Tag Archives: review

Buffy First Watch: Season 1 Episodes 1-4

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Let’s see how far this goes.

A touch of background. I’m familiar with the works of Whedon. In fact, some would consider me a fan. Firefly, Serenity, and The Avengers are all favorites, but I’ve never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. Several friends have stated that 2018  (21 years after the first episode of BtVS aired) is a completely legitimate time for a first watch of the series, so here we are.

I’ll be subjecting you, dear readers, to hot takes episode by episode.

TBTBuffy

1.1

Special effects not so special, even for 1997. Not a huge issue, because I totally caught some of that signature Whedon dialog, even if the actors haven’t totally figured out how to deliver it. It’s enough to move on to episode 2.

Gotta love that scary cliffhanger ending. Did that seem disingenuous? It was.

1.2

Is Buffy wearing the cross or not? One second it’s there, the next it isn’t. Conveniently, it is when needed to resolve the cliffhanger from episode 1.

Watching Anthony Head act uncertain and sheepish is unsettling. I’m used to him playing Uther in BBC Merlin where he’s equal parts commanding and xenophobic with a dash of extra crazy. His line about wresting information from the infernal machine (AKA searching the internet) and then going on about how British it was– GOLD.

She can throw the tall skinny teenage vampire 30 feet, but she can’t shut a door?

Line of the night, “I have to have the most expensive thing, not because it’s expensive, but because it costs more.” -Cordilia

The fight sound effects. Ugh. All the sounds effects. Double ugh.

1.3

Willow: That girl’s on fire!
Cordilia: Enough with the hyperbole already.
Girl bursts into flame.

“I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide till it goes away.”

That creepy moment when mother and daughter go all Trading Places so the mother can be a cheerleader in high school again. And kill, maim, or burn people with witchcraft. Hm. Poetic justice in the end.

1.4

One of the only teachers who doesn’t think Buffy’s a felon goes missing (killed). Xander drools at all the girls/women and in his sleep.

Well, those bushes weren’t attached to anything. Props that look like props. Unfortunate.

Natalie the giant preying mantis substitute teacher. Teen virginity drama. This wasn’t the best of the four episodes.

Conclusion

I’m going to keep watching. 1.4 made me briefly question it, but there’s enough good stuff going on, for now, to keep it interesting. If this were 1997 I probably would be more impressed? So far BtVS isn’t the greatest thing in the world, but I can see the potential. Supernatural, for example, owes a ton to this show.

RPG Reviews and Review Copies

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For Immediate Release (Heh. I always wanted to say that.)

Be it known here and throughout the realm: I do not accept review copies of games in exchange for performing reviews.

It’s not you, it’s me. I only review role-playing games I’ve bought personally. Mostly only games I’ve actually been a game master for, but I may also occasionally review games I’ve only played.

but

If you’d like to enhance the odds of my reviewing your RPG, the only recourse is to invite me to play your game with you. I may or may not accept, but if I do, odds are I’ll buy a copy, and likely write a review.

I recognize there are sites out there doing this, it’s just not me.

I’ve Seen Stranger Things

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I thought I’d take a minute to give you all some likely redundant thoughts on the Netflix original series, Stranger Things. Yep. I’m probably the five-billionth person to write a review with this exact same title. At least I’m still ahead of 1/3 of humanity.

stranger things titles

Unless you’ve been living under a rock on a planet in a different galaxy where they don’t get Netflix, or Internet service for that matter, you’ve probably heard of Stranger Things. You’ve probably also heard or read people gushing with praise for the series. I’ll be honest… I kind of brushed off the first couple of people who told me about it.

“I’m already in the middle of a Downton Abbey binge with my wife,” I said. Yes, I realize I’m a bit behind on that one. It’s a fantastic series for me right now because I have some scenes in The Galaxy and All Her Charms (keep an eye out for chapter one HERE very soon) taking place in a wealthy Arabritish family’s estate, and they share a few similarities. Enough to justify watching a fun series with a fun lady, at any rate.

So, I had what I felt was an iron-clad excuse to avoid getting caught up in another series. Until some of my more musically-inclined friend started in on me. As readers of the blog will know, I have a thing for music. Where is that understatement emoji? The music in Stranger Things has two things I love: moody, atmospheric, retro electronica, and dark, delightful 80’s pop/rock tunes. Needless to say, I caved, and I took Meri and her sister (who was visiting for a couple of days) with me.

To the meat of the review then.

strangerThingsWidePoster

How to do this without spoilers– I’ll start with the same comparisons I’ve heard from at least a dozen other people:

The Goonies
Stand By Me
E.T.
X-Files
Any good 80’s teen flick
Silent Hill (not the dumb movie– the excellent and suspenseful video game)

The visuals and cinematography are high quality while maintaining the feel of the period. Tension is managed well with the periodical release and build cycles that continue to ratchet higher as the show moves toward the eighth episode finale. Yes, there are eight one-hour episodes, so we have time to see real character development, and the writers don’t let us down.

Finally, the music. Well– you can see some of it for yourself if you have Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/netflixmusic/playlist/2X6z5kU0wMnKoar8i1RN6B

Unfortunately, the score is only on iTunes for now. Check it out there if you like, but really just go watch the show.

Now the shameless plug. If you like Stranger Things, you might enjoy my little piece I wrote recently called Clah and the Ship: a Bedtime Story. It has an element of the fantastic, with some creepiness, and hopefully a similar sense of wonder. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Also, I’d love you hear what you love about Stranger Things. Or where my review went wrong. Hit me up on Twitter.