Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 7 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another TV review, today I’ll be reviewing the 7th and final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So after this crazy ride of going through seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 I am ready to finish this thing. It is ridiculous that it has taken me this long to finally finish this show and review, I mean I’ve been watching this show for practically TWO YEARS! I think it is about time I get it done. 😛 Minor spoilers follow…

As usual, we follow the life of Buffy Summers; young lady by day, vampire slayer by night. As part of the “Scooby Gang” they take on the supernatural happenings that go on in Sunnydale.

The show continues to have episodic stories, but also has story arches that continue over the course of the season that relate to things that have happened in the past, but have are also currently happening too.

Story-wise this season deals with the destructive fallout from season six, but also presents a whole new form of obstacles for Buffy and company to tackle. I read online that season 7 was about bringing the show back to its roots and that’s definitely felt with the reintroduction of Sunnydale High School, Buffy being the center of attention as the Slayer, the focus on the Hellmouth, the First finally coming into play and a focus on the core group (Buffy, Willow and Xander). It feels incredibly nostalgic, but also new a fresh because of the new characters and scenarios which inhabit this season. A lot of sacrifices and death and you can’t help but feel for everyone involved, and that’s especially true for Buffy who carries the fate of everyone on her shoulders, most make all the decisions and live with the consequences whether they are be good or bad. There’s a genuine feeling of dread and despair thanks to all the talk and mind games of the First, death and overwhelming situations that Buffy and company have to overcome whether it be successful or otherwise. Its like there’s a cloud of depression hanging over the characters, more so than anything that’s come before and while there are moments humour, it isn’t as frequent as it was before. Everything feels like its come full circle with certain questions finally getting answers or story elements that took place several seasons back finally getting coming to pass now.

My issues with this season are minor but notable. The overall tone is a little on the dark side and desolate side and while that is necessary because of what was happening, it just wasn’t as fun to watch. There isn’t as much humour as before and some of the stories weren’t as impressive as previous seasons. And finally the inclusion of certain new characters just pissed me off, they weren’t Riley levels of bad, but they got close.

Episode highlights include:

• Lessons
• Beneath You
• Same Time, Same Place
• Selfless
• Him (personal favourite)
  
• Sleeper
• Showtime
• Bring on the Night
• The Killer in Me
• Get It Done (personal favourite)
• Storyteller
• The Lies My Parents Told Me
  
• Dirty Girls (personal favourite)
• Empty Places
• End of Days (personal favourite)
• Chosen (personal favourite)
  

When it comes to the cast, the once the main original cast members do such great jobs and some deliver some of their best work in the series and because of the First, there are opportunities to certain characters current and old in really interesting lights. Also is all about giving speeches, Buffy gives an awesome speech, so does Xander, and Anya, and good few other people and they are really well-written and well-acted too.

So let’s start with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers. This season presents us with a much more seasoned and matured individual who is brave and smart, but also slightly more tough and is aware of the dangers that lie ahead. SMG again does a wonderful job in this role adding layers to an already great character by still giving us all the light-hearted and humourous material we’ve come to expect from Buffy, but also giving us different shades of the character whether they are more aggressive or assertive. Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg once again does a lovely job in her role, while Willow’s not nearly as significant as she was last season, she has plenty to do and her moments with Buffy and Xander, and taking on magical-based activity are good too. Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris still does a great job, Xander is once again highlighted as the heart of the group and is a character full of courage, heart and commitment to his friends and the cause that Buffy is fighting for. Brendon really does well and has some really powerful scenes. Also Xander gives a great pep talk to Dawn about being special/important even when you’re not the main protagonist, it was one of the most beautiful and memorable moment of the series for me.

Michelle Trachtenberg was also pretty good as Dawn Summers, as I stated beforehand, I haven’t always been Dawn’s biggest fan, however I have been warming up to her and this season her character wasn’t in the spotlight as much and I preferred that, she has her moments of importance but overall doesn’t take up too much time in the main stories. James Marsters as Spike, was and always will be a badass. Spike is still humourous, charming and mean, but he’s also caring, troubled and tragic. There are so many layers to this man, he has more courage and heart then most of the characters will ever know and only a handful of people see it. Marsters just excels at his material and proves time after time why he is one of the quintessential characters of this show. Emma Caulfield as also does a good job as Anya, still sarcastic, blunt and funny, but also useful and she has good moments of heroism and drama with Xander. And even though he’s not around as much, Anthony Stewart Head is still the man as Rupert Giles, even though his character was a little at odds with Buffy, he still provides moments of insight, humour and awesomeness.

Now let’s talk about everyone else. Firstly there’s Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells, I did enjoy Andrew for his pop culture references and silly behaviour, but at the same time the guy was such a wimp and had no respect from the others that it made me dislike him a lot too. D. B. Woodside as Principal Robin Wood, at first I thought he was too nice to not be suspicious, but is turns out that he was a good guy after all with an interesting backstory and a few cool moments to make him a likeable character. As for the Potentials, there’s only a few I choose to acknowledge; Iyari Limon as Kennedy who was the most developed of the new girls and while I liked her headstrong nature, it also annoyed me on occasions and I’m kind of in two minds about her relationship with Willow as well. Sarah Hagan was my favourite as Amanda, she was cute and delightful, and I also liked seeing Felicia Day as Vi too. I have to give this season major props for not only bringing back Eliza Dushku as Faith, she was one of my favourite characters from this show and to see her sassy, sexy and laid back personality being brought back into the fold was much appreciated and Dushku was lovely. But, having NATHAN FILLION as Caleb, that just rocked my world. Anyone who knows me knows how much of fanboy I am when it comes to Fillion, and since I watched Joss Whedon’s shows backwards I had no idea that he was in this, so to see him show up was like the best thing ever. Caleb has such a way with words, he’s calm and collected and full of style, but he’s also crazy, absurdly powerful and scary, and Fillion does such a great job, he’s a likeable douchebag that does really evil things haha.

