BUFFY: 7.1 “LESSONS”

Big Bads are back!


WRITER: Joss Whedon

DIRECTOR: David Solomon

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

In Istanbul, Turkey a young girl is chased through the streets by a group of creepy looking people in cloaks before being caught and brutally killed. Back in Sunnydale and it's a new school year and Dawn is starting at the all new Sunnydale High 2.0 which has been built on the site of its exploded predecessor. However, based upon her own experiences at the school's previous incarnation, Buffy is having a serious case of the nerves about her lil sis starting at the new Sunnydale High. At first Dawn thinks her big sis is being way too over protective and is worrying needlessly but a run in with a group of apparently vengeful spirits soon has Junior Summers and some new friends calling for emergency Slayer assistance. Meanwhile in England a remorseful Willow is learning to be herself again under the tender tutelage of Giles.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

On one hand this episode is about fear. Fear of the past, the future, the unknown. Fear that your own life experiences, your own past will repeat and come back to haunt those you love and are responsible for. Buffy is afraid for Dawn. She is scared that Dawn will suffer the same high school traumas she did. But Buffy also knows that that is often unavoidable in life and that all you can do is to prepare youngsters as best you can before sending them out there, which is what she does by training Dawn in how to handle a vampire by herself. But Buffy also knows enough to let Dawn know to never be afraid to ask for help if she needs it as is shown by the cell phone she gives Dawn as a gift at the start of the Ep. and which comes in very useful later on. On the other hand this episode is also a short presee of what this entire season will be about: Power. Finding it, sharing it and using it.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Sunnydale High's vengeful spirits who seem to blame the living for their unnatural deaths and want to make them all suffer.

Creepy robed people hunting and killing a young girl.

An evil entity who appears to loony basement living Spike by taking on the forms of all previous Buffy Big Bads (minus Angelus) as well as, finally, the form of the Buffster herself.

WHY IT ROCKS

It is a Joss script so has some solid thematic depth, strong character work, funny moments and also sets up where everybody is both physically and emotionally while also laying the thematic and story groundwork for the rest of the season.

Director David Solomon manages to create at least two genuinely effective jump scares.

James Marsters gets to play a credibly loony Spike.

All previous Big Bads cameo (with the exception of Angelus) – great to see them again.

Cell phones finally make it to Sunnydale.

Buffy gets to make an effective weapon out of a handbag and some bricks and then wields it in a short but pretty cool fight scene.

Willow and Giles in England. Yes, actual real England.

WHY IT SUCKS

The basic story of the vengeful spirits at the school is pretty thin and in and of themselves they are not very scary.

This Ep. has a lousy phlebotnum i.e. "any magical or mystical force or event that arises in the process of inventing the Buffy mythology/or advancing the plot". It is just some random talisman Buffy finds lying around in the school bathroom which needs to be broken in order to vanquish the spirits. No explanation is ever given as to what it is or where it comes from or who put it there.

After a nice establishing matte shot the streets of Istanbul are clearly that overly familiar 'generic foreign town' set on the Universal back-lot.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

The end monologue of the evil entity to poor nutty Spike as it lays out what it wants and what is to come while purposefully transforming from one previous Big Bad to another, ending finally as Buffy herself, telling Spike that none of this is about right or wrong, it is about power!

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Xander (To Buffy): "The last two principals were eaten. Who’d even apply for that job?"

Vampire (to Buffy & Dawn whilst trying to get out of his grave): “Excuse me. I think I'm stuck.”

Buffy (after Xander asks how she is): “My sister's about to go to the same high school that tried to kill me for three years. I can't change districts, I can't afford private school, and I can't begin to prepare for what could possibly come out of there. So peachy with a side of keen, that would be me.”

Buffy (to Dawn): “Oh, we have to leave, though. Do you have everything? Books? Lunch? Stakes?”

Drusilla (to Spike): "That's where we go."
Master: "Right back to the beginning. Not the bang, not the word- the true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride, and I think we’re all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You’ll learn you’re a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn’t sunk in already. Look at you. Tried to do what’s right. Just like her... You still don’t get it. It’s not about right, not about wrong..."
Buffy: "...it’s about power."

AND ANOTHER THING

Joss wrote this episode but did not direct. He only wrote and directed one episode this season – Chosen, the series finale. He was kinda busy with a little show called Firefly.

Dawn's school friend Kit is played by Alexandra Breckenridge who most recently played Jessie Anderson in seasons 5 & 6 of AMC's the Walking Dead.

The character of Principle Wood as played by DB Woodside was written as gender non specific and with the gender neutral name of Robin Wood as Joss didn't know at the time what they were going to do with the character. It was only after casting DB Woodside that Robin Wood became male and developed the back story he would go on to have this season.

The scenes of Willow and Giles in England were indeed shot in England. Joss, Alyson Hannigan and her soon-to-be hubby Alexis Dennisof were in England in summer 2002 and were staying with Tony Head at his home just outside Bath. The house and the land you see in the scenes are Tony Head's actual house and farmland.


HOW MANY STAKES?

It's a hard lesson so 3 stakes (out of 5)

BUFFY 6.22 ‘GRAVE’

The Dark Willow story

WRITER: David Fury
DIRECTOR: James A. Contner

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Giles is back! He battles Dark Willow and manages to best her…temporarily. But soon Willow is free again and forcing Buffy to take off after Xander, Dawn, Andrew and Jonathan to save them from a seeking fireball Willow launched after them. Buff saves them just in time, but gets herself and lil sis trapped below ground in a collapsed section of graveyard. Meanwhile back at the Magic Box and Giles lies beaten and broken, the store in ruins, Anya by his side. Willow drained him of all his borrowed power and in doing so she became connected to every living thing on Earth. Being dark still she focuses in on every human being’s pain. And determined to end that pain, she decides to destroy the world!

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

It’s all about the pain. What else in a Joss Whedon TV show?

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Dark Willow

WHY IT ROCKS

Giles is back! ‘nuff said.

Have a laugh: Buffy is so happy to see Giles and unloads on him all the grief that has happened to her and the gang in his absence. Giles stares at her with quiet sombre concern…only to then break in to uncontrollable laughter at the insanity of it all. Buff quickly joins him. And it is most amusing.

Spike: the platinum vamp, bloodied and bruised, completes the trials and gets what he wanted.

WHY IT SUCKS

Huh?: Okay, so I get what they were aiming for with this series finale – bringing our characters back to simple emotional truths about themselves and each other, having them realise what growing up is really all about. BUT… it gets fluffed. Xander stopping Willow and saving the world by saying “I love you” and reminding her about a yellow crayon she broke in kindergarten? Really? And Buffy’s realisation that she doesn’t want to be protecting Dawn from the world but wants to be showing it to her is beyond cheesy. The dialogue is pure bad soap opera.

Evil temple: So there is apparently a conveniently buried satanic temple on a cliff top which Willow can raise up and use to destroy the world. Um…okay. That came from out of nowhere. Talk about handy last minute plot contrivance. Sigh.

ITS BUFFTASTIC

Giles and Buff having a good ol’ laugh

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Willow: "Uh-oh. Daddy's home. I'm in wicked trouble now."
Giles: "You've no idea.”

Buffy: "Everything's been so.. Dawn's a total klepto, Xander left Anya at the altar and Anya became a demon again. And I.. I'm so.. I've been sleeping with Spike."

Anya: "Giles? Giles! Don't die.. not yet. I.. there are.. I need to tell you... Thanks a lot for coming. I mean, it was nice of you to teleport all this way.. Though, in retrospect, it might have been better if you hadn't come and given her all that magic that made her ten times more powerful.. that would have been a plus."

Willow: "Is this the master plan? You're going to stop me by telling me you love me?"
Xander: "Well, I was going to walk you off the cliff and hand you an anvil, but it seemed kinda cartoony."

AND ANOTHER THING

Grave marks the first (and only) Buffy series finale not to be written and directed by Joss Whedon. And you can tell. Joss was busy with Firefly at the time and only wrote one episode this season - Once More, With Feeling. But boy, what an episode.

If you look closely at the devastated Magic Box, there's a smouldering William Shatner book on the floor. Poor charred Shatner.

The song played at the end of the episode is Prayer Of St. Francis, by Sarah McLachlan and is a rare track which appeared on the bonus disc originally included with the limited edition double CD release of her Surfacing album in 1997.

HOW MANY STAKES?

Not quite ready for the grave 2.5 (out of 5)



And so concludes my Buffy season 6 retrospective/review. Tune in soon for season 7.

BUFFY: 6.17 ‘NORMAL AGAIN’

Slayer, Interrupted

WRITER: Diego Gutierrez
DIRECTOR: Rick Rosenthal

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

While out searching for the Trio Buffy is ambushed by a demon conjured by Andrew. Amidst the ensuing fight the demon stings her and Buffy starts having intermittent flashes of herself in another life – as a normal Buffy Summers who's been locked away in a mental hospital for six years undergoing treatment for believing she is a super powered chosen one who fights monsters and saves the world. What's more, in this 'other' reality Buffy's mom is there as is her dad both pleading with her to reject her fantasy and come back to them, back to reality. Soon poor Buff doesn't know what is real and what isn't which puts everyone involved in great danger.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

The difference between reality and fantasy. Escaping from reality, from responsibility.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

The Trio, the waxy looking demon who stings Buff. Oh and Buffy herself towards eps end.

WHY IT ROCKS

High concept: the idea of challenging Buffy's (and the viewers) concept of what (if anything) about Buffy's life is actually 'real' is great. This sort of thing has been done before in genre television notably in the great DS9 episode Far Beyond the Stars. Making the audience believe that it is possible that everything they have watched and loved for six years might not be 'real' but rather the delusions of a very ill young girl is quite the thing. It's just a shame the ep isn't as successful as it could have been at doing this.

SMG: Quite simply she is magnificent. She single handily raises this episode above where it otherwise would be by turning in a damaged, tormented, scary and highly affecting performance. Her revelation to a shocked Willow that as a child she did spend some time in a mental hospital is achingly effective. A teary, fragile, vulnerable SMG really hits you where it hurts.

