Archive for the ‘Buffy Season 4’ Category
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
The I in Team (David Fury)
I’m sorry but despite so much happening in this episode, the main thing I wonder about is whether Willow and Tara share their first kiss when irony goes all ironic.
Loads does happen in this episode: Buffy joins the Initiative and the late 20th century (by gaining a pager), she and Riley have sex for the first time (rather unpleasantly intercut with some demon fighting; just how different is Buffy from Faith?), we learn that Prof Walsh is a voyeur and then discover she’s really, really evil, we meet Adam and then we lose Professor Walsh.
Actually, too much happens, it’s all rushed and the episode leaves you feeling rather breathless and it has a terrible last line: “Mommy”.
“And I don’t want you crawling back here knocking on my door pleading for help the second Teen Witch’s magic goes all wonky or little Xander cuts a new tooth. We’re through. You got it?” Spike gets to eat those words.
“You don’t have to do this.” “I know.” “I mean, if you’d rather wait…” “I’m ready. I want to.” Oh please stop.
Buffy is forgetting her friends: while Willow tells lies because what is happening to her isn’t something you tell someone who isn’t paying you any attention because of the huge distractions and turmoil in her own life. “I mean, I could have invited somebody else if I knew it was an open free-for-all.” “I’m sorry. I had no idea. My total bad. So, who did you want to invite?” “What?” “You said you wanted to invite someone.” “No. Not– no one. I meant a hypothetical someone which is to say no one. What are we celebrating?”
“You mean the camo and stuff? I thought about it but, I mean, it’s gonna look all Private Benjamin. Don’t worry I’ve patrolled in this halter many times.”
“Remind me. Why should I help you?” “Because you do that. You’re the goody-good guys. You’re the bloody freaking cavalry.”
We’ll just say it’s the pain that makes Spike say Rocking the Casbah and not Rock the Casbah.
Re-watching pays dividends: Willow holds Tara’s doll’s eye crystal in her hand before the ionisation spell.
I’m disappointed that we were deprived of a real confrontation between Buffy and Professor Walsh but apparently Lindsay Crouse wanted to leave. I can’t say I felt her heart was in it. I first saw her in The Verdict (in the days when I went to the pictures weekly and often went to see films more than once) but I most remember her for House of Games when she is astoundingly wooden. Still, you have to have sympathy for anyone whose parents named her Lindsay Ann Crouse to pay homage to her father’s writing partner, Howard Lindsay. Obviously, the ideal way to give a child her own identity.
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Friday, April 20th, 2007
A New Man (Jane Espenson)
A Giles episode (that’s one more than Xander gets this season) and a good one too. Anthony Stewart Head (I’m never really sure what to call him because he’s really Anthony Head but for some reason his name just feels odd - I blame the Head) embraces playing a demon with gusto. I don’t think there is a moment with him as a demon that isn’t interesting. He turns to Xander but Xander doesn’t (literally) understand him but look who does? Spike. His chasing after Professor Walsh after saying this: “I refuse to become a monster because I look like a monster. I have a soul. I have a conscience. I am a human being. Oh, stop the car!” is a hoot.
“Nice phone.” “Yes. Fabulous technology. See, if anyone has information I need to know, they can, uh, simply tell me about it. Through this ingenious speaking tube. I’m very excited.” I reckon if the Scoobies had had mobile phones (even Angel has one by now) then none of the estrangement and misunderstandings of the future would have happened (and wouldn’t that have that been exciting?). Oh, and Buffy can’t really have forgotten that she hadn’t told Giles about the Initiative and Riley because at her party she would have been reminded as she introduced Riley to Giles.
Ethan Rayne is such a good villain partly because of Robin Sachs’ fruity tones but also because the character is a satisfactory mix of evil, humour and self-preservation and gets to mutter off screen “You know you’re really very attractive.” as Giles says “”Oh, she’s awful. She said I was an absent male role model. Absent my ass. I’m twice the man she is.”
Giles feels bad about what Walsh says because it must be close to how he feels: that he is Buffy’s father figure and may have failed her. However, Buffy is an extraordinary individual who can’t be made to fit like a member of a military unit. Riley is partly wrong when he says “And you’re in charge. You’re like, make the plan, execute the plan. No one giving you orders.” Buffy never plans (not in a military way anyway).
