Okay, way behind on this one, so here we go...
Angel:
I consider this to be the first good episode of the series -- the first one that gives you the idea of how good it will get.
A fumigation party. Do things like this actually exist? That's an interesting idea... Of course, I just like killing bugs because I hate them.
"Was that a sentence?" -- I talk exactly like a Joss Whedon character, and have since before I watched his stuff. It's been made even worse since.
Angel or Xander: which is the worse dancer? I'll need to go back and rewatch that episode of Angel to be able to tell.
And really cheap time to cut to the credits, really. This version of the theme song still really bugs me.
Just a thought: Sarah is 20 here, playing a 16-year old and looks passably that age. David is 28, and looks like he could be 35. Just something that's always struck me about this episode since I first saw it.
David's acting is still wooden, but it's starting to get better.
"Their deaths will bring me little joy." [pause] "Of course, sometimes a little is enough."
David and Sarah really start to show their chemistry together when she comes back home and he's still there in her room -- why does she not question why he's still there? That's kind of something that I'd think you'd wonder.
Something I noticed but didn't remember: the chemistry between David and Julie. Wow, those two are good together. In fact, that scene is probably where his acting is best. At least, up until that point.
When the fight starts in the Bronze, I'm starting to hear traces of Angelus. I like hearing that -- when he does that, his acting is at its peak. He has a good amount of range, but he really shines when playing a villain who's a complete asshole.
And they killed Darla too early in the series -- they realized that there was so much potential in her character that they had to bring her back later, not really explaining how or why.
Also, Julie can't talk well through the teeth. Hence the reason Juliet Landau, when cast later on, would just go about her daily life with the teeth so she could get used to talking with them in. Or why they would use ADR.
Angel killed Darla. That is going to come back later as a point of conversation.
And The Master has more emotions than it seems Angelus really did -- that is... rather interesting.
Also, too much processing on the Anointed One's voice.
I Robot, You Jane:
Okay, I don't really dislike this episode, really -- but there's an odd significance to this episode -- after I first watched Firefly, I tried watching Buffy, but this was as far as I got. It was actually mostly because of the length of the series, and the fact that Hulu only had season 1 at the time. So, yeah, it seemed a little too ambitious to try and get through the entire series at the time. I'm not sure why I stopped watching at this episode, since I actually enjoyed it.
The neck snap is a little underwhelming when compared to other ones throughout the series. Remembering a specific one involving Angelus and someone in this episode...
Demon makeup for Moloch is actually pretty good, and for some reason reminds me of the Fyarl demon in A New Man. I might just be insane, though -- it's been known to happen, an when I think that someone looks like someone else, or something looks like something else, I'm usually the only one who seems to think so.
Wow, guest actors in this season are pretty much universally awful -- by that, I do mean one-time appearances, not Jenny, who shows up here and stays for quite a while.
Okay, I know why I liked this episode now: Jenny and Giles. I love their banter. I don't think any of this was written by Joss, but it actually feels like it.
I also like the central idea behind this: scanning a book is like a computer reading it, which leads to an interesting sci-fi idea and shows that this show won't ignore sci-fi or technology -- of course, it uses it quite oddly at times.
Also, sitting through the credits that I don't normally like (well, the song)... Willow looks better with long hair. Then again, I think almost all girls look better with long hair.
Random thought, but the subtitles in the scene between Buffy and Willow are almost covering their faces, due to the credits on the bottom. Kind of distracting, but that's because I'm the guy who watches things with the subtitles on.
This episode is incredibly dated, especially when I'm looking at the laptop that I'm typing these notes on and the tablet I was starting to watch the episode on (decided the DVDs were a better idea, consistently better quality than streaming)
"On line for what?" -- Joss is from NYC, so that might be a dialect thing. So is SMG. Not sure about the actual writers of the episode.
The infamous error with the birthdates. Buffy's canonical birthdate is January 19, 1981, which I think everyone here knows by now. Seeing as my birthday is January 18, this stuck out to me particularly.
I wonder what a "scary amount of computer time" was back then, and how it would compare to how much time I spend.
Wow, chat rooms. AOL. I remember this stuff. I was really young when that stuff happened, but I remember seeing it happen. I've got stories.
This does get kind of heavy-handed -- I'd heard people talking about it in the podcasts, but I didn't actually remember that -- on another note, I need to catch up and stop listening ahead in the podcasts, since they might kind of color my perception of the episode. Not that I haven't seen them already, but it's... a thing.
"Wow, I had knowledge." -- I should use that line, it was actually pretty awesome.
Wow, Buffy in those glasses and coat gave me a sudden Cruel Intentions vibe. That movie was prety awesome. And I'm going off-topic, but that's kind of the way that my mind works when I'm working on these things. This is basically my stream of consciousness expressed via keyboard while watching the episode.
And of course Xander's uncle was a janitor.
"Off the charts smart"? Sound familiar to any Dollhouse fans?
You know, I'm not sure that anyone has ever figured out how to get communication through typing or other text-based things work well in TV/movies. It's always really awkwardly done. Best I remember ever seeing was in a couple episodes of Weeds, but that's another topic for another time.
Even by their early standards, the electrical "accident" looks cheap.
Also, all the computer jokes I can make have been overdone, so I'm going to not make them.
I noticed you can see Buffy's black bra under the shirt she's wearing most of the episode and now I can't see anything else while she's on screen.
"Dave. He's dead." Is that meant to sound like a 2001 reference? I really need to watch that movie...
