From: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org (stillpt-digest) To: stillpt-digest@smoe.org Subject: stillpt-digest V2 #78 Reply-To: stillpt@smoe.org Sender: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk stillpt-digest Tuesday, April 11 2000 Volume 02 : Number 078 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: b/superstar2 ["David S. Bratman" ] Re: b/superstar2 [GHighPine@aol.com] Re: b/superstar2 [allenw ] b/Cinescape interview with Brendon [Todd Huff ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 07:39:49 -0400 (EDT) From: "David S. Bratman" Subject: Re: b/superstar2 On Sun, 9 Apr 2000, Donald G. Keller wrote: > A couple times through "Superstar" again, taking some notes: > > One more bit about the credits: the very end, with Jonathan in his > long coat walking =towards= the camera, is an amusing parody of the > end of the =Angel= credits, where he walks =away= from the camera. It's also a parody of the shot that has appeared at various times on both shows of the whole gang walking towards, or walking towards-and-past, or just standing and looking at, the camera: always at or near the end of the opening credits. > David: Briefly re =Angel=, I believe that was =A Doll's House= > Cordelia was acting in. (I get it a bit confused with =Hedda > Gabler=.) And the reason that Evil Angel talked so much about what > he was going to do is that, remember, he likes to torture and toy > with his victims before he kills them. Annoying Villain Trait, true, > but in character. Well, he does rough up Rebecca more than he did Buffy in the "Mr. Lightshow" episode. But not only does he talk about how he's going to kill her, he talks about how he's going to torture her! Enough. Next time (and there'll be a next time: this is the sort of character flaw writers eat up) he'll probably talk about how he's going to talk at her. > Gayle: "Superstar" was Episode 17. The corresponding episode of the > 3rd season was "Enemies." At that point we still had =no= clear idea > of what was up with the Mayor (just hints about the Ascension). In > the 2nd season, the 17th episode was "Passion." At that point we > knew Angel was the main problem, and the disc with the curse had > been set up, but the final threat of Acathla was unguessable. > > So in both seasons, much of what we remember as the important events > happened in the last four or five episodes; in fact a great deal > happened just in the final two-parters. So though I'm as prepared as > you are to be disappointed (if Adam is the main course), I'm not > quite as pessimistic. I'm not so sure, and my tendency is to agree with Gayle. At what point was the episode in which the Mayor checks off "become invulnerable" from his to-do list? Already by that time we'd had lots of stuff with Mr. Trick (whom I recall was still around at that point), and the Mayor's villainy was well-established, even though we didn't know what he was up to. It was only the demonizing aspect of the Ascension that was really restricted to the end. When Faith shows up at the Mayor's doorstep (and when was _that_? and hadn't Faith already been a serious problem for at least two episodes at that point), the feeling I got was of an already crisis situation beginning at last to come to a head. And since it still took some time to resolve, the tension was tremendous. The Initiative has been around since an early point in this season, and its initial revelation was very well done. But much of the time since then it's been hanging fire. Same with Adam: although he's done his share of rampaging, especially when he first got out, for somebody who talks as he does he sure just sits around a lot. And so pompous, and so unimaginatively acted! Whereas the Mayor's weirdness was a large part of his appeal as a villain. My only complaint at the time was the Library scene where he tips his hand too soon and too baldly, and even that was fairly near the end. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 12:26:57 EDT From: GHighPine@aol.com Subject: Re: b/superstar2 > Gayle: "Superstar" was Episode 17. The corresponding episode of the > 3rd season was "Enemies." At that point we still had =no= clear idea > of what was up with the Mayor (just hints about the Ascension). In > the 2nd season, the 17th episode was "Passion." At that point we > knew Angel was the main problem, and the disc with the curse had > been set up, but the final threat of Acathla was unguessable. I'm not talking about what information we have. The Mayor-Snake and Acathla weren't the main point of the respective arcs anyway. Acathla was only a prop character. I'm talking about -- after "Passion," weren't you passionately interested in what was going to happen next? After Faith turned, weren't you in suspense about