Episodes
Monday Sep 23, 2019
Episode 44 - The Gift (feat. Michael Holland)
Monday Sep 23, 2019
Monday Sep 23, 2019
“But...you’re just a girl.”
“That’s what I keep saying.”
We’ve come at last to the end. Well, *AN* end. We’ve reached what could have (and maybe should have?) been the end of all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the Season 5 finale “The Gift.” Michael Holland returns, with a shiny new job title, to help me wish a fond farewell to the WB era as our beloved hero takes the plunge (literally) into a darker, more confusing adulthood. We talk about a lot of things, as you might expect, including Giles’ angry push back, Xander’s big ball, Spike’s sobs, and Olaf’s totally unnecessary retcon into godhood. And in the end I try, with mixed success, to broach the potentially uncomfortable topic of Buffy’s final heroic act vs. her growing deathwish. [CW: suicide]
Next: back at last after literally ages, professor and author Elizabeth Rambo joins me to kick off the cheeriest season in the entire run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We’ll be discussing 601, “Bargaining (Part 1)” and 602, “Bargaining (Part 2).”
THE BREAKDOWN
Run Time: 01:21:57
00:00:55 - Intro / Guest
00:04:48 - Main Topic
01:17:55 - Outro / Next
THE LIBRARY
Library Closed For Filing - Please Come Back Tomorrow
THE MUSIC
“Conversations (feat. Wesley Mead)” by Azura (2017)
“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever (1989)
THE SCHOLARS
Whedon Studies Association is a non-profit academic organization devoted to the study of the works of Joss Whedon and his associates. They put out Slayage: The Journal of Whedon Studies, and Watcher Junior: The Undergraduate Journal of Whedon Studies, both blind peer-reviewed twice-yearly online publications. They also host the biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses, which brings all these incredible scholars together to present papers, discuss ways of incorporating Whedon Studies in education, and basically just geek out together.
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
Episode 43 - Spiral / The Weight of the World (feat. Margaret Ann Robbins)
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
“Do we suspect that there may be some kind of connection between Ben and Glory?”
Great question, Giles. First time guest Margaret Ann Robbins joins me to answer that and other ponderables. For example, in “Spiral,” is Buffy the Vampire Slayer really just a retelling of Milton’s Paradise Lost? Are the ren faire reject Knights of Byzantium a tonal bridge too far? If killing humans is a no-no, but killing Knights of Byzantium goes unmentioned from now to the end of time, does that kind of answer my previous question? And in “The Weight of the World,” why is it okay for Glory to whine, “Get out, get out, get out!” without catching grief from the fans? Does the Gollum / Sméagol scene between Glory and Ben work? And what if the Key were a velvet Elvis painting?
Next: we’re in the endgame now. Buffy’s world comes tumbling down, literally, in the Season 5 finale. Join me and returning guest Michael Holland as we discuss episode 522, “The Gift.”
THE BREAKDOWN
Run Time: 01:28:13
00:00:55 - Intro / Guest
00:04:47 - Main Topic
01:24:47 - Outro / Next
THE LIBRARY
Bite Me!: The Chosen Edition The Unofficial Guide to Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Seven Seasons One Book), by Nikki Stafford
THE MUSIC
“Conversations (feat. Wesley Mead)” by Azura (2017)
“Knight Rider Main Theme” by Stu Phillips, Knight Rider (Original TV Soundtrack) (2005)
THE SCHOLARS
Whedon Studies Association is a non-profit academic organization devoted to the study of the works of Joss Whedon and his associates. They put out Slayage: The Journal of Whedon Studies, and Watcher Junior: The Undergraduate Journal of Whedon Studies, both blind peer-reviewed twice-yearly online publications. They also host the biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses, which brings all these incredible scholars together to present papers, discuss ways of incorporating Whedon Studies in education, and basically just geek out together.