wake up to find out that you are the eyes

[waltermonkey]

Okay, I did it. I successfully had a lucid dream! It only lasted for about five minutes and it was kinda creepy but all the techniques from the book totally worked. I will distill them for you. Here is what I did.

(The book, by the way, is Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. The words on the back that made me pick it up were "establishing a

Comments

[orangejulius]

Having seen all of Alias but not much of Buffy, how is Alias a rip-off of Buffy?

[waltermonkey]

I was perhaps being harsh with the term rip-off, but it's a clear descendant.

Hot chick has secret identity wherein she kicks bad guys, but still makes a mess of her romantic life.

[orangejulius]

Sounds like the Lynda Carter version of Wonder Woman.

[waltermonkey]

Interesting. You're not wrong about the superhero linkage. But the romantic element is handled differently.

From the Wikipedia article (which I have to resort to, because I've never watched the show):

"Although Carter and Waggoner had good chemistry, it was decided to play down the romantic aspects found in the comic, and, ultimately, the characters remained simply good friends. Executive producer Douglas S. Cramer noted the difficulties inherent in maintaining long-term romantic tension between leads, with the resolution of that tension often resulting in the cancellation of the series."

The Sam and Diane problem - typical of the 80s. After Twin Peaks was a smash success, it was easier to get prime-time dramas on the air that took more of a soap opera approach. Relationships did consummate and they did end.

[orangejulius]

To be fair to Alias, Syd didn't really make a mess of her romantic life - it was made a mess for her. Her fiance was assassinated in the pilot, and there was little romance in the first season. Then things progressed with Vaughn, until she disappeared for two years and he married someone else because they all thought she was dead. It didn't work so well after that, until Vaughn's wife was assassinated, after which it worked well again.

[waltermonkey]

And Buffy didn't deliberately turn Angel evil, nor did she force Riley to leave. But epic love life disasters happen, is my point. They're as much a focus of the show, if not more so, than the action. That blend is where the parallels I see are.

To be frank, I had to stop watching that show after Season 1 because Sydney was so stupid she drove me crazy.

[orangejulius]

OK cool. I just wanted the perspective.