So to conclude season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a great send off to a great TV show. It is like a culmination of everything that has transpired coming together in an epic, drama and emotional manner. The characters have never been stronger or more engaging, the themes have impact, the loss hurts and the triumphs are wonderful. In the final episode there’s a sense of nostalgia, humour and heartbreak during and after the show ends, but I think that’s how you’re supposed to feel, and while this season wasn’t my favourite, it definitely ends on a high.

Rating: 8/10

 

What I’m Currently Watching #4

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to post #4 on What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. With that out of the way let’s go!

Alpha House

This is the main new series I’ve started watching and the first Amazon-produced series I’ve started watching (besides Extant, but I never got beyond episode 2 with that). Alpha House is one of those show I’ve seen advertised for ages and since I like John Goodman, I wanted to give it a try and to be honest, it’s not half bad. I like this show, I like the tone and characters and the setting. It’s not a show I find incredibly funny, but I do find it entertaining and am always curious to watch more. I’ve almost finished the first season (I think I’m on episode 10 or 11) and I think the reason I like it is because of the four main characters; Gil John Biggs, Robert Bettencourt, Louis Laffer and Andy Guzman are an odd group of government officials who function well together but also as individuals and their stories, challenges and general behaviour is fun to watch especially when it comes to Gil John and Louis.

Blue Mountain State

Blue Mountain State, still watching it, slowly but surely. Why? I don’t know. The show’s not nearly as interesting now and it feels more like a show I would leave on in the background, but I continue to watch… Why? Because I’m a glutton for punishment, but also because I like to finish most of the TV shows I watch.

Justice League

So with me looking for TV shows to pass the time during my free hours off of work, I decided to re-watch the Justice League animated series from the mid-2000’s. I used to watch it on and off back in my school/college days, but I never fully got into it. So I decided to check it out from the beginning and the three-part opening episode is SO good. Besides the art and animation being really good, the show starts with a very creepy, dangerous and larger-than-life storyline that felt interesting, adventurous and had all sorts of cool to it. I love the way the characters came together and became a team, whether they butt heads or worked together, I liked their interactions and it felt nice because Batman and Superman were initially the focus, but the lesser-known characters are given their time to shine and you’re given reasons to like them too.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I’m still going through Buffy’s seventh season and I’m just over halfway through at episode 14 and I’m enjoying it, but I’m saving my main thoughts for the review. Its annoying that I’ve taken so long to watch this show, but I’ve had to be in the right mood to watch this and considering the fact that I’m balancing Buffy along with several other shows, work and my video games, I think I’m doing okay. I will say that this season isn’t as engaging as the previous ones, but I continue because I have to see this show’s ending.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

With Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returning to the world of TV in just under two weeks with season 3, I thought I should jog my memory by re-watching season 2. I had been intending to watch this back in the summer but never got around to it because of work and other outside events. Plus even though I remember the majority of the season, everything before episode 9 was a little blurry. So the last few days I’ve been checking it out and getting my sister up to date with it. I have to say I’m really enjoying seeing this show the second time round in a more cohesive manner and at a quicker pace. AoS really turned itself around with season 2 with the tone, stories, characters and use of comic book source material, and while the show is far from perfect, I think it is definitely worth watching now. With the mysteries behind the blue alien, the Tahiti project and Skye’s background getting cleared up, it offered up room to tell new stories and introduce the Inhumans as well. I’m only halfway through but I’m already feeling all giddy about what comes up later on and curious to see what season 3 is gonna throw at us.

So that’s what I’ve been watching, if you have any thoughts on anything that I’ve been watching be sure to drop a comment below and let me know, oh and do be sure to let me know what TV shows you’re watching at the moment too. Until next time, this is me signing out. Laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #3

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to post #3 on What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. With that out of the way let’s go!

Z Nation

This is a show I literally watched because my sister told me about the ridiculous stuff that went down in the first episode, a few weeks later and I’m still watching. Z Nation is absurd, silly and crazy and yet that’s what makes it so fun. I’m sort of over zombies these days in terms of their ‘cool’ factor, but there are certain TV shows that keep me coming back (The Walking Dead and iZombie primarily) and I can add this show to the list. I’m only around 6 or 7 episodes in but so far it’s fun. I would like to actually finish the show quicker but since I’m watching it weekly on TV with my family, it’ll take ages before I finish it haha.

