This that and the other thing...
Aug. 4th, 2025 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWas feeling a bit off, so I took three COVID tests - all negative, so it's not COVID. And I'll go to work tomorrow. I think it's a combination of sleep deprivation, sensitivity to wildfire smoke (frigging Canadian wildfires), massive swings in blood sugar, and boredom at work.
I did get 8,900 steps in. Walked about a mile - down the pier at lunch time. Did it at a brisk pace - so it was about a forty-five minute walk. Started shortly after I finished my lunch, around 12:20 and got back a little after 1pm. I exited from the front of my workplace, crossed the streets to Battery Park, walked through the park to the piers, utilizing the bike/runner's and walking paths through gardens, then up the pier, and across to the skyscrapers, and down Pearl to Duane Reed to pick up a COVID test, a kind energy bar, two chocolate bars for children's charities, and zero sugar vitamin water.
Commute? I decided to take the R to 4/9th Streets - resulting in climbing about 10-15 flights of steps. You start underground and climb up to street level, then climb from street level to the elevated train. Also I had to walk down the entire R platform to get to the exit where the steps were.
That was a brisk work out all on its own. And then walk home - about six blocks at a brisk pace.
I get exercise just by commuting. But I have also gotten in the habit of walking around 9 or 10 to get match latte, so about a five minute walk, maybe ten minutes. And around 12:20 or at lunch time, for about 35-45 minutes. So, I tend to clock anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 steps daily, far more than I did last year at Jamaica. So that's an improvement at least.
Finished watching another episode of Andor S2 Ep. 8 - which was quite good and a rather satisfying ending to the whole Cassian/Syril arc, also Deidre/Syril and Cassian arc. Cassian clearly has no idea who Syril is, while Syril was obsessed with killing Cassian.
After almost fighting to the death, Syril points a blaster at Cassian.
Cassian looking up at Syril, bewildered: Who are you?
Syril looking kind of bereft, lowers the gun, and the old man Syril betrayed and conned into thinking he was helping him with an uprising, kills Syril.
It was a good episode, if a brutal one. The second season is slow to start but picks up its pace towards the second half. It takes a while to build everything, also there's two storylines that kind of bog things down - Mon Motha, and whatever Forest Whittacker's character is doing.
Still doing Buffy S3 rewatch, and well, the writers don't appear to know what to do with either Xander or Cordelia at this point. The introduction of Wesley Wyndom-Price does give Cordy something to do, briefly. Xander is just an annoying jerk. Although less annoying than he was prior to the Zeppo. The Zeppo kind of pulls him out of his self-involved pity party. Dan Vebber attempts to redeem and make him interesting in the Zeppo? But I went to sleep during it - or my attention wandered. It's a tired 1950s trope, which wasn't that interesting in the 1950s, and had already been done by Stephen King. I should not be enjoying watching Angel and Faith smack Xander. Also Angel manages to save Xander more than once, and I keep thinking why, Angel? Why? The difficulty is - that Xander doesn't get good writers, and Whedon is probably identifying too closely to the character.
The Faith centric episodes that immediately follow are somewhat better, but the B villains drag the first of the two down a tad. Bad Girls suffers from the gross villain. Consequences fairs a bit better - with the idiotic council. Also the Mayor is entertaining. Not as entertaining as Angelus, Dru and Spike, but what can you do? He comes in a close second at least.
Other take-aways?
I can see why Faith ditched the Scooby Gang for the Mayor, except for one small problem? Faith is anti-authority to the max - so it would have made more sense for her to leave town? I mean I get why she ditched Buffy and company, I would have too, if I were Faith. But I don't understand why she hooked up with the Mayor?
Whedon often fell into the same trap a lot of television writers fall into? He fell in love with his plot points and plot twists, and pushed the characters to service the plot instead of the plot servicing the character? It makes no sense that Faith - who hates authority and doesn't think much of men in general (she scans gay to me, honestly - I mean she had more chemistry with Buffy then anyone else, and seemed turned on by Buffy), would join up with the Mayor? I can see Angelus doing that, but not Faith. It is kind of jarring. Shocking and surprising, yes, but only because it runs counter to the character they created. I think if they wanted to do that? They should have gone with a female Mayor. That would have worked better. Because part of Faith's issue with Giles and Wes was they are men, and her previous Watcher's were women. Faith does not think much of men, she has no respect for them. If the writers wanted her to hook up with the Mayor - why make it clear she didn't think much of or like men from the start? It doesn't work.
