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Buffy Season Five (Complete with Wacky Remembrances!)

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Warning: before the review for season five begins, I’m feeling the need to tell you a little story on how my summer fling with Buffy came about. If you think such personal touches are bullshit, then feel free to skip ahead a few paragraphs. But know that by doing so you’re a bunch of heartless bitches!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 5
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So I got into Buffy almost by accident. A friend of mine was having a “Buffy Party” and I went mainly for the people, the booze, and the food (not necessarily in that order). I figured if I had to see some of that dumb show that I had purposely avoided all these years, the beer could always numb the pain. Well, we started off by playing the Buffy board game (which I kinda thought was lame) and as I am no stranger to geeky obsessions and even geekier people, I went along with it even though I had no idea who in the hell Xander was or what on earth a Hellmouth could be.

After a few adult beverages and the two-part series opener flashing before my eyes, I began to see that there was perhaps something to this little teenage comedy/drama with demons and vampires and things. I borrowed the first season DVD set from the host and started watching. After three episodes I was hooked. Soon after this I could be found sheepishly admitting to my friends that the reason they hadn’t seen me a week was because I’d been holed up in my room watching Buffy and the gang dust vamps and go through many apocalypses together (what exactly is the plural of “apocalypse” anyway?). Not too long after that I could be found proclaiming to anyone who would listen that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the best goddamn show that had ever been on TV. Period.

My friends still think I’m nuts.

Anyway, after watching the first season I devoured the next five in a matter of about a month, mainly borrowing the DVDs from obsessed friends and even actually purchasing the fifth season when no copy was available to borrow. So here I stand, a Buffy convert, nearly a year after the fact. I still haven’t seen the seventh season and the only one I own is still that fifth. Too bad it’s a fairly week season, even though it contains a few outstanding episodes and some events that are very important in leading up to what I believe is the best (season six).

And that’s what brings me to this review. I was chosen for season five because that’s the only one I have easy access to. Well, it’s time to dust it off (literally) and give my interpretation of what happened in the weird and wacky world of Buffy during that time:

HEARTLESS BITCHES START READING HERE!

Season Five continues in the transitional vein of the fourth, with a growing sense of doom and morbidity that leads up to the extremely gut-wrenching sixth season. As we watch the relationships of Willow & Tara and Xander & Anya grow, Buffy and Riley’s relationship begins to unravel (which is fine by me because I think that Riley really sucks). The still-chipped Spike goes from trying to kill Buffy to falling in love with her. Giles and the gang take over the magic shop and Willow becomes more skilled at being a witch. Warren makes his first appearance in a rather bad episode about a robot girl who has travelled a long distance to find him. Joyce dies and leaves Buffy shattered. All of these things are the beginnings of important plot points that rear their ugly heads in season six.

Of course the first thing that comes to mind about season five is the arrival of Dawn. I don’t think I’ve experienced a more “What the fuck?” moment on TV than when Buffy suddenly has a little sister at the end of the rather dumb “Buffy Vs. Dracula” episode that opened up the season. What actually pissed me off a bit was how during the next few episodes the characters acted like Dawn had always been around but we just somehow didn’t know she was around. My intelligence felt truly insulted as I watched these episodes in disbelief, thinking that they had actually committed one of the dumbest crimes in television history. Well, when it was finally revealed that everyone’s memories of Dawn were planted by those wacky monks from centuries before and that Dawn had only existed from the moment that us viewers met her, I realized that Joss and company had pulled off one of the more clever events in TV history.

The main story arc of season five concerns Dawn being the “key” and Glory trying to use her to bring about the end of the world. So the character of Dawn actually ends up serving a purpose rather than just being a young cute face to keep the kiddies watching the show. After finding out the Dawn was “planted” to bring about the apocalypse, Buffy’s love for her actually grows to the point where she is even willing to give up her own life in order to save Dawn’s. Buffy won’t accept the idea that Dawn must die in order to stave off the end of the world and turns inward for an answer. Buffy has spent the entire season seeking the true meaning of being a slayer and finds it by dying in order to save the world from destruction.

Buffy’s death is undoubtedly a big moment in the series. Not only does it bring forth the most noble and important qualities of the slayer, it paves the way for the complete horror and emptiness that Buffy feels when she is ripped from heaven and forced to live again in misery on Earth in season six. Also, Buffy’s death has a rather large impact on Angel in the first few episodes of that show’s third season. It’s a rather neat world that Whedon has created and the interplay of characters and shows is sometimes staggering.

Even though there are rather stupid episodes like the Dracula one and the episode with the Buffybot, every episode has at least one important event in it that warrants a viewing. The weaknesses are more than made up for in the episode “The Body” (a rather horrifying and beautiful episode in which Buffy finds her mom dead in their living room and struggles to cope with the situation), one of the best episodes of the season and of the entire series. While it is not the best year of the show by any stretch of the imagination, season five is still an important part of the Buffy story and is essential viewing for any fan.

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Buffy Season Five (Complete with wacky rememberances!)

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More transitional Buffy that leads up to the almighty and powerful Season Six!!!

Warning: before the review for season five begins, I’m feeling the need to tell you a little story on how my summer fling with Buffy came about. If you think such personal touches are bullshit, then feel free to skip ahead a few paragraphs. But know that by doing so you’re a bunch of heartless bitches!
So I got into Buffy almost by accident. A friend of mine was having a “Buffy Party” and I went mainly for the people, the booze, and the food (not necessarily in that order). I figured if I had to see some of that dumb show that I had purposely avoided all these years, the beer could always numb the pain. Well, we started off by playing the Buffy board game (which I kinda thought was lame) and as I am no stranger to geeky obsessions and even geekier people, I went along with it even though I had no idea who in the hell Xander was or what on earth a Hellmouth could be.
After a few adult beverages and the two-part series opener flashing before my eyes, I began to see that there was perhaps something to this little teenage comedy/drama with demons and vampires and things. I borrowed the first season DVD set from the host and started watching. After three episodes I was hooked. Soon after this I could be found sheepishly admitting to my friends that the reason they hadn’t seen me a week was because I’d been holed up in my room watching Buffy and the gang dust vamps and go through many apocalypses together (what exactly is the plural of “apocalypse” anyway?). Not too long after that I could be found proclaiming to anyone who would listen that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the best goddamn show that had ever been on TV. Period.
My friends still think I’m nuts.
Anyway, after watching the first season I devoured the next five in a matter of about a month, mainly borrowing the DVDs from obsessed friends and even actually purchasing the fifth season when no copy was available to borrow. So here I stand, a Buffy convert, nearly a year after the fact. I still haven’t seen the seventh season and the only one I own is still that fifth. Too bad it’s a fairly week season, even though it contains a few outstanding episodes and some events that are very important in leading up to what I believe is the best (season six).
And that’s what brings me to this review. I was chosen for season five because that’s the only one I have easy access to. Well, it’s time to dust it off (literally) and give my interpretation of what happened in the weird and wacky world of Buffy during that time:
HEARTLESS BITCHES START READING HERE!

Season Five continues in the transitional vein of the fourth, with a growing sense of doom and morbidity that leads up to the extremely gut-wrenching sixth season. As we watch the relationships of Willow & Tara and Xander & Anya grow, Buffy and Riley’s relationship begins to unravel (which is fine by me because I think that Riley really sucks). The still-chipped Spike goes from trying to kill Buffy to falling in love with her. Giles and the gang take over the magic shop and Willow becomes more skilled at being a witch. Warren makes his first appearance in a rather bad episode about a robot girl who has travelled a long distance to find him. Joyce dies and leaves Buffy shattered. All of these things are the beginnings of important plot points that rear their ugly heads in season six.

