Love for Joss Whedon.
The other day I mentioned to my supervisor that I was reading some graphic novels. She offered to bring the first part of Buffy season 8 for me to read. It has the same cover as meganbmoore posted the other day when she did a picspam of Ju Chen's art.
I just glanced through the first couple of pages, and if there's something Whedon's always been good at, it's continuity for throw-away lines. I'm sure that ardent aficionados can point out every error made in 7 years' worth of episodes. Me, I only know the first three seasons-and those, I know very very well. I can still recite whole swaths of dialogue. There are line references peppered throughout the episodes, referring to events or even simple pieces of conversation that can evoke complete arcs. While one of my top favorites is a season 2 reference to "The Pack," there was a season 3 allusion to the second season whose subtlety remains with me to this day. In an early scene of "Beauty and the Beasts" (3.4), after Buffy found Angel in the forest/woods area, she went back to the library to do research, ostensibly to keep an eye on Oz in his cage. Giles arrives in the morning and they start talking about... I forget exactly what. Perhaps the nature of the hell dimension she sent Angel to? It's been a while, and that's not what I remember most about the exchange anyways. Whedon's brilliance comes up when Buffy's says something about the hills not being alive with the sound of music... and the absolute heartbroken look that passes over Giles' face. Buffy doesn't quite get where she went with it, but dedicated viewers know the phrase would 1) bring back memories of "The Dark Age" (2.8) when Jenny said the same words to tell Giles she was not okay; and 2) would bring up the whole Angel-killing-Jenny arc since Angel appeared not a few moments before. I'm slightly bothered that a year after not understanding Giles when he says "The hills are not alive," suddenly Buffy's can make the reference herself, but it's a small nitpick compared to the meaning laden in the phrase. Scenes like that are what really made Buffy a top show, and it's a shame not enough people gave it chance to see those bits.
In the opening of the comic, Buffy's providing us with a bit of exposition, seeing as the series ended 4 years ago. Hundreds of the slayers are working together, and "the guys" who still work with her decided to create a couple Buffy doubles to provide as targets.
Exposition bubbles: "One's in Rome, partying very publicly-and supposedly dating some guy called 'The Immortal.' That part was Andrew's idea. He did research on the guy, said it would be hilarious for some reason."
Hee.
I just glanced through the first couple of pages, and if there's something Whedon's always been good at, it's continuity for throw-away lines. I'm sure that ardent aficionados can point out every error made in 7 years' worth of episodes. Me, I only know the first three seasons-and those, I know very very well. I can still recite whole swaths of dialogue. There are line references peppered throughout the episodes, referring to events or even simple pieces of conversation that can evoke complete arcs. While one of my top favorites is a season 2 reference to "The Pack," there was a season 3 allusion to the second season whose subtlety remains with me to this day. In an early scene of "Beauty and the Beasts" (3.4), after Buffy found Angel in the forest/woods area, she went back to the library to do research, ostensibly to keep an eye on Oz in his cage. Giles arrives in the morning and they start talking about... I forget exactly what. Perhaps the nature of the hell dimension she sent Angel to? It's been a while, and that's not what I remember most about the exchange anyways. Whedon's brilliance comes up when Buffy's says something about the hills not being alive with the sound of music... and the absolute heartbroken look that passes over Giles' face. Buffy doesn't quite get where she went with it, but dedicated viewers know the phrase would 1) bring back memories of "The Dark Age" (2.8) when Jenny said the same words to tell Giles she was not okay; and 2) would bring up the whole Angel-killing-Jenny arc since Angel appeared not a few moments before. I'm slightly bothered that a year after not understanding Giles when he says "The hills are not alive," suddenly Buffy's can make the reference herself, but it's a small nitpick compared to the meaning laden in the phrase. Scenes like that are what really made Buffy a top show, and it's a shame not enough people gave it chance to see those bits.
In the opening of the comic, Buffy's providing us with a bit of exposition, seeing as the series ended 4 years ago. Hundreds of the slayers are working together, and "the guys" who still work with her decided to create a couple Buffy doubles to provide as targets.
Exposition bubbles: "One's in Rome, partying very publicly-and supposedly dating some guy called 'The Immortal.' That part was Andrew's idea. He did research on the guy, said it would be hilarious for some reason."
Hee.