Actually I think that was my issue with S3 - the Mayor and Faith didn't work for me (which honestly is the bulk of the season). Quite a few things didn't work for me in season 3, but that's one of them. Faith works for me up to that point. You can see her struggling to fit in, etc. I get why she wants to ditch the Scooby Gang - the death of the Assistant Mayor is as much Buffy's fault as Faith's, since Buffy grabbed him and threw him to Faith, without looking. But why not just leave town? (Outside of the obvious, it didn't serve the story and plot for her to do that, I get it.) I can almost hear the character throwing a hissy fit about it - when the writers decided to make her stay in town and join up with the Mayor (who let's face it would drive someone like Faith insane). The other problem? I'm not sure this dates well, and well, knowing what I know now about Joss Whedon, and how he talked Dusku into doing Dollhouse - it feels a wee bit skeevy and patronizing. I honestly think this was a bad idea, and someone should have reworked it - but I also think part of the problem with the plotting in Buffy - was Whedon came up with the plot as he went, as did the writers. It wasn't pre-plotted. And he fell in love with or got stuck on certain ideas. (Another bad idea that he got stuck on was S6's Seeing Red, which someone with some sense should have forced him, Marty and the others to rework. I can see how they could have gotten it to work, I don't understand why they didn't. Maybe it's just a case of hindsight being 20/20.) And television series that have plots that work well - usually are pre-plotted ahead of time, not as they go. Then you can hone it, and make it work.
S2 had the best plot arc. S3 has the best stand a lone episodes. And the first half of S3 is better than the second half, while the second half of S2 is better than the first half.
This is true of television writing - it's uneven. It's done quickly. Filmed quickly. And they work insane hours - 12-20 hours. Angel was a 12 hour shoot, if that, while Buffy was an 18-20 hour shoot, 7 days a week. They shot on weekends, even though they weren't supposed to. It's not going to be perfect. And fantasy shows are double the time and trouble - because you have to work against green screens, with special effects, prosthetic make up, stunts (the actors aren't in any of the dangerous stunts), and often on location.
Oh another takeaway - I can now tell that Gellar did not do her own stunts at all. She's barely doing much of the fighting. I can actually see the transition. Her stunt double is slightly bigger than her, and stockier. The others? I can't tell as much. I could tell with Faith though. Sorry, Sara, but it is obvious to a trained eye. They do a better job of hiding that now then they did back then.
It's still enjoyable, but not quite as enjoyable as it was twenty years ago.
Here's a picture from today's walk at lunch time. And I think I have a biting fly or bug in her, it just bit my foot, and it stung. Doesn't itch, just has a slight burn to it. No, no bite. Maybe just a nerve tingle? Ugga Bugga, I don't understand my body at all sometimes.
I did get 8,900 steps in. Walked about a mile - down the pier at lunch time. Did it at a brisk pace - so it was about a forty-five minute walk. Started shortly after I finished my lunch, around 12:20 and got back a little after 1pm. I exited from the front of my workplace, crossed the streets to Battery Park, walked through the park to the piers, utilizing the bike/runner's and walking paths through gardens, then up the pier, and across to the skyscrapers, and down Pearl to Duane Reed to pick up a COVID test, a kind energy bar, two chocolate bars for children's charities, and zero sugar vitamin water.
Commute? I decided to take the R to 4/9th Streets - resulting in climbing about 10-15 flights of steps. You start underground and climb up to street level, then climb from street level to the elevated train. Also I had to walk down the entire R platform to get to the exit where the steps were.
That was a brisk work out all on its own. And then walk home - about six blocks at a brisk pace.
I get exercise just by commuting. But I have also gotten in the habit of walking around 9 or 10 to get match latte, so about a five minute walk, maybe ten minutes. And around 12:20 or at lunch time, for about 35-45 minutes. So, I tend to clock anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 steps daily, far more than I did last year at Jamaica. So that's an improvement at least.
Finished watching another episode of Andor S2 Ep. 8 - which was quite good and a rather satisfying ending to the whole Cassian/Syril arc, also Deidre/Syril and Cassian arc. Cassian clearly has no idea who Syril is, while Syril was obsessed with killing Cassian.
After almost fighting to the death, Syril points a blaster at Cassian.
Cassian looking up at Syril, bewildered: Who are you?
Syril looking kind of bereft, lowers the gun, and the old man Syril betrayed and conned into thinking he was helping him with an uprising, kills Syril.
It was a good episode, if a brutal one. The second season is slow to start but picks up its pace towards the second half. It takes a while to build everything, also there's two storylines that kind of bog things down - Mon Motha, and whatever Forest Whittacker's character is doing.
