August 10 2005
Buffy gets picked for UGO.com's 'Back to School' feature.
Who do they choose for the show's breakthrough character? Why it's Faith. And their choice for most memorable scene isn't the most obvious one but a good call all the same.
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killinj | August 10, 08:46 CET
Simon | August 10, 08:48 CET
Caroline | August 10, 08:49 CET
Emma Frost | August 10, 09:28 CET
Willowy | August 10, 09:34 CET
Is that a reference to "Go Fish?"
Chris inVirginia | August 10, 09:39 CET
Simon | August 10, 09:40 CET
Still, it's always good to see Buffy mentioned, even when the facts aren't straight.
Madhatter | August 10, 09:41 CET
Elo | August 10, 09:49 CET
That was the hit song from Buffy?
Right...
Andrew Tom | August 10, 09:49 CET
MySerenity | August 10, 10:01 CET
"Most memorable scene"
"Phases" is from season two, not season one. It was his cousin who bit him, not his nephew. He was called Jordy, not Jake. And he rang his aunt, not his sister.
"Breakthrough character
Faith was a slayer, not a watcher. And the picture is from season four Angel, but that isn't really a mistake per se.
As previously mentioned, the quote is slightly wrong, and I wouldn't have cited Blink 182's "All the Small Things" as one of the more memorable songs. I know it was in Something Blue, playing in The Bronze as Willow got drunk. More like background music, everyone was talking over it. It certainly wasn't as memorable as Sarah McLachlan's beautiful "Full of Grace" in Becoming or "Prayer of St. Francis" in Grave.
But at least it's positive and enthusiastic, if not completely accurate.
[ edited by Razor on 2005-08-10 18:23 ]
[ edited by Razor on 2005-08-10 18:26 ]
Razor | August 10, 10:17 CET
Emma Frost | August 10, 10:20 CET
Paul_Rocks | August 10, 10:20 CET
Numfar PTB | August 10, 10:24 CET
jaynelovesvera | August 10, 10:52 CET
Has it been that long that Buffy is just a cloud of buh-jumbles in our memories?
TheZeppo | August 10, 10:56 CET
wrong drunk lady....
it played along with a drunk Willow, instead to drunk Buffy.
Remember kiddies, Drinking is bad, ookay?
(that was my bad impression of a South Park Character...)
Numfar PTB | August 10, 11:01 CET
*snoopy dance* joss liked it too, joss liked it too!
WhoIsOmega? | August 10, 11:12 CET
Madhatter | August 10, 11:28 CET
The season two/one thing was a typo. I did forget about Something Blue, though. The beer involved put me off. Of course Oz was still around in Beer Bad, and his leaving was the reason why Willow turned to alcohol.
Guess I'd better watch season four again! :)
Razor | August 10, 11:31 CET
Mort | August 10, 12:25 CET
"Just how gullible do you think I am?"
brownishcoat | August 10, 12:40 CET
TheZeppo | August 10, 12:56 CET
ringworm | August 10, 12:58 CET
two_guns | August 10, 13:34 CET
WhoIsOmega? | August 10, 13:37 CET
Did you know that Joss asked Michelle if she would record another version of it because the commercial one was too "processed" sounding? She brought her band to the Bronze and they just did it!
Willowy | August 10, 13:41 CET
And about the link. God, what an amount of mistakes.
[ edited by Koos on 2005-08-10 20:43 ]
Koos | August 10, 13:42 CET
Willowy | August 10, 13:43 CET
As for the biggest hit song from the series, I'm torn between two. 'Ballad of Dead Friends' by Dashboard Prophets in season one's 'The Harvest' or 'Out of this World' by Bush in season six's 'Dead Things'.
My personal favorite is 'Blue' by Angie Hart and Joss Whedon in 'Conversations with Dead People'.
As for my favorite quote, (mind you this changes day by day) I must go with Buffy at the end of 'Innocence'. "Just let it burn." That scene still breaks my heart.
