One Girl in All the World

Happy Birthday, Joss!

2009-06-23T19:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Joss Whedon! He turns 45 today! Thank you for bringing me my favorite shows in the world!

DOLLHOUSE RENEWAL!

2009-05-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

FOX renews Dollhouse for second season.

It’s official. Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse is returning, as we reported on earlier today (and this week).

The show will return for 13 episodes, with an option for more episodes if required. Return is seen likely for Fall. The show budget has been slashed, however the show is moving from 50 minutes per episode to 42 minutes per ep, which should help bring down some production costs. The move will also mark a shift in creative direction of the show.

Source.

'Prophecy Girl'

2009-04-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

Obviously a classic episode and the season finale of season 1~ (This post will be image heavy since it's a HEAVY episode.)

We start off with Xander seemingly confessing his love to Willow. But, we find out he's just practicing to ask Buffy out. Poor delusional boy. Then, we cut to Cordelia and her boyfriend making out with her boyfriend, but is startled after hearing a noise outside. That noise just happens to be slow-motion Buffy fighting off a vampire.

"Three in one night. Giles would be so proud."

Speaking of Giles, he is slaving over the books, as per usual. But, he finds something a little unsettling. "'The Master shall rise, and the Slayer...' My God!" Well, we know that can't be good. I'm guessing the word he was looking for is 'will die.' And then an earthquake erupts throughout Sunnydale, cutting to the Master laughing maniacally. He's convinced his freedom is nearing.

The next morning, Buffy finds Giles in the same condition she left him; slaving over the books. He seems disturbed and preoccupied, for obvious reasons. Buffy, of course, just thinks he's being a little too Giles.

Buffy: Giles, care? I'm putting my life on the line battling the undead. Look, I broke a nail, okay? I'm wearing a press-on. The least you could do is exhibit some casual interest. You could go, 'hmm'.
Giles: Hmm?

I love how her superficiality peaks through every now and then. Anyway, after Biology class, the trio (Xander, Willow, and Buffy) are walking around and Xander hints that he needs to talk to Buffy. Oh no, the inevitable confession we've been waiting for all season is coming. He asks her to the dance; she has no idea what to say. Basically, she just thinks of him as a friend, nothing more.

Xander: Nah. Forget it. I'm not him. I mean, I guess a guy's gotta be undead to make time with you.
Buffy: That's really harsh.

Jeez, Xander. She's saved your life how many times and you've seen her moon over Angel for how long? What did you expect? Except I do feel sympathy for him since it's Xander and I love him. Anyway, he goes off to pout, leaving Buffy to feel like the worst human being on the planet.

Miss Calendar pays Giles a visit, knowing something is going wrong with the universe, so he enlists her help. Meanwhile, Xander is emo-ing out over Buffy, moping in an empty classroom until Willow finds him. He asks her to the dance instead.

Willow: You think I wanna go to the dance with you and watch you wish you were at the dance with her?

Wise words, Willow. Especially considering her never-ending crush on Xander.

After school, Buffy is washing up in the restroom, only to find that the sink is pouring out blood!

Gross! So, she rushes to Giles, only to find him talking with Angel in hushed, but anxious tones. Buffy eavesdrops a little and finds out some startling news.

Giles: But it's very plain! Tomorrow night Buffy will face the Master, and she will die.

Buffy's immediate reaction, after staring in shock, is to laugh. And then a heartbreaking scene ensues that I can't do justice, so I'll just post the dialogue.

Buffy: I've got a way around it. I quit!
Angel: It's not that simple.
Buffy: I'm making it that simple! I quit! I resign, I-I'm fired, you can find someone else to stop the Master from taking over!
Giles: I'm not sure that anyone else can. All the... the signs indicate...
Buffy: The signs? (throws a book at him) READ ME THE SIGNS! (throws another one) TELL ME MY FORTUNE! YOU'RE SO USEFUL SITTING HERE WITH ALL YOUR BOOKS! YOU'RE REALLY A LOTTA HELP!
Giles: No, I don't suppose I am.
Angel: I know this is hard.
Buffy: What do you know about this? You're never gonna die!
Angel: You think I want anything to happen to you? Do you think I could stand it? We just gotta figure out a way...
Buffy: I already did. I quit, remember? Pay attention!
Giles: Buffy, if the Master rises...
Buffy: I don't care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die.

So heartbreaking, I cry every time. She tosses her cross necklace to the ground and heads home. She starts looking over her photo albums, clearly convinced her fate is sealed. Her mom comes in to check on her, assuming she's moping over a boy. I love how naive and stereotypically mom-like Joyce is. She tries to convince her mom to go on a road trip with her, but Joyce wants her to go to the dance. Especially since she got her the perfect dress.

The next morning, Cordelia and Willow head to school early to help Cordelia's boyfriend get stuff ready to set-up at the Bronze. He missed their meeting time, so Cordelia is feeling like a concerned girlfriend and actually falling for this guy. Of course, when they open the door, he falls right out of it...with all of his blood drained.

Buffy gets ready for the dance, but stops by Willow's to make sure she's all right. She lost some friends and is quite upset. (Argh, Alyson Hannigan crying is so touching. It's hard to resist spouting a few myself whenever she does it!)

Willow: Buffy, I like your dress.

Back at the library, Giles and Miss Calendar are trying to figure everything out. They figure the Anointed One must be a kid and he's the one who will lead her to The Master's lair. Buffy comes in, puts her cross necklace back on, and punches Giles in the face since he was reading to go and fight the Master himself.

As of now, this is the first of MANY times Giles will get knocked out in the course of the show. So, I will be keeping a tally of poor old unconscious Giles. So far: 1

So, Buffy heads off in search of the kid, who just so happens to be waiting outside the school. He leads her to the Master's lair.

Afterwards, Willow and Xander show up at the library, angry that Buffy went off by herself, despite the prophecy. Xander is convinced he must be the hero and rushes off to help her, while Miss Calendar starts to wonder, if the Hellmouth is going to open up when the Master rises, where will it open? A valid question.

Anyway, Xander heads to find Angel and enlists his help after many displays of testosterone. They head to the Master's lair.

Buffy hunts the Master in his lair, almost hits him with her crossbow, but he seems to catch up to her quickly, using his fancy 'thrawl' on her.

Buffy: Y'know, you really oughtta talk to your contractor. Looks like you got some water damage.
Master: Oh, good. The feeble banter portion of the fight. Why don't we
just cut to the...Nice shot!

Meanwhile, with the two stooges or romeos--however you wanna look at it:
Xander: You were looking at my neck.
Angel: What?
Xander: You were checking out my neck! I saw that!
Angel: No, I wasn't!
Xander: Just keep your distance, pal.
Angel: I wasn't looking at your neck!
Xander: I told you to eat before we left.

Back at the high school, Willow and Miss Calendar assume the Hellmouth is going to open at the Bronze where the dance is. So, they plan to go warn everyone. Not sure exactly what they would tell them, but it's a nice effort. Of course, they can barely get to Miss Calendar's car before they see this:

Back in the Master's lair, he has Buffy in his grasp. OH NO!!!

The Master: Oh god, the power!

The Master: And by the way, I like your dress.

The Master is then released from his imprisoned lair as Xander and Angel make their way inside. A little bit late, guys. But, really, how did they expect to fight the Master AND save Buffy on their own?

Anyway, Buffy is dead. Yep, she's really dead. She drowned. So, someone needs to revive her. Unfortunately, Angel has no breath, so Xander has to do it. He seems to only do it a few times. Put a little more effort in for the girl you love, eh?

Voila! Buffy has been revived!

Back at school, Cordelia saves Willow and Miss Calendar from the hoard of vampires. They drive INTO the school to get to the library, rushing to secure all the doors and windows to keep the vamps out. ("Of course, we generally walk there!") And while they do that, a giant three-headed demon is rising out of the middle of the library. Well, guess we know where that pesky Hellmouth is located! The Master is above the library on the roof, taking in the atmosphere. "My world! My beautiful world!"

Back in his lair, Buffy is regaining her strength.

Xander: No. You're still weak.
Buffy: No. No, I feel strong. I feel different. Let's go!

Cue the Buffy theme. I don't care how cheezy it is, I get so pumped when Buffy, Xander, and Angel are power-walking back to the high school with the theme playing in the background. Also, it's the only time the theme song plays during the show, other than the opening/ending credits, of course.

