Episode 42 - Forever / Intervention / Tough Love (feat. Melanie Scala)

Stage and screen legend Joel Grey joins the series, and so from this point on Conversations with Dead People is a Joel Grey fan podcast. Sorry Buffy fans.

 

Okay, seriously, we’re into the darkness of the near-end of Season 5 now, which of course is also a LOT of foreshadowing of the darkness awaiting us in Season 6. To help me get through the pain of these episodes Melane Scala is back, bringing with her a refreshing appreciation for the character of Dawn. In 517, “Forever,” the Summers girls, with Spike’s help, just barely manage to stay out of full-blown zombie mom territory. Episode 518, “Intervention” gives us a Buffy and Giles wearing turtleneck sweaters and jackets in the desert, Spike’s post-coital hair, and a Scooby Gang that inexplicably can’t recognize a Buffybot just weeks after instantly spotting the Aprilbot. And 519, “Tough Love” struggles with writing/pacing issues, but still gives us our first glimpse of Dark Willow. And my questions about the way the show treats issues of mental health, raised way back at the beginning of the season, are brought back for further consideration.

 

Next: things get seriously dire in the next couple of episodes, so what better time to welcome a shiny new guest to the podcast? Margaret Ann Robbins joins me for her debut Conversation as we discuss episodes 520, “Spiral,” and 521, “The Weight of the World.”

 

THE BREAKDOWN

Run Time: 01:35:25

00:00:55 - Intro / Guest

00:03:35 - Main Topic

01:31:35 - Outro / Next

 

THE LIBRARY

Library Closed For Filing - Please Come Back Tomorrow

 

THE MUSIC

“Conversations (feat. Wesley Mead)” by Azura (2017)

“Tales of Brave Ulysses” by Cream, Disraeli Tears (1967)

 

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. 

http://www.whedonstudies.tv/