Review - Buffy: The Original Unaired Pilot

What we have here is the original pilot for the series, shot somewhere around 1996, which was made to present to the studio. The idea behind it was that the studio had ordered Whedon to produce a half hour pilot for them to see what he would do with the show. This pilot is ultimately what got the show picked up, and it was never meant to be seen by the public, just by executives.

The availability of this is pretty low, although it is considered to be one of the most widely pirated television pilots in history. Whedon is on record as saying that it will never see the light of day, because it's terrible and he doesn't want it out there. After seeing it, I can understand where he's coming from.

First, most of the cast is here. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy, Nick Brenden as Xander, Tony Head as Giles, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, etc., and we even get appearances by Harmony and Jonathan. What is different is that instead of Alyson Hanigan, we have Riff Regan as Willow. My, what a different show this would have been with her as Willow. Now, I know that I'm saying this after living the last 12 years having known Alyson as Willow, but this just doesn't feel right. I've included the above picture of Riff in the role so that you can see how different she is. First off, to my eyes, she looks to be at least mid 20s, maybe older. Second, she doesn't have the shy awkwardness that Alyson did, and thirdly...there's no hint of inner sexiness waiting to be revealed. If Riff Regan had remained Willow, we'd never have gotten sexy vampire Willow or the hot first Halloween episode Willow. Who knows if they could have played up romantic tension between Xander and her, either. It's certainly not in this pilot.

It starts off like the televised Pilot, with Darla breaking into school with a boy, but then it's different. There's not a lot of moody atmosphere, and it takes place on a play stage. In fact, several scenes take place on the auditorium stage, including the finale. You get the impression that they didn't have much money and were just using what was available, which HAS to be the case. I like that aspect. If you can separate yourself from this being Buffy, it's kind of neat to see how much like an amateur student film this is. There's no music in it other than a few grunge songs, so it feels very raw.

Much is the same in the plot, with Buffy meeting Flutie and Giles, then having to go rescue Willow, but the way it is all played out is at about 1/10 of the level that it played in the final televised pilot. It's just so raw and cheap that it feels like it was shot for no money at all. I wonder what the principal actors got paid for this. We even get to see the first dusting, which is not a CG effect, but instead seems to be a stop motion shot of a man being replaced by salt, which progressively piles higher and higher as he "decomposes."

There is no Angel. There is no Master. There is no interior for the Bronze. We see the same school, an auditorium, and an exterior shot of a building that says the Bronze. Instead of the actor we know who played Flutie, we have Stephen Tobolowsky, who was in Groundhog Day and who is now recognizable for his role in Heroes. I actually preferred this Flutie, and wonder why he didn't return. Maybe he had something else going on by the time this was picked up a year later.

All in all, it's not really fair to judge this too harshly, as it was never meant to be seen by people like me, and was intended just to show executives what Whedon wanted to do with this show. But having seen it, if I was one of those executives, I can't say that I would have let this go on to be a series, because there's just not enough good stuff here. It feels VERY much like an ultra low budget version of the movie from the early 90s, but without the polish that the movie had. Crazy, right? But clearly Joss saw the things that needed to be changed and did what he had to do, because when the pilot made it to television, it was a vastly different show. The skeletal frame was the same, but the meat was so different.

I'm not going to grade this, as it wouldn't be fair. This exists as a curiosity for fans like myself, and is worth watching if you can find it, just to see what could have been different. If you can bear seeing your beloved Buffy in a not so great light, it's worth seeking out.

Review: 2008 Buffy cast Reunion DVD

This review is for an exclusive bonus disc available at Best Buy that contains the entire 90 minute Buffy 2008 cast reunion panel which took place at the Paley Festival earlier this year. I was able to go into my local Best Buy and walk out with it for free. It's supposed to be free with any Buffy purchase, but since I have them all already, they told me I could take it.

What a fantastic little gem this is. It consists of Matt Roush, from TV Guide, talking briefly about the impact of Buffy as a show on our culture, and then they show the audience Once More With Feeling. When the panel begins, it consists of:

Joss Whedon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendan, James Marsters, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, Marti Noxon, Charisma Carpenter, Seth Green, Amber Benson, and David Greenwalt.


