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Season 1 Thoughts (and other things from my brain) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-06-12 18:50:57
Edited:
2023-07-01 15:43:43
Imported:
Tags:
S1

Content

OKAY i finally was able to get my thoughts (slightly) in order and make a video on season 1 overall. :)

couple disclaimers: 

1. these are all just my opinions :) i don't claim to know really anything LOL just speaking on my experiences with the episodes.

2. i am LAZY and didn't do my full studio setup so listen, the lighting is a little bad please look passed it.

3. i tried my best to stay on track but my brain has its own agenda sometimes, apologies for that!

ENJOY!! see ya in season 2!! 

Files

Season 1 Thoughts & Things From My Brain

Vidyard video

Comments

charlie ray

willow does love cookies...... ( i dont think thats a spoiler)

charlie ray

i cant wait for season 2!

Jessica Roth

Sorry about the delay. I have a lot of thoughts. I'm so glad you're a strong advocate for Season 1. IMO it gets disrespected because it was a midseason replacement on a fledgling "network" that only aired programming 3 nights a week and wasn't even a presence in many US markets. It literally wasn't as seen as later seasons, and people don't have the attachment they may have going forward. (I didn't see the series until S2, wasn't a regular watcher until S3.) Also (I've decided this does not count as a spoiler), as we move forward, we will get new characters. Some people like these characters. Some of those fans disdain S1 just because the characters are not in it. (I was once a fervent member of a discussion board. One of the other posters I deeply respected, despite our differences. Yet I was disappointed to see she [in a poll we did] ranked the seasons merely by how often a certain character was in them.) What needs to be understood is that S1 *WORKS* to earn our love. When Andrew wrote that he loves every episode in every season, I couldn't help feel that some future episodes are content merely to coast on prior good feelings and get distracted with superficialities like flashy concepts and new toys (I'm being vague deliberately, of course) even to the point of disrespecting/damaging our primary characters and/or the overall morality and theme of the series. I just can't go for that. For example, a lot of people love the "Witch" episode for the plot twist, but I just keep feeling the characters are a bit off. Giles is TOO ghoulish, IMO. Buffy's mom is TOO harsh. And I really can't feel that Willow (chomping on a pen for the only time all season, lol) would try to sabotage Xander's attempt to ask Buffy out as she does there. They may be little things to some, but they're demerits to me. Season 1, IMO, is really tonally strong. Even in an episode that could make you feel bad about characters, they keep them redeemed. For example, the "Marcie" episode makes you feel sympathy for Buffy because Willow and Xander are shown as having a history that excludes Buffy…but W/X aren't denigrated, their bond is shown positively (the dinner invite) and they both show honest guilt over Marcie's social invisibility. And Xander gets character growth with the "Research Boy" bit, as he learns to appreciate "homework", just as Buffy did in "Teachers' Pet". Indeed, one of the great bits about S1 is how the characters grow so quickly. Buffy goes from being "retired" to willingly DYING to save the planet. (Joss took advantage of the fact that all 12 episodes were filmed before any aired to go back and touch up certain things. Sarah felt the "prepare me" scene in the pilot had Buffy being a bit TOO angry, and they went back and redid it, so that Buffy's emotions there were less volatile than in the matching "I quit" scene in the finale, to show the higher stakes.) Xander goes from "I laugh in the face of danger…and then I hide until it goes away" to facing down one of the monsters who killed his best bud and forcing him to lead Xander into Hell itself. And thus Xander saves Buffy…and thus, the entire world. Not bad for a kid who was once afraid of a clown. Giles goes from being utterly befuddled by Buffy to wanting to sacrifice his life in her place. He's "waded about in these old books for so long, [he's] forgotten what the real world is like." Buffy made him change that. Cordelia (the show's secret weapon) goes from being a disposable joke character (some reactors would scream "I hate her!" and openly root for her death; one was known for pausing reactions when she said something bitchy and cut to a close up of the reactor's angry face) to being arguably the biggest hero in the finale after Buffy. (Who "died, and all", and so gets the top spot.) I'd personally put Xander higher, but even so. Angel's only a supporting character, and he already started his "journey" before we meet him. (There have to be other ways to oppose the Master without enlisting a Slayer, who's supposed to be able to sense vampires instinctively and kill them on sight; that's a big decision Angel made before we ever saw him.) And obviously he's a work in progress, since he still needs Xander to force him into action at cross-point. But we get movement there, too. Willow, I agree, shows the least change, because the show has such a strong sense of who she is. Still, she's running off centuries-old Darla barely a day after learning the supernatural exists, and her bond with Xander has never been tested as it was in "The Pack". And while she never quite gets past the "madness and sweaty palms" stage to actually ask Xander out, her refusal to be his backup date to Spring Fling is a big moment. (It took me until last year to realize that her "I'll see you on Monday" at the end of that scene is actually Willow putting Xander in a bit of a deep freeze. After all, we know they hang out away from school…Willow went to dinner at his house the previous episode, and we see them at the Bronze together in the finale's teaser. So normally, Xander would not expect a Willow-free weekend. But here's Willow making plans to meet CORDELIA on Saturday, yet pushing Xander off until "Monday". (Of course, she relents and calls Xander on Friday night, but still.) I do disagree on one thing though…I think Willow's secret vice isn't cookies, it's ice cream. Not big gobs and bowls, but she looooves to visit "the ice cream place" (as she suggests to Thomas the vampire in the pilot) and savor the various flavors with the tiny tasting spoons. Now, whether that's more fun than a blood popsicle, I leave for debate. (I won't say if a Willow/Angel romance ever happens, but Alyson and David loved working together and early on they would beg Joss to write more scenes where the two characters interacted.)

