From: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org (stillpt-digest) To: stillpt-digest@smoe.org Subject: stillpt-digest V5 #26 Reply-To: stillpt@smoe.org Sender: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-stillpt-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk stillpt-digest Thursday, February 6 2003 Volume 05 : Number 026 Today's Subjects: ----------------- b/killer in me ["Donald G. Keller" ] Re: a/some pics of a certain character who'll be reappearing soon ["marty] Re: b/killer in me [allenw ] b/animated art [Todd Huff ] Re: b/animated art ["marty" ] Re: b/animated art [meredith ] Re: a/some pics of a certain character who'll be reappearing soon [meredi] Re: a/some pics of a certain character who'll be reappearing soon ["mart] Re: b/animated art ["marty" ] Re: b/killer in me [meredith ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 11:52:36 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: b/killer in me In order to organically generate some spoiler space: Anyone see last week's =Angel=? (New one tonight.) No comments? Because it seemed to be relevant to last week's =Buffy=, I went back and re-watched "Conversations with Dead People" and transcribed what the apparition of Joyce said to Dawn: "Things are coming, Dawn. Listen--things are on their way. I love you and I love Buffy. But she won't be there for you. When it's bad, Buffy won't choose you. She'll be against you." I'm still undecided as to whether the apparition was the First or an actual message from Joyce (though I'm pretty sure Buffy's dreams about Joyce were not the First). On to "The Killer in Me." Begin with a footnote: this =should= have been the Buffy Birthday Episode, but no mention of it. Maybe they decided to skip it this time? So how long did it take =you= to realize that none of the Potentials (except Kennedy, of course) appeared in the episode? (Quite a little while after I watched, myself.) A very successful illusion--they were always =just= offstage. This episode was built very much like "Conversations with Dead People": three A storylines, essentially, so strip down the cast so that each thread can have the maximum screen time. And then, of course, they had the audacity to =leave us hanging= on two of them! I mean, we do know now that Giles is corporeal (so all that stuff was a red herring--very amusing scene of Anya and Dawn and Xander doing what we viewers have been doing for weeks: did Giles touch anything?), but we =still= don't know how he survived the ax attack (And =very= interesting that the other Watcher--Robson?--survived as well.) As for the Buffy/Spike thread: I couldn't believe it when the executive producers screen came up and I realized they hadn't cut back to Buffy and her decision! But, on the other hand...I was surprised Buffy hesitated. Does =anyone= think she's going to decide to have the chip repaired? I mean, if she really believes in Spike like she says, then she has to trust him to behave himself without the chip. Right? But the central thread, I think, was the Willow/Kennedy one. The original meaning of "masterpiece," I believe, was the piece of work a journeyman did as a graduation exam to be raised to the master level. And though "master" and "masterpiece" in current usage is too strong a word for this episode, in that earlier sense I think this episode was just that for Iyari Limon (Kennedy). And in my opinion, she passed. I think we've already suspected that Kennedy is the backup plan: if it should happen that both SMG and ED say no, then they need to have a new face to step in. Interesting how actress and character collapse into a single signifier: both textually and extratextually she's the potential new Slayer. (More to say about this later: I'll label it SPECULATIONS so those who don't want spoilers can avoid it.) And I think Kennedy is developing into a really striking character. She seems more emotionally balanced than any of the main players (save Giles and maybe Xander), with a very interesting mix of aggression to the point of calculation tempered by real compassion and alertness to others (thus she's not as self-centered as Buffy or, in a different way, Faith). And in contrast to Molly's simple hero-worship of Buffy (automatically taking Buffy's side in any dispute), Kennedy's admiration is more earned: though it's clear from many reaction shots that Kennedy basically approves of the way Buffy conducts herself as the Slayer, she's not afraid to argue her opinion on specific points, even with Buffy herself. (Side point: when Buffy is lecturing the Potentials in the basement, she says, "Some of us will die in the fight," and the next shot cuts to Kennedy. Omen? Maybe not: Buffy's next line is "Decide right now it's not going to be you," and you can bet Kennedy took that to heart. Still, I did wonder for a flicker of a second if Willow/Warren was going to shoot her towards the end of this episode.) Anyway...I really liked the way they handled the whole Kennedy/Willow relationship. Kennedy has been pretty brazen about her feelings, and even more so this episode, and has had Willow all in a dither. But Kennedy managed to win her over, and it was fun to watch. And then the whole Willow-turning-into-Warren thing was really pretty horrifying. Well-done reactions by all Willow's friends (especially Buffy socking "him" in the jaw as if by reflex). Nice riff to bring in the campus Wicca group (though I don't think they had =any= of the same actresses from "Hush"), and the double twist of Amy being there and then turning out to be the perpetrator of the spell. (I'm a little hazy about the mechanics of the spell--what? magic be logical? how dare I!