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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 29, 2006 23:42:39 GMT -5
Author: Tjaman
Just for Kev -- and the fact that I was honestly gonna do this anyway -- I give you the second episode in five eppies aired to mostly focus on Xander, subtitled "Testosterone is a Controlled Substance -- or At Least it Should Be."
Joss takes a look at bullies.
Four kids who must be just about universally despised got spat out of the Hellmouth onto Buffy's shoe.
"Hey," said A&F, with no originality. "It's Buffy Summers with all her friends."
Yep, Slayers deal with vampires and demons and so forth. I'm sure this wicked archery will flush all of her self-esteem into the sewers.
This was a target of opportunity, however. They all but acknowledged -- in their strung-out-on-Prozac delivery -- that she could beat the crap out of them.
No, bullies target the weak, and in his own inimitable way, Joss yanked a social issue into the 'verse, gave it a "Twilight Zone" spin and set it loose in Sunnydale among a pack of wild dogs masquerading as kids.
The episode didn't start out especially creepifying. The zookeeper seemed nice, the threat seemed a little lame -- ok, so now Xander's a bully too and he's not that interested in homework -- and anyway it was bright and sunny and there were mind-pictures of zebras doin' it, which are always pleasant.
Then Xander looked into Willow's face and called her "pasty," and it got really dark really fast.
Willow gave us the backstory on her ongoing lifelong crush on Xander, who she truly cared for as more than a friend. So with that as a baseline, watching what happens to her heart as other stuff happens in their lives is going to be interesting. And Buffy touches briefly on her thoughts on Angel, giving the lie to Doyle's @ssumption that it's his overhanging forehead and sensitive mouth (although Owen's sensitive mouth and broody nature was part of what did it for Buffy in "Never Kill A Boy on the First Date") -- physically, he makes her weak in the knees, but she finds him emotionally distant and a victim of monomania -- too focused on the job.
This is interesting to me. Whistler gets him glomming on to the Slayer, and three years later they've had the normal relationship arc, plus a little bit of destroying each other. They've had that whole "you nearly drained all of my blood away" as well as the "you sent me to a hell dimension" thing and the "you turned evil" thing and "you turned me evil" mishegah. Just a couple of healthy kids, really.
And Angel goes to L.A. and a few months later he's completely cut off again -- everything he was when Whistler found him except that he's not all the way back in the sewer yet.
I just find it interesting, is all. Angel is emotionally distant.
Let's see what we can do about that.
Now, back to the darkness into which this show descends, starting with the game of dodgeball. The pack wins -- at the end, Buffy's the only one standing -- yet they attack the heck out of the one non-pack member on their own team -- choosing to prey on the weak rather than the strong.
And it's not just physical. They take monster digs at kids who are already probably more than usually self-conscious -- the nerdy, the obese, etc.
And then we meet the mascot.
Of course it's an adorable little pig. And the predatory nature of the Pack is growing stronger and stronger. At this point they're becoming feral.
The participation of Xander in the feasting was meant, I suppose, to make sure he didn't get out of it consequence-free, but so that he would avoid being part fo the cannibalism later.
Instead, he goes after Buffy, walking a little funny of course because of his enormous balls in trying a little gross sexual imposition on the Slayer.
Meanwhile, the rest of the pack eat Principal Flutie.
It was fun going into that scene knowing what Kev had pointed out to me about the photo, tho. That was just pathetic.
Now it just becomes psychotic. Why a woman is wandering around Sunnydale after dark with a baby on her back is a good question, but the pack is simply full from having eaten Flutie.
But it's time to rise and shine and rejoin Xander, and find Willow.
I saw the pack chasing after her if they needed the key to get Xander out (not that I'm certain they're aware of keys anymore) but once they rejoined Xander, they could've struck out for more opportunistic prey.
That family, for example.
Willow, before I breeze right on past this, kept her head in a bad situation. Good Willow. And she does keep trapping boys she likes in the cage.
Oh, incidentally, since I did breeze right past this, I'm a student at Sunnydale High, I walk into the library and I see that little sparring session between Buffy and Giles, I suppose I have one or two questions, yes? And I suppose I don't ask them.
The Pack leaves, and Buffy lures them to the hyena cage where we meet once again that charming zookeeper, and he's being very antisocial. But he's got a plan -- put the hyena energy back in the hyenas and naturally Giles is knocked unconscious and left in a side room, while the zookeeper loses it.
Now, who came out better in this situation?
