Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[Smokey Stover]

I can't find a place for my post, or even my thread.

My religion is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV series, but I don't think I can post it in the religion forum. And since the show ended in 2003 I can't post it under Reality Show, Prime Time or Soap, although the leading actress was once famous mostly for making Susan Lucci nervous on "All My Children."

THe show had/has its own Bible, the so-called BuffyVerse (that is, the script).

I started a thread once, which had a brief half-life, about Heroic Epics (like the Norse sagas and the classic epics like the Odyssey and the Iliad; and Vergil's Aeneid, probably the greatest poem ever written), and Chansons de geste, Greek tragedies (and other drama)--rather an imposing array of literary classifications. I came to recognize something about why one adult critic called the series "strangely addictive," and why I (strangely in my view) became addicted. I also saw parallels with Greek tragedy and classic drama that explained, at least to me, something about why people kept coming to see those awful things, like the plays of Sophocles (Antigone) and Aechylus (the Oresteia, including Elektra), and Euripides (Medea). The saying, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad," often attributed to Euripides, has been taken away from him by humorless scholars. I have to admit that I have read the plays mentioned above only in English. I might have hated the performances, even had I been a contemporary Greek. Sitting on hard, cold seats, even if the acoustics of the theaters was excellent, watching the characters all wearing masks, and all male, even the female roles, with negligible stage decor and almost no attempt at naturalism. On the other hand, I'm not an ancient Greek, I'm more of an ancient American, unused to these peculiarities.

What made my think of them in connection with Buffy was some of the obvious similarities with Aristotle's definition of tragedy, as well as the obvious differences. The most conspicuous thing they have in common is emotional pain. Joss Whedon, the author of the Buffyverse, appears to have a a theory or dogma about this particular series: make sure that Buffy suffers in every episode, and make sure the audience suffers with her.

Obviously Buffy is not a major figure of mythology, as the Greek protagonists were. She was a high school girl who wanted to be a girl growing up into a woman. Instead they made her a chosen one, the only girl in all the world with an instinct for slaying vampires and the skill and courage to do it. Talk to some Buffy fans, ask them what the remember most about Buffy's character and personality. Courage will always be something they mention. So this puts her in the class of the Greek heroes, larger than life, often too courageous for their own good.

I didn't mean to go on and on in this post. Rather I wanted to tell anyone who at this late date wants to see the show that they can still see the whole series, presumably all seven seasons, on TV. That is, they can if they're willing to watch on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 7 A.M. Eastern time, on the FX channel (the Fox movie channel). You can't always be sure what the TV channel will actually do, but they should be showing Episode 1 of Season 1 this coming Saturday.

I encourage anyone who wants even just a sample of the show that the first episode is the place to begin. Everything is here. THe characters are introduced, the premise is stated, the heavy action begins almost immediately, and we become acquainted with the type of humor which will bring some fun to every episode, even if many episodes also bring tears. By way of boosting, I will add that the production values are of the highest. Excellen makeup and costuming help make Buffy is as pretty as it is possible to be (and she seems to have access to closets as unending as the pitcher of milk given by Baucis and Philemon to their unexpected divine guest. The camera work could hardly be better. In the whole series I can think of only one episode where a handheld camera is obviously at work, but there it is entirely appropriate, and highly dramatic in its effect. The drama is closely knit and efficiently presented (although these values aren't obtrusive), and the dialogue is often a whole lot of fun.

Or, if you don't like watching at 7 a.m. on a weekend, you can rent DVDs, or buy the whole thing on DVD and find out why Smokey is such a slavish votary of his goddess, or such a Buffy buff.

I'm aware that Buffy (or BtVS, among the fans who also call the actress SMG) is not for everyone. If you "tried it, didn't like it," I don't mind if you say so. Nor do I mind if you want to mention one or more episodes or events that you really loved, or found really dramatic, or found emotionally affecting. Maybe I'll name a few of my favorites myself, in a proximate post.

[janicelee]

Oh god, Buffy is the one of the major obsessions of my life. It may even be responsible for my career. I bought my first computer because after the first season ended I heard that a a lot of Buffy fans were on the net and I wanted to talk to people who shared my obsession. I now make my living as as a network administrator.

I saw the first episode of Buffy because I happened to be home sick with the flu the night it first aired. I don’t like television, but I was too sick that night to do anything else so I watched tv. I became obsessed after the first episode. I was absolutely convinced that the creator of the series, Joss Whedon had to be gay since no one else could have understood what it was like to be such a a freak as Buffy was who wasn’t gay. The one girl in all the world that was literally how I felt as a teenager, Joss was reading my mail from about 25 years earlier. I loved Joss even more and learned a lot about being human when I found out Joss was straight and that everyone felt like that when they were a teen.

There were 144 episodes of BTVS I taped every one of them because I worked nights. When they e out on dvd I bought all of them. I consider myself a fairly tough broad but I cried like like a baby when Tara died. I also loved Joss all the more because he killed Tara. Joss had written the two most realistic Lesbian characters that have ever appeared in popular media. Willow and Tara were humans first and Lesbians second that has always been what I wanted to be considered. I worshiped Joss because he wouldn’t cut Tara a break for being Gay and sparing her life. He also in the same season made a profoundly important point when he had Xander my favorite television character of all time convince his best friend and soul mate not to destroy the world. No we don’t hate men and I consider the relationship between Willow and Xander to be as important to the gay rights movement as the relationship between Willow and Tara.

My oldest niece is 14 I’m exposing here to the Buffyverse. It’s important, she needs to learn women can be brave, tough, and independent and still be women. Buffy is the best way I can think of for her to learn that lesson. She can also learn the even more important lesson that humans are all flawed, as every character on Buffy was, but we are all capable despite our flaws of doing what is right.

Thank you Smokey, for bringing up Buffy. As good a show as was ever on television.

[Cat]

I love Buffy. In fact, I am now re-watching the whole series from Netflix. I am into the third season. I alternate my Buffys with movies my DH can watch with me, because he never GOT Buffy.

[Smokey Stover]

So, you're on the third season, Cat. One of the emotional highs, for me, occurs in this season, something between Buffy and Angel, something that brings moisture to these old eyes. I just finished the Third Season on DVDs (again), ready to start the fourth, as well as the first season all over again on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Can you guess which episode I'm talking about, that pierces my heart so? Can you, Janicelee?

I've been thinking about Buffy's voice, that is, the one also assigned to SMG. She speaks in a chest voice, rather than a head voice. Many women can fairly easily travel between chest register and head register, but not she, I think. In Season Four she has to do a scream. The cast has a few really good screamers. Willow screams very well, and I've heard Cordelia utter a short scream, convincingly high in pitch. Buffy apparently can't jump into head voice, even to scream.

This doesn't detract from how she presents herself. In fact, it may be an advantage. Her normal voice is just fine, even if she's better at shouting than screaming (like most men). In fact, I find it extremely nice, most of the time. One of the exceptions is when she sings.

But I'm not a perfectionist about the singing of this particular group. Joss Whedon loves music, likes to write it. So he wrote, "Buffy, the Musical," and made it into one of the episodes. He seems to have a knack for this, and he's ambitious, too. He actually wrote quarter-tones for both Buffy and Spike to sing.

BUt that's getting ahead of the game, for anyone who has not already seen the whole series. But when we do come to it, you'll find a very good joke Whedon wrote into the BuffyVerse in that episode. Do you want a hint?

[Smokey Stover]

I've spent way too much time watching Buffy, but mostly it has been on time otherwise likely to be spent watching stuff even Patty finds boring, stuff that the shopping channels easily defeat in interest

Many observations have occurred to me, mostly that demonstrate my obtuseness and lack of imagination And those that hold water were no doubt already in the mind of Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy I stick with just one observation here When we see an episode for the second time, or read a book a second time, or go to see a certain opera a second time, we probably liked it the first time or we wouldn't be drawn into a re-run Many of the scenes of Buffy cause an strongly emotional reaction Others may be the cause of a good laugh When I see such a scene the second time, the emotional tone is not only still there, but my anticipation of it actually intensifies it I'll name two or three such scenes for the benefit of the other person on this board who cares about Buffy

1) At the end of the first season, Buffy is drowned by the Master, but is saved by Zander and Angel, the two men most deeply in love with her at this point Once revived she puts on her "resolve" face and proceeds to dispose of the Master, to every one's relief However, in the opening episode of the Seoncd Season, Buffy discovers a plot to revive the Master by incantation over his bones Her demeanor is one of intense emotion Her tension and apprehension are palpable, as is the determination with which she destroys the bones She becomes entirely alone, as everyone else watches in awe Finally, the deed being done, she weeps and buries her head in Angel's chest

On first viewing, the emotional intensity is gradually noticed, climaxing when she can finally break down in tears But on second and third viewing, when we know what's coming, our own emotional state starts to intensify as soon as she reports that the Master's grave is empty

2) When Buffy and Angel begin to feel something like love for each other, a theme is announced by the alto flute, which I guess is the Buffy and Angel in love theme When later the theme is introduced, sometimes by the clarinet, we anticipate that this is a Buffy in love theme, and anticipate the appropriate mood Much later, after Buffy and Angel have had to separate because of the curse, the theme, sometimes sneakily introduced, reminds us that these two have had a passionate history (And who doesn't like love?)

3) When Buffy has been kicked out by her own tribe and is "living off the land," that is, in someone else's house, she is found by Spike, a somewhat engaging vampire who has alternately been trying to kill Buffy, and getting her to return his love He gives a nice speech explaining that he doesn't love Buffy because he wants her body, or because she is pretty, but because she is who she is, she is someone so single-mindedly good that he can't help love her (He says it better, but I don't have a script) He chivalrously begins to leave, but Buffy asks him to stay, to sit on the bed next to her and just hold her He does so, in one of the most moving scenes in the Buffyverse

This moving qualitly is enhanced when we see the scene again, because we anticipate it Such anticipation is a brain function that probably accounts for many things, perhaps why we fall in love and stay there, perhaps partly for why we love our parents (if we do), the wearing of an emotional path in the circuits of our brains

I mentioned elsewhere the occasion when I invited a German exchange student, Rüdiger Renner, home from college, when we had Easter vacation and he had nowhere to go I managed to get tickets to a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion, with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, a large choir, and well-known professional soloists As the orchestra drifted on stage to tune up to the oboe, Rüdiger began to blow his nose He was weeping When I looked at him, he explained, "I know what's coming!" Such is the power of anticipation

[janicelee]

A little Buffy related news, for the faithful.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080321/ap_en_tv/tv_buffy_reunion;_ylt=AjKcc.q3rSJHOznQLGsWMr9pMhkF

[janicelee]

Here are some excerpts from the Buffy panel discussion. No earth shattering insights but I enjoyed reading it.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080320

[Cat]

You said: "So, you're on the third season, Cat. One of the emotional highs, for me, occurs in this season, something between Buffy and Angel, something that brings moisture to these old eyes. I just finished the Third Season on DVDs (again), ready to start the fourth, as well as the first season all over again on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Can you guess which episode I'm talking about, that pierces my heart so?"

