Jan
8
I watched four (read: FOUR!) episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was previously underwhelmed by Season 1, and I’ve had Michelle’s copy of Season 2 since forever, but gave up on it after the dreadful episode Inca Mummy Girl (think Black Market or Woman King in High School). But anyone who’s anyone loves Buffy, and I’ve always felt left out, so I’m giving it another shot. After Babylon 5 won me over, I was inspired to give Buffy another whirl. I just need to get over the hump. That’s why I’m immersing myself into Buffy fastly and furiously until I love it, and I have faith that I will love it. In fact, the four episodes I watched last night were pretty good, so I’m happy to keep going. Some words of encouragement from my lovely readers about all the awesomeness I have in store for me might be helpful though.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:06 am
I loves me some Buffy.
I was thinking about you when I was watching Johnny and the Sprites yesterday. He wears argyle. He’s also hot as hell. He sings show tunes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdiwZtiXnIw
I lust after him.
You’re welcome.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I was a huge huge Buffy fan back in the day, and even watched the excellent Angel spin-off. The episode “Hush” is easily my favorite of the entire series and possibly the best of any individual episode of any series ever. And that’s no exaggeration. Well, okay, maybe a little, but it’s right up there with Moonlighting’s “Taming of the Shrew” episode, anyway. But that’s a different show, so I won’t get into the utter brilliance of *that* show.
So, yes, this is one of those rare series that actually got better with age. Oh, sure they jumped the shark at some point much later on, but even then there were amazing episodes in the mix.
You’re in for an amazing treat. And don’t forget about the Angel spin-off — that had strokes of genius mixed in too.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:36 am
For once I agree with Dave S. Buffy does improve as the series progresses, stick with it Craig it is worth it.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Woohoo! Jonah and I agree!
(And I gotta say the name Jonah is very cool.) (And I can say that since we’re getting along now.)
(of course that’ll change after I make a few more comments…)
January 8th, 2009 at 8:11 am
What season are you watching?
January 8th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Last night I watched episodes 5-8 of Season 2. Episode 7 “Lie to Me” written and directed by Joss himself was excellent.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Stick with it – you’ll be a Whedonite soon enough. I loved most of season 2, all of seasons 3-5, and most of seasons 6 and 7.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Well, I’ve seen the odd Buffy episode through the years when there was nothing else on TV and I was desperate. I’ve seen the movie though. That’s the best I can do to contribute today.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Well, I must not be anyone, as I’ve never seen an episode of Buffy. I have seen, several times, every episode of Moonlighting however, and loved nearly all of them.
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Oh, and Josh Whedon writes that, doesn’t he? I Love me some Josh Whedon. His Young Avengers comic book was outSTANDing, what with it teenaged gay boyfriends that no one ever made a comment about, they just were gay and boyfriends and teammates, gig going on there. That’s practically the only Marvel stuff I read anymore.
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I agree with Dave S. almost completely. The first two seasons had some rough spots, but overall were entertaining. Seasons 3-5 are really good. 6+7 were good, but had some issues.
Hush was fantastic. I also like another episode later in the series that I can’t reveal for it has spoilers.
Angel was a fun series. I had a mixed reaction to the first episode, but it got really good really fast. Worth a watch, certainly, but after Doctor Who.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:09 am
I’ve never seen Buffy inspite of all the raves. Oh wait, I once saw about 45 sec of Buffy fighting some creature, which convinced me to keep missing the show. But being clueless has never stopped me from commenting before.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:12 am
The great thing about Buffy that I loved so much was that the show never took its premise completely seriously. Oh sure, events affected characters and there were dramatic moments, but in general, it had that nudge-nudge wink-wink feel too it that was incredibly appealing.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:21 am
My lovely husband turned me on to Buffy when we were dating. First the movie (which he still loves and I’m still meh about). Then the series. And I got hooked pretty fast on the series. The characters, the writing, etc.
Then there was The Musical episode and I was hardcore in love!
January 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am
The Musical is my second favorite episode next to “Hush”! It was a ton of fun *and* it made sense as to why they were singing (unlike a regular musical where you’re like, “Hey! Why the hell are they breaking out in song in the middle of the street?!”)
January 8th, 2009 at 9:26 am
I totally forgot this until now.
Jenny Calendar, form Buffy was one of Prince’s protégés. She was in the videos for Cream and Gett Off. She was one of the dance team Diamond and Pearl. I believe she was Pearl.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Polt: Sorry to be the big dork, but Whedon actually wrote Runaways and Astonishing X-Men for a bit. Young Avengers was done by Allan Heinberg.
I think you’ll join the Whedon-side soon enough. I also wasn’t too wow-ed by the first season, but once the ball started running in the second season I was hooked! Totally loved Dru that season. Stick with it and sample some Angel down the line if you start liking it
January 8th, 2009 at 9:37 am
john: You’re just a treasure trove of vital information.
