From: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org (stillpt-digest) To: stillpt-digest@smoe.org Subject: stillpt-digest V3 #17 Reply-To: stillpt@smoe.org Sender: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk stillpt-digest Wednesday, February 7 2001 Volume 03 : Number 017 Today's Subjects: ----------------- help? [Kathleen Woodbury ] b/dawn the key ["Donald G. Keller" ] o/jung codex ["Donald G. Keller" ] b/driving ["Donald G. Keller" ] b/schedule ["Donald G. Keller" ] Re: b/dawn the key [Todd Huff ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2001 22:07:32 -0700 From: Kathleen Woodbury Subject: help? I don't know if it is my VCR or the tape I used or what, but I taped tonight's shows and while I can tell it's BUFFY, there are all these terrible white scratches all over the screen. (It looks like a dirty tape, but I haven't been able to figure out how it got that way.) Anyway, if anyone out there has edmats they would be willing to loan me, I'd really appreciate it. Email me directly, if you do, and I'll email you my snail mail address. Thanks. Phaedre/Kathleen PS--excuse me while I go over in this corner here and scream for a while.... workshop@burgoyne.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 00:12:30 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: b/dawn the key How about some spoiler space? Enough? (Do we know the titles of tonight's episodes, by the way?) Well, I'm a happy boy tonight, and I hope the rest of you are happy too. That was a really fine =Buffy= episode, I thought. (First-time scriptwriter, too.) In particular, my estimation of Michelle Trachtenberg's talent went up another notch tonight: she essentially had to carry the episode, and she did so splendidly. The screaming fit and the temper tantrum, the depression-with-sarcastic-remarks, the way she conveyed the feeling of being lost all of a sudden (not knowing who--or what--she is), and =most= especially the scenes with Spike and with Glory. (Dawn and Spike! Wotta team!) They did a really good job at presenting the process of Dawn gradually realizing that =she= was the Key (they didn't in fact really need the flashbacks; the text and Trachtenberg's expression made her thought process clear); and good for Dawn standing in there despite her fear of Glory and trying to find out more about the Key; Dawn's understanding of the situation as it changed from line to line of dialog was, again, patent on Trachtenberg's face. Ace job. Buffy was absolutely right, when she said to Giles many episodes ago, that all her friends would treat Dawn differently if they knew the truth about her; but dead wrong about that being a good reason to not tell them. They were =not= happy with her. And Spike was absolutely right that she should have told Dawn sooner (as Buffy admitted later), and the several things he said about Dawn being a "hormone bomb" and likely to go off, Key or no Key, were on the money too. (Buffy had no retort, notice.) Interesting that Glory seemed a little weaker; she didn't mop the floor with everybody like before. (What exactly was Spike's line when he had grabbed hold of her? My tape has a glitch.) And also very interesting that Willow and Tara managed a spell to at least remove her from the scene temporarily. (Why was only Willow physically affected by the spell?) I had meant some while ago to comment to Meredith that the idea of Glory as Tiamat seemed plausible. Tiamat, my piles of books tell me, is the Babylonian mother/snake/goddess who was killed by her son and her body divided up to make the world. Her portrayal in myth is reminiscent of Vrtra, the snake-demon Indra kills in Hindu mythology (and thus of the Mayor-Snake, and the Judge). And this seemed to go along with my idea that Ben was her son, and thus he had an important part to play. But now we have this new information: they're brother and sister, at least in one sense; in another sense, maybe they aren't even separate beings. I'm sensing some kind of Divine Twins routine; guess I'll have to go back and have a look at that Donald Ward monograph on the subject... And the Knights of Byzantium continue to hover on the sidelines as a threat or menace... Seems to me things are heating up very nicely. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 00:14:42 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: o/jung codex Even more trivial. There's a Pepsi commercial with a really esoteric reference in it, which flashes by so quickly I haven't been able to figure it out in real time. But they ran it during both =Buffy= and =Angel= tonight, and I was able to freeze-frame it. It's the one where the guy is on the subway and some homeless- looking (or fanatic-looking) guy across from him has a sign. Here's (part of) what's on the sign: Jung Codex 1 of 13?!? Who buried NAG HAMMADI Library? & Why! Too Gnostic for [unreadable] [unreadable line] Sophia of the Epinoia No, I don't know what it means, but now that I've got it written down I can research it! The Jung Codex is a real thing (it's an alchemical manuscript which was presented to him and does in fact bear his name), as is the Nag Hammadi library (a set of Gnostic scriptures); Sophia is an important figure in the Gnostic texts, one of which is called =Pistis Sophia=. Very weird for a Pepsi commercial. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 00:13:35 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: b/driving A trivium. Does Joss Whedon, in fact, present women drivers in a bad light (and men not)? Let's examine how the various characters are portrayed as drivers: Buffy: Really Bad. Frequent joke, even in the midst of the otherwise-serious scene where Buffy-as-Faith is escaping from the Watcher assassins. Giles: Slow and Timid. Also having trouble with his new car, note. Anya/Cordelia/Xander/Spike: Fast and Reckless. (Also Angel on his own show. And note the joke about the Host learning to drive, just tonight.) Joyce/Oz: Good but Neutral. Can't think offhand of any other characters we've observed driving. Verdict: Given that the two multi-character categories cover both genders, I don't think there's a gender split. On the whole it seems to me that Joss Whedon basically thinks driving is funny. Oh, by the way, I caught an inconsistency. We were led to believe that Anya was driving a car for the first time in "Triangle"; but having just recently re-watched "Graduation Day," there's a line where she comes back to the school to try and persuade Xander to go with her, and she says, "I'm packed and the car is outside." Who else could have been driving it? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 00:34:37 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: b/schedule So I went myself and looked on the net. Here are tonight's and upcoming episodes, with scriptwriters for the =Buffy=s. (Info from two different websites.) =Buffy= 2/06 Blood Ties (Steven DeKnight) 2/13 Crush (David Fury) 2/20 I Was Made to Love You (Jane Espenson) TBA The Body =Angel= 2/06 Happy Anniversary 2/13 The Thin Dead Line 2/20 Reprise (Part I) 2/27 Epiphany (Part II) TBA Disharmony Does this mean they're going to stagger new episodes again? I find that an intensely annoying practice. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 22:26:44 -0800 (PST) From: Todd Huff Subject: Re: b/dawn the key - --- "Donald G. Keller" wrote: > How about > > > > some > > > > spoiler > > > > > space? > > > Interesting that Glory seemed a little weaker; she > didn't mop the > floor with everybody like before. (What exactly was > Spike's line > when he had grabbed hold of her? My tape has a > glitch.) And also > very interesting that Willow and Tara managed a > spell to at least > remove her from the scene temporarily. (Why was only > Willow > physically affected by the spell?) Glory had mentioned that she could use a little pick-me-up (or something) just as she was about to drain Dawn. This could explain the relative weakness. Willow was the one who spoke the activating word in the spell, which I guess is why it only affected her. I absolutely loved how Spike was written and played tonight. I'm starting to think that maybe there is a chance for him and Buffy. But not an easy one, and no kissy-face any time soon. The local station had a technical glitch during almost the entire Ben/Dawn scene. Could somebody tell me how they met and what were they talking about? We got the show back just when Ben realized Dawn was the Key. Interesting Angel tonight. Not only do we see the Karaoke demon in action (that shriek was a neat idea), but we get a hint that Wesley will play an important part in something himself. D&D showing up again next time is promising. Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ End of stillpt-digest V3 #17 ****************************