¡Buenos dias mis amigos! ¡Bienvenidos a otra edición del Peliculas con Viernes! El pollo más espectaculares del mundo.
We begin, as we are contractually obligated to, with the Recommendation Section!
You Should See: “Benny and Joon”
“Benny and Joon” is an undeniably, unapologetically charming 1993 romantic dramedy starring Johnny Depp as neither of the two title characters. Instead he plays Sam, an endearing loner with a powerful love for old movies and physical comedy. The two folks mentioned in the title are an overly protective brother and his mentally ill sister. Sam bursts into their life in a truly unique way and changes them both for the better. “Benny and Joon” earned Depp a Golden Globe nomination for his performance and it was very much deserved. Even if you have NO interest in an offbeat, sweet natured romance, the movie is worth it for Depp’s homage to the silent era of comedy. There are a few of these peppered throughout the film and they are spectacular. Its trailer sucks so watch this instead if you still need more convincing!
I Should See: “The Maltese Falcon”
Recommended by Chris M. Hmm… no that’s too obvious. C. Monigle.
I Saw: “The Road”
Finally got around to actually watching this movie the other day and I must say that I enjoyed it. Cormac McCarthy’s agonizingly dreary yet hopeful story somehow manages to survive the transition to the big screen almost intact. The movie had to let go of some of the book’s darker scenes. I wasn’t entirely surprised by one of these cuts (the baby) but the movie also drops a scene set on a road decimated by a fire storm. This sequence contained some of the book’s most powerful imagery and its absence from the movie is disappointing. The movie also doesn’t do the best job of fleshing out the dangers that the man and his boy face in their post apocalyptic world. It does, however, take McCarthy’s stop-on-a dime-ending and expand it a tiny bit. This is much appreciated. The movie looks amazingly bleak and Viggo Mortensen gives a performance for the ages. I would say that I’m surprised that he didn’t get an Academy Award nod last year, but honestly nothing the Academy does surprises me any more. I just assume that they’re going to mess up somehow.
Grade: B+
See It: If you like post-apocalyptic fiction but want a lighter version of the book
Rewatchability: Low
And now it’s that time of the week when we journey up to the top of the mountain to commune with the Netflix Supercomputer in order to see what it thinks we should be watching. Ladies and gentlemen, this week’s Netflix Recommends…
If you enjoyed Wolfgang Petersen’s throwback sword and sandals, action packed epic “Troy,” then Netflix thinks you’ll love “Atonement.” Starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, “Atonement” is the story of a servant’s son who is wrongfully accused of a crime by the younger sister of a girl that he is currently having relations with. Oh and it’s set in England during WWII. See? There’s a war going on. The movies are exactly the same, even if they don’t appear to be on the surface to us mere mortals. Such is the majesty and unparalleled intelligence of the Netflix Supercomputer!
Interesting side note. Netflix also recommends that if you enjoy “Troy” you should check out “300” and if you enjoy “Atonement” you should check out the story of a young Jane Austen called “Becoming Jane.”
Thus with a few small alterations, “300”= Jane Austen. I think that sentence just caused some of my snootier college English professors to weep openly.
Mostly Useless Movie News
In this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly, producer Bob Weinstein is quoted as saying that he hopes that the upcoming “Piranha 3-D” could spawn itself and The Weinstein Company a franchise. “Piranha 3-D” is of course directed by one of my more recent arch nemeses, Alexander Aja. J.J. Abrams, the creator of “Lost” and director of the latest “Star Trek” movie gushed that the film “delivers on all expectations.” This last bit is very interesting to me because I have zero expectations for anything Aja does. That’s not true really. I actually expect him to fail. If you think that seems mean, I advise you to watch the third act of “High Tension” or any part of “The Hills Have Eyes” remake. I’m sure that’ll change your tune.
I'm sorry I've been called out by whom? No, I've never heard of that person. Post Collegiate what? What the heck is "Dinosaur Wednesday?"
Anyway with all of the post Comic Con positive buzz floating around; I have to ask myself a few questions. Could “Piranha 3-D” actually be good? Can Aja make something other than garbage? Have I underestimated him as a filmmaker?
Ladies and gentlemen, I am here today to announce that I WILL be seeing “Piranha 3-D” when it hits theaters on August 20. That’s right Aja, I just slapped you across the face with a leather glove. Let this be our final battle. You bring your Adam Scotts and your tanker trucks of fake blood. I will bring my passionate love for goofy horror movies and I will leave my passionate dislike for you and everything you stand for at home. Sway me if you can sir.
Mostly Useless Movie Trivia
The world is abuzz with “Inception” talk. Every aspect of Christopher Nolan’s latest mindbender has been debated and discussed right down to the film’s music. The song “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” by Edith Piaf plays a key part not only in the film’s atmosphere but in its storyline as well. What you may not know is that this song wasn’t always supposed to be featured in the film. Early on, Nolan had a different track in mind. When negotiations with the artist fell through, Nolan settled on Piaf’s song and even changed several plot points (including making the main characters thieves) in order to account for the change. This is top secret stuff people, but several of my PCA spies were able to track down a copy of Nolan’s original song selection. I have to tell you, it’s prettyincredible. Included with the song is an early picture depicting Nolan’s original costume ideas. These too had to be scrapped when the original song fell through.
(WARNING: Mostly Useless Movie Trivia contains NO actual trivia by volume)
On to this week’s Scene of Mystery! If you guess correctly, you could win $10,000 worth of stuffed animals courtesy of Janice Redington. Woe be unto you ff you guess incorrectly.
Oh what can it be?
And now for a quick Beard of the Day!
He can speak French in Italian and he doesn't always read blogs, but when he does he prefers Quad Blogs. Ladies and gentlemen, the "The Most Interesting Man in the World."
Thanks for sticking with me through this one folks. It turned out a bit wordier than usual. Have a solid weekend and as always: vaya con dios.
Seven Business Days of Whedon concludes today. We had fun, didn’t we? We did. Many words were written about television shows that ended 6-8 years ago. It was fun battling the increasingly horrible Quad Blog server as I tried to insert pictures into the post. No one will forget the blissful day I spent over 45 minutes inserting 19 photographs for ANGEL. Each time I’d click on what needed to be clicked an error message would pop up. Moments later, it would work and then break down just as I submitted. Fun times.
There are a few options for the conclusion of Seven Business Days of Whedon. The first, naturally, is to rank the 100 greatest Whedon characters. I estimate a 30,000 word count for such a post. The second, talk about some of Joss Whedon’s greatest writing achievments. Myself and the readers would have to forget about the episodes I wrote about yesterday so that the content would feel fresh and new. The third, I embed a few videos. I think the third option is the most pleasant of the three.
My plan all along was to conclude the exciting week and two days with a riveting entry about Joss Whedon’s scripts; however, I stepped on my own plan yesterday and Monday by writing all I can write about Joss Whedon episodes. Also, WordPress is nonsense and putting a screenplay excerpt into block quote is not worth the trouble WordPress will put me through.
I have scoured the interweb for five awesome clips from any Joss Whedon show or movie and only found two because every video is a lame fanmade video. I promise that there will be zero lame four minute fan made videos about the Buffy/Spike relationship or any fanmade videos about how they think Xander and Dawn would be just swell together.
NPH/FELICIA DAY DUET
My favorite song in Dr. Horrible. The funniest person in the scene is Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer.
RIVER DESTROYS THE REAVERS
Whedon said if Serenity wanted to accomplish anything, it was the shot of River at the end of the fight. Of course that shot isn’t in the youtube clip. Do watch. Summer Glau’s outstanding. Pay attention to the one-er. Joss said he just can’t stay away from super-powerful and strong women.
Unfortunately, wordpress does not have hulu-embed capabilities so I can only link additonal video. Seven Business Days of Whedon is having as bad of a finale as Boy Meets World. I am not proud.
