Buffy Series Finale Tonight 433
roothog writes "I just finished watching the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, an episode that sparks with the writing of Joss Whedon. Strangely, there weren't any commercials :). One of the best written shows on television comes to an end tonight in North America. A very accurate script summary is available for any spoiler-seekers. I'd suggest skipping the spoilers: it's worth the wait...for a season 7 episode..."
Bittorrent ;-) (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Bittorrent ;-) (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Bittorrent ;-) (Score:2)
Re:Bittorrent ;-) (Score:2)
Thank You!. You don't have to install wxPython or GTK libraries or anything. :)
My cable modem is contributing a paltry 12KB/s now, best I can do. :( But I'm at work, so I don't care that my downstream is now shit.
Censoring? (Score:2)
What censoring? I know shows from Europe are censored when they're shown in the states, and that since there are more commercials here, the euro versions of some american shows are actually longer sometimes. I never knew shows were also censored the other way around. What's missing on Sky/BBC?
I remember somebody mentioning a short scene from Babylon 5 that was missing in the UK (the Narn ambassador drawin
Re:Censoring? (Score:2, Informative)
Sky don't cut it, AFAIK. BBC do for the Thursday showing (6.45pm) but show it uncut on Friday night.
Of course C4 had the bright idea of show Angel at 6pm (think that's right), which is more violent. The result was often amusing, and invariably baffling. The endings (where the fights normally are) would become a rapid succession of cuts. Perhaps that's what the poster had in mind?
Re:Censoring? (Score:5, Insightful)
Now I see the pattern.
In europe, adults believe kids should not be exposed to violence.
In the states, adults believe kids should not be exposed to sexuality.
Re:Censoring? (Score:2)
Re:Censoring? (Score:2)
So people in the UK missed out on Sylvester McCoy getting all shot up in the Doctor Who movie, while American viewers don't get to see any tits (Unless the program is airing on PBS).
Michael plays it safe.... (Score:4, Funny)
What? Yeah, they're dead. Get over it.
WHAT!?! (Score:3, Funny)
Seriously: I think that Buffy has taken a serious step down this year. It's disappointing that the last few episodes end up concentrating on insignificant new characters (Kennedy, Wood) and got away from the things which made the scoobies a cool group of heros in the first place (how many superheroes prepare for battle by doing research?).
But oh well. Must be a universal truth that
AWW MAN! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:AWW MAN! (Score:2)
Consider youself lucky.
The show on the other hand in actually pretty good. If you want to know what happens when a studio is allowed to ruin something watch the movie. If you want to know what happens when they don't, watch the TV show.
I'd rather watch that special on Hitler on CBS. (Score:3, Funny)
Full Script? (Score:5, Informative)
Good Science Fiction (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Good Science Fiction (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't know. The series initially had great geek appeal in the form of Willow, who spent years showing the Sunnydale Water Company that the system holding the sewer plans was hopelessly insecure.
Alas Willow went to college, discovered Wicca, and her laptop gathered dust.
The message for geeks is "you'll grow out of it". And, er, become a lesbian. And become addicted to magic.
Ok. Confusing message. But anti-geek.
(btw the finale demonstrates that you can't fix a b
Buffy is NOT Good Science Fiction (Score:3, Insightful)
OK, the "good" bit is open to debate but where's the "science fiction" that you're talking about?
Philip K Dick is science fiction. Ray Bradbury is science fiction. Isaac Asimov is science fiction. Star Trek, Star Wars and Stargate are all science fiction (although, for Star Wars at least, the term space opera is more accurate) but Buffy is not.
Why? Because it's not science fiction. Period.
Buffy is fantasy fiction, just like Xena, Hercules, etc.
Pedantic p
Re:Good Science Fiction (Score:2)
It is a modern horror show, not sci-fi.
Actally, its more of a fantasy show, since the horror isn't horrorifying.
Hot girls are nice, but I have an internet connection, so I don't need to see a show just for that.
Just because it comprises a genre doesn't make it geek oriented. Sheesh.
Huh? (Score:3, Funny)
We're still talking about Buffy here right?
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Insightful)
Besides you wouldn't be a deprived geek and "different" person if you were reading Slashdot, News for Nerds. At least I'm not reading Ain't It Cool News or videotaping myself waving a shower rod in crazy motions.