Xander, for not eating Flutie, seems to be the winner. But for attacking Buffy instead -- even when not "himself" -- he's driving Willow a little ways away, and has contributed to that country music fest he partakes of later on when Buffy rejects him.
For eating Flutie, those kids are now all carrying the memory of eating a person. It's the sort of thing that could drive them insane.
But it does open the door for a new principal.
So looking forward to seeing who that might be.
Incidentally, this was a reasonably good save on a pretty good story -- kids can obviously relate to bullies. Now, most bullies don't start eating and terrorizing people, but the message is clear.
Bullies attack the weak, like hyenas (who are technically scavengers and are usually content with the scraps of a hunt) To confront a bully, maintain a positive self-image and take them on directly.
You don't have to be a Slayer to do that.
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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 29, 2006 23:43:31 GMT -5
Author: Nick
It must be Tuesday...
The Pack
What makes bullies act the way that they do? I'm a firm believer of people basically start off as being decent, before life screws them over. So what is it that makes someone a bully? Is it all the violence on the tv? Unstable family lifestyle? Abused childhood? To be popular? Or maybe it's being possessed by evil animal spirits?
I suspect it's the more mundane reasons given above, but this is Buffy, and the evils of society manifests itself in the supernatural. We basically have a decent kid who's nice and kinda stands up for the little people, who becomes a bully through supernatural animal possession. He turns on his friends, the kid he stood up for, and he even ate a pig raw. In the end, though, everything's forgiven when he's unposessed (depossessed?), and he reverts back to the lovable person he used to be and all's right in the world.
Or is it? What happened to Xander does not explain the four bullies, who were already these big jack@sses. Except for the eating part, they were every bit as bad as their "hyena" counterpart. And throught it all, we've never dealt with them except when they're being possessed. In fact, in most times, we've closed our eyes to the action, so much so, that it's become acceptable to shrug and say "it happens". What does it say about us?
Bullies can cause real consequences on their victims besides the oc@ssional teasing and such. And at times, bullies can commit acts of sexual har@ssment which they get away because everyone's so bl@sse about it. We need to realize that bullies are real, and that they need to be dealt with, either psychologically, or physically, or both. Bullying is not okay, and it shouldn't be tolerated.
Thoughts
- The Hyena "possession" thingy required a predatory act, right? So how come Xander was possessed as well, cause I don't count defending a kid as "predatory".
- The part where the pig is frightened. I'm sorry, but that's just so cheesy.
- When Willow's happy, we're happy. But when she cries, we're devastated. Alyson just knows how to get to our heart strings. Buffy may be our how we view the 'verse, but Willow is how we feel it.
- First principal down (the belly). Two more to go. Okay, I @ssumed that when you're eaten, you tend to make some noise, scream even. Strange that no one in the packed school heard.
- The first appearance of the book cage that has held vampires, werewolves and all manners of supernaturally strong demons. You'd think that once they see how easily possessed kids can tear it down, they'd stop using it.
- It's good to know that Willow never gives in to emotions and loses her smart. That look she gave when she said "Now I know" is just priceless. 'Course, she loses all that when Malcolm rolls by.
- For a smart man, Giles's not really that smart is he. The first thing I'd do when I realize the zookeeper's plan would be to skedadle it and warn Buffy, but no, had to hold a whole exposition of the plan.
- This was Nicholas Brandon's episode all the way, showing that he can do menancing and drama as well as comedy. It's too bad that episodes featuring him are far and few in between.
I give this a 6.5 out of 10. It still has too much of the Season 1 cheesiness, but pulled out of mediocrity of Nickie Brandon's fine acting.
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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 30, 2006 1:10:36 GMT -5
Author: Nick
Anyway, Kev, I've decided to post my comments here, since Tjaman went and created this shiny new thread. Of course, it doesn't help me much when mine get's compared to his, but such is the price of laziness.
Author: Tjaman
Right back atcha, Nick -- those were some Brilliant Insights™.
P.S. -- I'm not sure about the predatory act. Maybe one just needed to be taking place (except why then was Lance spared?) or maybe Xander shoving one of the others out of the way was enough and that's how he became the leader or something (or maybe he was just the tallest).
I loved how the guy was just very calmly tying Willow up and she was standing there. "No, really, this is what's supposed to be going on. Trust me."
Author: Nick
*basking*
Oh, wait, let's not start this over here too.
Author: Cordy
Very Brilliant Insights all around. You both did an excellent job.