There are many iconic scenes in Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. The opening scene of the series is iconic, when the pretty blond girl turns around and reveals she is a vampire to her date. In that scene Joss broke genre conventions. There is the image of Buffy, in her prom dress, ready to save the world. Very iconic. As for The Foot, one scene has always stood out. The scene is not included amongst the various iconic moments but the scene says so much about the heart of Buffy. The scene occurs during season two’s “Lie To Me,” a Joss Whedon episode. Buffy’s old friend visits her; however, he’s dying and wants eternal life. He makes a deal with Spike and Dru to turn him if he brings along some more people for the duo to feed on. Spike and Dru aren’t the big bad in this episode. The big bad is Buffy’s old friend and the experience blindsides her. She waits with Giles in the cemetary and they share this discussion
BUFFY
Well, does it ever get easy?
Ford BURSTS from the grave, a snarling VAMPIRE, and lunges at Buffy — who plants a stake firmly in his chest. She doesn’t even look as he explodes into dust.
GILES
You mean life?
BUFFY
Yeah. Does it get easy?
GILES
What do you want me to say.
She thinks about it a moment.
BUFFY
Lie to me.
GILES
Yes. It’s terribly simple.
As they start out of the graveyard:
GILES
The good-guys are stalwart and true.
The bad-guys are easily distinguished
by their pointy horns or black hats and
we always defeat them and save the day.
Nobody ever dies…and everybody lives
happily ever after.
BLACK OUT.
BUFFY (O.S.)
(with weary affection)
Liar.
END OF SHOW
The dialogue says so much about the series and what she’ll experience as she grows older; and the scene says so much about life, about growing up, the uncertainty, the fears. Buffy was about much more than just vampires. It ranks number three on my favorite tv shows of all-time. These nineteen episodes should give readers an idea of what made Buffy great.
THE TOP NINETEEN EPISODES OF BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
buffy-the-vampire-slayer.otavo.tv
19. Fear, Itself (Written By David Fury; Directed By Tucker Gates)
Fear, Itself is season four’s Halloween episode. Buffy’s sad because Parker totally used her, Xander feels left out because he is not in college, Oz worries about his werewolf nature and Willow fears that her magic could become uncontrollable. All of these fears manifest during a frat house’s Halloween party. A fear demon preys on people’s fear. Xander, literally, becomes invisible. Oz’s werewolf-ness emerges. Buffy is alone. Willow loses control. Meanwhile, Anya (in her bunny costume) and Giles team up to save the frat and the group from whatever’s happening inside. They do save the day and the fear demon, who seems so large, is actually revealed to be very small. The symbolism isn’t subtle but it works. “Fear, Itself” does what Buffy does so well: take real life problems and illuminate them through the supernatural. This is a Halloween staple in The Foot.
18. Angel (Written By David Greenwalt; Directed By Scott Brazil)
For six episodes, Angel has been the mysterious guy who helps Buffy out or warns her that trouble lurks. Buffy grows more and more attracted to him as time goes by. A lot of sparks exist between the two in this episode before he accidentally vamps out on her when they are close to kissing. This freaks Buffy out and she feels like she no choice but to kill him. He’s a vamp. She’s a slayer. She doesn’t know about the curse, the soul. Meanwhile, The Master grows impatient and Darla’s bloodlust for Buffy grows. She wants to kill Buffy because Angel is Darla’s. Angel stakes Darla at the end of the episode and the curse is revealed. The episode is notable for Angel’s backstory. The brooding hero he’ll eventually become begins. We understand the conflicting nature he experiences daily in the scene he tells Buffy that he wanted to kill her. One of the series’ most iconic scenes closes “Angel” out. They kiss and her cross burns his chest. Ange lets it burn. The series mirrors this image in season seven’s “Beneath You” after Spike returns with a soul. It works both times. This is a wonderfully crafted episode.
17. Innocence (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
One of the most popular episodes of the entire series. I might be committing a crime by ranking it as low as seventeen but, hey, “Innocence” is included in the Best of Buffy. Whedon said this episode accomplished everything he wanted the show to be. He wanted to tell stories on the personal level and the-larger-than-life level. Angel becomes Angelus after experiencing a moment of true happiness with Buffy. It’s quite a change and he hurts Buffy quite a lot once the soul is gone and Angelus has arrived. He uses the loss of her virginity to embarass and humiliate her. On a personal level, this is about “girl has sex with guy and he stops calling her afterwards.” Buffy has to work out these intense personal issues while aware that she needs to kill Angelus. Meanwhile, Oz charms Willow in the van in one of the series’ best scenes while Xander uses the skills acquired on Halloween to procure a rocket launcher for Buffy to kill The Judge with. When she has the chance to kill Angel, she can’t, and that decision will have some bad consequences. This episode also breaks the trust the gang has with Jenny Calendar because she knew that Angel could lose his soul. Also, Angelus really let the show take off.
16. Once More, With Feeling (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
I wrote about this already on Monday. Joss didn’t just make the musical for the sake of making a musical. The episode is a game-changer for the season. Buffy and Spike kiss. Xander and Anya aren’t as ready as they seem for marriage. Tara learns Willow altered her memory. There’s many fun songs as well.
15. No Place Like Home (Written By Douglas Petrie; Directed By David Solomon)
This season five episode introduced the season’s big bad and the thing that she’s looking for that would destroy the world. The big bad is Glory, a God, who wants to return to her kingdom and needs the key to do it. Some monks took the key, which is energy, and created a person–Dawn, Buffy’s sister. They knew Buffy could protect the key but they changed the memories of her and everyone she knows. Dawn doesn’t know any of this. Once Buffy learns the truth, she embraces her role as Dawn’s sister and protector. The scene between Buffy and the monk is very moving and Sarah Michelle Gellar is just an amazing actress. Meanwhile, the magic shop opens under Giles’ rule and Joyce’s health issues aren’t getting better.
14. The Zeppo (Written By Dan Vebber; Directed By James Whitmore Jr.)
I didn’t write about Dan Vebber in yesterday’s post because he wrote just two episodes; however, both episodes are among these nineteen episodes. “The Zeppo” is the first. Xander feels left out and winds up befriending the crazy Jack O’Toole while the gang prepares for another apocalypse. This is the quirkiest episode of Buffy as well as the most meta of any episode. I’m of the opinion that “The Zeppo” is either the funniest or second funniest of the series. Since Xander is the focus, we mostly see the episode through his eyes so he enters random scenes in the apocalypse story that are very intense and melodramatic which is the intent. Xander actually ends up saving the day, as the group he finds himself hanging out with are all guys who have just been risen from the dead and they want to blow up the school. Xander’s courage saves the day. The title comes from Zeppo Marx, the most forgotten member of the Marx Brothers.
13. Lie To Me (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
I wrote about “Lie To Me” already and I covered the most essential portions of that episode so, yeah.
12. The Wish (Written By Marti Noxon; Directed By David Greenwalt)
Every character dies near the end of “The Wish.” The scene is so jarring and surreal to watch. The episode gets away with it because we’re in a wish world created by Anya after Cordelia wishes for a world where Buffy never existed. Cordy’s bitter after the events in “Lovers Walk” and Anya, the vengeance demon, pounces on it. Without Buffy, Sunnydale is controlled by vampires because The Master rose and took control. Willow and Xander are vamps. They kill Cordelia. Giles, Oz, Larry, Johnathan and other students remain on the side of good. The Master has a master plan to use the remaining humans in Sunnydale as fountain drink machines essentially. Buffy eventually arrives from Cleveland. She’s much more harsh and cold than we know her. Meanwhile, Giles, off something Cordelia said, investigates the reality of the world he is in. Anyanka arrives, determined to convince Giles to remain in the wish world. As everyone dies in the battle at the Bronze, Giles is prepared to shatter the pendant in hopes of restoring the correct reality. Anyanka says: “Trusting fool! How do you know the other world is any better than this?” and Giles responds, “Because it has to be.” He smashes the pendant and things return to normal. Just a flat out awesome episode.
