Slumbering Fist

Just thought I'd go ahead and start the thread, put it out there to remind everybody. Post your thoughts, cant wait, lets hope they rise above the magic-drug crud they dished out last time we saw a new Buffy.

das Monkey

Unfortunately, I know way more about this episode than I want to (that's not a dig at anyone here, more the media hype that's gone on during the Christmas break and too many people coming up to me at work, "hey did you hear ..."). Oh well ... that's what happens when you're in reruns for this long.

It's been way too long without the Scoobies, and I can finally watch the show on DirecTV instead of some nasty bootleg feed that has ghosting galore. I too hope they can recover from the afterschool special we saw last. We're heading into the second half of the season, and that's definitely where Buffy really shines. I'm sure it will ring true this year as well.

das

Jadzia

Can I complain again that I have to wait until Saturday night to see this?

Pistons game=Buffy pre-empted in Detroit.

das Monkey

Yes, that is definitely compaint worthy, especially when it's the Pistons.

das

Canis Firebrand

Really.. why can't they be on Fox Sports Detroit.

I wanna see Buffy today.. not saturday. stupid Pistons.



</rant>

das Monkey

*** To those who weren't able to see this episode, I guess we're about to go into discussion - so beware of SPOILERS ***




Pretty humorous episode, but mostly a throw-away. I liked Jonathan this week for standing up to Warren. And the scene where she finds out who they are. "Who are you?" The moving eyes were pretty funny too. Oh well. Not bad. Not great. Average I guess.

das

palebluedot

This episode was so so...

It just wasn't the type of comedy that I am used to seeing on this show, Giles is definitely missed, he is a great straight man. The comedy of the first few seasons was much more thought out IMO, and now it just seems to be silly humor.

It's an episode that if I had turned someone on to watching BTVS and they saw this episode they would think I was crazy for liking it.

I guess you take the good with the bad...there just seems to be more bad than good this season but I am hoping the second half picks up.

dolphinboy

A very good show again, I thought.

Boy, you all hold this show to a really high standard. Most of my friends and family that watch it are relatively new to the show and only a few saw all the brilliant reruns on FX. Just my opinion, but I think anyone who picked up on this show now would kick themselves for having waited so long. It's the best show on tv.

So much so that what would be the best episode on another series is kind of a disappointment to Buffy fans here.

I just can't believe I'll be an old man before this season and, especially the uncut musical, are available to me on DVD.

movielib

Lakers 121
Pistons 92

MrN

Whoever it was that predicted Warren's dark side needs to be congragulated.

Anyway, a decent episode. Pretty funny, although I thought for sure after the last one that Buffy was over Spike. Loved the Shining reference. I'm seriously starting to think that 'arch-nemesis' are the 'Big Bad' just because there's no one else left and half the season is over. Maybe Warren will pull some kind of coup and get more powerful. Although it appears the other two have recognized that he doesn't share their agenda.

As usual, there's a lot of loose ends in this one waiting to be picked up - the invisibility gun, the diamond within. The Spike/Buffy thing which is still on and still a secret. Buffy needs to get respect out of Dawn somehow and get her life in order. As the social worker said, how's she going to take care of her sister if she doesn't have a job - maybe she should have the watchers pay her?

Reruns next week again, sigh.

Patman

Yay, got to see Xander get some more screen time. This was a light hearted episode, and the way Buffy didn't freak out while being invisible does have to make you wonder why she didn't freak out (I know I would). It was like just another day in hell on earth for her. She was so "la dee da" about it. She's definitely got some demon in her nowadays (sorry, bad pun).

When Spike said "Hey! That's not fair!" I almost fell off the couch with laughter. The writing played with the invisibility gag like most folks react with regard to sex, and it was deliciously fun to watch. Spike and his "push-ups" in bed was a great sight gag (where else would you get this brand of humor in your favorite TV show? "Buffy" is always pushing the limits, and does it in such a innocuous manner, they make it look so easy).

It was sort of interesting that Buffy decided to rescue Spike's lighter out of the "magic" trash boxes after all.

And yes, the new hairdo gives Buffy that "Ally McSlayer" look, but I find it rather nice on her. I'm ready for Buffy to start looking like a woman in her early 20's, rather than a girl trying to look like her late teens. She's taken that first step into adulthood with the new look. You could tell that she was wearing a wig for the first part of the show before she cut off the hair from the wig.

Also, good to see Susan Ruttan on TV, going crazy with a riff on "The Shining". Sometimes Buffy does have a nasty streak in her sense of humor, which makes her a delight in times of crisis.

The Legion of Doom, Buffy's nemesis, are finally exposed. Wonder how the rest of the season will play out now that they don't have the shroud of secrecy over her, plus Willow has the Invisibility Ray Gun (tm). It was cool to see Willow in CSI-mode, with Xander doing some Scoobie research as well. Anya's blase response to Buffy's condition was played straight considering Anya's demon past. Definitely hope Willow is on the road to recovery.

