Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 57

B7.13 The Killer In Me
This episode feels a little weird as it left two major plot points hanging and not in a cliffhanging way. Giles not being the First, my favourite storyline is revealed but what actually happened when he encountered the Bringer is held back from a later episode, which is a little odd. Still it was very easy to feel the fear the gang felt when they thought Giles could the the First. Similarly Buffy's quest to get Spike's chip checked was also not resolved; we find out Buffy's answer in the next episode. However its good to see that Buffy and Riley are on good enough terms for him to help her with Spike. The government conspiracy/ flower shop thing was funny though.
The weakest aspect of the episode was the Kennedy/ Willow storyline. Whilst I think Willow did need to deal with her murdering Warren and her grief for Tara, having Warren appear, at Amy's doing, was not the funnest way to do it and honestly it was a little boring. Then there's the Kennedy relationship which I find hard to swallow for two reasons- Kennedy is 17/18 at most and so the age difference is a little icky (Willow and Cordy have a lot in common in these seasons!) and Tara has only been dead for a few months, so Willow moving into a new relationship is a little disrespectful. I know this is TV, so the process is usually speeded up but even Xander never really moves on from Anya! (6.5/10)

B7.14 First Date
As Giles comments by the end of this episode, the events here are very lighthearted, but Giles puts them mostly back on track for the remainder of the season. Poor Xander's date with a demon reeks of stunt casting, but at least it gave the opportunity to show that demons other than the bringers are aligning themselves with the First, which is what we would suspect. Andrew and the others attempting to tape the First was foolish; they could've sent Andrew in with questions and no tape recorder but it did bring about a very creepy scene with Jonathan/The First.
It was good to finally expose Principal Wood and its good to have another fighter on the side of good, one who is actually good at fighting. He and Buffy do have a nice chemistry so its sad they don't pursue that, since she's busy making googly eyes at Spike. I have to say, I;m kinda rooting for Wood here in his quest for revenge against Spike as revealed by The First as Spike is getting a tad annoying now. (7/10)

B7.15 Get It Done
Even though I'm not a fan of the creepier episodes but I really like this one. Getting to see how the first Slayer was made is a very important thing in the lead up to the finale. I must admit Buffy was a little judgmental in how the men made the first Slayer- does she think she got her super strength from flowers and puppies? She did make a valid point though in that the men who made her were cowards, in that they made her fight so they didn't have to.
Buffy's speech to the rest of the gang was a little annoying I must admit and its the start of her more annoying tendencies being very obvious. I understand that she was hard on the Slayers but on Willow and Xander? It was very unfair even if it did give Willow the kick she needed. Another odd point of the episode for me was Kennedy being in the inner circle when they opened the box. It was obvious later, but it was an annoying plot contrivance and her pushiness is part of what makes her such an unpopular character.
Still the episode was mostly highlights. I love Buffy's tour of the house with Robin, Spike getting back into the swing of things by wearing his coat. The sheer horror of Chloe's death made a nice impact as well, showing how far the First can go. (8.5/10)

A4.09 Long Day's Journey
This is a pretty thrilling episode and one of the best apocalypse ones. Though I would've liked more time spent on the Ra-tet, the fact that the killing of nearly all the members happened in one episode added to the sense of the ticking clock. Bringing Gwen back for the episode was a great idea, she rounded off the team nicely, bringing in a few extra super powers. Also knowing that its Jasmine inside Cordy, its easier to side with Gwen in their cat fight and not hate her.
The Beasts quest to blot out the sun is a good one and its more tangible idea than most apocalypse effects- destruction death etc. The Beast was menacing this episode even though he had more to say, which can often negate any scariness.
The ending of course was wonderful, the dramatic fight, the sun disappearing and the revelation that we need Angelus was an excellent cliffhanger ending. (9.5/10)

New Entourage trailer

An uncharacteristically subdued trailer from the show now going into it's 7th season. The show are moving away a little from the excesses of Hollywood life (recession induced perhaps) and this trailer feels a little more arty. Also their outfits feel very season 2 for some reason.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 56