Madhatter | August 10, 13:45 CET
SoddingNancyTribe | August 10, 13:58 CET
And yes, Madhatter, "Blue" is outstanding as well. My kids wish I didn't like it quite so much, 'cause who can resist the temptation to sing along? Not me, oh no…
brownishcoat | August 10, 13:59 CET
And I liked Bad Eggs. And The Killer in Me. The only episode I'd say I hate is Buffy Vs. Dracula. I mean, geez.
TheZeppo | August 10, 14:03 CET
brownishcoat | August 10, 14:12 CET
Favorites, all.
Willowy | August 10, 14:18 CET
Seriously, one of the side benefits of my Buffy obsession has been an introduction to a number of bands I never would have heard of otherwise.
As for the least favorite episodes, mine are pretty standard: Beer Bad tops the list (bad acting on top of a dumb, obvious plot and metaphor), but Killer in Me and Bad Eggs are up there as well. Though I remember a few bits of dialogue I really liked in Bad Eggs, and I loved the WIllow-Parker interaction in Beer Bad. Every episode has something redeeming...
As for Buffy vs. Dracula - it's definitely not among my favorites, but it has a few highlights, and some classic Xander quotes :-)
acp | August 10, 14:18 CET
Koos | August 10, 14:38 CET
Firefly Flanatic | August 10, 15:07 CET
Wow, there are so many good songs. It's really hard for me to choose THE song in BtVS. There are so many.
If it was Angel, that'd be easy, I can't reemmebr the name of the song right now, but it's last track in the soundtrack, the one that played in the final scenes from "A Hole in the WOrld" if I'm not wrong. I still cry everytime I hear that song. But, hey, I could always go with David Boreanaz' rendition of "Mandy".
Numfar PTB | August 10, 15:18 CET
TheZeppo | August 10, 15:22 CET
I think the ep I might have liked least was 'Bad Eggs', though I did like the opening couple of scenes, like the mall scene with Buffy and her mom. I don't out and out hate it though.
Emma Frost | August 10, 15:24 CET
Madhatter | August 10, 15:42 CET
TheZeppo | August 10, 16:00 CET
Actually, Michelle Branch's scenes weren't filmed on set. She was in Nashville at the time so they made a little mockup of the Bronze stage and got some extras and filmed it there. It's not obvious that that's what they did, but if you pay attention you'll see that they never show the stage in the Buffy/Spike scenes, and you never see anything but the stage and a little bit of audience when Michelle is performing.
I too have to chime in on the "All The Small Things" WTF? Looks like someone sat down with a music guide and went "Hmm, what's the most famous song ever played on Buffy . . . ah, All The Small Things!" "Goodbye to You" and "Full of Grace" are two of the more effective uses of music on a show that, as we have demonstrated, always made good use of music.
I am none too fond of "As You Were" and the less said about that the better.
janeway216 | August 10, 16:46 CET
But, janeway216, yes, that Goodbye to You is simply breathtaking...a heartrending close to an episode that had been so charmingly clever and endearingly cute...and then...wow...pow...wow...
Chris inVirginia | August 10, 16:57 CET
Deep voice: Next week on the last ever episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
"GOODBYE TO YOUUUUUUUUU"
Buffy: Spike I....
"GOODBYE TO EVERYTHING THAT I KNEW"
Spike: Will some one please turn that sodding music off?
Still find it odd that it didn't appear on the Sunnydale soundtracks (UK or USA).
Simon | August 10, 17:07 CET
Chris inVirginia | August 10, 17:20 CET
How so? Just wondering, but I'm interested in hearing your thoughts :)
MySerenity | August 10, 17:26 CET
Can't understand why anybody hates Beer Bad...not a favorite, by any stretch, but a very funny episode...
Chris inVirginia | August 10, 17:34 CET
I find it amazing how well connected the music can be to the narrative. It could be coincidence, but I just think it makes the shows so much more rich. Take Michelle Branch's "Goodbye To You" at the end of Tabula Rasa. One of the lyrics is "Feels like I'm starting all over again, the last three years were just pretend," and that's very relevant because Willow and Tara have been together for roughly three seasons at that point.
