Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Great Buffy Rewatch

So as I mentioned earlier today on my blog, Warner has announced they are definitely going ahead with their idea of a movie based on Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer... that will not be set in a high school, nor will it have any of the original cast, nor will it have Joss Whedon attached. I'm really hoping it's a ill-timed April Fool's joke. And so today, with all of the Buffaholics walking around in sad stupors and bemoaning how in an age of Twilight and neutered vampires, people are forgetting the show that started it all, I'm here to announce that... WE HAVE TO GO BAAAACK!!!

No, not to the island, but... to Sunnydale! Yes, folks, I'm announcing the Great Buffy Rewatch!!

[Cue fireworks, the brass band, and the Buffy theme.]



OMG, look at young Willow with the long hair! And chubby-cheeked Buffy! And young Giles! And and and... Oh man, I'm giddy already. ;)

While many of you have been bugging me to do a Lost Rewatch in light of the series finale, I think Matt and Justin have been doing an excellent one already (by the way, I'm going to be joining them in a couple of weeks to recap the season 1 finale in light of the end of the series, so keep checking them out!)

In the summer, when people were asking me to do another one, I was thinking I'd rather focus on something else, and I made an off-the-cuff remark about a Buffy rewatch. And then a bunch of people jumped on that idea. "Oh no," I thought. "One hundred and forty-four episodes? Could I do it??"

No. No, I couldn't. But... with a little help from my friends I could! So a few weeks ago I was trying to figure out a way out of my conundrum, and a tiny, dim lightbulb went on over my head and I thought... "Oh my god, I could make spaghetti for dinner! That will solve the problem of us not having any chicken in the house!" And then as I was making spaghetti, a second, brighter lightbulb went on over my head and I thought, "Wait, what if I recruited guests to help me out with the Buffy rewatch?"

And luckily, I know a TON of people who are Buffy fans. So I began sending out notes to the academics and scholars I'd met through Slayage, many of whom have written Buffy books of their own. But, in keeping with the paper I presented at Slayage where I was basically arguing that anything that academics could do, bloggers could do... um... their own way, I decided I needed some other people. So now I've recruited some novelists, poets, pop culture bloggers, other writers of TV companion guides, and even a sports writer to join in the fun.

So here's the sitch: if you're a fan of Buffy, this is for you. If you've ever wanted to watch Buffy, this is for you. I'm giving you lots of time to get that box set (hint: buying the individual seasons is actually cheaper than the entire box set... go figure), go out and get a companion episode guide to all of the seasons (I would HIGHLY recommend this one, or this one, or this one), and start watching, and the Buffy watch fun will continue for the entire calendar year of 2011.

Now, if you watched Buffy live, like I did, then you remember Tuesday nights were Buffy nights (I still think of them that way) so every Tuesday a post will go up that will cover off that week's episodes. It will either be written by me or one of the many guests that I've recruited to join me on this venture (there are just over 20 on board so far). If it's a guest, I'll introduce them at the top of their column, and then let them go. They'll discuss Buffy in their own way, and I might jump in with a few words of my own at the beginning or the end. And many of them have written books, so I hope you check out their work if you like what they've written.

I'm very excited about this, and I hope you are, too!! We'll be starting on the first Tuesday of the year, January 4, and I'll be covering those episodes. I'll be posting a full schedule soon, and please join us.

If you have never watched Buffy, now's the time to do so. You all know how much work, time, and effort I've put into Lost, and yet Buffy still holds the place closest to my heart, even after all these years (and all those Lost books!) So come and find out why with a fantastic group of people who will keep you entertained all year.