Very early there are warning signs in Buffy and Riley’s relationship: “Buffy, I can’t take you with me.” “You’re not taking me with you. I am going and I am letting you come along.” “Buffy, it’s not really your call. This is a military operation now.” “Then call out the troops. Because nothing less than that is gonna stop me. This demon did something to Giles and I’m gonna kill it.”
I’d loved to have gone to USC so that I could’ve had a huge dorm room too. Tara’s is fantastic with the fairy lights and the arty posters. The spell Willow suggests is incredibly 
romantic: not floating and peeling an apple but floating and removing the petals of a red rose…and it takes Tara a long time to realise that she’s just holding Willow’s hands and not actually doing a spell at all.
As I write this I realise I should put up a warning now: if you are a Tara-phobe this blog is going to be hard work for you from now.
It can be viewed either as annoying or intriguing that so much of Willow and Tara’s relationship is not (ahem) out there. We don’t know the details of the beginning of their relationship but we can interpret looks, gestures and possible (well, probable) metaphors and, of course, guess such things as Willow’s coming out (to herself and Tara), their first kiss, their first confessions of love, the first time they had sex, etc. It is terrible double standards that we see so much heterosexual sex on the show but none of the above but, on the other hand, the imagination is a powerful thing.
Willow lies to Buffy when she says she was working late at the chem lab and, honestly, if people didn’t know something was up regarding Willow’s relationship with Tara then they really ought to watch something less complicated.
And I really love this dialogue: “Oh, no. I mean, she’s like forty. She’s got better things to do than hang out with a bunch of kids.” (No, really, I love hanging with the kids. Oh, you weren’t talking about me.)
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Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
Doomed (Marti Noxon, David Fury & Jane Espenson)
Since this episode is decidedly average maybe it was the reason why Jane E gives this advice in her blog.
This is the Spike in naff clothes episode and the best things about it involve Spike: his attempted suicide and Willow and Xander’s words of “comfort”, his fun in winding up Xander and Willow (“Or you’re just the same tenth grade losers you’ve always been, and she’s too much of a softy to cut you lose”), his delight at being able to hurt things (“That’s right. I’m back. And I’m a BLOODY ANIMAL! Yeah!”), his American accent, and 
his final desperation for action: “What, can’t go without your Buffy, is that it? Too chicken? Let’s find her! She is the Chosen One after all. Come on! Vampires! Grrr! Nasty! Let’s annihilate them. For justice, and for, the safety of puppies, and Christmas, right? Let’s fight that evil! Let’s kill something!…Oh come on!”) Adam loves Spike.
Okay, there’s lots of stuff about Riley and Buffy but romance isn’t my thing though I admit I like Riley calling Buffy on being self-involved. I think one of my problems with Riley (as well as the screenwriters inability to think of what to do with him in season 5) is that Marc Blucas is too tall and spends all of his time looking down at Buffy and holding her shoulders.
There are a lot of stupid things in this episode that do my head in in an Angel way e.g. Riley supporting Buffy in the crack of doomed without tearing his hands apart and the actual breaking of the laws of physics so that she caught up with the falling demon.
And Willow really needed to go a party with lots of mean straight people smooching.
The best lines belong to Giles and ASH’s impeccable delivery: “My contrition completely dwarfs the impending apocalypse” and “Oh, as usual, dear”.
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Sunday, April 15th, 2007
Hush (Joss Whedon)
With gratitude as always to the folks at Screencap Paradise.
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Saturday, April 14th, 2007
Something Blue (Tracey Forbes)
In a surprise announcement, I’ll come clean: Willow is the reason that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favourite television programme ever (and that phrase doesn’t do my feelings for the programme justice). I love Buffy, Tara (oh yes), Giles, Oz, Jenny, Faith, Cordelia, Kendra, Joyce, Dawn, Anya and Spike; I don’t mind Xander, Riley and Angel; but it is Willow’s journey from nerd to white witch that has kept me watching and rewatching. If (when) I get round to compiling my favourite moments from BtVS they will inevitably be dominated by Willow.
This is the Willow should be over Oz by now episode because BtVS is not big on folk being all gloomy (unless you are Buffy (and it is your show) when you can mope as much as you like). I think that Willow does actually get over Oz leaving quite quickly; in real life Tara would be a rebound relationship (not that I know anything about that sort of thing).
This episode is so funny that I thought for a long time it had been written by Jane Espenson and not Tracey “Beer Bad” Forbes.
