Angel

Mark here...Laurel and I are sitting down for some blogging again.  Tonight I made a Shepard's Pie with a bit of a twist using ground bison.  Originally I was making it to be a bit low fat but I think adding bacon and butter may have pushed the fat content up.  In any case, it tasted good.  On to the episode...this episode is called "Angel" and is an expository episode to give us a bit of background on Angels' character.  Up to this point he has sort of lurked in the shadows and turned up here or there for a rescue.  Here we get the set-up that he is actually a 200 plus year old vampire who has been cursed by gypsies.  The curse gives him back a soul and a conscience, thus his tortured persona.  Of course now's the perfect set up for him and Buffy as star-crossed lovers.  In these days of vampire lovers left and right, this romance is actually pretty interesting.  That said the episode writing was a little flat.  Given that Angel's story is pretty good, the events around the episode are run of the mill.  One bright spot was Darla the villainous vampire.  She's the vampire who made Angel a vampire and also his ex.  She's out of the picture by the end of the episode, which is too bad...she's way more fun than The Master or the Anointed One (aka little brat).

Laurel here...I was really into Darla this episode.  She's a pretty awesome lady villain.  She comes up with a sneaky plan to get Angel to kill Buffy that almost works...While Buffy is out, she pretends to be one of Buffy's friends to get Buffy's mom to invite her into their house.  Then she bites Buffy's mom (although I'm not quite sure why she didn't finish her off). Angel shows up to save the day of course, because that's what he does.  When he gets there Darla shoves Buffy's mom into his arms and leaves, so Buffy walks in she finds angel standing over her mom, and course thinks that Angel tried to kill her mom.  She does go out hunting for Angel intending to kill him,  but Darla's plan is foiled when Buffy and Angel realize they feel for each other too much to kill each other, and Angel ends up killing Darla instead.   Anyway I'm sad she got killed.

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?

Never Kill A Boy On The First Date

Mark here...we're on to episode five of Buffy, "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date."  This episode's premise is the difficulty of balancing slaying and dating for Buffy.  She's simultaneously supposed to prevent the Master (the big bad guy) from raising "the anointed one" while making time to date Owen.  Buffy's smitten acting can be a bit annoying and the fact that no one can come up with a good excuse for Buffy to ditch her date.  Still the episode was entertaining.  In the end though, Owen has an exciting evening with Buffy and the gang...perhaps too exciting as he's attracted to the danger.  This leads Buffy to break things off as she can't be worrying about someone who's going to be reckless, as opposed to her friends who are more cautious.  It's a bit of a weak excuse, but Owen's a bit of a rube anyway.  And separately, the Master does succeed in raising the anointed one, who turns out, unexpectedly, to be a kid.  As far as big villains go, the Master is kind of dull.  He's ugly enough, but personality-wise he's pretty generic.  Cordelia actually is a more fun rival for Buffy as she stalks Owen for herself.

Laurel here...I agree with Mark, especially about the Master.  He's more snively and bitchy than he is scary.  I like my villains how I like my heroes.  Bad Ass.

I do feel bad for Buffy that she doesn't get to be a regular teenager at all.  Vampires don't take nights off for dating!

Teacher's Pet

Mark here... we're settled in for the next episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Laurel has made us Mahi Mahi tacos and a side of rice and beans, very delicious and a bit of a healthier option for us (for a change!).  This episode is called "Teacher's Pet" and it's a bit of a play on old B-movie monsters.  The writing nicely makes up for the cheap special effects, or at least makes them appropriate.  The new science teacher is a bit of a femme fatale, and all the boys, including Xander are smitten with her.  Turns out she's actually a giant preying mantis out for young virgin boys to mate with.  The concept is a fun twist on the old idea of a monster preying on young virgins, who usually are unsuspecting young girls. Another interesting thing is how young the characters look!  Angel and Xander look very boyish in these early episodes.  Buffy looks healthy and not too gaunt.  Willow's fashion is hurting, but I guess that's supposed to be the case so we can see how her style and personality develops through the series.

Laurel here...I really liked this episode, it was super fun.  I agree with Mark, the b-movie aspect was really fun, and made the shitty special effects seem appropriately cheesy instead of just bad.  I also was into how Buffy was battling a lady monster this time.  It's nice that the show every so often takes a break from the vampire fighting to incorporate other monsters.  There is one vampire in this episode, but he has a crazy claw like wolverine so he's a little more interesting than the usual ones.  Buffy kills him with a piece of picket fence.  Ah, Sunnydale.

Also Angel!  He's so super hot in these early episodes when he is still mysterious.  I find the boy version of him way more attractive than the man version.  The chemistry between him and Buffy really works.  If smoldering looks could get girls pregnant Angel would have totally knocked her up this episode.

I would also like to mention that Mark really came correct tonight...wearing a Buffy t-shirt.

