BtVS season 1: Welcome to the Hellmouth
Feb. 3rd, 2008 06:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shapinglightSo I've been off work with a cold (as anyone who reads this LJ has been informed ad nauseam over the past week). As a consequence, I watched more telly in one week than I have in ages. First, there were two episodes of City of Vice, then there was Torchwood, then on DVD six episodes of The Wire (will talk about ep 6 in another post, maybe) and, as a complete contrast, inspired by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
buffy_rewind, my first re-watch in ages of Welcome to the Hellmouth.
More behind cut, though not really a review, more a set of random observations.
I was actually a bit worried about re-watching this episode. I never thought that much of it when it was originally shown on TV in the UK (only kept watching because my kids, who were about 13 and 9 at the time, wanted to carry on watching the show and they wanted me to watch it with them). I've watched it since, of course, and enjoyed it a lot more because I'd become fond of the show and was willing to forgive the original two-parter's clunkiness (enjoyed some of the later season 1 episodes a lot, but the first two episodes, not so much).
So, this time, I was sort of steeling myself to endure the cheesiness, and cheesiness there indeed was, especially whenever one of the vampire characters turned up. However, on the whole, I was pleasantly surprised. Here's just a few trivial things that particularly struck me.
Don't they all look young? And what on earth is Buffy wearing on her first day at school? How could Joyce let her even leave the house dressed like that?
:Is shocked:
Poor old Joyce! She often comes across looking like a neglectful mum, because if she didn't, Buffy wouldn't be able to go out slaying, would she?
Couldn't help noticing also how tiny SMG-P looks next to both Charisma Carpenter and Kristine Sutherland - and the weird thing is, I've stood right next to both those actresses in the last year and they are both delicate little women (CC may not look as if she is in AtS season 4 but she is). SMG-P and AH must be practically midgets!
Xander annoyed me just as much this time as the first time I watched the show, I'm afraid. Joss was good at surprising the viewer right from the start, but some things even he telegraphed. Even back in 1997 (or whenever it was) I could see at once that Xander was supposed to be the nice ordinary boy with whom male viewers were meant to identify and that quite probably, in the long term, his big crush on Buffy would be rewarded. Unfortunately, due to no fault of NB's, this meant that I was predisposed to dislike the character (long story) and I duly did. It took me years and years to learn to do more than just tolerate him, even though Xander got over his crush (that helped actually) and even though some of my favourite standalone episodes are Xander-centric.
I think I just have a stubborn streak/character flaw/call it what you will that ensures I never like the character/relationship you're supposed to like and always invest too much in the problematic ones.
Then there's Angel, who I also found quite annoying to start with, because I could see he was being set up as 'the love interest'. Can remember arguing with my kids about him after this episode and telling them I was sure he'd turn out to be a vampire. IMO Joss did telegraph it when he had Angel go all vehement and tell Buffy he wants what she wants, 'to kill them all.' Obviously some deep family trauma there, I thought, though I suppose we were meant to think that maybe vampires had killed his family. Also noticed that DB's mysterious stranger act is very similar in some ways to his Angelus act. Hmm.
Darla is very un-Darla-like. I suppose you could fanwank it with hindsight that being back with the Master sort of regressed her, but it's pushing it. Luke and the Master and the other vampires are crashing bores (and cheesy - this is where the cheese comes in). Found myself muttering, "Hurry up and get here, Spike and Dru," whenever Luke opened his mouth and said something irritating and portentous.
So yes, there was cheese and some bits of clunky acting, but there was lots of good stuff too, including the dialogue, which sparkled, the opening scene with Darla and the boy in the empty school, which is a very clever role-reversal, and I have to say that SMG-P owned the part of Buffy right from the word go.
Oh and last but definitely not least, ASH looked absolutely gorgeous and wasn't quite as stereotypical stuffy Brit as I remembered.
Looking forward to watching more.
buffy_rewind, my first re-watch in ages of Welcome to the Hellmouth.More behind cut, though not really a review, more a set of random observations.
I was actually a bit worried about re-watching this episode. I never thought that much of it when it was originally shown on TV in the UK (only kept watching because my kids, who were about 13 and 9 at the time, wanted to carry on watching the show and they wanted me to watch it with them). I've watched it since, of course, and enjoyed it a lot more because I'd become fond of the show and was willing to forgive the original two-parter's clunkiness (enjoyed some of the later season 1 episodes a lot, but the first two episodes, not so much).