Blue Mountain State

I’m honestly not sure why I’m still watching this show. I’ve started season 2 and it’s more or less the same as before except with a few new faces and the loss of some previous ones. I’m only a few episodes in and so far the show is has moments when it feels like I’m actually enjoying it with the jokes and changes, but it is still not a very good show. I mean it’s tolerable, but all the issues that plagued the show before are still present like the raunchy humour and unlikable characters. It is the kind of show that’s made for people that enjoy a unique brand of humour, but since I’ve started this madness unless it pisses me off I’ll probably finish it haha.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

So I’m FINALLY getting around the final season of Buffy. I’ve only seen six episodes and I’m having fun so far. I won’t say too much here because I’ve got a review on the back-burner, but I will say that this season is very interesting. There’s a lot of change but also nostalgia, certain aspects of previous seasons are coming to pass now and I’m finding the journey of Buffy and the rest of the main characters very dramatic, emotional and fun. I can tell that things are gonna get pretty crazy later on and I’m prepared for the worst. 😛

House of Cards

Last time I did my blog post related to House of Cards I’d just started, well this morning I just finished it and I have to say so far so good. With it being one of the most talked about TV shows of the last two years its nice to finally get to see what the hype was about. I won’t go into too much detail primarily because I may do a review of the first season in a separate post later in the week, but I will say that it was good, but not as amazing as I’d hoped. There’s certain things I loved, some stories and characters that were really compelling and awesome, but then there were a few issues I took with specific plot points and characters as well. But that’s all I’ll say for now. I’m super curious to see how season 2 pans out.

So that’s what I’ve been watching, if you have any thoughts on anything that I’ve been watching be sure to drop a comment below and let me know, oh and do be sure to let me know what TV shows you’re watching at the moment too. Until next time, this is me signing out. Laters! 😀

 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 6 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another TV review and today I will be reviewing season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So after having good times with season 1, 2, 3 ,4 and 5 I am ready for more. Oh and before I go into this review I have to apologise for the wait, I had finished this season almost a month and a half ago but just couldn’t find the right way to word it until now. 😛 With that out of the way, on with the review. 🙂 Minor spoilers follow…

As usual, we follow the life of Buffy Summers; teenager by day, vampire slayer by night. As part of the “Scooby Gang” they take on the supernatural happenings that go on in Sunnydale.

The show continues to have episodic stories, but also has story arches that continue over the course of the season that relate to things that have happened in the past, but have are also currently happening too. This season deals with the death and resurrection Buffy, and then her having to grow up and deal with issues that come with being a regular adult. There is also the rise of The Trio, Willow’s growing talent in magic and Tera’s concern for her dabbling in the dark arts, Xander and Anya’s developing relationship, Dawn’s secret issues and Spike’s continued obsession with Buffy.

Story-wise this season deals with a lot of dark and adult subject matters, and rather than detracting from the show’s formula, it allows the characters and stories to develop, mature and create new, exciting and unexpected scenarios. Once again the show happens to strike that right balance between humour and really seriousness, but what surprised me was how mature the stories and subject matters got. The show deals with subjects like life after death, sexual lust, rape, addiction, marriage and it’s not like they are just dumped in there quickly, they are right at the forefront of these stories and they feel realistic, raw and grip you on the most engaging and emotional level. And while I’m no stranger to these types of scenarios on TV, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised at how these things were handed, adding new levels of drama and digging into deeper emotional territories which was brilliant. I will say that this season, because of its dark subject matter and some of the storylines isn’t as fun or as enjoyable as some of the material that’s come beforehand. That being said, season 6 felt so progressive, smart and fun and the writers and Joss Whedon should be commended for taking these steps to advance this show. Oh and big shout out to the muscial episode, I had waited years to see it and it did not disappoint. 😀

Episode highlights include:

• Bargaining Part 1 & 2
  
• Afterlife
• Flooded
• Once More, With Feeling (personal favourite)
• Tabula Rasa (personal favourite)
• Smashed
• Wrecked (personal favourite)
• Gone
• Doublemeat Palace
• Dead Things
• Older and Far Away
• As You Were
• Hell’s Bells (personal favourite)
• Normal Again
• Entropy
• Seeing Red (personal favourite)
• Villains
• Two to Go (personal favourite)
• Grave (personal favourite)

When it comes to the cast, the regulars once again give us such beautiful and memorable performances, while the new additions certain shake things up for the recurring cast members. But this was clearly a big season for the main three characters; Buffy, Willow and Xander.

So let’s start with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers. I love how this season presented her with a lot of the issues that regular people start to have to deal with at her age like financial problems and getting a job, but also having to not only be a sister to Dawn but also be a parent to her too. Oh and Sarah, what an amazing lady. Her acting was top-notch this season, as usual SMG brough that incredibly bright, fun and witty side of Buffy to screen, but then we also got to see the more vulnerable, relatable and dramatic side of her too and the way SMG handled the more serious material was so realistic and emotionally engaging that I was left almost speechless by how much her acting affected me. Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg was great, this was the season where we got to see the best and worst of this character. Willow continues to be cute, charming and fun, but she also starts to show confidence, arrogance, deceptive tendencies and a lack of caution which affects the lives of everyone around her especially Tara. We got to see a very different side of Willow this season in addition to all of her regular traits and I adore Hannigan’s acting in this season as it was so convincing and awesome. Nicholas Brendon is another person who gets a lot to do as Xander Harris, Xander has always been an important character in this show, but this season really gives him more to beyond the regular comic relief, he’s given a lot of dramatic and emotional material, he’s at the forefront of a lot of stories, and we also get inside his head, learn about his loves and fears and see why he’s so vital to the gang. Brendon is great in this season and gives his best performance so far. Michelle Trachtenberg was also pretty good as Dawn Summers, I will admit that Dawn kind of annoyed me this season as her emotions were very bipolar when it came to Buffy and she was quite whiney a lot as well. That being said I could understand her because she was a teenager and she’d had to deal with so much for a person at that age.