Now, what's notable to me is that this is the first time I've ever seen Sarah Michelle Gellar participate in anything like this. She's never been on any of the extras for the DVDs, she's not on any of the panels that I've seen, and I've never even heard her talk about the show to fans before. The only time I ever saw her do any promotion for Buffy was on a documentary that aired on cable that was included on the season 6 DVD set, and even then, it was very limited interaction. So to have her here, talking about the role that she made famous, is really a blessing.

This is the most fun I've ever had with Buffy outside of an episode. Everyone is loose, everyone seems comfortable, and everyone is funny. Seth Green, in particular, is absolutely hilarious. He had me laughing non stop with his one liners and his revelations about David Boreanez proudly pooping in Seth's trailer in the morning. "Left something for you, Seth!"

It's good to hear the rest of the cast being praised outside of Whedon too. Clearly this show is Whedon's baby, but just as much praise is given to Amber Benson, Emma Caulfield, and James Marsters as is given to Gellar and Whedon. Matt Roush was a great moderator, and I think it was clear that what made Buffy a hit show was not just Joss, but the tremendous efforts of everyone.

More revelations came out during this as well. This took place 5 years after the wrap of the series, so even more secrets are coming out. When questioned about season 6 and it's darkness, Sarah says that it got so bad that she actually went to Marti Noxon and told her that she didn't even know the voice of Buffy anymore. She couldn't find the hero in the pain because of all the darkness. Joss said that on the same day Sarah told Marti this, he went to Marti and told her the same thing. They'd taken the show to such a dark place that there was nowhere else to go, and they'd lost the hero.

I also learned that after season 5, Joss left the show in the hands of Marti. His involvement was seriously cut back, and while I found out that he'd taken a break on the Chosen Collection bonus disc, here they talk about how Marti was running the show now. Joss had punched up all the scripts before this, but he was not doing that anymore. He had left. He came back every now and then, and he was still involved with the writers, but he was not there in the capacity that he had been. I knew it!

This is just a remarkable little DVD that I think you guys definitely need to get ahold of. There are transcripts on the internet of what was said, but it's nothing like seeing these guys 5 years later, talking about things that are current. I know it's not an episode, but I gotta rate this thing anyway. It's a 10/10, and I imagine I'm going to spend a lot of time re-watching this in the future.

Review: Buffy - The Chosen Collection Exclusive Bonus Disc

This review is for the exclusive bonus disc that comes with the Chosen Collection, which is the 200 dollar mega-box set of all the Buffy seasons. Fox has pulled a fast one here by not making this DVD available to the general public and making it available only through this set, which I think is a real disservice to the fans. I bought all the seasons as they came out and paid full retail for them. I think it would have been kind of 20th Century Fox to offer this as a mail in exclusive with proofs of purchase from all seven seasons, but that's neither here nor there, I suppose.

Bottom line is that this DVD is out there by itself if you know where to look. Perhaps your local library has it. It just takes a little looking.

Anyway, the disc consists of about 90 minutes worth of features that aren't seen anywhere else on any of the DVDs and were produced just for this set that was released in 2005.

The first of the extras, and the one with the most value, is a 2005 round table discussion consisting of the following people: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard, David Fury, Jane Espenson, Charisma Carpenter, Nicholas Brendan, Danny Strong, Marti Noxon, and Emma Caulfield.

There's some interesting revelations that came out of this round table, but what I came away with most was that everyone looked much happier than they do on the normal DVD features. Joss Whedon was full of smiles, he seemed comfortable, and he seemed rested and at peace. His labors were done, and this was 2 years after the show had finished, so he had been given enough time to be able to look back on it without still being in the thick of it.

One of the things I learned that confirmed my suspicions was that Joss was absent for a lot of season 6. In a previous panel I had watched, that didn't seem to be the case, but here, Marti talks about how he took a few months off and left her in charge. He still had a hard time cutting all his ties back completely, but this time off is when he came up with the idea for the musical. At his home, over two months, he crafted the songs and the story, and it built from there. This is something I've suspected, but never knew for sure.

Each of the cast got to talk about their first memory of working on Buffy or being exposed to Buffy. Several of the writers talked about how bad the Buffy film was, and Joss agrees.

It's not as long as I wish it could have been, but for about an hour, we see these guys talking about their behind the camera experiences.

