Becoming Parts 1 and 2

Mark here... well we made it!  The season finale of Buffy Season 2!  This was a really good episode!  It starts out kind of slow but sort of sums up the best of this season.  The season as a whole was a bit off and on for us watching again.  On the one hand there's some great stuff with exploring the history of the slayer and the introduction of Spike.  On the other hand, there's still Jenny Calendar and the awkward romance between Buffy and Angel.  It just felt off in retrospect.  I know this was the season Buffy became a thing based on that romance, but it still lacked chemistry for me and the age difference was unavoidable.  So you're 200 years old and your attracted to a 16 year old girl.  I get the appeal if you are 16, but now...yeeesh.

Anyway, Angel, Drusilla and Spike are plotting to unleash this awful hell demon and the gang must stop them.  But lo and behold, Spike is sick of evil Angel and doesn't want the end of the world.  So he strikes a bargain with Buffy.  In the meantime though, Drusilla attacks the Scoobies while Angel distracts Buffy. She captures Giles, wounds Willow and Xander, and kills a visiting Kendra the Vampire Slayer.  Kendra pretty much shows up to get knocked off, being an awful character and making way for a better one...next season!  Willow ends up hospitalized but pulls herself together to attempt re-ensouling Angel with a spell they found from Jenny Calendar.  Witch Willow is very much apparent and we get to see her finally taking charge and moving from the mousy friend to the tough character she will become.  Now if only she would dress better!  Seriously, coming out for Willow isn't just about admitting she's gay, it's about not dressing like someone who hates herself!

Buffy confronts Angel at his ritual and Spike betrays him and carts Drusilla off.  After a big fight, Buffy is forced to kill Angel to reverse the spell he started...but Willow has succeeded in re-ensouling him! It's a touching scene even as she's forced to stab him with a sword.

In the end Buffy is forced to leave town.  The police think she's killed Kendra because she's found with the body.  Also, Joyce throws her out after Buffy confesses to being the Slayer and tells her she has to leave.  Another great scene!  Buffy basically tells Joyce she's been in denial about everything that's been going on.

One final point...we get a hint of something bigger as Principal Synder calls the Mayor *who we've not seen) to express joy at Buffy leaving town and being expelled from school...

Hey Laurel here...I second Mark's emotion about Willow, it's nice to see her step up to the plate, now please stop dressing like you hate yourself!

The other thing I thought was interesting about this episode is that Joyce finally gets a clue, sort of.  She realizes she's been missing a huge issue that has been going on in her daughter's life for the last few years but she reacts so poorly when she discovers it.  She finally starts to understand that something profound is going on when Spike shows up at the house with Buffy, and Buffy evaporates a vampire right in front of her, but her reaction is like "young lady, you are grounded!"  and Buffy is like "I don't have time to be grounded I have to save the world!  Don't you get it by now you clueless woman!"  I am paraphrasing of course, but you get the jist.  Hopefully Joyce will get it together in the next season.

The episode ends with Buffy running away.  Where will she go?  What or who brings her back?  What will Angel be like now that he has a soul again?  Will Willow ever start dressing better?  Only time will tell...

We give this double episode a rare 5 stakes!  Good one Joss.

I Only Have Eyes For You

Mark here...Laurel and I are checking in for another episode of Buffy, Season 2.  This episode is called, "I Only Have Eyes For You".  We kind of intentionally flaked on a meal and are ordering take out because it's 900 degrees here in LA!

Anyway, I liked this episode.  It's sort of a cheesy, cliche idea but done well in the way Buffy does B-movie so well.  The premise is that Sunnydale High is being haunted by a poltergeist,  That being the ghost of a teenager who died in the 50s after killing his lover/teacher and then himself.  This ghost is possessing people in the school and causing all sorts of supernatural mayhem.  The gang decides to exorcise him and we gets to see more hints of Willow going witchy.  She leads the team and researches whats needed.  Giles is distracted by thinking, wishfully, that this is the ghost of Jenny Calendar.  In fact he and Buffy both have issues with this particular ghost and misidentifying.  Buffy claims to identify with the murdered woman and yet in the end is possessed herself by the male ghost who identifies with her.

Angel is drawn into the mix too to give us a final but of Buffy/Angel drama, although it feels a little forced.  The best parts of the episode are the scoobies playing ghostbusters in Sunnydale High.

Hey guys Laurel here. I liked this one too, it was fun and something a little different.  The poltergeist kept trying to re-enact the night of his death through other people, first a male student and his girlfriend, then a male janitor and a lady teacher.  So we think that Buffy is going in to get killed by some dude, but really she ends up playing the killer (the "dude" part) which I thought was a good twist.  Kind of bored by the angel part but whatevs.  I feel like it may have been more interesting if it was a normal high school boy that had been flirting with her or something.

4 stakes from us for this one!

Phases

Mark here... we're back after a long break!  It's been a while for us due to work and other commitments but here we are on to Buffy Season 2!  Laurel and I have just had the first part of our meal, Artichokes with butter and parmesan, yum!!

