SilverShadow

I Flove The Little Mermaid so very much. And agreed that Eric had a personality. In fact the brief opening and the party scene on the ship are basically a highlight reel of why he's a good dude. Opening: loves sailing and the sea and he's not afraid to do manual labor. He's respectful and interested in the sailor's story. Party: He's playing the flute and dancing with Max (loves music and animals) is squicked out by a 10 foot statue of himself (not arrogant) but pretends to Grimsby he likes it to spare his friend/possible surrogate parent's feelings. Looking for the "right girl" for him and not willing to settle for any princess just cause. Takes charge during the storm, including saving Grim, and when safe in a lifeboat dives into a stormy sea and climbs back onto a burning ship to save his dog. Like damn. No wonder Ariel fell hard. I am so nervous/excited for the live action version.

Great Season 2 opener. I loved the resolution that Louie is the big picture guy. Poor Huey's breakdown was super adorable too. And I enjoyed Gyro attempting to become a God King.

Listening to the soundtrack made me want to do a 're-watch' of sorts. Halfway through Season One and wow is the show better when you fast-forward to just watch the good songs and the occasional Ivy or Tom scene. "Lets Be Bad" remains amazing and possibly the best damn thing Smash ever did. Ivy struggling and bringing her own pain and insecurities to Marilyn's downward spiral and killing it is so fucking good. Chills.

Brent said the poor girl threw herself in front of a train. Just re-watched this and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. It had a great tense atmosphere and I think overall they did a great job peeling back the layers on who all these people were and what they did.

I don't necessarily mind "the Scoobs at one another's throats" but something in the writing of those episodes puts me off and it feels both really nasty and that the nastiness hasn't been earned by the interactions of the characters before and after. Like I have 0 problem with The Yoko Factor on that front because the conflicts come from issues that have been building all season and are deliberately being stoked by Spike and Adam. And again that was supposed to be The Fight to End all Fights but somehow it's not as vitriolic or just mean as early Season 3 can be. And the next episode had everyone honestly confronting what happened and repairing the Scoobies relationships. I came to Buffy in early season 4 so I saw all the earlier seasons via the DVD sets so "lousy effects" and a "weak villain" for the MOTW weren't really something I cared about. I was also very very spoiled by the time I actually saw the episodes. I don't tend to rewatch Bad Eggs a lot unless I'm doing a complete Season 2 rewatch but I find it relatively inoffensive filler with some cute scenes. Dead Man's Party and Revelations in contract make me actively angry with the writers and characters not because they're not playing nicely together in the sandbox but because it feels so out of step and issues are brought up without being setup and then put away without actually being addressed and then don't really come up again. Lover's Walk is not an episode where everyone is playing nice. Willow and Xander are cheating on their partners and Willow wants to use black magic to stop her hormones. The follow-up after the fact is kind of annoying, where them being found-out ends their relationship basically as quickly as the black magic would have, but the episode itself feels logically and emotionally consistent with the episodes that preceded it and what the characters had been saying and doing. Dead Man's Party and Revelations, to me, don't.

I still think it was just too fast to "get back to normal" and that the plot and characterizations are pushed in ways that are inorganic to rush to that point. And while I agree that Season 2 might have more uneven episodes, overall it was a week or maybe two of weaker episodes and then back to A game, where for me it takes until episode 8 for Season 3 to find its groove. Also I would rather watch Bad Eggs 10 times in a row rather than watch Dead Man's Party or Revelations once. Bad Eggs is very very silly but the characters are likable and working together (when not under alien mind control) and we get some cute stuff with Buffy and Angel. I find the other two episodes actively unpleasant. It all comes down to personal preference of course and there's no objective right or wrong answer. But it's really great to hear from other POVs.

