The Greatest Show On Earth, Season 1

It's no secret that I'm in love with Buffy The Vampire Slayer. She's held my heart in a firm yet loving clawhold since I was eight. I've seen every episode upwards of fifty times, some probably over a hundred. Everyone has their security blanket, mine's a cute little girl that could kick your ass named Buffy. Today my friend Josh and I started re-watching it from season one. So I'm going to rank each and every episode from one to one-hundred forty-four. But that's a different blog for a different day. Today I'm going to be recapping season one. With out further ado.

1. Welcome to the Hellmouth - The pilot. Every show has one, not every show does it as well as this one. The thing about this episode that sticks out to me, aside from the slightly over-the-top dialogue between the two girls in the beginning, is the fact that it isn't all that dated. Sure, the film stock is a little grainy, and yes the outfits are very clearly nineties, but as a story it holds up. Which is pretty impressive considering that just a year or two before the X-Files pilot was filmed and that episode is dated like whoa. Also, in what can only be described as the purest form of serendipity, it's the first episode that I saw. Two seasons later on FX. I mean come on. What are the odds of that?
2. The Harvest - Also technically the pilot. WTTHM was originally two parts, this being the second. It's been split into two episodes for syndication and later airings. Buffy fights the Master's chosen vampire disciple. She knows he's the disciple because he has a symbol on his head that looks curiously similar to the Mercedes logo, but I digress. It's just as good as the first episode because, well, it technically is the first episode. It is the first time however that Buffy gets downright badass.
3. The Witch - The first non-vampire centric episode. Instead of vampires the main villain is the 1996 Sunnydale High Cheerleading tryouts. Buffy and her new friend Amy try out but find that weird things keep happening to other candidates. Eventually they find that Amy is the culprit, and also a witch. Turns out it wasn't Amy but her mom in her body. It's a great metaphor for parents forcing their dreams on their children. Great metaphors are one of Buffy's hallmarks.
4. Teacher's Pet - Xander is one of my favorite television characters of all time. And this is the first episode that he really shines in. A praying mantis-lady seduces him into going back to her house where she drugs and cages him. I feel I should mention that she doesn't look like a mantis when the actual seducing takes place. Anyway, the teacher that's killed as the inciting incident reminds me of my favorite teacher (Mr. Grant "G-Love" Love). He inspires Buffy to not listen to the negativity of all the other faculty. That was a great moment.
5. Never Kill A Boy On The First Date - The title is misinformative. No boys die on the aforementioned first date. But one almost does. This is a bittersweet episode because at first we're happy that Buffy gets a date with the boy she's had her eyes on but then she sees what dating her has done to him she breaks it off. Then there's a good moment with Buffy and Giles that has the first real instance of Giles stepping up to be Buffy's father-figure.
6. The Pack - Things get real in this episode. It's return of the metaphor as Xander gets possessed by Hyena spirit-demons. He gets new friends, starts picking on the weak, and even makes fun of Willow. Basically, he becomes a sixteen year old boy. He even assaults Buffy, and tries to force himself on her. I got to say though, the worst thing that happens is when the other possessed teens eat Principal Flutie. It's a very gruesome end.
7. Angel - It's finally here: the big reveal. Angel is a Vampire and Buffy, the slayer, loves him. They kiss and his gameface slips out. What's a girl to do? This girl tries to kill him. Fortunately for him she finds out that he has a soul. This is one of those exposition heavy episodes but it's doesn't feel like it. We get a lot of Angel's backstory, as the title would suggest. Not so much actual showing but there's going to be plenty of that next season.
8. I, Robot... You Jane - It's weird to think that the internet was around back in 1997. It's weird to think that there was a primitive form of internet dating then too. That's what this episode is about, Willow dating a boy online. Turns out he's a kidnapping demon trapped in the internet. Happens all the time. This is why I love this show: things that everyone goes through in real life are translated into monsters for Buffy and her friends to fight.
9. Puppet Show - The talent show is frightening. All those people watching you try to do something you're sort of good at. It's nerve-wracking. I've been in a few and I always get flu-like symptoms. Now imagine if not only were you forced to be in said talent show but someone was killing students and taking their hearts and brains to hide for another X amount of years. Also there's a talking ventriloquist's dummy. Not as much metaphor but it's still a good episode.
10. Nightmares - This is in my top ten favorite episodes of the entire series. Nightmares become reality, which, granted isn't the most original episode idea, but the execution is perfect. Buffy fears three things: letting the Master out, becoming a vampire and her dad not wanting to spend time with her. That last one is heart wrenching. He flat out tells her that she's the reason that he and her mom split up and that she's a terrible child. Sarah Michelle Gellar gives me chills with her reaction.
11. Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight - This episode is about a girl that everyone ignores until she turns invisible. That is rough. And there's some good phelbotinum for the next episode in the form of a lost codex.
12. Prophecy Girl - In the final episode of the season Buffy finds out that she's supposed to face the Master and die. As someone who's seen television you know deep down that she can't die because she's the title character. But then she dies, even if only for a minute, and you are shocked. But the crux of this episode is when she finds out that she's supposed to die. SMG shows pain like no one else. But when the Master's minions kill some students and Willow finds their bodies Buffy decide that she has to stop him. And that's Buffy in a nutshell; she a regular girl until her friends are involved and then she's a superhero.

So that's season one. I'll be doing one of these for each season. It should take a few weeks but it'll happen.

Best!

