Halloween

Hey Laurel here.  So this episode is about...you guessed it...Halloween!

This episode was ok...I think it's actually a great idea but wasn't executed to the fullest.  the idea is that some evil kind of magical guy from Gile's past comes to town, opens a costume store, and casts a spell on everyone who has rented a costume from his store.  They all actually turn into what they are dressed up as.  In the case of our main characters Xander turns into a bad ass soldier, Willow turns into a ghost, and Buffy turns into an 18th century noble lady.  Great idea, right?  They didn't really run with it.  Xander is sort of awesome, but Willow is just herself but can walk through walls.  Buffy turns super annoying.  I feel like the show really missed an opportunity to show more people acting out their alter egos, and also they made Buffy extra annoying.  Instead of just being helpless, they actually gave her dialogue that beat us over the head with the fact that she was helpless.  something to the effect of "I was raised to believe that men should be in charge blah blah blah."  That is not how anyone from the time would have spoken, they just would have acted that way.  Also Sarah Michelle does a terrible job of it, showing her limited range.  She is good at being Buffy but not really anything  else.  How did she ever do I know what you did last summer?  Maybe that is going to require another viewing...

Haha...Mark here, and I agree with Laurel.  I won't blame it all on Sarah Michelle Gellar as the writing for the 18th century noble woman wasn't doing her any favors, but yeah she does go too over the top.  Really the stars of the episode are Xander, who finally gets to do some ass kicking, Cordelia, who doesn't change personalities (she bought her costume at a different shop), and Giles, because we get a little insight into his past.  As Laurel says, the villain who orchestrated events is an old acquaintance of Giles', Ethan Rayne.  Giles shows a more aggressive side than we've seen of him when he beats up Ethan.  Also, Ethan hints that Giles may have a past a little different from the tweed and earl grey persona we know.

We see a bit of Spike and Drusilla as they try to take advantage of the evening's events, but it doesn't amount to much, other than Drusilla's premonitions make them aware that Buffy will be weak.  On the vampire-demon front in general, Halloween is sort of a non-event we're told.

Separately, the Angel-Buffy romance is heating up, I guess... They had a coffee date.  It's kind of creepy that this 241 year old is attracted to a 16 year old if you think about it too much. Also, I'm not so sold on it at this point.  Far more interesting is Oz's (Seth Green) attraction to Willow..."Who IS that girl?"

All in all, we'd give this 3 stakes...

Pass, Not Pass

Mark here...this episode revolves mainly around Brenda and Andrea, with a subplot about Brandon and his new car.  It's kind of funny as Brenda and Andrea both have the hots for their acting teacher, and surprise, surprise he likes Andrea!  Really?! Andrea!!  I mean I know it's like the bitch or the bore, but really...  So of course Brenda is a bitch when it turns out teach likes Andrea, culminating in a slap during an acting "scene" in which Brenda really slaps Andrea (see below!). Andrea is her typical annoying self the ENTIRE episode, pretty unbearable.  How did she ever get cast?  Who likes her?  There's a scene with her in the teacher where it is painfully obvious she is way older than the teacher, yet she acts the lovestruck teenager.  And by "acts" I mean overacts.  She "ums" and stutters her way through every moment to the point where you want to sleep her like Brenda did, repeatedly!!  In the end, teach has a girlfriend and was using Andrea, and she makes up with Brenda.  Of course it helps that Dylan has returned from Hawaii and Brenda has  bigger fish to fry.

Separately, Brandon finally buys the car he has been saving up for all summer...or at least the last 4 episodes, and it's a lemon.  Fortunately, Jim and Cindy come to the rescue and fix it up for him.  It's boring, but Jim and Cindy once again prove themselves the greatest parents.  I know when we were young they seemed so lame...now it's like, who wouldn't want these parents?  They are always understanding.  They made Brandon work the whole summer for his car, after totaling the last one in a drunk driving accident.  But have now decided that's all in the past and to buy him a new car.  The past being 3 months ago, which n teenage years is a lifetime.