Other features on the disc include a few shorter puff pieces, each running about 10 minutes. There's one on the stunts, one on the monsters, and one, that is pretty cool, that has members of the cast and crew talking about what their favorite Buffy episode is.

The last feature is a short conversation with Joss Whedon were he recounts his 10 favorite episodes and why they are his favorite. They aren't always as obvious as you would think, either.

All in all, I had a good time with this bonus disc, and I think it shed some light on some things that needed to be addressed. It's a shame that Fox couldn't make it more available, but if you get a chance to get your hands on it, it's worth it.

Stay Tuned!

I may have finished with Buffy the series, but there's loads more. Watch this space (or better yet, subscribe to the blog) because I'm just getting started. I've got Dark Horse comics Buffy Omnibus volumes to review, 25 Buffy novels I plan to read and re-read, the season 8 comic that I will be reviewing, bonus features like the Chosen One Box Set exclusive bonus disc featuring new interviews and a roundtable discussion in Joss' house with the cast, the 2008 Paleyfest Cast reunion panel, and many more Buffy goodies to talk about.

Plus....in a few weeks, there's a little show called Angel that I will be reviewing right here.

Don't touch that dial.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Looking Back at Television History

41 days.

That's what it's taken me to watch the entire run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from start to finish. Longer than some, shorter than others. 41 days ago, I posted the very first entry to this blog, called "So Begins the Journey." I outlined that I planned to re-watch the show that I had loved as a slightly younger man, and that I wanted to go on that journey of laughs and tragedies again.

What a journey it has been.

I started watching Buffy from the very first episode. It was 1997, and I was 18 years old, a senior in high school. That's the perfect age, I'd say, for where the show was at that point. And as I grew older, the characters grew older with me. I was in college when Buffy and Willow started college, and I was trying desperately to figure out what to do with my life when Xander was searching for a career.

I watched for most of seven years. Dates came and went, events, parties, and life took over, and so I missed large parts of season 5, but by the time season 6 started, I was with the woman who is now my wife, and we watched season 6 and 7 faithfully, every week. I was there when it all ended.

But over the last 5 years, the memories had faded. I'd forgotten what made this show so special. I had come to laugh at those who wore shirts that said "Whedon is my master" and relegated Buffy to something from my past, something that I loved, but that had been put away.

Never again, I vow, will I put this show in the past. In the 41 days I've watched this show, these characters have been like family. I've laughed, I've cried, and I've mourned them as if they were real. I've spent hours thinking about them. I've followed them through the events of my own life and through more than one apocalypse.

What is it that makes Buffy so special?

Maybe it's the writing. The crackling Whedon-speak dialog. When you catch yourself saying things like "creepy much?" and "what's your childhood trauma" in regular conversation, you know that something has had an influence.

Maybe it's the fact that none of the characters are one dimensional. They feel real. They have their triumphs, the things they are proud about, but they also have their flaws. People lose their tempers, they say things they shouldn't say, they reap consequences that they must face. They feel like real people. There's a Cordelia in all of us, just as there is a Xander in us all, and a Willow in us all. People are not able to be labeled and put into boxes. Real people have many layers, and are all things. A jock, a nerd, a hero, a coward. We are all these things.

Maybe it's the wonderful plots, the epic bad guys, the clever endings? The ability of Buffy to make you laugh, and then in the final 3 seconds of an episode realize that what you are laughing at is really tragic? Or the ability to use that black credits screen to it's ultimate impact, making you remember what you just saw for weeks.

I think it's all these things. Buffy is a show like no other I've ever seen. Angel and Firefly, though both similar, still had a different feel from Buffy. Buffy was unique, and will never be duplicated. It's a show of legend, and while it has spawned it's imitators, it will forever be the superior original.

As for the seasons, I have to say that season one, two, and five are my favorites. They resonated with me like no other. In season seven, I found myself longing for the days of a Hyena demon or a praying mantis teacher.

And I've said that Buffy should have ended after season 5. Maybe it should have. I'm of two minds on this really. I thought I'd have a definitive answer when I finished season seven, but I don't. I'm still torn.

