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Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel - First Time Viewer

At the time though, he was considered to have been a has been. A shame considering his incredible talent. It was before the 10 Rules Series.

Even so he will always be remembered for Jack Tripper. I think what eventually turned things around for him was his role in "Sling Blade" which I think had already happened so he was already sort of turning things around.

Jason
 
The season theme revolves around growing up too fast and making adult choices - and having to deal with the consequences - before you're really mature enough. I can't really say more without completely spoiling upcoming events.

And the 'notorious' episode is in season 4. It was a product of network (And Washington, even) politics. It's very roll-your-eyesish. Though once you get past the stupid, it's actually pretty funny.
Which episode are you talking about? I've seen the entire series several times, and I'm coming up blank here.
@tomalak301, how much, if anything, do you know about what happens after where you are in the series? Just curious because with a show this old it can be pretty hard to avoid spoilers.
 
Which episode are you talking about? I've seen the entire series several times, and I'm coming up blank here.
@tomalak301, how much, if anything, do you know about what happens after where you are in the series? Just curious because with a show this old it can be pretty hard to avoid spoilers.

Not a lot. I accidentally read up on something that happens in the season 2 finale and I know they did a musical episode. Also I have a vague memory of Spike becoming an ally (Maybe even Buffy’s lover) but other than that I don’t know the specific details.
 
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I chalk that up to using self defense. She was well within her right to do what she did, to protect herself and her mother.

Buffy sure felt that she was responsible for the death. Even though Ritter hit first, her super strength gives her more responsibility than if she were a normal high schooler and the same thing happened. I wish they'd legally hashed that out for real instead of erasing it by making him a robot.
 
Buffy did take responsibility for what she did to Ted. That was the whole point of the episode. While the others in the room were acting like children (eating cookies and pizza and playing minigolf) and trying to cover for Buffy, she went to the detective and said "I did it." on her own. But the fact that she was McGuffined out of the consequences plays into what I was saying before. She makes an adult choice and, even though she owns up to it, she is still shielded from the consequences. She may be an adult physically; she may have a job; but she's not yet a grown-up.

A big overall theme of the show is about differentiating between what it means to be an "adult" and what it means to be a "grown-up." [My words - I've read about this in academic papers, but they use more Freudian language.] The most direct symbol of this is Buffy and Willow as a dyad. Buffy is the "adult" and Willow is the "grown-up." This dyad continues all the way to the very last act of the show and is generally presented through a juxtaposition in their maturation. I also think understanding it helps appreciate season six more than most do, but that's for another day.

I mention that here going back to Willow's relationship with Malcolm. It's more along the lines of what most would colloquially call "grown-up" instead of "adult." - i.e. it's one rooted in intimate communication instead of intimate relations. It turns out to be total BS, of course, as Malcolm was completely insincere. But this presents the running idea that robots (or technology really) are symbolic of the more sinister or cynical side of being a grown-up. In Ted's case, being a grown-up means working a mundane office job, having a dysfunctional family, etc. Death and taxes and all that.

And Buffy is in a place where she's treating being a slayer like a job and her relationship with Joyce is becoming strained. But she's treating those things like "adult" things. She's resisting what it means to embrace them as a grown-up. And, in turn, she's still being protected by the grown-ups. And this is where I have to stop because spoilers.

And then there's the whole thing about Ted representing the patriarchy and what it classicly means to be 'grown-up' as a man vs. a woman. But that's a whole nother can of worms and really more Willow's thing.

There's also the idea that Buffy might have a sort of supernatural sixth sense. She makes several Spider-Man (Spidey Sense) references throughout the show. Giles makes reference to this all the way back in the first episode. And there is the old joke about how she picks out the vamp because of his clothes/fashion - something commonly associated as childish or vapid teenager stuff.

One of the common arguments justifying Buffy's excessive use of force is that she may have sensed Ted's strength and may have not realized it. One more piece in her physical (adult) vs. mental (grown-up) development.

Because at the opening of "Bad Eggs" (which I've always as the aftermath of Ted), Buffy and Joyce are at the mall doing the clothes/fashion thing and for the first time we see her actively use her Slayer Sense. And she seems almost surprised by it. Then that mall sequence ends with her mother scolding her that she needs to act more grown-up and her inner retort of how she already has an adult responsibility.

I assumed they were talking about
Beer Bad.
Yup.

It was the byproduct of a funding deal made between the WB and the Whitehouse. Funny enough, the Whitehouse pulled the funding anyway because they thought it was so bad. And when it aired it was utterly thrashed by critics.
 
