Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[grim4746]

I never pre-order so I had to run out to the mall after work on Tuesday to pick up season 6. I'd been anticipating it for months! Then ten minutes before my shift ended someone called in sick (suspiciously) and I had to stay an extra hour. I almost didn't get to the mall in time. But my nasty mood melted away as soon as I had my dvds. I'm watching the discs in order the first time through. I'm up to OMWF, which I've seen a ton of times so I just watched it with the commentary. Joss' commentary was okay but not that great. It would have been excellent if he had put his comments to music and been singing for the entire 48 minutes. I'm so excited about the rest of the season and the special features.

[fnordboy]

I was able to pick up Buffy S6 on Tuesday (thank you IRS gods for blessing me with my return check on Monday!). So far I have only watched up to the 1st episode on the second disc.

I had reservations going into this season just because of all the crap I have heard about it, but I am enjoying it so far. The second episode was actually pretty creepy compared to most BtVS episodes. When Anya was cutting up her face <shivers> the look that she had gave me the creeps. I loved it.

I have never seen OMWF so after I get to that I will come on here to either rant or rave about it. I hate musicals though so I am already expecting a rant.

[lance]

It's funny - I didn't love S6, but seeing it again now after knowing what happens in S7 makes S6 seem THAT much better. Then again, comparing S6 & S7 to most of the dreck on tv these days makes me appreciate some of my least favorite Buffy seasons a lot more. Only one more boxset before my Buffy set is complete!

Season Six actually is better the second time around. Yes! There is a God.

I just got Season Six via Amazon yesterday. I also managed to pick Up Return of the King & Underworld Extended Edition. This means I have little cash but much to watch.



Fortunately I have a three day weekend like block starting Monday and much ironing to be done. I feel I moviefest coming on.

Sweet.

-LanceMan

[Loz_179]

I've only become a buffy fan in about the last 6 months or so. I never watched the series when it 1st started coz I loved the movie and I was all "no, Kristy Swanson is the only Buffy". Basically I was young and foolish. Anyway, I'm a huge fan now and bought season 6 yesterday and seriously considered calling in sick to work so that I could watch it. I didn't though. Last night I watched the OMWF documentary thing, and was happy coz seeing Alyson Hannigan miming "They Got the Mustard Out" made it worth spending my lots and lots of Aussie dollars.

[grim4746]

On the commentary for Season 6 episode 1 Marti Noxon says "I'm basically trying to write My So-Called Life with vampires. That's basically what I would like to do." David fury replies "I personally think that's when Buffy's at it's best."

Overall the commentaries for season 6 that I've listened to so far are slightly enjoyable but are forced and have long pauses that leave no doubt that they have very little to say about the creation of the episode. I liked Joss' commentary, it was more fleshed out than the others.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

From the first impressions thread (in the Show forum - it was a while ago, but I love the MSCL/BtVS connection):

Marti Noxon says on the commentary to one of the Buffy Season 6 eps that she thinks of the show as "My So-Called Life with vampires".

Joss Whedon himself said during S1 that BtVS is My So-Called Life meets the X-Files (as quoted at Zap2It). To that end, he says, "When I get together with my writing team, I ask them, 'What is your favorite horror movie? What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? Now, how can we combine the two?'...In the series, we have taken real-life situations that reflect a grotesque parody. And most people remember high school very clearly, so they understand how horrific it all can be."



MSCL also captured that feeling (although without the actual monsters and demons) - it makes me remember what it was like when figuring out how to cross paths with someone I liked was the most important thing in my day, instead of worrying about how to come up with enough money to pay the bills. It reminds me what it's like to feel alone, even when surrounded by people. The show also reminds me of that giddy feeling when I finally talked to a guy that I liked, the high of getting away with doing something silly, and the warmth of being with my friends.

The fact that ME was emulating MSCL to an extent explains part of the reason why I love BtVS!

grim, I agree that Joss does the best commentaries, and unfortunately some of the BtVS writers/directors don't do very interesting commentaries, especially in comparison to the wit and wisdom that is Joss.

