Buffy the Animated Series

[dragonyphoenix]

Apparently Joss Whedon regrets not making this. Here are my thoughts:

Why does Xander remind of Shaggy? And "Cordelia already made me insecure about what to wear" to the Bronze coming from Willow. Really? Is this a joke? "The followers of Morgan Freeman"? Yep, it must be a joke. Willow going all buggy because Buffy staked a vamp the night before?

And damn. I really thought that dragon had eaten Buffy, which would have made this the shortest animated series ever! Which would have been a good thing.

Comments

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Bad: No SMG voice (I know she didn't want to participate)
Very bad: "You sound like a poodle"
So Very bad: "There are thing in the dark...dark things"
Horrendously oh-hell-no bad: buffy smacking herself in the forehead with her own stake...when the HELL did that ever happen on the show? Apparently no one who made that watched the Freshman.

I hate it when Buffy's occasional clumsiness outside of Slaying is turned into a defining characteristic.

Good: "I'm gonna put on my dancing shoes...and my 'standing in the corner' t-shirt."

Ok, that was funny. then I gave up after giles' display of 'sarcasm'.

Re: Joss remarks, I suspect he's being sarcastic here, a la "I thought the most important man in Buffy's life was Parker..." I never know when to take what he's quoted as saying at face value. Which means I pretty much never do (except for what he had to say about how he directed Sarah and James at the end of Chosen. I pick, I choose.)

I mean, this is greater disappointment than Amber refusing to come back as Tara, than the various spin-offs that had originally been planned from btvs, not being able to get Sarah or Michelle to appear in AtS S5; etc etc? Go ahead, Joss, try to pull the other one.

Joss always used to gripe and complain about how unfair the networks were being to him (remember the Wonder woman project?), how he was the rebel against the machine...now that he's in the machine, it's a different story of course.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Giles sarcasm was one of the few not terrible bits. ;-)

Gosh, I HOPE Joss is being sarcastic. I hadn't thought of that.

I only heard a bit about Wonder Woman, mostly that he wanted to do, um, something and it didn't happen. how he was the rebel against the machine...now that he's in the machine Have you ever read Doonsberry (which I'm sure I misspelled)? There was a character there who described himself as "the hip priest who can talk to the young." That still cracks me up. Also reminds me of my Dad. He taught high-school and thought of himself as the iconoclastic teacher. The few kids I've met from his school would not agree.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Oh I thought the Giles sarcasm was rather badly done - like just a tad over the line or pitched a little too high? He was often sarcastic (I love his "Stupid Americans" bit in Dead Man's Party), esp S2 on, but in that scene in the cartoon the way it was directed at Willow made his character seem a bit of a bully, esp with Willow (and her sitting below him).

A low-key delivery, spoken from the other side of the table, would have felt much different. And again having the actor himself in the flesh deliver it would be different even from having ASH saying it as he does here. It's his voice but not his presence. One step up from the comics, but still many steps down from the series when you remove the actors.

I used to read Doonesbury every day back in the '80's, it's been ages since I've done so, but I think I know who you are talking about? Most of the characters in it are wonderfully self-deluded.

thought of himself as the iconoclastic teacher. The few kids I've met from his school would not agree.

As I said, self-deluded. (I don't mean that to be harsh - I'm pretty self-deluded a lot of the time myself.) Some people have really poor "mirrors" and are unable to see themselves accurately. (Interesting idea in context of btvs - vampires literally cannot see their reflections. this is part of the reason I think Angel and Spike need Buffy, need her as the mirror; they see in her who they aspire to be (a better/righteous man) whether they know it or not; or who they are or think they are at any given moment. But of course no one can do that all the time with accuracy for any other person and it's no one's job to do so.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

It actually took me a moment to realize he was being sarcastic. I can't say it was well done but for some reason it didn't seem as awful as the rest.

Hmmm, I do like the idea of Spike and Angel needing someone else to be their mirrors, to tell them who they are trying to be. That's an interesting idea although, yeah, it certainly wouldn't work long-term.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I think the idea of mirrors is one I've adapted/borrowed/stolen from the_royal_anna and one of her wonderful buffy/spike metas from ten years ago (2003-04). Some of the first things I read in this fandom and some of the best - ever. I just can't find the exact quote right now, but anything she writes is gold:
http://the-royal-anna.livejournal.com/tag/buffy%2Fspike

it certainly wouldn't work long-term.

In hindsight I can understand why Angel had to leave and "find himself" - I just wish he'd been a bit less of a dick about it while claiming it was for her own good (and treating her less like a partner than a child) blah blah.

And I ship buffy and Spike in S7 but I liked them best as partners and friends. would they have been able to have a lasting relationship post-series? Not without a helluva lot of work on both ends. Which is why I can read fics in which they get back together, fics in which he goes off with Angel and she connects with someone else, where they become friends after the series, where they don't - it's all good. it could go any way for them, in my mind.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I'm not as familiar with the latter seasons. In fact I haven't responded to one of your comments yet because you've mentioned specific episodes and I didn't feel like looking them up at two in the morning. ;-) In terms of relationships, I'm not, at least traditionally, that picky about whether they'd work in canon or not. I read/write Spander. Who am I to throw stones? And yes I know there was that look in the bit worm episode, but I think that was more of a nod to the fans than anything that was supposed to be canon. ... Awesome moment though. ;-)

My issue with Willow/Giles, which I have been reading lately, isn't so much canon-related as just the age issue.