Buffy seasons 4-5
First things first:
Buffy/Riley: loved them in the beginning. Loved the build up to their relationship(their doof/spaz view of each other) Liked the "secret identities" bit ("You want to use my crush as bait?") Unfortunately, once the Initiative was gone, Riley lost most of his focus, and it showed in season 5. While I liked where Riley went when he left, I hated the plotline leading up to it. Instead of letting Riley be the nice guy it didn't work out with, they had to make Riley be the one that cheated on her.
Tara/Willow/Oz: I know Oz left because Seth Green's contract was up, but I can't help but feel they didn't try to keep him around because they wanted to have a gay couple(note: I know nothing of the politics surrounding his leaving, just what it felt like while watching the show.) Tara started to grow on me around the middle of season 5, but I can't help but think that her only reason for being there is to be the other half of the gay couple, and that the only reason they're gay is to have a gay couple on the show. And...I wanna know how Oz got the werewolf thing somewhat under control.
Dawn: Really like her. If I hadn't known about her years in advance, it's possible that I wouldn't have, but she works well, especially w/ Srah Michelle Gellar and Kristine Sutherland. I've heard that some people regard her as a brat, and she is something of one, but no more so than any other 14 year old, and, judging by season 1 and the flashback in season 2, I'm inclined to say that Buffy was probably worse at her age.
Joyce: I can never watch the episode with her death again. Ever. If I hadn't been watching it at midnight, I would have embarassed myself and called my mother, just to make sure she was OK. I adored Joyce. She had her faults and didn't always deal perfectly with things, but she was a great character.
Hush: Creepy. Charming. Excellent. Probably the best episode of the series.(as of the first 5 seasons)
Now then...
Season 4: I'm told that they weren't sure the series would continue after season 3, and I think it shows. This season felt very directionless...much like season 1, I being hesitant to commit to anything becausethey weren't sure whether or not it'd be there long enough to go anywhere. Both Adam and the Initiative had lots of potential, but didn't really get to go as far as they could and should have. Main problem I had with this season, though, was WAAAY too much sex, both actual and symbolic. I think at least 3/4 of the episodes seemed to focus on sex for part of the episode, in one way or another. Still, much like a weak Harry Pooter is better than the majority of other movies, I'd rather watch a weak season of Buffy than the vast majority of other TV shows out there.
Season 5: Probably tied with season 3 for my favorite. Largely, I suspect, because of the focus on family. In season 2, it was her symbolic family, with Faith as her wilder sister and Giles being more firmly entrenched as her father figure, and in season 5, it was her "real" sister, Dawn, and her mother. Granted, again, if I hadn'tknown about Dawn for years, I probably would have viewed it differently. However, I loved the main and supporting storylines(except for what they did to Riley) and Glory was a blast. Poor, poor Ben, though. Really, Riley aside, I really can't complain about anything here.
There, see? Toldja I'd do the post eventually. Now for Angel 1 and 2 and the novels I've been reading the last few months...
Buffy/Riley: loved them in the beginning. Loved the build up to their relationship(their doof/spaz view of each other) Liked the "secret identities" bit ("You want to use my crush as bait?") Unfortunately, once the Initiative was gone, Riley lost most of his focus, and it showed in season 5. While I liked where Riley went when he left, I hated the plotline leading up to it. Instead of letting Riley be the nice guy it didn't work out with, they had to make Riley be the one that cheated on her.
Tara/Willow/Oz: I know Oz left because Seth Green's contract was up, but I can't help but feel they didn't try to keep him around because they wanted to have a gay couple(note: I know nothing of the politics surrounding his leaving, just what it felt like while watching the show.) Tara started to grow on me around the middle of season 5, but I can't help but think that her only reason for being there is to be the other half of the gay couple, and that the only reason they're gay is to have a gay couple on the show. And...I wanna know how Oz got the werewolf thing somewhat under control.
Dawn: Really like her. If I hadn't known about her years in advance, it's possible that I wouldn't have, but she works well, especially w/ Srah Michelle Gellar and Kristine Sutherland. I've heard that some people regard her as a brat, and she is something of one, but no more so than any other 14 year old, and, judging by season 1 and the flashback in season 2, I'm inclined to say that Buffy was probably worse at her age.
Joyce: I can never watch the episode with her death again. Ever. If I hadn't been watching it at midnight, I would have embarassed myself and called my mother, just to make sure she was OK. I adored Joyce. She had her faults and didn't always deal perfectly with things, but she was a great character.
Hush: Creepy. Charming. Excellent. Probably the best episode of the series.(as of the first 5 seasons)
Now then...
Season 4: I'm told that they weren't sure the series would continue after season 3, and I think it shows. This season felt very directionless...much like season 1, I being hesitant to commit to anything becausethey weren't sure whether or not it'd be there long enough to go anywhere. Both Adam and the Initiative had lots of potential, but didn't really get to go as far as they could and should have. Main problem I had with this season, though, was WAAAY too much sex, both actual and symbolic. I think at least 3/4 of the episodes seemed to focus on sex for part of the episode, in one way or another. Still, much like a weak Harry Pooter is better than the majority of other movies, I'd rather watch a weak season of Buffy than the vast majority of other TV shows out there.
Season 5: Probably tied with season 3 for my favorite. Largely, I suspect, because of the focus on family. In season 2, it was her symbolic family, with Faith as her wilder sister and Giles being more firmly entrenched as her father figure, and in season 5, it was her "real" sister, Dawn, and her mother. Granted, again, if I hadn'tknown about Dawn for years, I probably would have viewed it differently. However, I loved the main and supporting storylines(except for what they did to Riley) and Glory was a blast. Poor, poor Ben, though. Really, Riley aside, I really can't complain about anything here.
There, see? Toldja I'd do the post eventually. Now for Angel 1 and 2 and the novels I've been reading the last few months...