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Babylon 5, Buffy, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Lexx. Lame plot hooks, shallow charaters, stunningly bad dialog. But at least the SFX are good!(?) I've really tried to give SF on TV a chance, but I've been disappointed time and again.
Then again, I though the first Matrix was pedestrian. Maybe my standards are too high.
Oh, and by the way, the best writ
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Maybe you're just a stuck up asshole with a short guy/small penis complex?
Do ya think?
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
Oh, and by the way, there's really nothing special about HBO. Sci-Fi (aka USA), WB, and all of the rest of basic cable have the same studios, even if they can't show a little boob or say *#&% once in a while.
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Informative)
And now we're to believe that a TV show, from the Dubbya-Bee no less, about a teeny bopper girl who hunts boogeymans is somehow the 'best written show' on television? It's a fucking live action Scooby Doo, with Sarah Michelle Gellar stepping in to play the dog.
Hmm... [bbc.co.uk]
Hmmmmm..... [npr.org]
Hmmmmmmmmm....... [slayage.tv]
Arrgh... (Score:3, Funny)
"Goddamn it! - this site needs a category for all the crap I don't care about!"
In Canada... (Score:5, Informative)
Here's a no-spoiler summary: the ending doesn't suck. I really mean that. I hate nothing worse than something that ends poorly, be it a book or a movie or a television show, because it tends to ruin all the good things that went before. This is an ending worthy of Buffy.
Re:In Canada... (Score:2)
The movie was outstanding (Score:5, Funny)
Because of this, I held off on watching the TV series. How good could that be compared to the film? I finally caught a couple of episodes over the last couple of weeks, and it does look like a clever show, but they should have called it something else, and let the film stand by itself.
Can someone please explain... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm not suggesting that Charmed should register on Slashdot's radar, rather I'm asking why Buffy does. Can someone please explain it to me?
I've watched several episodes of Buffy, as well as a handful of Charmed. I can't say I've ever for a split second thought that either show had much merit but, obviously, there are those out there that disagree with me?
Not that I think she's that attractive but is it a Sarah Michelle Gellar thing? I've read so many posts on Slashdot, in various discussions about quality television and I find it amazing that Buffy is even mentioned in the same breath as shows such as CSI, The West Wing and 24.
I'm not looking to troll here - seriously, that's an honest statement - but just what is it about Buffy that has some of you ga-ga over it? Schoolboy fantasies? Demonic possession? Please elaborate.
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2, Insightful)
Also, a couple of years ago there was the Columbine incident. John Katz wrote an article [slashdot.org] that to this date is still the second most visited story.
The name of the story is Voices From the HellMouth, a reference to the mystical portal fr
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:5, Insightful)
Quite simply Buffy has been one of the best shows on TV, and some of the epidodes (e.g. Hush, The Body) rank amongst some of the best TV ever made. This is why people like it so much.
Buh-bye Buffy
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
Why would I do that if a couple of episodes won't grab me?
It seems that people simply like the idea of there being a "mythos."
Buffy has not been one of the best shows on TV, not by a long shot. "Best TV ever made?" Have you ever seen Cheers, or Mash, or the Sopranos?
really, I'm not trolling, but (Score:2)
But that doesn't really explain why it's considered so good. It is, however, a suitabe explanation of Buffy vs Charmed, and I have the sneaking suspicion that if you look at the shows that
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
Ah, another member of the ADD generation I see.
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
I don't know. I didn't really start enjoying B5 until I had seen a good four or five episodes.
I started enjoying Buffy after I watched the first three or four. Like B5, season one was rather weak, and if you want someone to enjoy the series, they should start watching the beginning of season two. I'd say from there, three or four episodes are enough to see the cleverness of the writing.
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
Did you feel left out of the Buffy fan club? Were some Buffy fans unsupportive of your fanfic efforts? This is the second thread I've run into with you venting over Buffy so something must have happened.
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
Nah, just a slow day at work. Buffy is a dumb ass show. I just don't understand why people like it then try to dignify themselves by watching it by claiming it has some superb acting or writing or some such nonsense.