Of course the first thing that comes to mind about season five is the arrival of Dawn. I don’t think I’ve experienced a more “What the fuck?” moment on TV than when Buffy suddenly has a little sister at the end of the rather dumb “Buffy Vs. Dracula” episode that opened up the season. What actually pissed me off a bit was how during the next few episodes the characters acted like Dawn had always been around but we just somehow didn’t know she was around. My intelligence felt truly insulted as I watched these episodes in disbelief, thinking that they had actually committed one of the dumbest crimes in television history. Well, when it was finally revealed that everyone’s memories of Dawn were planted by those wacky monks from centuries before and that Dawn had only existed from the moment that us viewers met her, I realized that Joss and company had pulled off one of the more clever events in TV history.

The main story arc of season five concerns Dawn being the “key” and Glory trying to use her to bring about the end of the world. So the character of Dawn actually ends up serving a purpose rather than just being a young cute face to keep the kiddies watching the show. After finding out the Dawn was “planted” to bring about the apocalypse, Buffy’s love for her actually grows to the point where she is even willing to give up her own life in order to save Dawn’s. Buffy won’t accept the idea that Dawn must die in order to stave off the end of the world and turns inward for an answer. Buffy has spent the entire season seeking the true meaning of being a slayer and finds it by dying in order to save the world from destruction.

Buffy’s death is undoubtedly a big moment in the series. Not only does it bring forth the most noble and important qualities of the slayer, it paves the way for the complete horror and emptiness that Buffy feels when she is ripped from heaven and forced to live again in misery on Earth in season six. Also, Buffy’s death has a rather large impact on Angel in the first few episodes of that show’s third season. It’s a rather neat world that Whedon has created and the interplay of characters and shows is sometimes staggering.

…

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Buffy Season Five (Complete with wacky rememberances!) Read More »

Science vs Magic: Buffy Season Four

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Great individual episodes stand out in Season Four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Themes of disconnection, life’s changes, and evolving relationships occur throughout the season and the main story arc examines the idea of science versus magic in the Buffy universe.  New characters as well as the return of old friends set up a season that although is one of the weakest, provides some individual great moments and lays the groundwork for themes and stories that will be explored through the end of Season Seven.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 4
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Great individual episodes stand out in Season Four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Themes of disconnection, life’s changes, and evolving relationships occur throughout the season and the main story arc examines the idea of science versus magic in the Buffy universe.  New characters as well as the return of old friends set up a season that although is one of the weakest, provides some individual great moments and lays the groundwork for themes and stories that will be explored through the end of Season Seven.

 

The Slayer does not walk in this world

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), and Oz (Seth Green) have graduated high school and moved onto college at UC Sunnydale.  Xander (Nicholas Brendon) returns home after a summer of misadventure to live in his parents basement and try and understand his relationship with Anya (Emma Caulfield ).  New faces abound as Buffy gets a new beau in undercover soldier Riley Finn (Marc Blucas ), Willow begins a new stage in her life with Tara (Amber Benson), and an entire army appears underneath the campus known simply as the Initiative. The theme of science versus magic will be explored throughout the season as the government run Initiative delves into the world of the supernatural and tries to harness the power for new weapons, the last of which, a human/demon/cyborg called Adam (George Hertzberg), will bring down the fall of the Initiative and threaten the safety of Sunnydale.  Buffy will need to reunite the Scoobies, who have moved further and further apart during the year, to stop Adam and once again save the day.

Adam

Where Season Three played on graduation and completion of a stage of life, this season focuses mostly about being in a new world and trying to find your place in it. Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Xander both begin to feel useless to the group, Buffy struggles with fitting in at college and trying to live in Riley’s world, Willow deals with the heartbreaking betrayal and abandonment of Oz and goes through an emotional upheaval and onto a new relationship with Tara, and Spike (James Marsters) is neutered to the point that he can no longer hurt humans and is forced to ask the Scoobies for help.

The season is something of a mixed bag. The Initiative storyline never really reaches the level of other Buffy season arcs.  If you like the final battle sequence between Buffy and Adam in Primeval you might want to rummage through your local comic shop as it’s stolen from an Alan Moore book called Promethea.  Aside from the main arc we do get some very good stand alone episodes.

Hush

Language can often get in the way of communicating, trying to say what you actually want to express.  For twenty-five minutes no one speaks in this episode as the entire population of Sunnydale is rendered without speech by the Gentlemen.  It’s a great stand alone episode, but at the same time the style is used to push plot and story.  Xander is finally able to express how he feels about Anya, and Riley and Buffy finally stop dancing around the issue and kiss.  The Gentlemen and their straightjacket wearing servants are creepy villains and the score greatly adds to the feel.  Also worth noting is this episode introduces the character of Tara.

Superstar

Jonathan Superstar

A creature is terrorizing Sunnydale and Buffy and the Scoobies call on Jonathan (Danny Strong) to help.  Jonathan?  A very nice stand alone episode where Jonathan has altered reality to his will making himself a paragon, the best of all things.  The episode also is important because it is Jonathan who heals the wounds Faith caused in the Buffy / Riley relationship and Jonathan who comes up with the source of Adam’s power.  Cool moments abound here, I especially like Jonathan’s performance at the Bronze and all the specially created product placements and advertisements for our new hero.

 

This Year’s Girl / Who Are You?

Faith (Eliza Dushku) awakes from her coma and seeks revenge against Buffy for taking everything away from her.  It’s great to see Dushku return to reprise her role in this two-parter where Faith switches bodies with Buffy and takes over Buffy’s life.  Suberb acting by both actresses.  The conclusion of the story takes place in Season One of Angel.

Restless Slayer

Restless

Whedon’s finale is an out of body dream sequence that explores the different characters subconscious as they are hunted by the force of thePrimitive (Sharon Ferguson), the first Vampire Slayer, they called on to help them defeat Adam.  Some really cool stream of consciousness stuff here.  The episode also sets up Season Five, Buffy’s need to come to an understanding what being a Slayer means, and the coming of Dawn.

Season Four gives us some nice extra features.  We get featurettes about Spike and Oz, an interview with set designer Carey Meyer and a look at the sets of Sunnydale, original scripts, and commentary for an amazing seven episodes.  There is a short documentary about the making of Hush as well.  My favorite extra is the featurette which examines the use of music in Buffy.  We are given a look and listen to the theme song and the use of score throughout the season and discussing Anthony Stewart Head’s performances of Freebird and Behind Blue Eyes as well as his singing an exposition song written by Whedon in another episode.  Some really good extras that help round out this set.

Season Four is my least favorite of all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  The problem arises in the main story arc – Science vs Magic.  It’s an interesting idea that could have been explored in one or two episodes, but the theme is drawn out over the season as the government starts to interfere in Buffy’s world.  The villain of Adam is one of the least interesting of the series and I give the season bad marks for introducing the much hated character of Riley Finn to the Whedonverse.  Also we get some of the worst written shows of the series such as Beer Bad, The Freshman, and Where the Wild Things Are.

That having been said, a less than brilliant season of Buffy is like coming in fourth at the Olympics – still pretty damn good.  There are still numerous reasons to check out these episodes as they lay the foundation for all the seasons to follow.  There are some great individual episodes, some great building blocks and development of these beloved characters, and some pretty cool extras including the commentary and the featurettes.

The series breaks down into two blocks: the high school years (Seasons 1 – 3) and the adult years (Seasons 5 – 7).  This season is all about not belonging to either world and rediscovering your place, making new realtionships, struggling to keep old relationships, and moving onto a new world.

