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Post by fughawzi on Sept 3, 2009 12:33:04 GMT
I can sum up season seven!
Buffy is a sucky leader. Because she is too damn corny. I am in love with Giles. Kennedy sucks! Mini slayers are aggravating. Captain Malcolm Reynolds makes a scary priest. Funny voiced girl from Freaks & Geeks! Buffy with a rocket launcher! ANYA HAS THE WORST DEATH SCENE EVER AND IT MAKES ASHLEY HATE JOSS WHEDON A LITTLE. Boom goes Sunnydale. The end.
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Post by Gray Lensman on Sept 4, 2009 2:25:40 GMT
Season 6... by and large, it was one of the more painful moments in the series for me, though not nearly as bad as S4. That said, S6 had a few redeeming features to it... OMWF and Dark Willow coming most immediately to mind. Aside from a couple of eps, the rest mostly ranged from forgettable to bad. The reason this season doesn't end up down in the depths of S4 for me is that the good stuff is really, really good. The trio rank among the worst villains I've ever seen on this show. (To be fair, I liked Jonathan as a character, but he had no credibility as a villain.) Andrew always grated on me, but S7, his Angel guest-shots, and the Buffy S8 comics redeem him a little. Yeah, I get that they were meant to set up Dark Willow, but any other characters could have been inserted in their place and it wouldn't have mattered all that much. Bottom line: they weren't a threat, they weren't interesting, they weren't all that funny, they were completely pointless in the overall scheme of things, and they were incredibly annoying to boot. Warren is probably the one character I most hated on the show full stop. He's pretty much an insufferable poser with delusions of villainy and no redeeming features. Even Dr. Horrible is a better mad scientist than this guy. Frankly, I cheered when Willow flayed him alive, but not for the reasons I was supposed to. ;D To be fair, though, S6 is generally a "love it or hate it" kind of season. I respect what they were trying to do (have Buffy grow into adult situations and into her own life and so on), but it didn't work as well as they were maybe hoping for. Oh, and SPS... by all means, cover Angel if you'd like. I'd like to see your thoughts on it.
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Post by SPS on Sept 6, 2009 22:43:21 GMT
Here we go guys. The final season:
Season 7
Episode 1 Lessons One of the main problems I have with season 7 is that it jumps right into the plot with the first, even though we don't know it right away. Anyhow this episode is not the best opening as it makes it seem like it will become Dawn's story, and introduces two "delinquents" who appear in one episode then disappear. Principal Wood makes his first appearance as does insane Spike. Also Buffy gets a job as a counselor, guess how long it lasts? Average episode.
Episode 2 Beneath You More hints with the first, as whats left of the gang meets up with Anya who's gone back to her demon ways, and has turned a guy into a worm. Also Buffy finds out Spike has a soul. It was also good seeing Spike return to his season 2 form, even with the big goofy grin. Though that doesn't make up for the fact that Spike is becoming a pussy, and Anya's bits. An average episode.
Episode 3 Same Time Same Place Willow returns...yay? I personally would have liked to see Willow return to the group much later than she did. I guess it was expensive to film in Britain every week though. I didn't like the Gollum rip off either. Bad episode.
Episode 4 Help Buffy tries to save someone who cannot be saved. She tells truths but nobody listens. Alright episode. Guest stars Zachary Bryan from Home Improvement.
Episode 5 Selfless An episode that focuses on Anya. So Naturally I am a bit biased. Anya goes a bit too far and Buffy has to kill her. We get some Anya flashbacks including another song, that is out of place. Average episode.
Episode 6 Him Mr. Pointy Award I like this episode a lot. Just because of how hilarious it is. I mean it is insanely hilarious. Spike and Xander stealing a poor kid's jacket? Oh and the Rocket launcher scene with Principal Wood quietly working on some paperwork. Completely oblivious to everything else that is going on. I love it.
Episode 7 Conversations with Dead People Now the first storyline kicks into full gear, no more breathers here and things become crap. First off this is probably the most overrated episode of the series, the reason probably being that the rest of the season was so forgettable to average. There are several things wrong with the episode: 1. No Xander 2. No Tara 3. Instead we get Cassie 4. The Dawn scenes have been done before. So yeah. I feel that this episode was rather weak overall but the First storyarc was extremely weak overall. Return of Andrew and Jonathan, which is oddly the best part of the episode IMO.