Mom: Kristine Sutherland makes a welcome return as Joyce Summers even if it is in the other world flashes. It's always great to see her though and we feel for Buff as she is tempted to reject Sunnydale and everything in it for the chance to be with her mom again.

WHY IT SUCKS

Lack of commitment: It is frustrating that this episode won't commit fully to its high concept. The idea that Sunnydale and all the supernatural stuff is really just the delusions of a sick girl is a scary and terrific idea. It would be great if we really were made to believe that the entire series truly could be the result of a very troubled and ill young girl's delusion. If the entire episode was played from Buffy's pov then that would likely be the case. But it breaks away all the time and makes it quite plain that her flashes are definitely a result of the demon sting and this renders the final emotional scene of 'real' Buffy in hospital, falling for good in to deep catatonia as her helpless and heartbroken parents look on, pretty much redundant. A real shame.

Dawn: ARGHH! Yet again youngest Summers manages to make everything about her. She whinges, sulks and storms off when she finds out that she is not around in Buffy's 'real' life. Jeez! Also Buffy tells her that she hasn't been doing her chores lately. Um...when has Dawn ever done any chores? Buffy is the only one who ever seems to do any stuff around the house, not Dawn or Willow. Kick em out, Buff!

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Buffy tearfully admitting to Willow that she did spend time in a mental institution.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Willow: "Hi, uhm.. Tara. How are you? I was wondering.. do you want to go out sometime? For coffee? Or food? Or kisses and gay love?"

Buffy: "I could wrestle naked in grease for a living and still be cleaner than after a shift at the Doublemeat."

Xander: “Oh, come on, that's ridiculous! What? You think this isn't real just because of all the vampires and demons and ex-vengeance demons and the sister that used to be a big ball of universe-destroying energy?”

Spike: “Oh, balls. You didn't say he was a Glarghk Guhl Kashma'nik.”
Xander: 'Cause I can't say glar- “

Xander: “Hello! I'm back! Clean and with the better smell now. Friends? Romans? Anyone?”

AND ANOTHER THING

When Buffy looks at the photo of herself as a child, it's Alexandra Lee, who also played young Buffy in season five's The Weight of the World.

Normal Again marks the only script for Buffy by Diego Gutierrez who prior to its writing was Joss Whedon's personal assistant. He would go on to write scripts for other successful TV shows including Dawson's Creek and Warehouse 13

This is one of two episodes of Buffy directed by Rick Rosenthal (the other being season 7's 'Help'). Rosenthal is perhaps best known as the director of Halloween 2, the first sequel to John Carpenter's original horror classic. He also went on to direct 2002's Halloween Resurrection.

HOW MANY STAKES?

A pretty normal 3.5 (out of 5)

BUFFY: 6.12 ‘DOUBLEMEAT PALACE’

WRITER: Jane Espenson

DIRECTOR: Nick Marck

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Needing money to pay the bills and generally help get herself back in the black, Buffy takes a job at The Doublemeat Palace, a local franchised fast food joint where she is forced to wear an embarrassing uniform (complete with cow/chicken hat) and flip burgers and serve customers for minimum wage. Of course, being Buffy The Vampire Slayer, it's soon obvious that something strange is afoot at The Doublemeat Palace with staff members disappearing and strange secrecy around the food's apparent secret ingredient. What's more Spike continually hanging around trying to tempt Buff away from her new life on the bottom rung of the service industry ladder doesn't make things any easier for our girl. Poor Buff. And did I mention that hat? Hoo boy!

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Real life. Paying the bills. The soul crushing monotonous drudgery of going through the motions of daily life, just trying to keep ones head above water. Oh, and poking fun at the fast food industry.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

The monster with the phallic worm thing that extends out the top of its head to eat people with. Yeah, it's as weird and as gross as it sounds. Yuck! Oh, and working at a fast food joint.

WHY IT ROCKS

Funny. This ain't the greatest of episodes but being a Jane Espenson script it does bring the funny in a few key places, mostly at the expense of poor Buff and in poking fun at life working at a fast food restaurant.

SMG. Put this girl in the worst most embarrassing uniform ever with that god-awful hat...and she still looks as cute as a button. Plus she also provides another excellent comedy performance. Buffy's reaction watching the Doublemeat Palace training video showing how cow and chicken are brought together in to one swirly meat-like substance is priceless.

The penis worm monster. It is quite frankly weird and yucky. A pretty good physical and make-up effect though that is just the right side of silly while keeping one foot firmly planted in the gross camp.

WHY IT SUCKS

The 'lets poke fun at fast food joints' is amusing at first but I'm not sure it warrants a whole episode. It isn't that subtle either portraying the staff as dull, greasy, zombiefied stiffs who are like that due to the soul crushing nature of their job rather than anything supernatural. It's just all a bit obvious.

Also, mixed in with the fun and silliness are moments of darkness with Spike showing up to taunt/tempt Buff and her then sneaking away for (literally) soulless sex with him up against a burger bar wall. This feels grim and rather jarring in tone. Also seeing Buff apparently helpless against the vampire, unable to enforce her own will, is kinda distrubing too. But hey, that's season six for you.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Our first sight of Buff in THAT hat.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Anya (to Xander & Willow): “But super-villains... want reward without labor, to make things come easy. It's wrong. Without labor there can be no payment, and vice versa. The country cannot progress. The workers are the tools that shape America.”
Buffy walks in wearing her new fast food uniform complete with silly cow/chicken hat
Buffy: “Good to know. I was kinda feelin' like a tool.”

Buffy (watching Doublemeat Palace's graphic meat production video): “Holy crap!”

Manny (about the Doublemeat video): “Interesting, isn't it?”
Buffy: “Oh yes! Like how the cow and the chicken come together even though they've never met. It's like Sleepless in Seattle if, if Meg and Tom were, like, minced.”

Buffy: “I'm working. Go away.”
Spike: “Yeah, and you chose to be in the consumer service profession, and I'm a consumer. Service me.”

Buffy (manic): “Stop! Stop! Everyone, you have to stop! Stop eating! No, you can't have this! It's not beef! It's people! The DoubleMeat Medley is people! The meat layer is definitely people! It's people! It's people! Probably not the chickeny part. But who knows? Who! Knows!”


AND ANOTHER THING

The whole idea of Buffy's that people are the main ingredient of the burgers was the theme of 1973 sci-fi flick Soylent Green.

Doublemeat Palace was first heard (but not seen) in a TV commercial Amy watched in ep. 6.9 'Smashed'.

SMG's first acting gig was a Burger King ad at the age of four. And it got her sued. She was named in a lawsuit filed by McDonald's because in the ad Sarah said, "Do I look 20 per cent smaller to you? I must have at McDonald's because their hamburgers are 20 per cent smaller than Burger King's." McDonald's sued Burger King, the advertising agency, and Sarah herself.

Believe it or not Doublemeat Palace is the Buffy episode that got Joss and co. in to the most potential trouble with the network. Forget sex scenes, gay relationships, horror, violence.. Making fun of fast food was then a cardinal sin in US broadcasting. The ep proved extremely unpopular with sponsors with some even pulling out of the show because of the episode.

HOW MANY STAKES?

It's not a Whopper at 2.5 (out of 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.7: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING

Something to Sing About

WRITER: Joss Whedon

DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Something weird is going on in Sunnydale…surely this town’s motto. For some unknown reason everyone keeps breaking in to song, usually at times of high emotion, the Scooby gang included. Buffy sings about her feeling disconnected to the world, to life in general, while the rest of the gang sing about their individual fears, frustrations and inner most desires. We soon discover that a sharp suited all singing all dancing demon called Sweet is responsible, enjoying the scene as more and more Sunnydale denizens combust from their over emotional exuberance. And best of all he thinks he’s found his newest Queen of the underworld when he grabs Dawn, thinking she’s the one who summoned him, though Dawnie insists she isn’t. But when Sweet discovers Dawn is in fact the Slayers sister, he orders his minions to go find Buffy and bring her to him as he really, really wants to see the Slayer burn.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Like HUSH this is all about communication (or lack of) plus keeping secrets that shouldn’t be kept and the destructiveness that can result.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Sweet and his minions. But mostly the secrets the Scoobies have been keeping from one another and what the fallout will be now that they have all been aired.

WHY IT ROCKS

You really have to ask? This is pure TV genius on every conceivable level with Joss on top form. But okay...

Songs: Not only is OMWF a full blown musical where every song is brilliantly written, different and memorable, it is also a huge turning point in the season where characters discover hard truths about each other that turn their lives upside down. The songs also play a major narrative function and help move the season's story along. But being a Joss musical, OMWF also becomes a meta musical in that the characters are aware that they are suddenly living in a musical and it freaks most of them out. Especially the ones who really can't or don't like singing, in real life too (just ask Alyson Hannigan and Michelle Trachtenberg).

Sweet. The musical demon who brings the fun in is a marvellous creation with his red devil face and sharp colourful suits and silky manner. He is played to the charismatic hilt by multiple Tony Award winning actor/singer/dancer Hinton Battle.

The look: Joss shot the show in traditional musical widescreen format, unlike the rest of the series. He also designed the lighting and general look of the show to reflect an old fashioned cinematic musical.

The score: Previous Buffy composer Christophe Beck returned to score this episode and help Joss arrange the songs. He does a grand job.

Choreography: All of the imaginative dancing and movement was choreographed by award winning writer/director/actor/producer/choreographer Adam Shankman who is a close personal friend of Sarah Michelle Gellar and who got the job on her recommendation. Shankman has gone on to direct the motion pictures The Wedding Planner, Hairspray and Rock of Ages amongst others.

The cast and their voices: They all give great performances and give the max to make this work. And work it does. Of course not all are great singers but they all do their own vocals for the show, no singing doubles being used. In fact, part of the reason why Joss chose to do a musical episode was after hearing several of his cast singing and realising there were some great voices amongst them, most notably Tony Head and James Marsters, both of whom were already professional singers and musicians. Perhaps the cast member with the single loveliest voice though is Amber Benson. She’s terrific.

