[BUFFY] The Reverend's Review: Back to School
Reverend Sean O'Hara
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RAW SCORE: 6.5
IN A NUTSHELL: Slow getting started, but a good ending.
Well, we've learned something from the Buffy season premiere: either
the writers didn't go to college, and learned about it through exposes
such as "Animal House" and "Back to School", or they attended long
ago. As the first episode with Buffy in college, I understand it's
important to establish the new setting, but I truly hope they don't
spend too much time dwelling on it.
Let's start by nitpicking UC Sunnydale:
o First of all, the dorms on this campus are unbelievable. The SOP at
all colleges I know of is to place freshmen in the crummiest rooms
possible, yet Buffy has a room with
A) Curtains. Not venetian blinds. Not shades. Curtains made of
cloth. As if! Student gets home from an all nighter, goes
to his/her room and vomits all over the curtains. How are
you going to get that out? Nope, plastic blinds, besides
being so fashionable, are all the rage on campus.
B) The wall were painted. They even looked like they had some
wallpaper. Every dorm I've seen is white plaster.
C) That was the most unbelievably big dorm room I've ever seen.
I've seen upper classmen with small rooms than that. There
were four people inside with personal space for everyone.
o UC Sunnydale has the damnedest class offering I've ever heard of.
A) Just *one* section of Intro to Psych, which happens to be
filled to the max. Intro to Psych is one of those classes
which just about everyone takes (I've gone through college
avoiding it like the plague, but that's just me), and this
University only has one section.
B) A course in pop culture open to freshmen. Having taken my
share of similar courses, I have to say they are fluff,
and usually have so many prerequisites that you have to be
a sophomore at least to get in.
C) A course in Modern Novels, and another on short stories,
open to freshmen. Assuming that Buffy took and passed an
English 101 equivalency test (English 101 being required
for any other English course), English departments generally
have students take literary survey courses (European Lit.:
Neoclassicism to Post Colonialism; English Lit.: Romanticism
to Post Modernism) before something that specific. Most
English majors (Note: actual English majors and not people
looking for another course to fill out their schedules)
complain because they can't get into classes on specific
topics (like Modern Novels) until they're juniors. But UC
Sunnydale will let freshmen into those type of courses.
o UC Sunnydale has a bunch of pricks teaching. In three years of
college, I've only had one teacher even half as bad as the two
professors in this episode.
o As much as I hate agreeing with Dan, I've never seen that many
activists on a school campus outside of a 60's movie. Normally you
have a gang of Granola Girls passing out pamphlets for Veganism, or
petitions to save the rain forest; three Xtians trying to win
converts; some old guy passing out Gideon Bibles; two cute Mormon
girls trying to sucker some hapless freshman; a Jehovah's Witness;
a guy who forgot to leave campus in 1969, sitting in front of a
Student Union, playing protest songs on his guitar; and five billion
credit card companies offering 1% interest for about five minutes
after which they jack the rate to 29%. And on the first day of
school, the only group which has had time to organize are the
credit card companies.
o Frats. That popular? Not outside of animal house. Only the most
naive freshman girls actually fall for the Jello Shooters.
Like I said, I hope Whedon et al. stay away from Fellatio^H^H^H^H^H
Felicity type plots, because I don't think they can hold up college
oriented stories the way they did with high school ones.
Now, putting all that aside, we have left a pretty good episode. The
first half was a bit boring, mainly because they had to set up the
new location, new characters and new social dynamic. On the whole,
this part was more like a pilot episode since it has to reestablish
everything with a new beginning. However, once Xander returns, I
think everything picks right back up.
The big problem I had was Buffy's wussification which occurred over
the summer. Last year she could take on three vamps, by herself without
breaking a sweat, and beat a fellow slayer single-handedly, but here
she is with a group of reject vamps whoopin' it up on her butt. It's
not even like these guys are tough. They prey upon freshman college
students, and probably never get much of a fight. And it's not like
they're ganging up on Buffy; for most of the fights, Blondie alone
was picking on Buffy with the others watching. Now, her slackened
slayer abilities were shown in the first scene when she never even
noticed the vamp climbing out of the ground, but it still remains
inexplicable. Buffy herself said that she spent the summer fighting
off vamps (probably whatever remained of the Mayor's army), so why
was she beaten so badly here?