In a lovely touch of foreshadowing, Riley is exposed as a lesbian. I do wonder how he has time to be a student, mark essays, be a lesbian and capture hostiles, as well as entice Buffy on picnics and work hard on suggestive motoring comments.
I just heart Spike at the moment. Season four neutered Spike is hilarious with his pathetic attempts at reminding us he’s evil and promises of the revenge he will seek when he’s “fixed”. However, whenever Buffy hits him, I shiver because I can see season six looming large.
The scene in the bath with the Kiss the Librarian mug (”Giles, help! He’s going to scold me.”) shows how well SMG and JM play off together and that is only a taster before we see them engaged in some of the funniest ever sequences in BtVS. 
From the cute talk, the smoochies (”Oh, pouty! Look at that lip…gonna get it…gonna get it..”), Giles’s horrified reaction (”Stop that right now! I can hear the smacking.” ), the jealousy over Angel, the fact that Spike has sexist attitudes (“Oh, not with the Girl-Power bit!”), to the spell being broken (”Spike lips! Lips of Spike!”) it’s all marvellously entertaining.
Poor Willow gets an unbelievable bollocking from Giles which way too harsh on her but not nearly as harsh as her friends’ reaction when they find out that Willow isn’t just drinking beer but has the poor taste to drink low alcohol lager.
Willow hits the nail on the head when she says “Oh, you care. Yeah. Everybody cares. Nobody wants to be inconvenienced. You all want me to take the time and go through the pain, as long as you don’t have to hear about it anymore.”
One of the single funniest moments of BtVS is the de-ratting and re-ratting of Amy and it once again reminds me they should have used her more: Elizabeth Anne Allen’s excited grin is a tease.
The following dialogue is just mean and should have been cut or re-written (except Anya’s line):
Xander “Something about Willow and her griefy-poor-me mood swings, so, so tired of it.”
Anya: “You mean I don’t have to be nice about her anymore?”
Buffy: “Well, we’re all tired of it, but what does it have to do with what’s going on?”
The scene between D’Hoffyn and Willow is superb with Willow at no time being tempted: “I don’t want to be a demon. I just wanna go back and help my friends.” and the funny pay off: “You change your mind, give us a chant.”
“Wear this to the rehearsal dinner and the whole thing’s off.”
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Thursday, April 12th, 2007
Pangs (Jane Espenson)
Angel is in this episode and I’m not sure why. Well, actually I wouldn’t be sure why unless I was also watching Angel because his presence in Pangs is only a device to get Buffy to LA.
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A quick aside, we are up to Eternity in Angel and I am not impressed at all so far. If this wasn’t the creation of Joss Whedon then I think both Andy and I would have stopped watching by now. We have Wonderfalls, Carnivale and the second series of Dead Like Me to watch and I can’t help feeling that we are wasting our time with Angel. If Five by Five and Sanctuary are disappointments then…
Brief thoughts on why: killing off Doyle was a mistake because he was charming and likeable. I still haven’t warmed to Wesley because his pratfalls annoy me (he can’t be clumsy one moment and the next moment masterfully taking on a roomful of villains) but I do like his bumbling when confronted by women. I am happier with how Cordelia’s character is being treated after season three BtVS but Expecting was an affront on many levels: not least because the story of an unwanted pregnancy that is also alien could and should have been developed over a number of episodes not thrown away on this lame effort. I do like Kate (Elisabeth Rohm is lovely (except in photos)) but I’m sure the story of a blonde police detective with a difficult father was done on Cagney and Lacey. All the things that were not quite right with Tim Minear’s The Inside are the same problems with Angel e.g. silly and implausible plots and a lack of continuity from episode to episode. The acting in The Inside was better though. And all because it’s supposedly a “gritty, urban show” all the daft things that I can forgive on BtVS, irritate me on this: inconsistencies in the vampire mythology, Angel getting around in a convertible, Angel Investigations’ finances, Cordelia’s disappearing and reappearing skills with a computer, the myriad of continuity errors, the plot holes, etc, etc, just annoy the hell out of me. And with an Irishman on set for ten episodes why couldn’t he coached DB on his awful accent? I concede that Angel dancing is bloody hilarious and those two minutes from She (coupled with Wesley’s hand knitted jumper) may be enough to keep me hanging on.
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Pangs is as heavy handed on the Native American issue as Beer Bad is on under-age drinking but never mind. This is a very funny episode (Jane Espenson is very good writer of comedy), which is just off because Willow is far too indifferent to Xander’s illnesses.
