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Post by William the Bloody on Dec 30, 2003 2:53:47 GMT -5
Written by David Fury
Directed by james A. Contner
Air date: 2/8/00
As spike tries to elude hte Initative's Commandos, Buffy gets a look at the Initiative's underground complex and discovers she's not as welcome as first thought.
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Post by Michelle on Aug 25, 2008 16:45:20 GMT -5
So, I watched this episode last night. After not having watched a Buffy episode in months, why would I choose to watch this one? I had a dream featuring Riley/Marc Blucas (not THAT kind of dream!) and it intrigued me enough to watch an episode that heavily featured Riley. I wanted to see if the dream would positively influence my feelings about him as a character since I’ve never been impressed with him in the past. Admittedly, my prior viewings have always been Spike-centric, so I wanted to give the guy a fair shake and watch the episode as objectively as possible. But nope, I still don’t think Marc Blucas is any good in this role. Notice I said in this role: I also don’t really think Bailey Chase is all that great in his role as Graham, but I’ve seen him in other roles where I’ve liked him very much. So I’m not bashing Blucas so much as bashing the casting of Blucas. Take this exchange: Buffy: “You said it was big. You told me, but you never said it was huge!”
Riley: “I don’t like to brag.” Imagine the special emphasis and absolute relish that James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Seth Green, or even Nicholas Brendon would have placed on that line. But Blucas’ reading was flat as a crepe. And the sex scene between Buffy and Riley seems completely carried by SMG. (The fact that she committed to doing a rare--for her-- topless scene is just one indication.) Blucas is just stiff, and not in a good way. OK, enough trashing his performance. This is an episode that probably isn’t on anyone’s top 10 list, so it was a surprisingly fun episode to watch. The spanking references, Xander's card trick, the hilariously crazy hairdos as a result of ionizing the air, Giles’ reaction to eating one of Xander’s Boost Bars, Buffy’s assurance that she’s patrolled many times in a halter ( and the visual of tiny Buffy in said halter amid all the camo-dressed manly men) are all just SO much fun. And both scenes between Giles and Spike are exceptional. When Giles visits Spike in his crypt, he peers at various artifacts, stepping lightly, fully realizing how preposterous the idea of a soulless monster joining the Scooby gang is. Spike pushes him away by turning his back and counting the money. Their body language is perfect. And then later, when Spike comes to Giles for help after he’s been shot, the back and forth between the two actors is just—well, everything else in the room sort of fades away. |
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Post by leftylady on Aug 26, 2008 18:05:15 GMT -5
So, I watched this episode last night. After not having watched a Buffy episode in months, why would I choose to watch this one? I had a dream featuring Riley/Marc Blucas (not THAT kind of dream!) and it intrigued me enough to watch an episode that heavily featured Riley. I wanted to see if the dream would positively influence my feelings about him as a character since I’ve never been impressed with him in the past. Admittedly, my prior viewings have always been Spike-centric, so I wanted to give the guy a fair shake and watch the episode as objectively as possible. But nope, I still don’t think Marc Blucas is any good in this role. Notice I said in this role: I also don’t really think Bailey Chase is all that great in his role as Graham, but I’ve seen him in other roles where I’ve liked him very much. So I’m not bashing Blucas so much as bashing the casting of Blucas. Take this exchange: Buffy: “You said it was big. You told me, but you never said it was huge!”