Wow, listening to it now, it's obvious that it's Joss Whedon's voice over the radio. He does have a somewhat distinctive voice, so yeah... I'm off on a tangent, yet again.
The idea of crossing science fiction and magic is something that I really like. Kind of too bad that that didn't really work out in Season 4, then, as that idea could've been really good.
And as it gets closer and closer to the end, I get less and less interested in the episode. Kind of unfortunate.
As I said before, electricity effects seem to always look kind of terrible.
The conversation about books and computers is actually really interesting, and makes Giles and Jenny fleshed out characters in that regard. It's something that they managed to do that with just a conversation, really.
And this final scene between Buffy, Willow, and Xander. This kind of thing, I call a Shawarma Ending, and it's everywhere in this series.
Overall, episode is kind of "meh", but not really that terrible, I don't think. Then again, I'm weird.
The Puppet Show:
I was never part of any talent show, or at any of them, but I have to imagine that everyone was this terrible. Cordelia also never gets to sing better in Angel, that I can recall. I remember that being just as terrible.
Snyder. He's a fun character. His dialogue at the beginning here feels a little off, but for the life of me I can't figure out why.
Also, the tuba music is suspiciously appropriate for what's happening in the scene.
I'm at the point by now where I fast-forward through the credits because... just because. I didn't want to sit through the credits.
Seeing as I know how this episode goes, there's really nothing to watch it for. I know the twist, which they put far too much effort into not really setting up, and so there's not really anything to really watch for.
Bringing him to justice? That becomes a rather large thing later on in the series. Of course, everyone who knows me can guess where that has already made my mind go.
Buffy's dress is pretty much the same length as her jacket. My attention is back on the episode.
With the scene of Buffy in her bedroom, I'm noticing how much weight Sarah lost over the course of the series. She's tiny to begin with, so I have no idea how she had enough weight to actually lose any.
On a random note from later on, the shot of the chandelier falling just looked terrible.
There's so little I'm that interested in that I keep paying attention to the way Buffy's dressed. Tells you how much I don't really care.
The sound effect the demon makes when stabbed sounds a lot like the dusting sound effect. Interesting way of cutting costs, though it is processed a bit and doesn't sound exactly the same.
I've never actually watched this last part before. The talent show sequence. Wow, it's kind of painful to watch.
Conclusion: there's no point watching this episode more than once.
Nightmares:
Buffy in pigtails. Braided pigtails. Now, if only her hair was longer...
"Sometimes they glare" -- there are so many OMWF references in this episode... well, retroactive references, so it's really more that the moments in OMWF are homages to this episode
Okay, the dialogue in this episode is really good -- writing is credited to Greenwalt, so I think I'm seeing why that's the case.
Oh god, spiders. All arthropods drive me insane. Just... ugh.
"What do they need all those legs for anyway?" -- again...
This is the third episode in a row where they make a reference to Nazis. That's... interesting.
Cordelia seems oddly sympathetic towards Buffy in the history test segment -- in her own unusual way, but oddly sympathetic.
Using regular, not mechanical, pencils? I remember those days not at all fondly.
And then I'm reminded that the Billy storyline here is a little clumsy -- also, when I think Billy referencing this show, I think of Billy Blim from Angel. Am I the only one confusing things?
They have greasers at this school? That's odd -- I mean, I like leather jackets, but with the sunglasses and the way they're talking, it's a little much.
Oh god, the scene between Buffy and her dad. This is... I really like this episode, and this is the main reason why this episode works so well. You really see into the characters, most especially Buffy.
Seriously, that scene is almost perfectly done. They even kept the score more restrained than was usual in this season.
"That would be a musical comedy version of this." Yet again.
And next time you see Buffy, just walking around campus -- really makes me just want to give her a hug. She looks like she really needs one.
And they do that annoying thing where they show the same exact shot right before and right after the commercial break -- that's really irritating, especially when you're watching it with the commercial breaks cut out.
Willow's nightmare is one of the first overt signs we get that Joss loves to torment his actors. That's part of why I get the James Cameron vibe from Joss.
Swastikas on the wall -- that's kind of odd, really. Not sure what the fascination was with Nazis for this quarter of a season.
Xander's dream should've turned into him eating all this candy and turning out to be fat.
On a different note, am I the only person my age (early 20s) who isn't afraid of clowns?
The Master was wasted in this season, partially because it was so short and partially because the writing team wasn't as good as they were later on. He's a lot of fun, but ultimately wasted.
Willow looks ridiculous in that makeup.
The nighttime across the street effect is... bizarre. Also, Buffy's birth year is finally decided on.
Seeing Buffy as a vampire is... interesting. The makeup looks really good. I once was wondering what Faith looked as a vampire (of course, that should surprise no one). Also, I wonder if vampire and slayer strength are additive, given this episode, that might have to be the case. Also, how did they get Buffy there through all the daylight?
As bad as those wasps looked, they still bug me. Pun kind of intended.
And the name Billy is also making me think of Dr. Horrible. My brain is all over the place.
Ending of this episode is a little too telegraphed, but kind of works.
Really, the character work with Buffy is what really makes this episode work. And Xander and Willow's conversation at the end... One thing that I notice with these endings is that most shows will keep the shot going, even after the dialogue is done, while as soon as the stinger here has been said, bam, cut to black.
Overall thinking: one "meh" episode, one pointless one, and two pretty good episodes. I still haven't seen anything to convince me that season one isn't the worst season of the show, but it's not outright terrible beginning to end.