Anya is on top form in the opening sequence: “I’m imagining having sex with him right now.” and “Well, I think that’s a shame. I love a ritual sacrifice. “It’s not really a one of those.” “To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It’s a ritual sacrifice, with pie.”
This image is such a BtVS image: Anya’s trousers are a sartorial disaster, Buffy is wearing one of Willow’s hats (or is it Riley’s from Restless?) while Willow is holding her hands in front of her which she does in practically all episodes of BtVS after Oz leaves.
Buffy’s obsession with her Thanksgiving meal is very in character with her insistence that it is very important: “Over bickering and confusion, I’ll take pie. We will find a solution. And we will have a nice dinner, ok? Both. End of story. I’m having thanksgiving, and it’ll be perfect.”
“It is a sham, but it’s a sham with yams. It’s a yam sham.”
“Ok. You know what? We need to boil those and put them through the ricer.” “I don’t think I have a ricer.” “You don’t have a ricer? What do you mean? How could someone not have a ricer?” “Well, do you have one at home?” “I don’t know. What’s a ricer?” - so, what is a ricer?
Spike joins the Scooby gang from this episode and he is just a hoot for the rest of the season. “Willow, tell them what I did.” “You said you were gonna kill me, then Buffy.” “Yes, bad, but let’s skip that part and get to the part where I couldn’t bite you.” “It’s true. He had trouble performing.” James Marsters’ facial expressions while Spike is under attack from arrows are hilarious.
I thought I would have more to write but I think I have found with funny episodes that I have nothing to say except the obvious like it was really funny.
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Monday, April 9th, 2007
The Initiative (Douglas Petrie)
I was so looking forward to writing about Pangs and then realised I had completely forgotten about The Initiative and looking at the transcript I see why. I had obviously blocked out the unpleasant machismo of the Initiative boys, the fact that Riley hits Parker for what he says about Buffy and not because Parker is a sexist pig full stop, the icky relationship between Spike and Harmony, the insulting fight between Harmony and Xander, and, oh, did I mention the unpleasant machismo of the Initiative?
However, there are highlights and as usual, for me, they involve Willow. Despite the depths of her misery, she can’t help being helpful Willow in Riley’s quest to get to know Buffy. The Spike impotence scene is a classic but only after the break because before that the attack looks uncomfortably close to rape. The dialogue is outrageous: “I don’t understand. This sort of thing’s never happened to me before.” “Maybe you were nervous.” “I felt all right when I started. Let’s try again. Ow! Oh! Ow! Damn it!” “Maybe you’re trying too hard. Doesn’t this happen to every vampire?” “Not to me, it doesn’t!” “It’s me, isn’t it?”, and this depressed Willow is flattered that Spike does find her sexually attractive, I mean, biteable, and her realisation that she should just hit him is very funny.
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Sunday, April 8th, 2007
Wild at Heart (Marti Noxon)
Seth Green had had enough of not being able to go to the dentist when he needed to in order that he could stay on set all day and say “Their spelling’s improved” “It was intense” or “Pretty dull” (all from Earshot). So he decided to leave and rather like Anthony Stewart Head in season six but unlike Kristine Sutherland in season five, his character doesn’t die. No deaths for the men of BtVS (except Jesse but we hardly knew him) but plenty for the women. Clearly, I’m not saying anything new and I know all the ripostes but it’s there on 35mm: the roll call of dead women is long, the one of men is not. Maybe Doyle’s death in Angel can be viewed as a counterpoint but his death is not like the others: his is a noble death, there are no brain tumours for him or improbable stray bullets.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore BtVS (I hope you can tell) but the accumulation (so I apologise for leaping ahead) of these incidents does leave a bitter taste.
Anyway, this is a cracking episode with fabulous performances from Alyson Hannigan (blimey, she can cry), Seth Green and Paige Moss (in one of the more memorable one-off roles though it would have more interesting if she hadn’t been so predatory and one-dimensionally evil).
There is much to write about but three things stand out: I question whether Willow is right to say that what Oz did with Veruca “doesn’t compare” with what she did to him. Once again Oz makes a decision for the both of them with Willow’s opinion not being of equal importance (“That’s your solution?” “That’s my decision.” “Don’t I get any say in this?” “No”). Not gonna kiss you, not gonna make love, gonna leave. He may be right in the first two instances but in the third he is wrong to leave her without any discussion. Finally, after Oz kills Veruca, he turns on Willow and that is a truly sinister moment.