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to mention this when I posted this last night, but I've been discussing with the contributors the idea of spoiling vs. not spoiling. My thinking is that people will keep the top part of their posts spoiler-free, just focusing on the episode at hand, and if they're going to pull in future episodes, they'll do so at a certain point with a warning in advance. However, I also didn't want to limit the way they approached the episode (for anyone who's seen Restless, for example, it's prescient of many things to come). So if their entire post pulls in things from future episodes, then I'll write my own piece at the top that is spoiler-free so the n00bs will have something to read that won't spoil them. That way if this is a first watch for you, rather than a rewatch, you'll have the option of reading ahead to see what's to come, or holding back and not spoiling yourself. Don't worry... I'll take care of ya. ;)

I'll be posting the full schedule shortly.

64 comments:

AEC said...

Awesome, I'm SO excited! I've seen a few episodes here and there but have never watched the whole thing start to finish! I'll prepare to move Buffy to the top of my Blockbuster queue :)

margosita said...

My Buffy DVDs are home in a box. They didn't make the cut in the recent move because there is clearly something wrong with my head.

I guess now I have to go home at Christmas so I can play/watch, too!

Marebabe said...

I've been hoping you would do this! I'll be a total newb. (nube? noob?) ANYWAY, Nikki, do you have any copies of "Bite Me" looking for a good home? If you do, I would love to get an autographed copy from you. And now it's time for me to run out and buy Buffy Season One!

TresBelleKnits said...

I've never, ever seen an episode of Buffy (*hangs head in shame*), but a well known Canadian music channel has been airing them from the pilot on weeknights at midnight, and I've really gotten into it!
I'm in season 2 now!

Allison said...

Yay!!!

Lisa(until further notice) said...

@Nikki, you know I've just recently started watching myself and I am in season 4. I'm not sure if I can slow down...it's so yummy. But I will be there reading the blog, as January 4 is my 19 year anniversary to my hubby, who watched Buffy and Angel live, but for some reason I never joined him. I was behind in a lot of shows originally, like ER and X-Files. Now I watch TV like a fiend and he doesn't watch anything. Oh well. Can't wait.

The Chapati Kid said...

Woo! I just finished my annual Buffy rewatch a month ago, but I'm in again.

humanebean said...

I'm happy to note that all seasons are available for live streaming from Netflix. Those of you on a budget for whom the box sets might be out of reach might consider the newly announced streaming-only subscription. Just another option!

Ali Bags said...

I have the full unwatched box set and the book all ready and waiting!

Matt K said...

Didn't they already make a Buffy movie based on a story by Joss Whedon without any of the show cast? Didn't they do that before the show?

Efthymia said...

BUFFY!!!
I started watching it in the spring of 2008 -I had heard about it years ago, but they never showed it in Greece- and have watched the entire series 3 times already. I thought no show could get me as obsessed as LOST had, but I was wrong.
I believe I remember everything pretty well, but if you insist on a rewatch... ;)

Blam said...


[Kermit] Yaaaaayyyyyyyyy!!! [/Kermit]

One more thing to be thankful for this year!

(For you non-Americans: Tomorrow is a US holiday during which people gather with family, stuff themselves silly, watch the kind of football that is not soccer, and express gratitude that they don't speak with silly British accents — nor, by virtue of largely random geography, do they speak with silly Canadian accents like the familiar faces who pop up in guest roles on all the television shows filmed in Vancouver, although we don't actually use the word "nor" because that would be too British. All of this holds true even if our ancestors arrived at Ellis or Liberty Island barely a century ago from Germany or Russia as opposed to on the Mayflower centuries earlier — when, of course, there was nobody currently occupying the land — which itself does not preclude us from feeling superior to even more recent immigrants speaking with, say, a Spanish accent or, indeed, anyone having so much as a Spanish surname even if he or she has lived on American soil for generations thanks to having their homeland absorbed by Manifest Destiny, although again we'd probably try to avoid the words "preclude" or "indeed" lest we sound British or, even worse, educated; um, "lest" would be on that list too. @#$%!)

How I've missed this place!

VW: polog — A really bad "cold open".

Unknown said...