SMG: A special mention to our leading lady who carries a huge burden on her tiny shoulders, especially as she would be the first to admit she is no singer. But she does a fab job and can certainly carry a tune. Plus her performance is as strong and affecting as ever. Her wit and emotional range shines through. One of my favourite moments in the episode is at the Bronze during the start of her song ‘Life’s a Show’ when she sings:
“It’s all right if some things come out wrong. We’ll sing a happy song.” And then, in tight close, up she throws a challenging look right at us, the audience, and sings, “And you can sing along.” It’s a rather chilling little moment, as if Buffy is accusing us, the audience, of being voyeurs to her pain, which I kinda guess we are.

Visual FX: The use of visual FX in this episode is great. From simple things like CGI daggers and stakes to more obvious and eye catching images such as Sweet's suit suddenly changing colour. All great work.

Joss: If you didn't need more convincing that this man is a creative genius, this episode proves it. He spent six months writing the episode and at the end of season five he handed a full script and a CD and book of 16 fully written and arranged songs to producer Gareth Davies, who in his own words found this “Mind boggling!” Especially as the guy has no actual musical training. Joss wrote all the songs with his wife, sat at a piano, singing them (badly apparently) and banging them out the hard way. And the result is a Broadway quality musical. Astonishing.

WHY IT SUCKS

No suckage here at all. Move along.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

The whole thing. But I love Spike's “So, you're not staying then?” at the end of his song.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Xander: Respect the cruller, and tame the doughnut!

Buffy: I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish, yet affordable boots, but there's definitely something unnatural going on here. And that doesn't usually lead to hugs and puppies.

Sweet: That's entertainment.

Willow: The sun is shining, there are songs going on, those guys are checking you out...
Tara: What? What are they looking at?
Willow: The hotness of you, doofus!
Tara: Those boys really thought I was hot?
Willow: Entirely!
Tara: Oh, my god. I'm cured! I want the boys!

Xander: You see the way they were with each other? The get-a-roominess of them? I bet they're... (notices Dawn) singing. They're probably singing right now.

Xander: It's a nightmare. It's a plague. It's like a nightmare about a plague.

Anya: Clearly our number is a retro-pastiche that's never going to be a break-away pop hit.

Spike: You've just come to pump me for information?
Buffy: What else would I want to pump you for? I really just said that, didn't I?

Spike: So, you're not staying then?

Buffy: Yeah, I'm pretty spry for a corpse.

Giles: If I want your opinion, Spike, I'll... I'll never want your opinion.

Xander: Does this mean that I have to... be your Queen?

Sweet: Big smiles, everyone. You beat the bad guy.

Spike: You should go back inside. Finish the big group sing, get your kumba-yayas out.
Buffy: I don't want to.
Spike: The day you suss out what you do want, there'll probably be a parade. Seventy-six bloody trombones.

AND ANOTHER THING

Xander's “Respect the cruller, and tame the doughnut!” line is a reference to P.T. Anderson's movie Magnolia which Joss loved and made a big splash around the time this episode was being made.

Cameos: The lady trying to get out of her parking ticket is none other than writer and exec producer Marti Noxon. Apparently she's not wearing underwear! Gulp! Oh, and the Mustard guy is writer/producer David Fury. Both Marti and David carried on their musical/acting careers by appearing in Joss' Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog.

Yes: Joss is a big fan of prog rock band Yes. The band's album 'Close To The Edge' features a track called 'And You and I', which refers to a 'Mutant Enemy' in its lyrics - hence the name of Joss' production company.

Grr Argh! The little Mutant Enemy guy at the end of the episode (i.e. Joss) sings his Grr Argh!

Soundtrack and DVD: A full soundtrack and book of this episode was released to buy. Both became bestsellers. Also a separate DVD of just this episode, featuring commentary and extras (and a karaoke version) was released on Region 2 only.

Longer: OMWF in its original broadcast version runs a total of 50 mins, 8 mins longer than a regular hour long US TV episode. UPN only broadcast this full version the once. Subsequent showing were edited, running at the usual 42 mins. The version available on DVD is the full unedited version.

Awards: In the US, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) neglected to include the episode on the 2002 ballots for Emmy nominations. NATAS attempted to remedy this by mailing a postcard informing its voters that it should be included, but the episode did not win. In 2009 TV Guide ranked OMWF #14 on its list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".

Buffy plays and sing-alongs: After the series ended, fans continued their appreciation with cinema showings of OMWF where attendees were encouraged to dress like the show's characters, sing along to the musical numbers, and otherwise interact in the style of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The sing-alongs became so popular that they soon spread across the US and around the world as far as Asia, Israel and Europe. But In October 2007, after a dispute with the Screen Actors Guild over unpaid residuals, 20th Century Fox pulled the licensing for all public screenings, effectively ending the official Buffy sing-alongs. You can find some of them on YouTube but the big organised shows have all now ceased. Fans won't be put off though. As well as sing-alongs many amateur (often for charity) theatrical productions have been and continue to be put on around the world. Fan love just keeps this show and this episode alive and slaying/singing.

HOW MANY STAKES?

A pitch perfect 5 (out of 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.5: LIFE SERIAL

Promo

WRITER: David Fury & Jane Espenson

DIRECTOR: Nick Marck

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Buffy returns home after her meeting with Angel just as the geek Trio of Warren, Jonathan and Andrew launch in to a series of goofy and rather annoying scenarios to secretly test the slayer. Scenarios that include a mummy hand infested time loop, speeded up time, and a conjured demon attack. Thinking someone is messing with her, Buff teams up with Spike to crash the local demon haunts in search of info. This leads to vast quantities of booze being consumed, a few hands of kitten poker and a run-in with a nerdy Star Wars van and a decidedly odd red faced demon.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

The continuing search to find where you fit in, what direction your life should be going in. Making some kind of sense out of the senseless.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

The Trio and their various tests.

WHY IT ROCKS

Funny: After what has been a fairly heavy start to the sixth season, Life Serial is just a big bunch of full-on silliness. Much of the comedy is not subtle, be it the innuendo around grabbing Jonathan's magic bone, the Trio's geek fight over who was the best Bond, the reveal of the Death Star and the Star Wars horn, Buffy's Evil Dead/Three Stooges style battle with a living mummy hand, drunk Buffy, kitten poker etc. Yep, not subtle. At all. But funny? You bet.

Who was the best Bond? Warren and Jonathan's vigorous debate over whether Connery, Brosnan or Moore are the best James Bond is hilarious, especially when Andrew, sat between them, says that he preferred Timothy Dalton, thus earning a hard smack around the head from Warren. This is followed up by a discussion on how terrible Moonraker is and then Andrew's later scream of rage that: “Dalton should get an Oscar and beat Sean Connery over the *head* with it!” Heh.

Kitten poker: Pure bloody genius. 'nuff said.

Buffy the boozer: Oh she is not a good boozer. So funny how she does a silly gag with every shot she does. And then later suffers the mother of all hangovers complete with handy bucket. Ugh. We've all been there.

Giles' dark look as a happy Buffy leaves the bedroom, saying she's so happy he'll always be there to help her out with her problems.

WHY IT SUCKS

Tricks: the tricks/tests the Trio put Buffy through are not exactly scary or too terrible, more annoying. Luckily the mummy hand sequence is very funny thanks to some snappy direction and SMG's game performance.

Silly: The entire episode is very, very silly. While that is not a bad thing per se, it's just that this one tips over in to the absurd rather than keeping itself grounded in some sort of reality, which all the best eps of Buffy are able to do.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Kitten poker. Who's gonna advance me a tiny tabby?

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Willow: You're not dumb, just rusty!
Buffy: Maybe I should ease back in with some non-taxing classes, like Introduction to Pies, or maybe Advanced Walking.

Xander: I think it's worth checking out. And I don't mean later. You need to see Giles right away. I'd start by IDing those demons.
Buffy: You're firing me, aren't you?
Xander: Big time.

Andrew: Why is the Slayer here anyway? She's a student, she's a construction worker, and now she's some kind of selling-stuff person?
Warren: It's like she's completely without focus... Should we check the other channels for free cable porn?

Jonathan: Stop touching my magic bone!
(Warren & Andrew giggle)
Jonathan: Shut up!

Andrew: I just hope she solves it faster than Data did on the ep of TNG where the Enterprise kept blowing up.
Warren: Or Mulder in the X-Files one, where the bank kept exploding?
Andrew: Scully wants me so bad!

Warren: This mummy hand has ceased to be!
Andrew: It is an _ex_-mummy hand!

Buffy: You play for *kittens*?!?
Spike: Who's gonna advance me a tiny tabby... get me started? Come on, someone's got to stake me.
Buffy: I'll do it! (he glares) You thought I was just gonna let that lie there?

Andrew: We're really super-villians now! Like Dr. No.
Warren: Back when Bond was Connery and movies were decent.
Jonathan: Who remembers Connery? I mean, Roger Moore was smooth!
Warren: You're insane. You're short and you're insane.
Andrew: I like Timothy Dalton. (warren smacks him) Hey!

Buffy: Scamper! Be free, kittens!

Warren: Connery is the only actor of the bunch!
Andrew: Timothy Dalton should get an Oscar and beat Sean Connery over the *head* with it!!!

AND ANOTHER THING

Star Wars: There are lots of pop culture gags and references in this episode. Perhaps the most obvious (other than Bond) are the numerous Star Wars ones. This is not by accident. George Lucas' daughter was a massive Buffy fan and during the filming of season six both her and her dad visited the set to meet the stars and production team. George was so impressed with what he saw he actually invited Joss and the gang to come out to Australia and do some shooting while he was there making Episode 2: Attack of the Clones at the new FOX studio. It was seriously considered for a while but in the end time and money prevented it from happening.

Gidget & Britney: Buffy is referred to as both Gidget and Britney by the construction guys. Gidget was a trouble-prone teenager in a popular 1960's American TV show played by a young Sally Field. Britney is, I think, fairly obvious to all.

Clem: Spike's pal Clem, the good natured loose skinned demon, makes his first appearance in this episode.