Witch

Mark here... this episode is called "Witch" and it establishes that there's another supernatural world out there that Buffy needs to fight.  As Giles describes, Sunnydale (the town Buffy lives in) is a hotbed of supernatural mischief.  It sits atop a Hellmouth, a sort of vortex of evil.  So in this episode Buffy is looking to try out for the cheerleading squad as a way of maintaining a normal life.  Of course, cheerleading is evil, so we know that can't end well...  We're introduced to Amy, whose Mom is pushing her to make the squad.  Turns out Mom is a witch casting spells to get Amy on the squad.  The episode also serves to show us the role Buffy's friends will playing in fighting evil.  Giles shows himself to be adept in understanding spells and ends up casting one to break the witch's.

Laurel here... I like this one.  For one we really see how Willow is going to be a valuable aid for Buffy, in this one she makes a potion that verifies that Amy is a witch...You assume it's Amy's mom casting spells and causing bad things to happen to cheerleaders who stand in between Amy and making the squad, then Willow proves it is Amy herself, then it tuns out AMY IS HER MOM because her witchy mom thought she was wasting her youth and made her switch bodies.  Good twist actually.

Quotes of note:
Giles saying "Pardon Me for finding the glass half full"...it was funny when we heard it...

The Harvest

Mark here... this episode, "The Harvest" is a continuation of the last, basically a two-part pilot.  I'd like to note the fun theme song here. Good tv shows have a theme song that makes you look forward to what's coming, and the rockin' totally 90s theme here fits the bill.  This episode's not quite as fun as the last but serves to lay some groundwork.  For one, the school library serves as team headquarters for Buffy and her friends.  Which brings to another, Buffy's friends are in on her being the Slayer from the beginning and by the end of the episode, so is school bitch Cordelia.  The premise of the episode is Buffy preventing Head vampire "The Master" who's trapped in another dimension, from being able to enter ours.  The character stuff is way more relevant...Cordelia making fun of Willow while in computer class, then asking how to finish her assgnment.  Willow responds, "hit Deliver"...meaning Delete.

Laurel here...I continue to be surprised/impressed by how the characters who I know from later are introduced in these early episodes.  They all acknowledge the importance of  Buffy's mission  (even if she doesn't) and are all down with keeping her secret.  The only one who has been introduced so far that we dont know about yet is angel, who seems to understand about buffy's role as the slayer and it is unclear to us at this point what his role is...but the sexual tension between him and Buffy is already building...

As a side note it is interesting to me how many actors playing vampires on this show I have met as extras working on commercials.   For those of you who don't know, I make my living as a teamster/set dresser on tv commericals and it is nice to see so many extras that I have worked with on commercials being cast as principal (vampires) in this early stage of the show.  It means way more money for them as working actors, right on!

Quotes of note this episode...

Cordelia to Willow:  "Who gave you permission to exist?"

Cordeila to her shitty friends regarding not dating high school guys:  "It's like when I go shopping, I have to have the most expensive thing, not because it's more expensive, but because it costs more."

I love what a bitch she is.

BUFFY!

Mark here...Laurel and I are switching gears again and watching Season 1 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  I've made us Steak with Bernaise, French Fries and a Beet Salad, to keep with a "blood" theme.  This first episode is called, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and I was surprised at how entertaining this show is right out of the gate.  We're introduced to Buffy who has just moved to town after being involved with burning the school gym down at her previous school.  She's also a Slayer, the one girl in all the world who is given extra abilities to slay vampires and demons.  She also has to attend high school.  We're also introduced to her supporting cast...bitchy Cordelia, nerdy Willow, and outcast Xander...and mysterious Angel.  Also, we meet the school librarian, Giles, who coincidentally is her Watcher.  Each Slayer is given a Watcher who trains and guides her. 

This episode deals with a coming disaster called the Harvest, but more importantly shows the wit of the show.  There's a whole lot of 90s going on here, but its not as annoying as Dawson's Creek was and holds up in a more fun, nostalgic way.

Hi Laurel here...I agree with Mark, this show is super 90s in a fun way, not in an annoying existential teenage Dawson's way.  I have only watched Buffy sporadically before.  It's interesting to see how some of the different characters are introduced and what roles they play in the very beginning compared to how things pan out later.  I like in this episode how Buffy wants to move on and be a normal kid but she is sort of reluctantly forced into being the slayer again.  I love a reluctant hero.  Also I like how perfectly nerdy Willow is, and Buffy still seeks her out as a new friend anyway.

Mark here...its also interesting to note how this show was sort of on a cusp of a teen renaissance in tv and movies, and making the WB the go-to station for a while.  It's easy to see why with the snappy writing.  But I remember how odd the pickup of this show was in the beginning, basically a spinoff of a B-movie on a station no one watched...but whoever made the decision, it was the right one.

Quotes of note this episode:  Cordilia to Buffy when she see's her talking to Willow and Xander:  "I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility but..."

Also Buffy to Giles when he questions her ability to "sense" vampires when she ends up judging a book by it's cover, a supposed vampire who has clearly been underground for several years wearing a super dated cub outfit:  "I mean, deal with that outfit for a minute, it's like he's from El Debarge."