What a great idea to post the rewatch! I still watch Buffy, so I'll be checking in with you! I used to torture my poor mom with Buffy on Tuesday nights, but she liked to watch Charmed, which was always on right after. :)

Unknown said...

By the way, I currently watch Buffy on the Fuse channel. ?? Not sure if everyone gets it.

TomWill said...

So glad you are doing a Buffy rewatch. Loved your LOST S1-5 project. I did not watch Buffy and now feel something is missing since I am a fan of the later Whedon works. BTW, Netflix has the entire series on Instant view so you don't even have to buy/rent the DVD's. AND Jan 4 is my birthday - what a present!

Natalie said...

Sounds like a great plan! I'm in.

Lioness said...

I am so there! I was planning a Buffy rewatch with neighbours anyway.

Austin Gorton said...

Oh, hells yeah! Count me in! And I'm excited to see who you've got lined up as guest bloggers, as long as the ratio between Nikki and guest stays firmly in favor of 'Nikki'.

(Your Buffy book was actually the first book of yours that I read, and what ultimately led me to this site, so for me it's fitting that now you'll be blogging about Buffy).

@Blam: How I've missed this place!

And we've missed you! Your treatise on (American) Thanksgiving had me rolling. It should be required reading for everyone tomorrow.

Nikki Stafford said...

Oh Blam, and how we've missed YOU!! Please tell me you're back for good. I can't tell you the surge of joy that just rose up in my chest when I saw your comment! It's great to have you back.

I'm so pleased that so many of you are on board! I can tell you that behind the scenes the slots are filling up fast, and this project is coming together so well. I'm very excited about this.

verif: gressly: How Blam would say British people pronounce "Grizzly."

Rufus said...

I was a bit bummed at the idea of a Buffy reboot. No Joss no watch. BTVS brought me into the internet and I was forced to learn to type. I gave away a lot of my Buffy books to a young friend but still have my copy of Nikki's book.

Rewatch Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!

Ben Singer said...

I haven't watched them all yet. Will you be able to avoid spoilers? Perhaps I'll finish my own "watch" first before I watch your rewatch. I think you should warn first-timers.

Colleen/redeem147 said...

Have DVDs, can watch. :)

I'll be good and watch more than just Spike episodes. ;)

Anonymous said...

is it bad that i rewatch all the buffy seasons every two months :))). i'm ADDICTIED

Lexie said...

SO EXCITED! I can't wait! I've been trying to think of a reason to rewatch the series, but watching it for the fourth time by myself is kind of a drag...

Blam said...


I can't tell you the surge of joy that just rose up in my chest when I saw your comment!

Have you asked your doctor about Prilosec?

Seriously, though, I broke out into the goofiest grin myself just reading those words from you, Nik. I'm so glad to be back, and, yes, I hope it's "for good" — but there will be times (as there have been before) that I go AWOL for a while. I was dealing with my lousy Internet connection getting even lousier, and with some big reading/writing projects, and with my usual chronic health problems, and with an overwhelming new TV season (using the box and my comfy chair as an escape from the previously itemized frustrations, watching more than ever while trying not to fall behind like usual), and, ironically, dealing with Lost fatigue.

I say "ironically" because when I checked back in here early on after our communal after-finale itinerancy it seemed like you took your lack of posting on Lost as the reason why so many of the regulars had dispersed, when in fact the Lost posts you put up to fan the flames actually kept me at arm's length a bit. And since it's very easy for me to drop one thing in favor of another given my limited energies, I didn't catch on in time that you were blogging regularly on the magnificent Mad Men and more, totally not realizing how many sands had slipped through the hourglass even as the NAN-sized hole in my soul kept nagging at me. So not to put too fine a point on it, but as I said earlier this morning in a very belated comment on the first Lostaholics Anonymous post, the Chia beard wasn't the only thing you got wrong. 8^)

Even without the giddy welcome back from you, though, I'm way too happy to be here to wander away for that long again if I can help it, and I'm just as psyched to talk Fringe and The Walking Dead
(or 30 Rock or Community or Glee or...) at whatever pace you can post about 'em as I am to start the Buffy Rewatch (which I hope will be at a reasonable pace, although if it's lasting a year I suppose we're in for three episodes a week, which while narratively satisfying might be tough to squeeze in, especially when you add episode guides and, of course, all the discussion).

