Buffy update: mid-season 4
I've a lot of Buffy catching-up to do, don't I?
Let's see: End of Season 3: I'm perfectly happy to leave Faith in that coma a while longer, though I know she does come back. I quite liked the graduating class rising up and casting off their robes and mortarboards to fight the Mayor-Monster. It was inspiring and even moving, especially after presenting their Class Protector award to Buffy at the prom. I respect Whedon for not letting Buffy's fellow students be too stupid; they did notice after all that Sunnydale has an unusually high rate of murder and paranormal disturbances, and that Buffy somehow kept saving their asses. :)
Another highlight of late Season 3 was the "Doppelgangland" episode. Alyson turned in a brilliant comedic performance as good Willow, vampire Willow, and good Willow *pretending* to be vampire Willow. We've seldom laughed so consistently throughout a scene.
However, we did laugh pretty hard at Giles's outburst to the dithering Wesley at the prom: "You have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone." For that matter, kudos to Wes and Cordelia for the most laughably awkward-looking kiss in perhaps the whole series. And Anya! Xander-stalking girly-girl demon Anya. I love Anya. It's getting so we laugh just when she appears on screen. Aw, hell, we laugh a lot at every episode; who am I kidding?
And Angel left, and whatever.
So, college! Season 4. Now there's this Riley Finn fellow, who is quite cute, though I'm swayed by that actor having been in I Capture the Castle, which I also love. This "Initiative"--well, that may or may not end up working well as a plot feature, but the people involved seem interesting enough. Got to say, though, Riley: when *I* was a T.A. in the U.C. system, we were strictly discouraged from snogging our students. Just saying.
Season 4 has had some great episodes so far. Two worth noting are "Wild at Heart" and "Hush." In a series full of deaths, perhaps it's remarkable that the absolute most heartbreaking episode so far involved the death of a relationship: namely, Oz leaving Willow. Alyson, of course, was fabulous at her tears and pleas, and Seth Green was amazing too for being able to cheat on Willow, kill the tart he cheated with, leave Willow, and still be lovable. Heck, even Veruca wasn't entirely loathsome--she had style and appeal, despite being pure evil in wanting to take Oz away. Well, I do know where Willow's affections are headed (just met the person in question, in fact--and talk about subtext!), but that was still an A+ breakup.
Now, "Hush" was one of those instances where the series rises out of mere TV entertainment and into classic-horror-film greatness. The baddies almost never scare me on the show; they're usually just gruesome costumes. But The Gentlemen were creepy. They're creepy in a "Do not think about them after the lights are out or you won't sleep" kind of way. The way they glided, and grinned, and gestured...yeeks. The added threat of everyone being unable to speak--or scream--was a master stroke, since not only did it boost the scariness, it proved that the show can be unexpectedly hilarious even without the snappy dialogue. As you see from my new icon, I was especially impressed with Giles's, um, colorful overhead presentation re. Who They Are and How To Stop Them. :D
Oh, and I better mention that I got lots of voyeuristic glee out of "Something Blue," which I'm sure lives in hallowed places of Spuffy shippers' hearts. Though I was sad to see Seth Green disappear from the opening credits, I was thrilled to see James Marsters take his place. Lots more Spike ahead! Woohoo!
Let's see: End of Season 3: I'm perfectly happy to leave Faith in that coma a while longer, though I know she does come back. I quite liked the graduating class rising up and casting off their robes and mortarboards to fight the Mayor-Monster. It was inspiring and even moving, especially after presenting their Class Protector award to Buffy at the prom. I respect Whedon for not letting Buffy's fellow students be too stupid; they did notice after all that Sunnydale has an unusually high rate of murder and paranormal disturbances, and that Buffy somehow kept saving their asses. :)
Another highlight of late Season 3 was the "Doppelgangland" episode. Alyson turned in a brilliant comedic performance as good Willow, vampire Willow, and good Willow *pretending* to be vampire Willow. We've seldom laughed so consistently throughout a scene.
However, we did laugh pretty hard at Giles's outburst to the dithering Wesley at the prom: "You have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone." For that matter, kudos to Wes and Cordelia for the most laughably awkward-looking kiss in perhaps the whole series. And Anya! Xander-stalking girly-girl demon Anya. I love Anya. It's getting so we laugh just when she appears on screen. Aw, hell, we laugh a lot at every episode; who am I kidding?
And Angel left, and whatever.
So, college! Season 4. Now there's this Riley Finn fellow, who is quite cute, though I'm swayed by that actor having been in I Capture the Castle, which I also love. This "Initiative"--well, that may or may not end up working well as a plot feature, but the people involved seem interesting enough. Got to say, though, Riley: when *I* was a T.A. in the U.C. system, we were strictly discouraged from snogging our students. Just saying.
Season 4 has had some great episodes so far. Two worth noting are "Wild at Heart" and "Hush." In a series full of deaths, perhaps it's remarkable that the absolute most heartbreaking episode so far involved the death of a relationship: namely, Oz leaving Willow. Alyson, of course, was fabulous at her tears and pleas, and Seth Green was amazing too for being able to cheat on Willow, kill the tart he cheated with, leave Willow, and still be lovable. Heck, even Veruca wasn't entirely loathsome--she had style and appeal, despite being pure evil in wanting to take Oz away. Well, I do know where Willow's affections are headed (just met the person in question, in fact--and talk about subtext!), but that was still an A+ breakup.
Now, "Hush" was one of those instances where the series rises out of mere TV entertainment and into classic-horror-film greatness. The baddies almost never scare me on the show; they're usually just gruesome costumes. But The Gentlemen were creepy. They're creepy in a "Do not think about them after the lights are out or you won't sleep" kind of way. The way they glided, and grinned, and gestured...yeeks. The added threat of everyone being unable to speak--or scream--was a master stroke, since not only did it boost the scariness, it proved that the show can be unexpectedly hilarious even without the snappy dialogue. As you see from my new icon, I was especially impressed with Giles's, um, colorful overhead presentation re. Who They Are and How To Stop Them. :D
Oh, and I better mention that I got lots of voyeuristic glee out of "Something Blue," which I'm sure lives in hallowed places of Spuffy shippers' hearts. Though I was sad to see Seth Green disappear from the opening credits, I was thrilled to see James Marsters take his place. Lots more Spike ahead! Woohoo!