Ehh...not really. I probably like James Marsters more than the character. I like Spike fine in his role of "newer sexier kind of villain" in Season 2 with Dru and Angelus, think he's okay in 4 and 5 and in the last season of Angel, and I loathe Season 6 with the fire of a thousand suns. Frankly I think Spike is one of those characters that became the victim of his own popularity. I like seasons 2 and 5 for pretty much entirely non-Spike related reasons that I won't get into here since it's off-topic. In terms of the status quo, what I meant was when the credits roll in Season 2 Buffy has been expelled, kicked out of her Mom's house, accused of murder and on the run from the cops, damned Angel to hell, and run from Sunnydale and her destiny. But by the end of episode 1 of Season 3 the charges have been dropped and she's back in Sunnydale and her Mom's house and presumably will take up her destiny again. By the end of episode 3 she's re-enrolled in school and Angel's back, though no one knows it. It feels like the writers forcing puzzle pieces to fit to rush through the fallout of the previous season. I think if they had used another episode or two to flesh it out it would have been more organic. The only episode of the first seven I like much is Band Candy. Whereas from there you get: Lover's Walk, The Wish, Amends (which I know people are mixed on but I like it), minor downgrade with Gingerbread, and then finally Helpless through Graduation Day, which IMO is a run of solid to all-time great episodes. Hence my commenting Lover's Walk is where I think Season 3 really picks up.

Obligatory caveat that no the OG was not exactly a masterpiece, blah blah, read the old TWOP recaps if you want to get a laugh about how much it was not. That out of the way, geee it's interesting that now they're talking about the legacy and honoring the original there are little nods everywhere and how they're such fans when pretty much all the previous articles are like "It's it's own thing! Fresh take! Not focusing so much on the original!" Methinks the CW suits are scared about all the backlash and the negative reaction to the trailer and are trying to soothe ruffled feathers lest they lose sweet sweet advertising dollars. A successful reboot brings along fans of the original who bring pre-existing passion and excitement while also grabbing new eyes. Right now they've pissed off the former and gotten hints of a potential MEH or worse a LOLno from the latter. Also Madeleine Mantock needs to STFU with that "we come in peace" line like three interviews ago. It's hella condescending. Also REALLY the #MeToo Movement, and the sexually harassing predator professor, and a Trump reference in episode 1. I'm a pretty damn hippy dippy liberal and just reading that makes me exhausted and bored. And given Rose McGowan's role in Harvey Weinstein's downfall it also feels vaguely gross and exploitative to me. YMMV,

I was okay with the dream sequence because they played fair with setting up the mechanism for it and YET I still fell for it, right through Doll!Webby getting zapped. At that point I figured they'd undo it, but I hadn't realized that we weren't in the 'real world.' I also thought it made sense they wanted to give viewers a clear look into Lena's head and where her loyalties ultimately lie and that someone as non-confrontational and desperate to escape as Lena would need a shock to the system like that to realize that there's no way Magica getting the dime is good news for Webby's safety and her own. I'm also impressed at how dark and violent Webby's 'death' was allowed to be, even as a doll. The emotional throughline sold the whole thing for me. The Bigfoot subplot made me laugh, as did Louie regaining his crown as king of cons in the manor. He might wanna avoid the woods from now on though.

I agree with the majority that Seasons 3 and 4 are my favorites, followed by 1, 6, and 2. 3 and 4 feel like when the show found its groove, mixing longer-term storytelling with the adventures of the week. Shannen does her best work in 3 and her departure gives a lot of really good storytelling opportunities with the fallout of Prue's death. The sisters get more powerful, the Cole arc is mostly coherent, and things still have emotional weight, 1 is of course where it all began and it;s fun to watch the show find itself and evolve. 6 is really only ranked so high because I'm a sucker for time travel and I really like and enjoy Chris's character and arc, the idea of future Wyatt being bad, and how the consequences spiral out into Halliwell family. I just wish they spent more time developing that and less on the bullshit. 2 is also hurt by all the Dan stuff that I super don't care about and the overall slower pace. I also like lots of the bits and pieces of 7. The Avatars, Leo struggling with his morality, Drake, and Zankou. On the other hand Sheridan, Brody, Magic School, and the asshole Elders put me to sleep. 5 is mostly terrible, but again, even in that there are bits and pieces I enjoy. The show recalibrating itself to appeal extra hard to both 8-12 year old girls and perverted adults men is really obvious and weird. I hated how the show tried to retcon Cole being possessed against his knowledge and will as him having made a free choice to be evil, while Phoebe, who did make many, many, questionable decisions of her own free will, was treated as a passive victim who had no choice. I know a lot of the issues stemmed from the aborted Cole/Paige/Phoebe love triangle-but that also would have been a stupid idea that came out of nowhere and Julian was right in running for the exit either way. 8. Good lord 8. The fallout from the fake deaths takes forever and is boring. As is Phoebe's quest for her baby. And dear God Billie. I like Kaley in her other work but her acting, plus whatever direction she was given just made her nails on a chalkboard to me. And when her quest to find Christy takes over the plot and she gets her stupid-ass projection power it's just awful. That said Henry is by far Paige's best love interest and I find Kill Billie and Forever Charmed to be decent enough finales.

