The Buffy Re-Watch Club

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The first few episodes I thought the writing for this show was garbage.
Oh that's my impression as well. Though I have only watched the beginning so it's supposed to get good later. I seem I will continue to watch it.



I'm way behind, but I've finished Season 1. I've always liked Prophecy Girl. It ends the first season nicely (and it's a nice ending had it not been renewed) while allowing Buffy to go where it wants in the next. A clean slate, but not starting from the beginning.

So, what do I like? Well, I like Willow 'being' Buffy for Xander while he tries his lines out. The look of total adoration is adoreable and you just wish, as much as she does, that it was for her, not Buffy.

The best part, however, is after the AV club have been killed. Buffy's quit and had it out with Giles and Angel. She's just comforting her friend, but realises that she has to be who she is when Willow describes how the vampires had made a place so familiar and safe to her theirs. This is her job, her destiny and you don't get to quit.

Again I like that, for all the strength, knowledge and 'superpowers' others have, it's simply being human which saves the day, as Xander brings Buffy back to life. Can you breathe? You can save a life. You can be a hero. Being human is enough.

As for the dialogue, there's some good lines. I liked The Master acting like a true Californian after the earthquake (" Whaddya think? 5.1?") as well as the more modern (at the time) lines. Remember this is about the same time as Scream and it similarly knows itself and mocks its genre.

So we get The Master saying "Oh, good. The feeble banter portion of the fight." when Buffy first faces him or Cordy screaming "Somebody help!", cut to Buffy walking in a determined manner and the theme tune. And, despite it being a bit corny, how can you not love Cordy biting a vampires arm and saying "See how you like it."

The only thing that feels a little out of place is the goofy hellmouth made physical. It reminds me of Little Shop Of Horrors, which is probably intentional, but then, if you have to make the Hellmouth a physical form and do it on a small budget, what do you expect?

So, it's a nice ending to a nice little programme and, had it ended there, it'd be a nice little unpolished gem which'd be mentioned now and again and spoken of fondly. However, now we're on to season 2 and the thing which became Buffy starts for real. Those who aren't sure why this programme is loved so much are about to start to find out.
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5-time MoFo Award winner.



Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
...Again I like that, for all the strength, knowledge and 'superpowers' others have, it's simply being human which saves the day, as Xander brings Buffy back to life. Can you breathe? You can save a life. You can be a hero. Being human is enough.
That's an awesome observation.
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Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10



Through the next two episodes. Some familiar ground, especially in episode 4. I like the intro of the new villain in episode 3, hopefully he will be a little more daunting than the others have been.

Will there ever be a funnier line in this series than the guy telling Seth Green he has currency with the women because he plays guitar. Especially with that thing on his face.
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Chappie doesn't like the real world
See, I'm a little behind again. I still need to watch episode 2. I'm thinking I'm not going to go to episode 3 officially until Monday. I think a few of us need a little catch up time.



See, I'm a little behind again. I still need to watch episode 2. I'm thinking I'm not going to go to episode 3 officially until Monday. I think a few of us need a little catch up time.

I will take next week off and watch some movies. I never do that.



Chappie doesn't like the real world
School Hard I love this episode. First we meet Spike and Dru for the first time. Spike is one of my all time favorite tv characters. He is just so much fun. I love that he is this stuck in the late 70's punk-rock Sid Vicious type character. It makes sense that Spike would have gone through that era which fit him so well that he would forever embody that time period. It is said that people get stuck in the era where they were the happiest or felt the best about themselves.

There is also a lot of character development and relationship building going on. The rivalry between Angel and Xander deepens as he learns more about Angels past. We see that Buffy gets some of her chutzpah from her mother and we also see the respect they have for each other strengthen.

The ending is great. With Spike getting rid of the anointed one without any sort of fanfare the show moves from the ritualistic vamp of season one to the chaotic nihilist that is Spike.

Tomorrow we should be on Inca Mummy Girl. I'm not remembering that one too fondly. I'll see if watching it changes my mind.



Chappie doesn't like the real world
I always enjoy Buffy even if I sound especially critical of an episode, so having said that, I think Inca Mummy Girl is the worst of the season. At least if my memory serves. It has all the good banter and it's funny as always, but story line is weak and I didn't like the Mummy actress at all.

Time for Reptile Boy.



Chappie doesn't like the real world
Sorry, guys. I've been really busy lately and I've let this slide but I'm going to get us back on track.

I'm watching Reptile Boy in just a few minutes and Thursday we will be on "Halloween". I start getting really excited about Halloween around this time so that episode is right on cue. Also it's an episode I love.

Where are all of you at concerning episodes? If you can, let's try to get on the same page by Thursday.

I'll be back to talk about Reptile Boy.



I've yet to start season 2. I've just posted elsewhere that I'm hoping for a Buffy marathon this week, so I can catch up. Still in this for the long haul.



I watched the first four episodes of season 2 yesterday. Made my notes and.... I don't know. I went to copy/paste it here and fill in the details and it's not there.