Are you talking about the part where Buffy tells him she will always love him, even though they can't have a normal relationship? Much about Buffy is very deep for me, but I enjoy the comedy, too, and the clever lines. I first started watching Buffy when I was in a deep depression, and they were at the part where she had just returned from the dead. It struck such a deep chord with me when she said she had been so happy there, and now she was worse off being alive again. I was hooked from that moment on. I think this is the third time I'm watching the series. I also enjoyed the musical Buffy show so much. I am a singer.

Keep on posting, Smokey. Sorry, I hadn't looked at this in a long time. I guess I forgot it existed. We need a few more Buffy fans.

[Smokey Stover]

Yes, Cat, we need a few more BUffy fans. I have no idea why I am so deeply affected by the series. I can rationalize it, but every time I do I realize that what I say could be applied to other series which haven't at all the same effect on me. Your posts on this subject really strike a chord with me. You sound very genuine and, if you'll pardon my saying so, anything but superficial.

What kind of music do you sing, Cat? I love to sing. but there are a few obstacles. One of them is that my voice was never very listenable. And then I got a medical disorder of the larynx, brought on by strep throat, that makes it impossible to sing more than a phrase or two. Even Patty, who puts up with a lot, tries to make a quick getaway if I start singing.

Regarding Season Three, and the episode that gives me trouble with excess lachrymation: I know the episode you have in mind, and it is very emotional. But the episode I was talking about is called "Amends," or the Christmas episode. In Season Three Angel is allowed to come back from Vampire Hell, but he is forced to confront his two centuries or so of sheer evil. The "First Evil" tries to persuade Angel that he must kill Buffy. He is instead persuaded that he must kill himself, by standing outdoors when dawn comes round, with the bright sun that kills vampires.

Buffy tracks Angel down that night and reminds him of who he is and who he must be, and what he means to her. It is a very emotional speech, forcefully delivered in almost a soliloquy. She implores him to get inside, to stay alive by avoidiing the dawn, and just as she is crying "If that's all you think ...," she and Angel both realize that snow if falling, thick and fast. Angel will not be killed today by the sun. As a weather announcer observes, "Sunnydale will not see the sun anytime today."

Janicelee, thank you so very, very much for providing your notes on the Buffy panel discussion. Patty and I both made mental notes to watch, and both of us forgot. I'll have a comment or two. Later. I love you girls.

[Smokey Stover]

Janicelee, the only way I can delete my other thread is for you to delete your post on it. I'd love you to copy it here, as it's a nice post, and very useful to Buffy lovers. Then I can either delete the supernumerary thread, or copy it here as just another post.
.................................................. .................................................. .....

Meantime, I've been thinking about Buffy’s eyes.

In the period when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was just getting started, and the producers were trying to drum up viewers by releasing “interesting” information, one of their ploys was to make much of the difficulty in casting the role of Buffy; and another was to do a very short biographical sketch of Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was chosen after all.

In puffing up the new Buffy they showed an ancient commercial, done when she was five. The commercial made waves at the time because SMG specifically mentioned McDonald’s hamburgers as being inferior to those of Burger King. What I noticed most about five-year-old SMG is that her eyes appeared to droop–strikingly-- towards the outer angle, or corner.

This phenomenon was no doubt noticed by all viewers of the TV series at one time or another, since grown-up Sarah had the same drooping-eye trait as five-year-old Sarah. Sometimes it was more noticeable than at other times.

Of course, it isn’t her eyes that droop. They are the same kind of eyes that we all have, more or less, an approximate sphere about an inch in diameter, changing shape gradually, but only a little, barring accident or serious disease or death, and located about an inch apart. What causes the droop is the eyelid. Sarah’s lower eyelid droops a bit, at times.
================================================== ========
[Ignore the following pointless excursion if you like.] But it got me thinking we talk about the eyes, and their effect, when what we mean is the combination of the eye and its setting on the face–the area surrounding the eye-socket. We talk people having big eyes, when the actual eyeballs we’re referring to are about the same size as most other human eyes. What makes them look larger is perhaps the amount that is actually exposed when their eyes are open. And naturally their color, their sheen, their apparent luminosity, their distance apart, and the depth of the bony setting all play a part in how we see them.

I couldn’t help wondering why there wasn’t a word, possibly a medical term, for that opening in the bag of skin we inhabit through which the eye partially pokes out. Here’s the best I could find. The Latin for the actual eye is oculus, which is, I believe, a diminuitive of an earlier form, disused in classical Latin. It would be cognate with our word, eye, which is derived from the German stem “au-,” derived in turn fromthe Indo-European stem “*o”.

The opening, in medical jargon, from which they eye peers out, is controlled by the eyelids, palpebra in Latin. So those who want Latinate jargon for the “eyehole” can call it the palpebral aperture. Yes, that's a real term.

There are only so many apertures or openings in the integument we call skin. Besides the eye-hole there is the mouthhole (os, oris, origin of oral) and the ear-hole. This is tricky. The point where the ear opens up to the inner ear (except for the eardrum) is call the auricular meatus (me-ate-us). There is only one other part of the body commonly said to have a meatus, namely the urinary meatus. And that is, of course, another hole in our outer integument. Occasionally the final part of one of the nostrils (nares) is called a meatus, but rarely.

While the skin has pores that permit gases and liquids to cross the boundary, there are only a couple of other large holes left to mention, so well known I need not name them.

[Smokey Stover]

I put off my comments about the interview which Janicelee has provided us. I'm really sorry I didn't see that interview. BUt it was fun to read, and I'm extremely grateful to Janicelee for giving it to us.

I'll abuse my discretion for only one quote, and that's because Joss has referred to it time and again: "Joss always said he wasn't happy unless Buffy cried." Actually, it's part of his dramatic theory, and it works. We empathize more with our heroine when we can see that she's been hurt. How many heroines on TV can we empathize with the way we empathize with Buffy?

I said somewhere that part of our pleasure in a drama that we really like is anticipation. Reruns of something we liked the first time are going to increase the anticipation. I still start to have feelings welling up inside me just from hearing the Buffy-Angel-love theme. I don't know if we heard it in the firist episode, but certain early in the first season. It starts with a descending sixth on the alto flute (sometimes the clarinet, sometimes the piano, but most characteristically the alto flute). If I hear that theme I begin to start feeling weepy, even without knowing exactly what's coming.

[Doc Holliday]

So Smokey is a Buffy fan, eh? :smile:

I remember watching that show a few times. I remember some funny episodes.

[Cat]

she and Angel both realize that snow if falling, thick and fast. Angel will not be killed today by the sun. As a weather announcer observes, "Sunnydale will not see the sun anytime today."

I missed this post of yours, Smokey. So sorry. As to the quote above, I sure do remember that, gives me chills reading it again right now. I am finally starting season 7. It takes a long time with Netflix, because I have to put in a movie now and then for my husband to watch with me. LOL

My music is the old songs, mostly written in the 20's, 30's, and 40's. If you want to hear one of my oldies, go on my profile page, go down a few comments and you'll see a link to a song on the net.

[Smokey Stover]

Cat,

I visited your profile page, but I am rather slow in figuring out how these things work. I'm going to come back to it another time and give it more attention. I did see the picture of you and your old man. He reminds me a little bit of me, although I keep my hair pretty short. Always have. Used to get two-bit haircuts as a boy, then four bits, then six bits. Inflation is not a new invention. You got your six bits worth, though. The barber would actually heat the lather and shave your sideburns and the line at the back of the neck.

I see Doc Holliday has given a glance to Buffy. Good. I suspect that few males actually respond much to Buffy the series, probably because they are not particularly sentimental. I don't know why I am, but I seem to be. It's just in the genes, I guess.

Patty and I like to watch television much more than TV deserves to be watched. When the going gets really boring it's easy to put in a DVD and watch a Buffy episode, for the seventh or eighth time. One very nice thing about it is that it gives me a chance to show off. Patty hasn't really figured out how to get the TV to play DVDs. (On our machines it's not so easy.)

[Smokey Stover]

In the interview posted by Janicelee, you may have noticed a comment that the series lost viewers when Buffy went to work at the Double-meat Palace, in Season Six. It is true that there was a big decline in viewership in Season Six (a very painful season) and in Season Seven (problematic even to Sarah Michelle Gellar). The things I didn't like about Season Seven are less painful as I see reruns of those episodes.

The discovery of girl-girl sex by Willow, in Season Five (I think?) probably didn't cause any serious erosion of viewership. But what it led to in Season Six was her effort to destroy the world, as dramatic a development as you can imagine. How can you top that in Season Seven?

Of course, in Season Seven you have some of the worst villains, and most dangerous, in the whole series. Many people, for various reasons, didn't like that final season. I shall be anxious to find out your opinion, Cat. I beg you to watch carefully the episode called Showtime. Quite dramatic, quite rewarding.

How does she do it? In various interviews she mentions how tired she is, how tiring it is to be on virtually all the time. But she found time during the filming of Buffy to make whole movies in which she was on all the time. That explains a few of her unannounced changes in hair color.

[Cat]

Cat,

I visited your profile page, but I am rather slow in figuring out how these things work. I'm going to come back to it another time and give it more attention. I did see the picture of you and your old man. He reminds me a little bit of me, although I keep my hair pretty short. Always have. Used to get two-bit haircuts as a boy, then four bits, then six bits. Inflation is not a new invention. You got your six bits worth, though. The barber would actually heat the lather and shave your sideburns and the line at the back of the neck.

I see Doc Holliday has given a glance to Buffy. Good. I suspect that few males actually respond much to Buffy the series, probably because they are not particularly sentimental. I don't know why I am, but I seem to be. It's just in the genes, I guess.