- The cutesy talk at the beginning is a bit much.
- Willow’s jealousy of Buffy’s academic achievement is so in character.
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Out of character: Oz wouldn’t leave his girlfriend with a woman she hardly knows no matter how uncomfortable he was feeling.
- Veruca gets to say what I’ve been saying all along “Good shirt”.
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It’s lines like this: “I mean, I have wrong feelings about other guys sometimes, but I feel guilty, and I flog and punish” that people who have difficulties with Willow becoming gay can use as evidence in a case of ret-conning. [I’m in the camp that Willow banging on about being gay was a mistake because Tara would make me h-h-happy…but so would Oz. What is crazy is people who say she can't possibly be gay at all because she had a relationship with Oz and a crush on Xander like then it's impossible to fancy women.]
- It’s refreshing to see a character on BtVS having a normal body shape and Paige Moss as Veruca is certainly not a skinny wretch but those tattoos are not very nice.
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I don’t blame Oz for not telling Willow even when he didn’t take the opportunity presented to him but he should have told somebody and he had a chance when Buffy came to see him.
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Riley telling Willow “it’s not worth hurting yourself over” really annoyed me. Not because he’s wrong but because he’s the wrong person to say it.
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Willow turns to the instant fix again by turning to magic for the wrong reasons but this time she can’t bring herself to do it.
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Deliciously, this episode begins with Spike’s return to Sunnydale but he’s zapped and disappears from the rest of the episode.
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And if Willow’s shirt is good then Buffy’s headscarf is actually quite nice.
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Saturday, April 7th, 2007
Beer Bad (Tracey Forbes)
“And was there a lesson in all this huh? What did we learn about beer?” “Foamy”
I owe Beer Bad an apology, ever since I first saw it I maintained it was the worst ever episode of BtVS (though I did waiver with Bad Eggs and Dead Man’s Party) but after eventually getting around to watching it again, I have to admit to enjoying it: a lot.
I do appreciate that its anti-alcohol message is undoubtedly heavy-handed and it is true that some scenes drag on particularly those not involving Buffy or Willow but what’s not to love about Buffy degenerating to cave girl? Can you imagine the first time SMG was told about this episode? So, Sarah, first you will be all mopey and jealous then you’ll get tipsy and start behaving childishly, then you’ll get really pissed which will also involve burping, then you will unable to talk properly but will communicate in single words and grunts and, finally, get to hit another cast member with a club (twice). She was either thrilled to get to show her range or deeply ticked off. But the end result is another of Gellar’s great performances.
Willow misunderstands Buffy’s “bad night of badness” and Buffy’s response of “gutter face” doesn’t seem misplaced.
I love the scenes between Willow and Parker though it’s a bit unfair that she generically talks about men when Oz never took advantage of Willow’s keenness to have “the sex”. On the other hand, Oz is busy elsewhere sniffing out Veruca’s animal magnetism.
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Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
Fear Itself (David Fury)
A fine episode which is an excellent example of the BtVS mix of comedy, drama and creepiness.
All the Scooby fears are dealt with and it doesn’t feel heavy-handed. In fact, for the Willow fan here, there is joy to be had in dissecting any of Willow related remarks and in nodding knowingly that indeed she should be worried about “power you can’t control”. And this was interesting: “Then again, what is college for if not experimenting? You know, maybe I can handle it. I’ll know when I’ve reached my limit.”
Anya is very amusing in her lack of concern for anybody but Xander and Emma Caulfield’s line delivery is spot on. Half the humour in the following is solely down to the way she says it: “Xander is in trouble. We’ve got to do something, right now!” “Anya.” “Are you listening? Xander is trapped!” “Uh, ah, where is Buffy and the others?” “They’re trapped, too, but we’ve got to save Xander!”
Both Living Conditions and this have great endings: “Actual size”.
Funniest moments include Giles in a sombrero, Anya in a bunny costume and Giles wielding a chainsaw.
Cleverest exchange: “I’m Joan of Arc. I figured we had a lot in common, seeing as how I was almost burned at the stake, and plus she had that close relationship with God.” “And you are?” (Oz opens his jacket to reveal the name tag “God”) “Of course. I wish I’d thought of that before I put down my deposit. I could have been God.” “Blasphemer”
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