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Slayerfest: Buffy Season Three

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Buffy’s final year in high school ends with a bang (in more ways then one).  We get a new slayer, a new watcher, and a politician that’s even more evil than you would expect.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 3
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After a summer in Los Angeles, and a brief trip to a hell dimension, Buffy returns to Sunnydale to once again take up her destiny as “she who hangs out in cemeteries”, reconnects with her friends, and kick some serious ass.  There are a few stumbling blocks in the way.  The first is the arrival of a new Slayer who’s carefree attitude and enjoyment of the kill will cause problems.  The second is the unexplained and unexpected return of Angel, Buffy’s one true love who was last seen as Buffy plunged a sword deep into his chest sending him to hell in order to save the world.

 

I’m Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.  And you are?

After the fallout from Season Two, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Geller) is hiding in Los Angeles and waiting tables.  Finally she is forced to confront her destiny and return to Sunnydale and try and put her life back together. Just as she has reclaimed her life Faith (Eliza Dushku), the new Vampire Slayer, arrives and creates all kinds of new havoc for our heroine.  Faith is a wild card ; she relishes in the power, the chase, and the kill. Faith’s style clashes with Buffy’s need to analyze the situation. The friendship is further strained when it is discovered that Angel (David Boreanaz) is alive and Buffy has been hiding him.  Faith’s actions get more and more erratic to the point where she accidentally kills a human being. Unable to deal with the situation, Faith moves further down her dark path as she decides to throw her fate in with the Mayor ofSunnydale.  Richard Wilkins (Harry Groener) created the town over a hundred years ago as part of his plan to ascend and become a full demon.  Buffy and the Scooby gang must now try to stop the Mayor’s ascension, and Buffy must face Faith as well.

Ask most Buffy fans which is their favorite season and many will put this one high on the list. It is one of the tightest and best written seasons that explores the dynamic of Buffy and of Faith and what it means to be a Slayer. Thedichotomy is well played out and the pay off is huge as Slayer is pitted against Slayer. The writers are also clever in exploring the paternal relationship that forms between Faith and the Mayor. BothDuskhu and Groener are excellent in their roles and play off each other so well.

The Chosen Two

Relationships play a big factor in Season Three.  Romance for ill-matched Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and the sweet coupling of Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Oz (Seth Green).  Buffy’s relationship with her mother (Kristine Sutherland) is changed now that Joyce knows about Buffy’s late night activities. Buffy and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) relationship will be strained after the events of Helpless where Giles betrays Buffy to follow the orders of the Watchers Council only to turn back at the last instant. Giles leaving the council provides some interesting reworking of the series formula and also brings us the wonderful character ofWesly Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof).  And finally Buffy and Angel are forced to confront some unpleasant truths about the nature of their relationship.

The entire Buffy / Faith arc is incredibly well played out and culminates on one hell of a huge fight sequence in Graduation Day Part 1. Aside from the main arc there are some terrific stand alone episodes aredefiantly worth checking out.

Lover’s Walk

Spike (James Marsters) returns in a drunken melancholy over his breakup with Drusilla (Juliet Landau). Spike actions throughout his one night stay lead to the breakup ofXander and Cordelia, forces Oz to reevaluate his feelings for Willow, and his comments to Buffy and Angel prophetically start the demise of their relationship as well.

The Zeppo

Technically I think that’s a sword

Some of my favorite episodes of the series are Xander episodes.  The entire episode is structured with the other Scoobies working on saving the world as Xander gets into his own trouble involving a classic automobile, the raising of an undead gang, some one-on-one with Faith, and a very explosive cake. The name of the episode comes from Cordelia’s line about howXander is the useless part of the group, the Jimmy Olsen or the Zeppo Marx.  What makes the episode work so well is Xander is actually given the opportunity to save the day in his own small way; even if no one else ever knows he is changed by the experience.

Amends

Angel is haunted by visions of his past deeds as Angelus, and his dreams spill into Buffy’s nightmares. It turns out Angel is being systematically driven insane by a force called only The First, an incorporeal evil that wants Angel to lose his soul in Buffy and become Angelus once again.  This is one of the best villains of the series, here used for only one episode and forgotten until…well we’ll get to that in Season Seven. It is also one of the few episodes of Buffy that shows Angel’s actions before he was cursed with a soul, something the spin-off would explore in more detail.

Careful what you wish for

The Wish

What if Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale? Cordelia is granted her wish and reality is changed as history is rewritten. The Master (Mark Metcalf) rises and takes over Sunnydale turning Xander and Willow two of his most deadly vampires. A great what if… episode that lets the actors each play the same characters but in quite different circumstances. The episode also introduces us to the character ofAnyanka (Emma Caulfield) a vengeance demon who grants Cordelia’s wish and then loses her powers as reality is put back to normal. Anya becomes quite a funny character as Xander’s girlfriend for years to come.

A nice collection of extras includes commentary on four episodes from writers and directors but no commentary from Joss Whedon in this collection.  We do get two short interviews with Whedon about four episodes including one on Bad Girls and Consequences.  We get a season overview which looks back over the season’s run.  One of the most interesting extras is a short feature on the language used on Buffy, where it comes from, and how popular it has become.  Also included are original scripts for four episodes, an art gallery collection of photos, and short featurettes on special effects, wardrobe, and weapons.

This is one of the best seasons of Buffy.  The main story arc of Faith and Buffy is one of the best crafted of the series, and the fight scenes between the two kick some serious ass.  We also get some wonderful stand alone episodes and are introduced to new characters who will continue to populate the Buffy / Angel universe until the end.  The set is a nice collection with commentary, a season overview, and some nice short interviews with Whedon.  A great bookend for the first three seasons that completes the high school years of the Scooby gang.

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The Scooby Gang Grows Stronger

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In season 2 the Scooby Gang faces many evil Sunnydale Hellmouth trials and tribulations and find themselves stronger in the end for it. Plenty of romance is on the line for all characters, some good and some not so safe. Buffy and Angle really heat up the screen in almost every episode, either by their heated arguments or their really loud smooching and heavy petting. New characters like Oz, cool alternative grunge guy who has a wonderfully witty comeback for everything and then there are the 2 new bad guys, lovers for life, Spike and Dru, they couldn’t mess up a wet dream. Every time Spike tries to kill Buffy or simply bring her to her knees he screws up. Sunnydale has nothing to worry from Spike, but still it is on the Hellmouth and all kinds of evil lurk for Buffy and The Scooby Gang to kill.

Buffy Season Two
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In season 2 the Scooby Gang faces many evil Sunnydale Hellmouth trials and tribulations and find themselves stronger in the end for it. Plenty of romance is on the line for all characters, some good and some not so safe. Buffy and Angle really heat up the screen in almost every episode, either by their heated arguments or their really loud smooching and heavy petting. New characters like Oz, cool alternative grunge guy who has a wonderfully witty comeback for everything and then there are the 2 new bad guys, lovers for life, Spike and Dru, they couldn’t mess up a wet dream. Every time Spike tries to kill Buffy or simply bring her to her knees he screws up. Sunnydale has nothing to worry from Spike, but still it is on the Hellmouth and all kinds of evil lurk for Buffy and The Scooby Gang to kill.

Plot: Season 2 is full of surprises and romance. Willow finally finds the perfect man for her in Oz, a quirky little rock and roll guy with a hairy secret. Xander and Cordy find themselves smooching in the closet more than they should and consider a relationship. Giles finally works up the nerve to ask Ms. Calendar, Jenny, out and then has to do it all over again after his past catches up with them. Buffy’s mom, Joyce, tries her luck with a wicked evil robot, Ted. And Buffy and Angel get it on big time, Angel experiences his one true moment of happiness and looses his soul. Angelus appears and tortures Buffy’s friends in return and ultimately torturing Buffy. With a little help from the two new, yet failing bad guys, Spike and Dru, Angelus tries to tear down the slayer and open the Hellmouth again. Buffy is forced to send Angel to hell to shut the Hellmouth and leaves her in what she thinks is going to be a forever Hell of her own. Little does she know that hell is just like any other place, maybe nice to visit, but nobody really wants to live there and Angel returns a little worse for wears and wild. She forgives him for all his wrongs and still loves him dearly. Now I have gone too far and extended into the next season, but now you know what there is too look forward to. And just think I haven’t even got started on the 3rd slayer to come to town, Faith. You are in for a real treat after season 2.