Buffy: Oh look! A bad guy. (punches)

In the library, everyone else is fending off vampires and the three-headed tentacle monster, which has wrapped itself around Willow's ankle. Someone left Cordelia to fend for herself to guard the doors. Who thought this was a good idea? At least she's keeping them at bay:

Cordelia: There! See how you like it!

Buffy finds the Master on the roof, much to his surprise.

The Master: You were dead.
Buffy: I may be dead, but I'm still pretty. Which is more than I can say for you.

The Master tries to 'thrawl' her again, but she can't fall for it anymore. The fight continues in the library and Xander and Angel fend off some vamps.

The Master: Did you really think you could best me here when you couldn't below?
Buffy: You have fruit punch mouth.

This confused him so much, he lets his guard down and the ass kicking truly begins. At some point, he gets her by the throat again. She spots the up-ended table in the library with a conveniently placed spike right below them.

Master: You laugh when my Hell is on Earth?
Buffy: You're that amped about Hell...Go there!

She grabs him by the neck and tosses him through the glass like a rag doll. He falls onto the spikey table and disintegrates. YAY! The vampires leave and the three-headed tentacle monster disappears. A job well done, scoobies.

Xander: Hey! I hear there's a dance at the Bronze tonight. Could be fun.
Cordelia: Yeah!
Willow: Buffy?
Buffy: Sure! We saved the world. I say we party! I mean, I got all pretty.
Ms. Calendar: And what about [The Master]?
Buffy: He's not going anywhere. Loser.
Giles: (to Ms. Calendar) I'm not dancing, though.
Ms. Calendar: We'll see.
Willow: You can come with us, Angel.
Buffy: I'm hungry.
Xander: So what's the story with the car?
Cordelia: Oh, that was me, saving the day!
Buffy: Is anybody else hungry? I'm really, really hungry.

Angel: By the way, I really like your dress.
Buffy: Yeah, yeah. Big hit with everyone.

The End~ Of Season 1, anyway. :)

'Out of Mind, Out of Sight'

2009-04-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

Cordelia walks down the halls of Sunnydale in a blissful mood as the Spring Fling is upon the students. She has a nice piece of man candy on one arm and her 'best friend' and minion/sheep, Harmony, on the other. Keep Harmony in mind, she oddly enough, gets a bigger and bigger part as the show goes on. Crazy, right? Buffy runs into them and her weapons spill onto the floor.

Cordelia: Uhhh! Behold, the weirdness!
Buffy: You're probably wondering what I'm doing with this stuff, huh?
Cordelia: Wow, I'm not!
Buffy: Uh, for history class. Mr. Giles has this, like, hobby of collecting stuff... which he lent me... for show and tell. D-did I mention it's for history class?
Harmony: She is always hanging with that creepy librarian in that creepy library.

I love how they don't even care that she randomly has weapons spilling out of her purse. They're just annoyed their hallway patrol was interrupted. Poor Buffy thinking they actually care about her.

In English class, Miss Miller, the teacher, praises Cordelia over and over again. Cut to Cordelia's mancandy in the locker room. A disembodied voice giggles in the room as a bat hangs in the air, then suddenly attacks him. He is badly hurt and rushed to the hospital.

Cordelia is campaigning for May Queen, passing out sweets to the students. ("Isn't this the bomb?"....Oh, the 90s.) Buffy gets nostalgic, remembering how she was queen of her spring fling at her old high school. Oh, to be popular again... Xander and Willow muse about the past and how Cordelia always needs to be number one. They begin speaking in tongues, according to Buffy.

Haaa, I just think this picture is adorable. Eventaually, Buffy sneaks into the crime scene and sees a message displayed on the locker.

Whaaaat? Look at what? Look at Mitch?

Buffy: And monsters don't usually send messages. It's pretty much crush, kill, destroy. This was different.
Giles: I'd have to say you're right.
Buffy: I love it when he says that! Any theories?

They figure it must be a ghost or a vampire bat. So, they head off to compile a list of dead or missing kids. We suddenly see a flashback of Cordelia and Harmony ignoring a girl who's trying to join in the conversation. The unnamed girl is clearly uncool and clearly trying too hard. In the present, Cordelia and Harmony are chatting, when Harmony is pushed down the stairs by an unseen force. Buffy follows the giggles to the music room, but loses whoever or whatever it was.

Buffy is feeling a bit defeated and Giles convinces her to follow Cordelia around since both people close to her were attacked. So, she stays around after school as Cordelia is preparing her May Queen gown.

Does anyone else just expect woodland critters to suddenly help her dress here?

Buffy hears a flute playing and so does Giles. He searches for the source and then dreamy Angel pops out of nowhere. He says he can help Giles research the Master and offers to find a rare book for him. Someone's kissing the daddy figure's bum before he gets with the slayer. ;)

We see another flashback. Cordelia and her Cordettes making fun of a presentation in the bathroom. The unnamed girl desperately attempts to join in the conversation, but is continuously ignored.

Willow reports her findings to Buffy. A girl named Marcie Ross disappeared a few months ago. She had band and played the flute. Sounds like the culprit! Buffy heads back to the music room and climbs into the ceiling, finding Marcie's nest. She grabs her yearbook and heads back to the others.

Cordelia's meeting with the english teacher is ready to start. Miss Miller hears someone come into the classroom, but suddenly a plastic bag is held over her head. Cordelia rushes in and removes the bag, saving her. A piece of disembodied chalk writes the word "LISTEN" on the chalkboard. SPOOKY!

Buffy gives them the yearbook and they realize the girl had no friends at all. She had the kiss of death written all over her yearbook; "Have a nice summer."

Willow: "Have a great summer!" See! I cared!

We see another flashback of Marcie in Miss Miller's class. She keeps raising her hand to answer, but Miss Miller keeps ignoring her. Suddenly, her hands starts disappearing. She turned invisible because no one noticed her.

Cordelia surprises Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles by coming for help.

Cordelia: What? I knew you'd be here. Buffy, I, uh, I, I know we've had our differences, with you being so weird and all, and hanging out with these total losers... Ooo! Well, anyway, despite all of that, I know that you share this feeling that we have for each other, deep down...
Willow: Nausea?
Cordelia: Somebody is after me! They just tried to kill Ms. Miller? Uh, she was helping me with my homework. And Mitch! And Harmony?! This is all about me! Me, me, me!
Xander: Wow! For once she's right!
Buffy: So you've come to *me* for help.
Cordelia: Because you're always around when all this weird stuff is happening. And I know you're very strong, and you've got all those weapons... I was kind of hoping you were in a gang.

They tell her what's happening and she claims she's never seen the girl in her life, after making fun of Marcie's outfit, of course. Buffy agrees to help her. The two do a bit of bonding as Cordelia prepares for the coronation. Cordelia confesses that even though she's so cute and popular, she still feels lonely. Buffy tells Cordelia, to her extreme surprise, that she used to be popular. She is kidnapped suddenly and Buffy is knocked out.

Meanwhile, Xander, Willow, and Giles hear the flute playing. They head to the boiler room to find a radio playing a recording of the flute. The door slammed and gas started pouring into the room. Oh noes!

Cordelia and Buffy wake up in the Bronze, tied up, and staring at this screen reading 'LEARN.' Marcie finally speaks to them. She explains she numbed Cordelia's face so she could make her super ugly. Buffy pisses her off and Marcie punches her pretty hard. And then she slashes Cordelia's cheek.

Marcie is too distracted by Cordelia (ironic, huh?) to notice Buffy kick the tray of surgical instruments at her. Cordelia wails and moans until Buffy shuts her up.

Meanwhile, Xander, Willow, and Giles are at death's door, unable to open the handleless door. Angel suddenly opens it and drags them out. He shuts off the gas and saves them all!

Back at the Bronze, Buffy and Marcie are having it out. Buffy gets to hone in on her listening skills and eventually bests Marcie. Two government officials come and take her away. "We'll handle it from here, ma'am." Uhh, what?

The next day Cordelia comes up to the scoobs to thank them. Willow boldly suggests she come to lunch with them, but when her mancandy appears, she reverts to her old Cordelia ways. Ah well, that didn't last long.

We are then shown what we can only assume is a government facility. Invisible Marcie is ushered into a room filled with invisible people. The teacher instructs them to open their books to a certain page. The page reads "Assassination and Infiltration."

Marcie: Cool!