B7.09 Never Leave Me
A lot of this episode is spent talking, Buffy and Spike in particular and it can be a little boring. Even though Anya and Xander are a good and funny tag team when it comes to interrogating Andrew, since Andrew doesn't really tell them anything, it feels like the episode doesn't really go anywhere. That is until the last 10 minutes when the Bringers enter, the revelation that the Big Bad is The First, the blowing up of the Watcher's Council and the emergence of the Ubervamp. This really kicks the arc up more than a notch and makes the slow beginning to the episode justifiable. I'm not particularly sad to see the end of the Watcher's Council. Their last scene about their operations elsewhere make them seem more like an organisation akin to Wolfram and Hart, than anything else! (8/10)

B7.10 Bring On The Night
The end has well and truly begun as this episode begins Buffy's own personal arc of the burden she faces the (almost) lone Slayer that will bring about the events of the finale. The Turok Han was a formidable opponent and its been a while since we've seen Buffy beat up like this. Even when she was killed by the Master, or beaten on a regular basis by Glory, I'm not sure we've ever seen Buffy come out of a fight so beaten. Of course that was just physically as she demonstrates in the amazing war declaration she makes at the end of the episode (which of course is the start of another personal and more annoying arc- her speechifying!). Giles' return was a much needed element to emphasise the gravity of the situation and its always good to see him after his absence for most of the season. Also returning was Dru in the form of the First, a great person to torture Spike as the only other women he loved. The potentials aren't a welcome addition, but they aren't too annoying here, though I'm glad they got rid of the posh one as I hate posh English accents! (8.5/10)

B7.11 Showtime
I love the showdown at the end of this episode and how the Scoobies led it there. Its very powerful at showcasing what Buffy can do, although I am a little sceptical about the telepathy thing between the three friends. It was a neat way of establishing their bond though. It seems a little strange that Buffy would want to fight in front of the girls when it could've gone so badly wrong. Maybe it was Buffy's new sense of leadership that allowed her to kill the Turok-Han, as she seemed sure that she would be able to beat him the second time round, when she wasn't able to the first.
The girl who played Eve the dead Slayer/The First was just wonderful and it was a suitable creepy plot device in which to show the Firsts reach and manipulation skills. The Beljoxa's eye thing was the oddest part of the episode though; it necessitated some exposition about why the First was coming now, but it all seemed a little too easy- why haven't they used it before. Over on Angel, mystical devices like that have been used before and they've always been a lot creepier and hard to access. (8.5/10)

B7.12 Potential
The problem with starting the season's Big Bad arc so early (the first episode) is that it can't maintain the same speed that the show has been going at, meaning that at some point the episodes have to get a little quieter and this episode is the start of that for the next few episodes. Saying that however, this is one of the stronger episodes that aren't action filled. Its a shame that Dawn is least annoying in this season and its the season she gets the least amount of screen time (or perhaps its a coincidence). This episode showcases that Dawn has certainly grown up and Michelle Trachenburg pull it off well. Its endearing to see Dawn selflessly hand over her potential status to Amanda without pausing, even more so since Buffy never found out that she was temporarily a potential.
I'm not a fan of the Buffy/Spike and potentials aspect of this episode, apart from the visit from Clem (who didn't say a word to Spike, which was a little odd), its a little boring, though it does work with the inter-cuts to Dawn. The best things about the episode have to be the gentle introduction of the least annoying potential Amanda and obviously Xander's heart wrenching speech at the end, which is probably more powerful than most of the speeches Buffy gives or will give this season. It so perfectly sums up the Scoobies role in Buffy's life and in the show in general. (8.5/10)

The 90210 finale was ker-razy!

Just caught up on the last two episodes of 90210's vastly improved second season and they didn't disappoint.

There were break-ups galore; Teddy and Silver, Ivy and Dixon, Harry and Debbie, and Naomi and Liam. The latter two pairs stuck whilst the former two managed to find a happy ending before the credits rolled.