This episode is sort of Buffy's ode to "I was a teenage werewolf" and "teen wolf" and whatever other teen werewolf b-movie stories there are out there.  It was a good episode!  Any episode with more Seth Green is great and in this episode we find out Oz has become a werewolf.  I really like the way it's written.  He's not savagely attacked, instead his infant cousin has bitten him and he comes to find out the infant is a werewolf.  As he realizes this it's played against his burgeoning romance with Willow.  Willow herself is showing much more strength as a character, despite still being dressed like she's in elementary school.  Seriously at one point she is wearing bright yellow overalls.  Everyone else is appropriately 90s fashion but yeeesh, Willow's outfits are atrocious!

Anyway, there's a series of werewolf attacks, a random werewolf hunter and high school hijinks but it's pretty good over all.  There's a subplot with Larry, the school jock, coming out as gay to Xander when Xander questions him about being a werewolf (he's not).  It's pretty edgy stuff for the time and Laurel and I discussed how the show could get away with this stuff because it flew under the radar, being just a show for teenagers that adults didn't care about.  It's also nice to see that the gay stuff didn't make it "A Very Special Episode" and instead was treated like nothing.  The show will obviously delve deeper into gay subtext and text in the future without making a big deal of it.

Hey Laurel here...Mark did a pretty good job of wrapping it up, I'll just second his comment about coming out.  I didn't make any note of it watching it the first time as a "young adult" because it just seemed like the way it was supposed to be, but in hindsight the show was pretty groundbreaking in terms of how they include LGBT issues without making a huge thing out of it.  I guess if you extrapolate the show is making a comment on diversity in general, because you are allowed to be a werewolf, a vampire, a witch, a nerd, a cheerleader, etc and still just be part of the gang, but I especially appreciate the inclusion of LGBT characters when I'm rewatching the show as a grown adult.  Pretty forward thinking stuff for the time.

Also just wanted to give Cordelia some props because she did some serious stunt driving this episode!  We first meet the werewolf when Cordelia and Xander are making out in her car.  The werewolf pounces on top of the car and punches through the roof to try and eat them.  Cordelia has the where-with-all to throw the car in reverse, slam on the brakes to hurl the werewolf off the roof, and makes a clean getaway.  Way to go Cordelia!  You are not my favorite but I was not ready for you to die just yet!


In conclusion, we give this one 4 stakes!

Innocence

Mark here... this episode of Buffy is called , "Innocence", and whoa! It was much better than the last! This episode had much more of the emotion involved in Buffy's choice to sleep with Angel and was much less of the young adult fawning.

So essentially this episode starts with Angel's curse being broken. He runs out of the bedroom with Buffy and it soon becomes clear he has lost his soul and become Angelus.  Angelus eventually confronts Buffy and tells her that sex essentially meant nothing and she wasn't that good.  This would be awful for anyone but for a teenager, so tough!  Buffy eventually realizes what's up.  She also realizes that Jenny Calendar is not what she seems, thanks to a prophetic dream.  She confronts Jenny and the curse is revealed,  and the fact that it's broken.  Willow figures it out first and shows the first signs of adult Willow.  Willow up until now had been portrayed as the mousy nerd, and now she's starting to show a more complex side.  For instance, she is very upset on discovering the Xander-Cordelia romance, but she starts to realize the appeal of Oz, who genuinely likes her.  Of course, this may not be the best choice long term for Oz... but he's awesome!

Anyway, the episode ends and changes the status quo.  Angelus is now evil...

Hi Laurel here...Nothing much to add except I am also super excited about signs of life from Willow.  She is obviously a genius and there's no reason for her to act so mousy and insecure all the time.  I know she has not found her witchy power potential yet but it's nice to see her start believing in herself at least a little.  You go Willow!

We give this one 4 stakes! Just because the writing was better at conveying emotion and we got the inkling of more complexity in Willow's personality.

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.

Bad Eggs

Hi Laurel here...we're back at it!  Mark made us an awesome dinner of stuffed squash...Acorn squash stuffed with sausage and quinoa topped with cheese.  Yum!  I know what you're thinking, the theme of the blog for this season of Buffy was supposed to be "bloodless"  aka all vegetarian.  Mark was going to make this recipe with veggie sausage but we both decided that would be a crime, so we made an exception to the vegetarian theme for tonight.  We are rebels that way.

So this episode was pretty good!  It borrowed HEAVILY from Alien, specifically Aliens (the sequel) but I'll let Mark fill you in on that, since he actually still has a functioning memory.  As you know, these days mine is not what it used to be.

The gang has the classic assignment in school to take care of an egg baby for a week.  Mark said he never had this assignment, but I did and I failed.  I think I put my egg in the fridge and Barb ate it. Sign from the universe?

Anyway it's Buffy so it turns out there's something fishy about these eggs...They are full of creatures that hatch and take over your body, in service of their queen.  Everyone gets taken over by them except for Buffy and Xander.  Willow and Cordelia end up clocking both of them and knocking them out, which was oddly satisfying.  But like I said I'll let Mark tell you the rest.

