Surprise

Mark here... we've just watched the next episode of Buffy.  This episode, "Surprise" is about the Buffy-Angel romance...like heavily.  It's interesting to watch this post Twilight and all the other vampire related stuff thats come after.  The whole episode hinges on the romance between 200-year old Angel and now 17 year old virgin Buffy.  At the time and to a teenage audience, I'm sure it played out differently.  As it is now, it was sort of entertaining, but also a little bit boring? I mean I guess part of it, is that I'm not buying the Angel Buffy chemistry.  In any case, the gang finds out that Drusilla is still alive and intent on reviving this super demon, The Judge.  His body parts have been separated and Drusilla has put the parts back together by the end of the episode.

The bigger plot points are that we find out that Jenny Calendar is not what she seems, as an uncle of hers shows up and reminds her of her duty.  Jenny being a gypsy who's job is to ensure that Angel's gypsy curse is never broken. What breaks this curse? A moment of true happiness.  And what could make a 200-year old vampire happier than doing it with a 17 year old virgin?!

It's funny because, when the event inevitably happens, Angel of course tells Buffy he loves her.  Which is clearly what a young teenage girl wants to hear. To my cynical older self though, I'm like, oh, he just wants to do it with you!  I get the whole Young Adult appeal, and this was clearly ground breaking at the time, but I'm a little jaded I guess.  It's not that I don't like Angel, but...  In any case, the episode ends on a cliffhanger, as Buffy and Angel have obviously spent the night and Angel awakes in pain....

Hey Laurel here...not much to add except that I totally agree with Mark!  I know we are watching this with 40 year old eyes.  Also 2014 eyes.  That being said, I can't help but to compare this to "True Blood"  I know they have the benefit of hindsight, but I feel like true blood does a pretty good job of acknowledging that the vampires on the show are hundreds of years old.  They are still in love with 20-something humans, but they address the fact that it's unlikely and find ways to make the relationships a little more plausible.  I know, Buffy is the first show of it's kind, it was the 90s, etc etc...but I can't unsee what I have seen and I really wish they would treat Angel like the 200 year old he really is.

Also I hate Drusilla so much!  Any episode she's in I totally stop paying attention as soon as she's on screen, then Mark has to explain to me what happens.  But this happens to Mark all the time, not just when Drusilla shows up.  I'm sorry Mark.

Also just a quick note that "the judge" who ends up getting re-assembled is totally a 90s raver demon. He's muscle bound with a blue face and baby horns.   I kind of miss 90s rave culture, both because I kind of believe in and and at the same time I love making fun of it.  Pacifers?  Come the fuck on!  but also I lost my virginity at burning man.  You can see why I am conflicted.

This one gets 3 stakes.  barely.  It wasn't the worst but not the best.

Halloween

Mark here...Laurel and I are on to the next episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 season 2.  This one is called "Halloween" and you guessed it the theme is Halloween!  This is the first "theme" episode and it ends up being ok.  Not bad , but not amazing either.  Basically the gang has to find costumes to go to the big party.  Which happens to be in one of the old victorians that are just a hop, skip and a jump from Beverly Hills, but I digress...

Anyway, the party is a bit of a bore aside from Donna who begins her annual ritual of wearing a ridiculous Halloween costume.  It's a subplot but every time we come back to Donna, she is struggling to walk in a mermaid costume. The real joke however is Tori Spelling's acting!  For some reason her "struggle" with her costume makes her look like she is picking a wedgie! Her hands and face are just so off the mark!

The real plot lines involve Emily Valentine showing up at the Walshes with her niece and nephew to trick or treat and then ending up on a date with Brandon.  Also, Kelly shows up at the party in a revealing outfit and ends up almost getting date raped.  It's an odd "lesson"storyline as the writers begin by having Brenda and everyone notice how slutty Kelly is dressed when she first shows up to the party.  Later a guy tries to take advantage of her and the gang fortunately busts in.  We get a bunch of "no means no" talk as Kelly feels guilty for dressing the way she did.  It's still odd writing as the writers seemed to blame her in the beginning as well...

Hey Laurel here...not much to add except for I agree with Mark about the Kelly thing.  On the one hand the show totally admonishes kelly for dressing slutty, and the lesson seems to be that if you dress slutty you are inviting guys to mistreat you, but in the end it's all "no means no".  Totally a mixed message, especially for teens!  Anyway obviously everyone should wear what they want without worrying about being sexually assaulted, especially on Halloween!  I always use Halloween as an excuse to dress extra slutty, and I dress pretty slutty already anyway.  On a lighter note, I'm sure glad Andrea wasn't in this episode because I can only imagine what her slutty witch costume would look like!?  Actually she would probably be something boring like Susan B Anthony.