Jessica Roth

Of course, this isn't the only casting story. They read a LOT of blonde girls for Buffy, some of whom we've already seen, such as Julie Benz (Darla) and Elizabeth Anne Allen (Amy the Witch). (I won't say if Amy ever comes back, but I will say that Joss tried to bring her back at one point, but the network thought Elizabeth was a poor actress and wasn't terribly interested. So no wonder she didn't get the job as Buffy.) Finally, they found their Buffy…Katie Holmes, later of "Dawson's Creek". (And Tom Cruise's third wife, of course.) Problem: Katie was only 17, there are limits on how many hours an underage actress is legally allowed to work, and Buffy is in a LOT of scenes. They decided to move on, and the next year, when Katie WAS 18, she got the "Dawson's" role instead. So they turned to Sarah, who was 18, and who had already been cast…as Cordelia. After all, she'd won a Daytime Emmy™ award for playing a "bitch" on "All My Children". I like it better with Cordelia being tall, though. And IMO Sarah is a FAR better actress than Katie Holmes, so the show got lucky there. Of course now the show needed a new Cordelia, but we'll get to that story later…

Jessica Roth

And one last casting story: Joss once claimed that David didn't even have to read to get the part of Angel. Allegedly, Marcia Shulman, the original casting supervisor, saw him and was like "there's our Angel". And Joss says, he was all "what? He hasn't even read!". And Marcia pointed out how her female assistants (and who knows, perhaps some of the guys) were pretty much melting at the sight of David, and insisted. And so it went. IMO, this is problematic, since David is obviously not the best actor on the show. I think he improves over the course of the season, but he's still clearly a step below Sarah and Tony Head (Giles) in the "I Quit" scene in the finale. But given that David's had a very nice career going forward, I can't fault Marcia Shulman here.

Jessica Roth

And a few farewells as we round the corner: Farewell to Susanna Puisto, costume designer, who had to make do with teeny-tiny budgets. Some of the clothes I love, and sometimes I agree with the caustic podcaster who said some of the clothes for Episode 5 (notable for its outfits) were found "in the dumpster behind Marshall's; they never even made it to the floor". Successor Cynthia Bergstrom gets a much bigger budget and can even make custom designs. What does this portend? Tune in and see. Farewell to Jeff Smolek, fight coordinator. It's interesting that you liked the fight scenes so much; I find them a bit choppy. Punch, react, kick, react; not enough flow. It seems Joss is with me here, as he went seeking something better. More on this later. And farewell to Walter Murphy, music supervisor. Walter had done a fine job with the "spooky" music, but Joss was concerned because Walter wasn't composing themes or songs for the show, and there's only so much of a "recorded music" budget available. Remember how you were surprised to see the Bronze at the start of episode 12? Well, did you notice that episodes 8-11 had NO songs in them? That's what happens when you run out of music-rights budget. When we see Buffy sadly looking at pictures (to the tune of Jonatha Brooke's "Inconsolable"), that's our first song since Buffy and Angel kissed (to Sophie Zelmani's "I'll Remember") at the end of the Angel episode. That, and the snippet of Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" that we hear Xander listening to, are about all they can manage. The show gets props for how it uses the theme tune in the finale (the guitar version as Buffy and her boys walk back to school; the soft piano as we fade out), but of course they already own THAT one. Necessity is the mother of invention, and such. Now, Walter Murphy had already had a pop hit…but that was "A Fifth of Beethoven", the disco version of the famed symphony. Not really proof of his composing skills. And he eventually prospered with Seth MacFarlane (winning the Emmy™ for "Family Guy" and the Academy Award for "Ted"), but that's in the future; Joss is looking elsewhere for now. More about this later, also.