Also of note this episode, Xander and Cordelia are hooking up on the reg...but they still hate each other.

Mark here... I liked this episode too.  As Laurel said, it's sort of an "homage" to Aliens and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  The whole thing as a B-movie feel, mostly due to the special effects.  Not that that's a bad thing,  but some scenes are clearly direct from Aliens, except in a high school.  The demons/aliens that are in the eggs are clearly just like the aliens from the movie.  The scenes also play out pretty similarly.  The scene where Buffy confronts her alien from the egg in her room plays out exactly like Ripley and Newt confronting the alien in the med lab in Aliens.  Also, the dissection scene is similar to Aliens dissection.

Once the gang is "infected", it moves into Body Snatchers territory.  I think even though it might not be the most original it's a fun twist, setting this all in a high school, similar to the movie, "The Faculty" which I also enjoyed.

Separately, Buffy's mom is starting to lay down the law with Buffy and tell her to be more responsible.  Of course we know she's not really as irresponsible as she lets on, it's just all the vampire slaying.

All in all, we'd give this episode 3 and a half stakes.  It wasn't brilliant plotwise, but the writing was fun and it played out fun....

Ted

Mark here... we're watching the next episode of Buffy season 2, "Ted".  Boy they really nailed it with this one! John Ritter guest stars as Ted, the guy who Buffy's mom Joyce has been dating.  He is perfectly cast and plays it with an appropriate degree of campiness and creepiness.  Basically, we meet Ted, and Buffy is instantly creeped out by him. Her friends however are impressed by him.  He bakes them cookies and clearly Joyce is taken with him.

Ted is a very "perfect" guy.  He cooks for Joyce and is  a great boyfriend..seemingly.  He shows a dark side initially, but just to Buffy.  Ina game of miniature golf, he threatens Buffy after she cheats at the game. Later Buffy comes to blows with him and he apparently dies after Buffy knocks him down the stairs.  This is a bit of a first for the series, Buffy apparently killing a human.  The writing is a bit weak in that regard. Giles sort of has nothing to say about the matter, except that he will do vampire patrol for a while?  At the same time he makes up with Jenny "Melrose Place" Calendar.

Anyhow, Ted is turns out to be a robot who kills women. It's a simple concept but the show plays it, and John Ritter, perfectly.  In the end, Joyce remembers him as just a bad boyfriend.

Hey Laurel here...this episode was so good!  John Ritter is amazing as the creepy too perfect guy.  Then when he turns on Buffy he amazing as the creepy super creepy guy.

This episode also shows how the gang sticks together and supports each other.  Buffy's mom doesn't believe her when she tries to warn her that Ted is two-faced.  But when Buffy ends up killing Ted, the gang of course whole heartedly believes that there must be something wrong with Ted for Buffy to have killed him, even if it was by accident.

The gang does some digging while Buffy and her mom are feeling guilty/mourning, and discover that he has had 4 marriages but no divorces.  Then when they figure out where he lives they discover all of the wives in the closet!  Gross! But way to go gang!

So Mark and me both agree this is a really good one.  Drumroll please...our first award of 5 stakes!  Check this one out people.

What's my Line? pt 2

Hey Laurel here...So we just wrapped the second part of a 2 part episode where we find out there are 2 Slayers!

In this part Buffy and the other slayer Kendra become pals.  At first Buffy is a little jealous of Kendra because she is a super good slayer technically, and has a lot to nerd out about with Giles, but then she realizes she has her strengths too that Kendra is lacking.  Like a personality for example.

Also in this part Spike and Drusilla execute their plan to cure Drusilla by abducting Angel and tying him up with her so she can drain his life force or something.  It gets a little sexy between the 3 of them but I will let Mark tell you about that part.  Anyway their party gets busted up by the whole gang...Buffy, Kendra, Giles, Willow, Zander, and the 2 remaining bounty hunters.  Kendra and Buffy succeed in rescuing Angel together, and everyone gets out of the burning church except Spike and Drusilla.  But as we find out in the end Drusilla's cure was effective even though they were interrupted...and it seems as though she is going to be able to save Spike too.

Mark here... yeah so we find out that Buffy's drowning at the end of season 1 resulted in Kendra being "called".  So for the first time in Buffy's universe there are 2 slayers.  Kendra is presented as the "good" slayer while Buffy is the unconventional one.  It's interesting but unfortunately Kendra's accent is too distracting to take her seriously.  It's too bad, as Laurel said before, the actress never really had a chance.

We also see the first sparks of romance in this episode...specifically between Xander and Cordelia, and Willow and Oz.  Oz is amazing in every scene.  He is only briefly in the episode but has a subtle charm.  Xander and Cordelia are cornered by one of the bounty hunters and the desperation fires up some passion between them.  It's pretty amusing.

The Spike-Drusilla-Angel dynamic has some sexual tension.  Drusilla tortures Angel and then Angel taunts Spike in a way that has a strong menage a trois vibe.  Anyway, By the end of the episode, Drusilla has recovered but Spike has been weakened.  Burning in a church will do that.  As far as the gang knows, Spike and Dru have bought the farm and Kendra ships out for now, and she and Buffy make amends.