So, this time, I was sort of steeling myself to endure the cheesiness, and cheesiness there indeed was, especially whenever one of the vampire characters turned up. However, on the whole, I was pleasantly surprised. Here's just a few trivial things that particularly struck me.
Don't they all look young? And what on earth is Buffy wearing on her first day at school? How could Joyce let her even leave the house dressed like that?
:Is shocked:
Poor old Joyce! She often comes across looking like a neglectful mum, because if she didn't, Buffy wouldn't be able to go out slaying, would she?
Couldn't help noticing also how tiny SMG-P looks next to both Charisma Carpenter and Kristine Sutherland - and the weird thing is, I've stood right next to both those actresses in the last year and they are both delicate little women (CC may not look as if she is in AtS season 4 but she is). SMG-P and AH must be practically midgets!
Xander annoyed me just as much this time as the first time I watched the show, I'm afraid. Joss was good at surprising the viewer right from the start, but some things even he telegraphed. Even back in 1997 (or whenever it was) I could see at once that Xander was supposed to be the nice ordinary boy with whom male viewers were meant to identify and that quite probably, in the long term, his big crush on Buffy would be rewarded. Unfortunately, due to no fault of NB's, this meant that I was predisposed to dislike the character (long story) and I duly did. It took me years and years to learn to do more than just tolerate him, even though Xander got over his crush (that helped actually) and even though some of my favourite standalone episodes are Xander-centric.
I think I just have a stubborn streak/character flaw/call it what you will that ensures I never like the character/relationship you're supposed to like and always invest too much in the problematic ones.
Then there's Angel, who I also found quite annoying to start with, because I could see he was being set up as 'the love interest'. Can remember arguing with my kids about him after this episode and telling them I was sure he'd turn out to be a vampire. IMO Joss did telegraph it when he had Angel go all vehement and tell Buffy he wants what she wants, 'to kill them all.' Obviously some deep family trauma there, I thought, though I suppose we were meant to think that maybe vampires had killed his family. Also noticed that DB's mysterious stranger act is very similar in some ways to his Angelus act. Hmm.
Darla is very un-Darla-like. I suppose you could fanwank it with hindsight that being back with the Master sort of regressed her, but it's pushing it. Luke and the Master and the other vampires are crashing bores (and cheesy - this is where the cheese comes in). Found myself muttering, "Hurry up and get here, Spike and Dru," whenever Luke opened his mouth and said something irritating and portentous.
So yes, there was cheese and some bits of clunky acting, but there was lots of good stuff too, including the dialogue, which sparkled, the opening scene with Darla and the boy in the empty school, which is a very clever role-reversal, and I have to say that SMG-P owned the part of Buffy right from the word go.
Oh and last but definitely not least, ASH looked absolutely gorgeous and wasn't quite as stereotypical stuffy Brit as I remembered.
Looking forward to watching more.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 03:23 pm (UTC)Yeah, I'm surprised, really, that Joss hadn't intended to make the vampires fleshed out at all, originally. It seems to me like such an obvious thing to do, but I suppose it really was a happy accident.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 06:10 pm (UTC)I don't remember that. Can you by any chance link me? (Bit of a long-shot, I know).
It would certainly make more sense if DB did know his character was supposed to be a vampire but I keep remembering the way JM wasn't told what was going on with Spike at the end of season 6 and how it ruined the soul-quest story.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 11:18 pm (UTC)You've probably already seen it. as for the other handful of articles i used to have tagged, i don't know where they went. they're in there somewhere, but i'm crap at organization. i'll keep looking, though. *g*
BTW- *drools over your icon*
no subject
Date: 2008-02-05 12:57 pm (UTC)Odd that the interview seems to have been done just prior to season 3, which Spike was hardly in and Dru not at all. It's not clear from what DB said that he always knew Angel was a vampire or not, but it's great fun to read the three of them having fun together like that, and their attitudes haven't changed at all.
JM is all: Vampires Are Bad. Young people, don't copy them!
JL is all: I'm loopy, but sweet and overidentifies way too much with her character and DB is just having a ball messing around and making fun of people.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-05 12:58 pm (UTC)