11. Lover’s Walk (Written By Dan Vebber; Directed By David Semel)
Spike returns to Sunnydale for the first time since “Becoming.” Dru broke up with him because she thought the deal Spike made with Buffy made him soft. He’s a wreck. He threatens Willow into performing a love spell for him. The love spell never happens. Spike, by episode’s end, has an epiphany and no longer sulks around. Of course, every other relationship is damaged thanks to Spike. Cordy and Oz walked in on Xander and Willow kissing. Cordy nearly dies after falling through stairs. Spike points out that Buffy and Angel never can be friends because they love eachother too much. “Lover’s Walk” is hilarious and I laugh every time I watch it.
10. Passion (Written By Ty King; Directed By Michael E. Gershman)
Angelus is at his most evil in “Passion.” “Passion” is the closest the show has come to 44 minutes that felt like a horror movie. Angelus stalks and torments Buffy throughout the episode. He kills Jenny Calendar (who was dating Giles at the time). Angelus tells Joyce that he had sex with her daughter. He displayed Jenny’s dead body for Giles. Here’s the story: Giles and Jenny were planning a romantic night together. Giles arrives and finds the house lighted with candle. A note tells him: “upstairs.” Giles walks to the room and finds Jenny dead. Later, Buffy apologizes to Giles for not being able to kill Angelus as they stand at her cemetery but, now, she knows Angelus must die. She is, however, unaware the key to returning Angel’s soul is on a disk in Ms. Calendar’s room. A brilliant, game-changing, series-changing episode.
9. The Body (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
I wrote about this already on Monday. Joss wanted to capture the reality of losing a loved one. He captures the experience. This is not a fun episode to watch. It is sad and depressing but it’s excellently written and directed. Sarah’s performance is heartbreaking. In fact, the whole cast knocks it out of the park.
8. Graduation Day Pts 1&2 (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
Again, I wrote about the episode on Monday. This episode foreshadows Buffy’s death in two seasons, Angel leaves Sunnydale for LA, Buffy puts Faith into a coma and the Mayor is destroyed. Also, the gang graduates high school. I love this episode.
7. Selfless (Written By Drew Goddard; Directed By David Solomon)
Anya, a vengeance demon again, helps a girl get revenge on a frat by sending a huge spider to rip their hearts out. After hearing this, Buffy decides that she has to kill Anya. There are Anya flashbacks, a great argument between Xander, Buffy and Willow in which the infamous “kick his ass” line finally returns as a plot point and genuine Anya remorse. Anya doesn’t want to a vengeance demon anymore. Of course, the heart of the story revolves around Anya’s identity. Not even she knows who she is. She’s not a killer anymore and she’s not Xander’s wife. A fantastic episode.
6. Prophecy Girl (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
Once again, I wrote about this on Monday. I think this episode is the first one that actualizes the potential of the series. Buffy’s incredibly heroic in this one, faces death and dies at age 16 before Xander saves her life. Xander tells Buffy how he feels about her but she doesn’t feel the same way. She defeats The Master. It’s awesome.
5. Becoming Pts. 1&2 (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
I’m sort of stepping on tomorrow’s entry now as Joss is showing up everywhere on this list. “Becoming” concludes the season arc of Angelus. Tons of stuff happens. Angel is cured but not before Acathla is awoken so Buffy is forced to kill Angel. She runs away after her mom finds out she is the slayer and is kicked out. She’s accused of murder after Dru kills Kendra. Willow’s life is put in peril but she manages to be the girl who cures Angel. Giles is tortured by Angelus and Dru. Spike makes a deal with Buffy so he can have Dru all to himself again. “Becoming” is action-packed, full of emotion and heart. Joss Whedon at his best.
4. Hush (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
Yes, I wrote about this on Monday. I don’t have much to add. The episode’s greatness speaks for itself.
3. Conversations With Dead People (Written By Drew Goddard Goddard & Jane Espensen; Directed By Nick Marck)
The characters talk a lot in this episode. The most action takes place in the Summers home as some evil force has invaded the home and Dawn tries to fight it. Dawn also sees her mother who she thinks needs proection from this evil. What actually occurs during the episode is the introduction of the season seven big bad: The First. The First showed up in season three’s “Amends” and returns here. Buffy talks with a vampire named Holden about her slayer nature, her place among her friends and the guilt she feels about being a Slayer (it’s complex guilt). Willow gets a visit from the girl who died in “Help” who claims she is receiving messages from Tara. Andrew kills Johnathan for Warren. Spike has no lines but his story ends when he bites a female he is with. The episode was written by four writers actually. Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon each wrote two of the stories in the episode. This is the last truly great episode of Buffy.
2. Restless (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
I wrote about this on Monday. The characters all dream. The episode contains foreshadowing for Buffy’s death, the arrival of Dawn and the episode motivates Buffy to learn more about the nature of the slayer. Fans and critics love writing about their interpretations of the dream. This episode is an English major’s dream.
1. The Gift (Written and Directed By Joss Whedon)
The series’ 100th episode and the last episode of TheWB era. Whedon said he wrote “The Gift” as a series finale. This is the best episode of Buffy. Buffy sacrifices herself for Dawn and the world is saved. Glory dies but the death is devastating because Giles has to kill Ben in order to kill Glory–an outstanding scene. If the series ended, I would’ve been happy with the resolution and “The Gift” would most likely rank among the best series finales of all-time.
Good day.
TOMORROW: Seven Business Days of Whedon concludes.
My friends, I have terrible, Earth-shattering news. News so bad that it makes Garth Snow look good in comparison.
As of 1:38 p.m., Eastern Standard Time on this the 39th day of July in this humble year of our Lord 2010, I regret to inform you that Quad Blogs has lost Estonia. I know! I know!
We mustn’t panic my friends. I’m sure that this has almost nothing to do with my column last week, where I offered nothing but praise of that fine and enduring country. There is simply no way that my love letter to the Estonian people, my heartfelt tribute to their continuing contributions to popular culture, could have chased them away. My post was simply too honest and too beautiful for that to be the case.
So that leaves us with scant few other explanations as to why Estonia no longer appears in the Country Share Section of our blog traffic meter. Perhaps this is a technical glitch and the good people of Estonia have been downgraded to the 13.1% of traffic whose origin is unknown.
Or more likely it means that Estonia has gone to war and that its internet signal has been cut off. I’m sure that some dastardly country grew jealous of the Baltic Tiger, envious of its continued successes and achievements. It was probably one of those nothing countries that you never hear about like Germany, France or China. You know the types. They mostly keep to themselves and certainly never take the time to visit Quad Blogs (except for you Hong Kong [1%]! Hi!). I’m sure one of those bullies is responsible for this undeserved attack on Estonia.
I know you can’t hear me now my Estonian brethren, but I assure you that help is on the way. Even now I am in constant communication with Flyers defensemen Oskars Bartulis and he assures me that the full might of the Latvian military is on its way to aid you in your struggle.
This wrong will be righted and soon you will be able to once again enjoy Dinosaur Wednesdays and catch up on the Seven Business Days of Whedon.
We will never forget you! Your fight is ours!
Now let us turn our attention to happier matters. We do have a new comer to the Country Share Section. My friends let us welcome the good folks of Tunisia to the Quad Blogs party!
Tunisia (1% of total Quad Blogs traffic)
Click to Enlarge
That’s right mighty Tunisia or as you might know it better: Tatooine. Yes my friends, Tunisia was featured prominently in four of the six “Star Wars” movies (TWO of the three good ones) as Luke and Anakin Skywalker’s home planet.
Tunisia is home to a great variety of fascinating creatures like camals (one hump or two), the Scarab beetle, the stalwart Dewback Lizard and the malevolent Sarlacc. The latter of which takes over a thousand years to digest its prey. Also, who could forget the country’s most notorious inhabitants: the Hutt mob family? Yes these are just some of the many wondrous creatures that you can see if you decide to take the trip to lovely Tunisia.
Even better, many of the old “Star Wars” sets are still standing. You can spend a night in Luke’s boyhood home which is now a hotel and even go on a rousing game hunt with some Tuskan Raiders. Just leave your droids at home or else they could end up in the clutches of the lovable yet mysterious Jawas, the scavengers of the desert.
Well, certainly the thing about the hotel is true. The rest of that nonsense comes from the “non-scholarly” part of the internet which means it may be made up, but at least it’s easy to read.