Still doing Buffy S3 rewatch, and well, the writers don't appear to know what to do with either Xander or Cordelia at this point. The introduction of Wesley Wyndom-Price does give Cordy something to do, briefly. Xander is just an annoying jerk. Although less annoying than he was prior to the Zeppo. The Zeppo kind of pulls him out of his self-involved pity party. Dan Vebber attempts to redeem and make him interesting in the Zeppo? But I went to sleep during it - or my attention wandered. It's a tired 1950s trope, which wasn't that interesting in the 1950s, and had already been done by Stephen King. I should not be enjoying watching Angel and Faith smack Xander. Also Angel manages to save Xander more than once, and I keep thinking why, Angel? Why? The difficulty is - that Xander doesn't get good writers, and Whedon is probably identifying too closely to the character.
The Faith centric episodes that immediately follow are somewhat better, but the B villains drag the first of the two down a tad. Bad Girls suffers from the gross villain. Consequences fairs a bit better - with the idiotic council. Also the Mayor is entertaining. Not as entertaining as Angelus, Dru and Spike, but what can you do? He comes in a close second at least.
Other take-aways?
I can see why Faith ditched the Scooby Gang for the Mayor, except for one small problem? Faith is anti-authority to the max - so it would have made more sense for her to leave town? I mean I get why she ditched Buffy and company, I would have too, if I were Faith. But I don't understand why she hooked up with the Mayor?
Whedon often fell into the same trap a lot of television writers fall into? He fell in love with his plot points and plot twists, and pushed the characters to service the plot instead of the plot servicing the character? It makes no sense that Faith - who hates authority and doesn't think much of men in general (she scans gay to me, honestly - I mean she had more chemistry with Buffy then anyone else, and seemed turned on by Buffy), would join up with the Mayor? I can see Angelus doing that, but not Faith. It is kind of jarring. Shocking and surprising, yes, but only because it runs counter to the character they created. I think if they wanted to do that? They should have gone with a female Mayor. That would have worked better. Because part of Faith's issue with Giles and Wes was they are men, and her previous Watcher's were women. Faith does not think much of men, she has no respect for them. If the writers wanted her to hook up with the Mayor - why make it clear she didn't think much of or like men from the start? It doesn't work.
Actually I think that was my issue with S3 - the Mayor and Faith didn't work for me (which honestly is the bulk of the season). Quite a few things didn't work for me in season 3, but that's one of them. Faith works for me up to that point. You can see her struggling to fit in, etc. I get why she wants to ditch the Scooby Gang - the death of the Assistant Mayor is as much Buffy's fault as Faith's, since Buffy grabbed him and threw him to Faith, without looking. But why not just leave town? (Outside of the obvious, it didn't serve the story and plot for her to do that, I get it.) I can almost hear the character throwing a hissy fit about it - when the writers decided to make her stay in town and join up with the Mayor (who let's face it would drive someone like Faith insane). The other problem? I'm not sure this dates well, and well, knowing what I know now about Joss Whedon, and how he talked Dusku into doing Dollhouse - it feels a wee bit skeevy and patronizing. I honestly think this was a bad idea, and someone should have reworked it - but I also think part of the problem with the plotting in Buffy - was Whedon came up with the plot as he went, as did the writers. It wasn't pre-plotted. And he fell in love with or got stuck on certain ideas. (Another bad idea that he got stuck on was S6's Seeing Red, which someone with some sense should have forced him, Marty and the others to rework. I can see how they could have gotten it to work, I don't understand why they didn't. Maybe it's just a case of hindsight being 20/20.) And television series that have plots that work well - usually are pre-plotted ahead of time, not as they go. Then you can hone it, and make it work.
S2 had the best plot arc. S3 has the best stand a lone episodes. And the first half of S3 is better than the second half, while the second half of S2 is better than the first half.
This is true of television writing - it's uneven. It's done quickly. Filmed quickly. And they work insane hours - 12-20 hours. Angel was a 12 hour shoot, if that, while Buffy was an 18-20 hour shoot, 7 days a week. They shot on weekends, even though they weren't supposed to. It's not going to be perfect. And fantasy shows are double the time and trouble - because you have to work against green screens, with special effects, prosthetic make up, stunts (the actors aren't in any of the dangerous stunts), and often on location.
Oh another takeaway - I can now tell that Gellar did not do her own stunts at all. She's barely doing much of the fighting. I can actually see the transition. Her stunt double is slightly bigger than her, and stockier. The others? I can't tell as much. I could tell with Faith though. Sorry, Sara, but it is obvious to a trained eye. They do a better job of hiding that now then they did back then.
It's still enjoyable, but not quite as enjoyable as it was twenty years ago.