'Nightmares'

2009-04-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

Buffy walks through the Master's lair, hunting him, only to be caught within moments, about ready to die....until her mom wakes her up for school. On their drive to school, Buffy wants to make sure her dad is really coming to pick her up and take her on a father/daughter weekend in Los Angeles, where he now lives. She seems worried he might break his promise.

When they get to class, moments after it starts, one of the students screams as he is suddenly covered with tarantulas. A little boy is seen in the doorway. He says, "Sorry about that."

Next morning...

Xander: Oh, the spiders! Willow's been kind of, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Insane about what happened yesterday.
Willow: I don't like spiders, okay? Their furry bodies, and their sticky webs, and what do they need all those legs for anyway? I'll tell you: for crawling across your face in the middle of the night. Ewww! How do they not ruffle you?
Xander: I'm sorry! I'm unruffled by spiders. Now, if a bunch of Nazis crawled all over my face...

Why is Xander afraid of Nazis? I don't think we'll ever find out.

So, why did a bunch of spiders crawl across this kid during class? Apparently the kid used to have nightmares about this happening to him, ever since his brother accidentally killed his tarantula collection. He assumed he had nodded off in class, until everyone else started screaming.

Cordelia comes by and tells Buffy there's a history test. Buffy wigs. She never knew there was a history test. As she goes to write her name, the pencil breaks. After she sharpens it, somehow time has moved forward a period and the bell rings. She didn't answer a single thing! She notices the little boy standing in the doorway...

Cut to a girl going into the boiler room to smoke. She gets attacked by some creature yelling "Lucky 19!" Buffy and Giles visit her in the hospital and then see a boy who's been in a coma for a week. He looks awfully familiar.

A super cool dude in a leather jacket is talking to his buddies about kicking someone's ass when his mother comes down the hall and exclaims his pet names, hugging him and severely demoting his cool status. Xander and Willow giggle about this until they walk into their classroom and...

Xander attempts to pinch himself. Who only wears underwear in their nightmares? It's all or nothin', am I right? I think I'm just disappointed about the lack of actually naked Xander, haha! Anyway, he runs away screaming with Willow chasing after.

Buffy goes to talk to Giles to see if he found anything about 'Lucky 19'. However, Giles can no longer read. They find an article about a little boy in a coma and Buffy realizes this is the kid she's been seeing around school.

Buffy: Could I be seeing Billy's asteroid body?
Giles: Astral body, and I-I don't know. As usual, one doesn't have an inordinate amount of information to work with.

Hank Summers, Buffy's father, pops to the school early to talk to her about something. This part is just heartbreaking. I can really empathize with her in this because my parents split up when I was young.

Hank: Having you. Raising you. Seeing you everyday. I mean, do you have any idea what that's like?
Buffy: What?
Hank: Gosh, you don't even see what's right in front of your face, do you? Well, big surprise there, all you ever think about is yourself. You get in trouble. Youembarrass us with all the crazy stunts you pull, and do I have to go on?
Buffy: No. Please don't.
Hank: You're sullen and... rude and... you're not nearly as bright as I thought you were going to be... Hey, Buffy, let's be honest. Could you stand to live in the same house with a daughter like that?
Buffy: Why are you saying all these things?
Hank: Because they're true. I think that's the least we owe one another. You know, I don't think it's very mature, getting blubbery when I'm just trying to be honest. Speaking of which, I don't really get anything out of these weekends with you. So, what do you say we just don't do them anymore?

Hank leaves and Buffy spots the little boy, Billy, again. She has a talk with him about how there's a man following him. The Ugly Man. And he soon attacks Buffy.

At least hilarity ensues inside. Poor Cordelia is a mess. She's become a nerd! They drag her off to the chess club. I love that her nightmare is being an unpopular nerd. At least she was popular enough with the nerds to be dragged away.

Willow hears a voice that sounds like Buffy coming from the boiler room and heads to check it out. Soon, she is pulled into an opera, forced to perform with a renowned opera singer. Of course, we all know poor Willow has horrible stage fright and from the musical we know she is not the greatest singer, so this is definitely a nightmare!

Xander tries to find Buffy and instead finds a trail of chocolate bars which lead him to a scary clown with a knife! YIKES! I apologize for this picture because it terrifies me, too.

Buffy and Billy head off in search and escape of the Ugly Man and are transported to a graveyard at night, where the Master is just chillin' out.

He's out of his entrapped church because Buffy fears it. Ack! So, he tosses her into an open grave and buries her alive. (Thinking of season 6, this is very ironic, don'tcha think? Talk about a nightmmare!) Giles, Xander, and Willow head out to grave yard and find Buffy's tombstone.

Failing Buffy as a watcher and letting her die is Giles' greatest nightmare. It doesn't last for long, however and Buffy emerges....as a vampire!

Buffy: We better hurry...'cause I'm getting hungry.

They head off to the hospital to try and wake Billy up because his 'asteroid body' is causing everyone's nightmares to manifest. The ugly man chases them and Buffy kicks his ass slayer/vamp style! But, Billy has to finish it. He has to face his greatest nightmare...

He pulls of the ugly man's mask and the nightmares go away. Buffy is human again, Billy wakes up, and confronts his little league coach, the one who put him in a coma. Xander, in a show of extreme manliness, grabs him and holds him. We later learn the man was arrested and Billy is going to be just fine.

Hank comes to pick up Buffy and they have a happy reunion.

Buffy: Have a killer weekend, guys.

'The Puppet Show'

2009-04-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

This fabulously creepy, yet hilarious episode begins with Cordelia's amazingly dramatic rendition of "The Greatest Love of All" on stage with Giles in the audience looking as though someone is cutting off his fingers one by one. Basically, being tortured. Apparently the new principal, a slimy little man named Principal Snyder, put him in charge of the talent show.

Giles: If you had any shred of decency, you would have participated, or at least, um, helped.
Buffy: Nah! I think I'll take on your traditional role... and watch!
Xander: And mock!
Willow: And laugh!

Or so they think. Principal Snyder catches them off guard and forces them into participating in the talent show, as performers.

OH THE HORROR. You can just see it on their faces. Of course, I can empathize greatly.

They slink back to the chairs and mope about it until a kid, Morgan, with his dummy, Sid, comes on the stage. Buffy gets the wiggins and Willow thinks it's cute. At the end of rehearsal, someone gets their heart cut out by a demon moaning about becoming flesh. And we're what, surprised by this?

The next day, the Scoobies are trying to figure out their talent and Buffy is getting more dummy wiggins.

Snyder: This place has quite a reputation. Suicide, missing persons, spontaneous cheerleader combustion... You can't put up with that. You've gotta keep an eye on the bad element.

Why would anyone take a job at this school after the last principal was eaten?

The Scoobies find out about the murder and after some interviewing of people, they find out Morgan is the most suspicious. Buffy interrogates Morgan and Sid, the dummy, shoos her off after a while. That night, something scurries around in her bedroom and she's convinced it's the dummy, especially when she spots an open window that she didn't leave open. Uber creepy!

The next morning, Giles is back in his torture zone and being hounded by Cordelia.

Giles: Oh! I'm sorry. Um, your hair, uh...
Cordelia: There's something wrong with my hair? Ohmigod!
Giles: Xander was right. It worked like a charm.

Oh, Giles, you crafty watcher, you. Buffy tells her friends that Sid was in her bedroom and they all think she is crazy. Sid gets taken away in one of Buffy's classes as Morgan cannot part with him. And when Morgan returns to retrieve him, he's gone!

We find out that Xander stole him out of the cupboard. Buffy is wigging again, Xander eventually gets the wiggins since he's left alone with the dummy. Buffy searches for Morgan, finds Morgan's body with the top of his head cut out and his brain missng, and then gets trapped under a giant chandelier. Sid taunts her, assuming she is the demon killing everyone. The two make amends when they realize Sid isn't the killer. He tells the Scoobies his life story.

Before the talent show, Sid instructs Giles to form the 'power circle' to see if there are any kids missing. If someone's missing then they're the murderer. Buffy and Sid watch from above as he tells her more of his life story, while hitting on her.

No one is missing, so who is the demon? Buffy jumps down to take a look around and then finds Morgan's brain discarded...in her hands! Surprise!

Buffy: I'm never gonna stop washing my hands.