Author: Tjaman
* basking *
Author: Kev
*Robbins*
Author: Nick
*Sarandon*
Author: Cordy
*slut*
*Hopes everyone catches the The Rocky Horror Picture Show reference there*
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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 30, 2006 1:12:16 GMT -5
Author: TJ
Angel
or, Who Is that Masked Man?
For six weeks, now, a suspiciously helpful exposition demon has been stalking Buffy, popping out from the shadows to give her missions.
* and who does that sound like *
He's forgiven. He's completely forgiven all things but I just want to point out to any MaJr's in my audience that this is the bit to pay attention to.
Although Joss hasn't completely fleshed out this character yet -- he's got timeline and paternity errors stretching famously up to the appearance of Spike in "School Hard" -- he has Darla and Angel together during the Boxer Rebellion in China.
"The last time I saw you, it was kimonos."
Why were they there? Well, a Slayer was being killed there once, yes. By whom? Angel? Darla? Did he even know about Spike at this point? I'm curious.
Angelus was going to sit at the Master's right hand, was he? Curious. "The Wish" is not that far in the offing -- well, I guess technically it is. In the alternate reality -- where so many important things happen -- Angel is hardly at The Master's right hand. He's a tormented lickspittle at best. Of course, he'd been captured and dragged to Sunnydale, because with no Buffy in Sunnydale there's no Whistler guiding him there, but it'd be a shame to lose that white-hat dynamic.
I really see the Angel here we meet in "City Of." His bloodlust is surfacing with Joyce's open wound. But naturally, it would.
According to an amalgam of Giles and Angel's explanations, when a vampire is sired, the demon takes over. The vamp walks, talks, resembles and shares memories with the person the demon has inhabited, but it doesn't get the soul. The soul, it's body having died, is departed thence toward that Undiscovered Country.
Angel is arguing that he's the demon, the risen corpse of Liam, mystically preserved, and then, having fed on a gypsy girl about Buffy's age, was infused with a soul, a consciousness.
"For a hundred years I offered ugly death to everyone I met, and did it with a song in my heart. Can you imagine what it's like to do the things I've done ... and care?"
Not really. But we get 11-1/2 more seasons to explore the question.
Now, the showdown at the Bronze. Prosaic, but utterly pointless. The grossout factor of cawkroaches as currency is high, largely because of the handling of them. And it's sweet that Willow thinks that as violent as Buffy's job is and, growing up all her life in Sunnydale, that she might grow old and wrinkly with Angel. "And imagine the kids." Oh, Willow, we just went there, didn't we.
That Darla, tho -- bet she and Angel would have some beautiful kids.
Oh, that invitation could so have swept all four of them into her house. Angel was in the house before the voicedub let him in, and the other three ... well, one hand was very much not being held out.
At least Buffy is adaptable to moral ambiguities. Angel has helped her in the past and ... oh, hell, he's pretty. And broody. And he has ever so much to brood about.
Darla with the guns was pretty scary. And not as useful as Wes with guns, somehow. I ... don't know if I get that.
At this point, it seems like they know Darla sired Angel, and they seem to know that the Master sired Darla. They still believe Angel sired Spike, but they placed Angel and Darla chronologically and geographically at the deathplace of the Chinese Slayer. I don't know if they know about Dru yet. I ... don't believe Darla was wearing a kimono in any of those flashbacks, but I'm perfectly willing to be wrong.
As for not feeding on another living person, Angel seems to have forgotten about Lawson. Lawson was dying -- but not yet dead -- when he sired him.
I can't think of another person we'd have seen between now and then, because of course the ice cream parlor guy was dead when Angel fed on him.
And Buffy needs to remind her mother not to invite strangers into the house.
So ... I wonder what happens to the Darla character. All dusty, now, slain by Angel. Brought back three years later by W&H to turn Angel to the dark side. Does it work? Angie does seem to stomp about some.
That's the curse of introducing such a compelling character. They don't have the mojo to disinvite a vampire yet and they won't for some time, but they can't have Darla popping into the Slayer's abode of an evening, so they have to kill her.
But she's just so d**n' good at being bad. ;D
I ... get the feeling we'll be seeing that crazy kid again sometime down the road.
The Three were about as pointless as a cotton ball, but at least Angel got to help, some. And the Slayer isn't unstoppable. But honestly, if you fail, you have to sacrifice your lives? How the heck have they survived ever?
Cordelia getting upset at the Todd Oldham knockoff was fun, but an unworthy scene of someone in the opening credits. So, Xander getting his extreme oafishness on her $200 shoes isn't much more, but it will have to do.