Patty and I like to watch television much more than TV deserves to be watched. When the going gets really boring it's easy to put in a DVD and watch a Buffy episode, for the seventh or eighth time. One very nice thing about it is that it gives me a chance to show off. Patty hasn't really figured out how to get the TV to play DVDs. (On our machines it's not so easy.)

:67302: "old man" I guess he is--he's 69 now. He wears his hair long, because that is part of his "Riverboat show" image. You look like my husband? Interesting. I've heard about those two-bit haircuts.

I think most men can't relate to Buffy because they are afraid to be too sentimental. I have tried interesting Ken in it, but aside from watching a couple episodes with me (notably the musical one), he just can't seem to get interested. It's ok with me. I have my "Buffythons" all by myself and still enjoy them.

TV is pretty terrible these days. I haven't watched a whole program all summer. When the fall season starts we have some series we will watch again. They cancelled one of my favorites, "Moonlight." Darn, darn, darn. It kind of left things hanging. :madranting94dp:

[Cat]

In the interview posted by Janicelee, you may have noticed a comment that the series lost viewers when Buffy went to work at the Double-meat Palace, in Season Six. It is true that there was a big decline in viewership in Season Six (a very painful season) and in Season Seven (problematic even to Sarah Michelle Gellar). The things I didn't like about Season Seven are less painful as I see reruns of those episodes.

The discovery of girl-girl sex by Willow, in Season Five (I think?) probably didn't cause any serious erosion of viewership. But what it led to in Season Six was her effort to destroy the world, as dramatic a development as you can imagine. How can you top that in Season Seven?

Of course, in Season Seven you have some of the worst villains, and most dangerous, in the whole series. Many people, for various reasons, didn't like that final season. I shall be anxious to find out your opinion, Cat. I beg you to watch carefully the episode called Showtime. Quite dramatic, quite rewarding.

How does she do it? In various interviews she mentions how tired she is, how tiring it is to be on virtually all the time. But she found time during the filming of Buffy to make whole movies in which she was on all the time. That explains a few of her unannounced changes in hair color.

I searched and couldn't find the interview that JL posted. Could you point me to it?

I disliked season 7 so much, I almost didn't order it this time around. I was mad that they killed Anja for one thing--I loved Anja. Yes, it was a hard season to watch. The Willow thing was very hard to watch, but I liked how they resolved it with Xander overcoming evil with love.

I will watch Showtime carefully and get back to you. You are the first person I've been able to discuss the show with. That is nice. I sometimes tell my daughter about it, but she never got into it either, so that is not very rewarding. Her husband thinks "Buffy was hot." LOL She was, even I (as a female) can see what a beautiful young girl she was. It was interesting to watch all the characters mature during the series.

Have a great day, Smokey. :friends3:

[Smokey Stover]

Cat, you have commented a bit about Season Six and a bit about Season Seven. It's hard to remember exactly where you are, isn't it, especially the first time through.

I hope we are clear that "Showtime" is the name of an episode in Season Seven of Buffy (BtVS). Virtually all the episodes get their name from a word or phrase actually spoken during the episode. In the episode called Passions, that word is spoken in a voice-over by the now-evil Angel.

That voice-over is one of several techniques used only once, or rarely. For the players, the episode called Hush was a difficult challenge. No dialogue, no music, until the very end. Obviously "Buffy the Musical" was a challenge, since the players had to learn to sing and dance--to music and words by Joss Whedon, not known for his compositional skills. The actors rose to the challenge, although it was apparent that most of them had little singing experience and even less in singing for an audience. Buffy (or SMG) could carry a tune and stay on pitch, which may have been a surprise to her, as it was obvious that she wasn't used to singing, even in the shower.

In my effort to understand why I liked Buffy, the Series, so much I began to think about camera technique. Some television series, like NYPD Blue, achieved part of their cachet by using hand-held cameras, with quick pans, out-of-focus shots, and other techniques to make the presence of the camera obvious. In a previous post I mentioned "resistance of the medium" (especially in connection with Michelangelo). This is an example.

BUffy, like most photographed dramas, prefers the opposite approach, which may be called "art concealing art." If we never once think about the camera work, if we become almost unaware of it, then the cameraman has done his job. Most painting from the Renaissance to the 20th century has adopted the art-concealing-art approach. You could also call it naturalism or realism, since the intent is to direct one's attention entirely to the subject matter and not towards the technique. You may have heard of "trompe-l'oeil" art. Some painters invested a lot of effort into fooling the viewer into regarding the painting as the real thing, or at least a plausible simulacrum of the real thing. "Trompe l'oeil" means "fool the eye," and is just an extreme case of art concealing art. A lot of Baroque churches, as an example, had ceilings realistically so as to give the illusion that there was no ceiling at all, that one was actually looking up into the sky.

In any case, traditional cinematic photography is designed to enhance the realism and stay otherwise out of the way. But the photography of the drama is an active art. It isn't at all like simply setting up the camera in front of the set and letting it roll. An instructive example is the filming of ballet or opera. Ballet and opera were designed to play out on a stage, one with a proscenium arch in most cases, with an audience in front of the stage usually in a theater with a general horse-shoe shape, with every viewer (ideally) able to view pretty much the whole stage--but from adistance. The set designer must take this circumstance for granted. If you have seen The Nutcracker played live in a theater, and then seen the same on TV as photographed by skilled photographers, you probably will agree that ballet is not entirely compatible with television. Or at least that filmed ballet and theatrical ballet are two different experiences.

In television and movies the camera is the medium, and the photographer and editor continually must make choices. They must choose between close-ups, medium distince shots, and long shots. They can, if they like, shoot from above eye-level or from below. They must adapt their choices to achieve not only some balance, but also to wring out the maximum dramatic advantage. Who has not seen movies spoiled by incessant too-close head-shots?

I shan't go on and on about this, or about lighting, much as I'd like to, but household duties beckon me, and I shall close with a single example of a hand-held shot. A hand-held camera does not have to give jiggly and out-of-focus pictures. Sometimes it's a necessity. In Season Three of BtVS Angel is wounded by a poisoned arrow, and is on the brink of death. The only thing that can save him is the blood of a Slayer. Surely Buffy wouldn't commit suicide to save Angel. Or would she? She has a plan, to lose enough blood to save Angel without quite dying. She gets the reluctant Angel on his feet and knocks him around until she forces the latent vampire out into the open, then offers him her neck. Ancient instinct causes Angel to drain her blood. As she loses blood, Buffy begins to sink down, with her eyes staring straight up. The camera follows her closely, spiraling around her as she sinks, letting us see her weakening, focusing on her large, staring eyes. What a hell of a scene! Moving, awesome drama, with the camera an active participant.

Well, that's today's lesson. Have a nice evening.

[janicelee]

Cat, because it's you I'll be more then happy to repost the link in question.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080320

Going to jump in here and post some random thoughts, on the topic at hand. Seasons 6 & 7

Everyone including the show's creator agree season 6 was less successful. Part of this may have had to do with switching networks. At the end of season 5 Buffy died again, the WB network decided not to renew the Show. Buffy then switched to the UPN network which had fewer affilates. I remember writing and calling my cable tv provider to argue with them that they simply had to carry the local low power UPN affilate because I had to have my Buffy. Happily the cable company finally did add UPN to my cable lineup, but I do understand that some parts of the country UPN was not as readily available as the WB had been. This may have had something to do with a decline in viewership.

It seems unlikely, as Smokey has suggested that the gay relationship between Willow and Tara had anything to do with the decline in viewership. Although, Tara's death may have lead to a small decline in viewership. I know among the more militant members of the lesbian community, there was some talk of boycotting Buffy after Tara's death. Despite my being a lesbian and on occasion militant, I strongly disagreed with this, I cried like a baby when Tara died, however I do understand that for artistic integrity Tara, as much as I loved her, had to die. It was the only way to make the story arc work. Much as Buffy's mom had to die and much Anja had to die. This was what made Buffy different, the death on anyone The problem with Season 6 was it was just flat out depressing.

Season 7 as much as many didn't like it at the time, I find has aged rather like a good wine. I like it more now then I did at the time. I would suggest to anyone who struggles with Season 7 try to find the book Chosen. It is basically the entire season reduced to story form. It isn't scripts, it is all 22 episodes of the last season told as 22 separate short stories. It really helped me to get Season 7.

Smokey funny you should mention the camera work on Buffy. Joss, mentioned that the reason he wrote, "Hush" the eposide that is largely without dialogue, was because he felt the camera work on Buffy had become too predictable, and was little better then standard television fare. He felt that if he was forced not to rely on dialogue he would have to go for different kinds of shots to tell the story.

Well I think I've bored everyone with enough Buffy trivia for one day.

[Cat]

I hope we are clear that "Showtime" is the name of an episode in Season Seven of Buffy (BtVS). Virtually all the episodes get their name from a word or phrase actually spoken during the episode. In the episode called Passions, that word is spoken in a voice-over by the now-evil Angel.

Yes, I'm clear on that. I just finished watching the first disc from season 7.

Smokey, you know so much about art and many subjects. Were you a teacher?

In Season Three of BtVS Angel is wounded by a poisoned arrow, and is on the brink of death. The only thing that can save him is the blood of a Slayer. Surely Buffy wouldn't commit suicide to save Angel. Or would she? She has a plan, to lose enough blood to save Angel without quite dying. She gets the reluctant Angel on his feet and knocks him around until she forces the latent vampire out into the open, then offers him her neck. Ancient instinct causes Angel to drain her blood. As she loses blood, Buffy begins to sink down, with her eyes staring straight up. The camera follows her closely, spiraling around her as she sinks, letting us see her weakening, focusing on her large, staring eyes. What a hell of a scene! Moving, awesome drama, with the camera an active participant.


I remember this scene very well. It is intense, as many Buffy scenes are.

Later, Smokey.

[Cat]

Well, thanks, Janicelee; I appreciate that. That was a very interesting article. On one of the Buffy discs they had a panel of show members, but Sarah wasn't there. That was kind of disappointing.

I did find season 7 more depressing than season 6. I have just watched the first three episodes of season 7, and so far, so good. I felt really bad about Tara dying, also, but I realize that had to be in order to make "evil Willow."

Who is the author of "Chosen?" Thanks in advance.