James Marsters as Spike, wow, this was certainly a big season for him. Spike grows so much this season, continuing a lot of the themes from before, this time round Spike is still fun, mean and caring, but he’s also damaged, alone, lusting and all over the place. Marsters should be commended for handling his material with such professionalism and charisma, but also for being the same old charming and endearing actor we’ve come to love. Emma Caulfield as Anya was awesome, Anya’s always been a good source of humour and emotion, but this season really pushes her character forward and develops her in such dramatic ways and at one point I felt so bad for her in a way that I’d never thought I ever would, and Caulfield just broke my heart with her great acting. Amber Benson was really good as Tara Maclay, Tara has been a character I really got attached to from her first appearance and this season she become more integrated into the crew and has such a beautiful relationship with Willow. Benson is so lovely to watch in this role and she gives such fun and memorable performances. Anthony Stewart Head continues to be awesome as Rupert Giles, while Giles presence in this season is certainly smaller than before, he is by no means any less significant and in a lot of ways he’s more important than ever. I loved his story arc, interactions with Buffy and how he happened to be around at just the right times in certain episodes. I love ASH in this role, he’s just so badass and dramatic, and getting to see him sing again was just the best thing ever.

Now lets talk about The Trio with Danny Strong, Tom Lenk and Adam Busch as Jonathan, Andrew and Warren. Jonathan has always been one of my favourite hidden characters and he’s gotten progressively bigger over the time, but I didn’t expect him to return to this season on the side of evil. I liked how he was still kind of awkward, funny and the voice of reason within the group and Strong was great. Adam was my least favourite of the three as he seemed like a spineless lackey who just followed Warren without having much personality of his own, though he does have moments where he stood out. Warren was definitely the most memorable of the three, he was the leader and had the most cunning and villainous aspects. This guy was creepy, cold-hearted, manipulative and knew how to take things too far, and Adam Busch was really good in this role. I also really enjoyed James C. Leary as Clem as he was such an odd yet funny character and the return of Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy Madison was very welcomed as she had an interesting role to play.

So to conclude season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is bloody brilliant, while it certainly one of the least joyful seasons of the show, it still had a lot of the trademark humour and provided me with some of the best drama I’ve seen in a TV in a while. This season tackled some really dark and mature themes, had some brilliant performances and super memorable storylines. I’ll be sad to see this show end when I finish season 7, but I’m super hyped for it.

Rating: 8.5/10

 

Getting Back on Track

Howdy people of the internet, time for a quick blog update. As you may have seen, before my recent Terminator Genisys review, I was pretty vacant on this blog for a few days and I just wanted to clarify the reason for my absence and the lack of certain material I promised a while back.

Reasons For My Absence

So last week I left to go back to Sheffield to volunteer at the Children’s Media Conference for the second time and it was hella fun. Such a great experience to help people but also to learn and network within the media industry, and I also was reunited with some old friends and made a bunch of potential new mates too, so all in all it was a great 4 days away. In that time off I was away from my laptop (which I left back at home), and while it’s been fun not having to write anything I feel like I was wasting a bit of time by not doing any of my blogging activities. That being said, after the last Month of Superhero Films Reviews, I am pretty beat, that was a lot of time taken out of my days to watch all of those films, review them and keep up with all my other daily activities. So the few days I’ve had off have been so delightful and uplifting haha. 🙂

Even though I’ve had a few of infrequent breaks recently, we all need them from time to time.

Delays On Previously Promised Material

Back near the end of May in one blog post had promised discussions on comic book TV shows including The Flash, Constantine, Marvel’s Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and even though it’s been a while since the buzz surrounding the shows have disappeared (well at least until Comic-Con), I have plenty to share about the shows that aired and wanted to do some comparison work too. So it is still coming, I promise!

ALSO, at this point I feel ashamed that I haven’t gotten my Buffy season 6 review online yet, right now it’s been around two months since I finished season 6 and I have yet to get my thoughts together completely to have a fully written review. But it’s around 2/3’s of the way done, but its there’s a lot of character stuff to finish up. I hope it’ll be up by the end of this week so I can start and finish Buffy once and for all with season 7.

I promised this stuff before and it is still coming, honest! 😛

To conclude, I’m still alive and still have much material for all of you to read (well, those of you that still read this blog after all this time), just hold on. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 5 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another TV review and today I will be reviewing season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So after having good times with season 1, 2, 3 and 4, I am ready for more. Minor spoilers follow…

As usual, we follow the life of Buffy Summers; normal teenager by day, vampire slayer by night. As part of the “Scooby Gang” along with Giles, Willow, Xander and Anya, except this time with more Spike, as they take on the supernatural happenings that go on in Sunnydale.

The show continues to have episodic stories, but also has stories that continue over the course of the season that relate to things that have happened in the past and present too. This season deals with the concept of death of and how it affects the slayer. In addition to that we see the introduction of Dawn (Buffy’s sister), get a deeper look at Spike, have more magical happenings with Willow and deal supernatural issues that come range from the standard fare to god-like scenarios.

Story-wise this season continues some of the themes from season 4, however it takes the darkness and despair to a whole new level. That doesn’t mean that the trademark humour is gone, it is actually still around but is used sparingly this time around. What I liked about this season of Buffy is the fact that took major storylines that could have spanned an entire season and condensed it into a few episodes. Normally that can be seen as a sign of rushing, however the writers find a way to move things along a brisk pace resulting in well-thought out stories that told in concise manner. Episodes and stories moved swiftly and some had a great deal of levity to it especially the episodes that Joss Whedon directed, and speaking of Mr. Whedon I have to say that he knows how to do the unexpected, tug at your heartstrings and great very real/fantastical experiences.