Season 5 was the last perfect example of Buffy. You had the comedy, the darkness, and the sacrifice. The final episode of season 5 began with Buffy slaying a vampire, something we'd not seen in a long, long time. It ended with her saving the universe, but more importantly, her sister. What better way to send the show off? I truly feel like this was the end of the show for Joss. I don't think he had anything else in him. His concept was done. He'd told his story, and it was over. By coming back for two more seasons, we got to be with these characters for 44 more episodes, but we also didn't get them in their purest, most loved form. We had to have Buffy come back after her job was done. We had to have her wonder why she was back. We had to deal with the doubt of Xander over Anya. By continuing the story after it was done, they left us with hours and hours of pain and angst. In the end, it probably was worth it, but I still think there's a strong argument to be made that Buffy should have remained dead.

I'd like to think of it that if the show had ended at season 5, Buffy would have had more meaning in death that she did in life. Her last sacrifice would have been that much more potent. If you want to continue, spin it off with Faith. Have the rest of the cast pop in and out. But when season 5 ended, I think an era ended for Buffy. Christopher Beck, the fantastic composer behind the music of seasons 2, 3, 4, and 5, was gone. The story had been told. WB had dropped the show. Buffy would never again have innocent moments of youth, she would never again laugh with abandon. She rarely smiled after this. She became something different, and so did the characters around her. Xander lost his humor. Willow lost Tara and was shrouded in both darkness and doubt. Giles was absent for most of the remaining two seasons, and Buffy without Giles really isn't Buffy at all. So I think there's a strong case to be made there.

But then I think...I love these characters. Just to be able to have them around for 44 more episodes is a gift. When it's over, it really is over. Part of me wishes this show could go on and on for ever, but that's not how reality works. We've got the season 8 comic, and that's something, but we'll probably never see Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicky Brendan, or Alyson Hannigan in the roles that they made famous. To have them for 2 extra seasons, even though those seasons were tumultuous and often difficult to wade through, really is a blessing.

And when the show was over, I fought the urge to run and put in the first season again. I need these characters to be a part of my life. I love them, and I feel like I know them. Now I understand why so many people have watched these episodes dozens of times. They aren't characters, they live in us. It sounds corny and overblown, but it's really true. Joss did something that I've never seen done before. He gave us characters that we can love as if they are real.

And maybe that's the real gift of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That we can always go back and take the journey once more. The journey ends, but you can always go back to the beginning. By crafting multi-dimensional characters, funny and moving dialog, and not fearing to go outside the box, Joss Whedon gave us his ultimate gift, something that never gets old, and friends who will never die.

Thank you, Joss.

Season Seven: Looking Back

Season seven of Buffy was just as rough for me as season six. While Joss seemed to be aware of the problems with darkness in season 6, he didn't do an awful lot to rectify that in this final season. I guess it wasn't as dark as season 6, but it suffered from the same lack of the unique Buffy voice, unhappy characters, and general misguided intentions.

The potential slayers thing annoyed me to no end. I was supposed to care about them, but I never did. Buffy doesn't work like that for me. It's a girl, fighting vampires, by herself. Put her in a position of power and it loses appeal for me. It's the one against a horde of evil that I like.

Joss, clearly, was absent for much of this season. He got it kicked off, then I think his attention went to Firefly. When that show failed, you can see when he came back, because the season united for a strong finish. I have no doubt that Whedon was in on every step of the creative process for this season, but when you've got your passion in another place, it shows.

There were some bright spots. Conversations with Dead People and Storyteller are some of the best episodes in all of Buffy. And like I said, it amped up for a tremendously satisfying final 4 episodes.

As an overall season, I think it was too thin of material, and when I look back on it, I feel the same way about season 6. They had ideas that weren't necessarily bad, but were just stretched too far. If you could condense season 6 into 11 episodes and condense season 7 into 11 episodes, that would have been one epic season. There wouldn't have been so much filler and stories would not have dragged on quite so much. In the early days of Buffy, things didn't dangle that long. There were season long arcs, but each episode felt like a chapter. In this season, some of these episodes felt like blurbs that were stretched into an hour's worth of content.

But when it's all said and done, I love the show and I can forgive it for it's missteps. The glory days were gone, but the show still had bite.

7.22 - Chosen -

That's all, folks.

***

I've got to be really careful here that I don't let the thoughts that I have for the season seven: looking back post blend in with this one. Where to start?

Well, Joss Whedon did it. He succeeded.