Buffy's reaction to thinking Angel read her diary was fun. "When I said your eyes were 'penetrating,' I meant 'bulging'. And 'A' doesn't even stand for Angel. It means Achmed, a charming foreign exchange student!"
And Buffy seeing Angel apparently feeding on her mother and flinging him through the window was ... expensive fun.
All hail the Joss.
And it's a fine episode. What they don't know til sometime down the road doesn't hurt it. And Angel seems to be an open wound from a feeding frenzy.
* stares at the smolder-y scar left by Buffy's cross pendant * Great character. And talk about star-crossed lovers.
Can Joss write this stuff or what? ;D
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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 30, 2006 1:16:56 GMT -5
Author: Tickie
Absolutely wonderful, I demand we have these more often.
Author: Kev
Great Insights.
Author: QC
excellent,tjaman,excellent!!!
Author: TJ
Thanks, guys.
I remembered what I forgot.
When I was watching the episode, in the dark scene right before Buffy enters The Bronze and she has her back to the camera, I looked away for a moment and looked back quickly and d**n if she didn't look a whole lot like Michelle Trachtenberg.
I ran it back and looked again, and yeppers.
Dawn was well cast. She even moved like a really young Buffy.
Author: Nick
[image]
Some quibbles, perhaps?
I don't know how far I'd credit Joss with creating the pathos this early in the series. Too many things seemed tacked on to me, which is fine. The series is just getting started after all.
The thing with the Kimono, I'd always thought it was the other way around. I thought that Joss had always imagined their last meeting taking place somewhere in Japan, and when they were making Fool for Love, they realised a) Spike killed a Chinese Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, so it had to take place in China b) This was likely the last time Angel would see Darla c) They had mentioned that Angel saw her in kimonos
Thus, they had decked Darla out in Kimono, in China which is, if you think about it quite unlikely.
And I didn't notice the resemblence thing with MT. I'll have to take a look at the episode again.
Author: Kev
Now, I can actually go back and look for that moment, cause well, I own all the seasons on DVD.
Author: QC
you lucky duck....
Author: TJ
If that was a kimono she was wearing in those flashbacks, it was a highly stylized one.
I'm not remembering what she was wearing in those scenes perfectly, but it feels like you'd have no trouble identifying her as European, going by her clothing.
You're right, tho. It's only seven episodes in. A lot of backstory is sketched in/firmed up later.
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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 30, 2006 1:20:14 GMT -5
Author: TJ
There are so many ways to start this review:
1) It's hard to be a modern demon on the dating scene. You have to reestablish your thrallish charisma, learn English, negotiate the Internet, and girls insist on meeting before you're entirely built. And one slip of the tongue, you have to send a minion as an escort. 2) Hey! It's El Diablo Robotico! 3) In retrospect, it might've been safer to move up the exploration of Willow's homosexuality a couple of seasons.
But here's how I will start it:
Buffy: "Let's face it, none of us are going to have normal relationships." Xander: "We're doomed."
And the shared laughter dissolves in realization when the screen goes black and they look off set to see Joss standing there grinning evilly.
The life of the heart gets established early in this series. It's never going to be strengthening. The only relationship that's in a good place in the end is Willow and Kennedy's.
And Riley's, perhaps. Perhaps.
Everyone else is ripped to pieces by love. Xander's nascent reconciliation destroyed by loss, Buffy's declared and imp@ssioned love dissipated in immolation, and forgive me, but Faith is simply not known for establishing mutually fulfilling relationships. @ssuming Robin survives and recovers, she may threaten his life again, but I don't see that as being any kind of true and forever thing.
This early in the series, it's enough for Joss to explore, with his audience, the dangers of Internet dating.
Willow meets a liar named Malcolm, who misrepresents himself in so many ways. He's not an 18-year-old advanced placement student living 80 miles to the north so much as he's an ancient charismatic demon who feeds on emotional manipulation.
But she's so cute. Pining away for Xander, who's got such a crush on Buffy it's not even amusing, she finally decides to look elsewhere. Not to one of the other members of the geek squad ("I'm jacked in. I'm jacked in." Ew) but to online dating.
The Dangers of Online Dating
Buffy: Well, he says he's in high school. Xander: I could say I'm in high school. Buffy: You are in high school. Xander: Right. But I could also say I'm an elderly Dutch woman. Buffy: [dawning realization] Xander: And if I'm in the elderly Dutch chat room ...