In jokes: If you could read the labels on all the jars on the Magic Box set, you’d see in-jokes like Boreanaz Beads, Charisma Charms and Tony's Heads.

The Mummy's Hand: Actress and puppeteer Alice Dinnean Vernon, who also worked on Sesame Street, provided the mischievous mummy hand.

HOW MANY STAKES?

The Force is (fairly) strong with this one. 3 (out of 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.4: FLOODED

Promo

WRITER: Douglas Petrie & Jane Espenson

DIRECTOR: Douglas Petrie

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

While trying to fix a leaky pipe Buffy accidentally floods her basement. Xander’s plumber bud who comes to fix the leak gives Buff the bad news: an expensive full copper re-pipe is needed. This news forces the Buffster to confront her dire financial situation. A loan application at the bank goes badly when the loan is denied and a demon then attacks and robs said bank. Turns out the demon was working for the geek Trio of Warren, Jonathan and Andrew, the new wannabe Big Bads of Sunnydale. In return for his services, the demon, called M'Fashnik, really wants to kill the slayer. So the ever helpful Warren points M'Fashnik in the direction of Buffy's home…

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

No metaphors needed. It is all out there in plain view. Life in the real world. Maintaining a house. Paying bills. Managing money. All the deathly dull stuff of real life. Poor Buff. She can slay demons ‘til the cows come home…and then slay the cows too. But running a household, paying day to day bills? That's what gives her the real wiggins.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

See above. Life, money, bills. Oh and some demon guy. And the Trio as well I guess.

WHY IT ROCKS

Real life: Buffy is facing the same reality we all face as adults – paying our way in the world. And it is scarier than any icky demon or fangy vamp. The scene with Buffy trying to get “her loan” is funny but also kinda tragic. We know she won't qualify. No income. A house with hardly any equity. It is a hard lesson for her to learn. Being a kick ass vampire slayer won’t pay the bills and keep a roof over your head…unless you take Anya’s advice of course and start charging per slay. Heh.

Stupid skirt! Buffy trying to fight M'Fashnik at the bank but being scuppered by her long, tight skirt is funny. Plus it’s very nice when she borrows a letter opener to slit said skirt open down the side exposing a nice length of bare slayer leg. Hey! (looks sheepish) She's cute. I’m a man.

Giles and Buffy: Giles’ reaction to seeing Buffy back from the dead is lovely. Tony Head and SMG play the moment to perfection. Never does it get over sentimental. It is just genuinely warm and full of reserved joy.

Giles vs. Willow: another portent of things to come. Filmed in a darkened kitchen, the scene moves quickly from easygoing fun to tense, uncomfortable anger, ending with a dark threat from Willow. What’s more, this will all pay of spectacularly come the end of the season. Both Tony Head and Alyson Hannigan are excellent.

“NO. MORE. FULL. COPPER. RE-PIPE!”: Buffy’s final furious beating to death of M'Fashnik after he breaks one of her brand new (and expensive) copper pipes is brutal but very funny, especially as she times each blow to the repeatedly yelled, “NO. MORE. FULL. COPPER. RE-PIPE!”

WHY IT SUCKS

M'Fashnik: He is nothing but a plot device. He exists for no other reason than as something for Buffy to pummel and to introduce us to the Trio as this season’s Big Bad…or are they? His motivation seems to be he just wants to kill the Slayer, being furious with her for no apparent reason.

The Trio: Never the best wannabe Big Bads for Buff to face. Individually I like Andrew and Jonathan (Tom Lenk and Danny Strong are both wonderful performers) though Warren works best as the true villain of the three. But not here. It takes until late in the season for him to move from being a goofy geek genius to becoming a truly vile, murdering misogynist monster. Here though, together, they are all just silly and totally non-threatening.

Mope: Blimey! I know Marti Noxon and Joss said they would make Buffy earn her resurrection and not just set the reset switch so everything is back to normal but the Buffy depressed/mope factor does come on strong. Luckily it is often broken up with moments of lightness where we get a glimpse of the old Buffster e.g. the bank fight.

Buffy is broke. And yet Willow and Tara seem to be living there rent free and not contributing to the household budget. However they seem to have money to continue their studies and keeping in witchy things and stylish clothes. Freeloaders!

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

“NO. MORE. FULL. COPPER. REPIPE!”

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Buffy (finds the leaky pipe): So, we meet at last, Mr. Drippy!

Willow: Buffy, I know you're still getting back on your feet after...
Buffy: Lying flat on my back?

Buffy: But, I haven't spent any money. I was all dead and frugal.

Buffy: It's not like it's the end of the world. ...Which is too bad, because *that* I'm really good at.

Anya: It's not *so* crazy.
Dawn: Yes it is! You can't charge innocent people for saving their lives!
Anya: Spider-Man does!
Dawn: He does not.
Anya: Does too!
Dawn: Does no... Xander?
Xander: Action is his reward.

Loan Officer: The problem is you have no income. No job.
(demon comes crashing through the window)
Buffy: No job? I wish!

Buffy (to demon): Hey! Are you in the wrong line? That's for deposits, that's for withdrawals, and this one is for getting kicked in the face. (tries to kick, can't raise her leg) Stupid skirt!

Xander: Score one for Captain Logic!
Anya: No, no. Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat. I smell Captain Fear at the wheel.

Giles (seeing Buffy alive again for 1st time): You're...
Buffy: ...a miracle.
Giles (smiles): Yes. ...But then I always thought so.

Jonathan: How'd you make him do that?
Andrew: What, are you some kind of ...Jedi?
Warren: The Force can sometimes have great power over a weak mind.

Giles: Well I know I'm back in America now, I've been knocked unconscious.
Buffy: Mmmm... Poor lumpy Giles!

Buffy: Who's calling me? Everybody I know lives here.

Buffy: “NO. MORE. FULL. COPPER. RE-PIPE!”

AND ANOTHER THING

It is established in this episode that Giles keeps a home in Bath (a small city in the south west of England for those who don't know.) Tony Head actually does live in the Bath area, not that far away from me as it happens. I've seen him around town and shopping in the local supermarket, which was kinda surreal. Anyway, this geographical trivia will come in to play at the start of season seven.

We know two of the three geeks (Warren and Jonathan) but not Andrew. We have met his brother, Tucker, though. He was the one who sent hell hounds to the Sunnydale High Prom in season three's The Prom.

After the Spider-Man argument between Anya, Dawn and Xander it is fun to note that Jeph Loeb, Executive Producer of the abandoned Buffy: Animated series, has written several Spider-Man comics.

HOW MANY STAKES?

A not so soggy 3.5 (out of 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.2: BARGAINING (PART 2)

Bring Me To Life

WRITER: David Fury

DIRECTOR: David Grossman

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Unbeknownst to Willow and the other Scoobies the ritual to bring Buffy back to life has worked. Our girl has regenerated and is alive and trapped in her coffin under the earth. Screaming in terror she begins to claw and fight her way free.

Meanwhile, up above, the evil demon bikers continue their rampage through Sunnydale.

Back at casa Summers, Spike tells Dawn they can’t stay there and have to leave as the neighbourhood burns. Hijacking a motorcycle Spike and Dawn take off, looking for safety.

In the woods, the Scoobies split up with Xander carrying an exhausted Willow while Tara and Anya head separately back in to town. The two girls soon arrive at the Magic Box and wait there for their loved ones to get there too.

Back to Buffy who has now escaped from her grave and is wandering dazed and confused through the burning, ransacked streets of Sunnydale. Soon she stumbles across the gathered throng of demon bikers and their leader who have the captured Buffybot chained by each limb to four different motorcycles. Real Buffy then watches horrified as the motorbikes proceed to speed away, ripping the poor Buffybot to pieces. Seeing real Buffy, the demons, thinking she is another robot, try to grab her too. But real Buffy runs off with the demons in hot pursuit.

Back in the woods, Xander and Willow are lost. But then a magic light appears to guide them home, a light Willow knows has been sent by Tara. Soon, Xan and Will arrive back at the Magic Box, reunited with Anya and Tara. Thinking the resurrection of Buffy failed, the gang determine that it is up to them to stop the demon horde, and tooling up, they head out to do battle.

Spike and Dawn, still on the bike, find the abandoned wreckage of the Buffybot. Spike knows she is done for but Dawn goes to her just in time to catch her final words. Buffybot saw the real Buffy and asks Dawn where “other Buffy” went? And with that the poor broken bot ‘dies’. Dawn, making a leap of faith, runs off, looking now for “other Buffy” with Spike not even noticing she has gone until it is too late. Furious he sets out to find the runaway niblet.

Eventually Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya run in to real Buffy in an alleyway. After initially thinking she is the Buffybot, Willow realises she is in fact the real thing. The gang are amazed and happy yet also worried by Buffy’s dazed and confused behavior. Right then, the demons arrive and a fight ensues. Thankfully some of the old Buff returns and she engages the horde in battle, beating them down. But then, battle done, she runs off, clearly traumatised by the whole affair, leaving Tara to finish off the nasty demon leader with a well placed axe to the back. Her first, she proudly announces.

Dawn arrives at Glory’s tower, which is still standing, but only barely. She looks up and sees someone up on top. She runs to the tower and ascends it as fast as she can.

Up on top of the tower, it is Buffy standing at it's edge. She is staring down at the ground far below as fragments of memories of her fatal sacrifice fill her mind.

Suddenly Dawn appears behind her.

Dawn, scared that the somehow newly returned Buffy is going to take another swan dive, begs her sister to come away from the edge, to come back home with her.

For a time Buffy seems unsure and appears more inclined to jump once more.

But as the rickety tower begins to shake and crumble, and as Dawn screams out in terror, Buffy snaps out of it. At the last moment she turns, grabs her little sister, and grabbing a cable, swings them both off of the tower and down to the ground and safety…just as the whole thing comes tumbling down behind them.

The episode ends with Dawn hugging tightly her returned and thoroughly confused looking big sister.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Nothing specific as this carries on directly from part 1. I guess there is something in there about putting those you love before your self.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Still the nasty demon biker gang

WHY IT ROCKS

Seamless: It’s a direct continuation of part 1 and the join is seamless even though it has a different writer.