Runar said...

I'm just in the middle of a Lost rewatch, but I have been planning to rewatch Buffy right after Lost. So, I'll join, but not entirely from the beginning of the year. =P

Anonymous said...

Sounds Fun
Can't wait til Jan 4th 2011
I watched it from the start and I love hearing other peoples thoughts.

Page48 said...

I started watching for the first time just over a year ago. Took me about 6 months, watching both BtVS and "Angel" in 'real time' so that the stories meshed the way they were intended.

It was time very well wasted...and now I know what marzipan is.

Rick Weez said...

I am so down for this. I cant wait. I watched buffy since the movie to live brodcasting on tv. Die hard fan.

Stacy said...

Yeah! I bought the first season a few months ago when you mentioned you were thinking of doing this. It makes me excited to see this since you seem to be so over the moon for this series. I will be here!

Blam said...


In case anyone's interested: My intro-to-Buffy story, with shout-out to Nik at Nite, and, in the comments, Teebore's own tale plus a cameo appearance from our beloved Batcabbage! [Yes, Eagle Eyes, one caption mistakenly says "Season Eight" instead of "Season Seven" but, trust me, it can't be fixed without the text of the entire post going wackadoodle.]

VW: premprot — An estrogen-based android.

humanebean said...

Good LORD! A BLAM sighting! Man the ramparts! Alert the media! Utilize all the exclamation points!!!

Nik's not the only one happy to see your hirsute visage, Old Bean. I'm sure there are more.

*crickets*

Or not! But HEY, welcome back, Mister Man. Glad that you've got the Internets Providers at bay and gladder still to know that you'll be around for a bit. Hope all is well on your end of the stick!

Return of the Blam
much looked-for sequel to the
Original Blam

Kill the fatted calf
bring plates of meats and cheeses
let wine flow freely

But wait- does this mean
that Evil Blam cannot be
far behind? Curses!

Andi said...

Is there any way you are still recruiting guest posters? I'd totally be interested. I LOVE Buffy!

Scott said...

You've got to include Angel when the Rewatch gets to the end of Season 3.

My god. This will take 3 years!!

Nikki Faith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nikki Faith said...

Yay! This will be so fun!!
FYI to people in the states: Netflix now has all 7 seasons of Buffy available for instant streaming.
Nikki, have you heard of the Potential Cast? They started a podcast a few months ago where they are watching and discussing one Buffy ep. per podcast ep. 3 of the 4 hosts have NEVER seen Buffy before! So fun.
I never fell out of love with Buffy, but all the buzz in the podcasts, etc. is making me fall in love all over again!! :)

Rebecca T. said...

I'm SO excited! Naomi and I have gotten almost through S5, so I'll actually be able to REwatch! And I'm already recruiting people to join :D

I'm getting a happy buzz just reading through all of the comments here and seeing such lovely familiar faces and realizing that THIS is what has been missing in my life ever since Lost ended *happy sigh*

VW: trien - attempting to do something. "I been trien n trien but it just won't work"

P.M.Newton said...

This is going to be a ton of fun. Count me in.

And to balance our envy of those who are watching for the first time, let's remember the extra added goodness to be had from watching with knowledge of what is to come - picking up all those carefully placed plot points/twists/clues that delivered major payoffs.

*Note to self remember to practise safe slayer spoilerage.*

Pierre Elliott Truedough said...

Hey-Zeus, Nikki, this is a massive undertaking. Will your other viewing suffer? Will you find the time to watch East Dillon go to State or zombies eat Atlanta? Will you ever catch up with Tina Fey and crew? What about In Treatment? How will you do it Nikki? How?

