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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:48:33 GMT -5
I didn't get your email. Been through all of it, no Elliemail. Please re-send!
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:49:37 GMT -5
"B-team" ? That seems a little harsh. I understand what you're saying though. I attribute most season 7 badness to issues of pacing and structure. It often seems like one thing, and ONLY ONE THING can happen per episode. Actually ignore all that. I think the main problem is that there are no real developments with the Scoobies. If you were to do a What's New? with previous seasons, you could probably come up with lots of stuff for each. This year it's basically Spike's new soul, Willow dealing with all her issues, and Buffy's new commitment to life (including a better relationship with Dawn). All of those things are way in the background at this point, and really for many episodes before now. It seems as if at some point the writers' mindset switched completely from "And this is where we go from here (season 6)" to "Well, looks like we better wrap all this crap up." In hindsight, I think post season 6 stuff should really ought to have been dealt with over a longer period of time, strung together by interesting Monsters of the Week, or more interesting manifestations of the First and it's schemes. And what the hell happened to Dawn, you know, that other person in the opening credits. Xander and Anya too. Angel is doing the season long plot things much better. Joss has said in interviews that characters are more his thing than plots, and I think history proves him right. Were the Troika's exploits last year what kept us watching? If you ignore the whole new major character of Dawn, was anything Glory did all that riveting? How about the Initiative after we found out who they were? I could go on, but I don't think Buffy's strength has ever been in presenting us with a Big Bad continually doing stuff to end the world. There has to be more weight than that. What I am trying to say is that the backbone of all previous seasons were on character relationships and character development; This year, they seem to have the whole First Evil thing as the backbone upon which the rest of the season is based. I think I can say with a good deal of confidence that we all loved the end part of "First Date" with all the Scoobies meaningfully interacting with each other, or the argument scene in "Selfless." Buffy has gone into Slayer mode, which is common this time of year. Xander, Dawn, Willow, haven't gone anywhere since the first few eps of the season. And now we get a great character episode, it's just not about any of the main characters.
Joshua Adams
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:50:30 GMT -5
I wouldn't ring the doom bell just yet. I think we're going to get some great stuff soon. We're overdue for a Spike-centric episode...I'd be willing to bet that'll be the next one we see.
Rob Sorenson
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:51:32 GMT -5
Hey Joshua. It just seems like there are still alot of meaty possibilities that could be woven into this final (sob) season. Instead Buffy swings back and forth between in-charge Buffy, and High School 'Yeah, weird stuff happens' Buffy. The core Scoobies have been thru too much to be so unfocused. They had more purpose three apocalypses ago. There's no tension. Everybody's just acting out the unspoken voice-over. And, PS: bored with the high school. Thanks for posting your poem. Despite the demon named Technology (whose job it is to thwart talent in all its forms), my brain reads it the way you meant it. Edited By Rusty Goode at 2/26/2003 10:03:00 PM.
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:52:40 GMT -5
God, I hope so. Maybe Spike will take charge. He had minions. He smokes, so he's definitely capable of kicking some a**. I need action with purpose. I need the Scoobs to step up to the plate. I need...more mixed metaphors. I need help.
Rusty Goode
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:53:27 GMT -5
Rusty, you're like a loose cannon rocking the boat. This season has had a sort of . . . disjointed, awkward feel to it, kind of like the first Season of a new show, where the cast and the characters are getting comfortable and getting into their groove. You know, how you see a repeat of Season 1 of some long-running show, and you can really notice the difference? And I think that's due to the fact that the BtVS characters went through so much last season, and in fact, have changed so much, that what we are seeing is a form of "first seasonitis."
Spring Summers
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:58:31 GMT -5
Robert, I read your new chapter, and all I can say is, I look forward to your description of the gang's arrival in NYC.
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 12:59:22 GMT -5
Your comments about the character episodes are very insightful. They've taken a little bit of a run at it occasionally, but in my opinion the last great character episode was Conversations With Dead People, which I painfully acknowledge as the best of the year. I say painfully because Xander is completely absent, which is a first in BTVS history that I can recall...but I have to give credit where it's due. We got more insight on Buffy's mindset this season in that particular episode than anywhere else this year. Since then her emotions have pretty much been all over the map, and I'd say her self analysis in that ep explains it. It doesn't justify it....but it clarifys it. I'm still not clear on how she can feel superior to her friends after all these years, but the stress may have finally wore her down. Slayers just aren't supposed to last as long as she has.....perhaps she still has residual bitterness toward Willow and Xander because they've helped her last this long. Spike's analysis in Fool For Love is pretty apt here: it's her friends that keep her alive. Some part of Buffy still feels that this should have all been over for her, and embraces that fact. The constant war within herself-- between Buffy the Human Being and Buffy the Vampire Slayer--has taken it's toll. Clearly Giles is stressed out as well because he shares her burden as her Watcher. Willow is trying to claw her way out of self loathing by grasping for affection from Kennedy. Spike is trying to find balance within himself between the demon and the man. I imagine when Faith arrives she'll be fighting the same battle, just as Wood is fighting his own hatred for his mother's killer...a battle he will ultimately lose to his dark side. Andrew killed one of his best friends, and Anya killed thousands over the years and expresses her self loathing with abrasive behavior. Damn, who's left? Why, Xander and Dawn, of course. The only two people whose internal battles--Xander's of the past and Dawn's in the present--didn't involve issues of conscience, but of usefulness. Dawn is having an easier time of it because Xander's been down that road. He's in a unique position to make her understand and accept the normal human role: the unnoticed soul and conscience of the group who does all the little things. If, as I've theorized, something bad happens to Xander or Anya, the group would be badly shaken because he holds it together more than Buffy or Willow realize. Xander in a dark place would leave Dawn totally alone.
