OT: Some eps you may have forgotten...

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

Well, I've been enjoying my Season 2 DVDs, with one exception: the lack
of "Previously..."s I want my clips, darn it! Particularly the second
season stuff:

"That must be Angel!"

"...they restored my soul."

"A vampire in love with a slayer? That's rather poetic--"

"One moment of happiness...and that soul is taken from him--forever!"

"Angel, there must be some part of you deep inside that remembers who
you are." "Dream on, schoolgirl; your boyfriend is dead."

--snap!--

"I wasn't ready before, but now I am...nothing's ever going to bring him
back; I know that now."

See, I miss my "previously..."s.

Anyway, one good thing about DVD sets is that they are so comprehensive,
featuring not just your favorite episodes, but neglected classics
deserving of a second look. I thought I'd point out a few of the
midseason treasures that you might have missed. I've selected one from
each season:

Episode 1.6, "The Pawn": when Xander and members of the chess club come
under the influence of evil forces, they begin to engage in hideous,
reckless behavior: gambits are played without any thought to pawn
structure or the safety of the king--I'm talking Rice Gambits, Muzios,
and one poor fellow actually opened The Spike :D Willow tries to
interest Xander in a nice, safe Sicilian Defense (Giles lets Buffy know
that this is not, in fact, a Mafia lawyer), but Xander won't hear of it.
He cruelly mocks Willow's constricted bishops and lack of queen's-side
development, and now that his emotions are no longer being kept in
check, he'll stop at nothing to make Buffy his mate...

Episode 2.14, "I'm not *that* 'Innocence' ": Buffy's birthday tryst
goes horribly wrong, as the loss of Angel's soul transforms him into the
ultimate evil--Britney Spears! (Although, personally, I'm more wigged
by Spike and Dru turning into Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson, myself.)
The good news is that the school seems to be getting an unlimited supply
of Pepsi out of the deal, but that's small solace to Buffy...

Episode 3.13, "The Zippo?" : This Cordelia-centric episode begins
with Xander mocking her for being like a Zippo? lighter--once sleek
and popular with all the guys, but now being replaced by cheap plastic
Bics. Cordy soon has bigger problems as she learns that Harmony and her
gang of brain-dead fashion victims are planning on blowing up the
Sunnydale Mall and unleashing Retail Hell on Earth (i.e., no place to
shop except Wal-Mart). But Cordy finds her inner strength and manages
to Shop 'Till They Drop, saving the day. In a hilarious coda, Oz-wolf
tries to eat Harmony, but gags at the taste of sheep...

Episode 4.13, "The I in Tim": Buffy's new Iowa-born boyfriend, Tim
Finn, bores everybody to death with his longwinded explanation of how
come his mother named him "Tim" rather than "Tom". Willow, doing
anything to escape the horror, promptly runs over to Tara's and turns
lesbian. She is joined in short order by Buffy, Anya, Joyce, a
returning Cordelia and an underage-but-enthusiastic Dawn. Tara says
Willow has very nice friends, Cordelia tells Joyce to "get your mom-aged
mitts back on me!", and Buffy tells Willow she's figured out that her
problem with boyfriends is the "boy" part and B/W pledge eternal love.
Awww.....

Episode 5.12, "Chickpoint": The Watchers' Council is back in town and
they've made a deal with Spike--they won't stake him if he helps them
find several dozen extremely attractive teenage "slayer candidates" for
them to take back to England for "intense training". Buffy puts a stop
to the scheme, and she and Willow file the girls' names and phone
numbers away for "research purposes". As penance, Spike has to listen
to Giles talk again about how his chip might mean that "a higher power"
has some "special purpose" in mind for him; this time, Giles clarifies
what he means by standing close behind Spike and talking softly in his
ear while grinding against the undead hottie's rump....

Episode 6.12: "Doublemeat Palace": Beset by financial woes, Buffy
decides to become a porn star. (What, you though I was better than that
joke? How little you know me..<eg>) Alas, Manmeat the Manager is more
interested in Dawn, and nothing will stop his quest for some
double-Key-hole action. Fortunately, he is killed by the "Merkin Lady",
who turns out to be an angry male ex-star in disguise, and after slaying
him/her, Buffy and Willow take over the business and rededicate it to
making tasteful, sensitive, f/f orgy films...while giving Dawn "acting
lessons" each night at home...

Proof that even so-called "lesser" episodes of "Buffy" can still be
enjoyable. Have fun with those DVDs, folks!

Dan