We give this episode 4 stakes.  It was definitely really entertaining and pushed the plot forward, with a second slayer, 2 potential romances and a renewed Drusilla...

What's My Line Part 1

Mark here...Laurel and I have just sat down to the next episode of Buffy season 2, "What's My Line, Pt 1".  I've made us Jamie Oliver's Sweet Potato Chili with Nigella's Guacamole.  Laurel made us a cocktail to go along, called A Salty Chihuahua! It was all very tasty!

Anyway, on to the episode! It's career day at Sunnydale High and the gang is all worried about their career futures...all except Willow, who is singled out as having a promising future by a software company.  Buffy however is stressing out over the fact that she can't go away to college...or really leave Sunnydale.  Seeing how Sunnydale sits on the Hellmouth and she's the slayer...the one and only slayer.  She reminds us again that there is only one slayer and until she dies, she's the one.

Meanwhile, Spike is trying to cure the sick Drusilla and contacts a trio of demon bounty hunters to take out Buffy.  The first one strikes while Buffy is taking a break ice skating.  In a weird montage Buffy opts for some "Me time" on the rink after Angel tells her about it.  It's a weird segment.  I'm convinced it was written in so we could see Buffy take out the demon with her ice skates.  Then we see another of the trio, a weirdo made up of maggots. Also, there is a mysterious girl who arrives in Sunnydale.  We're lead to believe she's the third bounty hunter until the end of the episode. While fighting with Buffy, she says she's "Kendra the Vampire Slayer".

The episode ends on a cliffhanger as we know (but Buffy etc., do not) that Kendra has trapped Angel in a cage by a window.  Once the sun comes up, Angel will be dust...

Hey Laurel here...Not much to add except that the only other student at Sunnydale who is being recruited by the software company besides Willow is...wait for it...Oz!  Romance is brewing?

Also poor Kendra the vampire slayer.  She has the worst accent I've ever heard.  Mark was telling me that she is supposed to be Jamaican, and they brought in an accent coach to teach her the accent only 2 days in advance of shooting.  It ends up sounds kind of Jamaicain/Scottish/???.  This poor actress never stood a chance.

Mark here...one more thing that's weird. After Giles tells Buffy how dangerous this trio of Bounty Hunters is, he lets her leave and walk home alone...and then wonders where she is?!?  Kind of weird and out of character.

In any case, we give this episode 3 stakes.

The Dark Age

Mark here... this next episode of Buffy is called, "The Dark Age".  This one delves a little into Giles' past.  Apparently, Giles and some friends from high school conjured a demon back in the day for kicks and now the demon is back for revenge.  The demon takes hold of dead or unconscious people. In the course of events he possesses Jenny Calendar.  In the end, Willow realizes the best way to defeat this demon is to have it possess Angel, who already has a demon inside him.

It's a fun episode I thought. We get a bit of Giles' past.  He dropped out of Oxford and abandoned his destiny as a Watcher for a time.  Falling into a crowd of rowdy occult-loving punks in London, as you do.  Also, he had the nickname "Ripper" during this time...a bit more punk rock than Rupert.

Otherwise, there's not too much else for me to say about the episode, except that I thought it would've made a better Halloween episode. The Halloween episode first introduced us to Giles' former friend Ethan Rayne as a villain, but here he shows up in a way that's much more integral to the plot. Also, he represents Giles' past as a bad boy.  In the episode, Ethan attempt to sic the demon on Buffy but fails and disappears...

Hey Laurel here..not much to add except about how much Jenni Calendar sucks.  Mark and I have talked about this at length, she is horribly miss-cast.  They really missed an opportunity here to cast a unique, smart, funny, off the beaten path woman, which is what Joss Whedon seems to be into, but instead we get Melrose place.  Her character could be so much more interesting, but alas, it is what is is.  Wah wah.

Overall, this episode gets 4 stakes, on the basis of fun Giles character development...

Lie To Me

Mark here... Laurel has made us dinner, keeping with our "bloodless" theme, she's made us an Eggplant Tagine that was really delicious! Seriously, this had nuts and dates and spices over couscous and was so amazing!

Anyway, on to the episode...Buffy's friend from LA, Ford, has moved to Sunnydale to attend Sunnyvale High.  Ford and Buffy were friends until she left LA and he has figured out she is the Slayer.  We never find out how but we see that he has a weird obsession with vampires.  Instantly Angel is suspicious of him, and we are too.  He's a little too obsessed and after pretending to kill a vampire, it turns out he let her get away.  Willow, Angel and Xander track down Ford later to a group of humans who are I guess worshipping vampires or at least infatuated with them. I guess they want to be like them or at least think they are misunderstood.  Angel calls them fools...  Ford, however, wants to be a vampire.  He ends up making a deal with Spike to trap Buffy, thereby providing the Slayer, if Spike turns him.