The Slayer Having A Rough Day

Characters:

Buffy:(Sarah Michelle Gellar) The chosen one, the slayer, but still a teenage girl who wants to be normal and date like any other girl in her school. She’s not too quick with book smarts, but has a mouth like a whip and a questionable fashion sense. Season 2 introduces a deeper side to Buffy and a great deal of growth and understanding to her character.

Angel:(David Boreanaz) A 250-year-old vampire who is dark and brooding and starts out as a mysterious guy who gives Buffy little bits of advice to lead her along her dark path. Season 2 brings the fighter and the romantic out in Angel, before hand he stayed in the shadows and seldom interfered, but now he is hero guy and fights right along with Buffy.

Giles:(Anthony Head) The “watcher”, Buffy’s trainer, teacher and coach; he keeps her in line and helps her understand her path. Gile’s cover is a librarian for Sunnydale High. Right from the beginning Giles acts like a father figure for Buffy.

Xander:(Nicholas Brendon) Sensitive, unsure, comical relief guy, who always gets himself in some form of trouble. He has serious self-confidence issues and covers up his shortcomings with witty comments and jokes. Xander never gets over his crush on Buffy, but moves on to the only available body Cordelia.

Willow:(Alyson Hannigan) Nerdy computer girl, whose hacking skills add great assistance to the Scooby Gang. She is always looking for romance in all the wrong places and desperately wants to be noticed, but hides in Buffy’s shadow most of the time. Willow gives up on the idea that Xander will ever notice her, but while she wasn’t looking Oz found her.

Cordelia:(Charisma Carpenter) Cordy grows a great deal in season 2, she realizes the dangers around her and that as long as she is with The Scooby Gang and Buffy, she has a better shot of staying alive, plus she secretly is crushing on Xander.

Oz:(Seth Green) This guy is brilliant; he has a wonderfully dry sense of humor that keeps season 2 light and easy going. Wearing his black nail polish and jamming with his band on occasion, Oz is more than willing to accept there are evils out there beyond his control and helps the gang in the good fight. Oz has a little hairy secret of his own that comes out closer toward the end of the season. Willow doesn’t care, she loves him anyway.

Spike:(James Marsters) An evil screw up of a vampire who is always trying to bring Buffy down and conquer Sunnydale. He was sired by Drusilla who was sired by Angel.

Jenny Calendar:(Robia LaMorte) Computer teacher by day and secret gypsy clan daughter by night. She and Giles get it on, but she keeps her true identity a secret. Her only purpose to being in Sunnydale is to keep Angel from experiencing that one true moment of happiness and getting his soul removed. Um yeah, she fails miserably.

Drusilla:(Juliet Landau) Spike main gal and the more evil and wicked do the two. Dru is a little off her rocker, okay a lot. In a ritual to make her strong, Spike is hurt and she is made whole again to protect and help Spike through his crippling, faking towards the end, days. Angelus sired Dru.

Angelus:(David Boreanaz) The evil returns after many years of being stuffed under a soul. Angelus comes out after Angel and Buffy have their night of lovemaking. Angelus tortures and kills Buffy’s friends and family and tries to bring on the opening of the Hellmouth. He gets his soul back just in time for Buffy to send him back to hell.

Xander

Episodes:

When She Was Bad Buffy, not dealing with her prom night death and resurrection, becomes a self indulgent little snob for all of 5-minutes. The anointed one tries to bring The Master back and kidnaps Willow, Giles and Xander for their blood to do so. Xander blames Buffy for they’re near death and she realizes he’s right and tries to awake from her comma. Beating The Master’s bones to dust gives her the release she needs to move on with her duties and returns to her witty slayer self.

Some Assembly Required

Giles tries to start a romance with Jenny. Two science geeks play Dr. Frankenstein, to create a love interest for their brother, who they brought back to life after his horrific death the year before, and want Cordelia’s head for the final masterpiece. Buffy fights the monstrous brother, a fire breaks out, Xander saves Cordelia and the brother goes up in flames with the headless body.

School Hard

Something’s rotten in Sunnydale, no worries it’s just the comic relief and the new bad guys, Spike and Drusilla. Spike crashes parent’s night to let all know that he ahs arrived and has planned to take over Sunnydale and kill the slayer. This of course will never happen because he ultimately fails at every attempt.

Inca Mummy Girl

Xander gets a beautiful foreign exchange student who is actually an Inca Mummy, her name is Ampata. She mesmerizes Xander, like that hard to do with all his over powering sexual hormones, which seem to really show themselves throughout most of season 2. Ampata goes after Willow for her next victim to keep her young and beautiful, Xander offers himself up instead, but neither is needed Buffy saves the day and turns the Inca princess to bones and puts her under wraps.

Willow

Reptile Boy

Buffy finds herself on a date with Cordelia in a frat house full of rich boys you kidnaps girls every year and offers them up as a sacrifice to a reptile demon to keep their wealth. Angel catches wind of this and his jealous at first until he realizes the danger Buffy is in and helps save the day.

Halloween

Oz appears and starts admiring Willow from afar. It’s Halloween and Buffy wants to dress up like women did in the days when Angel was young, She wants to impress him with powdered wigs and a big girlie dress. Giles has an old acquaintance wreak havoc on Sunnydale, by selling costumes that people turn into at midnight during a ritual. Children are roaming around like goblins and ghouls and Buffy is this innocent young lady who is completely oblivious to her role as a Vampire Slayer. Willow turns into a ghosts and Xander becomes the hero army guy. Spike tries to venture out on the one night of the year that true demons and vampires are suppose to take a vacation. Spike tries to destroy Buffy, but fails once again. Angel wants to know why Buffy wanted to be all wimpy girl after the spell is lifted, and she replies with that was what she that he wanted. He let her know under no circumstances, that he is interested in any other type of young lady than whom she is now; commence with the heavy petting and kissing.

Lie to Me

An old childhood crush of Buffy’s shows up and plays Mr. nice guy, but he has one thing on his mind and that is to become a vampire. He traps the gang and himself with a bunch of innocent people in to become a feast for Spike and his crew. Spike going back on his word to change him into a vampire tries to kill them all until Buffy stops him and foils his plans once again.

The Dark Age

Giles buddy who caused so much trouble on Halloween comes back to town to escape his fate with an evil demon that he and Giles stirred up years ago. This demon possesses Ms. Calendar and goes after anybody with a particular Etruscan tattoo. Buffy awakes with this freshly printed tattoo on her back thanks to Ethan and the possessed Ms. Calendar hot on her trail. Angel jumps in to take over the possession and save the day. Giles was just working up to a good romantic standing with Jenny and now has to earn her trust back after she has been possessed with the evil demon that he had a part in creating years ago.

Cordelia

What’s My Line, Part One

It’s career week at school and once again Buffy is reminded that she will never lead a healthy normal life and will always be alone and the slayer. Oz notices Willow even more when she is seated in the genius room right next to him. He is an accidental genius who doesn’t care if he finishes school, he’s all about his music and Willow finds him very cute and intriguing. Xander figures out that he shouldn’t even try he’s not very book smart and may end up being a florist or a garbage truck guy. Angel takes Buffy ice-skating to help her forget about her troubles, but they are attacked by a hired man sent to kill her, thanks to Spike. After Buffy dies in season one, don’t forget another shall arise. Angel is thrown in a cage to face the sunlight and Buffy fights Kendra, the next slayer.