Hey Laurel here...not much to add except to complain more about Andrea...I mean really, we are supposed to believe her teacher is older than her, but she's the one with crow's feet.  Which leads us to our quote of the episode!  Andrea says to her teacher "You're eyes do this cute little crinkling thing when you smile"  His eyes are crinkly?  Girl, check a mirror.

This also ties into our cocktail moment.  When the teacher says to Andrea "We shouldn't do this.  If only you were 5 years older..."  Dude, if she was 5 years old she would be old enough to be your momma!

Style award this episode goes to Cindy for her peach blouse and pants outfit.  Her pants and shirt match so perfectly it looks like she's wearing a onesie.  Way to go Cindy!

Home Part 1

Mark here...Laurel and I are sitting down for another night of blogging Battlestar Galactica Season 2.  This Episode is called "Home, Part 1" Since both of our apartments are "under construction" today the menu is chinese takeout!  Sorry to all those looking for a new recipe!!

On to the episode...Not a whole lot to say here as it's part one of a continuing story.  Basically Roslin has left the fleet with several ships to return to planet Kobol in the hopes of finding a mythical tomb that will lead to Earth.  The broader story though is that the fleet is divided and it's showing.  Adama says everyone is replaceable only to find out he's wrong when he tries to replace Apollo as CAG.  He's shocked when he give Lt. Dualla permission to speak and she tells him he's divided the fleet and opened wounds that need to heal.  To his credit, by episodes end he decides it's time to put the fleet back together, which means returning to Kobol.  Roslin and her team have already landed and been attacked by Cylons.  They's reunited with Starbuck, Helo and Caprica-Sharon-Cylon (she is kept alive by promising to lead them to the tomb...also she's pregnant with Helo's baby, the first Cylon-Human fetus)....

Hi Laurel here...nothing new to say really but just wanted to highlight what Mark said about D.  She really gives it to Adama, and it's awesome.  I always liked her but I don't think we have ever seen her character take a stand this way.  You go girl!

Also in this episode they seem to be playing up the chemistry between Starbuck and Appollo.  Where are they going with this?

El Accidente

Hi Laurel here...Mark and I are sitting down to a delicious brunch and more FNL.   Mark made Mark Bittman's huevos rancheros with tequila sunrise cocktails.  The huevos are so good!  Mark even made the salsa from scratch.

So this episode there's more trouble with Voodoo.  The football players are all waiting to hear if they are going to be stripped of their victory over Arnett Mead.  There's accusations of illegally recruiting Voodoo, and he played a bit that game.  If he's deemed ineligible they will lose the win.  To add insult to injury as you may recall he played terrible that game, was totally insubordinate to Coach Taylor.   Now they might forfeit because of him?

Also Voodoo stirs up a bunch of trouble this episode.  He runs into the team at their hangout and calls Reyes a wetback, but Riggins steps in and stops the fight that was about to go down.  However Reyes is still riled up and ends up taking it out on this kid Castor (friends with Landry and Saracen) in the parking lot, and puts him in the hospital.  Reyes is then arrested for assault, and resorts to lying about the incident saying (on television) that Castor called him racist names.  Matt is in a tough position because he doesn't want to get Reyes in trouble but he knows that Reyes is lying about his friend.  In the end he decides (with some pushing from Landry) to tell Coach Taylor what he knows and Reyes is kicked off the team.  I think more for lying than for beating the Castor up, if he had admitted his mistake in the first place I think he would have been punished but could have kept his spot.  In the end it's all for nothing, Voodoo ends up telling a reporter that he had been illegally recruited and they are stripped of their victory over Arnett Mead anyhow.  On the plus side Voodoo has left to go back to Louisiana so he won't be around to screw things up anymore.

Also this episode Riggins breaks Jason out of the rehab center for a field trip, Lila runs into them in the parking lot and ends up coming along.  Awkward!  They have agreed they don't ever want Jason to know that they hooked up while he was in the hospital but the truth has a way of coming out...

