Re: Re: OT: research help - Detailed Description

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

DEM,

Thanks for the praise of my little sketch. And I'm still not making
with the love for "Anne", aka "Joss Whedon's Directing Reel". It's a
tracking shot! A sad montage on homelessness! Another tracking shot!
A big set, with a really big fight! Gee, all that's missing is a
story...

There was so much story potential following "Becoming" (that summer was
a ficcer's dream) and Joss has absolutely nothing with which to follow
it up.  

That said, it's not like I'm leading the Marti Noxon Appreciation
Society here...

Because if you want me to defend "Forever" you've got the wrong guy.
The last time the ep was on FX, in early March, I was the guy bagging on
it. Oh, heck, let me dig out that post and quote myself; hang on a
minute...

Darn, couldn't find it. But I did find the post where you were raving
about "Living Conditions" (IMO, possibly the worst ep of Seasons 1-5),
so now I don't feel so bad that you don't like **my** taste in Noxon
eps...

Anyway, what can I say about "Forever"? Um, Dawn showed intelligence
and resolve throughout (much more mature than she is in S6), Joel Grey
was good, the W/X scene was nice, the direction of the funeral was
effective (if somewhat cliched), and SMG was wonderful at the end (loved
how, after lecturing Dawn about the resurrection, when she hears Joyce
coming she gets that hopeful glow and goes "Mommy?").

Bad stuff:

? Tara the Dogmatist not letting Willow have an opinion about the
resurrection spell. This is the scene that really annoys me about W/T
and Tara. I know it's partly there to set up the argument in "Tough
Love", but seeing Willow flinch when Mother goes "that's not the point"
is just too unpleasant. Would have been more palatable if we'd found
out that Tara had tried to resurrect her own mother (as Ruth Tomkinson
conjectured in a fic), but of course Tara's not allowed to have flaws...

? Buffy pulling that enormous "you wouldn't understand" with Angel.
She's bitching about how it's so tough to be an adult, to make the
decisions that Joyce made for her, and he **tells** her that she doesn't
have to do it alone, that everyone wants to help, that he'll stay as
long as she wants--and she starts talking about the sunrise, almost as
if she wants to chase him off. (Honey, he can smell the sunrise coming
before you can; remember "Amends"?)

Looking back, there's Season 6 for you: Buffy sulks about how tough
having a job is, shuts everyone else out and blames **them** for it, all
so Marti can have it be about Buffy and Dawn (and no one else) at the
end. Had we but known...

? Dawn destroying the photo and undoing the resurrection. Yes,
thematic about how you have to break with the past, etc., but Tara had
said people **usually** come back wrong (not always) and Doc had said
Joyce was a good candidate. Geez, they couldn't have waited three
seconds to see if Joyce was all right, and then destroyed the photo if
necessary?

Of course, what Marti's doing is showing Dawn is mature enough to let go
of Joyce--and then in her next ep, she'll have Willow be too "immature"
("Oh, Grow Up" Oh, shut up, Marti.) and not be able to let go of Buffy.
What dolts we were, thinking they were saying something about how Willow
loves Buffy; "Bargaining" is just "Willow is stupid, childish and
evil", nothing more. I couldn't even watch the repeat last week.

It's nauseating enough to have TPTB elevating Dawn over Willow that way,
but it's really disgusting that they're taking this giant shit on Willow
for **keeping the show going**. Hey, Marti, since if Buffy stayed dead
you'd be out of a job (Wow! That really would be He-aaaaa-ven!), I
think it's very tacky to condemn Willow for bringing her back. Not to
mention that Buffy eventually realizes she does want to be here. (Has
Willow gotten a sincere thanks yet? Will she ever?). Seeing the
foreshadowing makes me hate this even more.

? Buffy slapping Dawn. I know, this year we all wanted to do it, but
I'm not a fan of adults smacking their 14-year-old sisters around, and
**the Slayer** should really know better.

So, no, I'm not one for keeping "Forever" around. Marti hasn't written
a decent ep since "Wild at Heart", to my mind. (Well, "New Moon Rising"
tells its story decently: it merely destroys the show's basis when
Buffy attacks "demons bad, people good"--dammit Marti, that's the
point!--and cheats Willow and the audience by making Oz have to leave
again, so Willow never does **choose** Tara. "You have to be with
person you love." "Honey, Oz left; I'm stuck with you no matter how I
feel.") (Which isn't to say she wouldn't have picked Tara, anyway, but
Marti didn't give her a choice.)

Dan