Episode highlights include:

• Buffy Vs. Dracula
• The Replacement (personal favourite)
• Family
• Fool For Love (personal favourite)
  
• Into the Woods
• Triangle
• Blood Ties (personal favourite)
• Crush
• The Body (personal favourite)
• Forever
• Intervention
• Tough Love
• The Weight of the World (personal favourite)
• The Gift (personal favourite)

When it comes to the cast, the regulars once again give us such beautiful and memorable performances, while the new additions certain shake things up for the recurring cast members.

So let’s start with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers. I’ve always liked Buffy as she’s a delightful, beautiful, sarcastic and incredible individual with an awesome screen presence and kicks plenty of ass. But in this season it seems like Buffy has really stepped up and become more than just the slayer, she is a true superhero. In this season Buffy wrestles with all sorts of monsters, deals with relationships with her friends, family and lovers and has to come to terms with death in the most brutal of ways. SMG does such a fantastic job in this role and this is the best acting I’ve sen from her so far. Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg is delightful, this character continues to grow and develop as person and as a witch and it is incredible to see how far she has come. Back when the series started she was so shy and cute, now she’s still cute and funny, but is way more confident and assertive. Nicholas Brendon is fun as Xander Harris, however he is a bit more of a douchebag this season giving Buffy and Spike grief and just being generally unlikable. Michelle Trachtenberg is the new face in the crowd as Dawn Summers, she is quite different to her sister but at the same time very similar. It is interesting to learn about her, see her grow up and adjust to the difficulties of early teenage life in addition to all the extra drama that follows Buffy. James Marsters definitely steps up a in a big as Spike, his role was already being expanded following last season, but here he is at the forefront of most story and it is interesting to learn more about his backstory, see his character development and have him interact with Buffy and company in such dramatic and humourous ways.

Anthony Stewart Head still kicks ass as Rupert Giles, while there aren’t any super fun standout moments like season four, we don’t get to see him in a more assertive and aggressive manner. Just seeing him put his foot down or just be kind of dark and sinister is delightful for me. Emma Caulfield continues to be a source of humour and confusion as Anya, and while some of her blunt statements can be frustrating, this season you really do feel for her as you see that she’s really just innocent and doesn’t know any better.  Amber Benson was a lot more fun as Tara Maclay, in this season Tara has more to do and say and we got discover more about who she is, what makes her special and how deep her relationship is with Willow. I really liked Clare Kramer as Glory, she was a very different kind of villain as she was very charismatic, confident and casual about her evil deeds and while she didn’t always have the answers, when she was in control of a situation she was a beast. I liked Charlie Weber as Be, but I didn’t care much for him. Kristine Sutherland was once again a joy to watch as Joyce Summers, she was kind and sweet and brave in the face of extreme hardship.

So to conclude season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a great, if somewhat heartbreaking season that deals with death, gods and the power of family. There was a lot to love and overall I feel like this season was stronger than the last, but I guess there were a few nitpicks I have here an there that stop it from being perfect.

Rating: 8.5/10

 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 4 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another TV review and today I will be reviewing season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So after a good time with season 1, 2 and 3, I am ready for more. Minor spoilers follow…

As usual, we follow the life of Buffy Summers; normal teenager by day, vampire slayer by night. As part of the “Scooby Gang” along with Giles, Xander and Willow, except this time with less Cordelia and more Oz, as they take on the supernatural happenings that go on in Sunnydale.

The show continues to have episodic stories, but also has stories that continue over the course of the season that relate to things that have happened in the past and present too. This season deals with Buffy and her friends growing up and moving to university and taking on the problems that come with higher education and social interaction, but also all the classic supernatural issues that come with life surrounding the slayer.

Story-wise this season definitely changes things up from the get-go, having the Scooby gang separated in different directions and experiencing the real world beyond high school feels very odd at first, but it does present some new adventures and personal journeys for some individuals especially when it comes to Buffy, Willow and Oz. There is a lot of new content to take in with some of it being hilarious and exciting, but it’s not all fun and games, there are moments of mystery, surprise, drama and melancholy emotions for sure. Luckily there are some familiar characters and scenarios to keep things from feeling too detached. I also feel like I’m at the right age to be watching this show, besides being a big fan of TV and being a massive fan of Joss Whedon and his work with other TV shows and films, right now, having been a recent university student, this show really resonates with me. Having gone through the whole uni adventure myself, this show happens to capture perfectly, the uncertainty and the ups and downs of being a uni student. Whether it be moving away from home and living in a new environment, being the newbie on campus, living with difficult people, having hard times in class or missing the old times before higher education. Plus whoever came up with the use of the song “Believe” by Cher is a don, it is one of my all-time favourite cheesy pop song from the 90’s.

Episode highlights include:

• The Freshman
• Living Conditions
• The Harsh Light of Day (personal favourite)
  
• Fear Itself
• Beer Bad
• Wild at Heart (personal favourite)
  
• Pangs (personal favourite)
  
• Something Blue (personal favourite)
  
• Hush (personal favourite)
• Doomed
• A New Man
• The I in Team
• Goodbye Iowa
• This Year’s Girl (personal favourite)
  
• Who Are You
• Superstar (personal favourite)
  
• Where the Wild Things Are
• New Moon Rising
• The Yoko Factor (personal favourite)
• Primeval (personal favourite)
• Restless

When it comes to the cast, the regulars once again give us such beautiful and memorable performances, while the new additions certain shake things up for the recurring cast members.

