"Prophecy Girl," written by Joss Whedon.
"Halloween," written by Carl Ellsworth. Season two, episode 18.
"You're still weak."
"No. I feel strong. I feel different. Let's go." (Xander and Buffy, "Prophecy Girl)
"Wow. You're a dish."
"This just isn't me."
"That's the point. Look, Halloween is the night not you is you, but you. You know." (Willow and Buffy, "Halloween")
"I don't get it, Buffy. Why'd you think I'd like you better dressed that way?"
"I just wanted to be a real girl for once...The kind of fancy girl you liked when you were my age."
"What? I hated the girls back then. Especially the noblewomen. They were just incredibly dull. Simpering morons, the lot of them. I always wished I could meet someone exciting...interesting."
"Really?" (Angel and Buffy, "Halloween")
"Who is that girl?" (Oz, seeing Willow walk in front of his van, "Halloween")
For those of you new to the show, some important events have happened between "Prophecy Girl" and "Halloween."
—The introduction of Spike and Drusilla, both with a long history with Angel (Angel turned Drusilla into a vampire). Spike and Angel were great buddies for a couple hundred years, wreaking havoc all over Europe, until Angel (spoiler alert) got his soul back and become good. Spike will in time become a major figure in the series.
—Oz, the guitar player in Dingoes Ate My Baby, whose lead singer is Cordelia's present squeeze and who play The Bronze regularly, clearly is attracted to Willow. They will soon become a couple.
—Jenny Callender will soon become involved with Giles.
—Ethan Rayne, who creates the mayhem in "Halloween," will return with more bad to do.
As I said in class, when "Prophecy Girl" was aired, it was unclear whether the show would return, so on some level it acts as the end of the story up to this point. As Maddie pointed out in her last blog, Buffy, following the archetype of the classic hero, "refuses the call," but then takes it up, dies, but returns in a new form—the true hero. So that said, thinking about the show also as an archetype of growing up, (1) what is the significance, to you, of Buffy coming back to life, stronger and more powerful?
"Halloween" is one of my favorite episodes, if just to see little kids turn into real monsters, Xander finally become a "real man," Willow save the day, and—surprise—a side of Giles we had no idea existed. It's a funny episode, yet at the same time, it gets at something(s) that speak powerfully, and sometimes uncomfortably, about growing up (and even, if we think of Giles here, about being grown up). So (2) what does this episode get at that's true about getting older? How so?
3. Last question: what stuck out about each episode for you? And why?
Guys, please don't simply repeat what others have said before you. Add to the conversation. Use details from the episodes. And don't give away what happens later in the series (even if I do occasionally). Of course, many of you do know, don't you?
Tomorrow, we'll watch the Buffy and Angel relationship get even more serious...with consequences, of course.
Finally, Leah, Mary, and Izzy: congratulations!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Buffy Day Four. Out of Mind, Out of Sight and Prophecy Girl.
"Out of Sight, Out of Mind," written by Ashley Gable and Tom Swyden. Episode 11, season one.
"Prophecy Girl," written by Joss Whedon. Episode 12, season one.
"This is like too much. Like yesterday my life was pop quizzes Today it's rain of toads."
"I know. And everyone thinks it's like a normal day." ("The Harvest")
"I'm sixteen years old. I don't want to die." ("Prophecy Girl")
This is where BVS really finds itself in terms of tone, focus, and theme. The characters have fleshed out and become believable complicated and complex. The show has found a way to be exciting and dramatic while being quirky and (in my opinion) genuinely funny. And with "Prophecy Girl," it begins to take on tragic dimensions.
I'd argue if there is an overriding theme to this short season, and if a part of that overarching theme relates to the discussion of this class, it is made clear in the two quotes above: the first between Xander—always a speaker of the truth—and Willow, the second, of course, Buffy. With this in mind:
1. Your reaction to the one and a half episodes we watched today? Do you see the show changing from the first three episodes we watched? If so, how so? If not, why? And what in both episodes jumped out at you? And why?
2. Make a case for the two quotes above as directly addressing the theme of this—Growing up Buffy. Or just simply growing up. What do both quotes speak to in terms of the teen experience that Buffy is taking us through?
3. Looking at these last two episodes: if anything, what is, underneath the horror and teen genre mix, real and true about them in terms of being sixteen years old?
Tomorrow, we'll finish "Prophecy Girl," talk a little, then watch "Halloween" from season two. See you then.
"Prophecy Girl," written by Joss Whedon. Episode 12, season one.
"This is like too much. Like yesterday my life was pop quizzes Today it's rain of toads."
