Saw this.
I enjoyed the article, thanks
Over the last few weeks I have now seen Firefly (with the Serenity film to follow). I liked it too- probably 'Out Of Gas' and the finale 'Objects In Space' were my favourite episodes. Really excellent, inventive pieces of TV.
Jayne (a 'Boy Named Sue' type thing??) is an asshole in the show as well but I enjoyed the somewhat more comedic episode 'Jaynestown' as well.
I see that the original airing was somewhat bizarre- not all of the episodes were shown and the pilot shown last. I don't get the latter decision at all.
I can't really compare it with Buffy/Angel as they were much longer so had much more time to develop.
I watched Serenity on the weekend and thought it was terrific. It did a really good job of rounding things off. It was just shy of two hours but if anything it could have been a little longer, as some characters had little to do.
Is Dollhouse worth bothering with? I've heard some, well, mixed things about that.
I absolutely loathed Dollhouse. It was ostensibly about how you could wipe the minds of people and put new minds in them and have them do what you needed them to do- like, give Eliza Dushku the attributes of a bodyguard or a spy. All of this was without their consent, and none of it ever dealt with sex, which if you've ever seen Eliza Dushku beggars description. Knowing what I about Whedon now, I can see it is of a kind, but when it was on I could not understand how anyone could tolerate the storyline- though it had good actors, like Tamoh Penikett, Enver Gjoki, DIchen Lachman, and Harry Lennix, and Amy Acker. I hated, hated hated this show. I did not watch S2, but boy did I think it was horrible.
https://www.themarysue.com/joss-whed...ith-dollhouse/
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
I seem to remember that actually it did deal with sex, at least a few times. There was a cold open where Eliza returned from an assignment in very skimpy dominatrix garb complete with a whip. And I remember other dolls were definitely used as prostitutes or sex surrogates. They called it a "lonely hearts engagement". The network really wanted to push that angle and ignore the dolls' rebellion and collapse of civilization. All in all, the show was a fucking mess. Avoid, avoid, avoid.none of it ever dealt with sex, which if you've ever seen Eliza Dushku beggars description.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I did like Eliza Dushku in Buffy and Angel, but Dollhouse doesn't seem to have anything like the enduring following of Buffy/Angel/Firefly.
It never really did deal with sex, but it sure as hell did deal with rape.
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
Having got around to re-watching it, I liked the Pylea arc within Angel S2 more the second time around. It definitely works better separately from everything else- like a stand-alone movie or something. Cordelia is very funny in these episodes- that side of her character got watered down a bit hereafter. The ending- where Willow silently relays Buffy's fate to Angel- remains a bit of a choker though.
I will be on Buffy S6/Angel S3 next. There are no real character/episode crossovers in it, the only Angel series where that was the case. I wasn't a big fan of all that Holtz/Connor stuff the first time through.
I'm halfway thru Season 7.
^What do you make of S7? Last year, I really liked the first third of it (up to about the episode 'Sleeper') but I thought it got really patchy after that. The Spike-focussed 'Lies My Parents Told Me' is IMHO the best episode of that middle stretch.
I do think the ending is relatively successful...I just wish it had been feature-length, a la Serenity.
Not the best but enjoying the ride so far.
My rewatch has just reached Once More With Feeling- almost a year on from when I first saw it, I still love it. When I heard there was a musical episode I thought, WTF?? (Musical theatre isn't necessarily my area!) But it turned out to be great and I watched it twice the same day. Everyone- even the ones who very audibly aren't natural singers- does a great job in context. 'Under Your Spell' is definitely the highlight though.
I understand this is the only episode which was meant for widescreen in the US? Well, here in the UK and other countries, the DVDs of S4-7 have every single episode in a widescreen format- more image is visible. But this means there are visible gaffes which wouldn't have been seen in the intended 4.3 format. There's some Facebook page which goes into it all in depth. (I am not a member of Facebook- am glad I closed my account many, many years ago!- but still read it.)
Video for Buffy has created a lot of controversy- depending on which version you get, the aspect ratios cut out a lot of stuff.
Facebook is hideous and I deleted mine 2 years ago.
And OMWF is superb Buffy- and Amber does have quite the voice.
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
She and Anthony Head are easily the best singers of the regular cast. On the DVD there's a very short featurette of a signing at Tower Records that Benson was at with Whedon and Michelle Trachtenberg. There are interviews with gushing Whedon fans...one of which wants to marry him! A period piece, for sure.
I remember noticing the Mutant Enemy thing at the end and wondering if it was an 'And You And I' reference, and of course, it was! This old BBC site suggests Yes influenced 'Life's A Show' within OMWF.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/ind...e/trivia.shtml
An interesting site to see how episodes were viewed at the time. I didn't share its love of certain S7 episodes, that's for sure!
Just saw a copy of the Once More With Feeling CD used for 8 bucks here in town, but passed. Not the kind of thing I'd wind up listening to more than once or twice. Saw the vinyl at Newbury which looks like a nice package but close to 30 bucks...
I'm not an Ed Sheeran fan, but, well...this happened on TV here last night. (SMG pops up via video message near the end)
https://twitter.com/BBCTheOneShow/st...02146025820160
My rewatch reached Smashed/Wrecked...two episodes which divide the fanbase. I think both are great, although I could have done without the 'Willow on the ceiling' imagery, way too literal.
What do we think of this Guardian Top 20? It was published a few days before I started watching last year. Most of the best episodes are there, but I would have included Passion from S2 instead of Halloween. S7's Conversations With Dead People should be there as well.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...vampire-slayer
I'll be watching S7 and S4 of Angel again soon- there are some direct crossovers again.
Godspeed to you, you're going to places few would willingly travel. All in all, I'd rather watch Firefly than those seasons.I'll be watching S7 and S4 of Angel again soon- there are some direct crossovers again.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I liked bits of both.
I've seen Firefly/Serenity and enjoyed them.
Once More, With Feeling (the musical episode) will be twenty years old tomorrow...well, that's when it was first broadcast anyway:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...isode-turns-20
Yep. Aly Hannigan is 47 now and no longer the svelte youngster she was. Amber Benson is 44, James Marsters is in his 50s. They all got old.
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
^Hannigan and Benson have aged well, I'd say! (But then you have Brendon who has been in the news again recently, alas.)
I'm getting to the end of Angel S5 again now. A strange series- it has two of my absolute least favourite episodes of the whole 'Buffyverse' (the one with the wrestlers, the one on the submarine- both absolutely awful!). But it also a lot of the best Angel episodes of all!
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