I have to admit. I've moaned and I've complained. I've said the show was miserable. And it truly was. I whined that Joss was absent and that his presence was gone, that he'd left the show in less capable hands and that I felt like he'd checked out. And while I still stand beside that theory, what he did here completely brought me back to every reason I loved the show. He guided his ship home, out to sea, and into eternity. In nerd terms, he took one of the best shows in television and sailed it to the Grey Havens.

What he managed to do was this: take characters that I haven't truly cared about for a year, some more, take a dangling plot that felt like it was going nowhere, take potential slayers that I couldn't care less about, and make me love it all.

It's the gift he has.

It's his dialog. It's his way with the camera. It's his uncanny ability to know when to cut in a scene, and how long to hold a shot before you cut.

What happened in this episode is almost too intense to talk about, but I gotta try.

Angel gives Buffy an amulet to be worn by someone with a soul but more than human. Spike. Buffy and Angel have a talk about their future. Buffy says she's like cookie dough. She's not done baking, she's not a fully formed cookie yet. She wants to keep living her life. But she tells Angel that sometimes she does think about the future. It gives us hope at home that one day they may be able to be together. And I hope that one day Joss makes that happen. I need it to happen, really.

Our Scooby gang hatch a plan that uses each one of them with their abilities. Willow is to take the scythe and use it's slayer gifted powers to transfer that power into every potential slayer in the world. It sounds so ridiculous on paper, and I remembered it from 5 years ago when it aired. I'd grown cynical about it. Too much female empowerment, Joss. it's just cartoony now, Joss. But when I see it again, I can't deny the impact, the power that I felt from it. His mission statement for Buffy was always that it was a feminist show, that it showed the power within women. Well, he's taken that concept to an extreme degree, but I can't fault him for it. It moved me.

There's a fantastic scene that takes our gang to the high school where they each split into groups to go to their tasks. For a few moments, there's our original gang: Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles. Standing in the school hallway, just looking at each other. It's a call back to the beginning of the show itself, our original cast, back where they started, full circle. Giles even says a line that mirrors one from the end of "The Harvest:" "The earth is definitely doomed." It almost made me cry.

So Buffy leads her potentials into the fight, and there are thousands of them. Spike is there, wearing his amulet, and Willow's spell takes effect. As she does it, she turns into a goddess, full of white energy. All over the world, girls are given the power of the slayer.

Back under the school, the fight rages on, and there are some casualties on both sides. In the high school, Anya is killed and almost cut in half. Robin Wood is seriously injured. And below, Spike realizes that the amulet is giving him the power to destroy them all. He radiates sunlight, destroying all the vamps. And as he does, it all begins to crumble around them. Buffy tells him to come on, but he tells her he has to stay, to see it to the end. She tells him that she loves him, and he replies "no you don't...but thanks for saying it anyways." Then she leaves, and he says "I want to see how it ends." Then, as the sunlight radiates out of him, he ignites and turns to dust.

Above ground, all of Sunnydale is collapsing into the pit that has been created. The gang board a school bus and ride it out of town until the are outside the damage radius. When they stop, all of Sunnydale is gone.

Then we are faced with the losses. It hits home. Xander asks about Anya, and finds out she died defending Andrew.

As the gang stands at the edge of the drop off, they stare into what was their homes for years. Buffy looks concerned. Willow asks "What do you think we should do, Buffy?"

Dawn agrees, and says "yeah, Buffy, what are we gonna do?"

Buffy looks into the distance, thinking about the future, thinking about the fact that she is no longer the only slayer, and then, slowly, she smiles.

The screen goes to black, but this time, there is not Joss Whedon's name. Not immediately. It's just black. And then the music stirs it's final note, and his name fades in.

At this point, I am unashamed to say, I cried like a baby. Not teared up. Not sniffed. I was shaking with sobs. I felt like my friends had just died. No more Buffy. No more Sarah Michelle Gellar. No more Xander. No more Dawn. No more Anya. It's literally over. There is no more.

The tremendous sense of loss, coupled with the fact that the characters I loved now had their whole lives ahead of them, free lives to do with as they wished, was just too much to process.