Buffy's overall arc is a lot like ST:TNG's.

The first season has a lot of cheesiness and a good hefty dose of Early Installment Weirdness. Over-the-top soundtracks; weird characterizations (think feral Worf and the cringeworthy attempts at Teen Speak in "Welcome to the Hellmouth"); funky costume choices (Troi the Space Cheerleader and the skant uniforms, Buffy's bangs and wonderbra and Xander's skateboard); and interesting ideas that seemed like they were setting up a sequel later in the season but were instead forgotten (the "Conspiracy" aliens, Marcie the invisible girl). Along with, of course, a few genuinely good episodes ("The Neutral Zone," "The Puppet Show").

The second season still has some of the first season's aesthetic, and the cheesiness contributes to some cringeworthy episodes (e.g. "The Child" and "The Outrageous Okona" for TNG, "Inca Mummy Girl" for BtVS) but also a much larger number of truly good ones. In addition, elements that become a long-running fixture of series lore are introduced (compare, for instance, the Borg to Spike).

And both series truly get good in Season 3. No spoilers, and I won't even give titles, but later in the series there are some truly great episodes -- brilliant in concept, and flawless or nearly flawless in execution -- that I would argue rank among some of the best hours of television ever produced.
 
Some quick thoughts on Surprise as I'm currently watching part 2.

1) Looks like Oz is now part of the Scooby klan (By the way, Xander mentioned that a couple episodes ago and I forgot to bring it up. I think that was the first time they were called the Scoopy gang in the show's canon). I loved that scene between him and Willow inviting each other to the surprise party. They are adorkable.

2) The revelation with Jenny being a Gypsi impacted by Angel's rage was kind of out of the blue. We had no reason to suspect her in the past yet this is a Hellmouth and I feel with this revelation that she has been watching Giles and Buffy now. I'm intrigued in this storyline and I hope it doesn't negatively impact the character because I really like her.

3) Drusilla is amazing. I expected good things when she was cured and I think it's made the character that much better. Juliet Landau is doing an amazing job with the character

This was a hell of a set up episode.
 
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Innocence

Well, we have a new front runner for best episode of the series. Innocence was out-freaking-standing. Everything about this episode was perfect, from Willow telling Xander he has emotional issues, to Buffy finding out Jenny's true persona, and the stuff with Buffy and Angel actually made the angsty parts of the season worth it. I mean once Angel turned he became a much more interesting character, but what that did to Buffy was equally as interesting. Pardon the pun, but the first few scenes with Buffy and Angel were gut-wrenching and then when she goes onto the bed crying, that was like a steak through the heart. It made the final fight scene all the better too.

Some other thoughts about this episode:

1. I love this shows internal continuity. Xander came up with a plan to take out the judge and it came from the fact that in my other favorite episode of the season, they remembered the parts they played while in costume. Now it might strain a little crudility that Xander remembered all that perfectly, but again, I appreciated that this plan didn't come out of thin air but actually gave the Holloween episode some consequences.

2. Willow and Oz are so great for each other. Now that Willow knows about Xander and Cordelia (And I'm glad they mentioned how it just happened because I was watching it and thinking how did the two of them become so close again?) Willow and Oz are free to do whatever, and the scene in the van was great. I almost got the sense that with Oz telling her about his fantasy, that was almost exactly what she wanted to hear. Hannigan's smile during that scene pretty much said all that needed to be said. It was understated, but quite obvious at the same time.

3. Buffy with the Bazooka is amazing

4. The scene with Giles and Buffy in the car almost made me tear up. With everything that Buffy has just gone through, to hear her watcher say she has his utmost respect shows how much they've grown closer in the series so far. These are two individuals who have been through and seen a lot, and through it all, they've become closer.

5. I loved the scene with Buffy and her mom at the end. That's the kind of scene I wanted in Ted.

What's my Line was a great two parter, I think this one is even better. We're 14 episodes into the season and the status quo has changed. They set up the final episodes of the season perfectly, while making me understand why we had to get through all the angst and moopiness at the beginning. That's how you do a 22 episode season. You have to keep things interesting, and while I'm watching these episodes pretty close to each other, I'm very much invested in these characters and where they are going.
 
Yep, Angelus as a villain is way more interesting than Angel as a good guy.

Buffy crying on her bed is one of the most hearbreaking scenes of the entire series, in my opinion.

I’ve always felt that season 2 was the most emotional of the series because one of the villains is someone Buffy really loves.
 
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