The demon didn't want Morgan's brain because he had cancer. So, now he's in search of a new one. Buffy and Xander think Willow is the target, as the magician kid coerces Giles into helping him in his trick and delighted at how smart he is. We catch a glimpse of the kid's hand and sees it's turning green and scaly. Guess we have our demon. Giles, being the nice guy he is, obliges to helping out the kid's trick.

Buffy rushes to the rescue, magician kid has completely reverted back to his demon visage. We get an 'eww' from Buffy before she starts to kick his ass. The blade is dangerously close to slicing open the top of Giles' head and he gets out in the nick of time! Phew. The demon gets put into his own trick and his head is cut off. Sid the dummy returns and has to cut out the heart so he can be free of his wooden body. It's almost like a fairytale!

Of course, the curtains open at the most inopportune time.

Principal Snyder: I don't get it. What is it? Avant-garde?

The end! Except we get a nice blurb at the end while the credits roll (first and only time ever they do this in the show) of Buffy, Xander, and Willow performing a Shakespeare play. They are all just terrible. Willow runs off the stage in fright halfway through.

'I Robot, You Jane'

2009-04-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Oh great, a book!" (The bane of this episode's existence!)

The episode begins long ago, 1418 to be exact, with an ugly green horned demon demanding the love of some man. Suddenly, a spell is performed and he is trapped inside a book. A book that Buffy so happens to pull out of a crate.

The computer nerds and a new character, Jenny Calendar, the computer science teacher, are scanning books into the computer, which is giving Giles some major wiggings. Everyone departs and Willow scans the book containing the demon. We see the words 'Where am I?' typed onto the screen. Dun dun dun!

The next morning Buffy catches up with Willow, who is staring dreamily into space. She confesses she met a guy named Malcolm and stayed up all night talking to him. And then she proclaims that she has no idea what he looks like, much to Buffy's confusion and a bit of horror. She warns Willow to be careful, but Willow brushes her off. The demon, Moloch, warns creepy computer kid, Fritz, to watch Buffy. Buffy extends her concern to Xander and they give us a lesson in internet safety.

I love the fact that Willow has a picture of herself & Giles in her locker.

Xander: Yeah. I mean, we read about it all the time. Y'know, people meet on the 'Net, they talk, they get together, have dinner, a show, horrible ax murder.
Buffy: Willow ax murdered by a circus freak... Okay, okay, what do we do? What are we doing? Xander, you get me started! We are totally overreacting!

Willow overslept because of talking to Malcolm all night. Buffy disapproves and extends her concern to Fritz, who tells her to leave Willow alone. She then heads to Giles, who wants her to follow Fritz, which she does. She follows him to some computer corporation. Moloch knows and wants Fritz to kill her.

Buffy: Besides, I can just tell something's wrong. My spider sense is tingling.
Giles: Your... spider sense?
Buffy: Pop culture reference. Sorry.

Miss Calendar comes in to see the Scoobies talking to Giles and grows a bit suspicious.

Ms. Calendar: You're here again? Kids really dig the library, don't cha?
Buffy: We're literary!
Xander: To read makes our speaking English good.

Ha, I love that quote. Anyway, Willow is talking to Malcolm and he slips up, telling Willow more information about Buffy than he should know. She grows suspicious, finally. Giles and Miss Calendar fight Jack and Diane (Cheers) style over books and computers. So adorable. They discover an empty book; the one with Moloch on the cover. Finally, someone is going to fix this problem! Moloch has been wreaking havoc on the 'Net, deleting people's history papers and transferring money incorrectly in banks.

Buffy goes to find Willow in the locker room. She sees a big puddle of water and almost gets electrocuted by some loose planted wires, but one of the normal computer nerds warns her before she gets hurt too badly. But, she's pretty frazzled. It's cute, really.

Buffy: Tell me the truth. How's my hair?

They go to find the nice computer nerd to get rid of Moloch, only to see he hung himself. Of course, we all know Moloch made him do it. Willow gets kidnapped to the computer corporation, Giles enlists the help of Miss Calendar, who already knew about demons and magick, and Buffy and Xander go to find Willow has disappeared.

Giles and Miss Calendar get Moloch out of the 'Net with a pretty powerful spell, only to confine him in the metal body the computer nerds, like Fritz, have built him. Buffy attemps to kick him and crumples to the ground. Ouch! Moloch is not thrilled, especially since his love for Willow was not returned when she saw what he really was.

Buffy finally tricks him into electrocuting himself and they kill Moloch. Back at Sunnydale High, Giles and Miss Calendar reach an understanding about books and computers. Also, Giles uses the word "anon." He's so old fashioned.

Buffy, Willow, and Xander contemplate their future love lives.

Willow: Malcolm, Moloch... whatever he's called. The one boy that's really liked me, and he's a demon robot. What does that say about me?
Buffy: Hey, did you forget? The one boy I've had the hots for since I've moved here turned out to be a vampire.
Xander: Right, and the teacher I had a crush on? Giant praying mantis?
Willow: That's true.
Xander: Yeah, that's life on the Hellmouth.
Buffy: Let's face it: none of us are ever gonna have a happy, normal relationship.
Xander: We're doomed!

It's sad and funny that that's pretty much how the show goes, LOL.

BTVS vs. True Blood

2009-04-16T21:17:00.001-07:00

Despite what people think, I do enjoy other vampire stories besides Buffyverse. Just not Twilight. I finished True Blood in two days and loooved it.

So, I thought I'd do a vampire mythology comparison of Buffy and True Blood since both mythologies are so different.

1. Mirrors
BTVS: Vampires have no reflection.
True Blood: Vampires have a reflection. Bill would prefer Sookie not spread this around since it's a myth the vampires made up.

2. Telepathy
BTVS: Buffy gets an 'aspect of the demon' in Season 3's 'Earshot' and can hear everyone's thoughts. She attempts to read Angel's mind when he is being extra-taciturn, but he's the only one she can't hear. Angel explains that the thoughts are there, but cannot be reflected, like the mirror.
True Blood: Sookie has telepathic powers throughout the show and has trouble shutting out everyone's thoughts. But, when she's with Bill, she can't hear his thoughts, and thus, finds his presence most relaxing.

3. Garlic
BTVS: Buffy has only really used garlic twice in the show, but we never saw a vampire recoiling from it. She hung it from her bed to keep Angelus away during season 2 in 'Passion' and to keep Spike away during Season 6.
True Blood: Bill finds garlic "unpleasant."

4. Crosses/Holy Water
BTVS: Vampires feel the burn when sprayed with Holy Water or when touching a cross. They hiss, sizzle, and can die if the exposure is extended. For example, Buffy killed a vampire by tricking him into drinking Holy Water. When presented with a cross, vampires hiss and recoil. They can barely look at them.
True Blood: Vampires don't mind being in the presence of crosses. The use of Holy Water never came up in the show, if I remember correctly. And I don't think any of the vampires touched a cross, but I'm sure the reaction for both crosses and Holy Water would be similar to Buffy; lots of sizzling and hissing.

5. Silver
BTVS: Silver has no effect on vampires.
True Blood: Silver burns into vampires' skin, leaving horrible marks. It weakens them and can incapacitate them.

6. Sunlight
BTVS: If a vampire is caught in direct sunlight, he or she will burst into flames and die. However, vampires can deal with indirect sunlight, such as having a cloth over them or standing in the shadow if the sun is low enough in the sky.
True Blood: They will not die instantly, but vampires will be severely weakened by the sun. Their vision will become blurry and their skin will gradually burn off. The only way to recover is to be buried underground (or put into a dark room, I assume) and then to feed immediately when night falls.

7. Inviting into Homes
BTVS: Vampires cannot come into a home without express invitation ("I invite you in." "Come in."); this includes hotel rooms and dorm rooms, as well. Once a vampire has been invited once, he or she can always re-enter at their will. The only way to reverse this is to perform a spell.
True Blood: Vampires cannot come into a home without express invitation. The invitation has to be very specific in inviting them, as well. They can be sent away from the home if the person who invited them retracts their invitation.

8. Vampire Blood
BTVS: Vampire blood has no special quality, except to make new vampires.
True Blood: Vampire blood is sold as a very expensive drug. Its effects are similar to those of mushrooms, ecstasy, and other hallucinogens. Hallucinations and enhanced sexual pleasure are its main effects, as long as only one or two drops are taken.

