13 best episodes of the whedonverse...

Outerplaces 13 Best Episodes of the Whedonverse had some odd selections. Why they chose 13 episodes as opposed to ten of fifteen or even five, I don't know. I mean why 13? As an aside, regarding the number 13? Don't they know most folks see it as an unlucky number? Some building even avoid having a 13th floor. Alas not the building my workplace is moving to.

ME: Not sure I want to be on the 14th floor...
Co-worker: At least it's not the 13th.
Me (raises eyebrow): So?
Co-worker: It's 13. Unlucky.

13 gets a bad rap.

Anyhow, back to the 13 Best Episodes of the Buffy Verse....I don't think I could do best, memorable maybe. Because frankly some of the episodes they listed, I don't remember - such as Dollhouse, Vows. Actually, I don't really remember any of the Dollhouse episodes, Dollhouse reminded me of the sci-fi series VR5 - unevenly written, with some intriguing ideas but never quite got around to fleshing them out or figuring out what they wanted to do. In short, if felt like a rough draft for what could have been a cool series. Memorable it ain't.

My difficulty with best of lists in regards to fictional media and art -- is there is no such thing.
I'm sorry it's not possible. For one thing there's too many novels, tv shows, movies, etc out there - that you can't possibly read or see all of them in order to select the alleged "best" of the group.
How do you know there isn't a much better piece out there that you just never stumbled upon, because it wasn't marketed well? Also, subjective -- what we like has a heckuva lot to do with our own issues.
Many of which we aren't exactly aware of...or willing to acknowledge not to mention examine.

So if I were to do this list...it would be the episodes I remember. Because it's been so long since I've watched or thought much about the Whedonverse, that I can't remember the names of half the episodes let alone what happened in them. For example - one of the episodes on this list is "Forgiving" - Angel S3 - I had to read the description to remember it. And I don't remember Bushwacked from Firefly at all. The Gift - from Buffy - is...not that good upon reflection.

So my list would be mostly Buffy episodes, a few Angel, and one Firefly.

Buffy:

*Hush (the silent episode - takes fairy tales to a whole new level),
* the Body (death of Joyce - a personal essay by the show-runner on grief, death, and how you and those around you deal with losing a parent. Most memorable metaphor - the idea of negative space. Filmed without music.),
* Once More with Feeling (the musical meta-narrative that makes fun of itself - or comments on the whole idea of musicals. I'm guessing if you aren't a musical fan -- you won't like it and it will be completely lost on you. If you love musicals -- this is brilliant and must-see television. I've noticed folks either love live concerts and watching people stand and sing maybe jump around a bit like crazy, or they love musicals, with dancing, story, etc. Some like both, but a lot of folks are one or the other. My brother loves live concert performance but musicals are lost on him, I love musicals -- with a story, while concerts...are a bit lost on me. Watching people stand on stage and sing and play instruments, tends to bores me. Most of the time, I can't hear or make sense of the music, because the crowd blocks it out or the feedback or acoustics. I don't understand the point - you can hear and feel the music better, or I can, listening to it on my ipod - why see it live? The appeal is lost on me.)
* Fool for Love (an interesting take on a character who decides to redefine himself through various acts of increasing violence - most of which involve powerful mother figures),
* Lies my Parents Told Me (how our perceived relationships with our parents can define us and unravel us..),
* Becoming Parts 1 and II (how our reactions to events have a ripple effect...with great flashbacks, an intricate character piece that literally covers everyone in the cast),
* Innocence (a twisty take on teenage romantic love and romantic love tropes in general),
* Dopplegangland (Willow's tale turned upside down to comedic effect - also a very odd and disturbing take on sexuality...which is probably not a good idea to analyze too closely),
* Conversations with Dead People (a series of short character-centric horror vignettes nested inside each other...with a song connecting each one),
* Who Are You (a character-centric episode - using the concept of body swap to great effect -- about identity, and whether our actions define who we are.)
* Pangs (a satiric commentary on a weird American Holiday tradition),
* Consequences (the concept of quilt examined in depth),
* Selfless (interesting take on vengeance, retribution, justice, forgiveness and guilt...)


Angel:

*Not Fad Away (how violence never ends well),
*Smile Time aka Evil Sesame Street (a satiric take on children's television, corporations, and being puppets to our vocations),
* Destiney (makes fun of the idea of prophecies and destinies and fate), A Hole in the World (Fred become Illyria...),
* Lullaby (the idea of a soul and parental love re-examined),
* Dear Boy (how our parental relationships seek to define us),
* Orpheus (angel vs. angelus, cordy vs. willow, faith along for the ride..),
* Origin (the consequences putting one's child above all else...)


Firefly: Objects in Space (existential space drama)


Not sure how many that is.

Some cool and different Science Fiction Dramas premiering soon!

1. Arthur C. Clark's "Childhood's End" (which I've never read and probably should at some point...considering I wrote a sci-fi novel in my head with a similar idea...)

( see Trailer beneath the cut )

Childhood's End Trailer and Blurb

2.And the long-awaited "The Expanse" based on the J.A. Corey Space Opera novels. This one has gotten rave reviews, in particular from GRR Martin, who compares it to BSG and possibly Game of Thrones in creativity, quality and innovation. I read the first novel in the series - if you like speculative science fiction, space opera, noir, horror, and diverse casts - you'll love this. Actually if you were either a fan of LOST or Battlestar Galatica v.2 - You'll love this.

See trailer and explanation below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydKmedH336Q


And for those who like to watch television series on their computers...apparently the first episode is already available on You Tube:

Go here

I'm waiting for it on TV, because I want to watch it on a 25-30 inch HDV screen with no glare, not a 15 inch one.

3. Coming 2016 to Syfy...Lev Grossman's The Magicians, which is sitting on my Kindle, but I haven't read yet, due to mood and the horrible review my mother gave it. (Apparently it's more interested in traveling to and from this fantasy world that the kids read about in a book than actual magic, which disappointed her. But the series looks wickedly cool - like an adult Harry Potter.)



4. And other interesting tv shows coming next year...which look, ahem, different...

( Lucifer or what happens when Devil decides to Quit his job and move to Los Angeles, apparently there aren't enough devils there already... )

And this is interesting, they've actually tried to make another film out of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury - which I'm not sure is possible. (I wrote my undergrad English Lit thesis on The Sound and the Fury and Joyce's Ulysses...because I was obsessed with stream of consciousness and structural narrative styles in my twenties. I blame my brother - he was also obsessed with this style of narrative and introduced me to it - by lending me Gabriel Garcia Marquez's A Hundred Years of Solitutde, which I devoured and fell in love with the summer between my Sophmore and Junior years. I wanted to do my thesis on it and Ulysess, but they wouldn't let me - because I didn't know Spainish, and had to use the translation, so they told me to substitute Faulkner's work for the comparison instead. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, I think I bit off more than I could chew - but I always do that - I pick really complicated things to write about or analyze.) The first go around was horrific. This one looks like it follows the book a bit more closely. What's odd is that James Franco cast himself as Benjy, I'd have cast him as Jason - he fits that role better. I'd have cast someone like Mark Ruffalo or Ed Redmayne as Benjy.

( Trailer for The Sound and the Fury )