Payoff: Part 1 was the set up and this is the resolution. As such there is a lot of action and running around and fights. And they are all great as per usual. The emotional beats hit home too, especially the loss of poor Buffybot and the real Buffy looking and acting so lost and traumatised throughout.

On your bike: Spike's flying kick, taking the demon rider off of his motorbike and Spike then nicking it. Very, very cool.

SMG: whether playing the demise of poor Buffybot or the newly returned Buffy she is tremendous. As Buffy she has virtually no dialogue relying almost entirely on body language and on a pretty face that tells a traumatic tale with nothing more than a simple look.

Go Tara! Great to see Tara getting in on the demon slaying action. Nice axe to the back, girl!

WHY IT SUCKS

Bye, bye Buffybot: She’s gone to electro heaven. Rest easy, sweet, funny robo babe. We miss you. :(

The Scoobies must have realised that they’d need to dig Buffy out of her grave. So why didn’t they bring tools to dig her out? And why didn’t they dig up the grave before doing the spell so Buffy wouldn’t suffocate?

SMG’s post-death shock wig is kinda…shocking.

Still no cops

And no fire-fighters either

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Spike’s flying kick to take out a motorcycle demon…and then nicking his ride. Cool.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Spike: A couple of stakes, holy water, one cross. (picks up cross) Ow! (drops it) Brilliant.

Willow: Xander, that's not the North star. It's an airplane.
Xander: No, that's not an airplane. That's definitely... a blimp. But I can see how one would make that airplane mistake.

Xander: Demons. Ah, there's something you don't see every day. Unless you're us.

Willow (following the tiny glowing light sent by Tara): Xander, it's not a bug. It's Tara.
Xander: And how long have you known that your girlfriend's Tinkerbell?

Xander: This place is NORAD when we're at DefCon 1. (The girls look at him blankly) Okay, I *so* need male friends.

Xander: I happen to be a very powerful man-witch myself. A male... (turns to Willow) is it a warlock? (turns back to the demon biker) Warlock.

Xander: Tara, nice axing.
Tara: My first!

AND ANOTHER THING

The location where Dawn finds Buffybot was the same place used for Glory and the monks' original hideout in 5.5 'No Place Like Home'.

This is the second time we’ve seen Buffy six feet under. There’s a scene in 1.10 'Nightmares' where Buffy is buried alive by the Master - it’s one of her fears.

HOW MANY STAKES?

Still a bargain at 4 (out of 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.1: BARGAINING (PART 1)

Promo

WRITER: Marti Noxon

DIRECTOR: David Grossman

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

And we’re back!

It’s been several months since Buffy died, sacrificing herself at Glory’s Tower to save her little sister as well as the rest of the world. Things in Sunnydale seem to have settled in to some sort of slaying routine, even without our deceased heroine being around. The gang, led by a mystic all seeing (and telepathic) Willow, are a well oiled slaying machine…kind of. They are all present and correct – Tara, Giles, Anya, Xander and Spike, all following Willow’s instructions to hunt down and slay a big fat vamp in the cemetery. Oh, and they have an ace up their sleeve. The Buffybot. The gang are using our reprogrammed electro girl to make the supernatural world think that the Slayer is still alive and kicking…their arses. And RoboBuffy has been doing a mighty fine job of it too, even cracking wise in a fight just like the real Buffster.

But no matter how good a copy she is, Buffybot is not the real Buffster.

The truth is Buffy’s demise has left a gaping hole in the lives of all the Scooby gang. They miss her terribly. Guilt is rife, especially from Giles and Spike. And poor Dawn, while putting a brave face on her loss, at night sneaks in to the room where the Buffybot recharges and secretly cuddles up to the robotic copy of her lost sister.

But unbeknownst to Dawn, Spike and Giles, Willow has a plan.

She’s refused to give up on the lost Slayer and has vowed to use whatever magic she can to bring Buffy back! Working secretly with Tara, Xander and Anya, she is preparing a dark and very dangerous spell to rescue Buffy from the eternal torment of the hell dimension in which she thinks Buffy is trapped. Willow declares that because Buffy died an unnatural death through mystic energy, they have a very good chance of bringing her back to life. Xander though is unsure, worried about the morality of what they plan to do. But Willow convinces him, mostly with the simple words: “It’s Buffy!” Xander can’t argue with that and agrees to help. The plan of resurrection is on for that very night.

Meanwhile, a weaselly little vampire has managed to cause a slight injury to Buffybot, exposing her electrical circuitry and damaging her navigational system, thus allowing the little monster to get away. He escapes with the knowledge that the Slayer is in fact nothing more than a machine and he ends up at an out of town bar where he tells his story to an ugly and vicious gang of motorcycle demons who all now know that with the real Slayer gone the Hellmouth is ripe for the taking. The vile gang heads off at top speed, violence on their minds, destination: Sunnydale.

Also meanwhile, Giles has decided to leave. He’s realised that with Buffy gone he has no real reason to stay. And so he secretly heads to the airport to catch a plane back to England. But the Scoobies discover what he is doing and they just about manage to get to the airport for a heartfelt goodbye before the G man’s flight is called. And so Giles leaves, not knowing that Willow and co. are planning on Bringing Buffy back that very same night; a plan he is not informed of as Willow knows that he would try to stop her.

And so later that night, gathered around Buffy’s grave, Willow begins the ritual with Tara, Xander and Anya looking on concerned.

Said ritual is dark, and it is extremely painful on Willow. Her flesh is slashed, bugs crawl under her skin, and she vomits up a snake! Xander tries to stop it but Tara stops him, saying Willow told her this would happen, that it is a test. But just as the ritual is building to its climax the demon biker gang shows up pursuing the Buffybot who is damaged and has automatically sought out Willow for repair. Then, right at the crucial moment of the ritual, a demon’s motorcycle goes and breaks the Urn of Osiris, abruptly ending Willow’s resurrection spell. Heartbroken by the perceived failure and terrified by the rampaging demons, the Scoobies flee in to the woods leaving behind the damaged Buffybot to be taunted and tortured by the evil horde.

Meanwhile, underground, inside her coffin, the withered corpse of Buffy Anne Summers is enveloped by mystical energy and begins to regenerate. After a few shimmering seconds, the now newly regenerated slayer opens her eyes and gasps for air. She’s alive! ALIVE!

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Not too much in the way of underlying theme or subtext here. I guess the only obvious one is about how we each deal with loss - the refusal to believe it, to accept it, the guilt, the anger, the simple terrible absence in your life. All are shown here, though they are not explored in any great depth.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Demonic motorcycle gang The Hellions. Ugly bunch of suckers.

WHY IT ROCKS

Life goes on: the gang are all stepping up and dealing with life after Buffy. The world still thinks the Slayer is active. With Willow and Tara now living at 1630 Revello a new family unit has been created to look after Dawn and to keep things afloat. It all seems plausible and workable. And with Buffybot around, life, though different, appears not to be so bad. At least on the surface.

How we deal: There are some nice character beats throughout the ep. showing how the Scoobies are (and are not) dealing with the loss of the Buffster. Willow refuses to believe she is gone, being determined to put things right via magic at any cost (a portent of her fall from grace this season). Giles is feeling guilty and is full of self loathing, thinking he has finally achieved a Watchers role in life – to watch his Slayer die. Spike is angry with himself for having failed to save Buffy, for having failed to keep his promise to her to protect Dawn, and as a result has now turned in to Dawn’s constant babysitter, refusing to leave her on her own and unprotected. And Dawn, she is quietly accepting, though in secret she pines desperately for her sister. Only Xander seems to be the voice of reason and true acceptance. Of course that doesn’t last after Willow convinces him otherwise.

The set up: part 1 is of course all about showing where everyone is, physically, emotionally and mentally, and about getting them to the point of bringing Buffy back. The emotional beats provided by Marti Noxon’s functional yet emotionally engaging script are all honest and affecting. We feel the Scoobies sense of loss, of pain. We feel awful for poor Dawnie as she cuddles up at night to the Buffybot. We feel Giles’ stoic anguish, Willow’s stubborn refusal, and perhaps most of all, Spike’s barely restrained fury and pain. Soulless? No way.

Buffybot: Aw, I love her so much. The innocent, smiley, chirpy, ever helpful Buffybot. So cute. And SMG is fabulous at playing her. It’s such a great device to keep your star in the episode and the character around when she really isn’t. Plus she’s just so darn adorable. I especially like how Spike can’t look at her properly anymore and is devastated when a bit of her old ‘I adore Spike’ programming rears its head. It’s all about character.

The funny: for what could be a very depressing and mawkish episode Bargaining Part 1 defies those expectations to actually be very funny and charming. Much of this is thanks to Buffybot and to some great lines of dialogue from a cast so in tune with their characters and with each other.

Stylish: Willow et al sure do have stylish wardrobes this year. World of leather must have signed them up for a discount. They all look great. All the girls look gorgeous, dressed and made up to the nines. The lads all look great too, cool and handsome. The photography is glossy and lush and the FX top notch. The move to UPN seems to have done them all the world of good.

WHY IT SUCKS

Um, demon bikers? Okay, the demon biker gang The Hellions are a goofy idea much like the Knights who say Nee from season 5 (or whatever they were called). They are just a bunch of dumb violent lugs and nothing more. And how do they exist and operate in a world that is still largely unaware of the supernatural? They seem to ride around and hang out in bars without giving their appearance to humans a second thought.

Where are all the cops? So the demon gang discover that the Slayer is no more and decide it is open season on Sunnydale. They show up in town and promptly run riot, looting, destroying, burning… And where exactly are Sunnydale’s finest while all this is going down? Have they all gone out for doughnuts? Are they all on summer leave? C’mon! Buff wasn’t the only protection Sunnydale had from bad guys.

The headstone: So, if the gang are trying to make the world think Buffy is alive and well and still slaying, why then do they plant a great big headstone with her name on it in the cemetery where all can see, effectively telling the world she is dead? Duh!

