shadowkat: (Default)
Now, I just have to decide if I want to keep the ENT appointment on Monday. I'm thinking it's probably a good idea, since I've had the vertigo twice this fall - and both times associated with severe sinus congestion and weather fluctuations.

But, it's nice that it is blessedly gone now. The pills I was taking for it - really did help. Along with the nasal spray.

Already decided to switch the Personal Day from Friday to Monday. Works better all around.

Buffy S4/Angel S1 Rewatch

It's worth keeping in mind that the two shows have definitively different tones and are different genres. Angel is paranormal horror noir, while Buffy is paranormal horror romance (well, romantic horror at any rate).
Angel S1 makes it a lot clearer than I thought, mainly because the Angel fandom kept insisting it was the Classical Hero's Journey (all evidence to the contrary). I can kind of see why they thought that? And Whedon didn't help. But if anything they are undercutting that trope in Angel.

Blind Date, the 21st episode of Angel S1 - is another WRH episode, which are by far the best episodes in the season. And it is an arc episode.
The episode has all the main arc players except for Kate (who I think the writers were re-thinking as a potential romance at this point, Angel isn't really a romance? Nor does Angel really need one?). Gunn is there instead of Kate, in the thankless role of distraction - playing up the stereotypes.

What is interesting about the episode is how cleverly the writers manage to hoodwink their audience. I didn't realize they did it - when I first watched ages ago, when it aired live. I wished I had, I would have kept watching, instead of jumping in and out of it like I did - skipping episodes. When I first saw it live, and even the second time I saw it prior to seeing Season 4, I didn't see the twist. They completely fooled me along with the fandom. I thought the episode was lame and it annoyed me. Now that I see the twist. It's kind of hilarious and rather clever. And perfectly foils the characters. I see it now, of course. After having seen S5 several times, it's pretty obvious - but it wasn't then.
how they fool their audience )

Buffy S4: New Moon Rising - there's several things the writers need to accomplish in this episode. In a way, Blind Date is easier? I liked it a lot better, because it's nice and twisty, and they hoodwink the lead characters and audience. And once you see it - it's hilarious. I love episodes like that. With hidden twists. Even if I don't see it until years later and I was also hoodwinked. I think I would have enjoyed the series more the first go-around, if I'd seen the twist and not been hoodwinked.

In New Moon Rising - they need to somehow get Adam and Spike together. Also firmly shut the door on the Willow/Oz romance, and open it on the Willow/Tara (also firmly state that this is a romantic relationship and have Willow come out of the closet to Buffy). And, get Riley to cut ties with the Initiative. (Not to worry, he returns in S5. Take the boy out of the military, but you can't take the military out of the boy - which is kind of clear in this episode.)

It's a very plotty episode, so not the best. Much like S3 - the arc episodes aren't as good. The problem here is Riley/Adam and the Initiative, while in S3 it was the Mayor/Faith (although I liked the Mayor/Faith better than Riley/Adam - I like S4 better than S3, mainly due to the characters, and the situation).

That said - this episode is among the better arc episodes, and works better than a lot of the previous ones did in hitting all the crucial points. Not sure who wrote it? Ah, Marti Noxon. (Jeannine Renishaw wrote Blind Date Angel s1). Explains a lot. Noxon wrote Willow/Tara the best.
Read more... )
shadowkat: (my ship)
Read the following essay today :

Here's the link to the essay in case you are interested - http://amberbenson.yuku.com/topic/2516. (It's on a Tara fanboard)

The essay basically states that Tara should not have been killed. Her death did not further Willow's emotional arc in any way. The magic as crack or addictive substance metaphor does not hold up or make any sense, since prior to that it had only been used as a metaphor for "romantic" love and Giles never ever mentioned that it could be additictive or used for dark purposes. And killing Tara off was just lazy writing, as was the build up to it. Also, they go on, to add, in detail, how it supports the Lesbian Cliche (ie. the lesbian in films is killed off). Yes, I know, we've all read this before, one too many times, and by a lot better essayists - there was one on ATPO Board way back in 2002, who did a rather in depth analysis of the whole thing that was quite convincing at the time - referencing several films and documentaries along the way - at least I think it was ATPO, it may have been BC&S. If you were on any spoiler boards or Buffy fanboards in 2002-2003, you have already heard this argument ad naseum. Not only did you hear it? You probably discussed it. Although many of us, myself included, veered sharply away from it - because emotions were high and one risked being called nasty names. At this point, to those of us who were fans of the show and online in 2002, it is bit like flogging a dead horse. So why, you ask, am I bringing this up again?