Buffy ends up trapped but questions why Ford would want this or trust Spike?  Turns out Ford is dying of brain cancer and wants to become immortal.  Buffy tries to explain that thats not really how it works, a vampire demon possesses  a vampire victim, but Ford doesn't care.  In the end Ford gets what he wants, but in the final act Buffy stakes him as he awakes from his grave.  The episode has a nice twist on Ford as the villain.  Also, the title comes from Buffy at Ford's grave (before staking him) asking Giles if life ever gets easier.  Giles says "Do you want the truth?" and Buffy says, "Lie to me".  I thought, while it wasn't an amazing episode, the dying twist with Ford made it a good episode.

Separately, still not buying the Angel-Buffy romance.  We do get a little insight into Angel's past though after Buffy questions him about seeing him with Drusilla.  In the past, Angel made Drusilla a vampire by turning her after driving her mad by killing her family in front of her first...

Hey Laurel here...not much to add about the episode.  No one really got to shine, especially not Angel who continues to be super boring.  When Mark and I were talking earlier he made a good point that they are trying to build suspense about Angel, so we are not supposed to know too much about him yet but geez, get a personality, 253 year old person.  I feel like it's a missed opportunity but Mark makes a good point about us not knowing too much about him too soon.

What I do want to add is holy moly this Tagine was super good.  I have been struggling (and I think Mark has too) to some up with vegetarian ideas that are fully satisfying as an indulgent weekend main meal, but this one really fit the bill.  It was actually a blue apron recipe that I will definitely save and make again.  Between the chickpeas, almonds, and "holland" eggplant that has an especially hearty texture it was super satisfying and we didn't miss the meat at all, even for a weekend meal.  I think this will inspire us for future bloodless episodes!

Over all we give this episode 3 stakes.  We would maybe consider 3 1/2 if we had a graphic for that, but we don't so 3 will have to do.

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...

Reptile Boy

Mark here...We're on to our next episode of Buffy season 2, this one is called "Reptile Boy" and this one is also a bit of a blah one. The premise is that frat boys are abducting girls.  We know this from the show's opener but the gang does not.  So Cordelia takes a liking to some frat boys who in turn take a liking to Buffy.  They invite them to a frat party.  Buffy, feeling put off by Angel and overworked by Giles, decides to go along.  We sort of see it coming from a mile away that the 2 of them will be roofied by these frat boys.  When they are awakened they are chained in the basement to be fed to a reptile-y demon by the frat boys.  Later we find out the frat boys get riches in return for their "offering"

As I said the episode's really nothing special.  Xander tries to follow the girls in and embarrassingly gets turned into a frat pledge.  Cordelia's really the only one who gets to shine here.  She gets some real zingers in her dialogue as she's determined to impress the frat boys.

Hey Laurel here...Not much extra to say about this episodes except for a few snippets that I loved or hated.  I love that the episode opens with Buffy AND Zander braiding Willow's hair.  I love that Cordelia is extra sassy.  When she's making plans with Buffy for the frat party she tells her something like "go heavy on the make up and stick to the shadows.  It will be so fun it's like we are sisters!"  I hate that they didn't try harder to make it plausible that Buffy gets roofied.  I mean, you know Cordelia is going to, but Buffy?  They should have made it so that Zander gave her the drink in a round about way or something, we are really supposed to believe that some creepy frat guys give Buffy a drink and she just chugs it no questions asked?  Lame.

This episode is not terribly but its just meh.  We agree it's 2 stakes.

Inca Mummy Girl

Hey dudes Laurel here...

This episode was sort of a yawn except for the intro of Seth Green.  He has a terrible mustache and he's in a terrible band, but still, it's Seth Green and he obviously likes Willow so points for that.

Besides that so boring!  Some douchebag hoping to make a buck tries to steal an ancient seal from a mummy from olden times on display at a museum (obviously ti was Giles idea to go on this excursion)... but joke's on the douchebag!  She (the mummy) attacks him, sucks the life out of him to take as her own, and somehow she ends up with braces because of this exchange which is how the gang knows there's something fishy going on.

The reason she has braces is that the whole time she's been a mummy she keeps getting to live mini lives by making out with people and stealing the lives out of them.  She could have had Xander (our poor, naive, soulmate seeking boy) but she has an attack of conscious at the last minute because he is such a good guy she can't bear to steal his life.

Mark here... Laurel just did the thankless job of summing up this snorefest.  Really, this was the definition of a filler episode. After last episode, which was so exciting, this was a bit hard to pay attention to.   I don't know what else to say, except that the best thing about this episode was the introduction of Seth Green's Oz character.  I don't know if we know his band's name yet but I'm going to spill the beans...Dingoes Ate My Baby!

So, normally we'd give this episode 1 stake, but based on the introduction of Seth Green, we are giving it 2 stakes...barely!!