What’s My Line, Part Two

Continued from last episode Kendra and Buffy face off. Spike has hired 3 assassins to kill the gang and Buffy and trap Angel. Willy sets Angel free from his cage of certain dusting death and Willow and Xander are locked up in a basement hiding from the bug man, another Spike minion. Buffy and Kendra call a truce to prove Kendra is who she says she is and they fight the 3 together, kicking ass and taking names. Angel is kidnapped while Buffy is distracted and Spike tries to use him in a ritual to make a sick and week Dru. Xander takes a bullet in the arm to save Willow and the gang storms in together to save Angel. Spike is crippled in the falling debris and carried out by a completely healthy Drusilla in the end.

Ted

Joyce’s new boyfriend is a little off. Ted isn’t human or monster he’s a machine and completely off his rocker. Cordy and Xander carry on with a secret smooch party in the broom closet. Giles saves Jenny’s life while patrolling and earning her trust back. Ted tries to kidnap Buffy’s mom, but she lays him flat with a skillet.

Bad Eggs

A weird episode that deals with a couple of western vampire brothers and a giant Bezoar demon that has possessed the students at Sunnydale High and makes them worked at digging up it’s eggs. Buffy, of course, slays all and all ends well.

Surprise (Part One of Two)

A surprise birthday party for Buffy, a surprise birthday gift from Spike and a night of hot lovemaking and bake it for 30 minutes on high and what do you get? Angelus and the true evil begin. I almost forgot Oz finds out that vampires and demons truly exist, but not the least bit surprise and finds him initiated into The Scooby Gang.

Innocence (Part Two of Two)

The Judge, who’s arm accidentally showed up as a gift for Buffy the episode before, is regaining his powers and starts with the killing of the innocent. I lied; it wasn’t the episode before that Angelus shows his face, it was the night of the episode before. Angelus comes out to join Spike and Dru’s little party, but Xander rains on their parade by killing The Judge with a rocket launcher, good thing he remembers his military training from Halloween.

Phases

Oz’s hairy secret comes out in the full moonlight, he’s a werewolf. The gang is worried, at first that Oz is behind a few killings in the woods, but later finds out that he is innocent when they lock him up and they keep happening. Willow has no problems coming to terms with Oz’s little secret and they kiss for the first time. By the way Angel is still evil.

Oz

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered

Xander talks a little witch into casting a love spell on him to get Cordy to love him. The spell backfires and Xander almost ends up dead by an angry mob of love-crazed women. Buffy and Willow find out just in time to break the spell and save Xander’s life.

Passion

Angelus continues to torment Buffy and her friends, but even after he ended Miss. Calendar’s life, Buffy still can’t bring herself to kill him. She still loves Angel.

Killed by Death

An odd episode out, Buffy gets some serious illness and sees an invisible monster that feeds on children. She puts stop to that right away.

I Only Have Eyes For You

A romantic tryst between a teacher and student goes awry years before. Odd things start to happen at Sunnydale and the gang chalks it up to a poltergeist, but truly it’s the ghosts of these two lovers. The lovers take possession of Angel and Buffy and give the two a sweet moment, before Buffy reenacts what the student did to the teacher years ago, she shoots him. Of course Angelus can’t die, but they both had a moment and he runs off, angry that she reminded him, but for a split second of what his humanity felt like.

The Last Kiss Before Hell

Go Fish

Xander goes undercover to solve the munching mystery that is taking over the swim team. The truth is, the coach is putting something in the swimming pool water that is turning the team into creatures of the blue lagoon and they must feed on human flesh. Buffy catches him trying to offer up Xander as a snack and stops him cold in his tracks. She releases the creatures to the ocean, what a weird little episode thrown in the group of serious love lorn teen loss and death and mayhem from evil vampires.

Becoming, Part One

This marks the beginning of Angelus trying to bring a demon forth that will open Hell on earth. In Buffy’s struggle to stop him without killing him, Willow finds the answer to restoring Angel’s soul. Angel and Dru go after the gang to keep Willow from performing the ritual.

Becoming, Part Two

Buffy pissed enough at Angelus to kill him for what he has done to her friends, she grabs the sword that can kill the demon and close the mouth to hell. The key to shutting this catastrophe down is Angel. Willow restores Angel’s soul just in time for him to reach out one last time to Buffy with love and a tear in his eye and she drives the sword right through his heart shutting the mouth to hell and sending him there in the process. CLIFFHANGER!!!

 

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City of…Angel Season One

/ / Home Video

Angel must leave Buffy to keep the two of them from getting “fleshy” again and keep Angelus at bay. Still atoning for his wrongs, he moves to L.A., a town close enough to the Hellmouth to find all kinds of nasty little creatures to beat and plenty of the helpless to help. A spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel tries it on his own with a little help from a few cast members from Buffy and some new ones too. Still looking for his purpose, Angel sets off to save L.A. from the bad guys and help those who are not capable of defending themselves.

Angel Season One
Custom Rating

Angel must leave Buffy to keep the two of them from getting “fleshy” again and keep Angelus at bay. Still atoning for his wrongs, he moves to L.A., a town close enough to the Hellmouth to find all kinds of nasty little creatures to beat and plenty of the helpless to help. A spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel tries it on his own with a little help from a few cast members from Buffy and some new ones too. Still looking for his purpose, Angel sets off to save L.A. from the bad guys and help those who are not capable of defending themselves.

Plot: Angel moves to L.A. to fight the good fight. Wolfram & Hart is a law firm that plays a major role in all evil that goes on and protects the demons and monsters that create it. Angel enlists the help of Cordelia, Doyle, Wesley, and Gunn along his path of redemption and earning his humanity back. Angel had been defined by Buffy, the creators of the show decided to give him a shot on his own and he grew with the writers with each episode defining his path and future.

Characters:

Angel:(David Boreanaz) A tall dark and brooding 244-year-old vampire out to save mankind and gain his humanity.

Doyle:(Glenn Quinn) Angel’s link to The Powers That Be. A half-man, half-demon spiritual guide.

Cordelia:(Charisma Carpenter) A character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer who experiences a great deal of growth and understanding about her purpose in life. No longer the selfish and vein girl she was before, Cordelia finds that she wants to help Angel on his quest.

Wesley:(Alexis Denisof) Another crossover from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, after Wesley is canned from the council he becomes a rogue demon hunter and ends up in Angel’s backyard. With no where to go and no one to turn to he fits right in with Angels crew and starts fighting the good fight by Angel and Cordy’s side.

Kate:(Elisabeth Röhm) An annoying and self-pitying character indeed. She is an L.A. police detective who takes a great deal of undeserved anger out on Angel. Most annoying character in the show.

Gunn:(J. August Richards) He is a streetwise slayer who has taught himself to fight and battle the evils that exist in L.A. Gunn helps Angel save his closest friends in the season finale and joins the team.

Lindsey:(Christian Kane) A squirmy little lawyer who works for the evil firm of Wolfram & Hart. Angel has many disputes with Lindsey throughout the season.

In The Beginning

Crossovers:
Buffy(Sarah Michelle Gellar)
Spike(James Marsters)
Oz(Seth Green)
Faith(Eliza Dushku)
Darla(Julie Benz)

Episodes:
Disc 1
City of…

Angel moves to the City of Angels, not sure of his true function there until he meets his link to The Powers, Doyle. Doyle, half-man and half-demon, gets visions that show people in danger and Angel ventures out to rescue them. He leads Angel to Russell Winters, a powerful vampire who feeds on young lonely women who have no links to family or friends. Russell screws up and tries to prey on Cordelia; Angel sets into motion to save her and in the process starts his path to redemption. Cordy and Doyle helps Angel and they start Angel Investigations together.

