The Bronze: The show, comics, movie, and more!

[Wilowy]

Here's where we come talk about the show in general, as well as other things related to the show. The possibility of a reboot? Sure, goes here. Buffy in other formats i.e... animated, or comic book? Welcome here too. Basically, everything that doesn't fit in one of the other threads, goes here. Grab a red plastic solo cup and cop a squat at a threetop!

[Mya Stone]

So, I went looking for my Buffy CDs this week, and couldn't find them anywhere. :( I think they're still at my MIL's in California. 

I was Jonesing for some angst music in the worst. 

[Kalliste]

I only ever owned the musical one. I haven't listened to it in sooo long. My boyfriend is having his first watch of Buffy/Angel and I haven't mentioned that there is a musical episode yet (or for that matter, that there is Dawn. We're nearly up to her) and that we're watching it :D It is one of the few musical episodes in shows I actually watch.

 

Off topic from that, does anyone else think it's weird that Buffy had to go live on campus because home was just too far away but she could still go to the Bronze and other Sunnydale places without much issue? I mean, how big is Sunnydale that you HAVE to go be a resi because home is too far..

[Wilowy]

You... only ever owned ONE episode of Buffy? 

 

*boggle*

[Kalliste]

You... only ever owned ONE episode of Buffy? 

 

*boggle*

lol no, one cd :D I didn't get the soundtracks, only the musical cd :P

[CletusMusashi]

Sunnydale was like Springfield. It was however big the episode required it to be.

[Kalliste]

Sunnydale was like Springfield. It was however big the episode required it to be.

Lol true. I always thought it was strange that in the earlier seasons Buffy never patrolled at the college. I guess at that time UC Sunnydale didn't exist in the writers minds.

[KittenPokerCheater]

My first episode was the premiere.  I was heartbroken and sick and stayed in on my birthday (I think, if it wasn't my birthday it was very very close) and watching the staking of vampires and the action and comedy was immensely satisfying.  And then the internet led me to wildfeeds and mbtv/twop and snark the rest is history (monkey,).  

 

Barphe mentioned at the other twop place that it was too bad we couldn't get twenty more pages to get to 2200 to say goodbye.  Hint hint.

 

 

Romanticidiot, I loved the book!  That Spike narrated it was awesome and sexy.

Edited May 31, 2014 by KittenPokerCheater

[Darkpool]

I started watching when it was on the air. A friend of mine recommended is so I gave it a try. My first episode was "Go Fish."

 

A couple of years later another friend recommended it in very strong terms so I gave it another try. I think my second episode was a summer re-run of "Hush." I stuck around after that.

 

I found my way to online fandom and this community (at our old home, of course) after the end of Season Six. I needed people that I could talk to endlessly about the show without looking like a complete lunatic.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Darkpool

[Endeavour]

I'm pretty sure I started watching at the point when Joyce got sick. I remember watching a few eps in a row and getting sucked in. I then went back and watched from the beginning to get caught up and continued watching live. Found my way to TWoP somehow - maybe looking for an explanation because I was watching out of order. Started watching AtS as well and was active in both forums. 

 

What's fun now is that one of my niblings started watching both Buffy and AtS. We watched the Buffy finale together and, when it's time, will watch the AtS one together. I think the experience is different because all the eps can now be watched quickly while we had a time to speculate, pick apart the eps and, in later seasons, perhaps get a little bitter. I keep the bitter in check though - I don't want to ruin the experience for the nibling. Posting and reading in the forums while watching definitely upped the enjoyment factor.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Endeavour

[Barphe]

My first ep was "The Puppet Show" and it scared the bejeezus out of me. It took a while for me to come back and try again. But I did.

[Endeavour]

The Puppet Show is one of my favorites. Haven't watched that one in a while.

[Chyna]

I started watching during the summer after the first season. A few of my co-workers were watching and kept pestering me to watch because they just knew I would love it. So I got caught up during that summer, got the husband hooked, and the rest is history.