So let’s start with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers. Buffy this season has a lot to deal with, she has relationship issues, foes new and old trying to kill her, new levels of intimacy with university men, and on top of that, she has to be the slayer. It was interesting to see Buffy for all of her knowledge, confidence and power, still being a little naive, powerless and indecisive and I once again have to say that Gellar is the woman of the hour because she acts so well. Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg is simply amazing, this is really big season for Willow as she starts to become more efficient as a witch, we see her heartbroken and then go through an unexpected and radical change with her new friend. Hannigan is such a great actress as she happens to be cute, pretty, witty, smart and mysterious all at the same and that is quite a feat and Willow as a character was just someone I wanted to hug all the time. Nicholas Brendon is once again so cool as Xander Harris, this season really puts Xander in an odd position as he happens to the only non-university student and doesn’t seem to be going anyway with his life besides his odd jobs and his strange relationship with Anya. However, the guy is still full of some of the best one-liners, is still funny and seeing him around just makes me smile.

Oh and Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles, a frigging legend. I think I’m in love. I mean I’ve always liked Giles, the guy is English, has a dry sense of humour and is very strict and dull as a character, but since becoming unemployed this guy has become a hell of a lot more interesting. Seeing Giles in a more casual manner makes for some interesting moments like Giles in a sombrero or Giles with a chainsaw or SEEING GILES BLOODY SINGING AND PLAYING GUITAR! I swear seeing that just changed my world and made Giles and Anthony Stewart Head as an actor like the best person ever. Emma Caulfield returns as Anya but in a more substantial role than before, now she’s sort of part of the Scooby gang and while she’s a little eccentric and does not know anything about subtly when it comes to voicing her opinions, however, she has a good heart and having her in a relationship with Xander makes for some really funny moments. James Marsters in this season as Spike, damn what a joy he was to watch. This version of Spike is bad to his old ways, he’s dangerous, manipulative, cunning and funny as hell, but he is also silly, unthreatening and surprisingly docile when in an unfavourable situation. Marsters again remains to be the voice of reason, has great lines of dialogue and because his new situations, his constant interaction with the Scooby gang is just the best thing ever.

And then there’s Marc Blucas as Riley Finn, over the course of the season I got to like him more (especially when he meets Angel), but overall I’m not overly fussed about his character. I know he’s just an average joe by day/military guy by night, but as a character, he was never that engaging to me and just doesn’t fit into my view of the show. Amber Benson as Tara Maclay was definitely the most unexpected and interesting flavour to be added to this new cast, she’s incredibly shy, a bit of a recluse and no one really sees her, that is until Willow comes into play and she opens up a lot more. Benson does a great job of being super shy, vulnerable and adorable all at the same time. Lindsay Crouse was as Maggie Walsh but I never liked her from the moment I saw her and as for George Hertzberg as Adam, I say well done him, he was like the Terminator mixed in with Frankenstein, but with the intelligence and humour of a smart human. Adam is a little unconventional when it comes to being a villain as he wasn’t as clearly evil as those who came before him, I mean he was still bad, but in a more casual manner. Kristine Sutherland was once again good as Joyce Summers, however, she didn’t stand out that much considering everything that happened in this series took place further Buffy’s old home. After not seeing him for a while, the return of David Boreanaz as Angel was awesome, his moody yet cool persona is still fun to watch and I liked his complicated interactions with Buffy. Seeing Eliza Dushku as Faith brought warm feelings to my heart, for a while I wasn’t sure if the show would acknowledge her existence again, but they did and Dushku came back swinging in all of her fiery hotness and I liked having this girl back the picture even if it were for a short time. And finally the appearance of Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson was like the best unexpected of this season, I almost didn’t recognize him in the episode he was featured in because he’d changed so much, but damn I have to give props to Strong, he killed it in his one-off episodes.

So to conclude season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a bloody good season and is possibly my favourite season so far. Removing Buffy and company from their usual high school hijinks and placing them in college adds a great sense of the Scooby gang and with faces new and old showing up, new revelations taking place in Sunnydale and with stories full of bizarre, hilarious and emotional elements thrown in throughout, I was left thoroughly entertained and emotionally invested.

Rating: 9/10

 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 3 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another TV review and after a little while away, I return to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So after a good introduction with season 1 and then falling in love with season 2, I now step into season 3. Annoyingly, I’ve had to watch the first half of this season twice as I started it last December, then dropped it after university got more intense and didn’t start watching again until July. Before going into this season my friends told me that the show only gets better from season 2 onwards and to say that I was hyped would be an understatement. Anyways, enough chatter, time to talk about season 3 of Buffy. Minor spoilers follow…

As usual, we follow the life of Buffy Summers; normal teenager by day, vampire slayer by night. As part of the “Scooby Gang” along with Giles, Xander and Willow, except this time with less Cordelia and more Oz, as they take on the supernatural happenings that go on in Sunnydale. The show continues to have episodic stories, but also has stories that continue over the course of the season that relate to things that have happened in the past and present too. This season deal with the relationship status of  Buffy and Angel, the new slayer Faith, the ascension of the mayor of Sunnydale and what happens when Xander and Willow get more screen time.