9. Human Visage to Vampire Visage
BTVS: When a vampire transforms from his human face to his vampire face, it is not a pretty site. His or her fangs grow, the brow pushes inward and becomes wrinkly, and the eyes turn yellow.
True Blood: When vampires change from their human features to vampire features, they sprout fangs on either side of their front teeth and their eyes glow. The rest of their features remain human.

10. Speed, Strength, Agility
BTVS: Vampires are great fights, inheriting kung-fu skills from the moment they crawl out of the ground. They cannot fly, but they can jump great hights.
True Blood: Vampires have super speed. They move at the speed of light and seem to be able to hover above the ground in a way during this super speed movement. They also have super strength and are able to fabricate a tornado destroying someone's home.

11. Siring
BTVS: A vampire must drain the blood of a human to the point before death. Then, the vampire must let the human drink his or her own blood. A burying ritual is not necessary, but usually done regardless.
True Blood: Similar to BTVS, except that the burying ritual seems to be necessary to complete the transformation. The sire must also sleep with the new vampire underground during the transformation.

12. Staking
BTVS: A simple wooden stake in the heart and a vampire, including its clothes, will turn to dust.
True Blood: A stake to the heart and the vampire will spew mass amounts of blood from its mouth and explode into a bloody mess of clothes and other stringy material. It's hard to say what exactly is left behind, but definitely a lot of blood.

I'm glad vampires on Buffy didn't die that way or Buffy would have ruined some fabulous outfits. ;)

13. Vampire Laws
BTVS: Vampires who are bound to a Master must obey rules that the Master vampire decides. But, most vampires do their own thing.
True Blood: All vampires live by a specific code, whose rules haven't exactly been disclosed. From the show, it is clear that certain vampires, especially older vampires, have authority over others. And killing another vampire results in a trial of vampire peers, punishable any numbers of ways.

That's all I can think of! If missed any vampire traits or forgot a specific detail, feel free to let me know!

'Angel'

2009-04-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is an episode all about our mysterious hero ~~creeper~~ Angel!

Buffy and Willow are emo-ing about guys in the Bronze. Buffy claims she is crush-less, despite Willow bringing up Angel. Willow sighs dreamily as she watches Xander.

Xander: [to Cordelia] "Y'know, hey, I don't know what everyone's talking about. That
outfit doesn't make you look like a hooker!"

Buffy, depressed about her love-less life, heads home, only to be stalked--sadly not by Angel--but by THE THREE. A gang of super strong vampire dudes that the Master sent after Buffy. Angel is there to save the day. Both of them escape to her house, though Angel is not unscathed. Buffy orders him to strip so she can tend to his wound.

HELLO, SALTY GOODNESS!

Buffy's mom comes home and she tells her Angel is helping her "study." Yeah, right. She sneaks him up to her room, claiming he HAS to stay the night to keep out of danger from The Three. Smooth move, Buffy. He sleeps beside her bed and adorableness ensues.

Angel: Y-you even look pretty when you go to sleep.
Buffy: Well, when I wake up it's an entirely different story....Here. Sleep tight.....Angel?
Angel: Hmm?
Buffy: Do you snore?
Angel: I don't know. It's been a long time since anybody's been in a position to let me know.

(So adorable!)

The next morning, Buffy recounts the story to Xander's alarm, while Willow finds it utterly romantic. Giles tells them some info about the The Three and announces that since they failed in killing Buffy and Angel, they'll sacrifice their lives to the Master. Problem solved, right?

Willow: How is it you always know this stuff? You always know what's going on. I never know what's going on.
Giles: Well, you weren't here from midnight until six researching it.
Willow: No, I was sleeping.

And then Buffy and Giles do some training. Buffy is dying to try out the crossbow, but Giles wants her to practice with the staff first. Being the Slayer, she catches on quickly.

Poor Giles. Not only is he wearing something ridiculous, he got his ass kicked!

Buffy goes home to bring Angel a sandwhich and asks how his day was. Spotting her open diary on her nightstand, she wigs out.

Buffy: My diary? You read my diary? That is *not* okay! A diary is like a person's most private place! I... You don't even know what I was writing about! 'Hunk' can mean a lot of things, bad things. And, and when it says that your eyes are 'penetrating', I meant to write 'bulging'....And 'A' doesn't even stand for 'Angel' for that matter, it
stands for... 'Achmed', a charming foreign exchange student, so that whole fantasy part has nothing to even do with you at all...
Angel: Your mother moved your diary when she came in to straighten up.
I watched from the closet. I didn't read it, I swear.

LOL, poor Buffy. Insert foot into mouth. Oh well, at least Angel finds it adorable and charming. So, they do this:

FIRST ANGEL & BUFFY KISS! YAY! My inner Bangel fangirl is screaming with innocent joy.

This feeling lasts for only a few seconds because suddenly Angel VAMPS OUT mid-kiss. What the hell!? Apparently kissing Buffy was too much for him and he didn't know what to do, so he vamped out? I really can't rationalize this because it still makes absolutely no sense to me. Of course, kissing could be leading to some sort of perfect happiness, so maybe he was controlling himself for the future...

Anyway, Buffy screams and Angel jumps out the window. She is super depressed the next day, trying to seek some sort of comfort from Willow, Xander, and Giles.

Xander, still desperately in love with Buffy, tries to convince her to stake him.

Xander: You're in love with a vampire?! What, are you outta your mind?!
Cordelia: What?!
Xander: Not vampire...How could you love an umpire? Everyone hates 'em!

Back at Angel's humble abode, Darla, the Master's adorable pet pays him a visit and we learn a lot about Angel's history. It's clear the two have known each other for hundreds of years, wreaked some havoc, but something obviously changed in Angel. What could it be? Darla advises him to tell Buffy about the curse. What is this curse? Hmmm!

Back at Sunnydale High, Giles is researching Angel. We find out he used to be Angelus, a horrible killing machine!

Giles: Does this, uh, Angel have, um, a tattoo behind his right shoulder?
Buffy: Yeah, it's a, it's a bird or something.
Xander: Now I'm sayin' something. You saw him naked?

Buffy and Willow try to distract themselves with studying, but decide boys are far more interesting. Willow moons about Xander, Buffy sighs about Angel. Darla pays Buffy's mom, Joyce, a visit at her home, claiming to be a study buddy. She bites her and Angel, passing by (or stalking Buffy's house in an attempt to explain himself) hears her scream. He's holding Joyce after Darla runs away just as Buffy comes home. Talk about bad timing! Poor guy. Joyce is rushed to the hospital and Buffy decides she's going to kill Angel. Off to get the crossbow, she goes!

As they spar, Angel tells her he was cursed by gypsies with a soul. She offers her neck to him, but he politely declines. Darla interrupts their touching moment with GUNS. Guns become a running theme in Buffy. I've found that in the Buffy world, Joss hates guns. They make things complicated and never help things. So, people who use guns tend to get quite punished.

Darla shoots Angel, Buffy shoots her with a crossbow and misses by a few inches. They fight a little more and eventually Angel stakes her in the heart with a crossbow arrow, killing his sire without a second thought. Thinking about the future of Buffy & Angel, this is really sad.

Buffy is conflicted about what to do and the next night at the Bronze, she and Angel talk.

Angel: I just wanted to see if you were okay. And your mother.
Buffy: We're both good. You?
Angel: If I can go a little while without getting shot or stabbed I'll be alright. Look, this can't...
Buffy: ...ever be anything. I know. For one thing, you're, like, two hundred and twenty-four years older than I am.
Angel: I just gotta... I gotta walk away from this.
Buffy: I know. Me, too. One of us has to go here.
Angel: I know.

And then they kiss. And I am a huge Bangel sap and cried while watching this. I miss these simpler times. It's just so romantic because it's the beginning of the epic love story that is Buffy and Angel.

'The Pack'

2009-04-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

(As a side note, this is one of my all time favorite 'monster-of-the-week' episodes. It's so ridiculous and cheezy, but I love this episode.)

Xander: Buffy, this isn't just about looking at a bunch of animals. This is about not being in class!
Buffy: You know, you're right! Suddenly the animals look shiny and new.

Buffy and her class go on a field trip to the zoo. She runs into the 'mean kids' who tease her about not being 'cool.' Oh, the horror! Too bad these cool kids look like they should be in grad school, not sophomores in high school, but I digress. They tease the stereotypical nerdy kid and eventually drag him into the off-limit hyena pit. Buffy rushes to the rescue, but Xander stops her to, once again, prove his manliness. Are we noticing a theme here?

