Happy Birthday, Joss!

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

DOLLHOUSE RENEWAL!

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'

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'

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'

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.