There was also a happy and totally sweet make-up in the form of Adrianna and Navid, though that irritating Javier made things difficult for the pair by inviting Ade on his year long tour, which became the first cliffhanger of the season.
Jasper made his return in the penultimate episode, just in time to see Annie and Liam cosying up on his boat. Liam makes the decision to confess about stealing the coins for his father which prompts Annie to make her own confession about killing Jasper's grandfather.
Unfortunately whilst Annie is doing that Jasper is setting fire to Liam's boat- y'know the one he has spent all year making.

Oh yeah and Jen is back with a baby bump- urgh, she's a good antagonist, but only for so long. And it looks like since it's Ryan's baby- she might be around for a lot longer. Ryan's of course isn't allowed access to the child, so he goes off on a drunken bender setting fire to the school sign and his car.

Proving it's not a great day for West Bev's teachers, Harry gets blackmailed for covering up Dixon's involvement in the school break in and admits this to the school superintendent and gets fired.
Lastly but most shockingly after losing her finances to Jen, breaking up with Liam, her car not starting and her phone battery failing, Naomi turns to falsely accused Mr Cannon for help, who then in turn tries to rape her, thus ending the season.

It was definitely a shocking finale and there's lots in place, storyline-wise for next season. Naomi, Liam, Jasper and Ryan's fates, Adrianna's decision, and the consequences of Annie's confession.

However the thing that has impressed me most about the finale is how all the little things came together. There was the season long storyline about Liam's boat, demonstrating the show's ability to have long term continuity; Annie's confession on the computer in the penultimate episode which was 'auto-saved' in a not so subtle promotion for Windows in a much earlier episode; and Naomi's lie about Mr Cannon coming back to haunt her.

The show is still glorious, gorgeous to look at, fluff and whilst some of the dialogue and acting is still a little bit questionable, the overall arc's of the show are vastly improving showing that the show can more than hold it's own.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 55

B7.07 Conversations With Dead People
I'm not the biggest fan of this episode because I'm not a fan of scary movies or anything like that and the Dawn portion of this episode is definitely that. Still the episode kick starts the arc that will take us into the finale, in a major way. Evil is most definitely coming and its coming after the Scoobies. Though Dawn's is the scariest story, Willow's is definitely the creepiest. It would've perhaps been nicer to see Tara herself, but Cassie was a good second best as she was excellent as the evil masked as good thing. Buffy's story was perhaps the funniest and seeing her go through a form of therapy was interesting as we saw her lay out what she really feels. Spike's storyline was obviously more to do with the next episodes story, but it lay a decent foundation, in an entirely silent story. I was a little sad to see Jonathan's death or more specifically the Trio back in force. Jonathan was always the most likable one and funnily enough as they pondered, the one most likely to be allowed to join the Scoobies, more so than Andrew was. Though it was a real shame not to have a story from Xander, the format of this episode was a nice one and was more enjoyable than I previously thought. (8.5/10)

B7.08 Sleeper
This episode is a little slow to begin with and I think I would've liked more fallout out from the previous episode. However it was a tantalizing look at the Big Bad and just how influential it is. To make Spike kill even with his soul was a powerful thing and something which obviously will have a great effect on him as the season goes on. There were some funny scenes, with Anya and Xander and then Anya and Spike which helped to break the episode up a little, but overall it was a little too slow paced. (7/10)

A4.07 Apocalypse Nowish
Its hard not to love this episode. Visually alone this is an incredible episode to watch, the rain of fire is beautiful and thrilling to see and the make-up for the Beast is incredible. Storyline wise, seeing all the signs of the apocalypse rain down on LA was pretty exciting; we've never seen an apocalypse before in the Buffyverse, not really, so seeing the 'traditional' signs afflict the team was enjoyable and scary at the same time. The Cordy/Connor sex is obviously a low point of the episode, though Angel's reaction is just wonderful. For the purpose of this review and future season 4 ones (up until Inside Out), I'll be referring to Jasmine when I refer to Cordy because the idea that Cordy herself is in the driving seat when she sleeps with Connor is just too icky. I think the highlight of the episode for me is the boys all working together finally. Wesley has been estranged for so long now and it gave me a real kick to see them all working and fighting side by side at last. (10/10)