The zookeeper stop Buffy and Willow from following, telling them the hyenas are being quarantined. The mean kids are throwing the nerdy kid around inside, Xander stops them and he and the four mean kids make eye contact with the hyenas. All of their eyes flash green and as the nerdy kid falls over, they all laugh maniacally like hyenas. Oh noes!

That night at the Bronze, Xander is acting totally 'wiggy.' He's smelling Buffy's hair and acting strange when the rest of his 'pack' showed up, laughing at a fat kid.

The next day at school, Buffy catches Herbert, the pig mascot, who is "sooo cute!" Or "fierce" as Principal Flutie describes him. Xander walks by while Buffy is holding the pig and it freaks out. Buffy thinks this is super weird and runs to tell Giles, who claims he is just being a "sixteen-year-old boy."

Buffy: Get your books! Look stuff up!

They go to gym class to play dodgeball and Xander violently gets people out, including Willow. After class, Willow confronts Xander about why he's being an asshole and he claims to have outgrown her. Buffy knows there's something weird going on and finally Giles concedes. They decide he and the other kids are possessed by hyenas.

While they're deciding all this, Xander and the hyena kids eat Herbert, the pig mascot. So sad! Buffy confronts Xander, knocking him out and locking him up in the library. The other hyena kids attack Principal Flutie.

Buffy: They didn't hurt him, did they?
Giles: They ate him.

RIP Principal Flutie

Giles and Buffy learn more from the zookeeper. The hyena kids attempt to retrieve Xander while Willow is alone and watching him. Buffy rescues her and chases the hyenas off to the zoo. The zookeeper knocks out Giles and performs an act of aggression on Willow as the hyena kids and Xander make their way to the hyena house. The possession is transferred to the crazy zookeeper. Xander saves Willow from him and Buffy tosses him into the pit of hyenas.

The next day, Xander claims not to remember anything and Buffy and Willow assure him he did nothing embarrassing.

Xander: I ate a pig? Was it cooked and called bacon or...Oh, my God! I ate a pig? I mean, the whole trichinosis issue aside, yuck!

Giles know that animal possession has nothing to do with memory loss.

Giles: Your secret dies with me.
Xander: Shoot me, stuff me, mount me.

Congrats!

2009-04-09T22:38:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Sarah Michelle Gellar & Freddie Prinze Jr.! They're expecting their first child!

NEW YORK - Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. are expecting their first child together, a source close to the couple confirms exclusively to PEOPLE.

"They're very excited," says the source, adding that the actress is due in the fall. The couple has been married for six years.

Gellar will next shoot the HBO pilot "The Wonderful Maladays," for which she serves as an executive producer. Prinze Jr. recently shot the comedy pilot "No Heroics" for ABC.

Source

'Never Kill a Boy on the First Date'

2009-04-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Buffy: "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm
Buffy, and you're history!"

After finding a mysterious ring during a routine slaying, Giles must consult his books. (How many times does he do THAT in the series I wonder?) We then see the Master prophesying, as per usual, about the coming of the Anointed One.

The Master: "And there will be a time of crisis, of worlds hanging in the balance. And in this time shall come the Anointed, the Master's great warrior. And the Slayer will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell."

As Giles is researching, a cute boy named Owen comes into the library looking for some depressing poetry by Emily Dickinson. Buffy is more than willing to help and prove that she's not just pretty, but also a bookworm. Giles is unamused by the interruption, while Willow is in awe of the encounter.

Willow: "Wow! He hardly talks to anyone. He's solitary, mysterious... He can brood for forty minutes straight, I've clocked him!" (Sounds like another male on this show we all know and love!)

After Owen invites Buffy on a date (much to Cordelia's extreme surprise at his poor taste in girls), Giles breaks her poor innocent teenage heart to tell her that the Anointed One is rising tonight. Guess she better break off that date.

Giles: "Alright, I-I'll just jump in my time machine, go back to the twelfth century and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show."

After Owen asks her on another date and Xander's manliness (he has a Tweety bird wristwatch, while Owen has a gold pocket watch--ouch!) and blatant crush on Buffy is challenged once more, she runs home to find something to wear. Xander suggests a winter coat, while Willow finds her something more appropriate. Just when she's about to leave on her date, Giles shows up to, once again, ruin her innocent teenage fun with a headline that reads 'Five Die in Van Accident.' Giles thinks the Anointed One has risen, but Buffy just wants to go on her date.

"The earflaps bring out your eyes!"

Buffy: "If the apocalypse comes, beep me." (One of my favorite Buffy lines, ever!)

While Buffy and Owen enjoy their date at the Bronze, Giles goes to investigate the morgue, only to be ambushed by vampires. Willow and Xander return to the Bronze to find Buffy, but Angel is already there looking for her. Cordelia spots Angel for the first time and proclaims, "Hello, salty goodness." But, is once again shot down as Angel ignores her and heads straight for Buffy. Buffy, apparently trying to stay cool in front of Angel and make him jealous, shares her first on-screen kiss of the show with Owen. (And I bet you thought it was going to be Angel!)

(Look at that jealous face, Angel!)

Unable to convince Owen to stay behind, Buffy, Willow, and Xander head to the morgue to help Giles. Vampires are slayed and the supposed Anointed One rises. He knocks Owen out cold, much to Buffy's anger ("You killed my date!"), and she throws the vamp into the crematory.

The next morning, Buffy is convinced she ruined her chances with the nice brooding guy--Owen, not Angel. But, he thinks she's "the coolest" and wants to get into some bar fights and be "danger man." So, Buffy does the right thing and breaks it off officially.

Giles: "I have volumes of lore, of prophecies, of predictions. But I don't have an instruction manual. We feel our way as we go along. And, I must say, as a Slayer, you're, you're doing... pretty well." Aww.

Too bad she didn't stop the Anointed One though. The little kid that was on the bus is sitting at the Master's feet as he repeats the prophecy.

"Welcome, my friend."

Dollhouse Episode 1-4 Summaries

2009-04-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick summary of the first four episodes of Dollhouse. Episodes 5-8 on the way!

The first episode, “Ghost,” was received on many accounts as either confusing, bland, or amazing, depending on the viewer, introduced us to the world of Dollhouse, showing how Echo, formerly named Caroline, ‘volunteered’ to have her past wiped if she also let those in charge take complete control of her mind and body for five years. She is first sent on a mission to help a rich man recover his kidnapped child, in the body, mind, and physiology (the personality with which she is imbued has asthma, therefore Echo has asthma) of an expert negotiator, only to discover her personality knew the kidnappers from when she was taken as a little girl. Eventually saving the little girl, Echo returns to the Dollhouse, memory wiped clean during her ‘treatment’ of anything that had happened.

The second episode, “The Target,” delved more deeply into the history of the Dollhouse, its characters’ history within the corporation, and a mysterious ex-doll known as Alpha, who massacred numerous people in the Dollhouse just months earlier, but left Echo alive. Echo is imprinted with the skills of an outdoorsy girl and she goes on a camping adventure with a seemingly perfect guy. However, the guy suddenly reveals to her that he will be hunting her, so she better get a five-minute head start. After falling into several of his traps, Echo bests the guy, who has tried to kill her numerous times throughout the episode. Upon returning to the Dollhouse, her memory is wiped of the incident, but flashes of the day and the past pop in and out of her mind.

During the third episode, “Stage Fright,” Echo becomes a back-up singer and instinctive bodyguard for a famous pop star named Rayna, who has a crazed stalker that is out to kill her. Another ‘doll’, Sierra, comes on board this mission as Rayna’s number one fan, just in case anything goes awry. The stalker attempts to shoot her, but Echo saves Rayna, much to her dismay. She wanted to die all along because she can’t take the pressure of fame and isn’t singing for herself anymore. After the stalker captures Sierra, Echo kidnaps Rayna in order to save both of them. By threatening Rayna’s life, she realizes she wants to live. Echo knocks out the stalker, Rayna continues her pop star life, and Sierra and Echo go back to the Dollhouse for their ‘treatmeant.’ The two with seemingly wiped memories pass each other in the hallway. Sierra wants to be friendly, but Echo subtly shakes her head, so the two pass without acknowledgement. Did they remember something?

