart breaks along with hers every single time! But, we see that even though Willow is not yet ready to give up Xander, the adorable Oz loves her anyway - Willow kissage!! And I'll wait! Awwww ....
Xander gets to show how he is useful and that he is an important and valuable member of the Scoobies in his own right. He comes up with the plan to destroy the judge and how to get the weapons they need to save the day.
Buffy: Thanks for my present.
Xander: Thought you'd like it.
I love the rewriting of old for new and the idea that old and mystical works should be read within the context and time in which they were written:
The Judge: No weapon has been forged to destroy me.
Buffy: That was then and this is now.
Yeah, an uzi will probably get the job done. The looks on Angelus' and Dru's faces when they realise whats in Buffy's hand is priceless as is the way they throw themselves out of the way.
But what I love most about this episode is how the stakes are so rapidly raised between Buffy and Angel. In one episode she goes from being in this starcrossed lovers type of innocent and deep and true love to suddenly finding herself in a highly abusive and somewhat twisted relationship. And how many of us don't have our own (perhaps scaled down) tales of the same woe. Or at least who hasn't had the "but I thought he liked me, why did her turn" experience in high school? Buffy's ex-boyfriend is going to torture and ruin her and enjoy it. She goes from this broken, soft and hurt little victim in the beginning of the episode (and understandably so, she just shared something so intimate with the one man she loves and who she thought loved her) to working her way up to killing him. Give me time And I love the way Giles switches from parent to friend in this episode, to reflect her passage, perhaps from innocent to young adult,
"You won't get guilt from me. You'll get nothing but respect."
Rachel says:
I get very angry at this episode. I know Whedon is only making his characters suffer because that makes for good television, but it still rankles that Buffy has sex and then must be punished. And killing a prostitute and smoking is hot for you, Alisa? It's an effective character moment, I'll grant you... but hot??
Gellar outacts nearly everyone in Innocence with her wailing and crying and gnashing of teeth. Boreanaz does not yet have the evil Angelus side quite up to speed, but we will see this more convincingly in later episodes.
Relationships are breaking all over - Willow and Xander, Giles and Jenny. It's really not a very great joy to watch, except that really, they are all getting together too - Willow and Oz, Xander and Cordelia. And then we get to the
Rocket Launcher.
Two things make it work - the dolly shot up to Buffy standing on the concession stand and Drusilla's reaction. Otherwise we would be paying more attention to the ridiculous layout of this shopping centre set, and notice that the launcher looks like a supersoaker on steroids.
I also think that the fight scene between Angel and Buffy after the Judge has gone down is kind of an anticlimax. Well, it's a post-climax because the best bit was the explosion, naturally. So why this petty bickering and groin-kneeing under the sprinklers?
"We're going to destroy the world. Want to come?"
Thursday, November 20, 2008
BtVS: 2.13 Surprise
Alisa says:
Things never go well on Buffy's birthday. This year the Scoobies are planning a surprise birthday party, but Drusilla has a surprise all of her own as she collects all the bits and pieces of the Judge and assembles him. We see Buffy's secret fear that Angel will get dusted as she dreams one dream after the other that he does. I'm all down with the smoochies and hot and intense Buffy/Angel moments which inevitably lead to the big crescendo - they finally make sweet sweet vampire/slayer loveage. And then we are left on the terrible cliffhanger - which if I recall correctly is where Channel 7 left us for about 6 months when they initially screened it in Australia!
Other important moments include the implication of a duplicitous side of Jenny Calendar - suddenly she is not as she seems. Whose side is she on and what are her intentions? It seems that she is out to make sure that Angel and Buffy are kept apart!
For me, this is one of my most significant episodes. Firstly for the final consummation of Angel and Buffy's love. That seen is *hot* and *sexy* - or so I thought way back when I first watched it. Now it actually seems a bit tame. And sweet, maybe. Ugh! I hate this rewatching thing! Nothing is the way it first seemed. Also of course this is the lead up to the horrible horrible next episode for Buffy.
Rachel says:
Drusilla is in top form in this episode in contrast to Buffy falling all over her man, which is kinda pathetic. Angel is a little creepy older boyfriend-y. Erk, yuk yuk. I can't help thinking that the scene at the dock is Angel leaving to go to war with his knapsack on his shoulder.
Do Drusilla and Buffy share a birthday? Why is this never mentioned again? There's something in that you know - Angel siring Dru and then Buffy is the love of his life. Something astrological.
The Judge, well he is just neat-o. And blue, which is a nice change from green for a demon.
Oz also gets more love from me in this episode, he is just so ridiculously cool.
"See I like that you're unpredictable."
Things never go well on Buffy's birthday. This year the Scoobies are planning a surprise birthday party, but Drusilla has a surprise all of her own as she collects all the bits and pieces of the Judge and assembles him. We see Buffy's secret fear that Angel will get dusted as she dreams one dream after the other that he does. I'm all down with the smoochies and hot and intense Buffy/Angel moments which inevitably lead to the big crescendo - they finally make sweet sweet vampire/slayer loveage. And then we are left on the terrible cliffhanger - which if I recall correctly is where Channel 7 left us for about 6 months when they initially screened it in Australia!