A4.08 Habeas Corpses
After such an incredible episode, there were perhaps only a few ways to follow it up. But honestly would anyone have thought it would be to have the Beast kill all of W&H? Killing of the show's big bad was a brave decision. They have been dogging Angel for years now, constantly a looming presence and with their end here they won't really be an opposing evil force until late in season 5. It also creates major questions as to the Beasts goal and the extent of its strength, shown by his killing of the White Room girl to not be just physical. Overall this is an enjoyable episode. I'm not mad on the zombies and glad we didn't have to put up with too much of them.
The show perfectly manages to balance humour and drama in this episode. Lilah's ironic comments on W&H's safety in an apocalypse, Lorne checking his drink, Angel's biting remarks to Cordy and his throwaway line of not letting Cordy fight and then telling Fred to hurry up was hilarious. The drama came from the W&H deaths, the White Room, and of course one of my favourite speeches from the show, when Lilah waxes lyrical on white and black. And of course the highlight of this episode was Gavin's death, he's been a thoroughly irritating character and I was glad to see the back of him! (9/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 54

B7.05 Selfless
When a show has as many 'old' characters as this one does, its always fun to explore their previous history's. Anya's was a lot of fun, which was a good thing as it evened out the tragedy of the main part of the episode. The flashbacks covered the defining points in Anya's life plus some fun little extra bits as well; I liked her part in the Russian Revolution, seeing that she wasn't always such a capitalist and of course her 'Mrs' song which is just wonderful.
In the present day Buffy took a very quick decision to kill Anya, and the Scoobies were even quicker to fight about it. The argument seemed a touch forced, dredging up the past, but considering its the final season, its little surprise that they are doing that. Anya's granted wish was particularly gruesome though, so in some ways I do understand why she felt she had to kill Anya. The ultimate act of vengeance was D'Hoffryn taking Hallie's life rather than Anya's. It was a neat little trick to get round killing Anya, but it was a very cruel thing to inflict upon Anya. (9/10)

A4.05 Supersymmetry
I'm not sure there was really a need to go back to Fred being sent to Pylea and the ret-con of how she was sent there didn't really make sense, which weakened the episode a little. It was good to get a Fred centric episode though and there were some good moments like Angel being thrilled about being talked about in the 'chatty rooms', the contrast between the Cordy/Connor storyline and Fred's and the interaction between Wes and Fred. It also well served the purpose of cracking Gunn and Fred's relationship which for the first time for me, wasn't that annoying in this episode. You do have to feel sorry for Gunn that the very thing he hoped would hold his relationship together (killing the professor for her) was actually the thing that killed it. As for the Cordy and Connor stuff, icky as it may be, its understandable that Connor would be drawn to Cordy; he's a hormonal teenage boy and for him, Cordy was never really his mother, surrogate or no. (7.5/10)

A4.06 Spin the Bottle
This episode is obviously comparable to Buffy's Tabula Rasa, but they were different enough to both be enjoyable. Whereas Buffy's didn't have that much impact on the overall season, this episode was pivotal with Lorne's spell finally restoring Cordy's memories and awakening the bast within. The framing device used was a neat one, it always nice to have Lorne front and centre and he made for a good if mysterious narrator. The episode is a lot of fun as the characters do remember who they are so have distinct personalities and its so much fun to see them all revert to the characters they were either when we first saw them (Cordy, Wes, Gunn and to an extent Fred) or who we have seen them be before (Angel, in flashbacks). A lot of the jokes made in the episode as well hark back to teenage years which was funny and fit the episode well. Cordy and Wes are especially fun as they make a lot of links back to Sunnydale and the mythology that started the whole show. I also liked hearing Wesley with his old accent, his hybrid one at the beginning of the episode was odd and a bit distracting. (9.5/10)