Lonely Hearts

Doyle gets a new vision that leads Angel on a search for a parasite that invades bodies and leaves a trail of corpses behind. He starts off in a bar called D’Oblique where he meets Kate, a L.A. police detective, who he initially bonds with, but finds that there is a huge trust factor that will keep them from ever being friends. Doyle and Cordelia get closer in their research for the true identity of the demon.

In the Dark

This episode has the first crossovers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Oz shows up with a ring of life for Angel. It’s a jewel that will allow him to go out in the light. Spike appears and tortures Angel for the where abouts of the ring. Cordy and Doyle hunts for the ring to make a trade with Spike so they can’t get Angel back. Oz helps in Angel’s rescue and Angel destroys the ring, leaving Spike running back to Sunnydale with his tail between his legs.

Kate

I Fall to Pieces

A creepy peeping tom is able to disconnect his appendages to terrorize an innocent woman. Angel and the crew separates this perv from all his parts in metal boxes, keeping him from bothering anybody ever again.

Disc 2
Room With A View

Cordelia is chased out of her old apartment by roaches and Doyle helps her find the “perfect” place. Her new apartment his haunted by an evil old woman who terrorizes her and preys on her weakness. Cordy almost falls for not being good enough to have such a wonderful place and gives up until Angel and Doyle steps in to help her and remind her of who she really is, a bitch. Cordy fights back and finds the truth behind this evil old woman, she had killed her son and haunts the place to keep him from getting out. When the curse is lifted, Cordy finds herself in a beautiful new apartment and has an invisible roommate who’s friendly and easy to get along with.

Sense and Sensitivity

Kate beats up on a bad guy and is forced, along with the rest of her fellow police officers, to enroll in sensitivity training. A set up by Wolfram & Heart to protect their evil client, the sensitivity training goes wrong and the emotions get the best of Kate the police officers causing chaos and death. Angel and Doyle figure out the set up just in time to clear up any true crimes and death.

The Bachelor Party

Doyle’s x-wife shows up with her half-demon, half-human fiancé. She asks for a divorce and her fiancé invites Doyle to his bachelor party, he wants to eat Doyle’s brains to put a blessing on their ceremony.

Wesley

I Will Remember You

Buffy shows up and Angel becomes human for a night. He mixes blood with a demon that has the power to regenerate giving Angel a moment with Buffy. Angel must go to The Oracles to see what Doyle’s new vision means and they explain a major event coming and lets Angel know that all will die if he’s not there to stop it. He asks them to set time back and erase everybody’s memories of him being human. The only one who remembers this moment is Angel and he must live with that memory forever knowing that Buffy will never remember the night they spent together as living breathing humans.

Disc 3
Hero

Doyle accepts his demon side and helps a group of half-breeds survive The Scourge, a Nazi-like group that kills any creature that is not full demon. Cordelia finds out Doyle’s secret of being part demon and still loves him no matter what he is. Doyle gives Cordy a final kiss passing on his visions and sacrifices himself to stop the deaths of the half-breeds, Angel and Cordelia.

Parting Gifts

Angel returns to The Oracles to request another turn back in time to save Doyle’s life, the reject him and explain that there is a new link with visions. Cordy finds out that Doyle has passed on his gift, a direct link to The Powers That Be. Wesley appears as a rogue demon hunter and joins the team.

Somnambulist

Angel fears that he is murdering girls in his sleep, but finds out it’s a boy that he had turned years ago. Kate sees what Angel really is and can’t forgive him for showing her the truth about what evils lurk in the dark. Ben, the puritan, who is reliving his first years of being a vampire just to get under Angels skin, is destroyed in the end.

Special Features included on this disc are a featurette of season 1, art gallery and biographies of the cast.

Disc 4
Expecting

Cordy thinks she found herself a nice rich young man, she invites him in for a night of comforting and awakes 8 months pregnant. She has a short amount of time before she gives birth to an army of demon children that will kill her in the process. Angel and Wesley fight against the clock to save Cordy and kill this monstrous demon.

She

Jhiera, a female demon, is trying to protect her kind from destruction. She fights with Angel until he realizes she means no harm to anybody and only wants to protect what is left of her family.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

It’s like a T.V. version of The Exorcist. A boy is possessed by an evil demon and it’s up to Angel, Wesley and Cordelia to destroy the demon and save the boy and his family. After they expel the demon, the truth comes out, the child is more evil than any demon that could possess him, and he has no soul.

The Prodigal

This episode mixes Angels altercations with his father from the past and Kate’s differences with her father now. Kate’s dad is involved with drug trafficking to demons. She finds out too late and blames Angel for his death. Angel is clearly innocent, but Kate looks for someone to blame for all the evil that exists in the world. Throughout the episode Angel confronts memories of his father and killing his family and Darla, the one who turned him.

Faith

Disc 5
The Ring

Angel is set up for a kidnapping and forced to fight in a ring to the death with other demons. He has no interest in killing for sport, but is forced into it by Wolfram and Hart. Cordelia and Wesley come to the rescue, but Angel isn’t quite the same.

Eternity

Angel saves an Actress and in return she request his help with a stalker. Later she finds out it is all a set up for publicity to help her get a role in a film, but she is too old for the role and is turned down. She finds out what Angel is and tries to set him up to turn her into a vampire too, but Cordy stops her just in time.

Five By Five

Wolfram & Heart hires Faith to kill Angel. Angel takes down one of their clients and they are looking for a little revenge, it backfires and Faith ends up looking for Angel’s help in the end.

Sanctuary

Buffy shows up to make Faith pay for all the wrong has done and finds Angel helping her, not surprising Buffy is pissed and takes it out on both of them. Angel offers faith Sanctuary and a helping hand and tells Buffy to leave his town and never return again. Faith turns herself in to the authorities and goes to prison.

Disc 6
War Zone

While retrieving pictures for a rich, geeky software designer, Angel comes across a group of street-kids who have taken up vampire slaying. The leader, Gunn, is a hardheaded young man who doesn’t want to take any advice. Angel tries to explain to him that he is only going to get everybody killed if they keep trying to battle the vampires and demons roaming the streets. Gunn tries to explain to him that street-life is hard and he must train these kids to protect themselves and their families. Later on Angel offers up help to Gunn, but he refuses and Angel proceeds to explain that he himself might need Gunn’s help someday.

Gunn

Blind Date

A client of Wolfram & Hart has just murdered a man and Angel is shocked to find out that she is blind. Her purpose for being in town is to kill 3 children who are seers and can help The Powers That Be. Lindsey, a lawyer at Wolfram & Hart, gets a guilty conscience and tips Angel off about their planned death and how to stop her.

To Shanshu in L.A.

Wolfram & Hart, in an effort to bring down Angel, causes Cordelia to see all the pain in the world at one time putting her into a comma. Angel is distracted long enough for the law firm to perform a ritual to bring Darla back to turn Angel to evil before the prophecy is fulfilled. Wesley reads the scroll that Angel has stolen from Wolfram & Hart and finds the prophecy to read that The Powers That Be will make Angel human again. Angel goes after Wolfram & Hart to release Cordy from her comma and we are left with an end that can only be solved in season 2.

Special Features included on this disc are 3 featurettes, “Introducing Angel”, “I’m Cordelia” and “The Demons”.