Now who the heck are Diamond and Pearl? Sounds very 80’s…
January 8th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Jennifer: I’m glad I’m not the only one who has a secret children’s show host crush. I saw this guy while watching tv with my neices and instantly felt dirty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uB4Vl9FeGs
As for Buffy. I remember when people lost their minds over the show and I did not get the appeal. And then it started coming on every morning while i was getting ready for work. I have seen every season of that show and Angel because they came on back to back on TNT. Now I’m officially a fan….but shhh don’t tell.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Alex: Wow….and here I thought I was the god of all comic book knowledge….your metaphoric bitchslap has humbled me. And yes, I now remember it was Heinberg. Don’t know why I thought it was Whedon. I’ve not read any X-men series in over ten years and I only read the Runways in the crossover they had with the Young Avengers. Hmm, well, I bow to your superior knowledge sir.
Course, it IS Marvel we’re talking about, and I don’t have much to do with their drivel anymore. I’m much MUCH more a DC guy, so I’ll blame it on that and not feel so shamed. 
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Stick with it Craig, Buffy is so worth it!
January 8th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Dave S.: I am surPRISEd at you. Even I, who never take notice of scanitly clad women gyrating behind short black guys in purple with weird names, know who Diamond and Pearl are. In the video Cream they…well, they gyrated behind him.
And I think that’s early 90’s, not late 80’s…..but my Prince knowledge is even more lacking than my Marvel comics knowledge, so I very well could be wrong there.
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 10:13 am
polt:
No biggie! Didn’t mean it to be a bitchslap haha. I’m also more of a DC guy! HUG
January 8th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Dave S.: Polt is correct, Diamond and Pearl are very 90’s (and very hot too!). They were on the hologram cover of the Diamonds and Pearls cd and were in the videos for Cream and Gett Off.
You can see them here in their introduction in Gett Off
January 8th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Alex: Polt needs a good bitchslap every once in a while.
Except sometimes he enjoys them too much…
January 8th, 2009 at 10:24 am
oohhhh man, season 2 is where it really sucks you in. midway through season 2 you won’t be able to stop watching. SO MUCH GOOD.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls-album is from 1991, Cream is one of its tracks. In my book that was his last interesting and somewhat successful album. I saw his Weirdness once in concert (Nude-tour early 90s, no nudity (haha) and lame show) and stopped being a fan afterwards.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Prince actually comes to Columbus once in a while unannounced and performs in small clubs downtown to surprised crowds. He often won’t even introduce himself or talk — sing a bunch of his songs and then take off.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:49 am
bernd: I remembered the album, but had no idea there were dancers along with it. Did they come free with the purchase of the CD? And did you get less attractive, analog dancers if you bought the cassette?
January 8th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Dave S.: I can tell you the definitely did not come with the cd. I was terribly disappointed by that.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Hm, what, there were dancers involved in Diamonds and Pearls? Never saw them, never heard of them, I would have given you mine. Let me check if they are still in my CD case.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:27 am
bernd: ::sigh:: Didn’t your mom teach you that if you don’t feed and water your dancers they die? Don’t open the CD case — there might be a smell. Just like that Tupperware with 2-month-old spaghetti in your refrigerator — it’s probably just better to throw the whole thing away…
January 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Yes, it’s true, there comes a point in many friendships between awesome people and slightly less awesome people where the slightly less awesome person must commit to watching and loving BtVS.
I agree that “Hush” and “Once More With Feeling” are fantastic episodes, but my favorite episode is “The Body.” The third act has a speech from Anya (who you probably haven’t met yet – another reason to stick around) that leaves me in tears every time I hear it. It’s a sad episode, but very cathartic.
Also, in a couple seasons, you start to get lots of gratuitous Spike nudity.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Dave S, haven’t you heard that dancers get better with age, should be stored lying down in a cool dark place? Oh wait, maybe that’s wine-bottles?
We term these ziploc-containers with last week Monday’s dinner-remains science experiments in my household. Only the BF would dare to eat these. He even keeps green salads for several days in the fridge, dressing and all, shudder. So I generally ignore all Tupperware in the fridge.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:52 am
bernd: I love Gladware!!! It makes cleaning out the fridge *so* much easier…
January 8th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Jere: Gratuitous Spike nudity? Why wasn’t I watching this show?
Bernd: I hope you guys have a good health care plan, he’s going to need it one of these days.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Alex: well I guess it really wasn’t much of a bitchslap, as bitchslaps go. But still, to be shown I’m wrong when it comes to something comics, its’ just distressing.
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Dave S.: I only enjoy your bitchslaps…or well, imagine I would since I’ve not recevied one…yet……
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
jere: The Body is the other favorite episode I mentioned in my first comment. Anya’s speech is awesome, but the lack of incidental music is also a great touch that sets the tone for the episode.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
jere: “gratuitious Spike nudity”!!! Can I skip the rest of the series and just see those scenes? is that allowed?
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
polt: I’ll be sure to slap harder next time then! Not telling you where though
re spike nudity- I guess I’m one of the few that isn’t’ attracted to Spike at all. Now, scruffy Wesley in Angel…then we’d be talking. :p
January 8th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Dave: Hush is one of my favorite episodes too! It is so brilliantly “written”, I mean it’s just so amazing, it’s one of the best moments of television ever. I also have to say that Hush is tied to “Once More With Feeling” though, that musical episode I can watch just over and over again.