Here's a picture from today's walk at lunch time. And I think I have a biting fly or bug in her, it just bit my foot, and it stung. Doesn't itch, just has a slight burn to it. No, no bite. Maybe just a nerve tingle? Ugga Bugga, I don't understand my body at all sometimes.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-06 01:31 am (UTC)Faith killing the Mayor's aid by accident - works. Buffy feeling guilty about it - works. Wes calling the Watcher's council - works. Faith joining forces with the Mayor? Huge retcon. It's why I had issues with the character of Faith from that point on. Faith should have just told the gang to go screw themselves and took off. The Watcher Council was after her. Also why didn't the Watcher Council send another squad to grab her? That doesn't work either.
Faith would have done things differently from the start - if she wanted a father figure. She'd have gone after Giles. She doesn't.
I'm sorry it may have worked for you? But I don't think it works for me. And I think that may have been one of the reasons I've always ranked season 3 next to last.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-06 01:40 am (UTC)I agree with you about Xander and Willow and about the other aspects of the Faith arc you mention (that is, other than joining with the Mayor). I do think there's an explanation why the WC didn't pursue her -- Giles called them off after Consequences and then never told them that she'd gone bad in Enemies. Sorta works anyway -- Buffy didn't want to give up on her, at least until Faith shot Angel.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-06 12:24 pm (UTC)Curious, what were your issues with Buffy S3? If they weren't the whole Faith/Mayor plot?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-06 01:02 pm (UTC)Most important, I rank seasons along two lines: the average quality of the episodes (better in S3 than in S2, which has a few real stinkers); and how many outstanding episodes there were. On the latter, S2 is far, far better than S3; nothing in S3 can compare to Innocence, Passion, or Becoming. In fact, S3 has no episode I'd rank in the top 25 or so, though Lovers Walk, Doppelgangland, and GD1 would come close. Every other season but S1 has multiple top 25 episodes.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-07 01:09 am (UTC)Angel is needed for multiple reasons - he serves as friction between Buffy and her friends in the first half of the season, the second half - he's an issue with Faith. He also provides another take on the theme of the patriarchy. Like him or not, he is needed from a thematic and emotional character arc reason alone, also he's crucial to the plot in places (and plays much the same role in the plot as he did in S1). His slow movement towards the background reminiscent of S1, and an echo of S1, he doesn't save the day and she sacrifices herself and almost dies saving him - is a nice book-end. It also a nice echo of S2, instead of killing Angel to save the world, she sacrifices herself to save Angel and puts him first. One of the major themes of S3 is not being love's bitch, or letting infatuation and love rule you - Buffy can't be die for love.
No, getting rid of Angel wasn't doable.
Part of the difficulty is the writing - I just saw Dopplegangland again, and you can tell that Whedon wrote it and most likely was involved in the editing and direction - it's different from the last four episodes. Better directed, shot, the dialogue sparks more. Also he utilizes every character to some degree. Except - Faith and the Mayor don't work in that episode, and stink of ret-con - but he does work overtime to make it work. I found it jarring. Also, Whedon tries to briefly explain why the gang isn't suspicious of Faith, and that she's going through various tests etc with Wes to prove to the council that she isn't a problem - which is apparently Gile's plan in action.
This doesn't play - not after Helpless. Why didn't Travers come in person? And it's done very quickly in the first part of the episode, and not clear. Wes is out of breath. Faith complains slightly. Giles says but you have to do this for the council to be satisfied. Faith sighs in agreement. And then we move on to Faith finding out that Willow is investigating the Mayor. She takes off to tell the Mayor - the Mayor decides to kill Willow, but doesn't make Faith do it. Faith is allegedly playing Play Station the rest of the episode, and we don't see her again?? Probably to stay out of the vampires who intend to kill Willow's - path? And she calls Wilkins Sugar Daddy and flirts, but he pushes her away. It's kind of gross, actually. And knowing what I now know about Whedon, more so.
The difficulty with S3 is largely the plotting. S1 was better plotted, it was campy as all get out and cringe inducing, but still better plotted. S3 is more fun. But S2 also is better plotted. I can see why a lot of fans love 3 - it's more fun. It's not angsty like S2, and it's not campy like S1.
Also season 3 doesn't date well or hold up well in places, it's...problematic. Whedon has a 16 year old horny heterosexual boy's sensibility when it comes to lesbian relationships and homosexuality, and it kind of shows? After watching Dopplegangland - which is an enjoyable episode and among the highlights of the season - I'm not surprised Whedon killed off Tara later, or made Willow evil - actually I knew he planned to do it after I watched that episode, and he didn't see it as problematic at all - which is the problem actually, that he clearly doesn't see it.