School Hard

Mark here... This episode was much better than the last 2.  We get our first introduction to Spike and Drusilla, two vampires who are really much better adversaries.  Spike in particular is so charismatic as a villain!  So the episode is basically some vampire threat is approaching at the same time as parent-teacher night.  Buffy and the gang get trapped in the school as the vampires attack, lead by Spike.  We see this coming as Spike comes to town and runs into Buffy.  As Giles finds out, Spike has killed 2 slayers previously.  Drusilla is portrayed as having been wounded and slightly weaker.  Laurel wasn't so into Drusilla but I think she's a bit creepy.  She's definitely not as threatening as Spike at this point.

Spike really blows into town and shakes up the plot at this point.  By the end of the episode he has killed the Anointed One, or the Annoying One as he called him...basically the little brat who seems like a plot idea that went nowhere.  Spike's killing him changes the game and gives us a clean slate in terms of villains.

The whole idea of the vampire invasion on parent-teacher night is really fun.  Buffy's mom Joyce is there and has been read the riot act about Buffy by Principal Snyder, but then Buffy takes charge in a crisis situation. Joyce isn't on to the vampires and slayers thing yet thanks to some dark lighting, but she knows her daughter showed courage and leadership while a "gang" attacked the school.

Hey Laurel here...The only thing I have to add is that we get our first glimpse of Buffy exposing to her mom how much of a bad ass she is!  Her mom thinks that she is just some troubled teen who is having a hard time adjusting to a new school.  This episode in addition to Buffy handling all of the arrangements for parent teacher night as a penance for being a bad student, we witness Joyce seeing her daughter totally handling a the super scary vampire situation like a champ.  Hopefully Buffy will start getting a little credit for all the work she is doing behind the scenes to save the whole town, and not just be labeled as a troubled teen going forward.

Also Spike is the best thing to happen to this show so far.  I love a likable, charismatic villain.  So far the villains (the master in particular) have just been totally gross and completely hate-able, Spike adds some complexity to the mix because we know he is bad yet he has so much charisma and personality.  Mark and me both love a bad boy.

In conclusion, we give this episode 4 stakes, really a great episode!

Some Assembly Required

Hey Laurel here...this episode is kind of a more gruesome take on weird science...Willow is friends with a smart kid a school, Chris, who's older brother, a HS football star,  has died tragically about a year earlier.  At the same time Buffy discovers an empty grave where a teenage girl has been dug up and taken.  When Angel creepily follows Cordelia in a dark parking lot, she gets sacred because she is being followed, fumbles her keys, and hops into a dumpster.  Why she doesn't realize by now that she shouldn't have her keys ready ahead of time before she wanders out into a dark parking lot is beyond me, but I digress.  In the dumpster she and Angel find a bunch of teen girl body parts.  It turns out they are all leftover parts from teenage girl grave robberies, with a few choice parts missing.

It turns out that Chris and his nerdy yearbook friend are trying to assemble the perfect girl body, out of dead girl body parts, so that Chris's brother who they brought back from the dead won't be lonely anymore.  But what will they do for the head?  They have to get a "fresh" head because formaldehyde kills brain cells.  The resurrected brother chooses Cordelia to be the head donor.

So at the big game on Friday, the boys try to abduct Cordelia in the deserted girl's locker room, where Cordelia inexplicably is hanging out by herself.  Buffy foils their abduction, but the boys don't give up easily and end up abducting Cordelia minutes later when she wanders into a dark corner under the bleachers at the big game.  How hard is it to not find yourself alone in a dark corner at a fucking high school football game Cordelia?!?  Anyway they haul her away to their weird secret laboratory where Buffy and the gang save the day again.  Chris's resurrected brother burns up in a fire that has started in the ruckus, and is dead again.  All is as it should be.  You shouldn't mess with the universe, teens!

Mark here...Laurel did a great job of summing up the episode.  It's sort of a teenage twist on the Frankenstein story.  It's not the most imaginative episode, although I will give them points for making it creepy and scary.  But yeah, why Cordelia, having grown up in Sunnydale, doesn't know at this point to watch her back?!?

There's also a subplot of Giles trying to work up the courage to ask Jenny Calendar out on a date.  She ends up doing the heavy lifting there.  I'm still not sold on Jenny Calendar but I think it plays out cute enough.  I guess my problem is more that the actress just doesn't fit the "technopagan" description.

Anyway, I think we both decided that this episode merits another 3 stakes.  It was actually a bit more entertaining than the last but still a fairly average monster-of-the-week episode.

Buffy! - When She Was Bad

Mark here... we are on to Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!  For this show and season we've decided to challenge ourselves and have a "bloodless" theme for all our recipes. With that in mind, I've made us an appetizer of celery sticks and a cream cheese dip, as well as a mushroom risotto dinner.

So as I "nerdsplained" to Laurel, Buffy seasons tend to follow an arc with the beginning episodes being seemingly one-offs, peppered with some hints of a larger plot, leading up to a major episode mid-season that catapults things towards a final confrontation with a Big Bad.  This episode, as the premiere, was sort of a catch up for anyone who hadn't seen season one.  Season 1's Big Bad was the Master and this episode, "When She Was Bad", shows the gang meeting up after summer vacation.  Buffy is still traumatized by her confrontation with the Master last season.  This leads to some unrealistic bitchiness towards everyone around her as she takes out her anxiety on everyone.  The plot is basically Buffy trying to prevent the resurrection of the Master.  It's a fairly plain episode with some fun scares but nothing too special.  There are some funny lines though.  In the end, Buffy prevents the Master's return and smashes his bones (I think because he was such an old vampire, he had bones - go figure) and then makes up with the gang.