[Wilowy]

It was The Harvest for me, original run. There was no turning back. :)

 

If anyone is interested, we just did a re-read of Fray in the Comic Book section and folks are leaving comments. If you've read it, or just would like to, please stop by and leave comments of your own! It's a fantastic continuation of the Slayer mythos, written by Joss, and you'll love Melaka.

 

Here's the thread: http://forums.previously.tv/topic/7942-fray-future-slayer/

[romantic idiot]

Romanticidiot, I loved the book!  That Spike narrated it was awesome and sexy.

@KittenPokerCheater, that's great and thanks for letting me know. I nearly missed your response. Responding back in The Library.

 

i have to confess my guilt - I started watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer, because i liked the movie. We'd just gotten cable (where we saw the shows, in 1991). There weren't too many good ones, so I watched 90210, then I watched the movie when it came, and so I decided to watch the series when that was advertised. I don't even remember what age I was when it came on on Star Plus in India, I was in school. I watched it from the first episode and remember being very confused at the new characters. But the metaphor for high school concept became clear to me in Episode 6 and reinforced in Episode 11. That fact, in fact, struck me so much that i remember thinking for a long while afterward that all of American television spoke in those metaphorical terms (And I was so excited years later when I found out that Buffy at least, was supposed to be that). I think that's when they also had Manimal and The Pretender on TV as well. 

 

My experience with Buffy is quite different from most of you, I'd think. I watched it in a complete vacuum, the show is really all I had access to - we didn't get dial up until 2000, just before my high school exams. And our channel wasn't really good about showing the seasons BtVS fast - they repeated seasons at least twice before another season would come on, so I remember looking for BtVS recaps online sometime after I learnt what google was, in 2002, I think, and stumbling onto TWOP. That was so much fun from there. And when I went away to grad school after Season 5, and then could keep up with the show through recaps only. So I had the fun of reading about Season 6 & 7 before seeing them. That strangely actually helped me like Season 7 though not Season 6. 

 

Okay - this is really long so I'll stop. 

Edited May 31, 2014 by romantic idiot

[Loandbehold]

Much like romantic idiot, I had seen the movie and enjoyed it for what it was. When the show hit the airwaves, I watched from the premiere. I only had one friend who watched the show, and I didn't get my own computer until 2002 or 2003. It didn't occur to me search to see if there were other nuts who enjoyed the show as much as I did. I didn't learn about our prior home until 2005, so I missed the vociferous discussions during the actual run of the series. Still, I did participate in some of them in the years after I joined. 

[fluffysheap]

So, I'm doing what is for me a rewatch, with a friend who has never seen Buffy or Angel before.  When I watched originally, both shows were over and I binge-watched on DVD.  I watched Buffy first, never really intending to watch Angel, and then after it was over, I went back and watched Angel anyway.  Now that I get to go back and do it over again, I'm curious how everyone would recommend ordering the episodes.  We can either watch Buffy first and then Angel (or maybe just Buffy), or else watch concurrently, in (more or less) original airing order.  There are zero spoilers, even to the point that I haven't even said that Angel gets his own show although she might have figured that out anyway.  We're still in Buffy S2, so right now it doesn't matter.

 

The pros and cons as I see it:

Watching concurrently preserves the impact of the crossover episodes.

Watching each series independently is more focused in terms of following the storylines and themes.

The Amulet of Ridiculousness makes even less sense if you aren't watching Angel.

Parallel storylines (Connor and Dawn, the travels of Drusilla, etc) happen at the right time.

Angel S4 and Buffy S7 happen at the same time.  And without even the consolation prize of getting Firefly at the same time, since we already finished that.

[Carrie Ann]

I watched Buffy live, from the beginning, and never got into Angel while it was airing. I think the BtVS S4/AtS S1 crossovers are kind of important, but after that, it doesn't matter much. I'd watch Buffy all at once first, maybe watching those first season crossover episodes of Angel in their proper place in S4 of Buffy, just because it doesn't really spoil much about that season of Angel, in my opinion. Then I'd watch AtS all at once. The crossovers or parallels or mentions between shows aren't that important to the general understanding of either show--the amulet, as you mention, is never going to make sense. Seeing that when you get to it on Angel will just be like an Easter Egg.

