Now you can understand some of the veiled comments about Marti (“The cop should have pistol-whipped her.”)(If you didn’t read the credits, she was the woman getting the parking ticket.)
I’m quite sure that Whedon had the first verse of Yeats’ “The Second Coming” on his mind when he arced out this season.
Wesley didn’t buy that explanation either, though I don’t know if that makes it better or worse. I personally think they would have been better off if they’d made it clear that Billy infected them with his primordial anger and hate, rather than go with the idea that it was somehow “latent” in all men.
Billy is a very hard episode for me to watch, because I really love Wesley so much, and Alexis Denisof really shows what an amazing actor he is as Wesley becomes increasingly terrifying. And then the crying at the end. 
Oh, the crying. Poor Wesley.
I loved seasons 1,2,3 a tonne, and then with 6 they were ramping up to greatness again for the final season. Season 4 I really couldn’t stand very well (I neither liked the new good guys nor the new bad guys), and Season 5 partly just hit a little to close to home because my mom got cancer when I was slightly younger than B, though fortunately my mother is alive and very well today.
I just finished Season 1. I don’t mind spoilers too much, so I’ll read as deep in this thread as I dare.
I’m number 4 in the queue for Season 2 in the local library lending system, and there were 5 or 6 copies listed, so maybe I won’t have to wait too long.
Yeah, the musical epsiode is head and shoulders above all the other cheap rip-offs done by other shows, and it was first. (Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, etc…) Not only was the music well done, but everything served to move the plot forward. Plus it allowed Buffy’s secret to get out without burning any existing relationships. Well done all around.
Don’t feel too bad about wishing you didn’t know it was a musical. They promoted the shit out of that episode before it aired. Not just on tv, either; you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing the hype. spacemandave and his wife may be the only two people who were ever surprised by it.
Xena had two musical episodes. One in 1998, and another in 1999. *Once More… *aired in 2001.
Darn it!! I was so hoping we could keep you unspoiled on that point.
Well, now you can go look at my spoiler in this post.
You can even catch a glimpse of him in this video
Yup. that and it relies on a lot of backstory too. It’s hard to believe they were able to integrate it so seamlessly. Everything I’ve read says it took them several times as long as a normal episode to put this one together.
Well, you can’t believe everything you read…
drat! spoiled again! I was also spoiled on this point, and it made me sad. I loved the Dark Willow storyline, and wish I hadn’t seen it coming.
ETA: and if you can’t get enough Joss musical-ness from OMWF, be sure to check out “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog”
I stand corrected. Out of curiosity, were they any good?
*Once More… *is the only musical I don’t hate, so I can’t rightfully say.
I thought the 1st one was very very good. The second one not as much, but still enjoyable. If you were a fan of the show.
I’ve actually considered going through Xena before, but I always suspected it was crap. Isn’t it?
I loved Legend of the Seeker, by the way, which I believe came from the samer creators.
It depends on what your definition of “crap” is. It was a made-for-cable syndicated show before they were popular (Monk, Burn Notice, Psych, etc). Was it a bit over the top and campy? You bet, but I’m not so sure after the first season or so it wasn’t done on purpose, and there were certainly episodes that played into it.
I’ve only watched a couple episodes of Legend and from what I’ve seen, I think Xena is a stronger show. It would never win an Emmy, but I thought it was very enjoyable.
I would definitely say give Xena a shot. It’s not on the level of Buffy, but is still very enjoyable.
Xena is also available on Netflix streaming. I’ve been watching it off & on.
Not as good as Buffy–but often very good, indeed. Lots of campy fun, with some serious episodes, too. And interesting co-stars; after seeing Karl Urban play both Julius Caesar and Cupid, I believe he can do anything!
Also interesting to see the beautiful New Zealand landscapes soon reappearing as Middle Earth. Ngila Dickson costumed Xena & Hercules–before LOTR. (Some episodes of Hercules are even good enough to make up for Kevin Sorbo.)
Angel Season 3’s episode Birthday - Epic. Best Angel episode ever!!! Yay, Cordy’s half demon! I love love love love this episode. I loved Skip the spirit guide. I loved crazy alternate universe Angel. So much goodness in such a limited amount of time.
(Also watched Provider. This isn’t an easy plot arc for me at the moment due to personal things going on, but I do like the character development as Angel becomes a father and they try to figure out the pace of life.)
As far as Buffy goes, just finished Doublemeat Palace.
My only real comment there is Ewwwwwwwww.
I’m pleased with Season 6 so far, not as good as Season 5 but really only one or two episodes I haven’t liked (I didn’t care for Wrecked. Parts of it were good but other parts just seemed a little clishéd.) So proud of Willow for getting through this tough time, I really didn’t think she would step up to the plate.
Now you see why Season Six can never get completely rave reviews. 
Doublemeat Palace is the worst episode in the entire Buffyverse.
Indeed. I’m not one to play the “lalalala, that season/episode/movie never happened!” tune, but I’ll make an exception for Doublemeat Palace. Simply gross, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Ah, well. Even God made mosquitoes, so I guess Joss gets one free episode made of suck.
You say that only because you’ve so completely blocked Where the Wild Things Are from memory
See, on second viewing, I kinda liked that one, for its metaphor whack over the head. Who hasn’t been utterly annoyed by their crazed sex poodle friends doin’ it nonstop, ignoring all crises around them because they’re so wrapped up in each other? Conversely, who hasn’t been so utterly wrapped up in someone that they’ve let things slide - school, family, job - nearly or literally into destruction?
It’s not one of the strongest eps, to be sure, and it’s certainly a “this subtext is rapidly becoming text” one, but it’s not *utterly *without redeeming qualities.