Other important moments include the implication of a duplicitous side of Jenny Calendar - suddenly she is not as she seems. Whose side is she on and what are her intentions? It seems that she is out to make sure that Angel and Buffy are kept apart!
For me, this is one of my most significant episodes. Firstly for the final consummation of Angel and Buffy's love. That seen is *hot* and *sexy* - or so I thought way back when I first watched it. Now it actually seems a bit tame. And sweet, maybe. Ugh! I hate this rewatching thing! Nothing is the way it first seemed. Also of course this is the lead up to the horrible horrible next episode for Buffy.
Rachel says:
Drusilla is in top form in this episode in contrast to Buffy falling all over her man, which is kinda pathetic. Angel is a little creepy older boyfriend-y. Erk, yuk yuk. I can't help thinking that the scene at the dock is Angel leaving to go to war with his knapsack on his shoulder.
Do Drusilla and Buffy share a birthday? Why is this never mentioned again? There's something in that you know - Angel siring Dru and then Buffy is the love of his life. Something astrological.
The Judge, well he is just neat-o. And blue, which is a nice change from green for a demon.
Oz also gets more love from me in this episode, he is just so ridiculously cool.
"See I like that you're unpredictable."
Monday, November 17, 2008
BtVS: 2.12 Bad Eggs
Rachel says:
There's nothing really wrong with Bad Eggs, but nothing too special either. The Gorches I find very dull and one dimensional as villains. However, the scene where Buffy tracks the hatchling in her bedroom is a great piece of suspenseful television. There should be more of that.
Being not much of a mushy fan, I find the quantity of smoochies in this episode to be painfully over the top.
"I see your 'gyegh!' and raise you a 'gnyaah!'"
Alisa says:
See, my verdict is: "mmmmm" just for all the Angel/Buffy smoochies alone.
This episode had me at its broody, dark, forbidden kisses in the cemetery. Other highlights for me were Xander boiling his egg and showing that sometimes there are rewards from breaking rules and taking shortcuts, and also the bonus cameo of Jonathan - I'd not seen that one before! I also love the bit where Buffy is fighting the vampire and they both turn to fight off people under the spell before turning back to fight each other. I just love the ridiculousness of that.
I also think the way she kills the creature - hacking it to pieces from the inside- was grrl power AWESOME! I just love it when, after she kills the gross monster of the week, she throws the pick up out of the hole, climbs out after it and finishes off the vampire. That moment, which was just a little world-weary, made me think - she's a vampire slayer, why does that mean she has to wear the weight of the world and all the other demons on her shoulders as well?
And then extra "awwwww" for the final scene of Angel leaning in Buffy's window for some nigh-night smoochies. Where, though, is the attraction for a 270 year old vampire to be with someone so young and so unworldly and so naive, especially at this point, so early in her slayer career? I spose we could argue that her youth and passion and lack of world-weariness is attractive to him - that her innocence is appealing? Or that he can see in her, even this early in, that she is the most powerful slayer ever born.
There's nothing really wrong with Bad Eggs, but nothing too special either. The Gorches I find very dull and one dimensional as villains. However, the scene where Buffy tracks the hatchling in her bedroom is a great piece of suspenseful television. There should be more of that.
Being not much of a mushy fan, I find the quantity of smoochies in this episode to be painfully over the top.
"I see your 'gyegh!' and raise you a 'gnyaah!'"
Alisa says:
See, my verdict is: "mmmmm" just for all the Angel/Buffy smoochies alone.
This episode had me at its broody, dark, forbidden kisses in the cemetery. Other highlights for me were Xander boiling his egg and showing that sometimes there are rewards from breaking rules and taking shortcuts, and also the bonus cameo of Jonathan - I'd not seen that one before! I also love the bit where Buffy is fighting the vampire and they both turn to fight off people under the spell before turning back to fight each other. I just love the ridiculousness of that.
I also think the way she kills the creature - hacking it to pieces from the inside- was grrl power AWESOME! I just love it when, after she kills the gross monster of the week, she throws the pick up out of the hole, climbs out after it and finishes off the vampire. That moment, which was just a little world-weary, made me think - she's a vampire slayer, why does that mean she has to wear the weight of the world and all the other demons on her shoulders as well?
And then extra "awwwww" for the final scene of Angel leaning in Buffy's window for some nigh-night smoochies. Where, though, is the attraction for a 270 year old vampire to be with someone so young and so unworldly and so naive, especially at this point, so early in her slayer career? I spose we could argue that her youth and passion and lack of world-weariness is attractive to him - that her innocence is appealing? Or that he can see in her, even this early in, that she is the most powerful slayer ever born.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
BtVS: 2.11 Ted
Alisa says:
I hate this episode for so many reasons. I hate Ted. I hate the idea of Ted - where did he suddenly come from? Joyce has been secretly dating him and Buffy never noticed? It feels so contrived. As does the episode climax and unravelling. I hate it. I hate Ted and his stupid cookies and mini golf.