Anyhow, it was great to see some new Buffy tonight.

BTW, how frikkin' coincidental was it that Buffy is invisible on the UPN Buffy episode, and FX played the "Invisible Girl" episode today as well. Hmmm....

BizRodian

Well, the thing I was most amused about was I have the same lighter as Spike.... a guess that doesn't say much for this episode.

I'm not buying the Willow magic thing. Willow has never had a problem with magic, she's had a problem solving problems that shouldn't be solved with magic. And yet she wont save herself from harm when some guys tie her up?? excuse me? what kind of nonsense is this? They've made up a problem for Willow to have and ignored her real problem of controling people with magic (she has ALWAYS had this problem, they slowly built on it for years and years and now they have just wasted it!)

Nice continuty refs with Buffy's humming, and Xander's uncle.

Finally, Xander actually DID something. Incredible!!!! He's not actually done anything in an episode not focused on him in ages.

Mixed feelings on Buffy and Spike. Spike is a nasty bastard and always will, I don't find it belivable that Buffy is happy to sleep around with him. I can understand some attraction maybe, but this guy has tried to kill her before, he's captured her friends and tortured them. She should not be taking it so easy. At the same time, I can understand where she's coming from, and I appreceate that this was done slowly. Like I said, mixed feelings.

As someone said before, the comedy is mixed bag, it can still be funny at times, but they play it now as stupid humor, instead of the nice clever thought out humor of the first three seasons.

Buffy's hair is nice.

It looks like the three geeks are the big bad. Hard to belive it... yes, Buffy is fighting a bunch of idiots.. remember threatening villians? like you know, The Master, The Mayor, Spike (oh wait, he's sleeping with her now...)

I've never seen such a good show take such a slide.

das Monkey

I could hear Vonda Sheppard singing in my head through all her on camera moments. And I too was surprised how wig-like her hair was at the beginning. I mean ... it REALLY looked like a wig, like a bad wig. Oh well.

das

das Monkey

5 years wasted.

das

dfinney

No way are the village idiots this season's big bad. My current prediction goes something like this:

Willow falls off the magic wagon and turns to the dark side. The legion splits over Warren's interest in actually harming the Slayer, leading him to join Willow. They finally get Spike's chip out (optional since he's already free to kill Buffy when he finally accepts he's just a plaything and not boyfriend material to her) and much mayhem ensues.

But then, my predictions are never right.

As for this episode, not the best but lots of isolated funny bits. IMO, seasons 1-3 had lots of stupid, throw-away humor, too, and much of last night's humor was clever.

renaldow

I thought it was a good episode. Possibly because there was not so much Dawn in this one. I liked seeing Willow go back to her old science ways. I'm predicting this is how she will stay out of magic. Science and magic are very similar, only the results aren't as quick.

I enjoyed the invisible Buffy (not as much as Spike, apparently) and thought it was kind of funny how she gaslighted the social worker. Revenge is good.

Nobody's mentioned my favorite part of the episode yet, so I will. "That? That's not weed, that's um... Magic Weed."

I'm interested to see what becomes of the 3 dorks now that their identities and secret hideout have been revealed. I suppose the invisible ray will go to the basement of the magic shop and collect dust now like everything else they find does.

I thought Xander catching them both times was pretty good. Soemthing's going to come out about them soon, I think. I wonder what Angel will think. It will probably make him moodier than ever.

Wizdar

Spooky!

The Geeks are the Big Bad? I had hopes for something better. Maybe there is no Big Bad this season? Maybe there is no show this season and we’re just too loyal to notice? When is Buffy gonna do some frikkin’ slaying??

Now that the Geek Squad has been discovered, will anything come of it? Warren doesn’t convince me that he’s grown brass ones. If he had, he would have dumped the twins, IMO, and probably this silly obsession with Buffy. I think once the twins loose their virginity… As if.
I don’t see the difference. Many people don’t have a “problem” with alcohol (fer instance), but have a “problem solving problems that shouldn’t be solved” with alcohol. If you’ve never been exposed to this type of issue, it may be hard to get a handle on it.

Given a potentially life-threatening situation, though, the substance addiction analogy falls flat. I mean, can you think of an instance where taking a drink is gonna save your life? So you’re dead on that a “relapse” was definitely called for.

Dark Willow had the potential for something to make this season worth the effort, and, as you say, “they have just wasted it!”

Along similar lines, Buffy Mom is in denial about her role as Head of the Household. Faced with the problem of what others rightfully see as a house in chaos, what does she do? She makes the immediate problem go away, but doesn’t address the issue that she sucks at being a mom.

[shifting gears] Xander is now the Alpha Male. Has anyone noticed that? His confrontation with Willow was well done and showed a lot of heart, considering the conflict with his love for both Willow and Buffy. (I was very underwhelmed by Willow’s reaction, but I digress.) There is a lot of potential here, but I have a total lack of faith they will use it. Xander has always been Mr. Average throughout, but has shown the ability to rise to the occasion when needed. Like a puppy dog, he is loyal and supportive.