This Post--

Is a cop out. The blog I originally wanted to do is going to take a bit longer than I though. But in the interest of repeat viewings I'll give you this: I am going to make the ultimate Cult TV Pantheon. What does that mean? It means I'll be comparing characters fro the best cult show to the greek pantheon of gods. Does that interest you? Then you should come back next Friday. It'll be awesome, I promise.

Things To Consider When Making A World

Because tomorrow I'll be making a society for a new comic idea I thought I should explain how I go about doing that. Now to be perfectly clear I'm technically world building. But I think calling what I'm doing tomorrow isn't exactly building a whole world so I'm society building. I'll be explaining how I make worlds and then explain what I mean by society building. It's also good to know that "world-building" doesn't mean making a new planet. It means creating a reality different from our. Of course, in that reality you might not live on Earth, in which case you would need to build a new planet.

The only reason to build a world is to give a story a place to live, when the story wouldn't necessarily fit into the world we already have. So to start I always look at what my story needs. Usually this isn't too hard to figure out. If the story takes place after the apocalypse, you need an apocalyptic world. If it's about a wizard that fights trolls, it will probably be in a medieval land. The story is key to starting the world-building process. My rule of thumb is only make what you need. If you have a cool detail about your world, don't shoe-horn it into your story. But if the story has a neat little factlet, make sure that it makes sense within the world.

The next thing I consider is my characters, or more specifically how my characters fit into and react to this world. What are these characters in this world instead of any other one? Plot makes a story cool, but characters make a story real. In my comic "Nuclear Family", I have five main characters. Each react to the world in a different way. Sage wants to fix, Millie wants to keep it from destroying itself, Grit wants to figure it out, Meredith wants to fit into it, and Oliver wants survive it. They all live in the same world, a world that's been blown to hell but nuclear war and god knows what else. I had a thought about fossilized cities. That lead to fossil bombs which lead to the idea for a character who's parents were fossilized.

The last thing I do is put everything together with the little details. How do people live? Who rules? What are the settings like? Things like that. By the time I get here I usually have everything pretty much nailed down. Sometimes building worlds aren't that involved, sometimes it get's extremely detailed. at the end of the day you just need to have fun with it and it will turn out cool.

Fight The Future

Today I started writing a script. No preparation, no outline, just a thought. And what sparked this thought? 711 of all things. You see, I have a love of post-apocalyptic fiction. And a hallmark of the apocalypse is scavenging what's left. 711 is a great place to start, especially if it's right next door to you. I was just waiting for my chicken tenders to be ready and usually when I do that I prepare for the apocalypse by seeing what would earn it's weight in my backpack. That got wheels turning and when I got home I started writing.

The basic plot is about a guy who has to travel across the country to find his girlfriend after a nuclear attack. The attack happened two weeks prior and everyone that survived has been holed up since then. It's definitely a work in progress but I like where it could go.

Best!

Unnecessary Amounts Of Television

That's what i should have called this blog. I just looked over at my TV on DVD shelf and realized that I have way too many shows, at least for any normal human. I have 186 seasons of 80 different shows. That seems to be a lot. In fact, I've run out of room on my shelf. I need do some pretty clever rearranging soon. and I need to get a shelf. All the rearranging in the world won't fit ten pounds of shit into a five pound bag. Check it out to the left.

I haven't even watched it all. Right now I'm trying to knock out Castle and The Colony by my lonesome. I can't watch season 3 or 4 of Digimon until my friends want to, because we Digimarathon them for eighteen straight hours, which is brutal when four in the morning rolls around. My roommate/bff and I are trying to watch the entire series of X-Files, of which we're on season 2 (We'd be done now but we accidentally took a year off. Oops). I started watching Season 4 of 24, 1 of Mad Men, and 1 of Monk over two years ago but I decided to watch other things instead and never got back to them. Yesterday I bought three seasons of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, completing the set (plus, they were under $15 each. Where else am I going to find them for that cheap?). On top of all this I really want to re-watch Veronica Mars, which would only set me back more.

I have a big problem. I understand that. I'm out of control. But I love TV. Some day I'll be able to get whatever I want and It'll be a tax write-off. That's going to be a great day.

Best!

So much for that 'One blog a week' thing

I realize that just two weeks after the last post, I'm finally getting around to posting. But since I hate blogs that's every post is "sorry for not posting" I won't apologize, I'll just try to keep the promise starting today.

First off: I went to Astronautalis on Wednesday. It was absolutely amazing. That guy is something else. He raps about the battle of Trenton and diving bells and being a con-man in the early 20th century. And his freestyle is so good I can't really explain it. Go here to hear some of his music.

Second: I'm writing yet another comic. This one is surprisingly fun. I started out with less than an idea and now I'm working with an artist on it. It's pretty exciting because we're making the story together instead of me saying "Here's a thing I thought up. Go draw it.

There is no third.

Best!

The First Day Of The Rest Of My Career

Starting today I'm am no longer an aspiring writer. Today I am a writer. I've got a gameplan and everything. I'll walk you through it:

• Starting monday I'll be putting in 40 hours a week of writing. At least 20 actually writing and 20 or less plotting.
• If I don't the urge or inspiration to write, I will anyway, inspiration be damned!
• I will constantly be developing new ideas, (not a problem for me) but not at the expense of current projects.
• I'll be pursuing any opportunity I can (This I've already been doing, but I needed another bullet point).

So that's my game plan. At least partly. I've got some irons in the fire and hopefully soon I'll have a lot more to talk about. Lastly, I wish I could draw. That would be sweet.

Best!