B7.06 Him
I expected to hate this episode this time round, but it was actually quite funny in places. The story was a frivolous, filler one, though it did let us have a look at Dawn's first big high school crush albeit at a fastforward pace. The episode very much felt like old school Buffy, the similarities with Xander's own tale of women falling in love with him in season 2's 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered' were noted, though oddly through use of flashback, which felt a little bit out of place. The four split screen technique to show all the girls also was a little odd but was used with better effect. Its funny that Buffy had a fringe in the episode, its a small thing but she hasn't had one since season 1/2 and she looked a lot like she did in those seasons, along with her behaviour and seduction technique in this episode which again was mirrored in 'Bewitched...'. The episode did drag on a bit especially to begin with, but mostly it was a nice episode. (7.5/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 53

B7.03 Same Place, Same Time
This feels like a filler episode in a way, buts its a neatly written and produced episode. The scenes where Willow is actually in the same place as Buffy and Xander are really well done and I like the aspect of piecing the story together. Gnarl the skinning demon was creepy, especially when he was eating the skin and there was obvious Xander foreshadowing when Buffy squeezed out the demons eyes.
Its interesting to see Dawn getting so involved with the research and being so good at it, she's obviously learnt a lot in the past few months. Its also nice to see Anya helping the Scoobies, especially with her one-on-one time with Willow, since they've never really gotten on. (8/10)

A4.03 The House Always Wins
This was a really nice fun episode; a rarity in season 4. The road trip to Las Vegas was a lot of fun to watch. I did like Angel's quips about being in Vegas in the past though continuity wise I'm not sure if it fits really. Lorne's performance was an obvious highlight, and I love the songs he sings as well as the whole show they put on. The main storyline was a little blah as it turned Angel into a zombie like creature which was a bit boring. Having Cordy commenting and interfering was a neat little touch and a good way to bring her into the action.
Not much from Wesley, though his once phone sex scene with Lilah was a little creepy as he was doing it with the weapons guy still in the room- shows how dark Wesley has gone, stiff upper lip no more! (8/10)

A4.04 Slouching Towards Bethlehem
This episode felt a lot longer than it was, probably because of Cordy's amnesia thing. Amnesia when played for laughs, can be funny and lead to all sort of results. When serious, honestly its a bit of a downer, though it did have some funny moments like Cordy looking through the Sunnydale High yearbook.
The episode only really got interesting when Lorne read Cordy and saw something awful and then when Lilah and Wesley got into the mix with her double crossing. Lilah takes advantage of the fact that both Wesley and the AI team are predictable creatures; Lorne would read Cordy and Wesley would do the right thing and try and keep Cordy from W&H. The double cross was very interesting for Wes as it does put him on uneven footing with both Lilah and AI. (6.5/10)

B7.04 Help
This is a beautifully tragic episode. Having Buffy as the school counselor this season was an interesting choice. It allows her to mix with the students in a funny and sad way as shown in this episode, it brings back the Sunnydale high school years in a tangible way and when it brings about it episodes like this, you know it was a brilliant decision on behalf of the writers. Cassie's story was so sad and yet it was such a good and poignant one. Her death was inevitable but by at least trying to save her Cassie had an almost happy death, knowing that someone was fighting for her. The trying is the most important thing. The only thing that lets down this episode, id the fact that the demon looked exactly like the demon Skip on Angel. Very poor and lazy make-up decisions. (9.5/10)

Lets all do the time warp- Grey's Anatomy style

Ever since the casting of Sarah Paulson and J August Richards (Whedon alums) were announced for this episode, I was excited to see them portray the young lovers. I'm happy to say this episode more than pulled off the flashback stunt. It was a more simple episode than most Grey's episodes. In a series of lectures watched by the residents, Arizona and Derek, Callie, Bailey and Richard gave a lecture about a defining moment in their surgical careers.

Callie was the most humorous one, she could barely tell the story through her nervousness, but it was a sweet tale about how she and Alex fixed a man's badly disfigured legs. They ended the story showing them ending up in the call room together which led to an awkward scene with Arizona realising they've slept together!! Ooops!


Bailey's was another fairly funny story about how she stood up to her bitch of a resident, by diagnosing a patient with chronic pain and impressed Richard in the process. This was a nice story and I liked hose Bailey used the chocolates to get the audience (namely the residents) involved. Her girlishness with the Jason George character at the beginning and end of the episode was very sweet as well.