The 4th episode, “Gray Hour,” opens with Sierra and Echo pleasantly eating at the Dollhouse and discussing all they know, which is to always try and to be their best—whatever that means for a person with no personality. Echo is sent on a mission that appears to be an entertainer for a bachelorette party, but is really on a job for a heist in the connecting building. After taking out the security guard, her team comes in. They break into the vault, which houses priceless works of art to steal a piece of the Parthenon. One of the members betrays them and takes off with the loot, locking them in the vault. Echo calls her handler, Boyd, but while on the phone something interrupts the signal. Suddenly, Echo says the classic memory wiped line, “Did I fall asleep?” Her personality has been wiped during the heist. She spends most of the episode in shock and completely confused since she is a blank slate. In order to retrieve her, they imbue Sierra with the same personality Echo had. After much confusion, gunfights with guards, and smoke bombs, Echo escapes to have her memory wiped. Those in charge of the Dollhouse are convinced Alpha, who is supposed to be dead, caused the remote memory wipe.

R.I.P.

2009-03-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

Oh god....Rest in Peace Andy Hallet "Lorne" from Angel

Andy Hallett, who starred as Lorne ("the Host") on the TV series Angel, died of heart failure last night at age 33, according to his longtime agent and friend Pat Brady. The actor passed away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with heart disease, with his father Dave Hallett by his side

Source.

2009-03-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry for lack of updates. I've been meaning to do Never Kill a Boy & The Pack, but have been swamped with school work (and seeing Lady GaGa in concert this past week! Woo!)

But, wasn't Dollhouse this week hilariously awesome? Joss sure knows how to write drunkish/drugged/crazy/hallucinating people. It made me want to watch "Tabula Rasa" & "Spin the Bottle", haha.

Next week's episode looks amazing, too!

Until I can make a real update, let's all oogle and be jealous over this person's Whedon collection.

So. Not. Fair. I especially love the bottle of 'Dawn' with a key taped to it, haha. I should inventory my Buffy paraphenalia because I have a ton. Next on my list to get: the Buffy scythe.

'Teacher's Pet'; Buffy Season 1, Episode 4

2009-03-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

Xander rescues slinky dressed clad Buffy from a vampire in the Bronze and concludes his heroism with a guitar solo as Buffy looks on with supreme adoration. Suddenly, Buffy tells him he's drooling as poor Xander wakes up in science class. And we all thought that was real. Oh well!

Buffy: "Destructo Girl. That's me."

The science teacher, Dr. Gregory, is the only teacher who seems to have any faith that Buffy won't destroy the school. So, of course, he dies a horrible death as soon as she leaves the room.

At the Bronze, Xander has his manliness tested by some fellow high school boys and tries to be a pimp with Buffy and Willow. Willow is SO into it, but Buffy sees Angel stalking the shadows and is entranced. He gives her his leather jacket, which looks quite adorable on her (although most of us are probably distracted by Angel's very very nice arms). And he warns her about an evil fork-handed vampire.

(Mmmm...Angel..)

The next day, Buffy's wearing the leather jacket, and a very skanky looking older woman walks by causing Xander's mouth to fall open. We find out she is Miss French, the substitute science teacher, who likes to eat bugs and twist her neck all the way around.

Buffy: "We're talking full on exorcist twist."

Cordelia finds Dr. Gregory without a head in the freezer and Buffy and Willow mourn his loss with Giles. Buffy goes off to hunt for fork-guy and sees that Miss French scares him away.

Buffy: "So I'm an undead monster that can shave with my hand. How many things am I afraid of?"

Miss French tells Xander to come to her house that night to work on the egg sac science project, while Buffy, Willow, and Giles research and discover she is a praying mantis. Xander chalks this up to Buffy being jealous and goes off to her house anyway. Miss French drugs him and her buggy self starts to show through more. Grosssss. She lets the human glamor wear off and the giant praying mantis lady drags Xander into her basement cage, where another student, Blayne, is also caged.

Willow: "No, no, no! See? Xander's, I like his head! I-it's where you find his eyes, and his hair, and his adorable smile!"

Off they go to rescue Xander. After going to the wrong house, Buffy finds fork-guy and has his fear lead them to the correct house as the praying mantis lady is getting ready to mate with Xander. Upon finding the right house, she kills fork-guy and they break into the house. The bat sonar makes the praying mantis go all wonky, Buffy chops her into bits, Xander destroys the egg sacs, and Willow kills Xander and Blayne's masculinity by proclaiming Miss French only went after virgins.

Back to the Bronze, Angel congratulates her on destroying the fork-guy.

Buffy: "Well... Anyway, you can have your jacket back."
Angel: "It looks better on you."

*dreamy sigh* Oh, Angel. Anyway, the ending is rather ambiguous because we see the eggs Miss French laid with Dr. Gregory open in the science closet. Dun dun dun!

This may not be a stellar episode by any means, but you have to enjoy the hilarity of a giant praying mantis. Plus, this is one of the most referenced episodes throughout the series. Poor Xander and his awesome luck with the 'ladies.'

'The Witch'; Buffy Season 1, Episode 3

2009-03-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Giles: "You have a sacred birthright, Buffy. You were chosen to destroy
vampires, not to... wave pompoms at people. And as the Watcher I forbid
it."

After Buffy shockingly declares to Giles that she wants to join the cheerleading because it's 'normal,' we see a stereotypical witch image of a cauldron with thick green goo brewing and barbie dolls hanging over it. Dun dun dun, ominous? Not at all. During tryouts (which Xander is thoroughly enjoying--'Ooh, stretchy!') we meet Amy, and then witness one of the girls getting caught on fire as she does her routine.

Cordelia: "Who does she think she is, a Laker girl?" (Funny side note for those who don't know, Charisma Carpenter used to be a San Diego Charger cheerleader.)

Buffy saves her, but everyone is majorly wigged out, although Giles seems quite excited by the prospect of weird occurrences other than vampires and demons. Maybe the poor guy didn't get out much before Sunnydale. He was stuck in stuffy old England with his scones, Masterpiece Theater, and tea.

Willow: "Yeah! You're the Slayer, and we're, like, the Slayerettes!"
Buffy: "I just don't like putting you guys in danger."
Xander: "Oh, huh, I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it
goes away."
(Ahhh, adorable line of quotes! <3) style="width: 334px; height: 250px;" src="http://www.deadinthescene.org/coppermine/albums/buffy/one/03%20witch/witch_%28329%29.jpg">

Xander: "Nah, I gotta be a man and ask her out. Y'know, I gotta stop
giving her ID bracelets, uh, subtle innuendoes, taking Polaroids outside
of her bedroom window late at night, that last part is a joke to relieve
the tension because here she comes."

We also witness some mother/daughter tension with Joyce & Buffy. We learn Joyce works at some sort of art gallery and enjoys constantly reminding Buffy of how much she screwed up at her old school. Harsh much?

Buffy: "Mom, I've accepted that you've had sex. I am not ready to know
that you had Farrah hair."

Anyway, after Amy didn't make the team, we can hear her voice (though much raspier and evil-er sounding) casting more spells with her cauldron of goo, making Cordelia her new sacrifice. Poor unsuspecting Cordy is pretty dazed and confused, so Buffy follows her out to her driver's ed practice. After Cordy crashes the car through a fence and almost gets hit by an apparently blind truck driver (that dude was, like 100 feet away, how could he have NOT stopped?), Buffy saves her to see that Cordelia's eyes are completely white! Creeeepy!

Giles: "Why should someone want to harm Cordelia?"
Willow: "Maybe because they met her? Did I say that?"

They narrow down the witch suspects to Amy. During science lab, Buffy very not subtly steals hair from Amy's brush (I'm pretty sure Amy was watching her the entire time; smooth, Buffy) so she can spill a potion on her to tell if she casted any spells recently. She successfully spills the substance, which proves Amy had done some spells, just as another cheerleader's lips are sealed together and she can't open her mouth. Totally creepy again.

Amy comes home, obviously pissed off, yelling at her mother, and now has Buffy's cute bracelet to cast some spells.

The next morning Buffy is all giddy, singing 'Macho Man' (of all the songs!), and skipping around in her cheerleading uniform. She basically seems quite drunk.

Buffy: "Willow! Xander! My buds are here! I love my buds! Hi!"

After Buffy accidentally threw another cheerleader across the room 'Oops!', she was cast off the team, Amy gaining her spot.