Laurel here...Yeah Buffy is a real bitch in this episode!  I thought that there was going to be some larger reason (like secretly someone was going to kill them all if she didn't get them to hate her)
 but it turns out she was just traumatized by her run-ins with the master.  Also she kept having dreams about him coming back to life and haunting her, which turned out to be relevant because a bunch of vampires were trying to resurrect him.  Mark also nerdsplained to me that it's a slayer thing for dreams to be relevant, although it's not always clear exactly what they mean until it happens.

So side note...I bet we probably talked about this first season, but can we just re-visit how giant Buffy's stunt woman is?  She is way bigger than Buffy (not hard to do I'm sure), wears a terrible wig, and looks to be mid to late 30s.  I get it if they can't do anything about her age or size, there's probably not that many lady stuntwomen out there...but can't they at least get her a decent wig?

My favorite quote this episode was when Buffy is reading the random note from the vampires (they had kidnapped Cordelia) that says "Come to the Bronze (the night club/cafe where all the kids hang out) or we will make a meal of her."  To which Xander responds "They're going to cook her dinner?!?"  Oh Xander.

Mark here...we've decided to start rating our impression of each episode this season, using a "stake" rating system, 1 to 5 stakes (5 being the best). I'm pretty sure I read it somewhere else, so while the graphics are ours, I can't say the idea is.  If someone complains, we may have to replace it with a plastic fangs rating system! But with that in mind we'd give this episode 3 stakes.  Not bad, but not great.

Wedding Bell Blues

Mark here... we are finally at the season finale of season 2 of 90210! Thank god! I want to say this season was better than season one, but really its about the same.  You remember the show as being so entertaining, and while it has it's moments, there's so much filler!

In any case, this episode deals with the fallout from last episode with Dylan and Brenda going to Mexico.  Jim Walsh has to pick up Brenda from Mexico and is understandably furious.  He reads Brenda and Dylan the riot act. Dylan is surprisingly such a jerk this episode.  Granted he is supposed to be a poor little rich boy, but he sure does act like it this episode.  He never fails to make everything all about him and has no perception of why Jim and Cindy would feel betrayed by him.  After a serious of talks with Jim Walsh he ends up exploding at the end of the episode at Jim, going so far as telling Jim to punch him.  Jeez, chill out Dylan!  On the one hand it's believable for a spoiled teenage rich kid.  On the other, it's annoying, as he seems more concerned with looking cool.  Not sure if this is the actor or the writing....but the cliffhanger of the season/episode is Brenda crying after her dad and Dylan's big blowout.

One fun part about this is at one point Cindy writes a heartfelt note to Dylan about making up with Jim and we get to see her note on her "stationary"...which is so clearly printed out on someone's home printer with just "Cindy Walsh" on the top...not even "From the desk of Cindy Walsh"!

CINDY WALSH!!

The other plot line is Kelly's mom, Jackie, marrying David Silver's dad, Mel.  This proves to be a comedy of errors as flooding prevents them from having their wedding at their house.  Brandon accidentally tells Kelly they should have their wedding at the Walsh house...on thing leads to another and soon Cindy and Jim are begrudgingly offering their house.  Jim and Cindy do provide a bit of "wacky" comic relief here.  Of course, Jackie has no friends, so Kelly, Brenda and Donna serve as bridesmaids.

Laurel here...First of all, I think it's totally hilarious/wrong/the best that Brenda and Donna are Jackie's bridesmaids.  My mom Barb sometimes crosses the line with my friends, but really, this takes the cake!!!

Also this episode Dylan is so annoying!  He whisks Jim's TEENAGE daughter to MEXICO, and then is bent out of shape because Jim is upset.  At one point at the wedding he throws his glass beer bottle at the wall, breaking it, because he is so upset with Jim for "breaking his trust"  Really?  Jim broke your trust?  At which point he also tells Jim, "get your hands off my money!"  Like there's anyone more trustworthy in Los Angeles to handle your money than Jim Walsh.  Please.  Jim is like an investment unicorn...someone this trustworthy doesn't even exist in real life.

Also this episode Brenda is super annoying (surprise!).  Dylan says he may not go to Jackie's wedding because of the tension with Jim.  Brenda says she's not going if he doesn't go.  Really?  You aren't going to go to your best friends mom's wedding?  At which you are supposed to be a bridesmaid?  Because your "teenage" boyfriend is mad at your dad?

So style award this episode goes to...Jackie!  For her actually awesome maternity dress.  This is our very first non-ironic style award guys.  Enjoy it while it lasts because there won't be many more.

Our cocktail moment would be any time Jake from Melrose hits on Kelly...umm, statutory rape!