what was going to happen? Withholding vital information is a tool for creating suspense. We =knew= that there was vital information about the Mayor being withheld from us. We were crucially interested in what that withheld information would be. But as for this storyline -- sure, there are probably things we don't know, but nothing in particular that I care about knowing, beyond just a general interest in how things will turn out. As a villain, does Adam merit inclusion with Angelus and Faith, or with prop-characters like The Judge and Acathla? (Speaking of whom, his line about "exterminating life" was recapped -- he "was created to exterminate all life wherever [he] finds it." Great military planning.) Can you honestly say that, at this point, you are in as much suspense about, or care as much about, what will happen with Adam and the Initiative as you were interested in what would happen with Angel after "Passion," or Faith after "Enemies"? Can you honestly say that this arc is as =compelling= at this point as the Season 2 and Season 3 arcs were at this point? Do you have the sense of CRISIS at this point that you did after "Passion" and "Enemies"? Plus I am having a sinking feeling that things that =seem= like stupidity and bad planning are exactly what they appear. As just one example, the rumor in the demon world about 314. I now believe that we will never be given an explanation that makes sense as to how the demons even knew anything at all about 314. Given that with what little Spike knew about the Initiative they thought he could destroy them (how???), they weren't just letting demons out to spread rumors. There are, unfortunately, way too many details like that that seem thrown in with little thought. The careful thought that went into BUFFY was a big part of its appeal to me. That said, I'm going to speculate that the US military + Adam's nuclear power source and indestructibility may foreshadow an even bigger bang in this season climactic battle than last. (A literal bang, not a plot bang.) Gayle ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 13:31:57 -0500 (CDT) From: allenw Subject: Re: b/superstar2 On Sun, 9 Apr 2000, Donald G. Keller wrote: > Allen: I have to say it's a clever conceit to conflate "Little Miss > Muffett"/"Little Sister"/"Karen-with-a-K" and decide since she (that > singular person) was also attacked by the monster that she's > Important. But in the end it seems too outlandish to me. (I still > think "Little Sister" was Faith.) I remain open to being proved > wrong. Donald, I actually doubt we'll see "K"aren again, and I really doubt she's supernaturally significant. But she *might* be... "Little Sister" being Faith makes sense; however, David Fury has posted that: MILD SPOILERS = = = = = = = = = = = = = A: Little Miss Muffet = Little Sister B: It all has to do with something in Season 5 (hence the countdown) C: "Little sister is not Faith or Buffy". ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 18:02:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Todd Huff Subject: b/Cinescape interview with Brendon The following appeared on Cinescape Online today: Nicholas Brendon. a.k.a. Xander of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, took some time to talk to Cinescape magazine contributor Melissa J. Perenson about rumors floating around regarding Buffy and his potential involvement in Star Wars: Episode Two. Regarding Buffy, there have been a number of rumors floating around that suggest a major member of the regular cast was heading six feet under. When asked if there was any truth to the rumors, Brendon reveals, "Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Xander are the four people that will never die. Unless, of course, there's a bitter contract dispute with Fox. Anyone above and beyond that is expendable in Joss' eyes. This year, there's no truth to those rumors, from the people that you see on the titles." In general, Brendon also seemed to be pretty happy with how the current season with its changes has gone, saying, "It was cool because it was a growing year for everybody. And very realistic, which is what I think Joss does an amazing job with on the show." Brendon was also one of many names making the rounds through the rumor mills as a possible candidate for the coveted role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode Two and Three. Any truth to his being under consideration? Yep, sounds like it, as the actor explains, "George Lucas came to our set two months ago. And so I talked to him. But when I realized the little kid in the first episode is Anakin, I [also] realized that this is probably not going to happen." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of stillpt-digest V2 #78 ****************************