Bah! Onto the next ep!
Rachel says:
I hated this episode too when it first aired, but I have grown to really quite like it. I was surprised how much my impression of Ted has changed. I was so drawn in by the character that first time I saw it, I so believed he was a human bad-guy, that I was angry, really angry when his secret was revealed. I'd been duped as badly as if I'd been eating his cookies!
But it truly improves on multiple viewings and it's largely due to the late John Ritter's performance. He's so dreadful and horrible as a human character and yet, once you discover his robotic secret, it slots together so nicely. I love the way Xander follows him around begging for food treats for the whole episode, and the scene where he discovers the cupboard's contents is so creepy because you don't see anything but his reaction, which is played perfectly.
This is amongst the best of Buffy because it hits where it hurts most - her mother.
"What? Freud would've said the exact same thing. Except he might not have done that little dance."
I hate this episode for so many reasons. I hate Ted. I hate the idea of Ted - where did he suddenly come from? Joyce has been secretly dating him and Buffy never noticed? It feels so contrived. As does the episode climax and unravelling. I hate it. I hate Ted and his stupid cookies and mini golf.
Bah! Onto the next ep!
Rachel says:
I hated this episode too when it first aired, but I have grown to really quite like it. I was surprised how much my impression of Ted has changed. I was so drawn in by the character that first time I saw it, I so believed he was a human bad-guy, that I was angry, really angry when his secret was revealed. I'd been duped as badly as if I'd been eating his cookies!
But it truly improves on multiple viewings and it's largely due to the late John Ritter's performance. He's so dreadful and horrible as a human character and yet, once you discover his robotic secret, it slots together so nicely. I love the way Xander follows him around begging for food treats for the whole episode, and the scene where he discovers the cupboard's contents is so creepy because you don't see anything but his reaction, which is played perfectly.
This is amongst the best of Buffy because it hits where it hurts most - her mother.
"What? Freud would've said the exact same thing. Except he might not have done that little dance."
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sneak Peek Inside Issue 4
Bren MacDibble makes her second appearance at Shiny with this story, set against the exotic backdrop of Bali, it's a little bit SF, a little bit Fantasy. Here's a taste of it.
Being Bella Wang
by Bren MacDibble
I'd felt her presence ever since the plane touched down in Bali and still I jumped at my name.
“Sienna!” A frail figure swanned across the green, hips jutting through a lime silk slip-dress.
A row of black shadow puppets danced across the hem at her knees. Her chest was
impossibly bony. The silk gaped, unfilled, and her sinewy feet were bare on the fine grass.
“Juliet?” She’d always been thin but this was the wasted body and disaffected pose of one of the starvation cults.
I dropped my putter and hurried towards her. She stretched out her hands, and when I took them they were cold, bizarre in the mugginess of a Balinese morning.
I pulled her to me, whole again after so long apart. She was stiff in my embrace and returned it with just one arm to my back, then pulled away. It hurt. She seemed shorter than me now, beyond the height given to me by golf cleats, but that was
impossible. We were genetically identical.
“Sienna, you softy,” she said. “How goes the golfing life?”
“It’s good enough I suppose.” The old arguments came back to me.
“I hear you’re the favourite for the junior strokeplay tomorrow. The Mother must be
pleased.” Juliet had never regarded the original Bella Wang as a mother, just as The Mother.
“She’s here you know.” I nodded at the clubhouse.
Juliet’s cool pose broke and she glanced towards the clubhouse.
I enjoyed a moment of evil glee until I saw her face in profile.
Being Bella Wang
by Bren MacDibble
I'd felt her presence ever since the plane touched down in Bali and still I jumped at my name.
“Sienna!” A frail figure swanned across the green, hips jutting through a lime silk slip-dress.
A row of black shadow puppets danced across the hem at her knees. Her chest was
impossibly bony. The silk gaped, unfilled, and her sinewy feet were bare on the fine grass.
“Juliet?” She’d always been thin but this was the wasted body and disaffected pose of one of the starvation cults.
I dropped my putter and hurried towards her. She stretched out her hands, and when I took them they were cold, bizarre in the mugginess of a Balinese morning.
I pulled her to me, whole again after so long apart. She was stiff in my embrace and returned it with just one arm to my back, then pulled away. It hurt. She seemed shorter than me now, beyond the height given to me by golf cleats, but that was
impossible. We were genetically identical.
“Sienna, you softy,” she said. “How goes the golfing life?”
“It’s good enough I suppose.” The old arguments came back to me.
“I hear you’re the favourite for the junior strokeplay tomorrow. The Mother must be
pleased.” Juliet had never regarded the original Bella Wang as a mother, just as The Mother.
“She’s here you know.” I nodded at the clubhouse.
Juliet’s cool pose broke and she glanced towards the clubhouse.
I enjoyed a moment of evil glee until I saw her face in profile.
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