Did Buffy 'jump the shark' with Dawn's intro?

POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Thursday, February 16, 2006 22:23
VIEWED: 11093
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CREVANREAVER

Friday, February 3, 2006 5:12 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Did Buffy 'jump the shark' with Dawn's intro?

Short answer: Absolutely!

SAMWIBATT

Friday, February 3, 2006 9:50 PM

I was very worried that BtVS had jumped when Dawn showed up - the "new kid" character is nearly always a sign of rot in a series (in fact, Dawn is the only exception I can think of).

However, it became clear she was introduced because of a well-considered, interesting storyline instead of as some kind of ratings band-aid or because the writers had run out of ideas. The episode told from the point of view of her diary won me over.

KWICKO

Saturday, February 4, 2006 12:51 AM

Like I said above, don't skip S6 & S7 just because of Dawn. Two of my favorite episodes in the entire series are in there - "Once More With Feeling" in Season 6, and "Conversations With Dead People" in Season 7. CWDP is one of the more creepifying episodes you're likely to ever see; it ranks right up there with "Hush" for sheer ability to give you the heebie-jeebies. I think I can safely say "Mother's milk is red today" without giving anything away...except for how much it unnerved me!

I don't know how much you've heard about the musical episode, "Once More With Feeling", but in my mind it's one of the greatest single hours of television history. A casual watcher might not "get it", but to me, I was so engrossed in the whole Buffyverse by the time I saw that ep, it struck me how much work had gone into it. Every single song - no, strike that - every single WORD of every single LINE of every single song just felt like it had been worked on, agonized over, and intended to be exactly where it was, and for a very good reason. Every song, line, and word fit the characters perfectly, fit the show's overall persona perfectly, and fit the episode's storyline perfectly. Oh, and it's funny as hell, too. :)

And before you roll your eyes and go, "Oh great; a freaking musical episode...", keep in mind that this is Joss we're talking about. It's a musical, but it's that way for a reason. There's a very real, very evil reason everyone has to sing their lines, and it drives the story forward. Only Joss can do things like that and make them seem...well... LOGICAL. And did I mention funny?

Those two episodes rank right up there with Hush, The Body, and Prophecy Girl I & II as my all-time favorites in a series that, on its worst day, was still head and shoulders above 99% of the other stuff on TV.

Mike

PS: I'm still waiting for Joss to head for Broadway with Buffy: The Musical. :)

"Kaylee, find that kid that's taking a dirt nap with baby Jesus; we need a hood ornament."

QUEENOFTHENORTH

Thursday, February 9, 2006 3:55 PM

I don't think Buffy "jumped the shark" at all with the introduction of Dawn. In fact, I don't think Buffy ever did "jump the shark". I'm of the camp that doesn't really find Dawn that annoying. She's got a couple of annoying moments, but overall I liked her character and the way it was introduced to the show. I actually found the Potentials infinitely more annoying. Bunch of whiny, no-nothing, wussy . . . I'll stop ranting.

Anyways, CIA, don't let Dawn stop you from watching seasons 6 & 7. I was a bit skeptical about them at first too, but I watched them and really liked them. I didn't think I'd like Once More With Feeling, as I generally hate musicals, but it really is as good as everyone says. Especially Spike's song and Buffy's end song. I really don't know how that episode didn't even get nominated for an Emmy. And you definitely don't wanna miss out on the Trio, the "supervillains" of season 6. They're hilarious. In short, yay seasons 6 & 7.

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ANASAZI

Friday, February 10, 2006 2:04 AM

I would say no only because it wasn't just something Joss pulled out of his hat at a whim during the summer break. Going back to "This Year's Girl" 4X15 in the opening dream sequence with Faith, she mentions something about "little sis" coming, and that's it's going to be "big". It was a small thing that no one probably picked up on, but upon second viewing, it showed Joss had a direction and an arc with this character way back, and I always thought of the term Jump the Shark refered to when a particular show went in a certain direction in order to garner better ratings at the expence of the story.

________________________________________________________
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought....."

ANASAZI

Friday, February 10, 2006 2:04 AM

And what's the deal with the double postings lately. Is it me?

KUKOO

Friday, February 10, 2006 4:31 AM

Actually Joss first foreshadowed Dawn's arrival in the series finale of Season 3 with the dream sequence with Faith when Faith says "little miss moffet counting down from 730" Little miss moffet is Dawn and it is 730 days until Buffy dies for her. But no matter how planned out it was, I still feel as though Dawn was a major whiny drag on the series.

SNEAKER98

Friday, February 10, 2006 5:32 AM

That's a terrible definition for "Jump The Shark".

There's one, and only one, and it comes right from it's namesake! In Happy Days, when Fonz jumped the shark, every episode including that one became cheesy and basically unwatchable. Hence, Jumping the Shark, is when a show becomes cheesy, possibly due to a lack of story ideas, new set of writers, etc.

For instance, The Simpsons jumped the shark with Duncan the Horse. Every episode beyond that one has been pure crap; nothing like it used to be.

"I do the job... and then I get paid. Go run your little world."
-Malcolm Reynolds

RUXTON

Friday, February 10, 2006 6:08 AM

Chris, amigo, do not under any circumstances miss viewing all of Buffy. It remains as the sole COMPLETE masterpiece of Mr. Whedon, after all.

Also, it has this fascinatingly beautiful woman in it, name of Michelle Trachtenberg,

who provided (IMHO) the sole challenge to the incredible good looks of the titular heroine. And she's also a pretty good actress, her skills clearly evolving through the final seasons. She is also a pretty fine dancer, as you'll see briefly along the way.

Oh, and she NEVER annoyed me. And I'm particular.

RUXTON

Saturday, February 11, 2006 12:32 AM

Bump. Anyone there?

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