"I know. And everyone thinks it's like a normal day." ("The Harvest")
"I'm sixteen years old. I don't want to die." ("Prophecy Girl")
This is where BVS really finds itself in terms of tone, focus, and theme. The characters have fleshed out and become believable complicated and complex. The show has found a way to be exciting and dramatic while being quirky and (in my opinion) genuinely funny. And with "Prophecy Girl," it begins to take on tragic dimensions.
I'd argue if there is an overriding theme to this short season, and if a part of that overarching theme relates to the discussion of this class, it is made clear in the two quotes above: the first between Xander—always a speaker of the truth—and Willow, the second, of course, Buffy. With this in mind:
1. Your reaction to the one and a half episodes we watched today? Do you see the show changing from the first three episodes we watched? If so, how so? If not, why? And what in both episodes jumped out at you? And why?
2. Make a case for the two quotes above as directly addressing the theme of this—Growing up Buffy. Or just simply growing up. What do both quotes speak to in terms of the teen experience that Buffy is taking us through?
3. Looking at these last two episodes: if anything, what is, underneath the horror and teen genre mix, real and true about them in terms of being sixteen years old?
Tomorrow, we'll finish "Prophecy Girl," talk a little, then watch "Halloween" from season two. See you then.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Buffy Day Three. Angel
"Angel." Written by David Greenwalt. Episode seven, season one.
I would argue, and I wouldn't be alone, that this is the episode in these early days of BVS where the show really begins to find its footing in terms of tone and consistency of approach, where it begins to really create the universe that will grow and expand over the rest of the series history. Angel and Buffy become the tortured lovers that will continue on to the very end of the show (and carry on in the spin-off that will be Angel); the back story of Angel presented here takes on a life on its own, and will lead to one of the great arcs in the Whedon-verse, as Darla returns from the undead and becomes the mother of Angel's son, all of which leads to, yet again, a near apocalypse. But that's Angel, and this is Buffy, and for us this taps in perfectly with the theme of this class, the story a young girl's ascent into adulthood.
1. So what's the story here for Buffy in terms of "growing up Buffy"? How does, for you, this episode carry on the metaphor this class is postulating: that BVS is really a coming-of-age story?
2. What moment or scene in the episode stuck with you? And why?
3. I was thinking about what we started saying in class today about Buffy vs. Cordelia: in a lot of ways they are mirrors of each other (and as the show goes on, and specifically when Cordelia moves onto the Angel spinoff after BVS, season three, we see her doing what Buffy does—fighting evil). Cordelia right now has her entourage, just as Buffy has hers. Of course, right now what makes the two very different is how they exist in their respective little groups. From what we've seen so far, what's the main difference between the cliques these two girls exist in—and to what possible point that Whedon might be making as we look at these rivals?
Finally. Just a quick clip of Angelus himself, Angel, from his own series. Spike, a character we will meet soon enough, calls Angel "Broody Pants." He's not broody below.
See you all tomorrow.
I would argue, and I wouldn't be alone, that this is the episode in these early days of BVS where the show really begins to find its footing in terms of tone and consistency of approach, where it begins to really create the universe that will grow and expand over the rest of the series history. Angel and Buffy become the tortured lovers that will continue on to the very end of the show (and carry on in the spin-off that will be Angel); the back story of Angel presented here takes on a life on its own, and will lead to one of the great arcs in the Whedon-verse, as Darla returns from the undead and becomes the mother of Angel's son, all of which leads to, yet again, a near apocalypse. But that's Angel, and this is Buffy, and for us this taps in perfectly with the theme of this class, the story a young girl's ascent into adulthood.
1. So what's the story here for Buffy in terms of "growing up Buffy"? How does, for you, this episode carry on the metaphor this class is postulating: that BVS is really a coming-of-age story?
2. What moment or scene in the episode stuck with you? And why?
3. I was thinking about what we started saying in class today about Buffy vs. Cordelia: in a lot of ways they are mirrors of each other (and as the show goes on, and specifically when Cordelia moves onto the Angel spinoff after BVS, season three, we see her doing what Buffy does—fighting evil). Cordelia right now has her entourage, just as Buffy has hers. Of course, right now what makes the two very different is how they exist in their respective little groups. From what we've seen so far, what's the main difference between the cliques these two girls exist in—and to what possible point that Whedon might be making as we look at these rivals?
Finally. Just a quick clip of Angelus himself, Angel, from his own series. Spike, a character we will meet soon enough, calls Angel "Broody Pants." He's not broody below.
See you all tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Buffy Day Two. The Harvest and The Witch.
"The Harvest," written by Joss Whedon. Season one, episode two.
"The Witch," written by Dana Reston. Season one, episode three.
