Message from discussion
More questions from the new Buffy/Angel fan
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From: "him...@animail.net" <him...@animail.net>
Newsgroups: alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer
Subject: Re: More questions from the new Buffy/Angel fan
Date: 19 Aug 2005 09:05:50 -0700
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Tim Martin wrote:
> Thanks a million to all those who answered, y'all were very friendly and
> informative, this seems like a great ng.
>
> Ok. If you don't mind, here a few more:
>
> 1. Where does a fan go from here? Can anyone recommend novels to buy (or to
> avoid)? Maybe a top five? What about Queen of the Slayers for instance? Or
> the Angel comic that came out this summer?
I have been totally disappointed by the novels, all of them. OTOH, I
have enjoyed a lot of the Angel and Buffy comics, too many to mention.
I suggest you seek out a good comic store and go through the back
issues to see which have the characters that most interest you. The
recent Angel comic isn't my fave, but it's OK. I'm looking forward to
the Spike comics and also enjoying the Serenity trilogy...only 2 out so
far.
> 2. Were the fans shocked when Dawn suddenly appeared, or was that leaked or
> otherwise hinted at say on the newsgroups and such?
A lot of people knew, but I was unspoiled and loved it. The real
shocker to me was how many viewers carried on about the "continuity"
problem: "hey, Buffy doesn't have a sister. The writers don't know
what they're doing." Some never did catch on that this was a plot
point, not a mistake, until the denoument. You'll see the same refusal
to acknowledge a deliberate plot twist in the "did Spike want a soul or
a chip removal" debate, although to be fair, that wasn't as cleverly
done as the introduction of Dawn.
> 3. What was the hiatus between seasons five and six like? Did everyone know
> Buffy was going to come back?
Yes.
> 4. When everyone saw Buffybot on the opening of season six, did everyone
> (like, um, me) thought that was Buffy?
I pretty much figured it was a trick and thought it was probably the
Buffybot, but I wasn't sure. I thought it might also be a flashback or
dream sequence.
> 5. Did everyone like Buffybot?
I did. I don't think it was ever a major issue. Some people were
upset that Spike had done such a thing, felt it was a violation of any
real feelings he might have...but I think that point was made in the
show too.
> 6. So I gather from the many great replies I got people reallly hated some
> characters. I have to say the only one in either series I came close to
> hating was Connor. Did a hatred for a character make people stop watching
> the show, and did any of this feedback affect Joss you think?
I don't know about Joss. I find it frustrating when fans can't/don't
differentiate between disliking a character as a person and disliking
them as a character. I didn't care for Connor as a person (too sadly
identifiable as a fucked up teen), but I did like him as a character
and thought VK did a great job. When he was introduced, I feared we
would be seeing "cute teen to lure in younger viewers," but he was one
creepy little gremlin...as he needed to be for the plot. Dru affected
me the same way. As a person, she made my flesh crawl, not just
because of the vampiness, but because she represented the worst form of
female manipulation and whining. As a character, however, she was
terrific!
The only character who systematically failed with me was Riley. I
didn't like him as a person, found him dull as a character, and MB was
not up to portraying the more nuanced conflicted Riley (when his faith
in the Initiative died and after that) that the writers wrote in. I
saw his role in the overall story, but felt less air time would have
been better.
> 7. I still can't see why anyone would hate Dawn. Why? She doesn't seem that
> hateable to me. Was it more of a concept problem? Would you have rather that
> she died/sacrified herself at the end of season five?
Yes, to the last. But I didn't hate her as a person or character in
S5. Nor did I necessarily want her dead at that time. The problem is
they never gave her a story. She was just a lump sitting around the
screen absorbing air time. MT did her best (she's a decent actress),
but there wasn't much of anything for her to do after S5.
> 8. So some people hated Buffy. I can't quite grasp that. She is the title
> character, the main character, just what did they do? Leave as fans, or just
> grin and bear it? Or just want her to stop acting in a way that made them
> hate her?
I never like main characters as much as the supports and Buffy was no
exception. But she was OK. At least she wasn't Miss Perfect. I think
some people wanted her to be more of a female icon, and were upset that
she was such a flawed hero, but I liked that part. And I liked the
fact that while she survived her long, difficult journey into
adulthood, she looked beat to shit at the end. I wish other TV heroes
showed the same result of what they have endured instead of emerging
shining and untouched.
I also think a lot of people disliked SMG. She is a bit of a cold
fish, but she's a good actress (within limits) and if she didn't want
to play the fan game (conventions and such), that was OK with me.
There were other characters/actors/writers/producers I was more
interested in seeing and hearing from anyway.
himiko
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