And in that moment, it didn't matter to me that season 6 and season 7 were rocky, and that there were lots of episodes that left me feeling bored or betrayed. All that mattered was that at that moment, I appreciated them all. Cinderella sang a song called "Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone" and it's true. In that moment, I just wanted them back. I've said that I wished the show had ended after season 5, and part of me still does, but then I wouldn't have gotten to spend 2 more years worth of shows with characters that I loved. If it could go forever, I would let it. It's so hard to say goodbye to something that you love so much.

But it's not over. I can always go back and relive the journey of Buffy and her friends. They aren't mere characters. They may die on screen, they may die in the pages of comics, but to me, they are real.

These characters will never die.


Rating: 11/10

7.21 - End of Days

The End is Near.

***

Buffy and the gang try to figure out what exactly this scythe weapon is that she has found. Also, Buffy and Spike come closer together. Spike tells Buffy that the night they spent holding each other was the best night of his life, and when he explains it, it makes me all weepy. He says that he's been close to lots of people and women, but he's never held anyone before. Not the way that he did Buffy. It's really sweet. I'll say it again. Spike is awesome, and when he's used right, he's a fantastic character. This incarnation of Spike is fantastic. He gets some joy in his life.

So at the end, Buffy goes to seek an explanation of the scythe from a really old chick in a crypt kind of thing, and while she is there, Caleb comes and kills the lady. A showdown ensues, and Buffy is just about to lose when she is saved by...

Angel! hoorah! And there was much rejoicing. They kiss, and we cut to credits.

With this being the end of it all, it just feels appropriate that Angel be back. I'm really apprehensive about the end. And very sad that it will soon be over.

Rating: 8/10

7.20 - Touched

Buffy and the gang prepare for the end.

***

This episode seems to really be about how our characters are coping for the end. Faith and Robin Wood get busy. Xander and Anya get busy. Willow and Kennedy get busy (eww...Kennedy is a terrible person, Willow), and Buffy gets the solace that she needs in the most unlikely of places: Spike's embrace.

It's sweet really. Yeah, it feels a lot like a storyline, but having Buffy get the motivation to go on from one of her worst enemies who now has a soul is pretty sweet and touching. I truly do love Spike. I love the duality. I love that he was incredibly evil, but as a man with a soul, while he still has the qualities that made him the big bad, he's trying to use them for good. It's the ultimate redemption.

The coolest part of this episode is at the end when Buffy finds the scythe of the slayers, which we've seen in comics form as Fray's weapon. It's pretty cool, and I want one. It's the weapon she's holding in the banner at the top of this page.

Anyway, great episode. I really feel the end coming, and it's great to have the gang back together, including Faith. Faith is a fantastic character, and I much prefer her being a rebel while working for the side of good. If anyone could have held a show after Buffy ended, it was Faith. And Spike too, but it never happened. And Spike got his second chance later, anyway.

Rating: 9/10

7.19 - Empty Places

Mutiny on the H. M. S. Buffy

***

Residents are fleeing Sunnydale and turning it into a ghost town. Meanwhile, Buffy must contend with a group of potentials who no longer think that she is qualified to lead them.

And really, I can't blame them. She gives a lot of speeches, and we know she's the chosen one, but she just isn't really cut out for leading. That's one of the many weak points of this season, Buffy should not be in a position of power. I like the show the best when it's just one girl against the evil of the world. Isn't that the credo that started the show? "Into each generation is born a slayer. She alone must fight the vampires, the demons, etc...".

So at the end of the episode, Buffy relenquishes (or is fired, really) control to Faith to lead the potentials and walks off into the night. Serves you right, Buffy. You can't treat people like that. Bad plot idea. Just bad. The episode wasn't really bad, though. From here on out, I think it's gonna be balls to the wall.

Rating: 7/10

7.18 - Dirty Girls

Caleb comes to town.

***

Holy crap, man. Holeeeeeeee crap.

Starts off with Nathan Fillion (hooray!) in a truck picking up a girl who's running from the Bringers. She thinks he's there to save her, but he's not. He's using her for a message. After a scummy faux religious speech, he brands her and kicks her out the door. The car behind them stops and Willow gets out to investigate, along with (!!!) Faith.