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
After reading those entries and your condescending comments here, I'm fairly convinced that you're a pseudo-intellectual who criticizes things that he can't really understand. Stick to the simple movies and shows with the easy-to-understand characters and plots. Enjoy them, but get off your high
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2, Insightful)
Either that or there's some kind of payoff.
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:5, Insightful)
1) It's fun. Cute woman with mad martial arts skills kicks bad monster ass every week. How can you complain?
2) It's clever. It takes cliches and flips them upside down. Joss Wedon (the show's creator) has stated that the inspiration for the show was the typical cute blond who gets cornered and savaged by the monster in your basic horror movie. What if the cute blond was ready for the monster, and kicked its ass instead? Reversals like that are fun.
3) It's funny -- and the geekier your are, the more sly references you get and the more you appreciate the interesting things that the writers do with the English language. From one character's comment that somebody "makes Godot look punctual" to Xander's perfect sumnation of the effects of an all-night study session: "too much research...need beverage," the writers delight in bouncing their jokes off of culture high and low, and in simply messing around with the language.
4) And, most importantly, the characters ring true. Every character on Buffy is well drawn, three dimensional. Even though they're combating fantastic monsters every week, the characters behave like real people, experiencing all the joy and hurt that real people experience. And the fantastical situations they run into are often just exagerations of events that all of us have experienced.
Basically, the show engages you on visceral, intellectual, and emotional levels; it's exciting, witty, and touching. What more could one ask?
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
I've watched a few Buffy's and so far my impression is that Jennifer Garner would kick Buffy's ass all over the place. Maybe the bar for ass-kicking women has just been raised since the series started...
2) It's clever. It takes cliches and flips them upside down. Joss Wedon (the show's creator) has stated that the inspiration for the show was the typical cute blond who gets cornered and savaged b
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:3, Interesting)
I think that if you'd examine the demographics for the two shows, you'd find the Charmed audience to be centered around teenaged girls.
You'd find the Buffy audience to be centered around older females and young and middle-aged men.
Case in point, my sister and her 15 year old daughter just love fantasy programming, and wouldn't miss a Charmed episode. I've tried to get them into Buffy, but I think it
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
I haven't seen the recent seasons of Buffy. But at the heart of Buffy is a show that plays off high school, and what it means to be a geek or an outsider there in. From what I've seen of Charmed, it's just another sitcom once you remove the magic. Also, there was a lot of continuing plot and character changes in Buffy. You don't get a stream of redshirts; major characters die, or undergo huge chang
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:2)
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:3, Interesting)
A really excellent example being the famous "Earshot" which was pulled from the air when the Columbine shootings happened a few days earlier which had some parallels. This named the whole "Hellmouth" discussion of Columbine on Slashdot.
Another example: "The Body". Somebody just dies. Bang. More or less natural causes and then dealing with the paramedics and doctors and s
Re:Can someone please explain... (Score:3, Informative)
It isn't about SMG. I would even say she was almost expendible, except for being the title character, so.
Don't worry no spoilers (Score:5, Insightful)
Did anyone else mis-hear his name? (Score:2)
Poll (Score:5, Funny)
Submitted this, but of course:
within like 10 seconds of submitting it :)
How should Buffy end?
( ) David Lynch Ending: The entire series was just a masterbatory fantasy for Zander. Somehow he still manages to lose an eye.
( ) Kubrick Ending: Calib chases buffy around the hedge maze and ends up freezing to death.
( ) Spielberg Ending: Buffy is revived by alien robots in the year 3010 who create the illusion of Angel for one day and then they euthanize her.
( ) Lucas Ending: "Buffy, you've turned off your targetting computer! What's wrong?"
( ) Joss Whedon Ending: The gangs carrers' suddenly end when they decide to write a sci-fi western.
( ) CowboyNeil Ending: CowboyNeil doesn't end.
Re:Poll (Score:2, Funny)
Don't forget:
() The Admiral Ackbar ending: "It's a trap!"
(required nerd joke)
Rise and Fall of BtVS (Score:5, Interesting)
However, the loss of the high school setting was a major problem, with the show first focusing on college, then the magic shop, and finally getting stuck in the claustrophobic confines of Buffy's house in season 5 as Buffy focused on her sick mother and magical sister. Sunnydale faded away as the setting became smaller and smaller, leaving us to wonder what happened to the world that Buffy is supposed to be saving. The last time I recall Buffy going out of her way to save a normal person was the guy she saved in the alley in The Gift, two years ago.