[Smokey Stover]

Cat, because it's you I'll be more then happy to repost the link in question.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20080320
[skip]

Season 7 as much as many didn't like it at the time, I find has aged rather like a good wine. I like it more now then I did at the time. I would suggest to anyone who struggles with Season 7 try to find the book Chosen. It is basically the entire season reduced to story form. It isn't scripts, it is all 22 episodes of the last season told as 22 separate short stories. It really helped me to get Season 7.

Smokey funny you should mention the camera work on Buffy. Joss, mentioned that the reason he wrote, "Hush" the eposide that is largely without dialogue, was because he felt the camera work on Buffy had become too predictable, and was little better then standard television fare. He felt that if he was forced not to rely on dialogue he would have to go for different kinds of shots to tell the story.

Well I think I've bored everyone with enough Buffy trivia for one day.

I hope I speak for Cat as well when I say none of us is bored with your Buffy trivia or your Buffy comments. There used to be a dozen or more Websites devoted to chatting about Buffy. Unfortunately for me, it has taken me some time to digest the series well enough to generate my own comments. I'm a little slow, and I have to think about things.

I did hear that remark of Whedon that the photography was getting too predictable. I don't always remember what Whedon said, especially if I disagree with it. The photography was the kind I like--the kind that highlights what you need highlighted, but is generally unobtrusive enough not to tread on the story by bringing attentiont to itself.

I found from the beginning that there was a good balance of shots, a good mix of close-ups, long-distance, and middle-distance shots, from perspectives that made sense of the story-line as it progressed. When Spike talks trash to Glory, speaking of her "lopsided, skanky ass," we see Glory sneaking a glance at as much of her rear end as she can. When we want to establish the gothic tone of Hush, we get a distance-photo of the bell-tower where the Gentlemen congregate--and where Buffy and Riley discover, so to speak, each other's secret identity.

Whether it's here or elsewhere, there's a moment when Buffy or Riley says, "I guess we should talk," and the other says, "I guess we should." So they head for BUffy's room, where the two of them just silently sit, waiting for inspiration. The camera very patiently just waits--no close-ups, no panning around, no relieving the silence by camera action. It's the best way to use the camera, show the two of them frozen and unable to find the words, until finally they start talking.

I don't remember Joss saying anything about lighting, although he or someone did say that SMG knew always to find the light. The lighting was imaginative, but I'm not always certain I like the results. We have Buffy (in Season Six?) almost without makeup, and with a yellowish face. I think the intent was to make her look older and harried. We also see her face colored green and blue, when she steps into the shadowland of the demons.

I couldn't agree more, Janicelee, that Season Seven becomes a little easier to take as time goes by. (Anyone want to sing?) Cat is struggling with it, and the concentrated evil, along with the regiment of naive young girls, can be wearying. I think that dramatically Season Five may have been the best, but I'm open to argument about it.

Well, it was nice chatting, but now I have to go and persuade my cat to come in. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. G'night.

[Cat]

Smokey, I liked their camera work. I also liked when they used blue in the shadows--it's kind of arty.

One of my favorite episodes was "The Gentlemen." I loved how they just floated along above the floor or ground. They were SCARY and without a sound.

Part of my problem with all the deaths is that I am old enough that I was raised on "the good guys always win and NEVER die" no matter how bad it gets. That's kind of hard to get past even though I know the world doesn't work that way. Movies and tv SHOULD still work that way.

[London Lass]

I absolutely love Buffy...especially when Angel was in it...smouldering mean and moody...yum! :blondblush113268230

My least favourite character was Riley!

[Cat]

I absolutely love Buffy...especially when Angel was in it...smouldering mean and moody...yum! :blondblush113268230

My least favourite character was Riley!

He really didn't do it for me either, V. Glad you have joined us. We need a few more Buffy fans. My order of favorite characters:
Buffy
Xander
Willow
Spike
Anya

My least favorite character, although she was a good actress, was probably Dawn. She was so whiney for so long. That squealy scream of hers really got to me, too. I hope since she's grown up, she has lost the high pitched tones a bit. Went right through me.

[London Lass]

He really didn't do it for me either, V. Glad you have joined us. We need a few more Buffy fans. My order of favorite characters:
Buffy
Xander
Willow
Spike
Anya

My least favorite character, although she was a good actress, was probably Dawn. She was so whiney for so long. That squealy scream of hers really got to me, too. I hope since she's grown up, she has lost the high pitched tones a bit. Went right through me.

Out of those five it would be...

Xander
Willow
Spike
Buffy
Anya

[Cat]

Out of those five it would be...

Xander
Willow
Spike
Buffy
Anya

We are quite different that way, V. I forgot to put Angel in there, oops. I liked him a lot, too, better when he wasn't evil though. I watched all of his series. I was really disappointed with how they ended it.

[janicelee]

I hope I speak for Cat as well when I say none of us is bored with your Buffy trivia or your Buffy comments. There used to be a dozen or more Websites devoted to chatting about Buffy. Unfortunately for me, it has taken me some time to digest the series well enough to generate my own comments. I'm a little slow, and I have to think about things.

I did hear that remark of Whedon that the photography was getting too predictable. I don't always remember what Whedon said, especially if I disagree with it. The photography was the kind I like--the kind that highlights what you need highlighted, but is generally unobtrusive enough not to tread on the story by bringing attentiont to itself.

I found from the beginning that there was a good balance of shots, a good mix of close-ups, long-distance, and middle-distance shots, from perspectives that made sense of the story-line as it progressed. When Spike talks trash to Glory, speaking of her "lopsided, skanky ass," we see Glory sneaking a glance at as much of her rear end as she can. When we want to establish the gothic tone of Hush, we get a distance-photo of the bell-tower where the Gentlemen congregate--and where Buffy and Riley discover, so to speak, each other's secret identity.

Whether it's here or elsewhere, there's a moment when Buffy or Riley says, "I guess we should talk," and the other says, "I guess we should." So they head for BUffy's room, where the two of them just silently sit, waiting for inspiration. The camera very patiently just waits--no close-ups, no panning around, no relieving the silence by camera action. It's the best way to use the camera, show the two of them frozen and unable to find the words, until finally they start talking.

I don't remember Joss saying anything about lighting, although he or someone did say that SMG knew always to find the light. The lighting was imaginative, but I'm not always certain I like the results. We have Buffy (in Season Six?) almost without makeup, and with a yellowish face. I think the intent was to make her look older and harried. We also see her face colored green and blue, when she steps into the shadowland of the demons.

I couldn't agree more, Janicelee, that Season Seven becomes a little easier to take as time goes by. (Anyone want to sing?) Cat is struggling with it, and the concentrated evil, along with the regiment of naive young girls, can be wearying. I think that dramatically Season Five may have been the best, but I'm open to argument about it.

Well, it was nice chatting, but now I have to go and persuade my cat to come in. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. G'night.


I know that there is a fairly extensive discussion of the lighting on Buffy on the Season 6 DVD which includes as an extra the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences panel discussion, which if my memory serves me in addition to Joss and several cast members some of the technical people who worked behind the scenes.

[Smokey Stover]

Out of those five it would be...

Xander
Willow
Spike
Buffy
Anya

I think it interesting that no one has mentioned Rupert Giles (Tony Head). He's quite integral to the Scooby Doos, even if a bit detached. Playing off his British demeanour gives BUffy, and sometimes the others, endless opportunities.

I'm sure that you know that of the core group, only Giles is a native of Britain. Spike was born in Northern California, and learned to speak British via language coaching. Drusilla, aka Juliet Landau, was born in the U.S. Her parents moved to London when she was a child; she returned to the U.S. when she was eighteen. Her father, Martin Landau, is now 77, at the end of a very successful acting career. Most Americans remember him and his wife, Barbara Bain, as mainstays of Mission Impossible, an impossibly successful American series.

And how about that gang in London, the COuncil, which came over to harrass Buffy and Giles on two occasions, with highly dramatic results.

I'm going to cut out now, because Mrs. Stover wants me to come help her watch "Bones," of which one of the two main characters is the former Angel.

But I'm just getting into this. It's really interesting (to me). I was just checking on Camden Toy.

Later.

[janicelee]

I think it interesting that no one has mentioned Rupert Giles (Tony Head). He's quite integral to the Scooby Doos, even if a bit detached. Playing off his British demeanour gives BUffy, and sometimes the others, endless opportunities.

I'm sure that you know that of the core group, only Giles is a native of Britain. Spike was born in Northern California, and learned to speak British via language coaching. Drusilla, aka Juliet Landau, was born in the U.S. Her parents moved to London when she was a child; she returned to the U.S. when she was eighteen. Her father, Martin Landau, is now 77, at the end of a very successful acting career. Most Americans remember him and his wife, Barbara Bain, as mainstays of Mission Impossible, an impossibly successful American series.

And how about that gang in London, the COuncil, which came over to harrass Buffy and Giles on two occasions, with highly dramatic results.

I'm going to cut out now, because Mrs. Stover wants me to come help her watch "Bones," of which one of the two main characters is the former Angel.

But I'm just getting into this. It's really interesting (to me). I was just checking on Camden Toy.

Later.

Giles, how many charactes in the history of television have been better written and then better acted then Giles?

It has been argued, and I won't disagree that the problem with Season Six is that Anthony Stewart Head was absent for too much of it. Giles was often the victim of the joke in Buffy the only character more likely to be the victim of bad luck in any given episode of Buffy then Giles was Xander.

However, Giles despite being the occassionally bumbling stuffed shirt brit never lost his soul or descended into the sterotype sitcom dad, which could very easily have happened in the hands of a lesser actor. He offered unconditional love to the Scooby gang, who all it would appear needed a father figure. Buffy's father appeared only a couple of times and was largely absent from her life. Willow's father was mentioned on a few occasions was never actually seen. Xander's father was seen oly once and it was fairly obvious why Xander would need a father figure. Even Tara, who appeared only in the later seasons had heartbreaking father issues, Giles served as a father figure to all occasionally disapproving of bad behaviour but always none the less loving of his "children"

[janicelee]

Well, thanks, Janicelee; I appreciate that. That was a very interesting article. On one of the Buffy discs they had a panel of show members, but Sarah wasn't there. That was kind of disappointing.

I did find season 7 more depressing than season 6. I have just watched the first three episodes of season 7, and so far, so good. I felt really bad about Tara dying, also, but I realize that had to be in order to make "evil Willow."