Just having Faith back brings a great new dynamic to the show. But that's not the only thing. Caleb is awesome. Now, I'm not happy about his southern preacher man persona, as Joss clearly has issues with religion, referring to God as the big bully in the sky. He's an atheist, and I think it colors his work sometimes in a negative and intolerant way, but I digress...I love Fillion, even if I find his southern accent annoying. He's also just what the show needed. A physical threat instead of some looming psychological oogy boogy.

The real impact comes at the end when Caleb kills a few potentials, kicks the crap out of Buffy, and then, in a really chilling and sad moment, puts out Xander's eye. This is the first time this season that I've felt the threat of looming consequences. As of this episode, I feel the stakes being raised, and I'm finally sensing the end coming. Because of that, I'm getting invested in the journey.

Rating: 8/10

7.17 - Lies My Parents Told Me

Turns out Spike was a mama's boy.

***

They're still milking the Wood hating Spike thing (I called it for 5 episodes, it's been 4) and we see some flashbacks of Spike and Dru. He wants to turn him mom into a vampire. Now, I know that I didn't create this show, and I know that I'm just a viewer, but I find the Spike (or William, here) that they present me with to be inconsistent of the guy I've been watching for so long. In other words, you can tell me that Spike was a mama's boy, but when I see it, it doesn't ring true for me. I can buy that he'd want to read poetry to his mother, but I don't buy that when he was turned, he'd want her to come along and lay waste to the world. You can disagree with me, that's fine, I just think it's a plot mcguffin for this episode. They needed a trigger for Spike's brainwashing, and this seemed like a good idea at the time.

Although it is really nice to see Spike beating the crap out of someone again. I was starting to feel like we'd never have Spike as a relevant character again. I think this show has really mistreated James Marsters and given him some truly crappy and soap operatic trash to work with the last few years. You can't have a bad guy on the team, so you've got to make him impotent. And in doing so, I really think they cheapened the character. This is the best he's been since season 3 or 4.

Anyway, again, it's not bad stuff, but it's not particularly great stuff either. The show I loved is dead.

Rating: 7/10

7.16 - Storyteller

Andrew narrates the tale of the Slayer of the Vampyres.

***

Jane, I love you! You gave me another show that I can get excited about! It's like a drop of water in an endless desert, refreshing, but gone before I even knew how great it was.

Espenson has crafted a really fun episode that hits all the beats classic Buffy would have, back when Joss cared about this show. Andrew is making a video that chronicles the lives of the gang, and it's really funny. I laughed a lot during this one. It's just hilarious.

Not too much plot, just sealing back up the portal that got opened up a while back. This was really, really, really great. And it's episodes like this that remind you how far the series has gotten from it's roots.

Rating: 9.5/10

7.15 - Get it Done

Or how Spike Got His Groove Back.

***

Wood hates Spike and wants him dead, still...Wood gives a bag to Buffy that he hasn't opened in a long time (convenient) and it has a thing that creates a gateway to the desert world that they've been getting a lot of mileage out of since season 4. These old dudes offer Buffy more power by making her less human and she refuses. Then they show her what she is up against and we see thousands of the ultimate vampire guys waiting to wreak havoc.

Meanwhile, Spike has to track down a demon that came through when Buffy went to the desert set, and to do it he has to get back in touch with the big bad within him. It's a kodak moment.

I don't think even Doug Petrie can save this mess now.

Rating: 6/10

7.14 - First Date

Principal Wood and Buffy go out?!

***

This is an episode with a few revelations, and I am glad to say that Jane Espenson delivered. It's strange, isn't it, that the one writer who I started out hating is the one of the only writers I count on to deliver quality at this point. My, how times change.

So Robin Wood asks Buffy out, and they get jumped by vamps. We learn that Wood has a lot more to him than meets the eye. Turns out his mama was the Slayer we saw Spike kill in Fool For Love, the one who was all Pam Grier/blackspoiltation awesome. And yeah, Spike killed her.

So Buffy finds out about him and he finds out about Buffy. He meets Spike. At the end of the episode, The First messes with Wood in the guise of his mother. It tells him that Spike killed his mom. It's kind of cool, but at the same time, I'm not really looking forward to them dragging it out for 5 episodes, which I suspect they will do.

And for a restaurant in the back end of an alley with no signs around whatsoever, it's packed! it's really posh inside too. I'm supposed to overlook stuff like that, aren't I? My bad.

Rating: 7.5/10