Candice said...

Yes! Can't wait. I'm looking forward to being able to read your blog regularly again too. I had gotten woefully behind on Lost and had to avoid being spoiled.

But only one episode a week? I don't know if I can go that slow.

SenexMacDonald said...

Hey, Nik - I am in!! Been silent for awhile here as I have found work has meant being too tired to read posts (even yours unfortunately) or to post.

I will make amends this New Year's and strive to keep up with this. Buffy was a show I watched from the beginning. It captured me much like LOST did. Can't wait... and hope to keep up! Thank goodness for PVRs. :)

@humanebean said... "I'm happy to note that all seasons are available for live streaming from Netflix. Those of you on a budget for whom the box sets might be out of reach might consider the newly announced streaming-only subscription. Just another option!"

My husband and I have noted that every time we go to look at DVDs, the first thing we see are the Buffy and Angel sets. They are currently priced here in Canada at Future Shop and Best Buy at somewhere between half to almost 3/4 what we paid for each season as they originally came on the market. My hubby always moans about that... but my response - Who knew? Not me. Might have waited but might not have them all now. Meh - glad I have all of them now for January! :)

Nikki Stafford said...

Candice: The Buffy Rewatch will be one post a week over 52 weeks, but there's no way we could do 144 episodes in one year by only doing one a week. :) It'll be, on average, 3 episodes a week, with a few having 2 and a couple just one (for those special episodes). I'll be posting the full schedule soon.

Nikki Stafford said...

I just posted an update to the post about spoilers: if you're going to be a first-time watcher of the series, I'll ensure that you don't get spoiled. ;)

Blam said...


I have to agree with Scott, Nik. I've always planned to rewatch Buffy and Angel together, because the casual references and couple of actual crossovers really optimize the experience. I know it adds time, believe me, but I think at the very least a few key Angel episodes need to be included, and I suspect lots of us will be shoehorning the whole series in when the time comes.

VW: marvitat — Habitat of the Marvel Family. (q.v. Fawcett City; Rock of Eternity)

Blam said...


You'll appreciate this, Nikster: I just went to Amazon to check prices on your seven-season omnibus Buffy book, and in the search field typed "Bite Me Stafford".

VW: plogi — A particularly plump pierogi.

Nikki Stafford said...

Geez, you guys are stealing my surprises before I can offer them! ;) I plan to cover any of the Angel episodes that are crucial to understanding Buffy. The crossovers were few (and mostly in its first season) so I'll be filling those in as I go. But no, I'm not adding another 100 episodes on top of the 144 I already have to do... that's simply too much for me to do on top of everything else. The Buffy rewatch alone is going to take up a lot of my time. But I promise "I Will Remember You" will be remembered. ;)

Unknown said...

I'm SO SO SO excited for this!

Unknown said...

I am so excited about this! I watched Buffy (and Angel) for the first time last year and I am completely and hopelessly addicted. Never in my 57 years have I ever been so into a show. Since the show went off the air so many years ago, I am pleased and delighted that there is still so much current Buffy content on the web. I actually just purchased your book last month and I can't wait to watch and read along with you!

Crom said...

I was planning my own Buffy re-watch in January to plug the gap between Dark Horse's Season Eight and Season Nine.

Would it be wrong of me to suggest watching the Motion Comic after season seven?

Also, if you're still after guest posters, I'd love to take part. I've done my fair share of writing (mostly short stories), some of which has even been published.

Batcabbage said...

Holy crap, what a post! Buffy Rewatch! The Return Of The Blam! Humane riffing Return-Of-The-Blam Haiku! Two words, hyphenated: AWESOME-SAUCE!

Firstly, the Buffy Rewatch: Batkitty and I are most definitely in. And this is despite doing a full seven season rewatch a few months ago, and reading all the season 8 comics (up to that point). The reason? We get to rewatch with you guys! Too cool.