Who is the author of "Chosen?" Thanks in advance.


Interestingly enough there is no author listed for Chosen. I checked Amazon and it lists it as being based on work by Joss Whedon and Nancy Holden.

[Cat]

Interestingly enough there is no author listed for Chosen. I checked Amazon and it lists it as being based on work by Joss Whedon and Nancy Holden.

Thanks a lot, janicelee. I'll keep it in mind. I am just now close to done with a book about Buffy's first and second season, The Buffy Chronicles.

[Smokey Stover]

I was about to say there's a reason men don't usually care about Buffy, the Series. Then I remembered that in the Buffy heyday, some of the dozens of sites about the series were started by men. So I guess I've gotten off on the wrong premise.

But then we're left wondering, Why did men once like Buffy? Isn't it a girls' show? High school kids growing up, many humorous situations, a lot of play on the idea of high school cliques--doesn't that all sound girlish? Well, perhaps a few men were drawn in by the presence of at least two really pretty girls.

Nah, there wasn't any gratuitous lubricity, or at least, the producers weren't exploiting the girls for anything except being girls. Men don't just line up to see shows containing a pretty girl or two.

And then there's the question: was Buffy really pretty? Is Sarah Michelle Gellar? Sarah is very nice to look at, but no one is going to wig out over her. How about her as Buffy, all dolled up, with a new hair color, expert make-up, and very skilled lighting to show her off to advantage? COmpare Buffy to Sarah's role in Cruel Intentions--brown hair, her face rarely seen really close up, and intended to be viewed as a villainess.

I mentioned photography and lighting. Since Buffy is almost always on, there are lots of opportunities for close-ups. And we learn that the actress has every possible expression on her face one time or another in the seven years. But the overall impression (or my overall impression) is of a very pretty girl. Yet Joss goes out of his way in later episodes to show Buffy divested of much of the makeup that was so effectively applied to her as a teen-ager. And wearing less stylish clothes, and seen in poorer light.

I mentioned in an earlier post somewhere that by the time this happens we have already committed to Buffy. She is beautiful, through thick and thin, because we love her. And as Spike touchingly said, "I don't love you because I expect something from you, I love you because you're good."

We were talking earlier about various cast members, and how much we liked them--or at least appreciated them. I mentioned that I was surprised there was so little mention of Giles. Joss Whedon is very careful how he let's Giles be seen (and says so). Giles plainly loves Buffy, but it remains for another character to say so. Harris Yulin, as Quentin Travers, fires Giles as being of no use any longer as a Watcher. He loves Buffy as a father, and has lost his objectivity. Whedon doesn't want to portray Giles as being sentimental. So every time Giles becomes emotional, instead of getting tears in his eyes he takes of his glasses to polish them. In Season Three, when Buffy returns from her self-imposed exile, Giles greets her with his usual steady aplomb, then goes into the kitchen to make tea and wipe his glasses. It's the Gilish equivalent of bursting into tears. Really stiff upper lip.

Gotta go, back later.

I

[London Lass]

I think it interesting that no one has mentioned Rupert Giles (Tony Head). He's quite integral to the Scooby Doos, even if a bit detached. Playing off his British demeanour gives BUffy, and sometimes the others, endless opportunities.

I'm sure that you know that of the core group, only Giles is a native of Britain. Spike was born in Northern California, and learned to speak British via language coaching. Drusilla, aka Juliet Landau, was born in the U.S. Her parents moved to London when she was a child; she returned to the U.S. when she was eighteen. Her father, Martin Landau, is now 77, at the end of a very successful acting career. Most Americans remember him and his wife, Barbara Bain, as mainstays of Mission Impossible, an impossibly successful American series.

And how about that gang in London, the COuncil, which came over to harrass Buffy and Giles on two occasions, with highly dramatic results.

I'm going to cut out now, because Mrs. Stover wants me to come help her watch "Bones," of which one of the two main characters is the former Angel.

But I'm just getting into this. It's really interesting (to me). I was just checking on Camden Toy.

Later.

I loved Giles - and I love Anthony Head - he is a great actor in general, and has played so many different parts. His most recent (BBC production) was a show called "The Invisibles" for anyone interested.

[Smokey Stover]

Today's Lesson is from the Epistles of Saint Smokey, in this case the Epistle to the Thalassians.

I won't say, dear friends, that beautiful girls are a dime a dozen. If that were the case they'd run out very quickly.

I have my favorites, other than Buffy, on the little screen. (I don't watch the big screen--movies--except on the little screen.) Once a movie is shown on cable, it gets shown again and again, like the Harry Potter movies. One such repeater was/is "What a Girl Wants." Traditional chick-flick story line. Girl wants to see her Dad, has interesting adventures ending in reunion. The leading lady was Amanda Bynes. The movie kept coming back over and over, but since with only 150 or so channels to choose from, it was often the best thing to see. And I really liked Amada Bynes. I find her interesting to watch, and pretty enough to keep my attention. It took me a while to realize what she and Buffy have in common. Her cheeks are even chubbier than those of the young Buffy.

This morning I watched an extremely interesting episode of Growing UP ...... on the Animal Planet. Today it was grizzly bears, and a family that loves them. And a guest star that also loves them, namely, Jennifer Aniston. I've never seen a single episode of Friends, so I haven't seen much Jennifer Aniston. But what I have seen of her, as in this video of life with grizzly bears, shows a very nice person, very likeable and also socially conscious. And apparently smart. Also, her cheeks look very nice to me, full enough to matter.

So perhaps we've found the common thread.To be sure, these girls have a lot more going for them than just their cheeks, as far as beauty goes. But long ago I read that humans (probably like most mammals) are pre -programmed to like baby faces--especially on babies, but more surprisingly on adults as well. And one undeniable fact about baby faces is that they are cheeky.

Thus ends today's Lesson. Another Epistle will be read in due course.

[Smokey Stover]

Two days ago I was watering the plants on the porch. Some of them are hung under the eaves, so I tried using a wand about 3 feet long, maybe more. Trouble is, the connection wasn't tight, and I got thoroughly soaked before many of the plants did. The connection was loose and leaky.

You've heard of tight plotting, of tight construction in a play or novel. What does it mean? It means that the plot is not loose or leaky, that every word is a contribution to the plot. Of course, that could be just a little too tight. We need a little looseness, perhaps, but not too much. Tight plotting does not by itself make a drama a success. But loose plotting can sink it. (You no doubt remember the motto, loose lips sink ships).

Joss Whedon is not the only dramatist on TV who can write tight scripts. Many writers and teams of writers have this in mind. There are fewer than sixty minutes in a television hour, and no one's going to let you intrude on commercial time. If you have an elaborate plot, or as is often the case, two plots going on at once, you need to be very parsimonious with the time allowed for each scene, and therefore miserly with words.

Well, how many dramas are so ambitious as to try to carry two plots on simultaneously? We could start with Shakespeare. He was (and is) famous for carrying on more than one plot thread. Sometimes the two plots converge. Robert van Gulik styled his Judge Dee mystery novels after Chinese fiction of the Middle Ages (our Middle Ages, not theirs), in which three plots were often developed simultaneously, sometimes coming together at the end. And so it is with Judge Dee novels, which I heartily recommend. They're not long, they're easy to read, and they have sexy line drawings. Well, maybe sexy. Van Gulik noted in one of his prefaces that readers had been asking him to put in a little more sex (as opposed to practically none at the start of his series). Since Van Gulik had already written about sex life in ancient China, he had no trouble knowing what he could put in.

I'm sure you've all seen television plays (as well as Shakespeare) in which multiple plot threads are developed. It's usually two, on murder mysteries and police procedurals. More often than not they don't come together at the end. But keeping them going plausibly, while holding our interest, requires a certain skill in writing. By itself that probably won't keep a television series going. You have to have production values and interesting actors.

Buffy has those in abundance. But simultaneous plots are somewhat uncommon, although I probably could be persuaded otherwise. One problem with writing an episode in a series "tightly" is that we have to have at least a little room to reintroduce our characters plausibly, for the benefit of those just tuning in. In the case of BtVS, we also have to keep at least a bit in touch with Whedon's preference to maintain a sort of arc from the beginning to the end of each season.

In Season 1, life in Sunnydale (and the world) is threatened by the Master, a megalomaniacal demon who wants to get out of the Hellmouth, located conveniently just a bit down from Giles's library. We meet him at the beginning and again at the end, in a very successul climax in which we see Buffy showing her resolve and her courage. But we and her friends fear for her until the finale. One thread that carries the arc along from beginning to end is Angel, and the love obviously growing in Buffy's heart, emerging from her month mostly in the form of dry humor.

If you have had the fortune, or misfortune, of taking a course in music appreciation, then you will have been taught about Richard Wagner and his vision of "Musikdrama" as Gesamtkunstwerk. That means that all the arts will be deployed in a common endeavor to make the drama dramatic and as real as it can get. ("Real" not as in really long, it just comes out that way.) Every television series pays out a lot of money for costumers, for makeup artists, for set designers and carpenters and electricians. And noticeably when you see the result, composers and music arrangers.

In the case of Buffy, the main composer was Christophe Beck, who did the music for 58 episodes, including the leading themes, followed by Thomas Wanker, who did 42 episodes, and then seven more who between them composed music for the remainder.

I mentioned "leading themes." Aha, back to Wagner and his leitmotifs. The first such theme in BtVS characterizes or accompanies Buffy's love for Angel. We often think of the accompanying music as largely like the kind of music they used to play on theater organs during silent movies--not so much tunes or themes as figures to go with the action, repetitive rhythms for car racing, louder and more percussive repetitive figures for fights and dangerous situations, a few inchoate tunes (occasionally real tunes) for the love scenes. Oddly enough, most of the orchestral (and some vocal) background music in BtVS is composed by Beck (and possibly the others) on a synthesizer. He had one additional fellow who would play whatever woodwind Beck thought he needed, especially for the Buffy=Angel theme.

Perhaps we should call it the love theme. It first appears played on an alto flute, an unusual instrument that really captures our attention. In subsequent appearances it sometimes enters as notes on a clarinet, or on a standard flute, all played by the same gentleman, and sometimes limned by the piano, that is, Beck on his synthesizer. It is not theater-organ music, it is a real melody. There are many such instances of Beck composing real melodies, singable and memorable tunes, often to go with a situation that repeats itself in some way.