To me ultimately the reboot feels incredibly manufactured and market-tested and plasticy. The fact that their press materials call one of their characters a social justice warrior without a hint of irony is a huge red flag. Granted, the original was inspired by the Craft, greenlit to ride the Buffy wave, and tweaked by the network and producers to show more skin and play bands of the week, but at the core there was just a "there" there that worked when the writing didn't go out its way to ruin it. I'm also someone who's enjoyment of a property is hugely based on its characters. I'm invested in the Halliwells and their world. I give no fucks about the "new class." The fact that they didn't approach the original actresses in any way, either to be a part of press, or to have them in cameos/supporting roles based on willingness doesn't sit well with me. It feels like a no-brainer and it would have made them look classy. Also a lot of the statements and interviews from the new cast and crew regarding the OG read condescending at best and "God, we know you like that stupid old shit, but we're gonna do it better, waaaaaatch uuuuuus" at worst.

Remember in Season 1 when Charlotte did the glitch "test" with Clementine to set up Bernard and Ford she specifically said they have the capacity to have hosts read other hosts as "human" when they put hosts in QA garb to get beat up by Clem. There's no reason MIB couldn't have been the same if he was/is a host.

Jaw$ is definitely up there as one of my faves (The others being Beagle Birthday Massacre, House of Lucky Gander, and Beware the B.U.D.D.Y System). Lots of gags and fun moments framing a genuinely emotional story. Seconding Lena reminding me of Megara, with a nice helping of Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn from Sailor Moon. I enjoy her friendship with Webby a lot. Also loved Scrooge having to learn PR with help from Beakley and her trusty spray bottle.

@Camera One This is now my head-canon.

So giving more though to how I'd retool the show while keeping the same general plot thrusts here's what I'd do for the first 3 seasons. (I plan to cover the latter ones in a separate post): Season 1: Integrate the supporting cast better with the main heroes. Have MaryM and Ashley become friends, maybe David gets friendly with Thomas or Archie, have Kathryn interact with anyone ever. Show Henry hanging out With Nicholas, Eva, and Paige. And have those interactions lead to some kind of payoff that helps Emma in the finale. Either-Rather than MaryM and David having a pro-longed affair they have the initial false start, and the episode 10 kiss, but when stuff comes out everyone thinks they had an affair/Otherwise be more explicit how the curse pushes people into making self-sabotaging decisions and how only interacting with Emma/the Savior can push them out of the patterns. Let Regina be more conflicted that her relationship with Henry has deteriorated so badly. Address Graham's death either in the S1 finale or the start of Season 2. Season 2: Have an episode or two before the portal separates the Snowings. Have Regina go into hiding and see incognito the damage she's wrought and actually have her feel bad about it. Make Greg/Owen and Tamara anti-magic crusaders without the weird magic-killing taser. Maybe they're associated with a group that wants to wipe out all magic with ties to the Salem Witch trials. maybe a Hocus Pocus tie-in? Also, have Regina not have killed Owen's Dad. Maybe have it be one of the anti-magicers that do it and frame her for it, thus converting Owen. Give Ruby a decent story-arc. Have Cora actually need to do some work to corrupt Regina, maybe even taking her heart and forcing her while everyone thinks it's Regina doing it of her own free will. Perhaps she manages to get a message to Henry thus foreshadowing his "truest believer" status. Have Snow, Emma, and co make a mission to retrieve Regina's heart and Regina is the one to kill Cora and have a moral crisis about it. Make Neal and August less jerky. Maybe the anti-magicker cult are the ones who inform the police about the watch job to keep Emma from Storybrooke and Neal feels guilty that he got her locked up and is then convinced to stay away for Emma's sake? No weird Lacey subplot that doesn't go anywhere. Integrate Belle with the main cast more. Make Tamara actually interesting. Season 3: Have Pan be Rumple's older brother rather than his Dad. Give Ariel's arc an actual ending where we see her tell Eric what she is and the two of them have to deal. In fact, bring them into the second half more along with Aurora, Mulan, and Phillip. Show how Phillip was saved. Rather than Neal dying stupidly, he willingly sacrifices his life to bring Rumple back because Rumple has some specific knowledge of how to defeat Zelena no one else has, but the process plus Neal dying scrambles Rumple's sanity and memories temporarily so it takes time to get the solution they need. Use memoryless Henry to explore belief VS cynicism. Have him interact with Storybrooke kids and be weirded out when they seem to know him better than they should. Have Regina and Robin have interacted during the missing year and fall for each other then. In the present they're snippy with each other at first because there's some weird niggling feeling they don't understand when they are around each other. Make Zelena a reflection of Season 1/Enchanted Forest Regina and have Regina articulate how now she sees what she did was wrong etc. which is what triggers her ability to use light magic. Have Robin and Regina realize she may have killed Marian but even she's not sure for "because for me it was Tuesday" reasons before the finale which strains their relationship. After the time-travel have Hook and Emma restore the original timeline and take Marian with them, thus Regina never killed her because time was always supposed to go that way. Foreshadow Zelena-as-Marian.