The strongest story was obviously Richard's. 45 days sober and offered a general surgery job back in the hospital, he told the story of when he and Ellis Grey dealt with an early case of AIDS. This case was sensitively dealt with; there was a lot of prejudice back in the early 80's about the disease and little research had been done on the nature of it. Richard and Ellis showed the wonderful doctors they would turn into in their handling of the case. Their burgeoning relationship was also shown; its a little wonder that they bonded over their minority status in the white, male dominated hospital. The end was especially strong showing how Ellis led Richard down the road to his alcoholism, persuading him to drink.

The highlight however was ending the lectures with Richard reciting with physicians code. Simple but oh-so effective.
It was a stellar episode and a nice change from the usual disasters that Seattle Grace endures.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 52 (BtVS Season 7/Angel Season 4)

I must admit I'm pretty sad to start this season of Buffy as its the final one, though thankfully after these seasons are done I have one Angel one to ease the pain of finishing Buffy!
NB I've deviated from the list I've been following a little watching this season as some of the continuing episodes weren't placed together in the watching order.

B7.01 Lessons
I didn't really remember much of this episode from when I first watched it, but its an impressive way to kick off the final season. The episode gets right into introducing the Big Bad in a way that no other season (bar the first) has done. Building the High School again is beautifully poetic and its the perfect setting for Buffy to fight the final battle. Plus Dawn makes sure that she's linked with it again.
I liked that Dawn is now getting trained to fight, she's nearly 17 and Buffy, Willow and Xander had been fighting demons for quite a while by then, so Dawn really needed to get in on the action. The main story of the manifested spirits was a nice one, mostly because it was simple, creepy and a neat call back to the classic high school days.
There was a lot of mystifying/overlong dialogue though elsewhere, with Spike obviously and with Willow and Giles, which seemed to go on a little.
My favourite scene though has to be the final one. Bringing back all the dead Big Bads was a stroke of genius and honestly it was nice to see the history of Buffy in this way. (9/10)

A4.01 Deep Down
There was a lot of loose ends and cliffhangers to deal with in this episode and mostly they were well dealt with so the season could get going. The Wesley stuff was the most interesting. To see how dark he had become, especially with keeping Justine was a little horrifying but it was reassuring to see that by searching for Angel he still had some heart. How more evil other half, Lilah also had some enjoyable scenes in which she thankfully dispatched on the annoying Linwood, in a very entertaining way!
Angel's hallucinations varied, the first was the strongest and most fun to watch, bu they increasingly became more boring, however significant they were to Angel's hopes and fears. The Gunn/Fred and Connor stuff was probably the weakest of the episode. However Fred's tearful speech to Connor was very well done as was Angel's own and was a nice capper to the episode. (8/10)

B7.02 Beneath You
This is a bit of a mixed episode. The Spike going mad stuff is rather good. James Marsters pulls off the mood swings and the crazy so well and its a very enjoyable performance, especially the final scene. The main story was less enjoyable however. The girl with the worm ex boyfriend was a bit of an ungrateful bitch; she never really thanked Buffy or Xander for saving her life and she didn't even check on her ex after he had been stabbed. It was difficult to sympathise with her which made the story less enjoyable. I did like seeing Anya working as a vengeance demon though. The confrontation scene at The Bronze was pretty funny, but I would've liked to see demon Anya go up against Spike rather than Buffy again. (7/10)

A4.02 Ground State
When I first watched this episode I didn't really like Gwen. Her dalliance with Angel felt a little bit too much of a betrayal to Cordy, but as a character she has definitely grown on me. As the opening flashback showed, she is just a lost little girl, whose powers have kept her from being close to anyone. This obviously makes her a wonderful thief. Her story and the quest to find the Axis of Pythis was an interesting one, but again, the Wesley and Lilah stuff was probably a little more interesting. The ending was a bit of a downer with the group just accepting that Cordy was where she belongs (opposite of the Scoobies in Buffy in season 6), more so as the team is so small at the moment and it doesn't feel right somehow. (7.5/10)

Entourage Season 8 to be last?/ Hires Porn Star

I like to think of myself as pretty up on Entourage new. Its one of my favourite shows so I pretty much read everything about it. However I was a little shocked after reading this Digital Spy article in which they say that the end of the article that season 8 will be Entourage's last.

