Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer season 5 ::
by Thunderdude
It's official:
I hate William out of pure envy. Everything he deems cool I find cool as well. I
can't convince this guy to like some of the stuff I love desperately. But the
stuff he impresses upon me I always end up loving. Most notably the Sandman
comic book series and the TV show Twin Peaks. Now William has his
ultimate victory over me by way of a finished TV series with a completely
ridiculous name: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I've seen a few episodes here and there but never did it make the impression
upon me that I must follow this series. Out of curiosity and the trust in
William, I purchased season 5 on DVD. Now I know why this series has a cult
status around it. Watching one episode every once in a while can throw you off,
but watching a particular season with all episodes in the right order make for a
great time in front of the boob tube!
Here's the setup for the show for newcomers. Buffy Summers in season 5 is
currently a college sophomore. Buffy is also the one mystical and physically
powerful Vampire Slayers on earth. The line of vampire slayers goes back
thousands of years back to Africa. The Slayer is always female and powered with
heightened strength, speed, agility, faster healing and fighting ability. Every
time one Slayer dies the power goes to another random female to take their
place. The Watchers Council are a group of stiff uptight people that send a
Watcher to be the guide and train the slayer. This particular Watcher plays the
role of mentor in paranormal information and combat skills.
Buffy has a few good friends that help her in her struggles like best friends
and former high school classmates Willow ( a practicing witch) and Xander (who
helps but is mostly comic relief). Xander also has a girlfriend in ex-demon Anya
while Willow's lesbian lover Tara is also a practicing witch. Buffy isn't alone
in the beginning of the season. She has a boyfriend named Riley who is currently
a college student that left a paranormal fighting military unit which gave him
strength augmentation and military tough guy skills. Giles is Buffy's Watcher
and for his part also a father like figure for the character.
Already it's odd going into this with so much continuity behind them. The show
quickly explains back stories well in certain instances. Buffy still lives at
home with her mom, and her sister Dawn, whom if you watched any of the seasons
before hand, isn't even a part of. The dad in the family left mom for his
secretary.
One final pivotal character to mention is the English Billy Idol-like vampire
Spike. Spike used to be a badass earlier in the series but
isn't much of one now due to a microchip placed in his head that hurts him
whenever he tries to harm a human. Spike still struggles obsessing about Buffy
but acting as an informant for her and combating fellow vampires just so he can
get his violent urges out. One little note about Spike: he's killed two previous
slayers within the past century.
Without revealing too much major changes happen within a few characters in the
season. Dawn is more than she seems and isn't just a
character gimmick to start the season. She plays a pivotal role. Spike gets
weirder and we get to look into his past. A very powerful character casts a
shadow over the entire good guy crew and we learn that a witch's wrath is
painful, even for a god.
One of the best episodes deals with a pivotal character dying of natural causes.
It captures the scary aspect of death. The silence of it.
Those quick daydreams in your head that ask , what if? Another reason why the
episode means so much for the viewer is because it's easy to start caring for
these characters. I really hoped everything would work out for them. But when
this death happens it signals that all bets are off, and it made future episodes
scarier and more exciting.
The acting is good, and pokes fun at itself when it needs too. The fight scenes
are pretty damn good too. The stunts that are done on this show are great. The
special effects for the most part are great. There is one monster in particular
that looks kinda hokey with a "Land of the Lost" type feel, and they try to make
up for it with camera tricks. But for the most part the special effects are
pretty damned good, especially considering this is a TV show.
So that's it. I'm hooked. Freakin' William has done it again. I bought seasons
1-4 and season 6 online as soon as I was done watching season 5. I also plan on
purchasing the last season when it comes out. That says something. I'm now Buffy
Fanatic. I invite you to join us.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 5............ a solid A
[Editor's note!! As a fanatical, er, fanatic of Buffy, I have to say the DVDs for season 5 disappointed me with their presentation of the episode, The Gift. When this episode ran, not only was it the season 5 AND the WB finale, but it was also the 100th episode, and the episode featured a brilliant "previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" montage which included clips from the premiere and every single episode to date. This montage was clearly meant to be included as part of the episode as it was even scored, but it was glaringly omitted from the DVD. Also, Joss did not deliver a commentary on this episode, and I strongly feel it deserved one. There. That's MY two cents... not that you asked for it... WtB]