Episode 8 Sleeper Another weak episode, that is forgettable. The people find out what is wrong with Spike.
Episode 9 Never Leave Me The gang captures Andrew and the Bringers capture Spike. Introduces the Ubervamp, which kinda looks like the Master in a way, except for more demented. Also the council is blown up and Giles is thought to be killed. It may have occurred earlier but the episodes kinda bled together for me a this point. Anyhow forgettable episode.
Episode 10 Bring on the Night The Potentials are introduced! A big collective groan here. Buffy gets her ass handed to her by the Ubervamp! Decent episode.
Episode 11 Showtime Buffy defeats the first Ubervamp. Nothing else because this episode is forgettable again.
Episode 12 Potential Finally a good episode as Dawn is revealed as a "potential" slayer. Needless to say she isn't but it was a nice bit of misdirection, and to have Dawn just slip into the role, then slip out was cool.
Episode 13 The Killer in Me Another okay episode as Willow finally gets over Tara and starts a relationship with the potential Slayer Kennedy. Oh and Spike is dechipped.
Episode 14 First Date The truth about Principal Wood revealed! Xander dates another demon! Average episode.
Episode 15 Get it Done Spike returns to his slightly less[Censored]self. We learn that there are thousands of Ubervamps below the seal of Dansalthar! Forgettable episode.
Episode 16 Storyteller Fun yet cheesy episode essentially told from Andrew's skewed perspective. A lot of stuff to not like here though. The seal being closed by tears? Sorry that's not cool.
Episode 17 Lies My Parents Told Me Not my favorite Spike episode, but a decent one. I love how it compares the life of a Slayer's child with Spike's. It does re-pussify Spike a bit though.
Episode 18 Dirty Girls The introduction of Caleb! The return of Faith! Caleb owns everybody in this episode, and even pokes Xander in the eye. Good episode if only to see the gang get owned.
Episode 19 Empty Places Buffy looses her leadership position, then invades a house. Really forgettable episode.
Episode 20 Touched Everybody boinks in this episode, and a bomb goes off as Buffy finds a scythe. Another bland and boring episode.
Episode 21 End of Days The Scythe turns the Ubervamps into cannon fodder! Angel returns! Caleb gets defeated! Bland episode.
Episode 22 Chosen Harmony Award This is pathetic. This is one of my least favorite episodes of the series. Here are the wrong things: 1. Anya dies. 2. The Ubervamps become cannon fodder. 3. Anya kills two ubervamps. 4. Andrew doesn't die. 5. Spike's death was left meaningless because of the WB. 6. The First had an undefined plot. 7. Aside from Anya and a couple of potentials nobody important stayed dead. Not a satisfying finale at all.
Overall: This season sucked. It is easily the second worst season of the series. This season was really schizophrenic early on, and then it got too focused. The potentials were not interesting characters in the least. They essentially became redshirts. They could have easily narrowed it down to 4 potentials and then it would have been really tense and we would have actually cared for the potentials in the right ways, as opposed to the wrong ways. Also the Ubervamps become cannon fodder. Finally what was up with the First? Did it even have a plan? Please someone explain it to me. Caleb should have been the big bad for the season. He at least had a better motivation, and was more powerful. Also why doesn't the first send it's bringers to attack Buffy and the Scoobies head on? Caleb could have done it also!
So now the fun stuff. The top 7's (7 spots for the 7 seasons):
Top 7 seasons: 2 5 3 6 1 7 4
top 7 characters 1. Spike 2. Anya 3. Xander 4. Giles 5. Clem 6. Cordelia 7. Oz
top 7 villains 1. Angelus 2. Dark Willow 3. Caleb 4. Ethan Rayne 5. The Mayor 6. Glory 7. Principal Snyder (I'm counting him)
top 7 episodes 1. Once More with feeling 2. Becoming 1 and 2 3. Lovers Walk 4. the Body 5. The Wish 6. the Zeppo 7. the Gift
bottom 7 episodes 1. Where the Wild things are 2. I Robot...You Jane 3. Chosen 4. Killed by Death 5. Amends 6. All the Way 7. The Weight of the World
Now Buffy is done, I will Angel. Probably after a few weeks rest.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Sept 6, 2009 22:56:16 GMT
Caleb was genuinely scary and the high point of the series. Even though seeing Fray's bizarre Slayer-weapon make an appearance was cool, I agree that the series as a whole was a damp squib. What made it worse was that the timing meant the last ep of Buffy got compared to the last ep of Angel, which basically ate it for breakfast. Everyone bar Dawn should have died in the last ep because she was thr only one using her brain and staying out of reach of the uber-vamps.