Co-sign to all of these. Another problem with the lack of cohesion between Neal and Bae is they cast August specifically as a "fake-out" and he ended up being a much better match for young Bae in terms of his looks and mannerisms. And in contrast MRJ came across as very old and very modern rather than having that timeless quality Bae and August conveyed. IMO Regina's redemption falls apart on two big fronts. They had her seesaw way too long on good VS evil and she seemed to lean towards evil at every opportunity. The other is we almost never see her have remorse for the wrongs she did and harm and pain she caused other people or have to deal with the consequences of those acts, and she never really gets to a place of doing good for the sake of being good rather than just wanting the approval of people she loves and ti being the most expedient thing to her getting what she wants.

I was really torn on them making Darkwing a show within a show but this tweet gives me hope we're going to get Drake Mallard as the "real" Darkwing later on:

Re-watched a good chunk of the Dic Black Moon "Negamoon" arc while I was visiting my cousin and I was surprised at how well it generally hung together. The last 17 "lost episodes" especially had very accurate scripts, which is surprising. Power of Love still hit me right in the feels.

Got the second half of S and daaaamn the dub is so good. I love Hotaru's performance and Mimette's VA is especially great as well. Her delivery completely cracked me up a few times. I've been sick today so binging and almost to the end.

I am here for this. Loved the MJH show as a kid but got into the Chilling Adventures comics when they started so I know what I'm in for. The comics are so bonkers and dark I'm really curious how much they can translate of that to the show.

I love this show. IMO easily the best of the Disney film spinoff series in the 90's and still a strong contender now.

Presumably Regina's spell simply added records for Henry Swan, Emma Swan's child that she kept, but didn't necessarily erase the records for Henry Mills' closed adoption? I'm for anything that includes more Ivy.

I'm kind of bummed no blu ray. I already own both seasons on digital so I may give the DVDs a skip unless they have good special features.

I am loving this show. "House of the Lucky Gander" was a great Donald showcase but also had great moments for pretty much everyone. Dewey and the Tiger, Huey and the water show, Louie's growing disillusionment with Uncle Gladstone, Scrooge's irritation, Webby and the chocolate fountain, and Launchpad apparently having an off-screen epic adventure. So much to love.

They didn't ruin Emma's happy ending. THANK GOD. I can just enjoy the ride of the new season without having to freak out. Cindy is still ehh but I adore Drizella. Also with Hook's line about his daughter being locked in a tower I'm thinking it will be New!Rapunzel.