"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsmtsm@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:26ffbcd7-aeb3-488b-9c47-dfda2be1862c@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>A reminder: These threads thought *they* were Mad Dog Two.
>
>
> BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
> Season Six, Episode 11: "Doublemeat Palace"
> Writer: Jane Espenson
> Director: Nick Marck
>
> I may have actually laughed harder at this the second time. It's a
> big dumb silly episode that lives up to the limits of its premise, and
> no more. In this case, I'm not so big on the plot relevance, but it
> also succeeds in delivering some isolated belly laughs with the look
> into the fast food industry and its pro-cesses and grease buildups and
> such. I laugh harder than at "Gone," but the latter seems like a more
> worthwhile episode overall despite its flaws, so, a wash in the battle
> of unfairly maligned S6 lightweights. Amy makes one last appearance
> in DmP as her plotline gives up on making any kind of sense to me
> around now, and it also kicks the "unfunny demons" part of the Xander/
> Anya story into high gear with the introduction of Halfrek
> Rating: Decent
Decent for me too. Some good gags, although the monster is pretty
disappointing. More degradation piled onto poor Buffy, but obviously
that's
the path the writers chose. It's my 103rd favourite BtVS episode, 13th
best
in season 6 (last year was 105th and 13th).
> Season Six, Episode 12: "Dead Things"
> Writer: Steven S. DeKnight
> Director: James A. Contner
>
> (although I still say the balcony scene is just silly). It's.
Exactly.
>Connected but separate, this is also the episode that
> takes Warren and company to their logical conclusion, and makes damn
> sure that their lust for power and women and power over women won't be
> so pathetically funny anymore once they actually get their power, and
> gives us a Big Bad that's scary because it's so human.
I think that is now my biggest issue with the episode. Just at the point
where the show desperately needs some comic relief, the season's principle
go-to guys for that comic relief are disqualified from providing it. Plus
Tara's death would have been that much more devastating if it had been
totally unprecedented, at the hands of someone who had till that moment
seemed harmless.
> Rating: Excellent (up from Good)
Restoring the karmic balance, I have downgraded it to Bad, from borderline
Decent/Weak. There was always a lot I disliked about this episode (the
formulaic misogynistic motivation of the Trio, the way overpowered demons
-
who seem more than capable of killing Buffy, never mind framing her, if
they
had been properly choreographed, the way Buffy is certain that she killed
Katrina (on inadequate evidence) when the plot requires it, and then
certain
that she didn't (on even more inadequate evidence) when it doesn't, the
sudsy ending. But the real reason that this episode for me is best omitted
from future viewings of season is something that had slipped my mind last
time around - what it does to the rest of the season. The latter episodes
of
the season would have been so much more effective if Warren had made the
transition from joke to serious villain suddenly at the end of Seeing Red.
And the season between now and then could have been so much more enjoyable
if the Nerd Trio had been able to continue as comic relief, instead of the
ad hoc light filler episodes or parts of episodes that are served up
instead. At times, during Entropy and Seeing Red, the show still tries to
play them for laughs, but then the disturbing thought intrudes - didn't
these
guys kill Katrina? Unless of course you take the radical step of
pretending
that Dead Things never happened. If it existed it would be my 140th
favourite BtVS episode, 22nd best in season 6 (last year was 124th and
18th).
> Season Six, Episode 13: "Older And Far Away"
> Writer: Drew Z. Greenberg
> Director: Michael E. Gershman
>
> This is easily my favorite of Drew's contributions, a distinction akin
> to the proverbial "world's tallest midget" honor.
I wouldn't go that far. In fact, if I have correctly identified the
Greenberg episodes, this is only my 4th favourite out of 6, with Entropy,
Him, and Smashed all ahead of it (in that order). But since that is not
exactly a roll call of honour, I'd probably agree with "world's tallest
midget comment, except I would apply it to Entropy.
> I'm just impressed
> at how a theoretically Dawn-centric episode can fail so completely
> with its Dawn storyline and generally be good in spite of it.
I'm impressed that you are able to get past the failure of the Dawn story.
That is a big failure. With it already known that people are unable to
leave, she interprets their attempts to leave as all about her. Here she
isn't just whiny - she's seriously disturbed.
> Rating: Good
Only Decent for me, and a fairly low Decent at that. It seems every time I
watch it, I get keener and keener to get out of there. It's my 122nd
favourite BtVS episode, 17th best in season 6 (last time was 110th and
14th)
>
> Season Six, Episode 14: "As You Were"
> Writer: Douglas Petrie
> Director: Douglas Petrie
>
> A certain highly influential poster has suggested viewing this episode
> Zeppo-style, thinking of it as being filtered through Buffy's
> emotional viewpoint rather than as literally true in all the details.
OBS? I'd agree to the extent that I think here (and in The Zeppo) things
are
presented in an exaggerated fashion in order to assist the viewer to feel
feelings that might be experienced by Buffy/Xander in those situations.
Not
that either of them is a literal seen-from-the-perspective-of story.
> It's an excuse, but it does let us ignore things like Riley not
> bothering to mention that they want the monster alive,
Well yeah, I wouldn't say that that makes any sense from a military POV.
And
yet it is interesting that it allows Buffy and Riley to be together again
on
a simple monster hunt, and then it all turns complicated when Sam arrives.
> or the extent
> of Buffy's disbelief that Spike could be involved in anything evil,
I would have thought the emotional filter thing did explain that. And it
is
noteworthy that as you say her reaction appears to be disbelief that Spike
could be involved in anything that evil, but when she gets the chance to
put
her
thoughts into words, its disbelief that he could be involved in anything
that smart. At that point she is momentarily the gf of someone she does
not
respect, imagining Spike to be well-intentioned but incompetent, whereas
we
and Riley know that he is neither of those things (just a little careless,
not a details vampire).
> and the cheesiness of that helicopter shot, and basically enjoy the
> episode a little more. Even if one isn't annoyed by that stuff, one
> has to deal with a show I've always considered to be a fairly slow
> one, since we spend a lot of time with Riley and Sam, whose lives are
> only interesting for Buffy's reactions. That's especially true
> because AYW isn't really about Riley so much as about Buffy and her
> view of herself, and where Spike fits into that. It has a good pep
> talk to that effect, but the ending has never struck me as the big
> deal that it should, given that it really is the end of Buffy and
> Spike as fuck-buddies. Others have commented on how moving it is when
> she calls him "William," or on how Gellar looks like she's had a huge
> weight lifted as she exits the episode, but I have honestly never been
> able to see the scene as particularly noteworthy. You know what I
> think my problem is? As far as I'm concerned, this part of the story
> was over after "Dead Things."
And yet, there are Buffy and Spike, together again as if Dead Things never
happened. Another reason to like AYW :) But this really is the end of it.
In Dead Things (assuming there was such an episode) the rejection is based
on the supposition that Spike is nothing more than a monster and as such
has
nothing to offer her. In the "William" scene, she rejects him knowing full
well that she wants him, but knowing also what the relationship is doing
to
her. And despite all the false closures before, now its over.
> Rating: Decent
Decent for me too, but a high Decent. It's my 86th favourite BtVS episode,
12th best in season 6 (last time was 84th and 12th).
--
Apteryx
|