Overall Angel Season One maybe weak in comparison to the events that are still to come but makes a great intro into the dark streets of L.A. The first season of Angel gets the audience excited about what evil Wolfram & Hart can create with a cliffhanger to keep you guessing. Why did they bring her back and why did they bring her back in human form? Wolfram & Hart is out to get Angel in one way or another, but nobody’s sure if they are trying to destroy him or turn him evil and have Angelus work for the firm. There is enough back story with Angel that a new comer can catch on, but it will be a little slow at first with the handful of crossovers, you may want to catch up on who is who and what role they play or have played. Angel is one dark handsome vampire that may walk the earth for eternity, because fans will never let him die and after the end of the series they are still trying for his return.

City of…Angel Season One Read More »

Welcome To The Hellmouth

/ / Home Video

To each generation a slayer his born, a chosen one who has both strength and courage to conquer all evil, forever having the fait of being alone and friendless, unless your Buffy. Season one is a T.V. series continuing from first time screenwriter’s, Joss Whedon, effort of a mainstream film, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The series, only being 12 episodes long from a mid-season crunch for The WB, comes off a little unsure of its staying power, provides an all-inclusive season without a cliffhanger. Joss provides us with an inside look at the trials and tribulations of teenage life on the Hellmouth. Introducing the characters right out of the gate, each episode shows the “Scooby Gang” getting closer and stronger as a paranormal crime fighting team.

Buffy Season One
Custom Rating

To each generation a slayer his born, a chosen one who has both strength and courage to conquer all evil, forever having the fait of being alone and friendless, unless your Buffy. Season one is a T.V. series continuing from first time screenwriter’s, Joss Whedon, effort of a mainstream film, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The series, only being 12 episodes long from a mid-season crunch for The WB, comes off a little unsure of its staying power, provides an all-inclusive season without a cliffhanger. Joss provides us with an inside look at the trials and tribulations of teenage life on the Hellmouth. Introducing the characters right out of the gate, each episode shows the “Scooby Gang” getting closer and stronger as a paranormal crime fighting team.

Plot: A teenage slayer, Buffy Summers, carries the wellbeing and safety of all inhabitants of Sunnydale on her shoulders. She must fight the evils of the world and underworld to keep all her friends safe and still try to get an A in her Geometry class. Buffy accomplishes her fait with the help of the “Scooby Gang” (Xander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, and Cordelia Chase) and her “Watcher” (Rupert Giles), the gang and her grow stronger with each monster they battle.

The Gang

Characters:

Buffy:(Sarah Michelle Gellar) The chosen one, the slayer, but still a teenage girl who wants to be normal and date like any other girl in her school. She’s not too quick with book smarts, but has a mouth like a whip and a questionable fashion sense.

Angel:(David Boreanaz) A 250-year-old vampire who is dark and brooding and starts out as a mysterious guy who gives Buffy little bits of advice to lead her along her dark path. Later on in the season the truth comes out about Angel’s life and his feeling for Buffy.

Giles:(Anthony Head) The “watcher”, Buffy’s trainer, teacher and coach; he keeps her in line and helps her understand her path. Gile’s cover is a librarian for Sunnydale High. Right from the beginning of the season Giles acts like a father figure for Buffy.

Xander:(Nicholas Brendon) Sensitive, unsure, comical relief guy, who always gets himself in some form of trouble. He has serious self-confidence issues and covers up his shortcomings with witty comments and jokes. Xander spends the season crushing on Buffy and oblivious to Willows feeling towards him.

Willow:(Alyson Hannigan) Nerdy computer girl, whose hacking skills add great assistance to the Scooby Gang. She is always looking for romance in all the wrong places and desperately wants to be noticed, but hides in Buffy’s shadow most of the time. Xander and her have been best friends since childhood and her feelings towards him have become less friendly and more romantic.

Cordelia:(Charisma Carpenter) Cliquish and snobby through and through, Cordy only thinks of herself and goes through her days completely oblivious to the real dangers that are complexing the students of Sunnydale High. She doesn’t see the monsters around her until the end of the season, when one of them comes after her and all her friends. She plays a significant role in the show, but a small one in the Scooby Gang during the first season.

The Master:(Mark Metcalf) Lead bad guy, but he only appears on and off throughout the season. He wants to kill Buffy, escape his mystical jail and rule Sunnydale, this makes him a pretty simple and flat lead bad guy and since he never does any of the fighting himself and only sent minions to do his evil bidding then he’s not really that evil.

Darla:(Julie Benz) Angel’s maker, the two spent centuries together and when Angel got his soul she left him. Darla plays The Master’s right hand (wo)man, but gets a stake through the heart halfway through the season.

Miss. Calendar:(Robia LaMorte) Computer teacher and Giles love interest. She plays a big part in season two.

Joyce Summers:(Kristine Sutherland) Buffy’s there sometimes and not other times, mom.

Buffy’s First Day

Episodes:
Welcome to the Hellmouth

Buffy continues with a transfer from a school, which she burned down in the original film. Meeting Xander a skater and dork first, then Cordelia snobbish click leader and Willow nerd girl. Yummy, running into Angel was quite a treat and The Master yuk gross. Willow really never could dress and Xander stays the comic relief no matter what. Angel is always suave and smooth. Then she meets Giles, the British uptight watcher/librarian. She doesn’t want to listen to Giles, at first, she doesn’t’ want to be the slayer, but he convinces her that this is her talent and her birthright and she must.

Buffy, suspicious of a student’s death, she finds herself checking his neck and returning to Giles for help and further training to start her role as the protector of Sunnydale. Xander over hears their conversation and the Scooby Gang are assembled quickly and the group starts slaying.

The Bronze being hangout central and cool bands with coffee and non-alcoholic beverages. Willow instantly finds herself as dinner and Buffy comes to the rescue. The Master wants to escape his mystical jail and it’s up to Buffy to keep him in his place.

We meet Darla right out of the gates and the introduction to the Harvest begins.

The Harvest

The Scooby Gang is in full force talking in the library about vampires and demons. Enter the world of computers and Willow’s strongest contribution to the gang. The Master still wants out and Buffy is the key, he sends his minions off to have a little dinner at The Bronze and strengthen his abilities to escape. All goes wrong when Buffy shows up and stops The Harvest. Angel helps out with cryptic messages, but keeps his distance in fights.

The Witch

This episode shows us the implications of how much pressure parents can put on their kids. Buffy tries out for the cheerleading squad and becomes second alternate and soon finds herself under the curse of a witch. Amy’s mom takes over her body to relive her glory days as the queen of Sunnydale High’s cheerleading squad. The gang gathers their resources and Giles reverses the spell.

Teacher’s Pet

Xander dreams of being a rock star and Buffy’s hero. Buffy’s favorite teacher becomes lunch for a female preying mantis and Xander is kidnapped for mating purposes. Angel accidentally throws Buffy off track with some new bad guys in town. Buffy figures out what the new substitute teacher really is, kills the bad guys and saves the day.

Angel

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

Buffy shows that she still is a teenage girl and wants a normal life, she tries to date and it, of course, fails. The Master is trying to escape, yet again, by bringing the anointed one to town. Buffy thinks that she has killed the anointed one, but doesn’t know she got the wrong guy. She finds out that she isn’t capable of having a normal teenage dating life and starts to go all warm inside for Angel. Xander starts to show some jealousy and crushing on Buffy and Angel shows jealousy when he runs into her and her date at The Bronze.

The Pack

The Pack gives insight on the need to be accepted and the negative implications of teenage cliques. While on a field trip to the zoo, Xander and a mean clique of kids get possessed my hyenas. The group starts to prey on the emotions of students at Sunnydale High and moves onto attacking and eating the principle. Buffy and Willow, finding Xander’s change in personality weird, gets Giles in on a little research and finds the solution.