--why did Willow and Kennedy kissing trigger it? Something to do with Willow forgetting Tara, as she thought? And even more puzzling, how/why did Kennedy kissing her again defuse it? A little touch of the old Loathly Lady--or Frog Prince--trope, it seems to me. It's fairytale logic, as Kennedy said, but I'm not quite clear on the whole thing. But I've only watched it once, so far.) And I really think Kennedy exhibited proper Slayer behavior and skill: sticking with a friend in supernatural trouble even if she didn't want her there, and then thinking quickly on her feet in the confrontation with Amy--I certainly hadn't twigged to the possibility of Amy having done the spell. (Anybody else find a bit of Faith-like bitterness in Amy's "everbody still loves Willow" plaint?) And Kennedy kept on the case, talking down gun-toting Willow and figuring out a way to solve the problem. Good job. SPECULATIONS: The rumor Todd passes along is terrific news, if true. I was just saying to Meredith the other day that I'm more excited by the idea of a show focusing on Faith than I would be by an 8th season of =Buffy=: much as I'm enjoying this 7th season, I wouldn't argue with the proposition that the show as currently constituted is pretty much played out (or at least could be brought to a satisfying conclusion). Given that the other rumor that SMG is probably not coming back, a Faith show is the ideal next step. I had been thinking the last little while (after we'd heard the earlier rumor that ED was in discussions about signing up to star) that =if= the Faith show happened, and =if= they kept her in Sunnydale (though the rumor kind of scotches that), and =if= that meant (though it still might) that some of the =Buffy= cast might stay on (specifically Willow), and =if= the Willow/Kennedy thing is more than just a fling...they might keep Kennedy on as a continuing character. I mean, within the show, Kennedy isn't going anywhere--why should she? And it seems to me she'd be a useful team member, even though she's not an activated Slayer: some fighting skill, quick thinking, etc. Could be fun. Kennedy's reaction to Faith's arrival is going to be fascinating. Given her not-quite-secret "almost" desire to see Big Bad Willow, how will she feel about used-to-be Big Bad Faith? I suspect =some= admiration, but also considerable resentment--=another= current Slayer to wait out, and she's already feeling too old!--plus she's liable to argue with Faith's ad hoc methods even more than Buffy did, and even a reforming Faith is not likely to suffer that gladly. Something to look forward to, oh, about three months from now, I gather. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 08:58:12 -0800 From: "marty" Subject: Re: a/some pics of a certain character who'll be reappearing soon > www.elemental-boards.com/images/buffy/2.jpg > www.elemental-boards.com/images/buffy/4.jpg > www.elemental-boards.com/images/buffy/5.jpg > I looked at all of the pictures I could, changing the 2.jpg (for instance) to 1, then 2 and so forth. Think there were 20 of them. A new face or two (to me) All interesting. Thanks! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 11:39:19 -0600 (CST) From: allenw Subject: Re: b/killer in me SPOILER SPACE . . . . . . . . . . . On Wed, 5 Feb 2003, Donald G. Keller wrote: > > On to "The Killer in Me." > > > (I'm a little hazy about the mechanics of the spell--what? magic be > logical? how dare I!--why did Willow and Kennedy kissing trigger it? > Something to do with Willow forgetting Tara, as she thought? And even more > puzzling, how/why did Kennedy kissing her again defuse it? A little touch > of the old Loathly Lady--or Frog Prince--trope, it seems to me. It's > fairytale logic, as Kennedy said, but I'm not quite clear on the whole thing. > But I've only watched it once, so far.) > Donald, The spell-as-exposited "punished" the subject based on their own subconscious. By kissing Kennedy, Willow's subconscious felt that she was "killing" Tara's memory, and thus transformed her into Tara's killer, Warren. As for the second kiss breaking the spell, well, it *is* a classic. You could also argue that it worked because Kennedy convinced Willow (and her subconscious) that it *would* work, or that it worked because Kennedy was able to convince Willow that she hadn't done anything worthy of punishment. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 14:00:14 -0800 (PST) From: Todd Huff Subject: b/animated art This page has some of the design concepts for the dropped Buffy animated series. Links are on the left. www.ericwight.com/portfolio.html I quite like the Xander and Angel designs, but find the Giles appalling. Willow isn't much better. . Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 14:30:48 -0800 From: "marty" Subject: Re: b/animated art > This page has some of the design concepts for the > dropped Buffy animated series. Links are on the left. > > www.ericwight.com/portfolio.html > > I quite like the Xander and Angel designs, but find > the Giles appalling. Willow isn't much better. > Somehow the butt crack shot of Buffy didn't do it for me either. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 19:41:24 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: b/animated art Hi, >This page has some of the design concepts for the >dropped Buffy animated series. Links are on the left. > >www.ericwight.com/portfolio.html > >I quite like the Xander and Angel designs, but find >the Giles appalling. Willow isn't much better. Actually, the only appalling one I saw was Buffy. Good god. Now I'm kind of glad the show never went anywhere ... =================================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =================================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org NEXT UP: Cadence Carroll & Kellie Lin Knott, 2/9/03 =================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 19:48:46 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: a/some pics of a certain character who'll be reappearing soon Hi, Marty noted: >I looked at all of the pictures I could, changing the 2.jpg (for instance) >to 1, then 2 and so forth. Think there were 20 of them. A new face or two >(to me) All interesting. Thanks! 13.jpgn (and the others featuring the same woman) is Ashanti, who was in the preview for next week's episode. Apparently she plays a vampire who seduces Xander, or something like that. =================================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =================================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org NEXT UP: Cadence Carroll & Kellie Lin Knott, 2/9/03 =================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 17:00:28 -0800 From: "marty" Subject: Re: a/some pics of a certain character who'll be reappearing soon > 13.jpgn (and the others featuring the same woman) is Ashanti, who was in > the preview for next week's episode. Apparently she plays a vampire who > seduces Xander, or something like that. Watching the episode now. (thank ghods for tape.) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 17:05:08 -0800 From: "marty" Subject: Re: b/animated art Found this elsewhere. Coming this Spring from Oxford University Press: SLAYER SLANG: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon, by Michael Adams. (019-516033-9, $19.95) Using the slang of the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer (a critically acclaimed cult hit noted for its innovative writing, with a large community of articulate fans), Professor Adams shows how slang is formed, transformed, and transmitted. With examples of words not only from the show but also from novelizations, graphic novels, general entertainment media, web pages, and discussion boards, Adams argues for the importance of ephemeral English and the role of popular culture in forming it. bitca n Bitch 1997 Sep 15 Whedon When She Was Bad "[Willow:] 'I mean, why else would she be acting like such a b-i-t-c-h?' [Giles:] 'Willow, I think we're all a little old to be spelling things out.' [Xander:] 'A bitca?'" The main body of the work is a detailed glossary of slayer slang, tracing the development of word and including actual dialogue, in the style of the American Dialect Society. With an introduction by Jane Espenson (Co-Executive Producer of Buffy), this book is a must for the Buffy fan and the language scholar. Galleys will be available in late April. If you know of a media outlet or web site that would like a review copy, please email Erin McKean at mckeane@oup-usa.org. We will also be making excerpts from the extensive glossary available. This message may be forwarded and reposted. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 21:35:47 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: b/killer in me Hi, Don posted: >In order to organically generate some spoiler space: > >Anyone see last week's =Angel=? (New one tonight.) No comments? I just watched it last night before _Buffy_. *Very* interesting episode ... I've been trying to sort out in my head what actually happened and what didn't. I guess the mystic's method of removing Angel's soul involved making him *think* he'd experienced a moment of perfect happiness, which makes sense. I had been thinking that the whole Angel/Cordelia thing was too reminiscent of the Angel/Buffy thing. (I'm actually glad none of that actually happened -- it was way too sappy for me!) >On to "The Killer in Me." > >Begin with a footnote: this =should= have been the Buffy Birthday Episode, >but no mention of it. Maybe they decided to skip it this time? ... or maybe it's next week? Or possibly the timeline has been too compressed this season, and they're not even to her birthday at all. >So how long did it take =you= to realize that none of the Potentials >(except Kennedy, of course) appeared in the episode? (Quite a little while >after I watched, myself.) Actually, I was aware of it from the first scene. > A very successful illusion--they were always >=just= offstage. Indeed -- they weren't there, and yet they were. A nice, cheap use of casting. >I mean, we do know now that Giles is corporeal (so all that stuff was a >red herring--very amusing scene of Anya and Dawn and Xander doing what we >viewers have been doing for weeks: did Giles touch anything?), Yes, that was quite entertaining. I should've known something like that was coming. >As for the Buffy/Spike thread: I couldn't believe it when the executive >producers screen came up and I