Buffy: "No, no, no. You don't want her, she's a wi--"
Xander: "A wise choice indeed!"

More giggling from our slayer as Xander and Willow drag her out. She proclaims her love for Xander as one of the girls (Willow looks super happy by this declaration, while Xander quite downtrodden) and soon Buffy's happy skippy buzz wears off. Giles immediately knows it's a vengeance spell and Buffy has only a few hours left to live unless they stop the spells or cut off Amy's head. After heading to Amy's, Buffy figures it out that Amy's mother switched their bodies because Amy was 'wasting her youth.' They get her spell book and all three head back to school. After Giles does some intense magick, the bodies switched back and Buffy gets up, punching the crap out of Catherine. Catherine attempts to banish Buffy to the nether world, but she kicks down a reflective surface causing Catherine to get caught in her own spell, poofing forever.

Amy: "Well, I know that I'll miss the intellectual thrill of spelling out words with my arms."

Buffy and Joyce reconcile over the fact that she would never want to be sixteen again, Amy goes to live with her dad and make tons of brownies, and Catherine is stuck in her own cheerleading trophy. All in all, a happy ending!

2009-03-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

Buffy opening sequence, Dollhose style!

The Dollhouse song is very haunting and oddly addicting, so I found this video used the elements from the Dollhouse opening and it looks nice with Buffy. So, good job, person, whoever made this! Super awesome.

"Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest"; Buffy Season 1, Episode 1 & 2

2009-03-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

"Let's start with...'Hi, I'm Buffy.'"

This epic seven season long show begins with a couple of mischievous teens, obviously on a date, breaking into Sunnydale High school, probably so the boy can impress the girl with his daring vandalism. The innocent Catholic school girl, terrified of the possible danger, suddenly turns the tables on the sleazbag boyfriend and her face changes instantly as she sinks her teeth into his neck.

We meet our heroine, Buffy Summers, having terrible nightmares about vampires the morning of her first day of school. "Buffy, try not to get kicked out," her mother warns as the sixteen-year-old Slayer makes her way to the school. Sidekick comedic relief Xander Harris, skates by, falling over at first glimpse of Buffy; and so the crush begins. Xander rushes to tell his stereotypical guy-friend Jesse about the hot new girl as Willow Rosenberg, the brainy, but adorable nerd joins them.

"Uh, you forgot your...stake."

After Buffy goes to history class (after bumping into Xander and accidentally leaving her stake behind) and meets the stereotypically vapid superficial hobag (upon first glance, of course) Cordelia Chase, who decides she's cool and wants to be her best friend, she heads to library wanting books for class. Rupert Giles, the librarian, sets down a big fat book with 'VAMPYR' on it.

"Ew, morbid much?"

After sort of befriending Willow, Xander, and Jesse, Cordelia announces that a dead guy was found in a girl's locker. Further investigation (and the first exertion of Buffy's supreme physical strength) reveals that a vampire killed the guy. Gasp!

"So, what, you, like, sent away for the time life series?"

Giles explains to Buffy that he was sent there for her, to be her Watcher, the Slayer's guide in training her and preparing her for the coming battles. After a long--and unnecessarily loud--discussion about vampires, which Xander, of course, overhears, we see a horribly ugly vampire decked out in leather rising out of a pool of dark liquid we can only assume is blood.

"I'm sorry that's incorrect, but you do get this lovely supply of turtle wax!"

Buffy runs into the dreamy Angel on her way to the only cool place in town, The Bronze, who warns her about the coming darkness and yadda yadda. He gives her the famous cross necklace and disappears.

"Seize the day, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead."

After giving Willow this stellar advice, she decides to get friendly with a vampire, who lures her into a mausoleum. Buffy sees this after honing in on her fashion sense, running into Xander on the way. Both decide to go save them and eventually the Catholic school vampire from the beginning shows up with Jesse. Buffy finally stakes her first vampire, while Xander tries to escort Willow and Jesse to safety only to have their way blocked by numerous vamps. While Buffy fights for her life against a particularily nasty vampire named Luke, she gets pinned downin a coffin as he leaps upon her ready to strike....

TO BE CONTINUED!

Man, I was so upset about that the first time. So, I love this episode because it is adorably and deliciously cheezy. It makes me so nostalgic after knowing everything that happens in the future. The clothes alone are even nostalic, the super short dresses, mid-riff shirts, and Willow's overalls. But, Buffy is at her best, quip-wise. Also, knowing how old Darla is, I find her actions extremely naive, as though she was made a vampire only a few days ago. Of course, I chalk this up to the fact that everyone's history hadn't been completely worked out yet. Also, Willow, I thought you were a genius! What are you doing walking down dark alleys and in graveyards with some creepy older dude with bad clothes? Come on, now. Also, my favorite Cordelia line EVER is in this episode. After Buffy attacks her with the stake in the alley, and she opens her purse, gets out her clunky 1990s cell phone and says, "Excuse me, I have to call everyone I have ever met, right now." That cracks me up everytime.

'The Harvest'

Well, Buffy obviously kicks this Luke guy's ass enough to get away and save Xander and Willow. Guess Jesse got left behind. Woops! The next day, Giles gives his enjoyable vampires, demons, and apocalypses speech to Willow and Xander, who are taking it pretty well.

"I need to sit down."
"You are sitting."
"Oh. Well, good."

After some vampire scolding by the creepy vampire, who we learn is 'The Master,' we find out there's no hope for poor best friend Jesse. They begin to prepare for the harvest and want to lure the Slayer down to kill her before she can ruin it for them. After literally escaping school grounds, she makes it back to the mausoleum, where Angel is there to make more creepy speeches to her. But, us viewers don't really care because he is quite dreamy in his velvet jacket and mysterious ironic phrases. *dreamy sigh*

Back at school, Cordelia and her BFF Harmony are making fun of crazy Buffy and her attacking with a pointy stick, while Willow researches apocalypses. After ripping on Willow as per usual, while attempting to finish a project in Computer Science? class, Willow pretty much pwns them. While wondering how to save their work, she tells Cordelia to push 'Deliver'. Cordelia presses the 'del' button and deleted everything. Ha! Go Willow.

Xander comes to 'help' Buffy in the sewers because he already feels useless, even though he's known about vampires for about 10 hours. Jesse lures them into a trap, shows he's a vampire, and they escape through a manhole, where Buffy is apparently too weak to pull her leg out of the weakening vampire's grasp.

"I don't like vampires. I'm gonna take a stand and say they're not good."

Xander and Buffy spill the bad news about Jesse to Willow and neither seem too broken up about it. Guess they weren't that close? Giles spills the beans about 'The Harvest' and so the four of them go into battle mode as vampires take over the Bronze, as Luke starts feasting upon the teenage populous to release the Master from his underground church forcefield. When it's time for Cordelia to die, Buffy pops in and saves the day, slaying a few vampires on the way before she gets to Luke. Xander faces off with Jesse, not wanting to stake him and hoping that his BFF is still in there somewhere. Xanders gets off pretty easy as someone bumps into Jesse, causing him to literally fall on Xander's stake. Woops! Giles and Willow face off against Darla, causing her to run away screaming after throwing holy water in her face. And Buffy bests Luke by tricking him into thinking it's daylight after some bright light pours onto the stage. The rest of the vampires run away. The foursome have a pleasant day at school the next day as the recover from the previous night, while no one else seems to have realized that vampires killed a bunch of people. Just another gang on PCP.

"The earth is definitely doomed." :)

That last line gives me a slight tear because of the final episode, but it'll be a while before I get there. Anyway, this two parter is a great way to kick off the show and really thrusts us into the Buffy world. Some people don't really like Season 1 or 2 the first time around, but after watching these episodes as much as I have, you really come to appreciate it the simpler times and innocence of the show and characters.

But, don't worry, the earth isn't doomed.

Intro

2009-03-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

I've been meaning to do this for ages. I'd like to have a little blog set aside for my Whedon-related ramblings, reviews, and spazzes. This includes Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, and Dollhouse.

Also, I'm going to start a Buffy re-watch and give my own little review/analysis about every episode starting from the beginning. I've been dying to do this for quite a while. Angel may be included in that once I get to Season 4 of Buffy.

In between that, I'll be writing reviews for Dollhouse as they air, as well as the new issues of Buffy Season 8 comics and probably Angel Season 6.

So, all things Whedon are a go here! Thanks for reading! :)

~Steph