Anyway, here are some fast facts about Tunisia, which any prospective traveler should know.
Capital city is Tunis
Former center of the ancient Carthaginian Empire
Hannibal (the guy with the elephants not the cannibal) was a Carthaginian military commander
Beautiful Mediterranean beaches and mild climate
French and Arabic are the primary languages, however English is also now taught in all schools
Home to over 10 million people
And now let us pause to enjoy the musical stylings of Saber Rebai!
Now it’s time for a quick tribute to one of Tunisia’s favorite past times, futbol de rest of the world!
There you have it my friends! The wonders of Tunisia, both real and imaginary.
And now for a Tunisia-centered Beard of the Day!
Ladies and gentlemen, today's honoree is a noted actor and director not only in his homeland of Tunisia, but across the globe. Here is the "Hishem Rostom."
That’s all for today and as they say in Tunisia: توكل على الله .
Seven Business Days of Whedon continues with a look at the writers Whedon assembled for his four television shows and the influence and impact they’ve had in the fandom and on the legacy of these shows.
Joss Whedon is the first to admit that television writing is a colloborative effort. The stories of the lone writer, sitting in front of a desk, isolated from the world remains a foreign thing in the television industry. The tortured writer image does not exist in the world of television. In TV, there is a writer’s room where a group of writers, along with the showrunner and/or creator, figure out the stories of the season. Many storytellers exist in television. The majority of writers enter a world that they did not create and must prove that they can capture the voice of the show as well as the voice of every single character. It’s like a professional musician who plays bass for Taylor Swift. Musicians, writers and all creative types want to write their own music, stories, etc and have 100% total ownership of their product but that is tough. Of course, playing bass in Taylor Swift or writing for a television show is not the easiest task on the planet.
While I remain unaware of the journey of someone who plays an instrument for someone like Katy Perry or Taylor Swift, I know enough about the journey of a television writer. The journey should begin in the city of Los Angeles as an assistant of some type though that is not the lone way of going about such a career. The absolute beginning is a spec script. A writer usually has to write a spec script. The spec script usually should be for a series that aired during the last official television season. So, for instance, if you wanted to write a spec script it’d have to be for Dexter, Mad Men; however, opinion exists that a screenwriter should avoid the popular series and instead focus on a series that just began. Once that happens, someone with influence has to read it and, usually, many spec scripts are written before the writer receives any attention unless your name is Drew Goddard. Hopefully, the spec catches the eye of a showrunner who wants to staff said writer.
Every writer I’m about to list, obviously, are good enough to be staffed. Many of these writers, after their time in the Whedonverse, went on to create their own shows or become showrunners or became co-executive producers. Whedon assembled so many great writers throughout the years and without these people, his television series’ wouldn’t be the same.
Now, writers rooms are run differently depending on a variety of factors. For example, the LOST writers room would break stories so minutely that every piece of action and dialogue was known before the actual script was written, at least that is what Damon and Carlton say. And, of course, writers would be assigned a certain episode if those particular writers were great with Sawyer episodes or Hurley episodes.
A Drew Z. Greenberg commentary gave curious fans a glimpse into the process for the writers on Buffy. In his commentary, Drew states that the story is broken by the group of writers. He adds that the writer is given free reign to color the details and whatnot. I don’t know what my point is but there is one. If you find it, tell me. Also, most season one and two writers will be left out because Joss said his fingerprints are all over each episode from the first two years and only two remained for the long-term: Marti Noxon and David Greenwalt. Let’s talk screenwriters now!
Fury began his Buffy career as a freelance writer with his wife. He wrote one episode with his fish, received another freelance gig solo with “Helpless” and then Whedon hired him full-time as a staff writer. He wrote some terrific episodes that are listed above. “Fear, Itself” is a Halloween tradition in The Foot. “Choices” really captures the feelings of high school seniors who are about to graduate. I read a few of David Fury’s scripts. He’s a very matter-of-fact writer. He takes care of the needs of the scene. He isn’t flashy but he’s an excellent screenwriter. And he was a big part of two excellent ANGEL seasons.
After Buffy and ANGEL, he joined the season one LOST writers staff and wrote two of the greatest LOST episodes in the series. I’ll ignore how he fought Damon Lindelof on the ‘Island heals Locke’ twist and I’ll ignore the lame way he attacked the show after leaving. He left the show for 24 and he remained with the show until the series ended in May. His work on Buffy and ANGEL is great and worth checking out. Joss let him direct a few episodes as well.
DOUGLAS PETRIE
Best Episodes: Enemies; The Initiative; The Yoko Factor; No Place Like Home; Fool For Love; The Weight of the World; Beneath You; The Trial
Petrie joined the show in the third season. He was a co-executive producer and he directed a few episodes. Petrie’s episode commentaries are really good and informative. He has a lot of energy on the bonus features of DVDs so I imagine he was a high energy guy in the writer’s room. He got a lot of ‘game changing’ episodes that combined big plot stuff with big character stuff like every episode I just listed as his best. One of the most famous Petrie stories in the fandom is the original conclusion he wrote for “Beneath You” that Joss would make him re-write. Petrie felt uncomfortable portraying Spike as the hero unlike the majority of the writers who were gaga for the platnium blond. Debate has surfaced regarding the final scene in that episode. Spuffy fans love the re-write. Anti-spuffy people hate the re-write and wished Petrie’s version remained. Many television shows would not cause such a stir with a re-write as re-writes are common practice nor would most fans know the writing staff as well. This is why the Whedonverse is so unique.
JANE ESPENSEN
Best Episodes: Band Candy; Earshot; The Harsh Light of Day; Pangs; The Replacement; Triangle; I Was Made To Love You; Intervention; Afterlife; Conversations With Dead People; Guise Will Be Guise; Shindig
Jane Espensen was with Buffy for as long as Petrie and Fury. She wrote 23 episodes. As evidenced, she wrote some really good ones. She’s one of my favorite screenwriters because she devotes time to helping young aspiring writers through her blog. She offers tips and advice about spec scripts. She talks about her experiences with Joss, the writers room and how the experiences helped her become a better writer. She wrote the best comedic episodes of the show. Those were her strengths. Her dramatic efforts weren’t as strong but she wrote some hilarious Buffy episodes and her last episode of ANGEL is hilarious.
DAVID GREENWALT
Best Episodes: Angel; School Hard; Faith, Hope and Trick; Homecoming; I Will Remember You; To Shanshu in LA; Judgement; Dear Boy; Happy Anniversary; Dead End; Sleep Tight
Greenwalt was with Joss during Buffy’s first season and was crucial in the show’s development. Greenwalt’s directed a bunch of episodes as well. He wrote some of the wittiest Buffy episodes and he had the knack for writing some dark episodes of ANGEL and some thoughtful affairs as well. His most underrated episode is Happy Anniversary, a Lorne/Angel adventure and it has one of my all-time favorite scenes when Lorne helps a broken-hearted man feel better. God bless Andy Hallett (who passed away in 2009 and portrayed Lorne). Greenwalt is awesome.
MARTI NOXON
Best Episodes: Surprise; Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered; I Only Have Eyes For You; Dead Man’s Party; The Wish; The Prom; Wild At Heart; Buffy Vs. Dracula; Into The Woods; Forever; Conversations With Dead People
Marti Noxon has her share of critics because of seasons six and seven but she was an integral part in the series. She joined the show either at the end of season one or the beginning of season two. She wrote some of the series’ most famous episodes like “The Wish” and “Surprise” and co-wrote “Conversations With Dead People.” She always offered insightful thoughts into the world of Buffy on DVD features. I’m not into the work she did during seasons six and seven but she’s talented and one of Joss’ favorites.