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Story-wise this season 3 was another great season filled with a great deal of drama and heartbreaking situations involving the main characters. Coming off of a fairly emotional climax at the end of season 2, this season provides plenty of challenges for not only Buffy, but also for Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia and Giles. This season predominately revolves around love and relationships and this leads to some really emotional and unexpected territories for all the main characters involved, but on top of that there is a theme of the future and moving on and that applies to the characters, their relationships, school lives and then eventually moving to college as well. One of the things I never highlighted in my reviews of season 1 and 2 is how well this show gets the balance between humour and drama just right, because even in a scene that’s very emotional or super serious there will always be someone around to crack a joke to break the tension. The rise of power for the mayor and the appearances of the different types of demons kept things varied and different, plus the twists and turns this show throws at you always keeps you guessing which was fun. I also feel like this season, for all the drama that took place, was a little lighter in tone and featured a lot more comedic moments and because of that I wasn’t left as emotionally scarred as I was at the end of season 2. I also wanted to mention how much I liked the action in this series, from the crazy and varied monster designs, to all the cool hand-to-hand combat scenes, it was all badass with my highlights definitely being the final fight between Buffy and Faith and the war at Sunnydale High’s graduation, that was some epic and mental stuff.

Episode highlights include:

• Anne
• Faith, Hope, and Trick
• Brand Candy
• Revelations
• Lover’s Walk
• Gingerbread
• Helpless
• Bad Girls
• Consequences
• Earshot
• Choices
• The Prom
• Graduation Day, Part One
• Graduation Day, Part Two

As the cast they are all awesome as recurring cast members really get some great moments to show off their acting skills and get better as their characters, while new cast members add a lot of interesting flavours to the show’s regular dynamic. What I liked was that everyone had relevance and even when some characters went bad the show still tried to show some moments of redemption.

So let’s start with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers. SMG is still amazing as Buffy, her acting is believable, raw and really feel for her in these moments of crisis. In this season Buffy pretty much has everything thrown at her as the slayer and yet still has to deal with her school life, her mum, friends and relationships too. At times she is a bit of an emotional wreck, but considering all the stuff she has to deal with it is hardly surprising and this leads to some very difficult fights and conversations. All of this happens and SMG still looks beautiful and cute as hell haha. Then we have David Boreanaz as Angel. After the events of last season, I wondered if he would return for this season, but at the same time I knew he would be back and he is totally on-point as he still a brooding, complex and an incredibly layered person who has a great deal of knowledge and experience of life because of his immortality. I like how he and Buffy had to rekindle their relationship and be in love, but also have issues and eventually break up. Both Gellar and Boreanaz have great chemistry and you totally buy the fact these two are undeniably in love but have aspects of their lives that won’t keep them together permanently.

Nicholas Brendon is still awesome as Xander Harris, in the earlier side of this season his jokes are not as funny as usual, but eventually he finds his rhythm and delivers some of my favourite laughs in this season. I like how this show gave him moments to shine and finally address his lack of usefulness in the main gang. Alyson Hannigan really got more interesting as Willow Rosenberg, last season really built up Willow’s character, but here she totally got to be more than she ever was before. Even though she was still her cute and smart self, this time round she seemed more assertive, adventurous and was in the thick of the action a lot more, and I loved her for that. Charisma Carpenter still looked incredible and was interesting as Cordelia Chase, she pretty much goes from being one of the members of the group to going back to her old ways in season 1, you know, being cruel and hurtful bitch. Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles is still one of the coolest dudes ever, he is always there to help Buffy and company, but he is also pretty sneaky and after learning more about his past you get to appreciate him even more. Seth Green as Oz is again the guy who isn’t very emotive, but provides moments of humor and got involved in more of the active with Buffy and company while also advancing his relationship with Willow too. Oz is probably my least favourite character in the group because he isn’t as charismatic as the rest of the gang, but he does have his moments where he’s pretty cool.

Now let’s mention Eliza Dushku, who wonderfully plays Faith Lehane, damn! When she first stepped on the scene I fell in love. I was mainly familiar with Dushku from Dollhouse, so to see her so much younger here was an unexpected surprise. At first Faith is the new slayer who is a lot more aggressive, out-going and carefree than Buffy and it is fun to have her around as this massive contrast from our regular slayer, but after the series progresses and things take a turn for the worse, you see that Faith has a much darker side that starts to take over. At first I loved Faith’s spunky and more action-oriented attitude, but then she became a total bitch, but that’s what made her cool to watch as a villain. And we can’t talk about Faith without mentioning Harry Groener as Mayor Richard Wilkins. This guy is awesome, the reason I like him as the dominant villain of this season is because he’s not your conventional ‘I’m evil all the time’ kind of bad guy, he is very quirky, humourous and rarely ever demonstrates any negative thinking. That being said, the guy can get pretty unforgiving, ruthless and when things really start going badly for him the man can pretty much freak out and that’s what I really appreciated about Groener’s performance.

Kristine Sutherland is pretty good as Joyce Summers, after the events of last season she has a hard time dealing with what Buffy did and trusting her daughter is very an easy thing from then on and Joyce definitely has some fun moments in this season too especially with Giles. Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce was pretty funny, he’s the new watcher who is supposed to come in and replace Giles, but he is pretty much ignored most of the time and no one takes him seriously. He’s much like Giles (being English and have similar mannerisms), but he doesn’t have a backbone and no one really likes him, well besides Cordelia which is still the weirdest thing ever. Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder is still a douche, but he is a pretty funny douche though, and seeing him in more humourous situations definitely helped me like him more this time around. Emma Caulfield was funny and entertaining as Anya and I was not expecting to see her so much leading up to the end of the series and Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson has been one of my favourite hidden school characters and to see him have more screen time was awesome. And finally seeing James Marsters return briefly as Spike was an unexpected and joyful moment in time, they guy was just as funny, crazy and British as always, but he also gave a brief statement about love and relationships and I feel is one of the best bits of dialogue in the series.

