Episode 10 - We're Really Back!

We're back! This week we're talking AIDS, in the context of the documentary "We Were Here" and the novel "Two Boys Kissing." Seriously, it's less depressing than it sounds.

(Sorry for how faint I can sound at points in this; audio issues that I am working out.)

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Buffy Rewatch: Conversations With the New Guy, Part 1

"Been a long while since I met one who didn't know me."

Because for me this is a rewatch of one of my favorite shows of all time, I thought it would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who's new to the series. Fortunately for me, I know someone who fits the bill. And fortunately for all of us, he's agreed to be involved with this project.

Everyone, say hi to Russ. Russ is a gentleman and a scholar, and a man of impeccable taste. (He hated PACIFIC RIM nearly as much as I did.) We'll check in with Russ regularly throughout the year. Our plan is to discuss elements of the series itself, as well as how it might fit into the teevee big picture over the last 15 years. Here's our first chat, a brief email back-and-forth about pilots, premises, and serialization vs. stand-alones. (I'll try not to be as repetitive in future weeks. It's the first week - we're still figuring this out!)

Admit it: we're all a little jealous of someone getting to watch BUFFY for the first time.

Buffy Rewatch: Welcome to Sunnydale

In the first week of the Buffy Rewatch, we discuss "Welcome to the Hellmouth", "The Harvest", and "Witch."

"People out of high school respond to what's going on in the show, because I don't think you ever get over high school." Joss Whedon


This quote from Joss Whedon (in his DVD commentary for "Welcome to the Hellmouth") really sums up the approach that he and the writers use in the first few seasons of BUFFY. A horror movie as a metaphor for high school - or is it high school as a metaphor for a horror movie?

The first few episodes of any TV show are about establishing the premise of the show, introducing the characters to the viewers (and often to each other), and letting the audience know how the show's makers are going to tell their stories. I think we can discuss the first three episodes of BUFFY in this context: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest" function as a two-part pilot, and "Witch" is the first episode that functions like a regular episode of the series.

Buffy Rewatch 2014

How'd you do that?
It's what I do.
But you're just a girl.
That's what I keep saying.


So for the last few months, we at Try It, You'll Like It have mainly used the blog as a home for the podcast. Well, we thought, what if we actually used the blog as a blog? The start of a new year seemed like a good time to do this, and here's our first big project: the 2014 BUFFY Rewatch!

Why this series, and why now? Simply, I'm suffering from anti-hero fatigue.

Shows like THE SOPRANOS, THE SHIELD, MAD MEN, and BREAKING BAD, as brilliant as they are, all feature a male anti-hero as the central character. BUFFY stands in stark contrast to these series - not just the "male" part, but also the "anti" part. I also find that it gets slighted in most discussions of "the golden age of television." Alan Sepinwall discusses BUFFY in his must-read book "The Revolution Was Televised", of course - but people generally cite THE SOPRANOS as the starting point of the "golden age", and BUFFY had premiered two years earlier. BUFFY was also a network show, and most "golden age" discussions focus on cable and the subject/content freedom that cable provides.

Buffy Rewatch Schedule

This is the schedule for the BUFFY rewatch, as of January 2 2014. WE CAN DO THIS, PEOPLE.

Season 1

Jan 7: Welcome to the Hellmouth; The Harvest; Witch
Jan 14: Teacher's Pet; Never Kill a Boy on the First Date; The Pack
Jan 21: Angel; I, Robot... You, Jane; The Puppet Show
Jan 28: Nightmares; Out of Mind, Out of Sight; Prophecy Girl

Season 2

Feb 4: When She Was Bad; Some Assembly Required; School Hard
Feb 11: Inca Mummy Girl; Reptile Boy; Halloween
Feb 18: Lie To Me; The Dark Age
Feb 25: What's My Line (Part 1); What's My Line (Part 2); Ted
Mar 4: Bad Eggs; Surprise; Innocence
Mar 11: Phases; Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered; Passion
Mar 18: Killed By Death; I Only Have Eyes for You; Go Fish
Mar 25: Becoming (Part 1); Becoming (Part 2)

Season 3

Apr 1: Anne; Dead Man's Party; Faith, Hope & Trick
Apr 8: Beauty and the Beasts; Homecoming; Band Candy
Apr 15: Revelations; Lovers Walk; The Wish
Apr 22: Amends; Gingerbread; Helpless
Apr 29: The Zeppo; Bad Girls; Consequences
May 6: Doppelgangland; Enemies; Earshot
May 13: Choices; The Prom;
May 20: Graduation Day (Part 1); Graduation Day (Part 2)

Season 4

May 27: The Freshman; Living Conditions; The Harsh Light of Day
Jun 3: Fear Itself; Beer Bad; Wild At Heart
Jun 10: The Initiative; Pangs; Something Blue
Jun 17: Hush; Doomed; A New Man
Jun 24: The I in Team; Goodbye Iowa
Jul 1: This Year's Girl; Who Are You
Jul 8: Superstar; Where the Wild Things Are; New Moon Rising
Jul 15: The Yoko Factor; Primeval; Restless

Season 5

Jul 22: Buffy vs. Dracula; Real Me; The Replacement
Jul 29: Out of My Mind; No Place Like Home; Family
Aug 5: Fool For Love; Shadow; Listening to Fear
Aug 12: Into the Woods; Triangle; Checkpoint
Aug 19: Blood Ties; Crush; I Was Made To Love You
Aug 26: The Body
Sep 2: Forever; Intervention; Tough Love
Sep 9: Spiral; The Weight of the World; The Gift

Season 6

Sep 16: Bargaining (Part 1); Bargaining (Part 2); After Life
Sep 23: Flooded; Life Serial; All The Way
Sep 30: Once More, With Feeling; Tabula Rasa
Oct 7: Smashed; Wrecked; Gone
Oct 14: Doublemeat Palace; Dead Things; Older and Far Away
Oct 21: As You Were; Hell's Bells; Normal Again
Oct 28: Entropy; Seeing Red; Villains
Nov 4: Two to Go; Grave

Season 7

Nov 11: Lessons; Beneath You; Same Time, Same Place
Nov 18: Help; Selfless; Him
Nov 25: Conversations With Dead People; Sleeper; Never Leave Me
Dec 2: Bring on the Night; Showtime; Potential
Dec 9: The Killer In Me; First Date; Get It Done
Dec 16: Storyteller; Lies My Parents Told Me; Dirty Girls
Dec 23: Empty Places; Touched; End of Days
Dec 30: Chosen

Episode 9.5 - Where the Hell Have We Been?

We're back! Kind of!

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Episode 8 - The One Where We Insult The Listeners

This week, our theme was Parents!  We talk about the Chaim Potok novel, My Name Is Asher Lev (1972) and the movie The Family Stone (2005).  There's discussion of the Sound of Music Live broadcast, how to insult listeners who might not be listening and the usual shenanigans.

The trailer for The Family Stone:

(Please note that at one point I mispronounce the Ladover community, the fictional Hasidic community in the novel, as "Landover."  I did not mean that Asher Lev works for the Marayland NFL team that plays there.)


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