Also just thought I should mention that for trick or treaters Cindy decides to give out Raisins.  Really Cindy?  Raisins?

The style award this episode goes to...Donna!  For her ridiculous and wacky mermaid outfit.  Honorable mention goes Emily Valentine for her extra 90s outfit (not a costume).

Cocktail moment for me is tied between when Brenda pulls a gun out of her garter belt, and when the would be rapist gets thrown out of the party be Dillon and Steve.  They are so tough!  

Quote for this episode is from David Silver...he asks a real bitchy Cleopatra to dance and she flatly says no and walks away.  David calls after her "So I guess a night of hot monkey love is out of the question?"  You got that right David.

Little Girl I Want to Marry You

Mark here... We're on to the next episode, "Little Girl I want to Marry You".  This was another really good episode with lots of character development. Laurel and I discussed how the show is so good with conveying even subtle points.  One plot line here is Tyra trying to get her mom to stop being dependent on men and get herself a job.  As it turns out there's a position at Buddy Garrity's for a receptionist.  Tyra convinces Buddy (with Tim Riggins help) to give her mom an interview.  On the way to the interview they have a flat tire and the mom can barely handle fixing a tire.  Tyra has to convince her mom that they can change a tire without a man and the mom is barely willing to even try.  When they finally arrive, it's after the big game and Tyra goes up to tell Buddy his mom is here.  Buddy tells her he filled the position, but once he sees Tyra's mom he conveniently forgets this and hires her.  With just a look Tyra conveys that she knows whats going on.  We've seen the good and bad in Buddy but we can't help thinking the mom got the job because of her looks.  When the mom tells Tyra she got the job, Tyra asks how her mom did with the typing test (it was supposed to be 50 words per minute) and what the salary was.  Her mom responds it never came up.  Tyra at first questions this while the mom is oblivious.  You can see Tyra choose to just let it go...one battle at a time!

Separately Matt Saracen's dad has to go back to Iraq.  Unfortunately he has to leave before the big game.  It's the right decision for all, but it's too bad the dad can't express any emotion.  Even leaving, Matt hugs him goodbye and he can barely manage a hug in response.

There's also a subplot of the Taylors going to dinner at the Mayor's house.  The town mayor is a tough salty older woman, who apparently has a female partner the town is unaware of.  Laurel and I talked about how the town doesn't see that the mayor is a lesbian.  I think the town just sees what they want to see. Also the fact that the mayor is an older women means that (unfortunately), the town just doesn't see her as a sexual being, so it's easier to just see her as a single older woman.  In any case, she wants Tami Taylor to be a part of her re-election campaign.  I can't help but thinking trouble is ahead, this being a small town in Texas.  The coach is clearly uncomfortable and thinks the mayor just wants the coach's wife on her campaign (probably true).  But Tami's response is classic, "Get Over It".  She knows this may be true but she sees potential for what she could get done.

Also, Smash's steroid use is finally discovered by his mother.  It sorts itself in a not so dramatic way though.  Eventually Coach and his mom forgive him and it seems like all are willing to brush it under the rug, provided Smash agrees to private drug testing. It's a bit anticlimactic to be honest, but Smash is an interesting character so its good he didn't get kicked off the team.

Hi Laurel here..I just wanted to add in the Smash situation what a tough position both the coach and Smash's mom are in...The mom immediately ran to the coach to chew him out when she found the steroids because she couldn't even imagine that her son would have done this on his own.  This put coach in the terrible position of reporting this like he should and ruining Smash's football career, or keeping it to himself and sticking his neck WAY out in the process.  We'll see what happens but it's not a good situation for anyone.  It just goes to show how much pressure these kids are under, and that they don't see any other path besides being successful in football whatever the cost.

Also I think it's so awesome that the show is exploring a lesbian character.  The whole town is obviously totally in denial about the Mayor's sexuality and it would be super easy for the show to not address this but I think it's a real credit to the writers that they are making this an issue, even if it doesn't go anywhere.  At this point it remains to be seen...

Also Mark and me talked a bit about Tyra and her mom.  I think their whole family (mom, Tyra, and sister) are stuck in a situation that they all decide to handle in different ways.  They are all super hot, and of course they all want to use their feminine wiles to their advantage...The mom in just oblivious that men are trying to take advantage of her, the sister is fully aware and just goes with it, but Tyra is trying to walk the line somewhere between the 2.  She is too smart to ignore her feminine powers completely but also knows she is much more than that and she shouldn't put herself in a position to be disrespected.  I see both sides it's tough to know where to draw the line with that stuff.  We'll see what happens...