Mark here...I agree with what Laurel said.  The clincher at the end of the episode is that after Jason gets dropped off at the rehab center he watches his friends (Lyla and Riggs) hug from the window.  We get the impression that he sees something more between the two of them.

The plotline with Reyes and Castor is interesting in how other characters respond to it.  Tammi Taylor doesn't buy Reyes accusation from the beginning.  The coach wants to believe that Reyes wouldn't lie to him, though you get the impression that he knows the truth.  Saracen hems and haws over telling the truth but in the end he comes clean.

We also get a brief scene between Tyra and Tammi Taylor in the guidance office.  Tammi tries to identify with Tyra saying, "I was once like you..." to inspire her to keep up with her algebra.  Tyra of course says "I don't want to be you!".  Its interesting because Tammi Taylor doesn't flinch and still feels sympathy for Tyra. At the same time, you can see Tyra growing up to be Tammi.

Babylon

Mark here... we're on to episode 6 of "Mad Men".  This episode was called "Babylon", I have to say this episode was a little dryer than the previous two.  Definitely entertaining still, we find out that Joan is having a private affair with Roger Sterling, which is a bit scandalous.  It's also interesting that Joan has no illusions about their affair.  Roger is promising the world.  At least at this point, Joan is having none of it and clearly just enjoying the moment.

Separately, Don and Betty's relationship is interesting to watch evolve.  Clearly they both like each other, yet neither wants to really be married. On top of this Betty confesses to Don that she waits for him to come home every day to sleep with her (essentially).  Yet we know Don has a mistress on the side and disappoints her repeatedly by being too tired or too busy.  How crazy to have no outlet except to just be waiting for someone to come home and fulfill you!

We also get to see Don with his East Village mistress who chooses to bring Don and another would-be lover to some beatnik poet reading, or so it seemed.  This goes pretty awkwardly, and I'm left wondering why she would bring him in the first place.  Is she trying to make Don jealous?  Because clearly he's as uninterested in her life as in the suburban life he shares with Betty!

Laurel here...I agree with Mark on all points, I especially like what he said about Joan.  She is so awesome in terms of navigating the ins and outs of this office.  Don't hate the player hate the game!  She is so smart and is playing the whole office, including roger, like a fiddle.

The other noteworthy thing about this episode is that Peggy is asserting herself as more than just a secretary...The office is working on a lipstick account (belle jolie) where they have all of the secretaries (or chickens, as they call them) participate in a focus group about the array of lipstick colors that all come in a huge box.  Peggy is quiet during the focus group, but expresses to an ad exec later that it made her feel like they were expecting women to define themselves as just a color in the belle jolie box, the beginning of her career as an adman?

Mark here... Yeah the other point of note was Peggy becoming a copywriter.  After, her commentary during the lipstick trials, the men want her to come up with some copy....  Of course she gets no more money and still has to complete all her regular jobs!

The Pack

Hi Laurel here...This was a weird one.  Super good, but weird.

The episode starts out with a field trip to the zoo.  A pack of mean kids who pick on everybody break into a quarantined Hyena exhibit, dragging the school wimp with them.  Xander follows them in to save the wimp, and they all get possessed by Hyena spirits (except for the wimp who ironically escapes unscathed).  From there they all basically turn into human Hyenas - first feeding on a baby pig (the super cute school mascot) then progress to hunting humans.  And acting like huge assholes every chance they get.

The other kids were assholes to begin with so you don't care as much that they are acting like jerks, but Xander's transformation is pretty extreme.  He's so mean!  It was a great episode but I sort of hated it because Xander was such a dick.  He's especially mean to Willow which is sort of heartbreaking.  He tells her he's dropping geometry class so that he won't need her help with math anymore because he's sick of looking at her "pasty white face", then laughs with his hyena buddies and walks away.  Nicholas Brendon the actor who plays Xander does a really good job of being mean, which made the episode that much creepier.

The worst part is that the hyena kids EAT PRINCIPAL FLUTIE!  I'm bummed I was really getting into him, his character was starting to be really endearing and funny.

