Finished Buffy Season 2

Okay, so I figured that if I watched a season or two, that was enough to "get" the show. I've done that with others, like BSG (seasons 1 & 2), Arrested Development (1st season only), or The Office.

Getting to the end of season 2 in Buffy, I figured I might just forget about it and not see the rest.

Until I saw the final episode. Incredible ending. Yeah, honestly, I thought it was brilliant. So much that I actually do care to see what happens. Very glad I don't have to wait months to see it (like regular season finales).

But I'm not sure I want to watch either. I know there's a spin-off series about Angel, which means they must somehow bring him back. They shouldn't - it should really end right there. In fact, I'm feeling the whole Buffy series should end at the end of season 2 - great endings don't leave room for sequels.

But alas, Emi has lent me the next 5 seasons of Buffy and 4 of Angel. . . So I'm sure I'll be seeing more. Just hope it's not disappointing.

Today's song is . . .
Sarah McLachlan's Full of Grace
(Ignore the vid, only decent version of the song I could find.)



Anyone know why I chose this song?

Retro 90's

Each generation's pop culture seems to fall in a 10-15 year period - high school, college, through twenties. By the time a generation reaches 30, they've got their own culture. They start to think that the new stuff is too shallow/loud/annoying. By 30, their generation has been defined.

Well, I'm nearing that mark myself. But I have no idea about my generation's pop culture. A big part of this blog is discovering my generation. Sure, I'm pulling from modern stuff and from the 60's / 70's, but I want to discover the things I'm expected to know.

Which means . . . the 90's. Yes, unfortunately, I'm a decade behind. But I especially want to look back on the 90's and see what I was missing (though I don't expect much . . .).

So, I give you . . .

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(The song is from Bring It On, but this is what I expected from the whole show.)



Yeah, I know. But hey, back in high school, everyone seemed to be into this. Even in college, they'd talk about it. Although I did watch TV occasionally, I never saw a single episode of Buffy. Had NO idea what it was about. It just sounded plain stupid.

I'm now on season 2. Stroke of brilliance to make Angel evil. Show would have got boring / died otherwise. DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING!!!

Living Mayberry

Utopia literally means "no place" and was the name of a book describing a perfect version of England. The irony is that no place can be perfect and peaceful. Mayberry is a utopia.

I noted before that pop culture captures the mood of a generation, including its passions and convictions. But it also gives form to the ideals and dreams, manifesting the generation's concept of utopia. TV shows seem particularly good at capturing idyllic lives.

If Mayberry was the Utopia of the 60's, what show is the utopia of today? Please tell me it's not Grey's Anatomy. What are your thoughts?

Today's TV is . . .
The Andy Griffith Show
(Love the commercial in this clip)

I've been surprised to realize I know a lot of the older sitcoms. I think I saw them repeatedly as a kid and they stuck better than those cartoons I've completely blocked out. It's also interesting to see what the actors did after their shows. As a kid, I never knew that Andy Griffith was Matlock.

Hiking Hollywood Style

I recently went hiking with a friend in Malibu Creek State Park. Been there before, but it got me thinking about M*A*S*H.

For those that don't know, Malibu Creek used to be owned by Fox and used for filming (then called Fox Ranch). The whole 11 seasons of M*A*S*H were filmed there and the filming location is now along the main hiking trail, with a rusted out ambulance and jeep remaining from the show.

Learned lotsa cool things about M*A*S*H online today. Makes me want to watch the show again. Also, I realize what I like now that I didn't get as a kid: It's a dark comedy.

I remember M*A*S*H as a show my grandmother watched when I was a kid. It was mostly black-and-white, so I, in my 7-year-old wisdom, deemed it unworthy of my attention. The final episode still remains the most watched show in TV history. THAT says something about it!

Today's TV is . . .
M*A*S*H Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen



The final scene. An appropriate ending to a long show. Yeah, I think I could tear up at this one.

Suspension of Disbelief

I am terrible at suspending disbelief. That's what you sometimes need to enjoy a movie or TV show. It's the ability to enter the universe of the show and accept things that cannot possibly be true. An easy example of that is science fiction: you accept that space ships, aliens, or amazing technology is real. You suspend your sense of reality and accept the world created for you.

It helps when the universe of the show is consistent. There needs to be a reconciling between the things they say and do in that universe. Back to the example, if we hear that a space ship can travel at the speed of light, it better not take 10 mins, or even 10 days, to travel between stars.

Personally, I think it's easier to do this with action or science fiction. But when it comes to horror / thrillers, I don't enter their universe so easily. Perhaps it's a self-defense mechanism? Whatever the reason, it means I can enjoy a thriller best when other people are scared.

So, in my very limited experience, I'd have to say there's one current TV show that requires this more than most:

Today's TV is . . .
Lost



I'm highly amused by this narrator. I've seen enough to get the cultural references (most of seasons 1-3). I don't really care how it all ends.