Buffy Discussion – “Storyteller”

Remember The Real Me? It was an episode from the fifth season. On the surface, it was Dawn explaining the world to the viewer, filling them in on the people around her. In effect, we learned more about Dawn than any other character on the show. Well, now it’s Andrew’s turn. Also, the Mutant Enemy monster doesn’t say “Grr. Argh.” this week, so stick around. Random thoughts and potential spoilers follow below.

Some of the stuff I loved this week:

  • Decorations in the first set.
  • The “check this out” close-up during Willow/Kennedy quiet time.
  • Spike’s chains.
  • Spike’s undefended back.
  • Andrew’s perception of the Buffy/Spike relationship.
  • The reference to Out of Mind, Out of Sight.

11 replies on “Buffy Discussion – “Storyteller””

  1. Mutant Enemy
    Argh!

    I turned off the TV. I thought it was over. Please tell me, what did the mutant do if it didn’t say “Argh!?”

    • Re: Mutant Enemy

      Argh!

      I turned off the TV. I thought it was over. Please tell me, what did the mutant do if it didn’t say “Argh!?”

      Andrew’s Voice Singing ‘We Are Gods’.

      • Re: Mutant Enemy

        Argh!

        I turned off the TV. I thought it was over. Please tell me, what did the mutant do if it didn’t say “Argh!?”

        Andrew’s Voice Singing ‘We Are Gods’.

        “We are as gods”

        Nitpicking is fun ;- )

  2. Tonights Thoughts
    Was It just Me, Or Did The Girl Buffy Tried To Keep Visible Actually Vanish When She looked Away Then Looked Back?

    And What Chains?

    And Was I The Only One Who Noticed That The Teenage Bringers, The first One Was That kid from Home Improvement?

    *One IMDB Later* – Zachery Ty Bryan

    • Re: Tonights Thoughts

      Was It just Me, Or Did The Girl Buffy Tried To Keep Visible Actually Vanish When She looked Away Then Looked Back?

      And What Chains?

      And Was I The Only One Who Noticed That The Teenage Bringers, The first One Was That kid from Home Improvement?

      *One IMDB Later* – Zachery Ty Bryan

      Vanishing girl walked off screen, visible. The chains were in the crack with Xander and Anya in the bed saying “It’s a good thing Buffy took down Spike’s chains.” I did miss Zachary Ty Bryan this week, although I was expecting his return.

      • Re: Tonights Thoughts

        Was It just Me, Or Did The Girl Buffy Tried To Keep Visible Actually Vanish When She looked Away Then Looked Back?

        And What Chains?

        And Was I The Only One Who Noticed That The Teenage Bringers, The first One Was That kid from Home Improvement?

        *One IMDB Later* – Zachery Ty Bryan

        Vanishing girl walked off screen, visible. The chains were in the crack with Xander and Anya in the bed saying “It’s a good thing Buffy took down Spike’s chains.” I did miss Zachary Ty Bryan this week, although I was expecting his return.

        I thought they said it was too bad that Buffy took down the chains…
        Anya is kinky.

  3. Painfully funny, funny, and not a fluff episode.

    1. I liked the references – the Invisible Girl, the mirror talking back, etc.
    2. Andrew’s world – wow. Slayage linked to 2 good interviews with the actor (http://www.atnzone.com/tvzone/features/tomlenk.shtml and http://tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/030225b.asp, definitely worth a read), and he said he bases Andrew off of Rose (Betty White’s character) in The Golden Girls. “Rose is just there for the ride and doesn’t get how stupid she is. I sort of approach my scenes the same way she approached hers — say the stupidest thing, but say it with complete conviction.”
    3. The theme from masterpiece theater. I really expected a pipe that blew bubbles, for some reason.
    4. Good deconstruction of the show. “Buffy’s still talking – we’ll come back to her in a bit.”
    5. Not a fluff episode. Some of the more humorous episodes tend not to advance the story much, but this one did a helluva lot, including an interesting answer to “what’s the opposite of blood”. Very interesting since it continues the “can’t fight evil by doing evil” theme of the last few episodes.
    6. Bonus points for over-gratuitous use of the zoom button during his posterboard explanation of things.

    Anyhow, a great episode, even if I did squirm during the first third, when Andrew went off to his own world. And thank the gods that the director had enough sense not to overuse the “Slayer Cam” – I was afraid it would all be that way, ala the “Cops” episode of X-files.

    • Re: Painfully funny, funny, and not a fluff episode.

      The theme from masterpiece theater. I really expected a pipe that blew bubbles, for some reason.

      And amidst all the old books and knick-knacks, there’s still a StarWars poster on the wall! I loved how fake all his mannerisms were in that scene – even in his fantasy, he’s still lame (same with coughing on the pipe smoke).

    • Re: Painfully funny, funny, and not a fluff episode.
      Good point – I missed the Star Wars poster… too busy laughing at it in general.

      Also of note in the interview:

      TVGO: What about hooking up with Dawn?
      Lenk: I’d like to see, perhaps, a nice shopping montage with Dawn at the mall, getting our ears pierced, eating at the food court, a little Avril Lavigne playing in the background.

      I’d pay to see that. That would be hilarious.

  4. Andrew & stuff
    I’ve never liked Andrew, or the whole concept of the Legion of Dim, but I must admit that he was almost likeable in this ep.

    Doesn’t mean I think the season sucks any less, but at least this episode gave me some much needed laughs.

    Glad I’m not the only one who dreads Buffy’s speechifying this season.

    During his final talk to the camera, I suddenly got the desire to see, if a spinoff is going to happen, a show about Andrew trying to be a Watcher-type figure to Dawn. Now that would be funny, despite my dislike (though lessening lately) of both characters.

    Is it just me, or have the sexual jokes and such on this show become more along the lines of, as Oz would put it, “single entendres”? They just don’t seem as subtle as they used to be. But that also applies to all of the dialogue these days.

    Could Willow and Kennedy have looked any more bored during their scene? God, and I thought Tara and Willow were a dull couple. Sheesh.

  5. Ooooh, development
    I was getting rather annoyed with Andrew’s character, and I was wondering if they were planning to do anything with him. This past episode it seems he’s actually developed! Ooooh… I wonder how much (if any) he’s going to change after this.

    I suspect a lot of Buffy’s speechifying is to convince herself of stuff. She certainly gives roughly the same speech over and over. (Which I guess is a sort of military thing to do, which is what she’s going for these days…) Maybe she’s trying to hide (even from herself?) her belief that they’re probably going to lose…

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