Jessica Roth

Ack, Criminy! My "How Alyson got cast" post has vanished. (It was up before; I saw it.) Perhaps Patreon got sensitive because I imagined Joss Whedon saying a word that rhymes with "luck", and even with an asterisk for discretion, they opted to censor? Or maybe it's just a glitch? In any event, the post should be in your email notifications, even if it doesn't reappear. So you can check there, if need be.

Ephinyus

I always seem to forgive Xander, mainly cuz he's supposed to be a sophomore boy in high school in the 90's. Kids just weren't as "woke" back then, plus boys at that age, in general, have pretty much one thing on their mind. As a teen in the 90's AND the mother of a son who is now 25 yrs old, I speak from experience. 🤣 I can't wait for season 2! I'm enjoying this SO MUCH! 💜

Quentin

Xanders my favorite character personally, but i agree that s1 xander isnt the best. I think he gets better as time goes on, he definitely continues to do things that annoy the hell out of me but for a character that seemed to come out of just wanting a comic relief kinda character I think hes pretty great

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>61897083

LOL i can definitely see myself coming around on xander and like i mentioned i'm super up and down with him! he's just frustrating especially this season. excited to see how he grows though!!

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>61883604

definitely!! i just wish he had something, some way of fitting in and being consistent like every other character does. excited to see him grow!! glad you're enjoying the ride - I AM TOOOOO!! :D :D

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>61834889

no worries about delays at all! i always appreciate your well thought out comments. :) tough to respond to every point you've laid out but i will respond to as many as i can! i loved season 1 for a lot of reasons, and i don't get the hate it gets! some have pointed out it's just because maybe it's not as good as future seasons, but imo that's fine! have to take things for what they are and when they happened. it had a lot of good things, and a few holes but it's season 1 of something - it would be very rare to get it perfect. no worries about new characters - i don't think that's a spoiler, i really expected it. happens in pretty much every show and i can't wait to meet them! hopefully i like them... or hopefully they have cool sweaters. :) and GOOD POINT on the ice cream! maybe she's an ice cream and cookies gal - definitely has a sweet tooth though! angel does too imo, he just only has one choice for a treat hahaha.

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>61839501

i really love these casting stories! it's interesting to think how different a show could have been if different actors had been cast. i really think they nailed the casting, i mean i know i'm only in season 1 but so far so good!!

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>61840705

it's the jawline. always trust jawlines. hahaha i'm kidding - but yes you could definitely tell he wasn't the strongest actor in this season! his appearances were kinda minimal so it didn't make or break for me. but yes, he has gone on to have some huge roles so worked out for him :)

Anonymous

By the way you can't burn bones. The ashes you get from the crematory are mostly ground up bone. Bones are made of minerals and they don't burn ;)

Anonymous
>>61981006

I'm pretty sure you can dissolve calcium or just grind it up and scatter it, it just won't burn.

Whisper_dvm
>>61981006

Can confirm. Cannot actually cremate bones. The bones get a little fragmented during the process but are put through a grinder to make them look like ashes. I'm pretty sure the ritual requires an intact skeleton but it remains to be seen.

Jamie Morgan

Okay, I have NO idea how I'm so far behind on watching your reactions - I can't even remember where I left off! But I've got the weekend off (well...second half of a root canal, but that's as 'time off' as it gets for me lol) so I will catch up over the next couple of days!

Joey Harkreader

One villain I think you discounted, which was established in every episode and as an even a bigger threat than the Master: The hell mouth. It's explained early on the reason why Sunnydale is so dangerous aka drawing in mystical energies and bad monsters is because of it. We even see a girl who becomes invisible because of its power! And ultimately, the cast has to face it. I think that's why the monster of the week works, aside from giving the fans a taste of something besides vampires every week- it also works to establish the hell mouth as an entity/villain.

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>64984035

ooooh joey i really like this - you're right i had overlooked this and hadn't necessarily thought about the hell mouth itself being a villain. i like it!