BTVS - the movie

POSTED BY: Angeldove
UPDATED: Sunday, October 9, 2005 12:24
VIEWED: 10848
PAGE 2 of 5

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 NEXT PAGE

AERELORN

Monday, May 17, 2004 11:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Idefix:
just how many of us are there? I could write almost exactly the same. I'm only in possession of Buffy 1-5 yet but I plan on getting all the rest including Angel.

I just thought "vampires?" "kids fighting vampires?" "never!" but it is really really good. among the best. it's the characters, the dialog and the stories. they shine through however biased you might now be (ok it seems to be more a girls show than a boys show. my boyfriend watched S1-5 with me and he isn't a fan now). just start with Buffy S1 and go from there. I think S1 is good enough to get almost everyone hooked who will be hooked. it isn't as good as the following seasons though. but people widely disagree on which seasons are the best and which should never have happend (if there are any of the latter variety at all). so you just have to watch and decide for yourself. s2 and 3 are kinda alike, whereas S4 is majorly different. and the next hugely different season is S6. and I personally like the dark side in it very much.

ahh and if you can: don't get too hooked up on any 'ships' and characters. if you decide by S2 you can't have anyone else than Angel being with Buffy you'll suffer thru the rest of the series from S4 onward. if you get too hooked on Giles you will hate seasons 6 and 7. and things like that. keep an open mind and enjoy what's out there. enjoy it changing because that's why it's so great. it isn't the same all over again every year. would be damn boring if it were (as it actually is with lots of other shows).

Idefix

I imagine there are quite a lot of us. You're spot on about the "kids fighting vampires" bit. It just sounded like a silly premise for a show. However, after you get to watching it you realize the show isn't about the vampires or monsters at all, it's simply about the core group of characters. The monsters are simply a foil to tell interesting stories about the lives of those characters. Firefly is much the same way. It doesn't focus on the scifi aspects of it's universe, it just uses those aspects to reveal the characters to us.

However, there's one point I've been unsure of for awhile now and that's whether I'm glad that I waited until now to watch it. Since the show is such a continuous progression, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much as I did if I'd watched it spread out over 7 years. There's a great deal of foreshadowing and references to past events, and since it only took me a few weeks to watch all 7 seasons, the previous episodes were fresh enough in my mind that I picked up on them readily. On the other hand, I didn't get to participate in the ongoing discussion of the show while it was running. I imagine that would have been quite fun to do.

Looking back, it's pretty amazing how much the characters changed over the years. I watched some of the special features that included clips from Season 1 and it was amazing to see what the old Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles were like. Just completely different from how they turned out. That's something that kind of got lost from watching it though so fast.

As soon as Angel finishes this week, I'm going to start watching through again, this time a little slower. I can't wait :)

CALHOUN

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 4:55 AM

OK!

I've just watched the very first episode "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and I didnt hate it.

I could see Joss' writing but I think the actors delivery of the his lines wasnt anywhere near Firefly. It seemed the actors didnt really understand the dialogue or how to deliver the lines believably (maybe its just me) I just hope they get more comfortable with it from here on in.

I am trying..

I take it that the Angel fella who was in this first ep of Buffy is the same fella from the Angel show too.
Does the show Angel take off after Buffy? or should it be watch in conjunction with Buffy?
At exactly what stage should I start watching Angel or doesnt it matter?

AERELORN

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 7:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Calhoun:
OK!

I've just watched the very first episode "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and I didnt hate it.

I could see Joss' writing but I think the actors delivery of the his lines wasnt anywhere near Firefly. It seemed the actors didnt really understand the dialogue or how to deliver the lines believably (maybe its just me) I just hope they get more comfortable with it from here on in.

I am trying..

I take it that the Angel fella who was in this first ep of Buffy is the same fella from the Angel show too.
Does the show Angel take off after Buffy? or should it be watch in conjunction with Buffy?
At exactly what stage should I start watching Angel or doesnt it matter?

Glad to see you took the first step :)

You're perfectly right about delivery of the lines. Just remember that this was Joss's first series, and it took awhile for the actor's to get comfortable with the writing and their characters. Firefly had the advantage of that previous experience. That said, once the show gets into the second season I think it's equal to Firefly quality-wise.

As for Angel, his show started after Season 3, so Angel season 1 and Buffy season 4 ran concurrently. Most people will tell you to watch them together.

However, depending on how you watch the episodes I would recommend not watching them together. I would watch several episodes in a row, and switching back and forth between the shows caused some difficulties. I like Buffy a bit more than Angel, so when I was watching Angel I was always thinking about the Buffy episode I was going to get to immediately after it. If I'd watched all of Buffy and then all of Angel, I think I would've enjoyed Angel more. There aren't very many crossovers at all, and you won't get lost if you skip them for the time being.

However, that only applies if you're watching several episodes in a row. If you're only watching one or two a day, it might not matter so much. And that's assuming you make it all the way to Season 4.

I hope you stick with it and get into Season 2 when the show really hits its stride. After the first half-dozen episodes of that, I went out and bought all the DVDs for myself(I rented seasons 1 and 2 to start) because I knew it would be a show as good as or better than Firefly.