Riley: “I don’t like to brag.” Imagine the special emphasis and absolute relish that James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Seth Green, or even Nicholas Brendon would have placed on that line. But Blucas’ reading was flat as a crepe. And the sex scene between Buffy and Riley seems completely carried by SMG. (The fact that she committed to doing a rare--for her-- topless scene is just one indication.) Blucas is just stiff, and not in a good way. OK, enough trashing his performance. This is an episode that probably isn’t on anyone’s top 10 list, so it was a surprisingly fun episode to watch. The spanking references, Xander's card trick, the hilariously crazy hairdos as a result of ionizing the air, Giles’ reaction to eating one of Xander’s Boost Bars, Buffy’s assurance that she’s patrolled many times in a halter ( and the visual of tiny Buffy in said halter amid all the camo-dressed manly men) are all just SO much fun. And both scenes between Giles and Spike are exceptional. When Giles visits Spike in his crypt, he peers at various artifacts, stepping lightly, fully realizing how preposterous the idea of a soulless monster joining the Scooby gang is. Spike pushes him away by turning his back and counting the money. Their body language is perfect. And then later, when Spike comes to Giles for help after he’s been shot, the back and forth between the two actors is just—well, everything else in the room sort of fades away. Spike didn't call Riley "Captain Cardboard" for nothing. The character was in the long run a bit bland. But maybe that was part of the point in the first place - Buffy needing to try a romance with a regular guy. Didn't work. Was it ever supposed to? Slayer and Boy Next Door may just be too non-mixy. After Angel left Buffy for LA, maybe she needed a change. And anyway, the Spuffy story for all the S4 teasing (Something Blue) might not have had as much impact if it came too early and on the heels of her breakup with Angel. Instead it kind of sneaked up on us. leftylady |
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on Aug 26, 2008 20:16:17 GMT -5
So, I watched this episode last night. After not having watched a Buffy episode in months, why would I choose to watch this one? I had a dream featuring Riley/Marc Blucas (not THAT kind of dream!) and it intrigued me enough to watch an episode that heavily featured Riley. I wanted to see if the dream would positively influence my feelings about him as a character since I’ve never been impressed with him in the past. Admittedly, my prior viewings have always been Spike-centric, so I wanted to give the guy a fair shake and watch the episode as objectively as possible. But nope, I still don’t think Marc Blucas is any good in this role. Notice I said in this role: I also don’t really think Bailey Chase is all that great in his role as Graham, but I’ve seen him in other roles where I’ve liked him very much. So I’m not bashing Blucas so much as bashing the casting of Blucas. Take this exchange: Buffy: “You said it was big. You told me, but you never said it was huge!”
Riley: “I don’t like to brag.” Imagine the special emphasis and absolute relish that James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Seth Green, or even Nicholas Brendon would have placed on that line. But Blucas’ reading was flat as a crepe. And the sex scene between Buffy and Riley seems completely carried by SMG. (The fact that she committed to doing a rare--for her-- topless scene is just one indication.) Blucas is just stiff, and not in a good way. OK, enough trashing his performance. This is an episode that probably isn’t on anyone’s top 10 list, so it was a surprisingly fun episode to watch. The spanking references, Xander's card trick, the hilariously crazy hairdos as a result of ionizing the air, Giles’ reaction to eating one of Xander’s Boost Bars, Buffy’s assurance that she’s patrolled many times in a halter ( and the visual of tiny Buffy in said halter amid all the camo-dressed manly men) are all just SO much fun. And both scenes between Giles and Spike are exceptional. When Giles visits Spike in his crypt, he peers at various artifacts, stepping lightly, fully realizing how preposterous the idea of a soulless monster joining the Scooby gang is. Spike pushes him away by turning his back and counting the money. Their body language is perfect. And then later, when Spike comes to Giles for help after he’s been shot, the back and forth between the two actors is just—well, everything else in the room sort of fades away. Spike didn't call Riley "Captain Cardboard" for nothing. The character was in the long run a bit bland. But maybe that was part of the point in the first place - Buffy needing to try a romance with a regular guy. Didn't work. Was it ever supposed to? Slayer and Boy Next Door may just be too non-mixy. After Angel left Buffy for LA, maybe she needed a change. And anyway, the Spuffy story for all the S4 teasing (Something Blue) might not have had as much impact if it came too early and on the heels of her breakup with Angel. Instead it kind of sneaked up on us. leftylady That was my impression too. Riley and the Initiative were deliberately written as not fitting into the world of Buffy and Sunnydale. Of course, that didn't help the feeling that they were out of place and thus the way they got on a lot of people's nerves...  |
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