So now you've seen the first three episodes of BVS. For those who have seen the whole series already, it's hard not to project ahead—how The Master will return later in the season, and how, as Maddie was saying after class, "The Witch" foreshadows much to come: Amy, who will spend much of the series as a rat in Willow's room (not revealing how, though); and Willow herself, who will find herself progressively drawn into the dark arts of magic and witchcraft. On a humorous note, at least for me, this will not be the first time Giles gets knocked out. It will eventually becoming a running joke in the series. Was all this planned by Joss Whedon? No idea—but rarely does he let a potentially interesting idea go.
The show is clearly trying to figure itself out here. Is it a teen comedy? Is it a campy different-monster-every-episode horror show? Is it the Buffy kicks ass show with Willow, Xander, and Giles along for comic relief? Is it a sensitive story about the relationship between a sixteen year old girl and her single mother? Right now, for those who are new to the show, it's probably hard to tell. The nineties references fall flat, fifteen years later; the monsters aren't really all that scary (although that last shot of the cheerleader trophy inhabited by Amy's mom is damn creepy); the high school life we saw in today's episode is pretty cliched; Cordelia is pretty one dimensional and annoying (to me, at least). At this early stage of the series, it had decided to go with the different monster every episode. This will not last.
For all the "issues" of these early episodes that I listed above (which you may disagree with), the show clearly is trying to establish something different about itself even while it tries on some levels to fit into some neat genre niche (the teen horror narrative). With all this said, address the following questions (and note to you that know the series inside and out—no spoilers):
1. Everyone look at the prior blog and the clip from the pilot. What is your take, your opinion, on this version of Willow? Was it a cop out, an obvious compromise to the television-powers-that-be that could not stomach a female character that didn't have a model thin body (as arguably Alyson Hannigan has) as a main character, in your opinion? Could this Willow have worked in what we've seen so far?
2. Of the two episodes we watched today, which one stayed with you, now as you write hours later? How so?
3. Of our main characters—Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Giles—which one do you find the most interesting or the one you feel most drawn to? And why?
4. What I say above about the "the show clearly trying to establish something different about itself" while trying to fit into the teen horror genre: do you agree or disagree? And why?
Write 250-300 words. Tomorrow we'll watch the episode "Angel" and begin discussing what we've seen so far. See you then.
"The Witch," written by Dana Reston. Season one, episode three.
So now you've seen the first three episodes of BVS. For those who have seen the whole series already, it's hard not to project ahead—how The Master will return later in the season, and how, as Maddie was saying after class, "The Witch" foreshadows much to come: Amy, who will spend much of the series as a rat in Willow's room (not revealing how, though); and Willow herself, who will find herself progressively drawn into the dark arts of magic and witchcraft. On a humorous note, at least for me, this will not be the first time Giles gets knocked out. It will eventually becoming a running joke in the series. Was all this planned by Joss Whedon? No idea—but rarely does he let a potentially interesting idea go.
The show is clearly trying to figure itself out here. Is it a teen comedy? Is it a campy different-monster-every-episode horror show? Is it the Buffy kicks ass show with Willow, Xander, and Giles along for comic relief? Is it a sensitive story about the relationship between a sixteen year old girl and her single mother? Right now, for those who are new to the show, it's probably hard to tell. The nineties references fall flat, fifteen years later; the monsters aren't really all that scary (although that last shot of the cheerleader trophy inhabited by Amy's mom is damn creepy); the high school life we saw in today's episode is pretty cliched; Cordelia is pretty one dimensional and annoying (to me, at least). At this early stage of the series, it had decided to go with the different monster every episode. This will not last.
For all the "issues" of these early episodes that I listed above (which you may disagree with), the show clearly is trying to establish something different about itself even while it tries on some levels to fit into some neat genre niche (the teen horror narrative). With all this said, address the following questions (and note to you that know the series inside and out—no spoilers):
1. Everyone look at the prior blog and the clip from the pilot. What is your take, your opinion, on this version of Willow? Was it a cop out, an obvious compromise to the television-powers-that-be that could not stomach a female character that didn't have a model thin body (as arguably Alyson Hannigan has) as a main character, in your opinion? Could this Willow have worked in what we've seen so far?
2. Of the two episodes we watched today, which one stayed with you, now as you write hours later? How so?
3. Of our main characters—Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Giles—which one do you find the most interesting or the one you feel most drawn to? And why?
4. What I say above about the "the show clearly trying to establish something different about itself" while trying to fit into the teen horror genre: do you agree or disagree? And why?
Write 250-300 words. Tomorrow we'll watch the episode "Angel" and begin discussing what we've seen so far. See you then.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Buffy Day One. Welcome to The Hellmouth.