The sixth season started out well, both in terms of quality and ratings (a 4.3 Neilsen), but quickly ran into problems after the excellent musical episode. Somehow magic has become addictive and we end up with Willow strung out at a magic crack house in the episode Wrecked. Don't ask me to explain it, or the producers for the matter, as showrunner Marti Noxon admitted on last week A&E Biography that she didn't understand the story arcs that she's run on Buffy. Unfortunately, season 6 continued to get worse with Spike attempting to rape Buffy and Willow's lesbian lover getting shot, resulting in Willow becoming evil and going off to destroy the world in a perfect example of the lesbian cliche perpetrated in so many books and movies.
Season 7 made a token effort to fix the characters after destroying them in the previous season, but quickly focused on throwing spinoff ideas at the viewers, ranging from Buffy's little sister Dawn, guest star and dark slayer Faith, and a multitude of Slayers-in-training whose names fans couldn't recall from one week to the next. None of them stuck, but the combination of losing the focus on the core characters fans loved and having the villain of the season be the First Evil, who can't do anything but talk, made for a boring season with Buffy's lowest ratings ever. Over half the season's episodes had Neilsen ratings below last season's lowest rated episode, Seeing Red, which had a 2.7.
Unfortunately, I'm glad the show is over and wish that it had ended a couple of years earlier. I'll still cherish the early days though and buy the first five seasons on DVD once they're all available.
Re:Rise and Fall of BtVS (Score:2)
Buffy was once a great show, but I really don't know why people are still pronoucing it to be one of the best shows on TV. Have they seen an episode lately?
(I do still watch Angel, though. I've enjoyed this season, with a few minor gr
You're full of shit... (Score:2)
Dork.
Re:Rise and Fall of BtVS (Score:3, Interesting)
The main story arc for season four (the Initi
Re:Rise and Fall of BtVS (Score:2)
Yes, he did. Perhaps you missed that episode, or blocked it out, along with all the other out-of-character stunts that the writers have been pulling the (increasingly marionette-like) characters into.
Salon Article (Score:5, Informative)
Thus begins the countdown (Score:2, Offtopic)
Meet ya down at the 7-11.
A bad end to a great show (Score:4, Interesting)
The finale does nothing to answer these questions, instead it only poses more. You're left with the impression that the writers themselves don't know whats going on, that they're simply making it up as they go along. But why have an overall arc plot if you can't be bothered doing it properly, they'd have been much better sticking to the one off style episodes of the earlier seasons.
Re:A bad end to a great show (Score:5, Informative)
The "First Evil" (a human name for something timeless) is the thing from which evil was borne. That from which all of the seven deadly sins find their roots. That which creates our urges and impulses and makes bad possible. Its grand plan? It told us; it's tired of the balance of good versus evil. It's coming home to roost, and that's that.
In part, Spike was removed from the influence of the Hellmouth and brought to live with loved ones who helped him battle the evil that tried to control him. This was brought to light in the second-to-last episode where he saw Buffy, the one he loved like he didn't think he was capable of, kissing Angel as if he (Spike) meant nothing to her. That allowed his guard to drop, enter the first, and we find ourselves prepared for the finale. Answers forthcoming. :)
My guess would be the 'First' was raising its army. Why send small groups out when you could hit with full, brutal force and crush your enemies? Also, the one it brought out initially was quite possibly (probably) a test. What, exactly, is this slayer capable of?
If you can take out the supply lines before sending your men into battle, all the better. The last thing the 'First' needs is for slayers to continue to pop up as a replenishing source of opposition. Terminate them as mere weak humans and you solve a lot of problems later on.
Divide and conquor. It meant the same as it did for Willow; it asked Willow to kill herself (Willow being powerful, and therefore a potential threat), and it wanted to create (our favourite acronym) Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt in the Summers household. Give Buffy some problems on the homefront to deal with and distract her from the front lines. In the old BBS game, Barren Realms Elite, you could send in spies to create dissent amongst the enemy troops which would lower morale and make them easy pickin's.