Do you remember what happens every time Xander and Cordelia lock lips after exchanging insults. As soon as they kiss, the music becomes an imitation of a soaring theme that might have appeared in, say, Gone With the Wind, or some other pretentious movie score. I'm not knocking the music for Gone with the Wind. Max Steiner's score remains one of the very best ever to come out of Hollywood. Perhaps he was equalled by John Williams (Star Wars, Harry Potter), but Steiner's music still soars.

Actually the brief soaring love-theme invented by Beck for Xander and Cordelia is a parody, an example of BtVS humor--one which I still find funny.

When there are several composers, but one main composer, the subsequent ones honor the work and intentions of their predecessor, as is usually the case with new writers. We have already established certain conventions and our audience expects them. Thomas Wanker did an outstanding job, in spite of being saddled by a name which in Great Britain is considered a source of humor. To the Brits, a wanker is a masturbator, the word being spoken as a kind of insult. In fact, I think Spike uses it that way once. (You will surely remember Xander's pitiful efforst to hide his references to Dracula as "master." To cover his mistake he says "master . . . bator." )

I haven't mentioned the popular music brought in to help simulate The Bronze as a nightclub / hangout for the young adults of Sunnydale. Anyone with favorites, or something to say, please say it. This is a field that is largely terra incognita to me.

And will somebody tell me why I get thrown off the site before being able to send my post, when I have signed in less than an hour ago?

[Cat]

Smokey, I just found this site that has episodes, plus music videos, etc. http://www.veoh.com. Just put Buffy in the search box, because the link is ungodly long. :happy0207:

[Cat]

Smokey, before I forget, you should not be thrown off the site at all. Maybe contact Pauli and ask what the problem could be. I know the hacker was back very briefly the other night, but Pauli said that was fixed right away.

As to Buffy, I did not have a music appreciation class, so my music tastes are very plebian. I like the classic oldies, 60's & 70's R&B, great movie themes (like GWTW & The High and the Mighty--soaring music). I did not "get" or like most of the music played in the Bronze. Your posts are so scholarly, I can't understand a lot of them, so I am not one to comment much. Basically, I can only say what strikes me most in the Buffy series. That's mostly the emotional chords. Being a woman, I am rather sentimental. I know some men are sentimental, too, you being one, Smokey. It's just that they usually try not to show it, my experience anyway.

I also get that you like girls with chubby cheeks. LOL

[Smokey Stover]

I was surprised to see all those Buffy episodes on the Veoh site linked by Cat, starting with one which turned out to be a pastiche. That is, it incorporated bits from various episodes or parts of the same episode, with music by someone else. I don't object, but was surprised. Evidently BtVS has made a larger impression than I had known.

I'll just add a little to the chubby cheeks theme. It's interesting to me to compare this blond beauty in BtVS to her evil twin in Cruel Intentions. You have to look closely at the evil twin to see the hidden beauty. It isn't just the brown hair vs. blond hair. Sarah has posed for glamor shots in brown hair that are pretty stunning. I always wind up thinking what is obvious, namely that in Cruel Intentions she is not supposed to be glamorous, while in BtVS, a 7 season marathon, she is supposed to be all things that a short, perfectly formed girl can be.

As to "perfectly formed," let me mention only one episode, The Prom, near the end of Season 3. Buffy appears, in Angel's dream, in a wedding gown, perfectly tailored to her body. I can just imagine girls seeing this dress saying "We should all be so lucky!" The dress is white, of course, spreading out and down from the narrow waist, and above that, off the shoulder, showing Buffy's neck and shoulders to perfection. Yes, perfection.

Who is the world's first beauty queen? People who have seen the partial bust of Nefertiti, that is, the head and neck and beginning of the shoulders, usually stand in awe of her beauty, so much so that she is often mentioned as a paragon of beauty. She, of course, was the wife of a pharaoh, Akhnaten (in one spelling*), and mother-in-law of another, Tutankhamen, or King Tut. What makes her such a beauty? I'm not going to reproduce her here, or give links. I haven't found one I that does justice to her. (I've seen the original sculpture.) But what is most obvious is her slender neck, her sloping shoulders, and her face forward pose, as well as the pefect proportions of her face.

The wedding dress mentioned above shows Buffy's slender neck and sloping shoulders better than any other outfit in BtVS, and very prominently because of the lighting. The good thing? Most women have slender necks and sloping shoulders, at least to some degree, just as many women have slightly pudgy cheeks. Many men also have sloping shoulders, but when they are noticeable they usually suggest strength rather than beauty. Take a gander at Arnold Schwarzenegger with his shirt off, straining in one of his heroic roles. Fortunately there's no mistaking a male neck for a female one. The Adam's apple takes care of that.

And if someone asks you your favorite of the dresses Buffy wears, don't forget the lilac dress she wears to the prom.
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When we see a fantasy / action / romance story, we assume that there is some very implausible premise. We know that the monster world doesn't really exist, but we let our imaginations assume, as a premise, that it does. However, we expect plausibility for the actions of humans in facing this monster world. We expect them to act the way humans, as we know them, act, although perhaps a tad more heroically.

The Buffy gang, the Scooby Doos, are a group familiar to many of us, even me. It consists of the friends of a charismatic figure, a leader, who may not lead his group anywhere except to dinner, but nonetheless is considered the focal point of the group. I belonged once to such a group, a small number of people who gathered round a charismatic research fellow in grad school, and who all went to supper together in the student cafeteria most weekday evenings. It included one girl, the leader's wife. (They subsequently broke up, and I dated her for a while--in a different city.)

We have to mention here that the Scooby Doos don't behave as this kind of group the way they should to be plausible. Xander is attracted to Buffy not just because of her beauty and the fact that she tolerates him, but because of her charisma. But he noisily attacks her on several occasions. Group members don't attack their leader. Not unless they are trying to unseat the leader and be the pack leader themselves. Xander is not trying to unseat Buffy, but on at least three occasions, probably more, he lashes out at her. Other members of the group do the same, and on one occasion do actually unseat her as their leader.

Out of character, we cry. Why would Joss Whedon do such a thing? Does he not know human nature, when that is what the series is all about? The answer lies, of course, in the demands of the plot. Whedon could have plotted it differently, and probably required more characters to do it. But this is an ensemble group. The actors in BUffy are themselves the clique or group revolving around Buffy, so it is they who must provide the plot movement, however improbable, to get us where Whedon is going. Still, I hate it when the Scooby Doos attack Buffy.
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I used to visit the Barnes & Noble TV bookshelf from time to time and look at the books about BtVS. There were many, and I think most were written by young people. There is this about young people. They have something to prove, and often want to show the world how smart they are. So one of them (if not more) compiled a list of incongruities and implausibilities in the show, places where an actor changed clothes when she couldn't have done so, places where an actor contradicts herself, and the like. There is a lengthy, and annoying, description of Buffy's fighting style, which is eclectic and not consistent with any particular style of martial arts. (Please, who care?) There is a comment that Veruca, the singer who is a female werewolf part-time, does a terrible job of lip-synching. How would you know? She hugs the microphone between her lips and the camera, and isn't seen up close singing more than a minute total.

I mentioned earlier that in the IMDB discussion of Buffy, there is room for one critical comment from someone whose credentials are only that they registered for the site. And the comment from this particular someone is that Sarah Michelle Gellar is a terrible actress. Oh, really? It's true that the show was pretty much ignored by every award-giving group. But there's no possibility that this translates to a belief that it's a bad show. (More likely Spelling put out the word that BtVS was to be disregarded, or something like that.) What is the critical attitude of adults towards BtVS? I'm not aware that any adult wishes to compile a catalogue of faults in the show, although one has done a book-length essay on the peculiarities that happen to the English language in BtVS. (He enjoyed them.) Grown-ups are usually too grown up to be smart-asses in their comments. What I have seen are enthusiastic mentions by Matt Roush, of TV Guide, and one adult reviewer who called the show, "strangely addicitive." He must have been like me, since I hardly ever get sucked into a series about teenagers or young adults. My preferred series are more likely to be something like, "Mystery" on PBS, which is not so much a series as an anthology.

For other adult opinions (all favorable) you should take a look at the Wikipedia article,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Michelle_Gellar
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One of the sad things about BtVS is: where does SMG go from here? Since the end of the series she has been in many TV and movie productions. In all of them she has risen to the demands of the job. (The producers of BtVS said, everything we ask her to do, all the difficult demands we place on her, she does willingly and well.) Every emotion that existed in the script was portrayed on her face. It doesn't hurt that she can cry on demand. (I've never seen a crying woman look as beautiful as she.) Hers was the role of a lifetime. And at such a tender age. I'm hoping that some of the scripts she is offered in the future match the promise of the actress.

I'm not suggesting that she's washed up, or that she won't find a "vehicle" to which she can bring all she's capable of and be recognized as a first-rate actress. I hope it happens; she's already demonstrated more than enough to be called a first-rate actress.
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We have discussed to some extent the post-Buffy appearances of some of the actors, like those who portrayed Giles and Xander. Seth Green and Alyson Hannigan are obviously main-stream actors, always in demand. As a curiosity, I wanted to mention that Rochester, N.Y., has a Seth Green Street (or perhaps Avenue). I don't know how old the street is, or how it got its name. Most of the locals I've asked don't even know there's such a street.
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* Ancient Egyptian used hieroglyphics, in which there are neither vowels nor consonants, as it consists of pictograms. Archaeologists have been able to translate them, and name the pharaohs and other characters, because of the Rosetta Stone, which, although dating from thousands of years later, gives translations of the same text into hieroglyphics; into a sort of syllabary that gives consonants, but leaves vowels somewhat to the imagination; and Greek. This explains most differences you'll see in the spellings of the names of Pharaohs. Nefertiti, for instance, is also known as Nophretete, But known she is!

You'll see some of the same differences in the spelling of Arab names, as Arabic orthography is exact as to consonants, but not always so in regard to the vowels. Thus Muhammad = Mohammed = Mahomet. Thought you'd like to know.

[Cat]

I would also like to see Sarah get a chance at a really wonderful role. She deserves it. I think I mentioned I kind of fell into Buffy by accident during a time of deep depression. It somehow made a really deep imprint on my consciousness at that time, and I was hooked. I have always loved fantasy anyway, but I'd hardly heard of Buffy by that time. I think it was in one of the last seasons by then on it's regular network, and I "discovered" it on TNT, so I was watching two different seasons at the same time.