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Lots of great moments but for pure shock value it has to be Willow, the cute baby deer, and the BIG knife! Oh my god, she killed Bambi!

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Spike: Oh, poor Watcher. Did your life pass before your eyes? Cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got shagged, cup of tea?

Buffybot: That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, Bingo!

Willow: And I got her off those knock-knock jokes.
Buffybot: Ooh, who's there?
Xander: You know, if we want her to be exactly...
Spike: She'll never be exactly.
Xander: I know.
Tara: The only really real Buffy is really Buffy.
Giles: And she's gone.
Buffybot: "You know, if we want her to be exactly, she'll never be exactly, the only really real Buffy is really Buffy, and she's gone" who?

Xander: House of chicks, relax. I'm a man, and I have a tool. (pause) Tools. Lots of plural tools, in my, uh, toolbox.

Spike (to Dawn): She responded to Buffy-Bot because a robot is predictable. Boring. A perfect teacher's pet. That's all school's are, you know. Just factories, spewing out mindless little automatons. (Guilty pause) Who go on to be very valuable and productive members of society, and you should go.

Tara: You found the last known Urn of Osiris on eBay?
Anya: Yeah, from this desert gnome in Cairo. He drove a really hard bargain, but I finally got him to throw in a limited-edition Backstreet Boys lunchbox for...
Xander: (coughs)
Anya: A friend.

Buffybot: Sorry I questioned you, Spike. You know I admire your brain almost as much as your washboard abs.

Anya (to Giles): I'll take really good care of your money.

AND ANOTHER THING

In the US part 1 was originally shown with part 2 as a feature-length special to celebrate Buffy's re-launch on the UPN network. On the UK DVD set it also plays as one long double episode.

Responding to the Buffybot's comment about "That'll put marzipan in your pie-plate bingo", Spike asks "Why the Dada-ism?" referring to the German absurdist art movement of the 1920s. Not many prime time US shows would casually refer to such things. Love it.

Tara gives Giles a little rubber monster as a leaving present and says "Grrr, argh" - clearly a reference to the monster in the Mutant Enemy logo at the end of every episode.

This episode is the first time that Anthony Stewart Head is listed as a guest star in the credits. Alyson Hannigan now appears in the opening sequence in the spot he used to occupy. Tony had decided to leave the show full time in order to spend more time with his family back in England and to pursue other roles. But he remained a big part of the show for its remaining two seasons.

Season six sees the writer of this episode Marti Noxon promoted to co-executive producer alongside Joss, taking on the day to day running of the show as Joss moved on to do other things. Thus her name now appears alongside Joss' in the end credits.

The scene where Willow kills the deer is nasty enough but originally it was a lot gorier and had to be cut back in order to be suitable for transmission. Interestingly, the music playing during this scene is listed in the production notes as "Willow Stabs Bambi". Alyson Hannigan found it extremely difficult to film this scene. She was very upset at the thought of Willow doing such a thing and Marti Noxon says that Alyson cried the whole day it was being filmed.

In this episode we discover that Anya and Xander are engaged, but Xander doesn’t want to tell the others yet, causing tension between him and Anya.

Franc Ross, who played the lead hellion demon Razor, played ‘Monty Reynolds’ in Joss Whedon’s Firefly episode ‘Trash’.

The vampire who discovers that Buffy is a robot is wearing a Hanson t-shirt. Vampire or not, he is clearly evil.

HOW MANY STAKES?

It’s a bargain at 4 (out of 5)

BUFFY 5.22: THE GIFT

Epic trailer

WRITER: Joss Whedon

DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Glory has Dawn and is having her prepared for the ritual bleeding which will open the portal, allowing her to return home but in the process dropping all the walls between dimensions, causing death and carnage on a global scale. If opened the only way to close the portal and thus save the world is to kill Dawn. Giles spells this out to Buffy in no uncertain words. But Buffy is resolute that nobody will be killing her little sister, no matter what, even if it means the end of the world. And she will stop anyone who tries. Thankfully the gang come up with a plan to try and prevent Glory from opening the portal to begin with hopefully bypassing the need for any Dawn killing. Using the dagonsphere retrieved from the monks who made the Key in to Dawn, plus Olaf the Troll’s mighty troll hammer, the Scoobies plan to keep Glory occupied and on the ropes until she misses her brief opportunity to open the portal.

Using poor Tara as an unwitting guide, Buffy and the gang follow the brain-sucked witch as she is mystically drawn towards the gathering of Glory’s disciples, all of them coming together at the site of the forthcoming portal opening. There, the Scoobies are met with the imposing sight of a huge tower especially built for the occasion. Meanwhile Dawn has already been taken to the top of said tower by the minions, where she’s been tied up and left ready for Glory to come and begin the ritual bleeding.

Battle quickly commences.

Using the Buffybot and the dagonsphere to confuse and distract Glory, Buffy manages to get part-way up the tower in an attempt to rescue her sister… only to be attacked by Glory. The two engage in a furious fight up and down the tower but eventually end up falling from it to then continue their fight back down on the ground. As they continue their fight, Willow sneaks up on Glory and, using a spell, manages to take back what Glory stole from Tara. This returns Tara to normal and also weakens Glory significantly.

Meanwhile Spike, Giles, Anya and Xander are pinned down by the mob. But Spike spies someone else up on the tower with Dawn. Turns out that nasty demon Doc is back. He’s armed with a knife and is looking to help Glory by starting the ritual. Willow, using magic, clears a path for Spike who makes a break for it and rushes to the top of the tower where he engages Doc in a brief but futile battle to save Dawn. Spike is quickly bested and thrown off of the tower. Wasting no more time Doc cuts Dawn, spilling her blood. And the portal begins to open.

Back down below, Buffy has finally bested a weakened Glory, pummelling her in to submission using the mighty troll hammer. Glory, defeated, turns back in to Ben as Buffy runs back up the tower to get to Dawn. As Buffy goes, so Giles comes to seemingly help a wounded Ben. But instead of helping Ben he smothers the young man, killing him, thus preventing Glory from ever returning.

Reaching the top of the tower, Buffy quickly dispatches Doc and goes to help Dawn. But Dawn refuses her help, saying that she has to die as the portal has already opened and the demon dimensions have already started bleeding in to our world. Buffy can see the portal, a growing ball of light just below them, and all the hellish creatures that are now coming through it. But even so, she stops Dawn from throwing herself off of the tower.

It is then that Buffy has an epiphany.

She finally works out what the First Slayer meant when she said that death was Buffy’s gift. Buffy also remembers that the monks said they made Dawn from her – flesh, bone and blood. The same blood courses through both girls’ veins. Summers blood - the key to everything.

Buffy makes a decision.

After whispering to a tearful Dawn, she gives her sister a kiss, then turns away, runs along the gantry and throws herself off of the tower, plunging down in to the energy vortex below.

A short time later, as the sun rises on a new day, the Scooby Gang back on the ground are devastated to see the lifeless body of Buffy who sacrificed herself to close the portal, to save the world, saving her sister too.

The final image of the episode is a lone headstone with the engraved legend reading:

Buffy Anne Summers

1981-2001

Devoted Sister
Beloved Friend

She Saved the World
A Lot


WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Self sacrifice - especially for those you love; discovering who you really are and what meaning your life truly has, and learning how best to pummel a hell god in to submission using a really big hammer.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Glory, Ben, Doc, fate.

WHY IT ROCKS

It’s a Joss episode. It just does, okay?

The “Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer…” – for this episode, the 100th, it is a super fast compilation of all the show’s key moments from episode 1.1 right up to date. This leads in to a boy running from a vampire…only to be saved at the last minute by Buffy who fights and then stakes the vamp. The disbelieving boy asks her how she can do that, because she’s just a girl. To which Buffy replies simply, “That’s what I keep saying.” This is a pre-title sequence, which in just a couple of minutes is a perfect summation of the entire show.

Giles and Buffy arguing over killing Dawn and Buffy’s shocked reaction when Giles shouts at her.

Anya and Xander having comfort sex in the Magic Box basement.

Xander scaring himself when he suddenly uncovers the Buffybot stored in the Magic Box basement.

Anya subsequently scaring herself by uncovering a toy fluffy bunny in the magic Box basement.

Spike’s comment about Buffy’s speech not exactly being the St Crispen’s day speech, Giles’ reply and Spike’s follow up.

Xander and the wrecking ball

The Buffy vs. Glory fight up and down the tower. It’s very athletic with some great stunts and choreography.
Giles unleashes Ripper to chilling effect.

The sacrifice sequence as Buffy realises what she must do, with the slowly rising sun behind her and a tearful Dawn before her, followed by the act itself and the plunge in to the portal as overlaid we hear her earlier whispered message to Dawn.

Spike’s shattered reaction to seeing Buffy’s broken body on the ground.

The final shot: the headstone and its engraving.

Joss’s script. It brings together perfectly all the thematic strands of the show and of this season in to one perfect moment: Buffy’s realisation of who she truly is and what she has to do. It’s quite beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time.

The performances. All are at the top of their game here but once again SMG just kills it. The emotional weight and intensity of her performance is quite something. I always enjoy how Joss directs her. He likes tight close-ups on her face because he knows she sells inner turmoil and harnessed emotions so well - the look from deep in her eyes, the subtle twitch of a lip. Also worth noting is James Marsters who proves Spike is no mere monster on a leash. The last shot of him, collapsed, crying in to his hands over Buffy’s body is possibly the one single image from this episode that lingers.

Christophe Beck’s score is beautiful and emotional.

WHY IT SUCKS

Spike gets bested by Doc a bit too easily.

The battle on the ground is a bit small scale – only about a dozen or so minions and crazy people to fight.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Devastated Spike

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Guy: ‘But... you're just a girl.’
Buffy: ‘That's what I keep saying.’

Buffy: ‘I'm counting on you to protect her.’
Spike: 'Til the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight.’

Giles: ‘If the ritual starts every living creature in this and every other dimension imaginable will suffer unbearable torment and death. Including Dawn.’
Buffy: ‘Then the last thing she'll see is me protecting her.’

