BUFFY REVIEWS: SEASON THREE

[Dalton]

As ScoopMe was not around until Season Four there was only one review available in ScoopMe for Season Three - Earshot, which aired out of sequence.
The Review for Earshot Follows.

[Dalton]

by Jen Sonstein 9/22/1999

Hey, you! WB exec! Are you within earshot? I hope so. Because I take it all back. All the ranting and raving I did on the Buffy message boards; all the names I called you. I stand corrected.

You made the right decision when you pulled "Earshot". It would have hit too close to home for all the victims of the attack on Columbine High School.

I consider myself fairly liberal. I believe in free speech. And I completely disagree with the censorship of any medium: whether it be television, film, or the Internet. So as you can imagine, I was outraged when I heard that the WB network decided to cancel an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even up until tonight, I was questioning whether the network’s motives were pure or not. But after watching tonight’s episode, I feel comfortable believing their intentions were good.

"Earshot" opens with Buffy wrestling some slimy mouthless mutants: post-Cretaceous, pre-human. She kills one, but the other gets away. Buffy’s left with a yucky skin ailment that has much more dire consequences than a touch of poison ivy. She’s been infected with an aspect of the demon—in this case, the ability to read minds.

At first, Buffy is really psyched to find out about her new power. What high schooler wouldn’t be? She can get the inside scoop on everything. Who likes her, who hates her. The answers to her teacher’s questions before she even asks them. And troubling to her best bud, Willow (who still has trouble dissecting Oz), Buffy now has the ability to actually know what guys think.

The problem is: Buffy can’t filter out all the white noise. She can’t focus on any particular thoughts. She’s stuck listening to everything her classmates are thinking: "I hate my body."; "Am I normal?"; "He is sooooo hot!" It starts to freak her out. But what’s most frightening is when she "overhears" someone thinking, "This time tomorrow, I’ll kill you all.

"This is obviously the subject matter that caused all the commotion.

XANDER: "I'm still having problems with the fact that one of us is just gonna gun everyone down for no reason…"

CORDELIA: (sarcastically): "Yeah, because that never happens at American high schools."

OZ (seriously): "It's bordering on trendy at this point."

Not that anyone is looking for a sermon, (so I’ll promise to wrap this one up momentarily) but these words spoken by BtVS characters rang loud and true even before the shooting at Columbine. The frequency of school violence, specifically school shootings, in the past few years has become a terrifying reality. Joss Whedon, and all involved with the show, should really be commended for exploring the subject without condescension and handling it in a very respectable fashion. And for God’s sake, I hope the Christian Right was watching. Buffy should be right up there with 7th Heaven this week on the list of shows that are good influences on today’s youth.

Just like the networks who decided to cancel or postpone episodes of certain TV shows after the bombing in Oklahoma City, or after the crash of TWA Flight 800; the WB made the right decision by postponing "Earshot". It wasn’t an act of censorship. It was an act of sensitivity.

But the WB also made the right decision by finally showing it. Buffy and her friends not only seriously address the problem of school violence in America, but Buffy also prevents a less than popular classmate from killing himself by reassuring him that he’s not alone. There hasn’t been a clearer, more positive message on TV for teenagers since Growing Pains went off the air. (And as sarcastic as that may sound, I’m dead serious.)

Now, on a much, much lighter note: who ever thought that being able to read people’s minds could suck so badly?

I’ve always wanted a special power. My whole life I’ve been trying to convince myself and others that if we only tried harder, we could all have some extrasensory ability. You know: the idea that we only use 10% of our brain’s capacity. If you could have a special power, which would you choose?

After watching tonight’s episode, mind reading is definitely out.

Stephen King movies—specifically Carrie and Firestarter—paint a really bad picture of telekinesis.

And as much fun as that little boy in the previews for Sixth Sense seems to be having—I’m still not convinced I’d want to be able to see dead people.

So what does that leave me?

What about fortune telling?

Palm readers seem to be doing really well these days. I could use the extra money.

Or controlling other people’s actions? Yeah--using a Jedi mind trick on my boss every now and then could make my work day a lot more tolerable.

What if I could heal the sick or disabled?

A noble profession. But what’s in it for me?

How about being able to talk candidly to the Lord?

Okay. I’ll stop there. I’m sure I already made enough enemies today with my low blow to the Christian Right.

When you get right down to it, there seems to be a downside to every single paranormal ability. Isolation, alienation, getting the shit scared out of you, prison.

Plus, people with psychic powers tend to be outcasts. No one takes them seriously, or if they do it’s always when it’s too late (the school is already burning down, the car is about to eat you, the dingo’s got your baby). And let’s get real, the crazy girl with the glow-in-the-dark eyes is hardly ever voted homecoming queen.

It makes you feel bad for the psychic friends, doesn’t it?

Wow! I’d say this week’s lost episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was chock full of nutritious messages, wouldn’t you?

Let’s recap. School violence = bad. Mind reading = good, but bad if it causes headaches.

Now that’s one to grow on.