Secondly: WELCOME BACK BLAM! So good to see your presence here once more. Let me join with the others in saying I hope that you stay a long and goodly while.

@Blam: and I'm just as psyched to talk Fringe and The Walking Dead...

How incredibly cool are these shows??!! Fringe has gotten better and better (I'm loving the alternating universe episode schedule). And The Walking Dead has fast become my new favourite show. I've just finished the 13th trade paperback (I started picking them up three weeks ago. Last Sunday I ran out of Walking Dead and went for an extra comic store run to pick up the remaining five volumes I didn't own. It's addictive, people!) Anyone remotely interested in this show should go and pick up the comics. They are mind-bendingly brilliant. It's the best comic I've read since Y:The Last Man (anyone familiar with my posts here and my BKV fetish will know that that's high praise indeed). I'm loving this adaptation, and can't wait for new episodes each week. Blam, Nik did a fantiastic write up of the first episode, go check it out. I'd be interested in your take.

AEC said...

If it's not a huge hassle, when Angel starts, would it be possible to include it in the schedule as to which episodes should be watched when? You certainly wouldn't have to blog about them, but those of us who are interested in watching them in the order and timing that was originally intended could!

I'm really excited about the Buffy rewatch. And I'm thinking I may need to catch up and start the Lost rewatch that is happening over on that other site too...

Sue K. said...

This is frickin' amazing!! Cannot wait to re-watch Buffy and follow the weekly blog!! Great idea, Nikki - I'm going to recruit some new Buffy watchers right now to join in the fun!! :)

JS said...

I am excited to get in on the Buffy bonanza. I am a first time watcher (I am generally late to these things) and with all the endorsements from Nik and familiar posters, I think I would be remiss not to participate.

Sooze said...

OK, so I am already watching Spooks (MI-5), Torchwood, Doctor Who, Life on Mars...and a million other things via Netflix (getting my money's worth, that's for sure)...Plus Fringe every Thursday...but now I HAVE to add Buffy in there. I am a long time lurker (I post once in a great while) but mainly like to read what all you other brilliant folks have to say. Can't wait!

Unknown said...

My son and I are both in. He's a Buffy maniac, I've watched a few episodes here and there, but we're doing this together as a family and I'm psyched.

Blam said...


Haiku from the Bean?
Overcome with emotion!
No, wait, that's onions...

I kid. For, truly, I am touched (in the heart, not the head, thank you), but I am also not in much of a state to write, so 'til really-soon-now-fingers-crossed. 8^)

VW: proinger — n. [proh in gur] One in favor of certain verb suffixes and gerunds.

Blam said...


Return of the Blam
much looked-for sequel to the
Original Blam


I got both the Yes song "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and TMBG's "Particle Man" in my head when reading this, by the way. And then, of course, the old "Spider-Man" theme, which somehow led to "Spider-Pig" even though (Will Teebore still like me?) I've never seen The Simpsons Movie...

'-• Spider-Blam / Spider-Blam / Does whatever a Spider-Blam does '-•

Anyway...

You should watch the mention of Evil Blam. Say his name three times and he tends to show up. The last thing I want is Evil Blam disrupting the Rewatch.

VW: norecal — An inability to regain units of energy.

Blam said...


Nikki: I'm not adding another 100 episodes on top of the 144 I already have to do...