 

Anyway, that's how I'd approach it, if I were you!

[SilverShadow]

I have the opposite feeling. I think going back and forth is the prefferable option. But you don't have to switch between each episode.This is a pretty good viewing order guide to maintain crossover continuity, with minimal disk switching if you're using DVDs. (However definitely watch "Fool For Love" BEFORE "Darla" to keep the twist intact.)

[Fat Elvis 007]

Is anyone reading the Season 10 comics? After the horribleness of both Seasons 8 and 9 I never thought the series could woo me back in, but I saw an issue on the stands featuring Ghost Anya and felt compelled to see what was going on. I had stopped reading regularly very shortly into S8, and every time I heard something new or picked up a stray issue I was extremely unimpressed.

That said, Season 10 has been a breath of fresh air. There are still some gripes I have, such as everything revolving around magic, but overall it feels like the writers have regained some focus and are at least trying to return to what made Buffy great in the first place. Even though the storyline is about the gang being responsible for rewriting the rules of magic, the writers have managed to keep the stories grounded in the characters' relationships and have even given them a semblance of normal lives again. The Scoobies feel much more human and close than they have in a very long time. Even the Giles as a kid storyline has had its bright spots, and feels less like a gimmick than the similar "Giant Dawn" storyline of S8, though I hope they re-age him soon. And Xander/Dawn hasn't felt as squicky as I had feared.

If there is one character I feel the writers still aren't getting right, though, it's Willow. She is still defined primarily by her magic and is always wearing awful hippie clothes and saying things like "Oh my Goddess," which I believe she only said twice on the show. I hate that they are trying to make that her catchphrase. I was intrigued when they said she was getting some kind of software job (has Willow ever really worked a day in her life?) but the comics haven't really done anything with that.

Still, I've bought digital copies of every issue this season which I never felt I would do. The comics are funny and usually have at least one poignant character moment per issue. A huge improvement over the last two seasons.

[Jack Shaftoe]

I have been tempted from time to time to try to catch on with S10 but so few people even bother discuss them any more and I wouldn't even have much fun bashing them when something silly happens. :) Plus, everything revolving around magic and Giles-the teenager are really not my cup of tea.

 

 

has Willow ever really worked a day in her life?

 

Why yes, she was a substitute teacher back in S2. Seriously, she had some programming-related job in S9 but sadly, this was abandoned quickly and she went on a dimension-hopping, magic-seeking, journey.

[TeeVee329]

Is anyone reading the Season 10 comics?

 

I am!  I've really been enjoying them and this week's issue in particular was very good.

Edited March 19, 2015 by TeeVee329

[AndySmith]

Well, surfing Youtube does lead to interesting things...

[BetterButter]

The Humble Comics Bundle: Buffy, Angel, & Spike

[Willowy]

I completely agree with No. 1, but The Prom should've been on this list.

http://www.cbr.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-the-20-most-important-episodes/?utm_source=CBR-FB-B&utm_medium=Facebook-Distribution&utm_campaign=CBR-FB-B&view=lista

[secnarf]

Thanks for the list! I also completely agree with No 1. It was actually the first episode I ever saw, knowing nothing about the show except for the title. I was channel-surfing, happened to flip to it and was immediately captivated.

[Willowy]

It's definitely the best season-ender of the entire show's run, imo.

[secnarf]

iTunes has all seasons of BtVS now, as well as "Season 8 - Motion Comic". Anyone know if this is worth buying? I haven't read any of the comics.

[Willowy]

Is anyone here living in Austin? There's a big Geeks Who Drink Buffy Quiz coming up and I'm putting together a team. Teams can be up to six people and we already have 3 with possibly a fourth. We all feel pretty strong in all areas except comics. While I do read and enjoy them, I'm inconsistent with the seasons.

Please feel free to hmu if you wanna play! 