"Welcome to The Hellmouth," Buffy Season One, Episode One, Written by Joss Whedon.
Before we get started into the discussion of episode one of the series, "Welcome to The Hellmouth," take a look at part of the much fabled and little seen pilot for the series, called, strangely enough, "Welcome to The Hellmouth." The story behind this is, to many Buffy fans, well known, and is here. The short story is that the original film made in 1992 pleased no one, above all writer Joss Whedon. In 1996 Whedon had a chance to redo his original story on TV, and thus made the pilot, which later became the first episode of the series, but redone in several crucial ways. Here is an excerpt from that pilot.
If you are interested in watching the whole pilot, it is available on You Tube. Probably the biggest change made between the pilot and the aired version we're watching is Willow as played by Riff Regan being replaced by Alyson Hannigan. As Keith Topping writes in The Complete Slayer, "Casting [Willow] as a shy obese girl with a very unflattering skirt length and then dropping her in favour of a someone thinner was, perhaps, unfortunate." Buffy would have been a very different show with this Willow as opposed to the more traditionally attractive Alyson Hannigan. Then again, Sarah Michelle Geller originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia.
There's no doubt that Buffy begins by acknowledging the classic high school movie stereotypes. Just as with the beginning few minutes of the episode that we talked about in class, where the series pays total homage to the damsel-in-distress narrative and then turns it on its head, the characters come from central casting. We've seen them all before. So with this in mind, answer the following questions in about 2-300 words...
1. Your reaction to the episode. Like? Dislike? What particularly jumped out at you in it?
2. Is there any reality to the world we're introduced to here? Think about what we talked about in class today, the life of a teenager as you defined it to some extent. Does anything in this first episode strike you as being true to life—or at least true to your life? If so, name it, and how it feels actual, lived in, true? If not, name one egregious example of what the show gets wrong, and how so?
3. Going back to what I wrote above, about how the characters are stereotypes. Jenny, Harrison, Leah, Anna, and Sara: talk about Willow as a stereotypical figure. Eliot, Emma Ming, Emma K., Mary, talk about Cordelia as a stereotype. Elizabeth, Emma P., Izzie (if that's spelled correctly), Ari, talk about Xander as a stereotype. And Jonathan, James, Caroline, Maddie, and Annice, talk about Buffy as a stereotype.
See you all tomorrow.
Before we get started into the discussion of episode one of the series, "Welcome to The Hellmouth," take a look at part of the much fabled and little seen pilot for the series, called, strangely enough, "Welcome to The Hellmouth." The story behind this is, to many Buffy fans, well known, and is here. The short story is that the original film made in 1992 pleased no one, above all writer Joss Whedon. In 1996 Whedon had a chance to redo his original story on TV, and thus made the pilot, which later became the first episode of the series, but redone in several crucial ways. Here is an excerpt from that pilot.
If you are interested in watching the whole pilot, it is available on You Tube. Probably the biggest change made between the pilot and the aired version we're watching is Willow as played by Riff Regan being replaced by Alyson Hannigan. As Keith Topping writes in The Complete Slayer, "Casting [Willow] as a shy obese girl with a very unflattering skirt length and then dropping her in favour of a someone thinner was, perhaps, unfortunate." Buffy would have been a very different show with this Willow as opposed to the more traditionally attractive Alyson Hannigan. Then again, Sarah Michelle Geller originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia.
There's no doubt that Buffy begins by acknowledging the classic high school movie stereotypes. Just as with the beginning few minutes of the episode that we talked about in class, where the series pays total homage to the damsel-in-distress narrative and then turns it on its head, the characters come from central casting. We've seen them all before. So with this in mind, answer the following questions in about 2-300 words...
1. Your reaction to the episode. Like? Dislike? What particularly jumped out at you in it?
2. Is there any reality to the world we're introduced to here? Think about what we talked about in class today, the life of a teenager as you defined it to some extent. Does anything in this first episode strike you as being true to life—or at least true to your life? If so, name it, and how it feels actual, lived in, true? If not, name one egregious example of what the show gets wrong, and how so?
3. Going back to what I wrote above, about how the characters are stereotypes. Jenny, Harrison, Leah, Anna, and Sara: talk about Willow as a stereotypical figure. Eliot, Emma Ming, Emma K., Mary, talk about Cordelia as a stereotype. Elizabeth, Emma P., Izzie (if that's spelled correctly), Ari, talk about Xander as a stereotype. And Jonathan, James, Caroline, Maddie, and Annice, talk about Buffy as a stereotype.
See you all tomorrow.
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