Buffy S4: "Beer Bad" - help me!

Thanks for reminding me how much of a bastard Joss Whedon is. The man just likes to rip our hearts out and piss all over them.

Yet we always keep coming back for more.

 

I've gotten to a point where I get upset anytime I see his characters happy, just because I know that soon they'll probably be dead...or have their heart broken...or get turned evil....

 

Or all three.

 

They named an episode "Beer Bad"?

No other comment, just ...

Alex

 

Yeah, I definitely winced when I saw Willow and Oz in bed together and happy. You could tell that wasn't going to end well if you watch enough Joss.

 

Same with a good percentage of "Once More With Feeling".

On the other hand, "The Zeppo" makes a really good intro ep.

 

I think it's a reference to the end of season 3 myself (as well as what happens in the story) Buffy says her mind is on the level of "Fire bad, tree pretty" in Graduation. In Beer Bad the bar tender on the campus bar casts a spell on the beer that makes the guys who drink it revert to cavemen, Buffy happens to drink some too... and I think the "Fire bad, tree pretty" line is repeated by her towards the end.

Unless I'm totally misremembering both Graduation and Beer Bad.

 

The only part of the episode I really liked was the end.

Xander: "So, what did we learn from this experience?"
Buffy: "Beer foamy!"
Xander: "Good, just so long as we're clear on that."

 

Yeah, no, um, the title "Beer Bad" was NOT intended to be a public service lecture on teen drinking. Too many people see it and assume that. It was meant to be a pun on the way the cavemen-devolved frat boys (and BuffY) spoke.

 

Xander has one of his greatest moments as a human being when he confronts Buffy on her attitude toward Riley, and then goes home to tell Anya how he feels about her. Frickin brilliantly-written and delivered dialog.

All blown to hell in a later season, of course, 'cause we can't have anyone stay happy, can we?

 

"Beer Bad" is one of those few horrendously bad episodes of the series. I assure you that it is in no way a reflection of season four as a whole, or of the rest of the series from this point forward. Season four is kinda a weird year, and I think it was intended to be. It's a year of transition. The high school's gone (literally.... kaboom). Giles is out of work. Angel and Cordelia have skipped town for L.A. and the Willow/Oz breakup early in the season sends Oz away. The cast is undergoing a bit of an overhaul. We've got new characters coming into play (Riley, Tara), and familiar recurring players coming in full-time to fill in the gaps (Spike, Anya). The dynamic is changing a bit.

Season four has the weakest Big Bad and main story arc (the Initiative). However, there are a tremendously high number of strong individual episodes throughout the season (including "Fear Itself", "Pangs", "Something Blue", "Hush", "This Years Girl", "Who Are You?", "Restless"). The season ends on a high note, and season five is one of the series' strongest, IMO.

 

Yes it was.

 

This is one of those cases where they try too hard to make Buffy "real" (and that was all fairly realistic in terms of what your average girl might think/say) that they ignore the actual character of Buffy. Season 6 is another one of those cases.

Anyways, yes on the whole, S4 to 7 are significantly weaker. I do think Season 5 is a bright spot though, it's very tightly written, much better than the messy story arcs of the later seasons

 

In my opinion the only person allowed to say "Fire bad" was Phil Hartman, and even then only as Frankenstein.

Alex

 

Sounds like you're think of the scene from "Into the Woods" which is season 5.

But RoJo's point is still valid. I've come to think "Restless" is the show's best episode (didn't used to) just because there's so much to it. I've seen it better than a dozen times and I can still pick up bits that I've never caught before. Of course, non so much as the first time you watch it after seeing later seasons. Tara's "Be back before Dawn," line, for example, probably went right over most people's heads at the time. And other little things like the suit Spike is wearing on the swing. Or the kitten who doesn't have name.

"Dream" sequences in TV shows can get a bit trite, and Joss manages not to do that while presenting a thematically and conceptually layered story.

I also think it's his best job as a director (at least from a camera stand point). The Xander chase sequence is the
pinnacle shot of the show and really one of the premier sequences ever attempted on a TV program.

 

Remember, please, no spoilers for anything past mid-season 4.

 

The line sounds stupid, but it actually works incredibly well given the context of the scene.

 

Was it? Darn!

 

Okay, I just watched 'Hush'. 'Beer Bad' is forgiven. Now if I could just synch up my Angel watching with my Buffy (I'm watching Angel on Hulu, so I just saw Faith arrive in LA before she left Sunnydale - doh!)

 

Sorry. I was trying to be as vague as possible.