I'm sure people have spotted other connections too. It's also great how music can enter in the plot unexpectedly, like "Blue" written by Joss and Angie Hart, which is a really beautiful theme for the entire series, or something like "The Exposition Song" which just pops up unexpectedly, or "Mrs" from Selfless which makes use of flashback to fit in with Once More With Feeling.
As Joss says in the liner notes for the Radio Sunnydale album, he doesn't just throw in music at any opportunity to showcase the hottest band, like The OC might do, but it usually has some significance.
Razor | August 10, 17:44 CET
I actually can't play the favourites game (or the least favourites game in this case). It changes far too readily. Overall though, I'd have to go with "Touched". Actually, yeah, that's my pick for least favourite episode. The Faith & The First/The Mayor scenes not withstanding, I don't think there's a single thing in that ep that didn't make me want to discharge my lunch.
Poorly paced, poorly plotted, poorly scripted (all my opinion of course) and it makes me crazy to think we got 43 minutes there when they could've been given to "Chosen".
Oh, but there was that Heather Nova song though, to tie it back nicely.
Jet Wolf | August 10, 18:03 CET
Firefly Flanatic | August 10, 18:11 CET
"My hat has a cow." TOP 3 BEST BUFFY LINES EVER!
TheZeppo | August 10, 18:18 CET
As to songs, "Good-bye to You" ranks as one of my favourites, also the two Sarah McLaughlin songs mentioned above and "Blue".
samatwitch | August 10, 19:32 CET
I could be wrong, but I'd lay money on it...
Willowy | August 10, 20:23 CET
Gunn 2 N's | August 10, 21:15 CET
It brackets Conversations With Dead People.
SoddingNancyTribe | August 10, 21:37 CET
For more quality music, I highly recommend pretty much every song that played in The Bronze in "Fool For Love" - especially "Heal Yourself" by a band formerly known as Elephant Ride (I think they're called Virgil now, or maybe they just broke up); a snippet of the song plays as Spike circles the pool table, right before the flashback showing him and Angelus arguing and fighting in the mine shaft. Also look out for Star Ghost Dog and "Holiday" in that same episode.
Oh hell, why stop there! How about Sarah McLachlan's "Do What You Have To" during the end of Becoming, Part 2 as Buffy leaves Sunnydale? Nickel and "Stupid Thing" during School Hard as Spike watches Buffy dance in The Bronze? Morcheeba and "Never An Easy Way" during the beginning of "Passion"?
I could go on forever...some of my personal favourites are Tom McRae's "Sao Paulo Rain" playing as Xander drinks alone in his apartment in...I think it's "Seeing Red" and during the Spring Break party in "I Was Made To Love You" a song called "hideeho" from a little-known Canadian band by the name of mellonova (now called Beneath Augusta, btw).
I have found much great music through Buffy and Angel, tops for me being Velvet Chain, VAST, THC and mellonova...oh, was I ever a frequent visitor to various Buffy Music sites when they still existed! I truly love both soundtrack albums, particularly the UK Radio Sunnydale since it includes Aberdeen's "Sink or Float" and Patty Medina's "Still Life - it's a shame that both songs were more or less buried in short scenes in "All The Way" (I think) and "First Date", respectively.
On the subject of least favourite episode(s), I must also weigh in, though much more concisely than my above thoughts regarding the music. Sure, most folks agree that every episode, no matter how little one may enjoy it (or how much one may dislike it, I suppose) has some amusing lines, interesting character moments or some other redeeming qualities and I'm totally on board with that (so please bear this in mind with what I'm about to say):
By virtue of its absence in this thread, I'm surprised to learn that so many Whedonesquers are fans of "Go Fish". Who knew? ;-)
gorramit | August 10, 22:38 CET
NickSeng | August 10, 22:47 CET
Gunn 2 N's | August 10, 23:11 CET
zeitgeist | August 10, 23:14 CET
Miko | August 11, 09:22 CET
Firefly Flanatic | August 11, 09:40 CET
SoddingNancyTribe | August 11, 11:42 CET