Angel

Darla shows back up to stir up trouble for Angel. Willow is still crushing on Xander. Angel finally comes out of the shadows to help Buffy in fighting the 3 who has been sent by The Master to kill her. Angel and Buffy kiss, he sleeps on her floor, she finds out he is a vampire and wigs out. Darla bites her mom, Angel is left holding the evidence, Buffy blames him and then goes after Angel to ultimately kill him. She couldn’t kill him and he couldn’t bite her, Darla shows up with guns a blazing and Buffy finds out the truth about Angel’s curse. Angel has a soul, because he killed a treasured gypsy clan member. Darla is dusted and Buffy is in love with Angel.

I, Robot…You, Jane

Willow shows her need for love and romance from the opposite sex by falling for an internet buddy. Some insight on the problems with trusting online dating. Demon possesses school’s computers and charms Willow to turn himself back into corporeal form. Miss Calendar shows herself as a trusted new member of the Scooby Gang with her online witch coven and Giles fins her attractive. Buffy, with the help of Miss. Calendar, Xander and Giles, saves Willow in the nick of time.

The Puppet Show

A wooden puppet is a demon fighter, but misunderstood for a form of Chucky, the evil little doll who wants to be human.

Nightmares

The Scooby Gang and all of Sunnydale are introduced to their worse nightmares. A little boy was beat up after a little league game and put into a comma. He is in a permanent state of nightmare and escapes into the real world, bringing his curse with him. Xander finds himself naked in front of the class; Willow is supposed to sing first soprano opera, Giles forgets how to read and Buffy becomes a vampire. Buffy fights the ugly man who beat the boy and helps release him from his nightmares in time to save Sunnydale from theirs.

Out Of Mind, Out of Sight

A girl is ignored over and over again until she literally becomes invisible. Angry and scorned, invisible girl takes her revenge on everybody who ignored her. Cordelia being the meanest of them all, gets hit the hardest. All her friends find themselves in harms way and she herself goes blind and then finally in a chair for an unwanted face lift. Buffy comes through again, to put invisible girl in her place and sends her off with the FBI. Cordelia wakes up to all the bad things that has been going on around her and ultimately joins the Scooby Gang.

The Scooby Gang computes

Prophecy Girl

This episode really shows Buffy’s hero side and the strength that the Scooby Gang contributes to the overall picture. Master tries to rise. Xander asks Buffy out and gets his heart broken. Angel steps forth as a true love interest. Willow and Cordelia finds a room full of dead students. Buffy goes down to face The Master and gets herself killed. Xander saves Buffy. The Scooby Gang faces off with a giant demon from the opening of the Hellmouth in the library. Buffy kills The Master. The whole gang dances in the end.

 

Overall season one is well written T.V. series that provides a great introduction to all the characters and enough interest to keep us coming back for more. It’s the lightest season of the series and most family friendly, as the other seasons start adding up so does the blood, sex, and mayhem. I don’t think anybody would have suspected that it would be the beginning of six more seasons for Buffy and five seasons for the show’s spin-off Angel, that is 9-years of vampire, demon and paranormal mystery solving.

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Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride

/ / Movie Reviews

Corpse Bride is a stop-animation fantasy that exists past the realm of life. Tim Burton puts together a talented cast to rattle a bone and wake the dead. Shot similar to his 1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas, each frame brings to life a doldrums blue gray existence above ground and a jazzy warm and colorful underworld.

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
3 Stars

Corpse Bride is a stop-animation fantasy that exists past the realm of life. Tim Burton puts together a talented cast to rattle a bone and wake the dead. Shot similar to his 1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas, each frame brings to life a doldrums blue gray existence above ground and a jazzy warm and colorful underworld.

Set in Victorian England, an arrange marriage between Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp)
a timid young man from a common fish monger family, the Van Dorts (Tracy Ullman
& Paul Whitehouse) and Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), a shy daughter of snobbish broke aristocrats, the Everglots (Albert Finney
& Joanna Lumley), starts the heads rolling. Victor is incapable of memorizing and properly reciting his wedding vows. A screw up to the end he accomplishes dropping the ring, setting the mother-in-law on fire and marrying a corpse. That’s right, marrying a corpse. Rehearsing his lines and placing a ring on what looked like a dead root, Victor awoke to his new bride, voice by Helena Bonham Carter, and life in the underworld. Forced into an unfortunate turn of events, Victor tries to escape, but finds that to be harder to accomplish than saying his vows.

The underworld is a colorful and lovely place compared to the existence above, and Victor, after finding his other wife betrothed to another, realizes that the underworld isn’t such a bad place to be after all. Agreeing to a ritual that will bind him to the corpse bride forever, the crew goes above ground to consummate the vows and ultimately kill Victor for the finishing touches. Before his lips could touch the goblet of poison the corpse bride, seeing Victor’s true love in the background, realizes that her dreams had been stolen from her and she didn’t want this for another young beautiful bride. The corpse bride released her hold on Victor to allow true love to prevail.

Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant), Victoria’s new husband, crept out of the shadows only to be recognized as the culprit who had slain the young bride years ago and left her for dead. Karma played a role and the dead got their revenge. Victor and Victoria were wed and the corpse bride was released from the underworld, a very happy ending indeed.

The Corpse Bride in comparison to The Nightmare Before Christmas deals with the underworld or rather the supernatural and stop-animation, besides that The Nightmare Before Christmas in art, style and music surpassed The Corpse Bride. It’s hard not to compare the two, and if you add in Beetle Juice, just on a creativity level, you will be very disappointed. If you look at Corpse Bride as a stand alone, its pleasant and has some great character studies. Each characters has some unique qualities that make them exciting and new, but other qualities ties them in all too close to some of the holiday claymation stories from childhood. The music is fun and jazzy at times, but other times it sounds similar to each other and some of the lyrics are hard to understand. Now that I have mentioned hard to understand, the voice actors had a few lines that blended in and were really hard to make out at times, mostly among the parents.

Overall it’s a pleasant enough film for the family, holding back on any true adult gags and keeping the scary parts about death under the table. However, it would have been nice to see a few one-liners taken advantage of and a little more dark and dank added to the dead. The storyline maybe a little deep for children, but the animation and songs will keep them pleasantly entertained.

I would have liked to seen more contrast in color and style between the living and the dead, really punch the style up and step out of the box with the music, make it more of a jazzy style musical and less sing songy. Tim Burton has seemingly toned down his adventurous side when dealing with his dead fantasy world, I would love to see him create a film including a fantasy with the dead just for adults.

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Everything is Illuminated

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Everything is Illuminated
  • IMDB: link

everything-is-illuminated-posterStrange.  Quirky.  Moving.  Poignant.  Wonderful.  There are so many words to describe Everything is Illuminated that I find it hard to choose them.  It is simply one of the best movies of the year.

Jonathan Safran Foer (Elijah Wood) collects everything dealing with his family.  After receiving a photograph from his grandmother, he decides to travel to the Ukraine to meet Augustine, the woman in the photograph with his grandfather, who he believes saved his life during WWII.  He procures the services of Alex (Eugene Hutz) and his grandfather (Boris Leskin) who is a driver who sometimes believes he is blind and will not go anywhere without his seeing-eye-bitch Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. The trio and dog travel to try and find the small town and the woman in the picture amid the emptiness of the Ukrainian countryside.

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De Plane, De Plane!

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Flightplan
  • IMDb: link

Flightplan

Flightplan is one of those movies with way too many Hollywood fingerprints all over it. What can you say about a movie that sets up a wonderful tense thriller for an hour and fifteen minutes and then chucks it all out the window for a farfetched Hollywood twist ending?  Although I enjoyed much of the film, in the end I left the theater disappointed.

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