So to conclude season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is another great series of episodes that featured a great deal of action, drama and humour. While I don’t feel like this season left the same kind of dramatic impact that the previous season did, there was a great deal of character development, fun and excitement for Buffy and the rest of the main cast here and I’m interested to see what happens in season 4.

Rating: 8.5/10

 

I’m Back Again And Ready To Rock!

 

Yo yo peeps of the internet, I, the Hypersonic55 have returned to the world online once again except this time I am back and fully operational because I finally have my laptop back! Oh happy day! This is how I felt when I got my laptop back:

Now for those who aren’t aware, I had been without my laptop for three weeks because it was breaking down and needed to be fixed. It was in the repair place for AGES and during that time I was relegated to using my phone for the internet and watching normal TV, it was horrible and nearly unbearable. I mean sure I got to use my mum and sister’s laptop’s at points, but it wasn’t the same because so much was lacking when it comes to all my tabs, and files on my hard drive too. I swear the last few weeks have been an endurance test, I feel like god was testing me to see how I would survive without my technology, which truth be told I can’t. I am a tech addict to a degree and I need my stuff especially because I do my blogging and watch a lot of TV online too. But yeah I’m getting back into the groove and if you haven’t seen it already check out my review of The Expendables 3.

And now that I’m back I’ll be able to give you all my reviews from the cinema and get back to some of my TV reviews as well. I should have more from My Favourite Music In Video Games and I should be able to review season 3 of Buffy and season 6 of Castle before the month is out.

 

Me and my love for TV shows!

Howdy ladies and gents, time for another blog post about me, but this time it’s about me and my love for TV. Now TV is something I’ve loved since childhood and it has shaped me into the dude I am today in a lot of ways, but its only in the last few years that it has become an essential part of my life especially in the live-action department. And since I talk mainly about films,  wanted to make a blog post that focused on my TV obsession just to let you know that I do watch it haha. 🙂

Now before we start just wanted to mention that I won’t be talking about cartoons in this post because consider them to be a totally separate entity from live-action shows and if I were to put them in the mix then I’d be writing and debating with myself for ages. Cartoons will have their own separate blog post, eventually. Anyways let’s move on.

Anyways let’s start!

The Early Days

When I saw a child the only stuff I watched was cartoons, that was my life right there. Even when I started to grow up and become a teenager and the people around me started moving on to live-action TV shows I still remained the same. There were a few exceptions like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Kenan and Kel, Moesha, Sister Sister, Malcolm in the Middle, My Wife and Kids and The Amanda Show that are nostalgic and I will always save a soft spot for. But other than those shows, there was never any live-action telly that I liked. However there are only TWO shows that I ever loved in my teen years and they are Hotel Babylon and The IT Crowd. Now Hotel Babylon I found randomly while skimming through TV and it was the first show I got attached to, but around series 3 it got pants and I dropped the show midway through series 4. As for The IT Crowd, that was my first TV obsession and it is the only TV show I’ve ever followed and consistently watched from its inception until the end. One of the funniest and best TV shows I’ll ever know.

When I Moved To Uni

It wasn’t until I moved to uni in 2011 when I started to watch TV shows properly. And while it was mainly the one’s that were currently airing at the time, I found this window of TV shows that I never expected to like and now love thanks to the recommendation from friends. I think my first love was Fringe, such an amazing sci-fi show with characters I love and adore. Then there’s Community, the first comedy-based show outside of The IT Crowd I fell in love with that’s to its crazy cast of characters and insanely good parody episodes and pop-culture references. I also decided to re-watch 30 Rock from the beginning and found one of the strangest and most entertaining comedy shows I have ever seen that’s to it’s overly strange and elaborate storylines and cast.

Boardwalk Empire was another show I fell in love with due to its deep stories and characters and long build up to satisfying conclusions. It was also at this point I jumped on the Breaking Bad hype and discovered the incredible TV I’d been missing over the last few years, the incredible adventures of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman were too good to ignore. Game of Thrones was another show I was hooked on thanks to the incredible cast, action and violence and mythology. And I think Sherlock was the other show I became addicted to thanks to the incredibly smart storylines and the lovely Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

These Days

At this current point in time I’m hopping forward and back in time with TV shows. Besides the shows I just mentioned that are still currently airing, I currently am watching: the-okay-but-needs-to-get-better Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m on and off with The Walking Dead, a show which I really like but has been hard to watch because of season 4’s rocky introduction. Grimm is a show I really ought to start watching especially after how addicted I was to the last two seasons. In between new shows I’ve been going back to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and discovering that for the first time and loving what I’ve seen so far. Even before Buffy I decided to go a Joss Whedon hype and go through all of his TV stuff and liked Dollhouse, but LOVED Firefly, such a short but incredible sci-fi show with a great cast of characters that remind me a lot of Cowboy Bebop. And yesterday I started a new obsession in the form of Parks and Recreation, it is a bizarre comedy show with a weird premise and funky cast of characters in main and supporting departments, but is what makes it so good. Really liking what I’m seeing so far and I’m only on season two.

My All-Time Favourite Shows

1. Breaking Bad
2. Fringe
3. The IT Crowd
4. Firefly
5. Hotel Babylon

I know this list isn’t very long but I haven’t seen that much TV and still have much to get through.

My Favourite Currently Airing Shows

1. Game of Thrones
2. Boardwalk Empire
3. Sherlock
4. Community
5. The Walking Dead

Okay well that is it, that you for reading and hopefully that has given you some insight into the world of TV that I like to watch. Feel free to comment below and tell me what you think and possibly tell me your own kind of TV stuff that you’re into. Until the next time peeps, laters! 😀