Buffy: ‘This is how many apocalypses for us now?’
Giles: ‘Six at least.’
Buffy: ‘Feels like a hundred.’
(An in joke as this is the 100th episode)

Xander: "Spike's sex-bot. Why didn't they just melt it down into scrap?"
Anya: "Maybe Willow wanted it."
Xander: "I don't think Willow feels that way about Buffy... I mean, I know she's going through a lot of changes..."
Anya: "To study."
Xander: "Right. Robotics. Science."
Anya: "Pervert."
Xander: "Other pervert."

Buffy: ‘I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much. But I knew what was right. I don't have that anymore. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world if these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point. I just wish that... I just wish my mom was here.’

Xander: ‘Smart chicks are sooo hot.’ (looking fondly at Anya)
Willow: ‘You couldn't have figured that out in tenth grade?’

Buffy: "Remember: The ritual starts, we all die; and I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn."
Spike: "Well, not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?"
Giles: "We few, we happy few..."
Spike: "...we band of buggered."

Buffy: ‘Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles ... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.’

AND ANOTHER THING

In 2008 at the 60th Annual Emmy Awards, The Gift won the special audience voted award for the most memorable moment in TV history – Buffy’s end sacrifice – beating out shows such as The X-Files, E.R. and Mash amongst others.

Joss originally planned The Gift to be Buffy’s genuine finale because at the time the WB were dropping the show due to not being able to come to financial terms with the show’s maker 20th Century Fox. Thankfully though, midway through the season, rival network UPN made Fox a strong offer. They purchased Buffy and allowed it to run for a further two seasons before finally ending for real.

Here in the UK it was nearly impossible not to know what happened in this ep before it was screened. One national newspaper even ran a "Buffy Dies" special and Sky One kept on showing trailers featuring Buffy's grave, the first trailer running directly after The Weight of the World. Doh!

HOW MANY STAKES?

It’s a gift from Joss. 5 (out of 5)



And so ends my Buffy season five rewatch/review. On to season six sometime soon.

BUFFY 5.16 THE BODY

The first 12 minutes of the episode

WRITER: Joss Whedon

DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Buffy comes home to find her mom apparently lifeless on the couch. Shocked she calls 911 who tell her to do CPR while they send the paramendics. Buffy does, desperately trying to revive Joyce. But she gets no reaction. Buffy also calls Giles, telling him he needs to come right away. Soon the paramedics arrive. They do their best...but to no avail. The lead paramedic gives Buffy the terrible news – her mom has died. He offers his condolences and says that someone will be there soon to take the body away for a proper investigation in to the cause of death. The paramedics go, leaving Buffy all alone in the house, all alone with the Body. She wanders the house in silence, in shock. She is sick on the floor. She opens the back door and listens to the sounds of everyday life outside. Giles quickly arrives, fearful that Glory has launched another attack. He sees Joyce’s prone body. Buffy manages to tell him what happened and Giles comforts his young slayer. We go on to see the rest of the Scoobies dealing with the news. They are all clearly shocked, grieving, angry, with poor Anya not seeming to understand any of it. She doesn’t understand how this can be the absolute end of someone. But the worst comes as Buffy goes to the school to tell Dawn. Buffy pulls her little sister out of art class, the teenager’s friends watching silently through a window as the news is broken, watching as poor Dawn collapses in grief. Later, at the hospital, the doctor confirms to Buffy that Joyce died from an aneurysm – a complication from her surgery. He says it would have been quick and painless. While Buffy and the doctor have been talking, Dawn has snuck off to find her mother’s body. She is confused and curious about death, about what happens next. In the morgue she sees Joyce’s body lying on the table…but another body suddenly gets up from a neighbouring table: a vampire. The newly risen vamp goes to attack Dawn. Luckily Buffy arrives just in time and saves her sister, quickly finishing off the monster. The episode ends with Dawn and Buffy, sat together on the cold mortuary floor, looking at Joyce’s body. Buffy tells her sister that their mom is not there, that she has gone. But Dawn wants to know where Joyce has gone, her hand slowly moving forward, looking to touch her mother one last time.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

For once there isn’t one. It is all up there on the screen. It’s about how we deal when death comes a calling. It’s about the banality, the weirdness of those first few minutes and hours, about how shock and disbelief plays with our minds, with our perceptions of place and time. There are no life lessons learned in The Body, no big truths uncovered. Simply, it is all about "the black ashes in your mouth numbness of death" as Joss described it.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Real life. Real death.

WHY IT ROCKS

If you’ve seen it then you will know why.

Quite simply The Body is one of the greatest pieces of television ever produced. It is a stripped down and painfully honest piece of drama that shows us the reality (or un-reality) of a traumatic and terrible event the likes of which we will all unfortunately experience at some point or another. I have experienced it in a very similar circumstance to Buffy.

The power of Joss’s episode is that it is absolutely accurate, devastatingly so, drawing on his own personal experience. That is why it resonates, why it works, why it hurts. Everything shown is honest and true in the worst of ways such as how in the immediate aftermath the world becomes a strange otherworldly place where flashes of wish fulfilment fantasy try to push back the tide of awful reality. How the tiniest details suddenly become huge. How we question, how we struggle to understand, to comprehend, to make sense of things.

There is no music in The Body. No score. There is only dialogue and ambient sounds often cranked up in places – wind chimmes, children playing, birdsong, traffic etc. The worst being the loud snap when Buffy accidentally breaks her mother’s rib while doing CPR. But most of all there is silence. Long stretches of deafening silence. People standing or sitting around, not knowing what to say or do, struggling for words, to know what to say, how to behave. An odd situation for a show famed for its continual witty wordsmithery.

And then there are the performances.

Well, you all know by now that I think highly of SMG. She is the powerful centre of the show. And in this episode, she is quite brilliant. She has to display such deep and believable levels of shock, grief, anger, comfort. And she does it achingly well. This is the most stripped down, vulnerable, and utterly human the character of Buffy Summers has ever been, or will ever be. Seeing her paled face and big haunted eyes in extreme close up as she stands on the doorstep, in the sun, listening to passing sounds of life, is deeply unsettling. Following behind her small, fragile looking figure as she staggers through the silent house then collapses and vomits on the floor is distressing. I mean, she’s the hero. Strong, Clever. Witty. Ready to handle anything… except this. All of the performances are great but deserving of extra praise is Emma Caulfield. Anya’s genuinely confused and upset reaction to realising Joyce will never again get to enjoy all the simple little things in life that people enjoy is heartbreaking. In that one short monologue she captures the episode perfectly. If you aren’t fighting to hold back tears by that point then you have a heart of stone.

If there were any justice in the world The Body would have won a whole heap of Emmy awards, including for writing, direction and performance by SMG. As it turned out it wasn’t nominated for a single one, much to the amazement of television critics right across the US who’d been openly calling for awards recognition for the episode. But Joss always said he never made this show to get awards. He made it so that he could play around with genre conventions and explore themes and ideas that interested him as well as to create characters that people could identify with and possibly gain something from. And he certainly succeeded.

The Body is my personal favourite episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is possibly my favourite piece of television ever, possibly even my favourite piece of drama from any medium. But I find it hard to watch. The first time I saw it I’d already had a similar experience to Buffy. Now I’ve had two. The second one being almost identical to what happens in the episode. Now it is very hard to watch. Almost too hard. But I continue to watch it from time to time because it is a great piece of drama that transcends its medium, its genre. It deserves to be watched. The Body was made by someone working from their own personal experience, someone showing us that the weird reactions, the strange things that we think and do in those first few hours are perfectly normal. And that despite how isolated we feel in that darkest time, we are not alone.

Thank you Joss.

WHY IT SUCKS

It doesn’t

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Anya’s monologue

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Buffy: Mom? Whadya doin'? Mom? ... Mom? ... Mommy?

Buffy (shouts to Giles): We're not supposed to move the body! (She puts her hand over her mouth, in shock.)

Tara: We can be strong.
Willow: Strong like an Amazon?

Anya: But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore! It's stupid! It's mortal and stupid! And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well Joyce will never have any more fruit punch, ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why. (She puts her hand over her face, crying.)

Xander: We'll go, we'll deal, we'll help. That's what we do. We help Buffy.

Anya (loudly): I wish that Joyce didn't die...
Everyone looks at her.
Anya (more softly):...because she was nice. And now we all hurt.
Xander: Anya, ever the wordsmith.
Buffy (to Anya, meaning it): Thank you.

Buffy: Everybody wants to help. I don't even know if I'm... here. I don't know what's going on. Never done this. (pauses) That's just an amazingly dumb thing to say. Obviously I've never done this before.
Tara (softly): I have. My mother died when I was seventeen.

Dawn (looking at Joyce's body): Is she cold?
Buffy: It's not her... it's not her... she's gone.
Dawn (softly): Where'd she go?

AND ANOTHER THING

There is no "Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" at the beginning of this episode. And there is no music of any kind.

The episode starts with a flashback scene feat. Joyce, Buffy and the gang having Christmas dinner as Joss didn’t want the credits playing over the story proper.

This episode features Willow and Tara’s first on-screen kiss. It is a throwaway moment of quick comfort and not played as a big deal. Originally the WB balked at having them kiss but Joss insisted, saying it was the natural thing for them to do in the scene. It was the one and only time he threatened the network that he’d leave the show if he didn’t get his way. Thankfully they quickly relented.

Joss lost his own mother in a similar way to Buffy. The episode stems primarily from his personal experience.

Some have criticised the inclusion of the vampire in the final sequence at the morgue. I also always felt it was kind of an odd and jarring inclusion. But Joss has explained that it is there to signify that despite this awful tragedy, life goes on. And for Buffy, life in Sunnydale means vampires and demons. There is no escape from it. I also think that the vampire is another expression of death, of a dead body. And that when Buffy slays it she is slaying death itself in a way she couldn’t for her mom.

HOW MANY STAKES?