Now the show has been in decline of for a little while and it's had a good run for an HBO show, but I wasn't aware that any decision had been made. Now this could be speculation on DS's part, but honestly it's also quite likely to be true. Ratings and creative quality have slipped and the show can't go on forever. Still I'll be quite sad to see this show go and curious to see how the show will end. Its not a show that invites a natural ending, the 'entourage' will all still be together no doubt but beyond that anything could happen.


Also to comment on the main body of the article, the show have hired a porn star to play Vince's love interest. The show have dabbled in the adult entertainment industry before for actors, so whilst this isn't a surprise, her main role is. Plus it will be a little sad to see all the boys settled down as part of what makes the show fun is their womanising (this coming from a girl!). Hopefully Drama and Turtle can keep it up!! (Eric obviously became engaged to Sloane in the sixth season finale, wonder how that will turn out!!)

Angel and Buffy: The Trailers

Buffyfest posted the first embedded video yesterday and I just had to share it, it's an amazing movie trailer for Buffy season 5. There are a lot of these type trailers on Youtube, but I've never seen one so quite as good.



The user The Buffyverse Trailers have done others as well- for the previous Buffy seasons as well as Angel 1 and 2. Here's another personal favourite, Angel season 1:



I've already subscribed to this channel. These trailers are so seriously good, I can't wait to see what they done for the later seasons, especially both show's final seasons.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 51

Buffy Season 6

This is a mixed season for the show. It has some of the best episodes of the whole show and some not very good ones as well. Many fans will cite this as the worst season, but I don't really agree with that.

The overall arc of the show was very different from any other the show has had. Instead of the arc being based around the season's Big Bad, it was based around the characters- their depression, their addictions, their fears and ultimately their failings. Giles was right in the finale when he said he should have never left. Without a parental figure the characters floundered! I must say Giles' leaving did impact on the feel of the show. The gang tended not to deal with monsters unless they had to and there was very little of the traditional research done, which definitely changed the vibe of the show.
This reduced the big bad to a side story for the most part. To begin with the Trio were vaguely amusing. Geeky and silly, it added some light hearted entertainment for the show. Their obsession with Buffy was a little inexplicable at times. Usually villains get obsessed with Buffy after she has foiled their plots not before. And lets face it, its not really until after the death of Katrina that Buffy really starts to care about them. The Trio do start to get more annoying, though they don't get much screen time. Many of their geeky references get lost on me a lot of the time and only Jonathan is really half likable.

Most of the season deals with the main characters who all have their problems. Willow's addiction and eventual turn to the dark side, is great to watch, mostly because Alyson Hannigan pulls it off so well. It is a shame that most of it is done so abruptly and quickly though. Some of the magic addiction parts do feel a little shoe horned in to fit in with the number of episodes.
Its a shame to see Anya leave the group after 'Hell's Bells'. With the sad death of Tara, its reduces the core Scooby group that has been in place since at least season 5 and definitely causes a shift in dynamic leading up to season 7.

Overall I think this is a highly enjoyable season. Its very dark and different from the earlier seasons, but the arcs are strong and the episode are mostly of very high quality. (8.5/10)

Angel season 3

This was Angel's first major arc season, in which most of the episodes contributed to the overall season arc; there were very few stand alone episodes or cases that dominated the episodes.
Mostly I love this season. The idea of giving Angel a child definitely adds a dimension to the character and show and propels all the characters forward.