Because - I noticed something in my own re-watch of the series regarding magic, metaphors, and Willow - which more or less pokes holes in the entire argument detailed above and changed my mind regarding the weakness/confusion/inconsistency of the "magic as crack" metaphor in S6. I don't believe it is a weak metaphor - never really did, to be honest, and I don't believe it is a sloppy one - if anything, my only quibble is that they got a bit, shall we say, didatic regarding it in 6 and 7, while in earlier seasons they erred on the side of sublety.

The problem with addiction storylines on television is they have a tendency to come across like Afterschool Specials if you aren't careful. Afterschool Specials for the uninitiated are preachy movies of the week that aired on ABC or CBS during the 1970s and early 1980s, before cable existed and just after school - a la, 3 or 4pm, between cartoons and news. They were hour long morality plays about a kid in trouble. There were a couple of good ones - such as one that was based on the memoir Go Ask Alice, and another based on A Separate Peace. But most were sort of like the flicks we see now on Lifetime or Hallmark channels. Heavy-handed morality tales. I think in a way, the writers were making fun of these "specials about addiction" in season 6. They do go a bit over the top at times - in a way that is almost comical (specifically the removal of all magical perpherinal from the house including candles in Gone - a sort of homage to out of sight out of mind pov. Gone is in a lot of ways a homage to that S1 episode, Out of Sight Out of Mind - about a nerdy girl who disappears, and is literally out of sight and out of mind. Then seeks vengeance on all who made her that way.)

While I may not be fond of certain aspects of the magic arc - from a purely objective pov it does work. The writing is tight, layered, and furthers the arcs of all the characters. Actually Willow's entire arc makes sense, Whedon clearly knew ahead of time what he wanted to do with Willow, and why, because he starts building up to it as far back as Season 1. He just changes a few particulars here and there.

In Defense of Willow's Magic Arc and why Tara's Death was necessary )
shadowkat: (find your sale)
Is there room to tell a story in more than one way - a more internal way?

Martin Scorsese from the documentary Scorsese on Scorsese.

I've always written structured stories, plot focused tales. In the seasons before this one,
we had a clear plot arc. But here, this season was more chaotic. More anarchic. We were telling a lot of standalone tales that focused on our characters. The main plot arc - the Initiative and Adam was really in the background, not the true focus. That's why we chose not to end the season with the battle at the Initiative, which many fans expected and wanted. Instead we chose to do something I never done before nor have really done since - which is write an sort of coda that focused purely on the characters and addressed their arcs over the course of the season. In some respects, our best episodes were done this season - because we chose to move away from the tight plotting and focus more on the characters.


[paraphrased and by memory] quote from Joss Whedon's interview in his commentary on The Overview of Season 4 and commentary from Restless.

Of all the seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 4 may be the most experimental. In some respects it was also the season that television critics took notice. Prior to this season, many felt that Buffy was really just a show for teen girls. It was not until Season 4 that Buffy got nominated for an emmy - with HUSH, or that the HUGO's took notice. The story for the first time veered away from the high school metaphors and the angsty gothic romance trope which is currently being replayed almost to death by Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga,
Tru Blood, Moonlight (okay not current), Laurell K. Hamilton's novels, and countless others - it was by no means new when Whedon did it with Angel/Buffy, and it's not new now. Although Whedon did put a horrific twist on it that has yet to be copied, and he did in some respects put an end to it in Season 4, moving on with his tale. I mention the Buffy/Angel relationship because it is the reason a lot of fans disliked Season 4. It's not the only reason. Season 4 is not formulaic tv. It did not follow the pattern fans had become accostumed to. The big bad sat mostly in the background, seldom used. The gang did not solve a mystery each week and fight bad guys. Buffy had a romance, but it wasn't quite as hot or angsty as with Angel nor was it front and center. And the plot unlike most tv series of this type was not the main point.

The tale in some respects was a more internal as opposed to external one - another thing that fans of action adventure/science fiction tales may not be used to. Plus the characters were less comfortably together. At times, in fact they seemed to be on the point of breaking apart.
Evil and good became blurry. The metaphors mixed. And if you shipped a specific character or relationship in later seasons, especially Spike and/or Spike/Buffy, or hated Riley - this season may have bugged you. At least these are the critiques I've read over the years since the season aired way back in 1999-2000. And I admit when I first watched the season, I remember being a bit frustrated with it and confused. Now, years later, rewatching it, I find myself fascinated and impressed by what the writers/actors/directors and producers managed to accomplish in a difficult and fast medium. It may in fact be one of the most brilliant seasons to ever air on tv, it is certainly amongst the riskiest and experimental. It also, I believe influenced others.

I mention Martin Scorsese above - because a)I was watching a doc on him tonight and b) his quote fit I thought what Whedon was trying to do.
meta on Buffy S4, specifically all the characters journey's throughout that season. And how those journey's support specific themes. )

Ugh, up too late again, to bed. And hopefully to sleep.
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