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎25‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 10:22 AM, nosleepforme said:

Sometimes I still think about getting back into the Buffy comics, even though season 8 was horrible and even though some of the other spoilers I read just sound wrong, but I hear Dark Horse will no longer be publishing the library editions for S11 and S12, since the comic license is moving to Boom. Which kind of bothers me, because if I were to start buying the comics again, I would only want the library editions. :(

Oh, I thought the Buffy comics were ending with s11? So they continue? Excellent, another year or so they'll outnumber the episodes of the series. 

[illdoc]

2 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Oh, I thought the Buffy comics were ending with s11? So they continue? Excellent, another year or so they'll outnumber the episodes of the series.

Season 12 so far consists of two 4-part mini-series (Giles in High School

Spoiler

(last appearance of teenage Giles)

) and The Reckoning (part 3 of 4 just came out last week

Spoiler

(time jump and Giles has been aged up to his "real" age--no real explanation on how they did it))

 As to whether there will be any mini-series beyond that...they aren't saying.

[Joe Hellandback]

2 questions;

1. What do we think of the movie? I was a plankowner, saw it at the cinema back in 92. Like it but the TV show is infinitely better.

2. Have the new comics started yet? 

[illdoc]

2 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

2. Have the new comics started yet?

I believe the first Buffy comic from Boom Comics is coming out in January.

[Halting Hex]

Boom Comics Character redesigns, courtesy of artist Dan Mora, for the upcoming reboot.  First, the Buffster herself:

Nice enough, but a bit old for S1, IMO.

Giles:

No complaints here.

Xander, perhaps a bit too much on point, but still acceptable, IMO:

I just don't like that half-jacket, I'm saying.

But now we get the more dubious choices.  Apparently this Willow is a lesbian from Day 1:

I mean, look at those shoes!  And personally, I like to see my wallflowers flower, not burst out in full bloom.  

And then we've got later-season characters who are with us from the start.  Because Boom isn't sure they'll reach the later seasons, I guess.

Beginning with the inevitable…

Well, well-done enough, I suppose,  But did we need to do him, at all?

Not to mention this one…

Wonderfully rendered, don't get me wrong.  I'm just not up for it.

And I absolutely don't understand this last one:

Drusilla, believe it or not.  Apparently she's gotten into Cordelia's wardrobe, or perhaps Lilah Morgan's.  The hell?  (And I can't see Spike chasing this Dru in the slightest, either.)

No sign of Angel, Cordy, Joyce or Dawn.  Don't know if they're in the books or not.  (To say nothing about other late arrivals such as Oz, Faith, Riley, Tara, Robin or Kennedy.)  But enjoy.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Halting Hex

[Joe Hellandback]

14 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Boom Comics Character redesigns, courtesy of artist Dan Mora, for the upcoming reboot.  First, the Buffster herself:

Nice enough, but a bit old for S1, IMO.

Giles:

No complaints here.

Xander, perhaps a bit too much on point, but still acceptable, IMO:

I just don't like that half-jacket, I'm saying.

But now we get the more dubious choices.  Apparently this Willow is a lesbian from Day 1:

I mean, look at those shoes!  And personally, I like to see my wallflowers flower, not burst out in full bloom.  

And then we've got later-season characters who are with us from the start.  Because Boom isn't sure they'll reach the later seasons, I guess.

Beginning with the inevitable…

Well, well-done enough, I suppose,  But did we need to do him, at all?

Not to mention this one…

Wonderfully rendered, don't get me wrong.  I'm just not up for it.

And I absolutely don't understand this last one:

Drusilla, believe it or not.  Apparently she's gotten into Cordelia's wardrobe, or perhaps Lilah Morgan's.  The hell?  (And I can't see Spike chasing this Dru in the slightest, either.)

No sign of Angel, Cordy, Joyce or Dawn.  Don't know if they're in the books or not.  (To say nothing about other late arrivals such as Oz, Faith, Riley, Tara, Robin or Kennedy.)  But enjoy.

Very nice, they resisted the normal comic book temptation to make all the girls more voluptuous (good or bad thing?). Looks like Dru has finally joined the 21st century, did she go through Lilah's wardrobe? 

[illdoc]

6 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Looks like Dru has finally joined the 21st century, did she go through Lilah's wardrobe? 