IDEFIX

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 9:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Calhoun:
OK!

I've just watched the very first episode "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and I didnt hate it.

I could see Joss' writing but I think the actors delivery of the his lines wasnt anywhere near Firefly. It seemed the actors didnt really understand the dialogue or how to deliver the lines believably (maybe its just me) I just hope they get more comfortable with it from here on in.

I am trying..

I take it that the Angel fella who was in this first ep of Buffy is the same fella from the Angel show too.
Does the show Angel take off after Buffy? or should it be watch in conjunction with Buffy?
At exactly what stage should I start watching Angel or doesnt it matter?

some of the actors didn't do much acting before they came to Buffy. so if the acting of 'Angel' or 'Xander' seems bad, just give they guys some time they both turn out to be great actors in the end. 'Buffy' and especially 'Willow' and 'Giles' I think started out pretty well, their acting isn't going to improve that dramatically. but they will have to find their characters and then change them somewhat dramatically as the show goes on. the first few EPs are something fun to watch (nothing near as good as Firefly but enjoyable enough) and as you do that it all starts to come together.
S1 is a short season anyway, and there are a lot of fun EPs and some serious ones that are important for the rest of the show too. so just take it light for starters and watch them find themselves.

and yes Angel is Angel and with knowing that you are spoiled for the Buffy EP 1x07 called Angel because you already know he's a vampire with a soul. just pretend you don't and watch it anyways.it's one of the good ones in S1.

and about watching the shows. I watched Buffy S1-7 without watching Angel. just because I got the DVDs froma friend who didn't have the Angel DVDs. then I started all over again with Buffy S1 (couldn't get enough of it) and when I came to S4 I started watching Angel S1 (the way it was on TV). now I switch shows every EP and have now come up to Angel 3x13 or so and Buffy 6x13.

Idefix

CHRISISALL

Monday, May 9, 2005 9:26 PM

OOOOOh, my first time resurecting a dead and old thread!
I just got BuffyS1 and went out to get the movie to see how they fit together, and wow, they DON'T!! The movie was verry funny an all, but the series is way more 'Joss'! Except for some of the dialogue, the movie was almost unrecognizable as Joss' work to me. The cast was fine, the script was pretty good, but the movie didn't have any...have to say it...bite!
I'm so glad he went ahead and improved and expanded upon the movie.
Only really great line from the movie: "Does the word 'Duh' mean anything to you?". That had me rollin'.
(Gunhand, have you seen Buffy S1 by now?)

A year late Chrisisall

BIKISDAD

Monday, May 9, 2005 9:51 PM

Yeah, I think I remember reading somewhere that Joss walked out on the movie because the director and, especially, Don Sutherland kept changing the lines that Joss had written, thereby screwing up all of his carefully crafted jokes. Basically, they ruined the movie. The tv series is much more what Joss had in mind in the first place.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

CHRISISALL

Monday, May 9, 2005 10:02 PM

Yeah, plus, Kristy Swanson (who I like, BTW) played Buffy stupid for the most part, not ditzy, but really stupid , and that may have worked for laughs, but the slayer has to have SOME brains.

Kristy was great in that movie with Charlie Sheen where he's driving her stolen BMW with all the cops chasing them that I can't remember the title of Chrisisall

SIMONWHO

Monday, May 9, 2005 10:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Kristy was great in that movie with Charlie Sheen where he's driving her stolen BMW with all the cops chasing them that I can't remember the title of Chrisisall

I remember that movie. It had the chase between Charlie Sheen and the cops who try to catch him in the chase and when they do, the chase is over. I think it was called 'The Car That Couldn't Slow Down.'

Oh, and BtVS was okay as movies go. But the start of a 250+ episode franchise? Naaaaah.

CHRISISALL

Monday, May 9, 2005 11:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SimonWho:
It had the chase between Charlie Sheen and the cops who try to catch him in the chase and when they do, the chase is over. I think it was called 'The Car That Couldn't Slow Down.'

I remember now! It was called 'The Pursuit'!

Anyway, it was cool.

How silly of me Chrisisall

DANFAN

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 12:56 AM

OK... I'm going to go out on a limb here and really open up my soul to you guys. Be gentle...

But I liked the BTVS movie! I went to see it in its theatrical release with a friend (we were on a mission to see every creature feature being released in the 80's). And we had a great time at the flick. It was about as deep as a puddle of water in a parking lot... but we both enjoyed it for what it was.

So, it wasn't Joss' vision and the final product bore little to none of Joss' style of humor. Interestingly enough, every theatrical movie ever made (except for one) fits that same description... and yet some of them are enjoyable. If you watch BTVS the movie as the director's take on that type of story without bashing it for not being what they didn't intend for it to be, it's cute. Not great... but fun.

At least I thought so.

I tend to love Joss' work. But I don't need to reject the movie because it went its own way and not his way. He got the story to go his way in the TV show. That's enough, I should think.

Alright... let the artillery fire begin...

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 NEXT PAGE