Do stick with the show Craig it really does get better as it goes on, even the supposedly bad 6th and 7th seasons I found to be quite enjoyable especially since the very long story arcs in those seasons make more sense when viewing as a whole on DVD. Hopefully you will watch Whedon’s Dollhouse in February when it premieres too!
January 8th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I assume that gratuitous Spike-nudity is some do-not-show-a-damned-thing-so-we can’t-be sued-for public-indecency kind of nudity shown on the ‘Major’-TV channels with all kinds of phallic or cracked objects placed just-so between camera and actor? snore. That’s why I love me some Showtime or HBO.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
bernd: all I remember were ass shots during a sex scene and head to torso implied nudity afterward in season 6 or so. There might have been more, but it wasn’t like Oz or anything.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Darn! I have only seen a few Buffy episodes as the wife has a fit whenever I subject her to anything that doesn’t have “dance” or “top” in the title, or involve show tunes in some manner. I keep meaning to add Buffy to my NetFlix queue so I can sneak off to my dark lair (office) to watch at my leisure (huddled up to a computer monitor in a dark room with headphones on to mask the general cacophony of the kidlets in the next room) but alas, the siren call of the Xbox 360 is not to be denied and the NetFlix queue is still not moving…
January 8th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I was the same as you Craig. I only started watching Buffy because I felt like it was my duty as a sci fi fan (and because I wanted to be part of the club). I had fallen in love with Firefly and figured since Joss created both that I would like it. The first season was a struggle for me but by the time I got to Season 3 I was too obsessed to deal with Netflix and just went ahead and bought the series boxed set. It’s now easily one of my favorite shows of all time (which is saying something as I love me some TV). After Buffy I moved on to Angel and had a really hard time with the first couple of seasons. But somewhere in Season 2 I was hooked and the show just got better as it went on.
Anyway, I’m sure if you stick with Buffy you’ll fall in love too!
January 8th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Alex: OZ, now there’s a series I watched every episode of. And there’s lotsa bitchslapping, and much more interesting stuff, going on there.
Having worked in a prison setting, i can tell you it’s not the LEAST bit realistic, but with all the gratiutitous inmate full frontal nudity, and Rita Moreno around, who really cared?
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Polt: You worked in a prison setting? What did you do?
January 8th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
john: What he meant to say was that he “worked it at a prison.” Which is completely different than what you’re thinking…
January 8th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Dave S: Since I worked AT the prison, there’s no way I’d work IT at the prison, cause that could result in loss of job and possible criminal charges….although that didn’t stop me from…fantacising about it.
And I’ve seen some of the guys there work IT…I’m not sure even I could keep up with them. 
john: A case manager, a civilian position, not a correctonal officer. Which means I did NOT get to do the strip searches….more’s the pity….
HUGS…
January 8th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Sounds like a pretty good Wednesday to me. I was planning on watching Top Chef last night, but I started watching Dexter with my hubby instead. I totally missed Top Chef, but now I’m hooked on Dexter.
January 8th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Craig, maybe this will get you excited:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=El1QsMpT3hQ&feature=channel
January 8th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Boy I have lots of youtube to watch when I get home.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Craig, that should answer my question what you watch on Thursday’s at 8 pm now that Survivor is on hiatus?
January 8th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Ohgosh, the morning I forget to check your blog and you post on Buffy!
For me, Buffy didnt get good till Season 3. Season one was somewhat painful. S2 was okay. Season three and beyond won me over. I just love the dialogue and cultural references used inthe show. I’m a Joss enthusiast so I dont any bad to say about the man.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I’m loving Drusilla.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I looooove Buffy. I liked it best Season 4 (the college/non college years [Double Meat Palace]).
Didn’t watch Angel until Spike was on. Yay James Marsters.
Wonder what Joss Whedon would have done with the Wonder Woman movie…
January 9th, 2009 at 2:21 am
BTVS was a pretty good show. It had it’s low points, but it also had some very high points. The writing was very clever and I believe the casting was on point. I know you’re only in Season 2, but please tell me when you watch the episode called Silent in Season 4 and that entire last half of the season. Oh and Willow was always my favorite esp when she gets crazy, but you’ll have to wait for that as well!
January 9th, 2009 at 3:54 am
All of Buffy was enjoyable, but it’s all about Season 3 (Faith) and Season 5 (Glory). Perk of season 4: Most of it is Buffy sexing it up with Riley, who’s just mantastic.
January 9th, 2009 at 7:29 am
I watched another 2 episodes last night. I’m getting pretty into it! Maybe if I have a marathon I can finish Season 2 this weekend.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am
I never liked Riley and I hated Angel. I’ve tried watching the Angel series but its SO SLOW.
Was it season 3 that Xander comes out in a speedo? After that he just ballooned. :}
January 12th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Yay! Basically my favorite show ever. I’m so glad you’re watching. Season 1 was kinda boring but 2 was good and then it all goes uphill. The musical episode (”Once More With Feeling”) is my favorite episode, followed very closely by “The Body.” Look out for those two!