Oh, I get that it's a huge time commitment — for you as the host / organizer / moderator even moreso than for us as viewers. I'd never have jumped into the Lost Rewatch before Season 6 if I hadn't decided to skip watching the episodes and just go by memory and your books, but I wanted to be part of the discussion. No sooner had I suggested a Buffy or Alias Rewatch post-Lost to keep the band (more like a symphony orchestra) together than I shuddered at the time commitment such a thing would entail. I'm constantly behind on life in general, and this season I've been fighting to stay current with television I enjoy because if it's serialized or mythologized at all I'll just end up waiting for consecutive reruns or, more likely, Netflix rentals and end up a full season behind; I finally just caught up on The Vampire Diaires, watching an episode this week same-night for the first time since the pilot. However, I've really missed hanging out here and I've really been wanting to rewatch Buffy with your episode guides, complete with Angel interspersed as appropriate, so if, and it's still just an if, I'm able to keep up with the Rewatch then I'll almost certainly shoehorn in Angel too, personally. Maybe some of us can even divvy up posting on Angel on our own blogs as a side project when the chronology gets us there.

VW: gaugge — How you measure the popularity of Stars Hollow's favorite mother/daughter duo?

Rebecca T. said...

Ooh! I'd be game for doing an Angel posting - that sounds like it could be fun... if we wanted to do that :)

Evil Blam said...

Ha-ha-ha! The pretender Blam has realized his oown fears, eh. I will admit that it took some time for the summoning to be realized, as you tiresome minions of the Ms. Nikki Stafford named me thrice only oover a considerable span of time — but that distance is nothing compared to the echoing cavern that exists between Blam's ears. (Get it? I am saying that his head is empty, with a distinct vacuum where one would normally expect to find cerebral matter, eh. Ya burnt!) Although preparations for my midwinter hibernation and Yoo-Hoo / bone-marrow regenerative infusion drip are well under way, it may prove amusing to monitor your pathetic assemblage's conversations during this time of supposed peace, joy, and socialist distribution of material goods by the oobese drunk slave-driver of elves that invariably lead to hollow realizations of despair in the grand scheme of the cosmos. Eh.
...
Verification word: The only angel worth watching is Lucifer.

Blam said...


Oy. Sorry, all.

VW: ratiop — n. [ray shee ahp] Clandestine mission involving relative values.

Blam said...


The warm welcome back is appreciated, Batcabbage — and everyone else, but you're the only one I had flagged as yet to respond to.

Batkitty and I are most definitely in. And this is despite doing a full seven season rewatch a few months ago ... The reason? We get to rewatch with you guys! Too cool.

Yeah. I love this collection of mixed nuts. 8^) Even though time will be tight, I'm gonna do my darnedest. On that note, though, I'm way behind on the Season Eight TPBs and wondering if I should try to blow through them before the Rewatch begins (an iffy proposition given everything else in my stack). Do you think that the TV run will be even the richer for having read them, Joss-written-and/or-overseen and close-to-canonical-as-it-gets as they are?

The Walking Dead has been really satisfying, although I have yet to see last night's finale, and Fringe has just been phenomenal. There's plenty of other great stuff on that isn't "genre" however — or isn't speculative fiction, anyway, since "genre" is often used as a pejorative tag for SF/fantasy stuff, ignoring both that the best speculative fiction is good because of the plot and characters built around the concept, not the bells and whistles, and that just about everything on TV is of a genre, from the frolicking Hawaii Five-0 to the seriously engaging The Good Wife. The Vampire Diaries has also been a hoot, pretty much because it's so shallow and purely adventure/melodrama, the exact opposite of the lofty potential I just cited.

VW: brqua — n. [bur kwah] Really cold Spanish water.

Austin Gorton said...

@Blam, Rebecca T. :Ooh! I'd be game for doing an Angel posting - that sounds like it could be fun... if we wanted to do that :)

Ditto.

I don't think I could fit in a full-on Angel rewatch where I wrote about every episode, but as part of a rotation where everyone wrote up an episode a week or every other week, definitely.

JanetCoop said...

I am more of an "ALIAS" addict than a "Buffy" person, I hope I'm still welcome --

I love your book "Uncovering 'ALIAS'" -- Would you ever consider completing the book by adding Seasons 4 & 5??
There's a lot of great stuff in the show still, especially with Vaughn's story...
Thank you for the best "ALIAS" book ever...
JANET c/o jcooper.alias54@live.com