So, I'll be brief. The first episode was a real welcome back, but it felt like we'd come back to a different place There's a different feel to Sunnydale now. It feels more serious. Darker. Indistinguishable, but there nonetheless. I've forgotten the quotes that I was going to use, but I love Xander and Willow in that first episode and how different it is the moment Buffy returns. Cordy's introduction is wonderful, too. If anything, she's more self-obsessed than she was in the first season. However, towards the end, we see another side to her. Warning Buffy that she's going to lose even these 'loser' friends if she's not careful. Ending with the cathartic destruction of The Masters bones, this firmly puts the cap on season 1. It's a portent of things to come that, just because Buffy has beaten the big bad, there are still after effects and consequences. It's these touches which so enrich the Buffyverse and make it so loved.

Some Assembly Required continues with the dark themes as well as illustrating whose little details/characters which elevate Buffy. This could be a regular baddie of the week thing, with making them human rather than witches/warlocks/zombies/voodoo/etc merely making a change. Just another Frankenstein ripoff. That'd be OK, sometimes that's enough, especially when you're making so many episodes, but just a couple of scenes make this more than that. When Buffy sees how the dead boys mother is living, something we've already seen, you get the full impact of what's happened to Chris (the younger brother). His brothers death, along with his mothers grief has also robbed him of his two roles. Obviously he's no longer a brother, but he's no longer a son, either. It's this that allows us to feel for him and sympathise in a way we obviously don't with Eric. This story could've been played out with two 'Erics' and been pretty much the same, but it wouldn't have had the emotional impact that I feel it does.

As you may've noticed, Sean, Buffy is a movie fans heaven for references and quotes and the Frankenstein stuff here works well. I liked that Daryl died in a fire with his 'bride'.

I love the way this ends, too, with Xander wondering just why it is that they can't get dates... having blown out a clear opportunity with Cordy.

I don't think I have much to say about School Hard, other than it's SPIKE!! Whether you like Spike or not at the start, I'm sure he'll become a firm favourite pretty quickly. I can't think of a Buffy fan who doesn't like Spike. Druscilla, on the other hand, is one of the most devisive characters I can think of in the show. I hated her at first, but I grew to like her, though that was a long time after where we currently are. Did you like her, Sean? What did you think?

I love the line " Do people still fall for that Anne Rice routine" when Spike meets Angel. I also love that by the end of this episode we're completely clear of season 1. Spike's killing of The Annointed One both does this quickly and, yet, in a way we don't really question. Maybe that's just because we're as pleased as anyone else to see the back of this? Anyway, it also goes to show how ruthless, evil and unpredictable Spike is. We know he's killed two slayers, but he'll also kill his 'own kind' if he wants to. There's no ruler now, it's every vampire for themselves and any alliance can be made and broken without honour or ritual holding them together. Or, as Spike succinctly puts it "From now on,"we're gonna have a little less ritual and a little more fun around here."

Inca Mummy Girl feels more like a season 1 episode, I'll grant you, but it still doesn't feel as singular as some of those did. We're getting the feeling now that everything is connected and things rarely happen in isolation. Again, dark questions about duty and expectations are asked. Mostly I like it because it's Xander heavy and, again, he loses out to some mystical woman. There's always something wrong with a Xander girl and I just can't help but love a programme in which a boy has to ask a girl "You're not a praying mantis, are you?" in all seriousness and not sound mad to the audience.

I also love that Willow is so bloody adoreable in this episode. It's also the first appearance of Jonathan and Oz. I always liked to see Johnathan pop up in an episide. Less so Oz. I'm the one person who doesn't really like Oz. I've come to accept that, but I'll give you all time to adjust.



Chappie doesn't like the real world
I've changed my mind about the Oz character somewhat. I used to like him a whole lot more than I do now. I don't dislike Oz, but he is certainly my least favorite main character.

I can't stand Seth Green, but that isn't the reason the character diminished for me, it's that I hardly ever remember anything he says or does and the fact that I like Willow better without him than I do with.

There is a lot better coming than Reptile Boy, but it's still one I really like. Mainly because I love Cordy and Buffy together. I really like how season two compares and contrasts those two a lot during this season but never in an obvious way.

I once made my friend watch all the Buffy/Cordy centric episodes because she thought I was crazy and that they were polar opposites. She saw it after I pointed it out.



@HK. I think I am going to like her only because of the way she plays off Spike. I could see how people would find her extremely grating. I figured Spike would end up being one of my faves thirty seconds after he hit the screen. I almost thought they were going to kill him off right away like they did with a couple of the baddies in season 1. Looking forward to a lot more of him.

Watched Reptile Boy and I liked it quite a bit. Really dark in a TV sort of way, but still quite disturbing. Angel was a big part so I liked that as well.



Chappie doesn't like the real world
Halloween - Halloween is a cute episode. We are introduced to Ethan Rayne worshiper of chaos. He's always a character that I'm glad whenever he pops up.

It's a neat idea to have the Scooby gang become their costumes so that we get a chance to see them in a different light. Out of necessity Willow becomes quite the little leader and proves there is some real substance to the nerdy shy girl. I so love season 2,3 and 4 Willow.

My favorite thing is that Halloween is usually the one time a year the vamps and other baddies take a break because they find it tacky.

I always think about this episode when I think about season two because it's a fun lighthearted episode but it also is a big episode as far as character development for Willow and Zander.

Let's all try to get as close to episode "Lie To Me" tomorrow as we can.