I'm getting close to the end now. I just finished the ones where Spike gets tortured to open the (what do you call that thing?) to let the ubervamp out. That blood running out of Spike just about finished me. How in the world did they do that? A person would have been bled out, but I KNOW, this is fantasy, sci-fi. Then, the woman demon did the same thing with Xander, but there was less blood. Big hole in his side from the sword and Spike says, "He'll be all right." I'm thinking, "Since this is fiction, he'll be all right." I guess I'm saying they went a bit overboard with some things. Anyway, those parts bother me, and I know the next episodes are going to have more that bothers me. Guess I'm never gonna' love that seventh season. :lex_10:

[Smokey Stover]

It sounds as though you were already in Season 7. I know its a tough season for the viewer, but it gets better on reruns. There are sickening moments, boring moments, hateful moments (as when the group votes Buffy out), exciting moments ("Showtime") and very moving moments, as when Buffy spends the night with the astonished Spike, asking him to "just hold me." Which he does, and later admits that it was the best moment of his life.

I don't know exactly to which episode you refer, where Spike loses a lot of blood. It sounds to me as though it was when he was hung up on the wall, in a sort of mock crucifixion. Neither here nor anywhere else do I remember him bleeding in spurts, the sign of arterial bleeding. There are about eight pints of blood in the average body. Lose six and you're probably a goner. The last time I had any transfusions I got three units, and could have used another, as I was very anemic when they sent me home.

I was just reading (today) an interview with Buffy, and the Season she disliked most was Six, the season I also most dislike. She was deprived of her ability to act like a Slayer by inventions of trickery. This is also the season which culminates in Willow's attempt to destroy the world, which was saved in a very moving moment by the intervention of Xander.

What do you get for the man who has everything? I'm not the man who has everything, only everything I need. So what did Patty get me for my birthday two years ago. A set of DVDs of the complete Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Perfect choice. We play one or more episodes at least three evenings a week, and sometimes more on weekends. When there's a dearth of things we really want to see on TV, we know we will like the current episode of Buffy (current because we take them in sequence). That is, unless one of us, usually me, falls asleep before the end.

This just in: Rochester has a Seth Green Drive, not Street or Avenue.

[Cat]

Smokey, I wish I would have written down which episode that was with Spike. Hindsight is always better, as we know so well. Anyway, the special effects just had the blood pouring out of him. He had really been carved up by the First's minions and he was hoisted up above the Hellmouth cover flat, not like crucifixion. Gory anyway. I guess I'm the only one who liked season six. I liked it better than seven. Different strokes and all that.

[Smokey Stover]

It's not so much that I don't like Season Six, as that I like it less. There are plenty of moments of humor, and moments of small victories. And visually the opus is always worth seeing. "Oh, Buffy, your hair is adorable." I'm going to try to find the scene you're talking aobut. The various episode guides give only very short summaries, and were mostly written while the work was in progress. The episode guides try not to give too much away, dadblast it.

Now back to the Olympics.

[Smokey Stover]

Patty was so very kind as to get me the whole BtVS on DVDs, and we watch it frequently. That is, we watch it when we want to watch television, but not any of the shows available at the time. I tend to run my mouth a little bit about how mesmerizing Buffy, the character is, and I sort of apologized to Patty for doing so. She assured me that she felt the same way, and resented not at all my fascination with Buffy.

Today we saw the Dracula episode and at least two others. One of them was the one in which Riley is found to have tachycardia, a pulse rate of 150. He didn't want medical help, and wasn't worried. (I've had a pulse rate of 150, more than once, both tiimes in a hospital. I was being monitored the second time, and when the monitor hit 150 I was suddenly surrounded by nurses begging me to lie down quietly.) Riley's tachycardia is associated with the abnormal strength given to him by Professor Walsh's doping him up. After he is saved by an operation, he's far from happy. He thinks Buffy will no longer love him when he's just Joe Normal. "I'm can't keep up with you, Buffy, you're getting so far ahead of me I can't touch you." Buffy takes his hand and moves it towards her breast. "You CAN touch me. See?" The camera has moved discreetly to a point where the touching is not visible.

That's one scene that struck me--a very tender one. Later, Buffy, whose being is a cauldron of powerful emotions, goes to Spike's crypt to kill him. He welcomes the idea and begs her to go through with it, thus ending his frustrating obsession with her. But she can't do it. Instead she throws herself against him and kisses him with forceful passion, thus initiating a series of somewhat humiliating Spike-kissing episodes on her part.

There are many incongruities and inconsistencies in the script, the Buffyverse. Xander, who is in his own way obsessed with Buffy, nonetheless often jumps out of character to scold her mercilessly for her actions. Ditto the other Scoobies, every now and then. The words used by these very young scholars is often too sophisticated for their age--not sophisticated in any sexual sense, just too uncommon to be part of their everyday vocabulary. This incongruity reminds me of my days in the 5th grade, when I puzzled my favorite teacher by my propensity for saying "Mark my words!"

Perhaps most incongruous is Whedon's treatment of sex. True, Buffy is a frustrated young lady, and by no means a prig. She is painfully ready to go the distance under what sometimes seems slim provocation. I've already mentioned that I'm not happy that there are scenes of simulated sex which she performs with all of her clothes on. (Very tricky, she is.) But there are little things, too. In one scene she and Xander are sneaking into the Initiative, and Xander suddenly embraces her so no one will recognize their faces. Unnecessary and inappropriate, and Buffy admonishes him, suggesting that he was "copping a feel." Two annoying problems there: (1) Xander was NOT copping a feel, and (2) the words sound crass and inappropriate coming out of Buffy's mouth.

I mentioned above the scene in which Buffy places Riley's hand on her breast. To me, this should be a tender and moving demonstration of Buffy's regard for Riley. (Forget how YOU feel about RIley, it's how Buffy feels that counts.) The airwaves are full of coarse jokes about breasts, of peek-a-boo shots of girls in skimpy bathing suits, of documentaries about cleavage. But we can't see one of the tenderest gestures a woman can make towards a man, all because some priggish nitwits think it's indecent. Do you think it is?

Yes, I know, there was a big thread on the CTV board about some 7th or 8th-grader touching the breast of a girl in his class. The twittering and cackling from the female board members made a whole todo about whether he cupped his hand or not. He apparently was subjected to all sorts of humiliation (and probably expulsion) by the school authorities, and now my beloved friends on the CTV board can't say enough bad about him because he touched a girl's breast. Is there some sort of medical doctrine that this girl is going to be traumatized for life because a boy in junior high touched her breast? Why is the question of cupping or not cupping so important?

I don't think it's a state secret that women who have gone through puberty tend to stick out a little in front and a little in behind. And it's no secret that men sometimes like to grab on to these protuberances. I know I'm just a dirty old man, but I wish to share my opinion with you, so you can gasp in shock. When I was asked by her friends to swim to the middle of Oakfield Pond (large for a pond, small for a lake) and pull a young lady to shore, I placed the girl in the regulation position (my right arm across her chest, just below her breasts), it suddenly was very clear to me that this would be easier if I had a sort of handle, to keep my right hand from slipping and give it somethng to keep it in place. Her left breast would have been ideal. That's a big no-no, of course. Both of us may have been engrossed in the effort to bring her to shore safely, but I had to avoid touching her in this very special spot, for fear of traumatizing her for life or some such.

Another thing that I see on television that tends to take the love out of love is the care taken to treat the rear ends of women with all due dignity and a lot more. In real life, if a girl who is enthusiastic enough about you to jump up onto you and perhaps clamp your body in a scissors grip with her legs, the most natural act for the man is to grab the girl around the back with one arm, and under the rear end with the other, to suppport her. And many an embrace is enhanced by tugging a girl towards you by getting a grip on her haunches. Is that bad? To me it suggests passion, regard, enthusiasm, but not nastiness in any way, shape or form. But that's another thing you can't do on TV.

I'm not trying to blame Buffy or her creator for not showing these acts of love. But why, instead of this natural show of tenderness, do we have to get the crudest (while still showable) emblems of lust?

Well, that's tonight's rant. I've got lots more.

[Cat]

But we can't see one of the tenderest gestures a woman can make towards a man, all because some priggish nitwits think it's indecent. Do you think it is?


NO.

I really do think the "intention" with regard to the touching is the thing. I was hit in the breasts by a male student on a school bus (and never told a single soul). I was mortified, very young and innocent. That to me was "molesting." I can't say what happened with the grade school boy. I never read that topic, because I knew what it would be like (considering the source over there).

Smokey, you mean there's really things "they can't do on television?" :67302:

[Cat]

I finished the last season, and one thing that stood out for me was that Caleb was the MOST evil of any monster they have faced. I know that was because he was imbued with "The First." Putting him in a minister's collar seemed like a sacrilege, too, which it was meant to be perceived of, I'm sure. I sure was happy when Buffy cut him in half, although they didn't let us see the bi-sected parts. I guess that would have been an expensive effect, not to say extremely gory. I still am just as unhappy with Anja being killed, and Andrew being spared, especially when he was so sure he would die. Andrew was a very strange character. Remember that line by Xander when Andrew said she died saving him? "That's my girl, always doing the stupid thing."

[Smokey Stover]

Congratulations, Cat, on getting to the end. You have to be really caught up in the story to make it all the way through. There are a lot of good scenes in Season Seven, but not many laughs. Did you share my enthusiasm for "Showtime"?

Whedon hates to let anyone down who bothers to audition, or who shows up well in a minor part. You know that already, especially if you have been looking at the "extras," like commentaries by Joss Whedon and others. The role of Caleb was given to Nathan Fillion from the short-lived series Firefly. A sort of humorous role is that of Chao-Ahn, a Chinese "potential" who speaks absolutely no English, and is consistently misunderstood by Giles. The actress, Kristi Wu, speaks perfect English, and has a long list of credits.

I, too, felt the irony of losing Anya, only to have Andrew still standing at the end. He even comes back in Angel, the spin-off. I don't know if you noticed that he was one of the minions of Harmony's short-lived "gang." Losing Jonathan to Andrew was also an obvious injustice.

It's impossible not to have favorite characters and unfavorite ones, as well. As evil as Caleb was, I didn't find Warren, in Season Six, any more likeable. I was glad to see him flayed.