There has never really been a need for a strong male presence before, but Buffy’s character (and the show in general) is floundering and looking for direction. The strongest character at the moment seems to be Spike, with Warren a close second. Ewwww!

The scene with Xander and Spike bent the needle on my Cute Meter.





A new episode in the midst of reruns? WTF? But that’s a whole nuther thread.

Patman

I think last night's "throwaway" episode is precisely showing how "wrong" Buffy has come back from the other side. Her moral compass is totally out of whack. She's becoming very me-centric, and doesn't really worry about the repercussions of her actions (shown by the scenes with the social worker, stealing the police ticket car, telling some girl her hat was a fashion disaster). Her being invisible displayed her "totally uninhibited" self. Remember how she was tugging on Spike's ear while he was trying to get rid of Xander? Buffy has come back with her inhibitions lowered quite a bit. Her new sexual relationship with Spike is an ample example of this change in her character.

Even though the episode ended with Buffy wanting to live now (rather than feeling horrible about being ripped out of her sense of heaven), it's misplaced attachment for "living".

das Monkey

Sorry ... that made me laugh.

das

kaisha no saru

I thought it was great...but then any time James Marsters is naked-ish on screen constitutes a great episode

I think my belief that the Troika are the big bad was supported by last night's show - I mean there's no doubting that Warren was going to off Buffy, without thinking twice about it. I do think the Troika is going to go thru some internal problems first before Warren goes totally bad. Also **spoiler** I think it was either Wanda at E or AICN that confirmed the Troika are gone after this year.

The one thing that got to me was the scene in the alley with Willow and Xander. I'm not a huge Xander fan (it seems the rest of the gang grew up and he's still a little behind, imo) but the interaction between him and Willow in that scene (I thought) kind of showed how far apart they've become over the past year. They were best friends for so long and I just didn't get that vibe from them last night. I was wondering "is this the same Willow and Xander from season 2?".

I liked Buffy's hair and loved the social worker revenge..I think I would have been more poltergeist-y evil if I could be invisible for a couple of hours but she got the mission accomplished with social services.

Just my $0.02.

Tscott

I don't think this is what the episode was about at all. I think she just acted like a lot of people would if they ever found themselves invisible. I mean, think what you would do... go to the girls locker room? hide in a store afterhours so you could have the run of the place? listen in on other people's coversations? maybe find someone you don't like and drive them crazy? If you can't get caught your base desires will take over. Also, you might be able to talk yourself into believing that you're not really doing these things, since in a way, you're not really there. This, I believe, is what allows Buffy to rationalize her return to Spike.

Patman

I think you're missing the metaphor that the writers are drawing with invisibility and inhibitions.

I could not believe how blase Buffy was about her invisible predicament. She seem to welcome the transition. I wonder why...hmm...

Re: Xander and Willow - re-watching season 1 on FX, those two were buddies in the best sense fo the word, and sure, Xander was all goo-goo eyed over Buffy, to Willow's consternation, but at least she was smart enough to have her self-respect when she knew she was Xander's second/backup choice for the Spring Fling. Xander and Willow have drifted apart, even through they went around in the same circles. Going to college was a big transition for their relationship, the dynamics changed, but the fundamental bond is still there. They are able to be perfectly frank with each other, as shown in last night's episode, and still not cut loose from each other their relationship as friend.

IMHO, Xander is the one that has made the transition to adulthood. He's the one with the job, the nice apartment, comtemplating marriage.

das Monkey

Yeah, I've been saying this a lot. He's really the only one who grew up and figured out who he is as a person. Everyone else is still lost. It's ironic since he felt like the loser kid while everyone else went off to college, yet he ends up becoming an adult before any of the others.

das

Slumbering Fist

The episode should have begun with a disclaimer reading:

We regret to inform our UPN viewers and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans that Ms. Gellar was unavailable for this episode and susequently the writers just phoned a plot in. We hope our viewers will forgive this and look forward to future, more focused episodes.

I really didnt like it, felt a little too contrived and the humor and explanations fell flat. I am not going to blame Buffy's "coming back wrong" for her strange welcome reaction and juvenile behaviour being invisible. I blame it on bad writing and trying to be funny. The social workers reaction was totally unrealistic and unfunny. The Nerds of Doom have worn out their welcome, for me,... and I hate, hate, hate magic junkie Willow. So, essentailly, if not for some Xander take charge moments and funny Spike bits, I would have dozed off or cursed at the tv.

I really hope they can put some energy back inot the show, suprise me, dazzle me, because so far, I count the last two episodes amoung the very worst Buffy has done, and I'm starting to get really depressed about the rest of the season.

Snake Plissken

Please please please kill Dawn. She is such a lousy actress and a useless character! Those two scene where she blames Buffy for the car accident and her freaking out because Buffy was invisible? Good god! I was ready to take her out.