5+ (out of 5)

BUFFY 5.6: FAMILY

The final confrontation with Tara’s family


WRITER: Joss Whedon

DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Tara is preparing to celebrate her 20th birthday when out of the blue her family turns up – Dad, Brother Donny and Cousin Beth. It seems Tara may have been harbouring a dark secret for her family has come to take her home before some great evil inside of her emerges and wreaks havoc. At the same time, Glory discovers that in the previous episode she was fighting a Vampire Slayer. And so she recruits a bunch of nasty demons to go find Buffy and kill her as Glory considers fighting a Vampire Slayer herself to be beneath her. Meanwhile, Buffy has told Giles the truth about Dawn and that she is going to protect her ‘sister’ no matter what. They agree to keep the truth to themselves for the time being. Back to Tara, and afraid that Willow and the gang will see her for what she truly is she casts a spell to hide her inner evil from them. But when Glory’s demons attack the Magic Box the spell backfires with potentially lethal consequences.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

What is family? What is it that makes a family? That’s the main theme here. Is it just blood or is it something more? Joss definitely comes down on the latter. Family is more than just blood. And sometimes blood family can be no family at all, as is shown with Tara’s odious kin. Other themes are the subjugation of women through the excuse of tradition and the use of fear and the suppression of homosexuality as something wrong and evil.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Glory, a bunch of pasty faced demons and the Maclay family.

WHY IT ROCKS

It’s a Joss ‘Written and Directed by…’ episode, so of course it rocks.

Tara. We finally get to know a bit more about Tara who’s been with the show for an entire season but has remained mostly a kinda vague character, as both Buffy and Xander admit to each other here. They like her. They know she’s a witch and that she and Willow are in love…but that’s it.

Amber Benson. As Tara, Amber is sweetness personified. She plays Tara as a quiet, insecure, loving girl who wouldn’t (knowingly) harm a fly…which makes what happens in this episode all the more hard to take. Her mousy demeanour and cute nervous stutter just wanna make you give her a hug. The Willow/Tara love story is arguably the best, sweetest and most meaningful love story the show ever did. And a big part of that is down to Amber.

Buffy and the gang closing ranks around Tara and facing down Tara’s dad. A great moment that gets to the heart of what this show is about and what Joss does best – writing about flawed but good hearted people coming together to create their own close knit family unit.

Willow and Tara’s cute floaty dance at the end.

WHY IT SUCKS

Not so much with the funny. For a Joss episode Family is pretty low on the laughs. And that’s ok because of what it is looking to do. But we do miss quality Joss-isms.

It’s a good, solid episode with a nice strong theme and nice performances. But that’s all it is, which is kinda shocking for a Joss two hander.

Riley continues his self indulgent feeling sorry for himself decline. C’mon, dude, get a grip.

ITS BUFFTASTIC

The Scoobies closing ranks around Tara (see clip at top) and the look on Tara's face as she realises. A truly heart warming moment.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Buffy: Nothing like getting your ass kicked to make your ass hurt.

Buffy: So any breakthrough on the identity of Miss Congeniality?
Giles: Well, I've narrowed it down some.
Buffy (seeing the stacks of books on the table): Your definition of narrow is impressively wide.

Giles (to Buffy and Xander): You're in a magic shop, and you can't think what Tara would like. I think you're both profoundly stupid.
Xander: Well we don't really know what kinds of things witches like. I mean, what are we going to get her, some cheesy crystal ball?
Giles: You bloody well better not; I've got mine already wrapped.

Glory: A Slayer? Oh God, please don't tell me I was fighting a Vampire Slayer! How unbelievably common. If I had friends, and they heard about this...

Mr. Maclay: You are going to do what's right, Tara. Now I am taking you out of here before somebody DOES get killed. The girl belongs with her family; I hope that's clear to the rest of you.
Buffy: It is. You want her, Mr. Maclay, you can go ahead and take her. You just gotta go through me.

Mr. Maclay: This is insane! You people have no right to interfere in Tara's affairs. We are her blood kin. Who the hell are you?
Buffy: We're family

AND ANOTHER THING

In this episode we discover that Tara's last name is Maclay.

By the time of this episode Buffy’s dad has descended in to a true scummy father who’s run off with his secretary to Spain and doesn’t even bother to speak to his children when their mother gets sick. Biological fathers in the Buffyverse do get a raw deal.

Amy Adams. Yep, bitchy Cousin Beth is played by none other than the lovely and talented multiple Oscar nominee Amy Adams.

HOW MANY STAKES?

Family Ties aren’t binding. 3 (out of 5)

Awesomeness Assembled

I f*****g LOVED Marvel’s The Avengers!

Any worries that this might have ended up an epic and misjudged disaster or simply Iron Man and his Amazing Friends were pretty quickly dispelled. The Avengers is basically a SHEILD movie that features Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk in equal measure. They all get equal screen time and are served with full character arcs. If anything it can be argued that Avengers ends up more as Hulk’s movie as his is the character that pretty much destroys every scene he is in…in fabulous ways. Hulk is the one audiences will lose their shit for. He owns.

To be honest, I wasn’t overly worried about The Avengers not being great, at least not once I knew Marvel had hired my own personal god Joss Whedon to write/direct. I had faith. I just wondered what degree of great it would be? Because when allowed to pursue his own vision Joss has never let me down. Plus he’s a huge comic book geek having written comics for Marvel (as well as his own Buffyverse ones for Dark Horse) meaning that with The Avengers the guy was on home turf.

And Joss didn’t let me down.

I've been a Marvel fan (solid fan, not rabid) since I was a lil' kid and a massive (semi-rabid) Whedon fan since I saw the very first episode of Buffy waaay back in 1997. So, match made in heaven much?

Hell yeah!

What Joss has done is to make The Avengers a joyful, colourful, exciting, old fashioned, non-cynical, non-revisionist superhero adventure ripped right out of the pages of classic era Marvel. It is Fun with a capital F. But he’s also gone and added his own tropes making it smart, witty, laugh out loud funny and adding familiar Whedon themes of thrown together ‘families’, of troubled, flawed outsiders finding strength in each other and in a common purpose. Oh yeah, and kick ass women who struggle with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Yes, the action is spectacular and a whole load of awesome but as always with Joss it is the dialogue, humour and wonderful character arcs/beats that you really take away with you. If nothing else, what he manages to do with Hulk makes this one damn great movie. And then when you add in Downey Jr, Evans et al then my tiny little geek brain goes and explodes all over the shop. But going back to the action, we of course get the promised hero on hero fights – all of which are great (love the early Thor/Iron Man tussle). But Joss being Joss all the fights and the action have emotional weight. The characters aren’t just fighting each other; they are fighting themselves and their own issues/demons. Also, I love how the end battle is huge yet expertly staged, easy to follow and strategically contained to a relatively small area – done so deliberately by Cap who steps up to be the team’s battle commander and does an awesome job of it. The scene where he barks out orders to a bunch of bemused NYC cops and convinces them pretty darn quick not to question their new Captain is fab. He then does the same to the rest of the Avengers. And they listen and obey. And why not? The man knows his shit. Captain America, f**k yeah!

The entire Avengers cast is fantastic. Downey Jr is full on egotistical but charmingly playful and razor sharp as Stark. Evans is nobly stoic and effortlessly commanding as Cap. Hemsworth is wonderfully sensitive yet also hugely powerful and charismatic as Thor. Sam Jackson is, well, Sam Jackson as Nick Fury. And Jeremy Renner is cool and nicely low key as Hawkeye. However the three standouts are Scarlett Johansson as a deeply troubled, guilt ridden Black Widow, Tom Hiddleston as a venomous and barkingly mad Loki, and the best of the bunch, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk. Ruffalo as Banner/Hulk pretty much steals the show. He gets the movie’s biggest cheer moments with ‘Thor Puncher’ and "Puny God" turning me in to a giggling idiot. What Joss has done here is to allow Hulk to be a fully formed character and to make Banner someone who is more or less at peace with who and what he is. Basically Joss has allowed Banner and Hulk to be heroes, and to have fun. And Ruffalo does great, great work in both human and big green form (he acted Hulk via mocap unlike what was done in the previous Hulks). This is by far the best treatment of the character yet seen on screen.

But what about the actual story?

Okay, so the basic story of The Avengers is nothing original or particularly special. It’s a pretty standard alien invasion job played out like a superhero Dirty Dozen. Dastardly Loki hooks up with an alien army to invade Earth, which he wants to have for himself. In exchange he’ll get the aliens the cosmic crystal which is currently in the hands of SHIELD. That’s your prologue. The rest of the film is then your classic three-act structure. Act one is introducing the threat of Loki to Earth and then SHIELD rounding up The Avengers with those super egos quickly butting heads…and everything else. Act 2 is the guys coming together, working out their differences and what to do about stopping Loki (mostly on the SHEILD helicarrier) before being beaten down by events and dividing. Act 3 is the heroes finding their inner resolve, coming back together and setting out to stop Loki’s army invading Earth is what turns out to be a huge battle on the streets and in the skies of New York. It’s pretty functional stuff. But what elevates it are its many constituent parts and how Joss fits them all together concentrating on set-ups and payoffs and keeping strong character arcs front and centre. He even gets to play with a regular Whedon theme – mistrust of authority/governments. SHIELD are the good guys…or are they? But above all, what Joss does with his movie is to always keep the tone fun. Even when things get heavy and bleak there’s always a witty line or a perfectly timed sight gag just around the corner. And Joss being Joss he loves to undercut things and/or subvert expectations. Loki’s final beating by a certain angry green dude being a prime and hilarious example of both.

In the end, The Avengers is quite the achievement. It’s not a perfect film. Not many films are. But considering the many genre and story/character constraints Whedon inherited and had to stick to, he’s done one helluva job. In anyone else’s hands this could easily have ended up a shallow, lopsided, godawful mess. But in Joss’s hands it’s a smartly written, well-paced, well-balanced and massively entertaining piece of pop culture blockbuster entertainment. The Dark Knight Rises will most likely end up as the year’s best superhero film and possibly its best film, period. But The Avengers will likely end up as the most out and out fun.

What with this and The Cabin in the Woods, 2012 is the year Joss Whedon let the rest of the world know what we, his long time loyal fans, have known for a long time: Joss is Boss.