Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Thoughts on the Full Series

Considering Buffy is several years old, there will be spoilers in this post, so if for some reason you've been procrastinating but still don't want to do know the details of the series, you might want to skip this one.

After a failed attempt a couple years ago, J and I finally made it through all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Overall, I thought it was a pretty entertaining show. Season 4 was amazing and probably my favorite. Some of the other seasons weren't as good, but there were some great episodes, including the musical episode and the one titled "Hush" which was creepy and well done. Two episodes I found particularly well done, even if they did make me cry, were the two that centered around Joyce Summers' death. I remember watching it and thinking that Joss Whedon, the creator, was spot on with the reaction that sudden death brings to loved ones.

Having said that, the series was a supernatural soap opera. Sure, there's slaying, but there's also interspecies love affairs (vamps and humans, demons and humans), issues between friends, family drama, and teenage angst. Even after the gang moves out of high school, they're still filled with early twentysomething angst.

I enjoyed most of the plots, but some of the characters were annoying. Okay, MOST of the characters were annoying, especially the main ones. Buffy is a pain. She has a few good moments, but her superior martyr complex gets old and she tends to be self centered. Her friends are about the same. Willow overplayed the nerd angle until she went psycho. I did enjoy Evil Willow though, especially because she pointed out all the things wrong with the other characters. Xander was the comic relief, and even he got whiny.

The characters I loved: Rupert Giles is amazing. I love Anthony Stewart Head anyway and the character of Giles just totally tweaks me...in a good way of course. Spike was the coolest vampire in the whole show and I was definitely Team Spike the whole time. Sure, he was pretty nasty in the first few seasons and then kind of got fluffy later, but he was always the epitome of cool in my opinion. Anya, the vengeance demon turned human turned demon turned human again, was also a great addition to the cast.

The characters I hated: Freakin' Dawn. While I may have disliked many of the other characters, I think the show took it's shark jump turn when Buffy's random little sister was introduced. Of course, she wasn't actually human, just a key that had been made human and woven into the fabric of everyone lives so Buffy would protect her, but I spent most of the time wishing Buffy would just hand her over and be done with it. Dawn's character was horrible...whiny, selfish, painfully awkward in some parts, and just annoying. I told J that the show would have been better if in every episode someone just whomped her on the head and reminded her that she wasn't actually human. This would have effectively sent her off crying and I wouldn't have had to watch her. The only other character I actually hated was Warren, another reason why Evil Willow was pretty cool since she effectively took care of him.

I'm glad I watched the show though. I now feel like a (delayed) part of pop culture and now move on to watching "Angel" (not my fave character in Buffy but J says the series is good and I miss Cordelia).

ALF

I Wanna Do Bad Things With You

No, this isn't a pornographic post. For those of you who don't watch "True Blood," this is the main line from the opening credits song, Bad Things by Jace Everett which you can watch below if you so choose. Be warned...some find this clip a little disturbing.



I feel like talking about True Blood for two reasons, one of them being that J and I watched the latest episode tonight. The other is that I'm so happy with this season. I enjoyed Season 1 and then parts of Season 2 were good but for the most part I was ready for it to be over. I was a little wary coming into S3, wondering if it was going to be a repeat of last season's tendency to drag stupid things on for way too long. But the show is not disappointing this year. In the tradition of a season per book (the show is based on Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels), this round brings in the role of the weres and the shifters as well as several other vampires, including the King of Mississippi and Franklin. Some of these characters were only touched on in the books, but the show develops them to an entertaining extent. My guilty pleasure this season? Franklin, the psychotic vamp who develops a bit of an obsession for Tara.

Fun TV and a nice way to zone out for a relaxing evening.

ALF

A Little Bit of Everything Type of Day

Happy Fourth of July weekend!

The people outside are celebrating and have been for about three days. By celebrating, I mean they're popping off firecrackers constantly. It doesn't seem as loud as it did last year, which is nice. Or maybe I'm better at ignoring it. Yes, I'm not very celebratory this weekend, preferring to just lay low and relax. I keep thinking I'm going to do some housework, but I haven't yet and who knows if I'll get to it. The day is almost over and I haven't had the shot of motivation I need.

I have kept busy doing non-productive things though. Last night I finished the June washcloth KAL project from Rachel's Knitting Room. It was a really fun and quick knit and I didn't have to go rip back anything like I did with the May KAL.  I'm not sure if I want to keep the June KAL or give it to a friend who likes to garden.

I also finished the cuff on the current pair of socks I'm knitting. The first one looks like it needs a severe blocking, but I doubt if I'll do it formally other than wearing the socks around when they're done.

In the course of knitting, we finished watching the final season of  Wire in the Blood and the first season of   Lie To Me. Watching it reminded me of how much I like Tim Roth, and I'm not on a mission to get J to see Four Rooms.

I played some XBox too. I've generally been pretty darn lazy today but that's okay. Isn't that what a three day weekend is for? To recharge and do nothing? Tonight is our STAR WARS marathon, and even though I know it'll keep me up all night, I'm debating making some coffee to sip on tonight.

ALF