Sunday, December 11, 2005

Chosen

So there is no more Buffy, at least for me. I finished the last two episodes yesterday evening, after waiting a couple of days, stringing them out. The seventh season seems somewhat maligned, though I'm not quite sure why. It certainly isn't as focused as, say, seasons five and six, giving off the vibe of a victory lap almost, even while ratcheting up the stakes, at least according to the scripts. And there are some moments of questionable characterization nearing the end, which almost never happened before. But, I found the first half of the season exceedingly tightly plotted, a great little action movie leading up to the defeat of the first ubervamp. Spike's story, to me, was really moving, though some might miss the bad, bad boy he once was. Much fun with Andrew. Just devastated by the death of one particular character and another's reaction to it. Great to see Angel and Faith. And the Mayor! Probably still my favorite villain. It ended right, with the original gang still side by side. I could go on. But I won't. It took me well over a year; it's hard to believe how attached one can become to fictions. Then again, it isn't.

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I need a haircut. I look like one of the Ramones. The non-dead ones, I mean.

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I love Kenneth Koch's poem "Permanently."

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Tell me about your fake memories of me. ;)

16 comments:

Charles said...

I was sick this week and also watched most of season 7 on my sick day(s). I agree with you about the season; it's the most serial-like of all of them--especially the second half of it, in which the episodes seem to occur back-to-back-to-back. Highlights for me are Him, Storyteller, Get It Done, and The Killer In Me.

Paul said...

Those are all great episodes and highlights for me as well, esp. Storyteller and Killer.

Another great moment was the conversation Spike and Andrew had on his motorbike about onion blossoms.

Pamela Johnson Parker said...

"Permanently" is one of my top 100 Billboard-with-a-bullet poems.

I don't have any fake memories of you, but I love your book. I felt guilty about having it a week before everyone else. (It must have been in the front seat).

One of these days, I will have to watch Buffy.

Paul said...

Pamela, your copy was the first one I got ready to mail. Then I ran out of tape, to stick the mailing label on, so I went ahead and mailed yours.

Glad you enjoyed the book.

Anonymous said...

LOL.. I'm sure I have some safari pictures. Then there was the time you were the king of Italy.

Remember? ;)

Paul said...

When I decreed that nougat was the new national currency?

Good times...

Anonymous said...

Season 7 is a paradox.

It is possibly the best season and it is possibly the worst. And even more paradoxically so, possibly both.

It doesn't seem like the different writers and directors spoke to each other. Possibly even the writers and director of the same episode.

When Anya and Giles find out the answer to the "big mystery" from the omniscient transdimensional eyeball, yeah, that never comes up again.

It is ignored so unabashedly, I had to look at the episode again just to be sure that it actually happened.

I could go on. and maybe I will on my livejournal.
Good day to you sir.

Paul said...

Oh yeah, the eyeball. That is curious. I forgot about it. I took it to mean that what it implied, that there was something wrong with Buffy, was the failings in her personal relationships and leadership style.

But that could have been better handled.

I think it's obvious Whedon's attentions were elsewhere. Was this when Firefly was beginning?

One of his particuliar geniuses was in the usually deft construction of each season, down to the fine details. At that level, S7 has some problems. It's still perfectly enjoyable, with a lot that's great.

A couple of other issues: too much time spent on the Potentials; it seemed to undermine the storylines of everyone else. And Tara, aside from the few early episodes, seemed to evaporate from everyone's minds, Willow included. I didn't particularly believe there was really any credible chemistry between her and Kennedy.

Still, I never felt there was a clunker episode, and was with it the whole time.

Anonymous said...

Well, the message of the eyeball thing was that all the unrest with the hellmouth was because Buffy should not be alive. That they had upset the natural order by bringing her back (Season 5).

At this point, I'm thinking, WOW, they're going to have to kill Buffy. But, nothing of the sort happens. Nothing really happens at all in relation to that.

But, yeah, it's still Buffy complete with Giles saying (as reported by Xander) "No more fun and games, Xander"

I e-mailed your UTC account.

Unknown said...

My favorite fake memory is when we shared a bottle of cognac in Istanbul, where you read my poetry and chided me on verb/subject agreement while I made fun of your constant use of the word 'farrago.'

In the meantime, I received your book and am entranced and delighted with it- I also got issues of Rattle and 32 Poems, but you win the 'read-me-first' lottery.

Paul said...

Glad you got the book, Shann!

femme feral said...

I love all things buffy, but Willow's "love interest" (is her name kennedy?) drives me nuts. And Buffy's friends never would have turned on her like that. I blame marti noxon.

Paul said...

Agreed on both points. Of the various flaws in S7, the only one that is almost a deal breaker for me is how Buffy's friends do turn on her, as you say. There's just no way. Never would happen. I was so livid I nearly stopped watching. But I couldn't do that, and things turn out right in the end.

Anonymous said...

My favorite fake memory is when we went to Bora Bora. As I recall, I was a Romanian movie star and you were on the run from an overzealous fan.

Long time, no write. Hope you're well.

Paul said...

Ah, Bora Bora. I was in love then....

Alexis said...

I liked the last episode of Buffy a lot, despite the disappointed hardcore fans. It seems to have more of an impact when you obsessively watch it, the way I did last year, 3-4 episodes in a row. I mean, I spent more time with the Scooby gang than my friends! HA.