I just don't feel like watching a lot of shows at the moment. Don't have the bandwidth or attention span for them - it's not the shows, it's me. Hyper-realism annoys me now, and some of the fantasy series feel repetitive, as do the sci-fi series. Again, it's me not the shows.
I think I need comfort tv, at the moment. And sitcoms/reality shows never worked that way for me.
You're correct on Xander and that fine line between critique and bashing. I'm not sure if Xander aged poorly exactly or if the trope has? Also I'm not sure to the extent the writers were deliberately commenting on that trope? I got my mother to watch and she said Xander reminded her a great deal of that character in Pretty in Pink (the one with the huge crush on Molly Ringwald's character), I think Ducky? That so many fan boys identified with, and a lot of people thought at that time - Ringwald's character should have fallen for. I can't help but think the writers of Buffy were heavily commenting on that male trope in the John Hughes High School Dramas (as played by various actors from John Cusak to Michael C Hall), and in the slasher pics of the 1970s-90s (where the Xander character is often the male protagonist). They even reference the Hughes films at one point, where Buffy says maybe watch something in the Ringwald era.
So, the character certainly didn't age well - but it also becomes abundantly obvious that maybe he's not supposed to? The writers gave him layers, which is more than Hughes or others have, and really dig deep on why he's the way he is - and what he becomes. The commentary or meta-narrative on the trope gets more pronounced in S3. As my mother pointed out even in S1 - Xander may be a jerk, but he's an interesting jerk.
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I think I need comfort tv, at the moment. And sitcoms/reality shows never worked that way for me.
You're correct on Xander and that fine line between critique and bashing. I'm not sure if Xander aged poorly exactly or if the trope has? Also I'm not sure to the extent the writers were deliberately commenting on that trope? I got my mother to watch and she said Xander reminded her a great deal of that character in Pretty in Pink (the one with the huge crush on Molly Ringwald's character), I think Ducky? That so many fan boys identified with, and a lot of people thought at that time - Ringwald's character should have fallen for. I can't help but think the writers of Buffy were heavily commenting on that male trope in the John Hughes High School Dramas (as played by various actors from John Cusak to Michael C Hall), and in the slasher pics of the 1970s-90s (where the Xander character is often the male protagonist). They even reference the Hughes films at one point, where Buffy says maybe watch something in the Ringwald era.
So, the character certainly didn't age well - but it also becomes abundantly obvious that maybe he's not supposed to? The writers gave him layers, which is more than Hughes or others have, and really dig deep on why he's the way he is - and what he becomes. The commentary or meta-narrative on the trope gets more pronounced in S3. As my mother pointed out even in S1 - Xander may be a jerk, but he's an interesting jerk.