DREW GODDARD
Best Episodes: Selfless; Conversations With Dead People; Never Leave Me; Lineage, Damage; Why We Fight; Origin
Goddard is one of the fans’ favorite writers and he’s one of my favorite writers. There was a fight between the Buffy and ANGEL offices for his talents after they read his infamous Six Feet Under spec script. He breathed some much needed life into Buffy in season seven. In “Selfless,” a plot point that was seemingly forgotten re-emerged. Goddard admits Joss re-wrote some scenes because Goddard was too wordy in his first ever television script. Goddard joined ANGEL for its final year and delivered the superb “Linage.” Goddard wrote a freelance script for LOST during its first season and joined the staff in season three. He wrote Cloverfield. He’s best friends with JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon. He co-wrote Cabin In The Woods with Joss and directed the movie. He wrote the Alias series finale. Goddard believes in the importance of an insane/action packed teaser. His description of the Six Feet Under teaser he wrote sounds insane and the teaser caught the eye of Marti Noxon who hired him. I read the script for “Outlaws” a few weeks ago. It’s one thing to watch the teaser and a different experience reading the teaser. The teaser for his episode of LOST, “Outlaws,” is fantastic on the page and much more gripping than the filmed version (and the filmed version is great). His scripts are worth checking out as well as his commentary tracks.
Rebecca Rand-Kirschner
Best Episodes: Out Of My Mind; Tabula Rasa; Help; Potential
She wrote some of the weaker episodes of the series but she had her moments. She spent three years writing for the show. I hear her commentary tracks are terrible because of the lack of talking. I haven’t read an actual screenplay of hers unlike the others listed but I will in the near future.
STEVEN S. DEKNIGHT
Best Episodes: Spiral; Deep Down; Apocalypse, Nowish; Awakening; Release; Inside Out; Hell Bound; Destiny; Why We Fight; Shells; The Target
The first Dollhouse mention! DeKnight wrote for three of the four Whedon shows. His best work is on ANGEL. I used to message him questions on myspace a few years ago and he was nice enough to respond to each question. DeKnight is one of my favorite screenwriters. The guy writes the best fight scenes. No writer comes close. Not even Joss. DeKnight’s responsible for the three-act fight in ‘Destiny’ and the great winnebago fight in “Spiral.” If I ever write an action sequence or fight scene, I’m modeling it off of DeKnight’s style. He also wrote some great, dark episodes of ANGEL. “The Target” is a top 3 season 1 dollhouse episode and an episode he directed as well. He taught ESL in Japan as he searched for a job in screenwriting. I, too, have contemplated life abroad as a teacher. Anywho, check out his episodes, folks. He also created Starz’s Spartacus series.
TIM MINEAR
Best Episodes: Hero; Somnabulist; Sanctuary; Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?; Darla; The Trial; Reprise; Epiphany; Through The Looking Glass; Billy; Lullaby; A New World; Benediction; Home; Bushwhacked; Out Of Gas; The Message; Omega; Belle Chose; Getting Closer
Minear just accepted my friend request on Facebook. Thank you! Minear rarely wrote a poor episode. He was one of the most consistent writers. He understood ANGEL the best, I think, though there are several other writers who really knew how to write for ANGEL. His Firefly work is out of this world good. He also ran the show with Joss. The quality of Minear’s work remained on Dollhouse and he infuriated the fanbase when he explained why he killed Summer Glau’s character. Minear’s commentaries are a treat to listen to. It’s safe to say that I recommend you read or watch his episodes. Thank you.
JEFFREY BELL
Best Episodes: Billy; Forgiving; A New World; Habeas Corpses; Players; The Magic Bullet; The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco; Not Fade Away
Bell ran ANGEL for the final two seasons. He was promoted after Minear left and David Simkins left. Minear left for Firefly and Simkins didn’t gel with the show. Bell co-write and directed the finale.
MERE SMITH
Best Episodes: Untouched; Fredless; Birthday; Loyalty; Ground State; Orpheus
I’m unsure why she left the show after season four and more unsure about where she went afterwards but she wrote my favorite Fred episode as well as the great “Orpheus.” She’s good people.
ELIZABETH CRAFT & SARAH FAIN
Best Episodes: Soulless; Players; Shiny Happy People; Underneath
There were part of the great season four and the great season five though their episodes were among the weakest of season five.
BEN EDLUND
Best Episodes: Jaynestown; Time Bomb; Smile Time, Sacrifice; Life of the Party
He created The Tick before Joss and Minear hired him for Firefly. His contributions are among the most beloved by fans. My favorite episode he wrote is “Time Bomb;” a complicated story involving the time-jumping Illyria. Really funny, smart writer and he understood Firefly and ANGEL really well. Also, his season five Lorne episode is delightful.
DREW Z. GREENBERG
Best Episodes: Safe; Entropy; Him
He wrote solid but mostly “eh” episodes. “Safe” is his best in my opinion but I read “Safe” had a ton of rewrites. He joined Buffy during the declining years and did not make the splash that Drew Goddard made.
JED WHEDON & MAURISSA TANCHAROEN
Best Episodes: Epitaph One; Belonging; The Attic; Epitath Two: The Return. Also co-wrote Dr. Horrible.
Jed and Mo wrote solely for Dollhouses. The wrote the strongest episodes of the series. Very talented team.
JOSE MOLINA
Best Episodes: Ariel; Trash
Molina only wrote two episodes of Firefly before the show was cancelled. “Ariel” is fantastic and “Trash” has more Christina Hendricks as Saffron and he’s given great interviews about the creative process of Firefly and his own process of writing his two episodes.
I think that about covers what I wanted to cover. I’m sure there’s a glaring omission from the list that I’ll never forgive myself for missing but I included the core group of Buffy and ANGEL writers who made the show shine.
Check out buffyworld.com where you can find the shooting script for every single Buffy episode.
And so another Dinosaur Wednesday is upon us! Let’s start off with this week’s Outstanding Dinosaur Award!
This award is presented to the dinosaur which best exemplifies a commitment to all things cool, neat and groovy. Not necessarily in that order. Ladies and gentlemen, this week’s Outstanding Dinosaur is…
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The pachycephalosaurus! Not only is this a very groovy dinosaur, but look at that name! Eighteen letters, my goodness. This thing sounds like an ingredient in “all-natural” shampoo. That very impressive name means “thick-headed lizard.” I assume the name comes from the beast’s thick skull because I can’t find any corroboration on the idea that this particular dinosaur was stubborn or unreasonable. That being said, let’s take a look at some pachy-facts courtesy of the adult oriented, pastel themed and very, VERY serious educational site EnchantedLearning.com.
15 feet long
950 pounds
Its skull was roughly 15 inches thick
Likely attacked enemies from the side as its skull was too porous and fragile for head-to-head attacks
Lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 76 to 65 million years ago
Probably evolved from the Hypsilophodon
Running away was probably its best defense
So there you have it. This week’s Outstanding Dinosaur Award winner, the pachycephalosaurus.
Now it’s time to take a peak inside the PCA Steel Cage to see which two terrible lizards will be throwing down in fisticuffs in this week’s Prehistoric Celebrity Grudge Match.
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Well look at that! It seems that this week’s battle is simply too big to fit inside the confines of our Steel Cage. The grudge far too heated. Instead, we will be holding the first ever Prehistoric Celebrity Grudge (Ladder) Match! Now this is exciting. The first combatant to climb the ladder will receive not only the usual immense glory that comes with winning in our arena, but a fabulous prize as well!
They will receive the 2011 Chevy Volt! The Chevy volt can drive up to 40 miles a day without using a single drop of gasoline! We all know that if there is ONE thing that dinosaurs love above all else, it’s fuel efficiency.
This week’s contestants come to us from the 1990’s television version of “Land of the Lost.” In the polka dotted corner is Tasha, an orphaned baby Parasaurolophus. It seems that Tasha’s mother was killed by the dinosaur in the sea foam green corner. He just so happens to be a T-Rex named Scarface. Naturally, he has a huge scar on the right side of his face and is also blind in his right eye.
The first dinosaur up that ladder will win the 2011 Chevy volt and will claim the title of Best Dinosaur in the 90’s version of “Land of the Lost.” In order to find out who will come out on top, we will need to consult that PCA Dinosaur Algorithm. Some say that the algorithm understands Lady Gaga and that it once finished third in a Freddy Mercury look alike contest. In any case, it is the only way we have to determine a winner. The button has been replaced with a lever and I’m pulling it now!