True....but doesn't Dru look a little too...sane? The whole character is built on the fact that Dru is nuts! The above drawing makes Dru seem rather "put together". In fact, if you hadn't said it was Dru, I would have thought it was Lilah (or Cordelia even)!

[Pallas]

She's cross-dressing from her era: these are three variations on a gentleman's morning-coat attire. Not the Dru we knew. Her face?  Jessica Brown Findlay.

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎06‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 7:30 PM, Pallas said:

She's cross-dressing from her era: these are three variations on a gentleman's morning-coat attire. Not the Dru we knew. Her face?  Jessica Brown Findlay.

Yes, a little Marlene Dietrich. So I take it we're back to the SDH years?  Love to see more Dawn/Joyce action and maybe some more Flutie?

Edited December 8, 2018 by Joe Hellandback

[lembergwatcher]

From what I know about Buffy's "comic continuation", season sux seems like masterpiece compared to it. Making Xander babysit Dawn was bad enough, but turning both into lovers? No, thank you very much. The very idea of artificially created Dawn having some sort of "crush" on Xander for God knows however long makes me wanna scream in frustration. They wanted to obliterate our memories of Xillow?? No fucking way! Go find another job, you writing geniuses.

But my main point is that I doubt the Scooby Gang could still exist after what they've been through in the last years of Sunnydale. I don't think G, W & X were that dumb or naive or lobotomized to continue working with post-Chosen Bitchy Summers like nothing's ever happened. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by lembergwatcher

[Joe Hellandback]

17 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

From what I know about Buffy's "comic continuation", season sux seems like masterpiece compared to it. Making Xander babysit Dawn was bad enough, but turning both into lovers? No, thank you very much. The very idea of artificially created Dawn having some sort of "crush" on Xander for God knows however long makes me wanna scream in frustration. They wanted to obliterate our memories of Xillow?? No fucking way! Go find another job, you writing geniuses.

But my main point is that I doubt the Scooby Gang could still exist after what they've been through in the last years of Sunnydale. I don't think G, W & X were that dumb or naive or lobotomized to continue working with post-Chosen Bitchy Summers like nothing's ever happened. 

No I like Dander, at last Xander has finally got himself a Summer's girl. 

[lembergwatcher]

4 minutes ago, Joe Hellandback said:

at last Xander has finally got himself a Summer's girl

Yeah. That's an "achievement", no doubt about it. 
Xander should stay as far away as possible from both Summers girls. He's too good for them.

[Fat Elvis 007]

I love the Drusilla and Willow designs, even if they do part significantly from the original early depictions of them. I'm also into Drusilla being called "The Mistress," and I'm wondering if that means she has a connection to the Master, or if she basically *is* the Master in this version.

I do hope they don't have Willow be a full-blown witch right away--my biggest complaint about the otherwise-great Seasons 10 and 11 comics were that they continued the trend of defining Willow almost solely by her magic. Let her be a science nerd/hacker for a while! 

That said, I'm excited about the new comics sort of starting from scratch and being untethered to the original continuity. There was a point I would have dreaded that, but show is twenty years old at this point, and the continuity is serving as more of a hindrance than a help at this point; it's time to mix things up. 

I read Season 12, and found it not that bad, but also not that great. It's clear that Whedon just doesn't really know what to do with these characters at this point--all of the comic seasons he wasn't as involved with were better than the ones he controlled, which is another reason I'm excited for the "reboot" comic, and happy that the "main continuity" is pretty much ended with the end of Season 12 (Not including whatever they want to pull for the new TV show continuation). 

I only read the first issue of the Giles mini-series, and it was basically unreadable. The dialogue was nonsensical and Giles seemed completely out of character. 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Fat Elvis 007

[Joe Hellandback]

14 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

Yeah. That's an "achievement", no doubt about it. 
Xander should stay as far away as possible from both Summers girls. He's too good for them.

Are you kidding? This is the most beautiful family EVER!