The Wheel

Mark here...Laurel and I have finally gotten around to watching the last episode of Season One of "Mad Men".  Laurel was on dinner this time and made a delicious (and show-appropriate) pot roast, green beans and double baked stuffed potatoes.

On to the episode, as season finales go this was a good one.  At the end I was left wanting more.  There weren't any cliffhangers per se, but there was plenty to chew on.  For one, we see Don finally starting to appreciate married life.  There are signs during the whole episode that he is having an internal struggle.  He tries to track down the step brother who visited him earlier in the season (who he totally blew off with a cash payment, and a directive to never contact him again).  He finds out the brother hung himself, which we had found out earlier.  He also is pitching a campaign for Kodak's slide projector (the carousel) and does so showing his own family slides (immediate family of him, Betty and the kids) and this triggers an emotional response not only from the client, but it's clear from Don himself.  Ironically, Betty's subplot is that she is finally suspecting the possibility that Don is cheating on her.  She does discover that her psychiatrist has been talking to Don. In a bit of a twist, she uses her next session to say all the things she is afraid to say to Don.  It's very revealing as it's the first time we see Betty opening up about her suspicions and general feelings for Don.

One other subplot I found interesting was with Peggy.  We see her picking actresses for a radio commercial (and being totally brutal and insensitive about it).  The overall impression is that she has really moved forward from just being a secretary.  Don has noticed it too and she gets a promotion to Junior Copywriter, which causes her to become nauseous.  At first we think its just nerves, but then she is in a doctor's office and we get the closest thing to a cliffhanger in the episode...Peggy was pregnant!  All season, she wasn't just putting on weight.  Understandably she is totally unprepared and in denial.  When we fast forward to her in bed after the birth, the nurse is bringing her her son, and she turns away.  It's an understandable moment, she was totally on a career path and this is exactly what she was trying to avoid.  During these times, a baby would have been the quickest way to end her career. Still, what will become of this baby?

Hi Laurel here..I agree with Mark, this is such a good episode!  The scene with Don pitching the carousel idea to Kodak is so powerful, this is actually one of the scenes I vividly remember from the show when I watched it the first time around.

Another notable scene in this episode is when Betty runs into Glen in a parking lot (library?  post office?  I didn't take note, but Glen is in the car waiting for his mom to come out).  Glen informs Betty that he is not allowed to talk to her, to which she responds "I don't care".  Then she totally starts crying and tells him she is just so sad and she doesn't have anyone to talk to.  Inappropriate Betty!  Leave Glen alone!  He's just a kid!  He's clearly inappropriately infatuated with you!  Don't encourage him!  Don't dump your grown up problems on a kid!  It's just so wrong on so many levels.  She says to him "just tell me I'm gonna be ok"  to which he responds "I don't know, I wish I was older".   Poor Glen.

So many things to chew on...what will happen to Peggy and Pete's baby?  Will Don quit philandering and spend more time with his family?  Will Peggy get to be the copywriter on Clearasil?  Will Betty have a nervous breakdown?  Lots going on I can't wait to see what happens!

Prophecy Girl

Mark here...Laurel and I are here sitting down for another night of blogging and dinner.  Tonight I made us some steaks with bearnaise again.  This time to spice it up a bit I made a homemade demi-glace and added it to the bearnaise.  Laurel made us a kale salad to go along, which was a nice side to balance out all the fat!

We're on to the last episode of Season One of Buffy, "Prophecy Girl".  We had a few false starts trying to watch this episode, I think because the beginning is so slow.  Basically the episode starts with Xander confessing his love for Buffy, which doesn't turn out as he had hoped.  The big prophecy of the title is then revealed, via Giles, that Buffy will face the Master and die.  This is accidentally overheard by Buffy and she gives a  big "I don't want to die speech" that only an entertainment writer could love.

In any case, we find out prophecy's are tricky things.  Buffy herself allows the Master to go free and he kills her by leaving her to drown.  But Xander and Angel arrive in time to give her CPR.  It's a nice twist that sets up future things to come.  One of the shows main rules is that to each generation one slayer is born and the next one is called when that one dies.  Buffy effectively "dies' in this episode but is revived.  When she comes back she is revitalized and proceeds to take down the Master, who is killed at the end.

One other thing to note, Jenny Calendar is around and still annoying and out of place...like a resident of Melrose Place who's randomly in Sunnydale.  Every line from her sounds extremely awkward.

Laurel here..I agree.  The only thing to add is that this episode was awesomely 90s.  It's funny to see the producers/art department doing the best with what they had, and they really stretch it out here.   I'm proud of them for making a good looking (for the time) season finale with obviously limited resources.  Also I'm not sure how prom fits into all of this but Buffy ends up "dying" in her prom dress (a super boring white empire waist dress) which totally adds to the teenagerness of the whole situation.