It's my understanding that should the show have been picked up for an eighth (and possibly ninth) season, this was to be the plan. Alas, Sarah has a burdgeoning career to consider and I'm sure the rest of the cast have other projects to attend to (I know Eliza has been in some movies lately, I believe Anthony has been returning to theatre, Allison is getting married, albeit to our Rogue Demon Hunter friend, Michelle is still young enough to snare a great deal of roles, etc.). That, and Joss is spread a tad thin of late with Angel and the various new projects he's starting up (Firefly? Is that still around?).
to all the hatas (Score:2, Insightful)
The series won't be complete without... (Score:3)
The signifigance of BTV (Score:3, Interesting)
Sci-fi, fantasy seemed to be a domain of special concern to the
Besides being about pop culture, rejoicing in it, playfully alluding to it, and creating innovative and well-crafted popular culture, Buffy is also about the alienation of youth. This is also something that is central to the "geek" experience, as Jon Katz once pointed out (though much to his massive villification, for some reason). It also did all this while being darned entertaining (though it did abound in in-jokes which often failed to enamor the casual and occasional viewer).
And for the record: The show didn't start failing with Season 4, that season, with the massive secret commando base below UC-Sunnydale, had great comic moments, innovative TV writing, social commentary, social satire, action, you name it, one of the best seasons. Season 5, battling Glory the Valley Girl Demon God and the the mysterious dawn of Dawn also had many strengths and was just good horror writing.
real men watch american chopper (Score:2)
of the only people on slashdot with some BAG!
*sniff*.... (Score:2)
Sorry (Score:2)
Attention Buffy fans: (Score:2)
thanks.
-J
To everyone whinging about this story... (Score:3, Funny)
Joss Whedon Q & A in Todays NYT (Score:3, Informative)
Joss answered answered reader's questions in this feature in today's Times online. [nytimes.com]
$0 reg. etc.
Buffy Schmuffy... (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Not trolling. (Score:2)
Re:Not trolling. (Score:2)
Re:Not trolling. (Score:2)
I mean, Dude, c'mon... It's a "news for nerds" Website, not a mind-control device!
Not trolling either (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:When was this due? (Score:2)
Well said!
If people don't like television shows being mentioned, disable the television category. It's one checkbox, people. Consider it a test of nerdiness; can you sucessfully edit preferences on an online news site? (Poll to be held next week. CowboyNeal can do it - can you?)
Yes, Buffy has geek appeal. Sci-Fi, monsters, babes, lesbians, magic, evil, the conquering of good over evil by way of Googling
Re:the decline of slashdot (Score:2)
Re:the decline of slashdot (Score:2)
Re:the decline of slashdot (Score:2)
Re:the decline of slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
And this AC is it.
NOBODY MAKES YOU READ THIS!
And the only reason people are playing games on Friday night, is because they're big boys and girls, who are allowed to go out on a school night.
Thank you, this has been a pointless flame brought to you by One Pissed Off Bunny productions.
Spin-Off Idea (Score:2)
I think it'd fly if you could find the right writers... I wonder if Neil Gaiman would be up for a season of episodic TV writing...
Re:Spin-Off Idea (Score:5, Funny)
"julienned preacherman" oh yeah
Re:stuff that matters (Score:3, Funny)
Not when Buffy is on, Buffy is at 8 EDT, 24 is at 9 EDT.
Re:stuff that matters (Score:2)
Re:this doesnt belong on slashdot (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:this doesnt belong on slashdot (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:this doesnt belong on slashdot (Score:5, Insightful)
A quick news google [google.com] might be worthwhile if you're judging it purely by it's title and pretty cast.
Re:this doesnt belong on slashdot (Score:2)
Buffy Nerds (Score:2, Interesting)
PHD's (Score:2)
Re:Best writtin???? (Score:2)
Usually when adding a scornful remark like this, people try to get it right. But I digress.
Were you open-minded enough to see the metaphors in the show and concentrated not on two plot elements (of thousands) but on the big picture, you might have an idea of how good the show really was.
If you don't like the show that much - why are you participating in this discussion? Why not do the mature thing and leave well enough alone? There are hundreds of articles submitted that I'd never parti
Re:A sad farewell (Score:3, Insightful)
As long as Alyson Hannigan carries a flute with her and keeps making pictures like this [fortunecity.co.uk] , I don't think she's gonna have much of a problems escaping being typecast.