[Fat Elvis 007]

Just read the first issue of the new Buffy series from Boom. (Slight spoilers ahead)

 

I like the tone and the art. Willow seems a bit too confident right off the bat. Curious to see who her girlfriend is. Also curious to see what they’re doing with Anya and if they can avoid the pitfalls of her character on the show—her style of speaking is totally different from her S4-7 characterization, which I think can only be a good sign. 

 

Notning blew my my socks off but nothing irritates me too much either.

[Halting Hex]

What is Anya even doing there?  Is she an SHS student?

Spoiler

Are she and Spike essentially taking Cordelia and Angel's roles?  (Because the Angel series characters have been sold to a different company, perhaps?)  Rather annoying, if so, IMO.

[Joe Hellandback]

13 hours ago, Fat Elvis 007 said:

Just read the first issue of the new Buffy series from Boom. (Slight spoilers ahead)

 

I like the tone and the art. Willow seems a bit too confident right off the bat. Curious to see who her girlfriend is. Also curious to see what they’re doing with Anya and if they can avoid the pitfalls of her character on the show—her style of speaking is totally different from her S4-7 characterization, which I think can only be a good sign. 

 

Notning blew my my socks off but nothing irritates me too much either.

Are Dawn and Joyce there?

[illdoc]

13 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

What is Anya even doing there?  Is she an SHS student?

It gets worse---according to an article I read on Boom: In an upcoming issue (assuming it's not in this issue, since I have it but haven't read it yet),

Spoiler

Robin Wood (yes, Principal Wood) will be one of Buffy's classmates! 

Honestly, it's beginning to sound like fan fiction! I'm surprised Giles isn't a "hot 20-something Watcher" (he's not, is he?).

[Halting Hex]

To be fair,

Spoiler

Robin's only 8 years older than Buffy in the original timeline.  But still, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Drusilla was the principal…

[Fat Elvis 007]

Quote

What is Anya even doing there?  Is she an SHS student?

Anya appears to be the owner of a magic shop (though not clear if it's the Magic Box) and has some connection to Drusilla. In one scene she's watching Firefly. It's weird but amusing. She doesn't appear to be a student, though her introduction is a bit vague.

Quote

Are she and Spike essentially taking Cordelia and Angel's roles?  (Because the Angelseries characters have been sold to a different company, perhaps?)  Rather annoying, if so, IMO.

Maybe! Issue 2 comes out Feb. 27th, and Spike hasn't shown up yet. But as much as I adore both Angel and Cordelia and am saddened they haven't appeared yet and haven't been announced as featuring in this series, I'm trying to enjoy it as a "remix" of Buffy, so to speak.

Quote

Are Dawn and Joyce there?

Joyce, yes. Dawn, no. 

Quote

It gets worse---according to an article I read on Boom: In an upcoming issue (assuming it's not in this issue, since I have it but haven't read it yet)

Robin Wood (yes, Principal Wood) will be one of Buffy's classmates! 

Oh, I'm actually looking forward to that! But then, I wasn't a huge fan of original Robin Wood, and the concept art for him for this series has more personality than his entire character on the show, so...

Quote

Honestly, it's beginning to sound like fan fiction! I'm surprised Giles isn't a "hot 20-something Watcher" (he's not, is he?).

Actually, in issue 1 at least Giles is closer to his original characterization and style than anyone else. He's even got the tweed! I guess the artists and writers chose not to mess with perfection. No hints as to the Ripper backstory as of yet, though. 

Am I the only one here reading this? Step it up, nerds!

Edited February 16, 2019 by Fat Elvis 007

[illdoc]

18 hours ago, Fat Elvis 007 said:

But as much as I adore both Angel and Cordelia and am saddened they haven't appeared yet and haven't been announced as featuring in this series, 

While I've heard no mention of an Angel appearance, I believe that the blurb for issue #3 says something like "Drusilla sets her sights on Cordelia", so Cordy will be there. I do have this issue, but rather than read an issue and have to wait a month for the next part, trying to remember what happened in the previous issue each time, I tend to get several issues, then read them all at once. For some reason, I think that there is a 4-issue "arc", so probably won't get around to actually reading them until April (when #4 comes out). For that matter, I actually haven't seen anything about a #5 yet.