Yep. So many people barely exist on the Internet. It's actually just you and one fat middle-aged guy of indifferent personal hygiene named Vinny using a zillion different aliases. Oh, well, there are a few others, but they're demons. ;D
But they're not wrong. This was a good age and a good moment to explore profile misrepresentation on the Interweb, and a good forum. It's vital to instill in people the creepy fear that whoever people say they're talking to, they may actually be talking to ancient homicidal love demons.
Buffy's advice: Meet in person -- someplace public with a lot of light and people around -- early in the relationship -- is good advice for Willow and for anyone. Because Vinny has no trouble at all fabricating photos. There's millions of pictures of pretty people you'll never meet available in catalogs, magazines, all over online already, and misrepresentation is all too easy. Better not to meet in his basement with the chloroform and the restraints and the naked mural of Barbra Streisand I meant honestly, what's that about?
The mystical aspect of the storyline had to be heightened and overdramatized somewhat to make it work. I enjoyed the introduction of Jenny Calendar as a character. She was just fun. And I'm guessing this is the first reference to technopaganism on network television, so somewhat groundbreaking.
Moloch, Malcolm, whatever. He could've build himself a little cuddlier, but then we wouldn't have an instinctive horror of him -- I think it was his rams' horn servos. I wonder why his thrall didn't work on Willow? It worked well enough on that guy in the 13th century. Maybe Moloch swings both ways, but his mojo doesn't.
Along with the joys of internet dating, this show seemed to explore interweb obsession -- staying up for 24 hours at a time nattering endlessly and skipping real world obligations. That's an enjoyable aspect of the Jossverse -- the multilayered storytelling, even in transparent morality plays like this one. The minions -- I've already forgotten their names -- who try to kill Buffy and who Moloch destroys for disobedience (and, as it happens, obedience -- he's mostly about the destruction) are victims of an obsession that one does see in real life and which can be scary.
When the importance of one's online existence exceeds that of one's real world existence, you're at the precipice of a serious problem, and you may need to regroup so as to avoid becoming ...
... well ...
... obsessed.
The final showdown in this episode was reasonably cool, although a little histrionic. Forcing Moloch out of the Interweb and into his unextended android persona was a stroke of genius -- he could've hid out in anyone's hard-drive -- and then Buffy's fight with him was pretty cool. Somehow, he wasn't as frightening as other demons she faces -- it's sort of the last-minute cobbled together aspect of him that's getting me -- although he did seem to hold together pretty well and it did take some Slayer strength and cunning and some doing. Nice showdown.
All in all, a reasonably good episode, and -- heartwise -- a fairly faithful indicator of things to come.
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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 30, 2006 1:22:16 GMT -5
Author: QC
(looks over at the man she met on the Internet and married)
"Vinny! er... nebber mind ,hon,just thought it'd be a cute nickname. Like 'Beauty & the Beast'.... What do you mean 'which one am i?' '" [image]
very nice review ,tj!
Author: TJ
Thanks! I love your avatar over here, too, btw.
Author: Nick
Aug 8, 2005, 8:22pm, tjaman wrote: ... this show seemed to explore interweb obsession -- staying up for 24 hours at a time nattering endlessly and skipping real world obligations...
Umm ... don't know what you're talking about.
Author: QC
thank you!
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Post by TheMasterGeek on Mar 30, 2006 1:22:53 GMT -5
Oh, Nick, you managed to navigate my site better than I did, it took me about 5 minutes to realize I put the Buffy Reviews in the Archieved thread.
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Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 30, 2006 1:28:01 GMT -5
It did take me a while to find it. I was beginning to think I had imagined reading those brilliant insights.
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Post by tjaman on Mar 30, 2006 17:41:59 GMT -5
Well, they were written so very long ago ...
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Post by quantumcat on Mar 30, 2006 22:44:27 GMT -5
They'll read as well a billion years from now as they did when first written. Speaking articulately,from the heart on interesting topics is what made that site. Thanks,guys...
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Post by tjaman on Mar 30, 2006 23:49:23 GMT -5
Oh -- I just meant that I can't even remember having the time free to write a "Buffy" review. It's been ... too long.
It's all I can manage to do to get an occasional GeekClub entry for "Angel" these days.
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Post by dEz on Mar 31, 2006 0:45:09 GMT -5
How does it feel to read how you first felt, when Joss was original and fresh to you? That's pretty cool hey?
* Sniff for sentiment *
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