Rob Sorenson
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 13:00:32 GMT -5
See, I knew I'd get people's attention with the appearance of NAKED SPIKE!!! You know, in case people were getting annoyed with the plot. It's my own personal version of Season 6. :-)
Rob Sorenson
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 13:01:19 GMT -5
I'm curious about something specific that happened in Get It Done. When Willow explained to Kennedy that she used her because she needed to draw strength from the most powerful people around her, something nagged at the back of my mind. Maybe I'm nuts, but when Kennedy was sent flying didn't Dawnie get flung into the wall and knocked unconscious? If someone's out there who still has a tape of this I'd be very interested. If I'm right, ME might've been trying to tell us something. I always thought Potential could've been interpreted in more ways than one for a reason......
Rob Sorenson
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 13:01:48 GMT -5
In the event that this rumor I've heard is a true spoiler, I'm going to post it on the spoilers board. Has to do with JM and casting.
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 13:03:16 GMT -5
and all I have left to say is: "Never underestimate the Power of Cheese" (Didn't the First claim it was all about Power at the beginning of hte season? *grin* Oh well, if it is all about cheese, then to make it appropriate, I believe it should be Muenster) *** *** *** *** also, in a more serious vein.... There was an interesting post over there that made me think: Episodes #70 By Lisa Eiseman "Did anyone else catch the reference that Andrew made about Dawn being the Key and then showing the keys on the table? I have to think that this is important. We really didn't see a lot of Dawn in this episode and this really was the only major scene with her in it. Why would the writers bring that point back again? We've heard it a few different times this season. I just think that Joss has something hidden for the viewers concerning Dawn and the Key status. Any thoughts on this theory?" This brought to mind a couple thoughts: 1 According to the Africans that created the first, Buffy will be the last slayer to guard the Hellmouth 2. Joyce or Firsty (Still haven't made up my mind who it was) said to Dawn: When it gets bad, she won't choose you. Is it possible that Dawn is the "key" to closing the Hellmouth permanently and Buffy is gonna suicide out (leave the show) a second time in her place? I mean, I don't actually thik Joss would do it a second time that way, but maybe theres somethign to this that we are really close to and not seeing. Any thoughts? Vlad Edited By Vlad I at 2/27/2003 2:35:00 AM.
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 13:10:33 GMT -5
Robert: you want it; e-mail me your address; I'll send you a copy - you got it. Want.Take.Have. ;-) Alex or who has the JM on Andromeda tape: I'll e-mail MY address to whoever can send me a copy and I'll even make copies of it for others.
Miss Pamela
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 13:12:24 GMT -5
We've had a major apocalypse right here in Louisville, and little ol' me's been right in the thick of it. Hence I've missed a lot lately but gotta get in a few thoughts... Like Andrew better than ever - I'd never have thunk it. Whoo-hoo to Shirtless!Spike! Omigawd... Several cubic centimeters of unbruised, unwounded back skin; shades of the "Out of My Head" dream sequence! Go, little piggy!!! R.I.P. the Xander & Anya ship as it was. Wood + Spike does NOT mix any way you look at it!! Wood bad; Spike pretty; let's keep 'em separated. Where in the hell(mouth) is Giles?? I just realized one thing I LIKE about Kennedy... is probably going to be how she's finally dispatched from Sunnyhell and the entire JossVerse forever. Okay - I know the JossVerse probably wants another Slayer-centric show for a spinoff, and maybe there are some uncreative enough who think "A show about ANOTHER souled vampire? No way!" (despite the umpteen similar cop, lawyer, and otherwise brainless comedy and 'reality' shows on right now) - JUST BRING BACK SPIKE or JM on SOME SHOW in SOME fashion next Fall - PLEASE! Finally, to SMG, I got two words for ya: DAVID CARUSO. Just don't burn any bridges, girl.
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Post by Dalton on Jul 7, 2003 13:13:03 GMT -5
Yes, for anyone out there who likes to remain 100% pure, I'd say what Athene posted on the Spoiler board is indeed "spoiler" -though a rumor. It's a little more than I usually like to even hear about, but hey, I went there at my own peril; Athene has warned us properly. ATHENE: I've posted a thought for you on the spoiler board about the rumor.
Spring Summers
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