ETA: the zap2it link doesn't work anymore, which is not surprising since the interview is from 1997, but I found a site that posted the text here.

[fnordboy]

MY EYES!!!! MY EYES!!!!! AAAAGGHHH RILEY!!!

Sorry I just watched Riley's return.....

[grim4746]

I really enjoyed Drew Z Greenberg' commentary for "Smashed". It's not one of my favorite episodes and I'd definitely rather watch with commentary than without. Greenberg had very few silences and seemed enthusiastic about the subject matter. I was espeically disappointed with Rebecca Rand Kirshner's commentary with David Soloman on "Hell's Bells". It's not that she was worse than most of the others but just that the interviews I'd seen her do were intersting and fun so I was looking forward to hearing more from her. Maybe she does better when asked specific questions.

MY EYES!!!! MY EYES!!!!! AAAAGGHHH RILEY!!!

Sorry I just watched Riley's return.....

Yuk! I know! I hadn't seen the episode before and wasn't too unhappy about missing it. I'm not sure that Riley's return was necessary. But maybe it can serve as a sprigboard to a spinoff series about him and his wife fighting demons with army back up. Like a mix of Buffy and Alias if you ripped away all of the good parts.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

It really did pain me to watch Buffy mooning over Riley's return. I mean, in comparison, her day job wasn't very glamorous (love the hat), but gah, Riley. When he flew away on that helicopter (the first time), I was practically giggling so I wasn't very happy about his return either. At least it was only for one episode!



I haven't watched any of the S6 commentaries yet, but thanks for the info. I must admit that I usually don't have very high hopes for most people other than Joss.

[lance]

MY EYES!!!! MY EYES!!!!! AAAAGGHHH RILEY!!!

Sorry I just watched Riley's return.....

LOL! So far I have only watched the featurettes on Disc 6. I was very impressed by Buffy on TV segment. 'Been busy lately watching Stargate SG-1 for some reason. Oh well, I have some off time coming up and I think I will do a Buffy Season 6 marathon.

-LanceMan

[Loz_179]

James Masters was on Aussie talk show "Rove Live" the other night. He said that Rove was better than Letterman! Anyway, my point is that he said that he might be doing a Spike TV movie and that Joss is looking at making 3 others centered around 3 other Buffy/Angel characters.
You can read a transcript of the interview here:
http://www.buffy.nu/article.php3?id_article=5308

[K-man]

Very Cool! I hope they make one for Angel and also Cordy. What are the chances of that??????

[Sascha]

Very Cool! I hope they make one for Angel and also Cordy. What are the chances of that??????

Angel: For sure.
Cordelia: I don't think there's a chance. She barely appeared in Season 5 and I guess she's now really gone, for good.

I'd rather see a Willow tv movie. With Xander & Anya as co-stars.

And I'd love to see the Fred/Ilyria character again.

[grim4746]

I agree with SAB that a Cordy movie is unlikey but I think they are fools for not doing one. Joss claimed that he just didn't see any story left for Cordy but I don't buy that. Especially with the weirdo way Cordelia was written out. We know very little about Cordy now, we don't even know what she is. There is so much there to explore that could be in the same tone as the two series but an entirely different branch.
The Willow with Anya and Xander idea sounds fun but I think we are even less likely to see Anya than Cordy.

[grim4746]

The first season, I was sympathetic to Buffy's situation due to all the responsiblity being thrust upon her so suddenly, but I still found her annoying. There was a brief window during the end of S2 when I liked her, and then the moment was over. The longer the series went on, the more self-righteous and annoying she became to me. Sometimes it was justified, but by S6-7 I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes at her. I still loved the show though!

I agree completely about S6-7! There were still aspects of the character I could enjoy in S6 but not many and by S7 there was nothing. Though in Buffy Somers defense there was little to be enjoyed about any character that season. Season 1 or 5 are probably the years I most liked the Buffy character. Unlike most fans, I liked the later seasons better. Seasons 5 and 6 are probably my favourites. The increased roles for Spike and Anya are lagrely responsible for my preference.