Kobol's Last Gleaming Part 2

Mark here... bam!  This episode is the season finale and leaves on quite a cliffhanger.  Spoiler alert for anyone who doesn't know...we're about to talk about some revealing moments!

The episode picks up where the last left off and there's a crew stranded on Kobol with the Cylon basestar above.  Back on Galactica, the plan is to infiltrate the basestar using a Cylon device Lt. Gaeta crafted from the captured Cylon Raider.  The device allows Cylon Sharon to get onboard the basestar to deliver a nuclear weapon.  But while onboard she encounters several versions of herself...

Meanwhile on the fleet a civil war is happening after Roslin's decision to send Starbuck back to Caprica.  Adama sends troops to invade Colonial One and arrest Roslin.  Apollo backs the President and they both end up arrested to avoid bloodshed.  Starbucks mission on Caprica ends up with her fighting with another Cylon Six over the Arrow of Apollo.  She's rescued by Helo only to recognize the Caprica Sharon...

On Galactica, Adama is congratulating that version of Sharon on successfully destroying the basestar...only to have her pull out a gun and shoot him in the chest!  End of episode and a perfect cliffhanger...leaving you wanting more! and not knowing what will happen to Adama? Roslin in the bring? Starbuck and Helo on Caprica? and the crew members left on Kobol?

Laurel here..nothing much to add except OMG!  Sharon shoots Adama?!?!  I thought when Sharon encountered, like, 27 versions of herself it was going to increase her resolve to reject her Cylon side and commit completely to the humans but then she shoots her human leader?!?  It makes me wonder whether this was the Cylon plan all along, or if she has a change of heart when it is confirmed for her that she is in fact a Cylon.   Then maybe turning against the human race seems and inevitable conclusion for her as an individual?

I also think it's awesome that Apollo goes against command in order to defend the President.  Earlier in the episode Adama tells him that he needs to follow his instincts, which he sites as his reason for his personal mutiny against the military.

OMG what a cliff hanger!!  It's going to be really hard to wait until we cycle through the rest of the 1st seasons of shows we want to do before we finally get into season 2 of Galactica to find out what happens!

Slumber Party!

Mark here... So this episode is called, "Slumber Party" and all the girls are together for one.  Of course Kelly invites a random friend who turns out to be the bitch/ shit stirrer of the group.  For my part I don't have a whole lot to say about this episode. It turns a little Very Special Episode with the girls playing some version of truth or dare without the dare.  Of course the bitchy friend gets them all to confess their deepest secrets.  The only interesting one for me was Kelly confessing that she tried to get a date with Dylan AFTER finding out he was dating Brenda...then she says something to the effect of "I would never try to steal Dylan from you".  This will be interesting to remember in the future...

Laurel here..for me the girlie sumbler party held a lot more hidden meaning...

A:  Cindy is the best dancer at the girls' slumber party during the dance scene.  It's only a few minutes long...but just saying.  I know I'm old.  I think this is the part that adults (me) are supposed to appreciate.  Although Mark agrees with me on this one so I don't feel too much like a retiree...

B:  Donna says, and I quote "Sometimes I think about running away and being a hooker on Hollywood Blvd just to meet Richard Gere".  This is the first episode that we see how naive Donna is, until now we are lead to assume that she is just another fast BH rich kid with too much adult experience.  This episode she begins to show her true future prude colors.

C:  Andrea brings out a Ouigja board (totally unexpected in my opinion since she is so logical and judgey), but she buys into it and believes that her grandma's spirit is in the room, as do the other girls.  I assume that's why she wore a crazy lil house on house on the prairie jammie outdit but that also is just her nerd style so who knows.

D: Truth telling...Kelley has a date rape like experience that bitchey Melissa sort of bullies her into telling, but it backfires because Kelley just looks all the more cool and collected for telling it...

E:  Brenda admits to kissing a Minnesota BFF'S boyfriend "i dont know how it happened we just started kissing?!"

D:  to which Kelly responds that she tried to date Dylan after brenda started dating him.  what!?!  But this BH bitch convinces Brenda it was just a normal girl slip up, especially considering her recent confession about Brenda kissing her bbf's bf back in Minnesota.

Long story short the bithcy cool girl that shows up ends up not looking so cool. she has anorexia problems that put her on the same level as everyone else.  see!!  all the bitches in BH are just regular girls with BH problems!

Style award for this episode goes to...Andrea!!!  For her lil' house on the prairie pajamas she wears to the slumber party.  You know, just in case her grandma shows up.