I recently finished another viewing of Season Four. It has its ups and downs, and if you dislike Riley (as some do) it can't be any fun. And it's hard not to see, in hindsight, that Whedon is setting Riley up to take a fall eventually. In one episode Buffy is on her way back to Sunnydale from Los Angeles, where she was seeing Angel. Motormouth Xander tells Riley about Angel's curse, and the "one true moment of happiness." I don't know if Riley, the cornfed Iowa boy, expected a virgin, but he seems very upset about the thought of Buffy having "done it" with Angel. The show-down scene between Buffy and Riley, with Angel present to instigate it, is quite moving, and shows SMG at her most persuasive.

But what actually happened with Angel in Los Angeles? You have to have seen the Angel series to know. I never followed Angel with the same enthusiasm as I did Buffy, but since Patty turns it on every morning at six (reruns five days a week) I've seen a lot of episodes I missed the first time.

That includes the episode in which Buffy comes to L.A. and visits Angel. What I never knew until then was that Angel fights a dreadful demon and gets his blood infected with the demon's. There's a bit that I missed, but Angel wants to be freed of forever fighting this demon (who just multiplies when killed). So the "powers that be" grant Angel's wish to become mortal. He and Buffy are both overjoyed. No more hiding in the dark, no more curse. And for a day, Angel and Buffy live and love as they have wanted to since the start.

But then Angel realizes that the demon hasn't gone away, and only a superhero can fight him. That means that Buffy will have to fight the demon endlessly, in battles which she will eventually lose as she ages. Angel petitions the powers that be to restore him to his status of vampire-with-a-soul, so that it will be he and not Buffy who has to fight the demon. And that means that he can never again make love to Buffy. To make this less hard on Buffy, he asks that she be restored to her state of mind before their day of bliss, and that she never remember that day at all.

So when Buffy comes back from L.A. she has no idea that she and Angel have made wild, wanton love while she was there. And I had no idea, either, until seeing that Angel episode.
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Cat, you mentioned the trauma of having a boy strike you on the breast. I hope that nothing I said hints that I'm in favor of that sort of contact. I'm old school, in that hitting a woman (or girl) anywhere means that you have for some reason been separated from who you thought you were, that you have become, at least for that moment, someone you never wanted to be. But not every male was brought up the same way, I guess.

Well, Labor Day is upon us, so is the Fall, some good things, some bad. Let's hope for the good ones and sneer at the bad.

[Cat]

I agree Warren was evil and Jonathan was the best of the lot. I remember the "Angel" episode you mention although I have not seen that series since it ended. It was heartbreaking that Buffy couldn't remember that happiness, but better for her in the long run. For Angel, let's face it, he was doomed to always be the sad, cursed character.

I forgot to mention I liked Spike's fiery act of saving everyone in the last episode. What I can't remember is how Spike was resurrected for the Angel series. When you find out, let me know. Spike always was one of my favorite characters. The Angel episode that stood out in my mind the most had some of the most humor, where Angel gets turned into a puppet. No spoilers in case you haven't seen that one yet.

Happy Labor Day weekend, Smokey. I am looking forward to fall and hope it's a long one. I have never enjoyed hot, humid weather. We only hit 90 once this year, but the 80's are hot enough for me.

[Smokey Stover]

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo,
Didn't like the King, so out they had to go.
He put them in the fiery furnace
To burn them up the shaft,
But they wore asbestos underwear
And gave the King the laugh.

Oh-oh-oh, Old folks, young folks, everybody come,
Come to our Sunday School and have a lot of fun!
Place to park your chewing gum and razors at the door.
And you'll hear some Bible stories that you've never heard before.
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There are other verses, but they are less germane to Spike. I don't know how Spike managed to make his return as a ghost, encountering old acquaintances like Harmony and Andrew, not to mention Angel's gang. I know there's a lot of speculation about it on the part of Angel and company, but I never paid that much attention. I find it hard to be attentive from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

At 8 a.m. I've been watching Crossing Jordan, as an alternative to what Patty used always to watch, "Charmed," by which I was not charmed.

I must save my comments about this show (if any) until later.

[Smokey Stover]

Spike's resurrection. I have to rely on memory here, but I did see the relevant episodes of Angel. I could be wrong, but this is my rough guess. He suddenly just appeared in Angel's HQ one day, but was incorporeal. Angel found him annoying, especially as Spike was complaining, as usual. He kept wanting to be corporeal, for obvious reasons, and eventually got it. I can't remember exactly why he got it, however.

Also showing up in Angel's HQ (after he took over Wolfram & Hart) was Harmony, who became a receptionist, after attempting to betray the group. She was around when Spike showed up, and had a few choice words for him in one episode. And Andrew showed up, although I can't remember much about that.

Of the numerous women who played important roles in Angel, I always was most interested in two who were carry-overs from BtVS, namely, (1) glamorous, sexy Cordelia, who even got to have a devouring kiss with Angel--in a dream of course. The other was Julie Benz, who as Darla surely kept our attention. Other BUffy characters paraded through one or more episodes of Angel, including Buffy herself, Willow, and notably Faith.

Eliza Dushku had a considerable following and considerable success in movies and TV. Like the actress who played Glory, Claire Kramer, she had a part in the cheerleader movie, Bring It On. (I'm not summarizing here the career of any of the actresses, only placing them in relation to BtVS and Angel, and such other productions as seem to have had some relationship.) In case you wondered, the DUSH of Dushku rhymes with push. My personal feeling about Eliza Dushku is that I'm put off by her voice, her vocal quality.

It's not a bad voice, and my reservations are related purely to my personal preference. THere are several people that I unfortunately cannot enjoy listening to. A few years ago, there was a multi-part show covering the world of BIRDS, photographed and narrated by David Attenborough (who now spends his time chasing the GEICO gecko). I only watched the first episode, even though I'm a natural history buff. It wasn't until I saw the Geico ads that I realized why I didn't watch the series. It was because of Attenborough's voice. Not a bad voice, just rubbed me the wrong way.

I have been looking through what an Internet search brings up under the name Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm embarrassed to be writing this post, because so many and such good commentators have had their say on the Net.

Specifically, however, I was looking for the quotation from a viewer that used to be on the IMDB site. I wanted to quote it here, as a cautionary example. It went on for several clauses about how awful BtVS was, with the worst actor (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in TV history--wooden, dull, amateurish, and on and on.

That quote is no longer there. Instead the lead quotation is: "One of the best TV shows of all time. Period." Quite a difference. I agree totally with this latter judgment.
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I wanted to touch on a topic that I think shows the degree to which SMG applies herself to the role she's doing. In seven years she went through the entire gamut of emotions and reactions that could be expected of someone in her position, and some unexpected ones to boot. Wonderful range, I thought. But I wanted to talk here about the specific impersonations required of Buffy, or SMG. Many TV series call for characters to impersonate others or be impersonated. Charmed is full of such instances. However, I don't remember any impersonations in Charmed which attempted to capture the mannerisms of the person imitated.

On the other hand, think of the impersonations asked of SMG. I've probably forgotten some, but let's start with the biggie. In "Who am I," Faith acquires a gadget that allows her to trade bodies with Buffy. The challenge for each is to keep the mannerisms associated with the character before the exchange, while fooling others with the body now occupied. Buffy, that is, SMG, has to make us think "Faith" while watching Buffy's body. Watch her in the bath, and in the Bronze, acting out Faith's personality with Buffy's body. In the Bronze (? I've forgotten if that's the actual venue) she meets Xander and Willow, and flings her body around, lifting her legs over furniture, in a manner quite uncharacteristic of Buffy. When we are watching her do this we are thinking Faith, not Buffy, a triumph of impersonation. The same is true when she has sex with Riley. She acts entirely unlike Buffy, and wants to leave the room door open. She asks which way Riley wants it (which position). The real triumph is that she manages to convey so convincingly the unpleasant feeling that envelopes Faith as coitus proceeds. She gets a mixture of Buffy's emotions and those of Faith. She becomes Buffyized by increments. And is violently revulsed to the point where she demands that Riley "Get off! Get off!"

This Buffyization is also shown in the scene in the Church. Faith, in Buffy's body, wants to flee to Mexico. But when she hears of a potential massacre in a church, Buffy's body acts on Faith to send her to the church, where she and the real Buffy meet again.

I find this pretty subtle stuff. I really see Faith when Buffy's body goes through the motions in that role.

The imitation is a little harder for Dushku, since Buffy does not have any real mannerisms or tics that give her away. But she does her best, especially in the scene with Giles, where she tries to persuade him that she's Buffy.
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Another interesting and complex problem of characterization comes when Spike orders up a copy of Buffy from Warren. The copy is, of course, acted by SMG--who also acts the part of Buffy. The two characters, copy and real Buffy, meet, but are easily distinguished, and watching the Buffy-bot I wasn't tempted to see her as SMG acting a part, but really as a separate character named BUffy-bot. I loved their scenes together, and found them both funny and touching.
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Most confusing was the dual role in Season 7. The First Evil was able to impersonate PERFECTLY any person who had died. We know that Buffy died twice. Even so, it is at first confusing when the First impersonates Buffy, since the impersonation is intended to be a perfect one. So only when we catch on to the strategy of the First Evil, who can appear as anyone dead, do we figure out which is the real Buffy. And once you catch on it seems perfectly reasonable that real Buffy and the First Evil look exactly alike. And you always know which to root for. Well, almost always.
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Although Buffy is my God, and BtVS my Bible, that doesn't mean that anything SMG does gets my adoration. She can't do Buffy unless somebody does a script calling for that. When I can, I watch her in her movie appearances, until the movie becomes too appalling. She has a part in the Scooby Doo movies that's a romp, requiring her to use about one hundredth of her acting ability. I've watched The Grudge one and a half times. Dreadful movie. I think the problem is partly that movie producers don't want to cast her for any role that isn't Buffy--and no role fills the bill.

On the other hand, all the other Buffy cast members have had some considerable successes. Even Xander, who did a movie and has a recurring part in Criminal Minds. Joss Whedon is working on a new series that will be a vehicle for Eliza Dushku. In spite of my reservations about her voice, I will surely give it a try when it comes out. Just tonight I saw Warren (or the actor who does the part) in an episode of House. Still repellent, but not as much so as in Season Six of BtVS.

Smokey Stover has approved this post, although grudgingly.