For the characters, the season mostly depends on the romantic relationships that form. The gang work so closely and in such a strange world that its only natural that they should start to look at each other in a different light. The Gunn, Wes and Fred triangle is perhaps the most tragic. Wes, bumbling and English, fails to make his move on Fred. Of course he is hampered by his misogynistic chase of her in 'Billy' but Gunn, whose probably better at attracting the ladies manages to do what Wes can't.
It's funny, Fred and Gunn are the most normal, healthy and long lasting relationship in Angel, yet in fandom, they are never really thought of that much. Fred is usually placed with Wes though their relationship lasted just hours. I guess there are a few reasons for that. Firstly there was no drama in their build up no will they won't they; that was more reserved for the Fred/Wes relationship. Their relationship, then, seems a little sudden. If you look hard enough the signs that they will get together are there. Fred spends a lot more time with Gunn than Wes and is more open with his feelings for her. Secondly for most of their relationship they chug along quite happily, the cracks of course do appear but that's in season 4. Thirdly and this is just my opinion of course, but Gunn kind of steps all over Wes to get to Fred, without really sparing much thought for the man that took a bullet for him. Poor Wes is left out in the cold and Gunn doesn't really make the effort to be the bigger man. Lastly, Fred and Gunn lack the kind of chemistry that makes relationships on TV so popular. In that way they are the everyday, ordinary couple that is so rarely seen in the Buffyverse.

The other relationship was of course was Cordy and Angel. As shown in 'Birthday', the night she met Angel in LA, the course of Cordy's life changed forever and soon after she joined Angel Investigations she stopped being the queen bitch she was in LA, though thankfully she still retained her edge. With Cordy's more saintly personality and her sacrifices, its little wonder that Angel fell in love with her. Some don't really like this character development, but I think it was natural and the characters work well together as episodes like 'Waiting in the Wings' show. Personally I love the pair together. Sadly of course it is never to be.

There were lots of new characters this season. Angel Investigations had Fred who had already been introduced and Lorne became more involved with the group, more than I realised he had been. There was of course Connor. a lot of people don't like him and I do concede that he becomes more annoying in season 4, here he is just a troubled teenager, who has been given a bad lot in life.
There were more new characters in terms of villains in season 3. Bringing Holtz back was an interesting idea. As villains go he is pretty effective and his motives remain ambiguous the entire time he is on the show. Its hard to hate him, since Angelus did kill his entire family, but obviously you don't want him to succeed. Justine, is a little more annoying than Holtz. I'm glad the writers never went down the path of the two having a romantic relationship considering how much older (even without the time jumping) he is than her as that would've been kinda icky!
Wolfram Hart gained two replacements this year, Linwood and Gavin, both as annoying as each other. Gavin was very effective in what he did, installing cameras in the hotel, but mostly he just grated. Fortunately we got to see more of Lilah, more in charge but who became a lot more interesting once we saw her weaknesses.

Overall this was a strong season. There were a couple of bad episodes and some mediocre ones, but there were plenty amazing ones too. (8.5/10)

Buffy and Angel

These are probably the hardest seasons of the shows to watch together so far, as apart from some brief scenes at the beginning of the seasons there wasn't really any crossovers making them completely separate shows.
Both seasons were heavily arced with many episodes spilling over into the next (especially Angel) which meant that I often watched up to 5 episodes of one show before going back to the other one, which made it a little disjointing to watch sometimes.

I was struck in these seasons how similar they were, especially in certain themes or events. Firstly of course there's Connor and Dawn, ready made teenagers for our lead characters to have to take care of. Both Angel and Buffy moved on, with their ex's frenemies so to speak. This was also the year for the sidekicks, with Willow/Xander and Wes/Cordy playing major villainous and heroic roles in the show.
Couples were hugely important in these two seasons as well. In Angel they spent most of the time circling each other than in actual relationships, to extent this was true in Buffy as well with most of the couples spending time in a 'not official' state.
Whether these similarities are just lazy story telling or a way to bind the two seasons together, its hard to tell. The storylines worked in both shows though, so its hard to fault the writers too much. Its hard to pick a better season as they are pretty evenly matched. Both seasons have highs and lows but I think with episodes like 'Once More With Feeling' Buffy slightly edges out on Angel.

Some videos from Scrubs season 8

Have been watching bits and pieces of Scrubs season 8 on E4 recently and whilst on Youtube I cam across these videos. They're old but I like them so I thought I'd post them any way!







Also my last post was my 100th on this site. Not the biggest landmark, but I thought I'd mention it anyway!