Mark here...I agree with Laurel, a very scary and good episode and creepy.  Xander's transformation here is really good.  We also get some development in the sort of love square going on...Willow likes Xander who likes Buffy who likes Angel.  Though Willow is the one with hurt feelings here.

There's a nice twist at the end in terms of who's orchestrating the animal transformations, although the whole thing is resolved a little too quickly.  The story does move the character dynamics on though, which is nice.  I'm still not sure the love dynamics all make sense, but I guess its high school so they don't need to.  In any case, there were some good scares.

The killing of the principal was a bit of a shock, a reminder I guess that Sunnydale is not the safest place!

Laurel here...In the end it turns out the zookeeper is behind it all, he wanted to become some kind of supreme Hyena human, but his plan is thwarted when Buffy throws him into the Hyena pit and he gets eaten by real Hyenas.  Ironic, no?

Litmus

Mark here... damn this was a good one, but a slow burner.  The episode was called "Litmus" and the premise is that a Cylon agent blew himself up aboard Galactica.  An independent tribunal is formed.  The real drama, however, is character based.  Adama and Roslin struggling with the need for a judicial solution versus a witch hunt.  In the end Adama shuts down the tribunal, but we also feel like the tribunal was going after the salacious versus the real truth.

One a side note, we catch up with Helo on Caprica, who has been separated from his version of Sharon.  She is seen with the Cylons who proceed to beat her up so that it will be believable when she meets up with Helo again.

Laurel here...not much happened during this episode yet it was really interesting to watch.  I think the purpose in the grand scheme of things is to let us know that everyone on board Galactica is living a life of uncertainty even though their position and honorable intentions have well been established in the eyes of the viewer.  Everyone on board is in question and no one is secure, no many how many people may come to bat for them, and despite their intentions and history..All's fair in love and war.

Higher Education

Mark here...so this episode is all about cheating. Brandon is offered the answers in a class by Steve and takes them, at first inadvertently. He ends up cheating on a test, and guess who finds out...Andrea! And never failing to be judgey she reams him for it. Of course at the end Brandon realizes that cheating never pays and succeeds on his own...after much judgement from Andrea. She's the worst. (Laurel) It's really interesting how in these earlier episodes Steve is positioned as Brandon's bad influence ( and Kelly is Brenda's)....

Separately, and more interesting...Brenda meets Dylan for the first time in this episode....and promptly has a weird fantasy involving an awful blonde hairdo....which leads to Brenda dying her hair and ending up with the worst wig ....clearly meant to convy a bad dye job, but really....

Laurel here...Brandon totally inappropriately confronts his teacher, calling him out on giving a "memorization" test that he's already given for 15 years but it's obviously just because Brandon feels guilty about using a cheat sheet for the copy of the test he got in advance from Steve ...essentially blaming the teacher for his cheating. Yes giving the same test for 15 years lends itself to cheating but a student blaming the teacher for a bad test is totally inappropriate and NEVER would happen. Anyhow, the teacher takes it to heart and assigns a surprise essay question for the final so everyone has to think for themselves. Issue resolved! Neat package! All is well! Especially for nerdy Andrea who has of course uncovered the cheating "scandal" and was super worried about the curve...

Mark here... I feel like its worth noting...we both HATE Andrea yet we both find ourselves entertained ( unexpectedly) by the awful Andrea moments...go figure....Laurel here... I guess we both love to hate her. Honestly shes the worst!!! Shes like a parody of herself a cross between Debbie downer and a new character that we've invented called Judgey Judy. Honestly she's the worst We hate her so much. But she has given us many moments of mention.

Cocktail Moments

Donna Martin shows up and actually has a line, rare in these early episodes, so we feel like its worth a drink.

Brandon and Andrea moments: the first time Brandon says " its just irritating that you always think you're right" also " sometimes you have a stake in everything I do, like we're a couple or something" (forshadowing much)?

Brenda to Dylan: " I like your butt, I mean...your bike"

Brenda gets the style award this episode, strutting her stuff in dolphin shorts, a printed sports bra, and her crazy dye job. Way to go Brenda!