What I would have loved to have seen was everyone die except Faith, who limps away, the only Slayer left in the world. That would have been a great ending, but alas it was not to be.
Caleb should absolutely have been the season Big Bad. The First never made any kind of sense, never had any real goal or plans and was there to be... um... well, who knows, exactly? A cheap Sauron knock off? It really didn't work as a villain, whatever it was.
My top 7s will follow...
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Post by Elliot Kane on Sept 6, 2009 23:17:46 GMT
This may give me some trouble as it's been a while, but on the other hand those that stick best have to BE the best, right?
Top 7 Seasons: 2 & 3 joint. 6 1 5 7 4
Top 7 Characters: Giles 'Good Spike' Faith Cordelia Buffy Dawn Willow
Top 7 Villains: Caleb 'Evil Spike' & Dru Ethan Rayne Angelus Dark Willow The Mayor Dracula
Top 7 Episodes:
Once More, With Feeling Becoming parts 1 and 2 School Hard Doppelgangland Buffy Vrs Dracula Bad Girls/Consequences Halloween Graduation Day part 1
Worst 7 Episodes: Primeval Graduation Day part 2 Chosen Beyond that, there are a lot of 'bad without being catastrophic' type eps... So I'll leave it at 'worst three' where i have clear and definite reasons.
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Post by Gray Lensman on Sept 7, 2009 1:31:52 GMT
For me, Season 7 comes down to two words: wasted potential. Also wasted Potentials, since S7 introduced a cast of thousands that got virtually little or no development. Which wouldn't even be quite so bad if the Slayer Army didn't suck away air time away from our heroes. There were some good ideas in this one. Dawn as a possible Potential was a cool idea, though it got very short billing. The Slayer Army, in and of itself, isn't such a bad thing. Principal Wood had some promise, and I would have liked to see more of him. Faith's arrival into the cast could have been really promising... there were all kinds of promising dynamics between Faith/Dawn and Faith/Spike that I really wish had been followed up on. Caleb was a great villain, and I especially like the particularly nasty thing he does to Xander. The Uber-Vamps had a great intro. I could go on. The problem is nothing really came together well, and the promising ideas that were there either never materialized, were never followed up on, or were undermined. The Uber-Vamps were turned into standard cannon fodder after the initial appearance, Dawn went back to being background furniture, Faith had little time to amount to much and what time she did have wasn't used as effectively as it could be, and again, nobody in the cast had a chance to shine because of the Potentials (none of which amounted to anything) were cluttering the landscape. I also suspect that Joss Whedon's heart wasn't really as much into this season as it was with prior seasons (and later stuff like Angel Season 5), which would account for a lot of this. It's a shame, since this season could have been a lot better. That said, there are some episodes out of S7 I'd list as high points: "Conversations With Dead People", "Lies My Parents Told Me", "Him", and "Potential" are standouts for me. The rest mostly is just forgettable to me, honestly. As for my lists... Top Seasons: 2 (not by much) 3 5 1 6 (barely beating out my last two) 7 4 Top 7 Characters: 1. Spike 2. Dawn 3. Faith 4. Giles 5. Willow 6. Cordelia 7. Angel Top 7 Villains: 1. Angelus 2. The Mayor 3. Spike (when he was bad, he was really bad ) 4. Dracula 5. Caleb 6. Dark Willow 7. Sweet (mainly because he managed to hurt the Scoobs pretty badly even though he technically lost) Top 7 Episodes: 1. Once More With Feeling 2. Hush 3. Becoming, Parts 1-2 4. Doppergangland 5. Buffy vs. Dracula 6. Bad Girls/Consequences 7. Fool For Love And since I doubt I'd be able to think of a seven worst, I'll just leave it at that for now. Except to say I look forward to an Angel marathon.
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