We are so excited to be done with nine-0 for now!  On to Buffy!  The theme is going to be "bloodless"  we are challenging ourselves to an entirely vegetarian season.  stay tuned!

Mexican Standoff

Amalia here, Guest Blogger Extraordinaire...Laurel prepared an amazing breakfast burger on a tater tot waffle with a side of arugula salad along with homemade fresh tomato bloody mary's (really the best I've ever had!).

Bloody Marys and Breakfast Burgers on Tater tot waffles

The egg is a little prettier here

Today's episode focused on Brenda's angsty relationship with her parents, Jim and Cindy, who are frustrated with her constant curfew lapses due to some hot make out scenes with Dylan (who has always been my favorite of the 90210 boys).

Brenda plots a sneaky plan to join Dylan on a surfing trip to Baja when her parents refuse to let her go. And in true 90's soap style, the trip turns out to be a disaster! Brenda and Dylan get in a fight because Dylan is a slutty, teenage boy and Brenda's not the first girl he's brought to Baja. Oh Dylan, those sideburns are too hard to resist!

And meanwhile, back in B.H., Kelly is hitting on the sexy Jake from Melrose Place...wait, how old is this dude?? Uh oh, I smell trouble...

Mark here...Amalia did a great job of summing things up! Basically, Brenda and Dylan plot this Mexican getaway, and because we must have a lesson for the teenagers, things go amuck!  Of course, they do end up having fun but at first Brenda pouts after finding out Dylan brought another girl to Baja while she and Dylan were "on a break"!  Sigh...   Eventually they make up and end up dancing at a restaurant, succeeding in being the whitest people in Mexico.

Blending right in

Meanwhile, Brandon and Kelly provide cover for Brenda with the Walshes and seem to be a little annoyed with it.  Kelly though is distracted with sexy Jake from Melrose Place. Where does he live? Oh "this little place off Melrose, nothing special".  He's doing construction at Kelly's house and is clearly double Kelly's age! Scandal!  We also get another reference to Steve's ongoing crush on Kelly, which is the most boring subplot.

One funny part is when Andrea gets wind of Brenda and Dylan's trip and promptly tries to plan a group trip to hone in on their romantic getaway. Oh Andrea.

In the end, Dylan and Brenda get stopped at the border coming back to the US and Brenda has forgotten her I.D.  Cliffhanger! Really, this is pre-9/11, I doubt the border guards would care too much about 2 obviously american teenagers, but we need to have a lesson about lying to your parents!

Hey Laurel here...I can't wait to find out what happens?!?  Are Jim and Cindy really going to find out?!?

Style award this episode goes to....Dylan!   For his sleeveless wetsuit/mom jeans combo.  Way to go Dylan!  Also the reception desk at Dylan and Brenda's baja hotel, which was wearing a mexiacn blanket.  Arriba!

(Style Honorable mention also goes to Dylan for making a Hawaiian shirt look surprisingly hip - it must be those damn sideburns!)

Cocktail moment is when Jake asks Kelly, "Are you going to be around?"  to which she replies "Why, do you need someone to hold your level?"  Dirty girl.  Dirty dirty teenage girl.

Breakfast/brunch pizza

Mark here...I was inspired to try this recipe after reading this blog post:

http://garlicgirl.com/2011/09/05/breakfast-pizza/

I'm generally not a fan of anything that looks remotely like baking, but this seemed pretty easy...although I still managed to get flour everywhere in my kitchen...

I used the dough recipe from http://chefchuckscucina.blogspot.com 

Ingredients

Dough:

4 1/2 cups of flour

2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon of yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

Topping:

Fresh Mozzarella

2 eggs

2 heirloom tomatoes

prosciutto

fresh baby arugula

I made the dough and put it in the fridge overnight.  Begin by adding the yeast to the water and let it dissolve about 15-20 minutes.  Then add the sugar, olive oil and vinegar to it. Mix the flour and salt in a food processor and then slowly add the water mixture to this.  Eventually a ball will form.  Tip the ball onto a floured board and knead until it gets less sticky.  Add more flour if necessary.  Oil a bowl and put the ball into it, cover with a towel and let it rest/expand.  It needs 2 hours, but mine was in the fridge overnight.

When ready, preheat the oven to 500F and lay out the flour into the shape you want your pizza.  You will need a bit more flour and then transfer to a cookie sheet or pizza stone.  One mistake I made was letting the pizza get too thick.  There's a reason they do all that flipping and tossing in a pizzeria!  I plan on trying pizza again to get it right but basically the center should be thin.

After laying it out I sliced and layed out mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes and then prosciutto bits.  I originally put some baby arugula but this is best added when the pizza comes out of the oven so it can slightly wilt.  Put the pizza in the oven for about 5-7 minutes.  In the meantime crack the eggs into separate bowls.  Remove the pizza and add the eggs on top.  Cook another 5-7 minutes or until the eggs are done.  I like mine white but the yolks runny.  Remove the pizza and sprinkle with arugula and serve...