Great link*! Watching S6 for the first time since its initial run, I am more inclined to appreciate the fact that Buffy 'earns' her resurrection. The dark, honest drama is well worth the noticeable reduction in levity.

(*) But you need to fix it so that it's a fully qualified URL (you're missing the "http://") so the link points to:

http://www.tvdvdreviews.com/buffy6.html

instead of:

http://whedonesque.com/www.tvdvdreviews.com/buffy6.html

[ edited by Ubqtous on 2004-06-02 07:19 ]

Ubqtous | June 02, 09:10 CET

Ubqtous:
(*) But you need to fix it so that it's a fully qualified URL (you're missing the "http://") so the link points to:"

Got it. Thanks Ubq.

Drifter | June 02, 09:54 CET

Upon re-watching Season Six on DVD (straight through in a weekend that almost induced my own clinical depression)
This is exactly how I saw the bulk of season six, through a massive marathon alone cooped up in my house. At the end? Totally a mess.

Because, for six years, it’s never been about magic or supernatural forces. It’s been about love and hate and fear and lust and joy and sorrow. Of course it’s love that saves the day.
This sums it up well.

Flair | June 02, 14:34 CET

I also did the massive marathon (although hampered somewhat by defective discs - anyone else have this problem??) & now kind of wish I didn't. I also defended season 6 but on rewatching it doesn't hold up as well... I cringed every time the magic as a drug storyline came up. Ugh. What a wasted opportunity. And a little thing... couldn't they have done a more convincing job on Willow's veins? They look like eyepencil. Of course maybe I would have noticed that the first time around if I had cable :-)

gingeriffic | June 02, 17:15 CET

I thought this was a great season! Excellent review and great observations. I just got my set yesterday and usually watch right from the beginning to the end but I couldn't resist checking out the behind the scenes in the musical, which then, of course, led to watching the musical. I almost had a heart attack when I couldn't get the musical to start. I tried several times but nothing would happen. I took it out and had to wipe off the disk to get it to start. There were some marks on the disk that I couldn't get off. This is a first for me with any Whedonverse disk set. So I'm hoping I don't have any more problems.

I loved this season but I also had a bit of a problem with the "magic as an addiction" plot line but other than that totally loved it.

Firefly Flanatic | June 02, 19:40 CET

Season 6 went way to far into Soap Opera land for me, Noxon even called it Party of Five with monsters, and I hated Party of Five, the basic Soap Opera plots like good girl sleeps with bad guy, drugs, way over the top sex, depression and so on and so forth.

I also had a hard time believing that after resurrecting Buffy that her friends would just abandon her, even the most idotic person would have known this person would have some sort of trauma, dug herself out of her grave?? I mean cmon friends for 7 years and "Ok welcome back Buff, we got lives see ya later? Yeah right" the whole set up for depressed Buffy used every cliche in the book, I didn't buy it for a second, again way to Soap Opera in style.

Season 6 dumped the humor and the action and good drama that made Buffy what it was on the WB, this "New Darker Buffy" I think is why season 6 sunk in the ratings and why people left the show, the trio was horrible as villians after all the super strong villians like the Mayor Buffy and Co defeated,I am hard pressed to find the Nerd Legion of Doom that much a threat, and Dark Willow was lifted right off the pages of Xmen, (Dark Phoenix Saga) even the writers knew this when Andrew in one episode near the end mentioned it.

I think they tried to do something different with Buffy, change the formula and it fell flat on it's face, like Coke did with New Coke, there were some that loved New Coke, but the majority didn't, why I think the ratings on UPN were the lowest ever for Buffy after it's season premiere for Season 6.

[ edited by Nuke on 2004-06-02 17:58 ]

Nuke | June 02, 19:57 CET

Wow, finally someone explains why season 6 is my favorite in glorious detail. What an excellent review. I kind of agreed with the comments about Xander -- he is a flawed character, but so is everybody else, which is what makes them all so fascinating. Despite his issues, Xander was always a great guy at heart, which I think is made evident at season's end.

MindPieces | June 02, 20:01 CET

We also have problems with the second disc of S6, gingeriffic, (the one with the musical). The whole disc stalls when loading.

yourlibrarian | June 02, 20:09 CET

I thought S6 was necessary and I think it nailed the whole 'quarterlife' crisis well. I think this review explained all that well, but I do disagree with its analysis of Xander. It was unfair. Yeah, he screwed up big time and he knew it -- but its not like he attempted rape or flayed someone alive or tried to kill his friends. He suffered the most human of failures -- fear -- and let it push away the girl he loved. Xander is the only Scooby that isn't special. He's an absolute average joe like us but he tries anyway.. Thats what makes him just as heroic as Spike. Spike may be crawling his way back to redemption but Xander fights the good fight, even though he always gets put down. Spike fights because he wins; Xander fights despite knowing he will probably lose. Or at least get knocked out.

Thankfully, they touched on these issues in S7 - but not enough.

biki | June 03, 03:34 CET

Oh my god I just read this review and almost cried.

And for those of you who think it’s a little hokey to have Xander save the world with his boring, old love for Willow, I’m here to tell you that you’ve missed the point of the show. Because, for six years, it’s never been about magic or supernatural forces. It’s been about love and hate and fear and lust and joy and sorrow. Of course it’s love that saves the day.

Love saves the day! This is a powerful season. And I relate to it so much. I think once I finish watching it on the DVDs I'll be able to fully grasp the nuance. There was so much about certain episodes I did not fully grasp before. For instance, the sex and death them of Buffy's dream in Dead Things, which might be one of my favorite episodes of the season.

For people who think this was just a soap opera, I would give anything for soap operas to be this well-written and have this much nuance and metaphor. Anyone notice the scene in one of the early episodes (which episode was it, anyway?) where Buffy is walking in the graveyard and happens to grow wings because of the statue behind her? Awesome! There are so many little things like that. James Marsters' acting, especially the close-ups of his angry and tortured expressions. And for Sarah to play a character that depressed, who actually had difficulty with the storyline because Buffy was so depressed, and yet pulled it off with extraordinary aplomb, I say, Bravo! Bravo to the writers, the actors, the DP's, and the entire cast and crew.

Buffy blows me away. Every. Single. Time. WOW.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2004-06-04 06:04 ]

electricspacegirl | June 04, 07:18 CET

Loved this review, it was excellent! But when she mentioned the gag reel, I remembered watching that and thinking that Emma Caulfield was saying "Horror" not "Whore".

irish | June 04, 19:18 CET

electricspacegirl - I so love that shot with Buffy and the wings. Just a few days ago I took a screencap of it, and it is now my desktop wallpaper. I loved how that bit foreshadowed what she tells Spike at the end of the episode. That she was in heaven. Arguably, an angel.

That was the third episode, After Life.

Greyflowers | June 04, 22:30 CET