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Scarface wins! Incredible! What a shocking turn of events. What’s even more interesting is that the algorithm has decided to release an explanation as to why Scarface came out on top. There is a first time for everything I suppose. Let’s see what it had to say.
Hmm. Binary. Well, that’s not much use to us is it? Let’s see. I’ll just take out my handy binary to English dictionary here and translate.
“Scarface wins, despite reminding me of that god-awfully overrated Oliver Stone movie because Tasha reminds me too much of Godzilla’s horrifically irritating son Minilla. Scarface>Minilla.”
And so there it is! The first ever insight into the mindset of the algorithm. Next time I’ll have to ask it if there’s any truth to the rumor that the algorithm sleeps upside down like a bat.
Off to the Jurassic Park Clip of the Week!
Hmm… well that’s probably not true. Otherwise there would be a ton of T-Rexes constantly bumping into walls. Lastly, it’s time for the Beard of the Day!
Yet another winner that has no need for an explanation. I'm sure this guy has a very tolerant significant other at home. Ladies and gentlemen, the ummm... "this guy."
That’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by and vaya con dios.
Seven Business Days of Whedon continues with the top twelve ANGEL episodes. Talk about cutting to the chase.
ANGEL is my second favorite show of all-time, right behind LOST. ANGEL did not have a poor season besides the first season but Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt were unsure about the creative direction of the show for most of that season. They are quoted as saying they figured things out by “Hero,” but I disagree.
Whedon wanted to give Boreanaz his own show after seeing the performance he gave in “I Only Have Eyes For You,” a season two Buffy episode. He and David Greenwalt developed the series together and agreed they wanted ANGEL to be more adult than Buffy and more ambivalent. The demons weren’t black and white evil in LA. Whedon wanted ANGEL to capture the post-college experience of young adults. What I like most about ANGEL are the prevailing themes in the show of atonement, forgiveness, redemption, doing good, etc. Angel’s a character who never quits seeking atonement. The characters in ANGEL are united in their desire to help the helpless.
The characters are the strongest part of the show. The show was initially conceived as a film-noirish, detective show in which Angel, Cordelia and Doyle would solve a case each and every week but that concept didn’t work well in the Buffyverse because fans were too attached to the characters. The show abandoned the detective cases for storytelling fans were familiar with on Buffy. Joss and Greenwalt realized they didn’t need complex stories coming from out of the Angel offices though they thought the stories would come from the case; the stories could come out of the characters already established and the few new characters the show introduced.
Creatively, things took off for the show at the end of season one when they brought back Darla (Julie Benz). Season two is about Angel and Darla and then it becomes a story about Angel’s path to the dark side, and his eventual journey back to the good side and into the good graces of his friends whom he hurt very deeply when he went solo because of his obsession with Darla. The show found itself an identity and every character had an identity. All of the essential characters entered into the story by season’s end. Lorne (Andy Hallett) is introduced in the premiere, Fred (Amy Acker) is introduced during the Pylea arc and Gunn is introduced in season one’s “War Zone.” Once the writers had their world and characters established, the show absolutely took off. Seasons three and four demolish seasons six and seven of Buffy (both aired at the same time). While the quality of Buffy diminished, the quality of ANGEL just improved every single week. The show was so tightly constructed and plotted. Season four spans a period of just 2-3 weeks.
And season five, the show’s last season, maybe the show’s strongest season. TheWB wanted ANGEL to abandon the serialized style that dominated season four because they wanted new viewers to understand the story if they were interested in tuning in. The writers moved the characters into the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart which provided a wealth of story as shades of grey became the dominant theme of the season. How much good could the characters do in a place that isn’t designed for good?
Whedon asked TheWB head, Jordan Levin, for an early renewal but Levin balked and swiftly cancelled the show. Of course, Levin lost his job very soon afterwards and the new boss said if Joss had waited a few more weeks, ANGEL would’ve gotten its sixth season.
It’s truly a terrific series. I understand that Netflix added the entire series to instantly watch. While I recommend those with netflix take advantage of the opportunity to watch the whole series, I mostly recommend those with netflix to check out, at least, one of the fourteen episodes I rank.
Note: I forgot about season two’s Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been? but I am now too frustrated with wordpress to switch everything around. Thank you. Good day.
THE TOP 14 ANGEL EPISODES
14. Destiny (Written By David Fury & Steven S. DeKnight; Directed By Skip Schoolnik)
buffyworld.com
The Shanshu prophecy returns in this episode, just in time for Spike to become a real boy. After seven episodes where he was incorporeal, Spike opens a piece of mail and becomes corporeal for the first time since he burned up in the hellmouth. The firm goes insane so Angel and Spike are told that two vampires with a soul upsets the balance. One will need to drink from the Cup of Perpetual Torment to restore order and determine the true champion as well as find out who will be Shanshued once the final battle has been fought. It’s all a con set up by Lindsay, who returns for the first time since “Dead End.” The episode has a near three act fight between Spike and Angel. It’s fantastic.
13. Awakening (Written By David Fury & Steven S. DeKnight; Directed By James A. Contner)
buffyworld.com
The episode is a jaw-dropper. I don’t want to say too much should anyone venture to watch this season four episode. I sat with my jaw dropped after the episode ended. It’s a brilliantly plotted episode and would’ve loved to be in the writer’s room as they broke this one.
12. Spin The Bottle (Written&Directed By Joss Whedon)
buffyworld.com
Sure this episode is a retread of Buffy’s “Tabula Rasa” but the episode is so much fun. The characters revert to their teenage personas which means a return of classic bitchy Cordelia.
11. Damage (Written By Steven S. DeKnight & Drew Goddard; Directed By David Fury)
buffyworld.com
In the series finale of Buffy, every potential slayer becomes a slayer thanks to Willow’s magic. This episode is about one of those Slayers who was already severely damaged and it’s an episode about being a victim. Angel would like to try to save Dana from herself but Andrew and the new slayers take her to England to be trained by the new Watchers council. Outstanding episode.
10. The Trial (Written By Douglas Petrie & Tim Minear; Directed By Bruce Seth Green)
buffyworld.com
Darla was dying from a disease before the Master sired her 400 years ago. Naturally, in her second life, she is still dying and Angel wants to save her. This is sort of like Sysyphus and the rock in that Angel completes difficult trials only to be told that Darla’s been given her second life. Of course, we’ll later learn that the life he earned is his son’s. Julie Benz is so good in this episode and she even sings. David Greenwalt wrote the story for this; also, this one of the first episodes of ANGEL that made me realize how good the show is. Yes.
9. Reprise (Written By Tim Minear; Directed By James Whitmore Jr.)
buffyworld.com
A season two episode in which Angel is still after Darla, who is a vampire again by the way. Angel prevents a ritual from being performed at a Wolfram and Hart gig. Angel’s plan is to go to the home office to finish off the law firm but the home office is just earth and this revelation sends Angel into despair. The elevator scene between Holland and Angel is among the series best as Holland points out the ugliness of humanity. Soon after, he goes to Darla and the two have sex. Meanwhile, Kate is fired, Wesley gets dumped and Cordy will find herself in some trouble.
8. A Hole In The World (Written & Directed By Joss Whedon)
buffyworld.com
Winifred Burkle dies and Illyria is born. I love how the episode is shot as well as the love all of the male characters have for Fred as they try to save her life. There are so many good scenes and great bonding between Angel and Spike. One of Joss’ best episodes.
7. Not Fade Away (Written by Jeffrey Bell & Joss Whedon; Directed By Jeffrey Bell)
buffyworld.com
The final episode of ANGEL is satisfying. There are many callbacks. Connor and Angel are finally experiencing a good father/son relationship. Spike’s poetry is actually cheered. Gunn goes back to his old neighborhood to help Anne. Wesley dies in the finale in one of the saddest scenes in all of the whedonverse thanks to Illyria becoming Fred as Wesley dies. And nothing tops the final moment: our gang fighting because the fight never stops.