realized they hadn't cut back to Buffy and >her decision! But, on the other hand...I was surprised Buffy hesitated. >Does =anyone= think she's going to decide to have the chip repaired? I >mean, if she really believes in Spike like she says, then she has to trust >him to behave himself without the chip. Right? Right. But deep down, does she really trust him like she says? When it comes down to it (which it did when she was faced with the question), has she been saying what she really feels? >And I think Kennedy is developing into a really striking character. I've liked Kennedy since she first showed up in Sunnydale. She's an interesting character, and as you said, quite well-played. >(Side point: when Buffy is lecturing the Potentials in the basement, she >says, "Some of us will die in the fight," and the next shot cuts to >Kennedy. Omen? Maybe not: Buffy's next line is "Decide right now it's not >going to be you," and you can bet Kennedy took that to heart. Still, I did >wonder for a flicker of a second if Willow/Warren was going to shoot her >towards the end of this episode.) Initially I thought it might be an omen, but then I remembered a spoiler I'd read about Willow and Kennedy hooking up. In light of the firestorm that erupted when ME killed off Tara, I can't imagine Joss putting Willow through that *again*. >Anyway...I really liked the way they handled the whole Kennedy/Willow >relationship. Kennedy has been pretty brazen about her feelings, and even >more so this episode, and has had Willow all in a dither. But Kennedy >managed to win her over, and it was fun to watch. The scene in the Bronze was so sweet ... and so real. Though I was surprised Kennedy didn't know about Willow's past relationship with Tara -- you'd think it'd have come up around the house at some point. >And then the whole Willow-turning-into-Warren thing was really pretty >horrifying. Not to mention brilliantly edited. >Well-done reactions by all Willow's friends (especially Buffy >socking "him" in the jaw as if by reflex). That was hilarious, in particular how Willow convinced Xander it was really her. Andrew's reaction was pretty good, too. >Nice riff to bring in the >campus Wicca group (though I don't think they had =any= of the same >actresses from "Hush") Would that matter? It's a college campus. Students change, the meeting place and time stays the same. >, and the double twist of Amy being there and then >turning out to be the perpetrator of the spell. That really confused me. When Amy tossed Kennedy to the back of the room with a flick of her hand, I thought she was the First. I actually turned to the friends we watch _Buffy_ with and said "No! They can't kill Amy -- she's been around since the very beginning!" I must've missed something, because I'm still not clear on how Amy knew who Kennedy was. Did a line go by explaining that? >(Anybody else find a bit of Faith-like bitterness in Amy's >"everbody still loves Willow" plaint?) I actually thought it was more Amy-like bitterness, but I guess that's one of Faith's traits too. > And Kennedy kept on the case, >talking down gun-toting Willow and figuring out a way to solve the >problem. Good job. That scene in the backyard was wonderful. I had been thinking that Alyson Hannigan really hasn't had much of a chance to shine this season, but this episode gave her the opportunity and then some. I'm sure the Willow-and-Tara fans are howling, but really -- Willow can't mourn Tara forever. Just because she's moving on with Kennedy doesn't mean Tara's no longer in her heart. (Which of course is the lesson Willow needed to learn.) >SPECULATIONS: > > > > > > > > > > > > >The rumor Todd passes along is terrific news, if true. Hear hear!! I haven't seen this rumor around myself, but I do indeed hope it's true. And I also hope that if it is true, there is a network for Joss to put the show on next season. >Given that the other rumor that >SMG is probably not coming back, a Faith show is the ideal next step. It could be really good -- it wouldn't be Buffy redux, because you'd have the added element of Faith, who is a very Xena-like character. >=if= that meant (though it still might) that >some of the =Buffy= cast might stay on (specifically Willow), and =if= >the Willow/Kennedy thing is more than just a fling...they might keep >Kennedy on as a continuing character. I mean, within the show, Kennedy >isn't going anywhere--why should she? And it seems to me she'd be a useful >team member, even though she's not an activated Slayer: some fighting >skill, quick thinking, etc. Could be fun. Oooh, yes. I'd tune in to watch that. :) >Kennedy's reaction to Faith's arrival is going to be fascinating. Given >her not-quite-secret "almost" desire to see Big Bad Willow, how will she feel >about used-to-be Big Bad Faith? Does she know about Faith? For that matter, do any of the Potentials know about her? There was one passing mention, but I don't recall that Faith's name was ever mentioned. Time for the new _Angel_ ... directed by Samwise Gamgee, no less! =================================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =================================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org NEXT UP: Cadence Carroll & Kellie Lin Knott, 2/9/03 =================================================== ------------------------------ End of stillpt-digest V5 #26 ****************************