6. Sleep Tight (Written By David Greenwalt; Directed By Terrence O’Hara)
buffyworld.com
The saddest episode of ANGEL. Holtz kidnaps Connor and escapes into a hell dimension. Wesley betrays Angel and actually takes Connor’s son first and then his throat is slit by Justine.
5. Lineage (Written By Drew Goddard; Directed By Jefferson Kibbee)
buffyworld.com
Throughout the series, we’ve known that Wesley’s relationship with his father wasn’t good. In this, his father visits and he continually insults his own son. Later, Wolfram&Hart is attacked by cyborgs and that Wesley’s father is seemingly behind it. Wesley takes the insults from his father throughout but shoots him without hesitation when he threatens Fred’s life. His father is revealed to be a robot as well. The episode ends with Wesley calling his actual father and his dad is as cruel as ever. Any episode that focuses on Wesley is usually great because of how talented an actor Alexis Denisof is and the story in “Lineage” is very strong and very sad.
4. Smile Time (Written & Directed By Ben Edlund)
buffyworld.com
Puppet Angel. It’s the funniest episode of the series and an absolute delight to watch.
3. Epiphany (Written By Tim Minear; Directed By Thomas J. Wright)
buffyworld.com
“Epiphany” has my all-time favorite ANGEL scene where Angel tells Kate that “if nothing we do matters then all that matters is what we do.” Angel has an epiphany after a moment of perfect despair with Darla. He saves the day and begins the process of being forgiven by his friends. It’s also the last Kate episode. Kate, by the way, was an awful, awful character.
2. Home (Written & Directed By Tim Minear)
“Home” had to accomplish a few things: move the characters into Wolfram & Hart, write out Cordelia and resolve the Angel/Connor storyline. The episode is well-done on all fronts. The conclusion of the Angel/Connor storyline is particularly touching. Connor is pretty much beyond saving after everything he’s experienced. Angel is reluctant to sign a contract with Wolfram&Hart until he sees the state his son is in. Connor’s ready to kill himself, Cordelia and all the customers in the store he’s taken over. Angel arrives and the two talk and fight. David Boreanaz and Vincent Kartheiser are excellent during the entire scene. The context of the scene is tough to convey considering the space but believe me when I write Minear manages to include a season’s worth of emotional conflict into seven minutes. It’s remarkable and the prophecy “the father will kill the son” comes true. Powerful stuff.
1. You’re Welcome (Written & Directed By David Fury)
The 100th episode and Cordy’s goodbye episode. It’s moving and it sets the stage for the final episodes of ANGEL. Cordy asks the Powers for one last favor: help Angel rediscover his purpose. Angel does. They finally kiss and, by episode’s end, we learn that Cordelia died. What an episode.
Usually the way we do things on Tuesdays is that I rant at you about a person who I feel has wronged me in some manner or another while you sit waiting for it the spit to stop flying.
It’s a fine time. You might not realize it, but it is. I can assure you of that. Honestly, if you can’t trust me, who can you?
However, that is NOT what’s going to happen today. No, see today I’m in a good mood. The birds are chirping, the Phillies are winning and best of all: the sun has finally stopped trying to bear hug the Earth into oblivion. Life is good people of the world.
Also, I’ve found a new outlet for my digital blood lust. Well, truth be told it’s not a new outlet at all, but a four year old one, namely “Dead Rising.” See, this is how I roll with all non-“NHL(insert year)” videogames. I buy them. I play them for a month or so. I forget about them. Four years later when I’m extremely board I play them again. I think that’s what “The Lion King” meant with that circle of life stuff.
Full disclosure: “Dead Rising” is a pretty awful game. It’s clunky, it’s painfully tedious and it is way too into its own crappy story mode. The only thing going for it is the ability to run around a ginormous shopping mall massacring zombies with whatever you can find.
That part is a tremendous amount of fun. It’s just a shame that the game makes it so difficult to ignore the lame single player missions.
Any who, all of this nonsense has combined to leave me without a Name I Wish I Didn’t Know.
Instead, I’ll share with you this sorta, kinda trailer thing for the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie called “On Stranger Tides.” Really, it’s just Capt. Jack Sparrow talking to the camera for a minute and a half, but it is still GOLD.
Click here for the video. Seems Jerry Bruckheimer doesn’t like Youtube. Looks like someone is a little peeved because his movies have stopped making money…
I know, I know. I’m supposed to sit here and complain about how bad the last two “Pirates” movies were. How they were so long and boring and blah, blah blah. The truth is, all three “Pirates” movies were slow and suffered from stretches of bad writing. People have this idealized version of the first movie playing in their minds, but that one was just as unwieldy and repetitive as the other two were.
But guess what? Who cares! All three of the movies were a tremendous amount of fun. The only part that ever mattered was Johnny Depp’s performance. Without him, no one would have seen any of those movies. They would have been unwatchable.
This, my friends, is the reason why Johnny Depp is the best actor on the planet. He has propped up not just a franchise, but an entire genre. Thanks to Depp, the pirate is cool again. It’s a Halloween costume, a T-Shirt line, a jewelry line, whatever. He saved pirates from a fate worse than death: being un-cool.
The fourth “Pirates” film looks to be considerably leaner now that Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and their tired romance have been set adrift permanently. The focus will be placed solely on Depp and that is a darn good thing. Add in some Geoffrey Rush as the straight guy to play off of Depp’s insanity and you have the potential for a very entertaining popcorn movie.
Franchise screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio can and should be faulted for not putting enough faith in Depp to carry, at least, the sequels by himself. They kept making things bigger and bigger until eventually the balloon popped. This is their chance to start over. Keep the focus on the only part that the audience cares about and who knows? Maybe you can squeeze a few more flicks out of this character.
One thing is for sure. People like to laugh. Capt. Jack makes people laugh. Stop taking yourselves so seriously and just do that. Leave the corn ball romances for the soap operas, blow some stuff up and let Johnny Depp work his magic!
I swear this screenwriting stuff is not as hard as Hollyweird likes to make it out to be. Hey movie studios! I work cheap! I’m just saying…
On to the Beard of the Day!
In honor of the wonderful "Pirates" news, I present to you Capt. Jack's co-star and long time rival. A man who loves his pet monkey and has a HUGE looking glass. Ladies and gentlemen, the "Capt. Barbossa!"
Joss Whedon spoke about the perception of writers as directors some years ago with Candace Havens. Many Hollywood bigwigs scoff at the idea of a writer directing his or her own work, especially in the world of feature film where the director is king and a screenwriter’s script bears little resemblence to the original product after the re-writers and script doctoring. Whedon understood this because he spent many years as one of Hollywood’s script doctors. Among his script-doctor credits are Toy Story and Speed. His experiences with his Buffy, The Vampire Slayer screenplay and Alien Resurrection also taught him about the power of the director in feature film Hollywood. Fran Kuzui, director of the feature film Buffy, did not understand the script and mis-interpreted it completely. Kuzui transformed the story into a broad comedy and thought Joss’ intent was a pop-culture commentary on how people think about vampires. She was wrong. Joss watched as his screenplay became increasingly foreign from the script that he sold. For Alien Ressurection, Whedon wrote two different versions. One without Ripley and the other with. The studio initially accepted the Ripley-less version of Alien 4 because she died in the third Alien movie; however, the studio eventually panicked because they worried about the box office appeal of an Alien sans Ripley. Whedon said the final product is weak because of numerous rewriters, bad direction, bad production design, etc.When Gail Berman wanted Buffy to become a television series, Whedon was skeptical because his grandfather and father worked as television writers for their whole life and Joss’ dream was independent filmmaking. He wanted to be a great indie filmmaker but he eventually thought about his experiences in feature film, and he now sought creative control over his own stories and agreed to turn Buffy into a television series. He shot a short “pilot” that TheWB bought and picked up for 12 episodes for mid-season. Thus began Joss Whedon’s life as a director.
As showrunner, Buffy was his world entirely. The studio let him run the show as he wanted to. Joss didn’t direct an episode of Buffy until the season one finale. He used most of the season as his own film school where he could learn how to direct. Once he felt ready, he directed his first of many, many television episodes.
The world of television directing is not as glamorous as feature film. TV directors are anonymous people and unnoticed by the television audience. If you asked someone about who directed episode five or episode twelve of their favorite show, chances are he or she will not know. In the world of genre television, the fanboys and fangirls are much more aware of the production crew than fans of procedural drams or family dramas or half-hour sitcoms. Ask any diehard fan of the whedonverse about David Solomon or James Contner and they’ll probably be able to tell you their thoughts on those directors and the episodes they directed. The same knowledge exists in the LOST community where fans are as big a fans of Jack Bender, Stephen Williams, Paul Edwards, Tucker Gates, etc as they are fans of Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
Joss Whedon is a very talented director. Whedon’s one of the rare directors who finds himself in the news when he announces he’ll direct an episode of The Office or Glee because he’s Joss Whedon. He took full advantage of what he could do with Buffy. He wasn’t satisfied with settling into the the forumla of episodic direction. Whedon pushed and expanded the boundaries of what a television director could do because they were his shows. If he wanted to direct a musical, he did.
One of the many great things about watching a Joss Whedon show is witnessing the progression of his directorial talents. He’s never satisfied and always looks for something new to do. During the commentary for the Buffy series finale, he expresses regret about how he directed the finale. Time constraints forced him to shoot a very conventional episode from a directing standpoint and plenty of the action sequences were shot by second-unit director David Solomon. Whedon’s directed many episodes of his own television show with the most being Buffy and he’s accomplished some fantastic things with Buffy.
Of course, Joss wrote every episode he directed besides a season two ANGEL episode. Don’t worry, though, because I separated the writing from the directing since there is a post entirely about his writing coming this week. This post focuses on the best eight episodes Whedon directed. Many non-fans will even recognize the bulk of these episodes because of the publicity the shows received because of the episodes themselves and what Joss accomplished with them. Before I rank, I must say that Joss Whedon is going to own The Avengers. Have no fear with him behind the camera, folks.
THE TOP EIGHT EPISODES DIRECTED BY JOSS WHEDON
8. Prophecy Girl
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Want to watch Joss’ rookie debut as a director? Here it is. This episode elevated the show into cult status. In the years to come, Joss would really hone his craft but this episode is a terrific debut. He needed to remind the viewers that Buffy’s not simply a superhero in a sixteen year old girl’s body; she’s a sixteen year old girl first and foremost and she doesn’t want to die.
7. Serenity (Pilot)
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An 88 minute introduction into the world of Firefly. The episode is masterfully shot and features tremendous performances from his ensemble. My favorite sequence is the tracking shot with Simon after Mal tells him Kaylee is dead.
6. The Gift
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You’ll see this episode again in two other lists this week. “The Gift” builds to one moment which is Buffy’s death and the way it builds is wonderfully done. Joss got so many good performances from his cast and scenes like the one between Buffy and Spike in her house or the one between Dawn and Buffy at the end warrants the episode’s spot on the list.
5. Once More, With Feeling
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I’m sure the cast and crew had a hellish time making this as it was sandwiched in the shooting schedule of season six. The cast would shoot other episodes while rehearsing for this one but it’s one hell of a feat to shoot a musical on a network tv series. It’s a Joss Whedon tour-de-force with many of the tricks Joss loves doing like long one-ers among others.
4. Graduation Day Pts. 1&2
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It feels like a feature film and the run-time is feature film length. Yes, Becoming Pts 1&2 is the same length as Graduation Day but Graduation Day feels more cinematic which is something I always admire in television. Jack Bender is the king of the cinematic television episode. I digress. The scene between Buffy and Angel, when Angel feeds on her, is enough for this episode to be no.4 but Whedon and his crew kicked some ass with this episode. There’s flaming arrows and a huge snake and the school is destroyed plus there is a dynamite fight between Faith and Buffy. This episode is tied with “The Gift” for the most epic Buffy episode in the series episode.
3. The Body
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One of the most unique episodes of Buffy. There’s no music because Joss wanted to capture what it’s actually like to experience the death of a loved one and he does a very good job of capturing that experience. He doesn’t let the audience escape from what the characters are going through.
2. Restless
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An episode that’s been described as Lynchian. I think this episode should be taught in film classes or, rather, classes about directing. It’s very sophisticated direction. It’s shot totally different from any other episode of Buffy. There’s an homage to Apocalypse Now and Death Of A Salesman. He hasn’t directed anything remotely close since but I hope he returns to this style one day.
1. Hush
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It’s basically a silent movie. To get the most out of the actors, the actors spoke the dialogue and it was later muted in post-production. The point: 29 minutes of silence. I love how The Gentlemen are shot. I love the classic silent horror movie atmosphere that exists in some sequences like the Tara chase and Olivia at the window. I wanted to focus on the most innovative and interesting episodes he’s done from a directing standpoint so some very quality Joss episodes were left out. No ANGEL or Dollhouse made the cut though “Waiting In The Wings” deserves an honorable mention.
So today is Big Reveal Monday! Today is the day where I give you the answers to the questions that have no doubt been keeping you up nights.
Before we get to that nonsense, however, there is something more important at hand. Now, I know what you’re thinking. How could anything possibly be more important than Junior Archaeologist Fossil Detective Time? Normally, nothing would be. Today is not normal though.
Moments ago I watched the Comic Con trailer for season five of the Showtime series “Dexter.” I know that I’m a bit behind the times with this, but bear with me please. In my humble opinion “Dexter” is one of the best shows on television and its star, Michael C. Hall, is the best actor on TV. Heck, he’s easily one of the top actors working today. Could he even be on Christopher Nolan’s radar to play the Riddler in “Batman 3?”
“Dexter” follows the life of Dexter Morgan. He’s an unassuming blood tech and father by day, but at night he roams the streets of Miami killing off the city’s scumbags.
The fourth season of “Dexter” was outstanding. The performances given by Hall and guest star John Lithgow were hypnotic and earned the pair Golden Globe wins. The whole season revolved around Dexter trying to maintain a multitude of different lives. He had several plates spinning: father, killer, student, brother, husband, among others and eventually he couldn’t keep up.
Season five picks up immediately in the bloody aftermath of Dexter’s mistake. I don’t have Showtime, but this trailer (despite the rather lame voice over) makes a strong case. After all, it’s only like $10 a month right? There are only 12 episodes of “Dexter” a season. I can probably afford to fork over $30, maybe.
Johnny Depp do I need a job.
Here’s the trailer. Looks like this is going to be an incredible season. Probably more in the vein of season two in the sense that Dexter will once gain be put squarely in the cross hairs of the Miami PD.
Well, I feel as though I’ve stepped on the toes of “The Foot” enough with all this TV talk. Chris really knows TV stuff much better than I do so head over there to for some solid tube coverage.
On to the reveals!
First up is Junior Archaeologist Fossil Detective Time! At stake is a shiny, new quarter! WARNING: Quarter shiny-ness and new-ness NOT guaranteed.
The PCA offices were literally inundated with a guess on the identity of this fossil. Sadly, no one was correct. However, Chris will receive a moderately shiny, but not new dime for his efforts. This will be tacked on to the tab of the Mysterious J, who also owes Janice $10,000 worth of stuffed animals and $45,000 worth of board games.
The bone in question is a femur and it came from a Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Now, let’s get to the Scene of Mystery! Last week, Chris guessed that this scene came from the classic 1998 comedy “Dead Man on Campus,” while Janice argued it was from 1991’s “Terminator 2.” Let’s go to the video for the answer!
Oh no! Chris was so close! The scene actually came from 1995’s “Dead Man” which starred Johnny Depp. Janice was way off once again.
Since Chris got the title mostly correct, he will not be penalized. Sadly, I can not say the same about Janice. As a result of her painfully incorrect prognostication, Janice now owes me $5,000 worth of single serving Kool-Aid packets. The flavors of said packets will be determined at a later date. Such are the dangers of guessing incorrectly. The Scene of Mystery is a harsh and unforgiving contest.
Now on to the Beard of the Day!
Well, I think this one speaks for itself. Ladies and gentlemen, the "Father Orthoduck."
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