Giles' semiretired state was a bit fun, and I hope we get to see more
of him lounging around, listening to old Bowie albums. It would be
nice of him to finally get a social life. Plus, we can have the
wonderful episode where he tries to find a new job, and all sorts of
related wackiness. I mean, his cash runs out and he has to move from
his house, and ends up living with Xander in the ex-frat house.
Hilarity ensues. Hell, I'd love to see that as a spin-off of Buffy.
Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode, and
seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
world. With luck Anya will return sometime to offer him a foil.
Willow and Oz seemed weak, almost superfluous in this episode. Sure,
Willow was necessary in the beginning for Buffy to play off of, but
neither one really fit in with the college life. Both seemed to
acclimated already, which is totally illogical, and out of character
for Willow.
Now, we do have some new characters who might play a roll in this
season. But then again, remember that guy who was interested in Buffy
at the beginning of last season? Exactly.
The TA and Bitch Teacher seem awfully stereotypical, and I wager one
will be vamped this season. Now Buffy's roommate has potential,
although not too much. She'll either be an annoying bink snooping
around Buffy, spreading rumors about how unstable she is, or the
newest member of the Scooby Gang.
Then again, anyone of them could meet the same fate as Eddie Somerset.
Still, it looks like this could be a good season, so long as they don't
change the show into a typical college drama with vampires.
--
Reverend Sean O'Hara
You two can be an ordained minister: http://www.ulc.org/ulc
"Father, I killed my monkey."
Tori Amos, "Bliss"
Dan Tropea
> A) Just *one* section of Intro to Psych, which happens to be
> filled to the max. Intro to Psych is one of those classes
> which just about everyone takes (I've gone through college
> avoiding it like the plague, but that's just me), and this
> University only has one section.
Actually i could not believe the size of the classes for such a small
city. The college i went to the max size was 30 students.
> B) A course in pop culture open to freshmen. Having taken my
> share of similar courses, I have to say they are fluff,
> and usually have so many prerequisites that you have to be
> a sophomore at least to get in.
I couldn't believe the teachers reaction trying to bounce her out.
Student bodies = money. Sheesh.
Oh god i remember the credit card companies. The closest thing to
protests at my college every Spring there would be antiabortion
activities. It was a Catholic college. I remember one year this female
student talking me and 2 female students into attending a lecture. This
was about 12:15 we went since Loving we knew would be slow that day.
At that meeting there were about people - me, the two that came with me
and the one who dragged us a few nuns and 1 priest. Well about 12:50 i
motioned to the two that were talked into it that we should leave to
catch All My Children. They quickly agreed.
Well a little bit later the one who talked us into it came into the
lounge room where we were watching AMC then screamed at me for luring
the other students away for a soap. That was the first time i was
ever called shallow and selfabsorbed. But the two that came with me
to watch the soap said i did the right thing and that they were
grateful to get away from the lecture.
I wish i remember their names. I remember the incident very well since
right after those 2 always used to ask me for soap updates for episodes
they missed. At the time i used to tape the soaps if i couldn't watch
them. Usually though about 6 of us used to hang out together during the
early afternoon and eat french fries and watch soaps. I took classes
in the morning and i loved evening classes.
> first half was a bit boring, mainly because they had to set up the
> new location, new characters and new social dynamic. On the whole,
> this part was more like a pilot episode since it has to reestablish
> everything with a new beginning. However, once Xander returns, I
> think everything picks right back up.
> The big problem I had was Buffy's wussification which occurred over
> the summer. Last year she could take on three vamps, by herself
> without
> breaking a sweat, and beat a fellow slayer single-handedly, but
> here
> she is with a group of reject vamps whoopin' it up on her butt.
> It's
> not even like these guys are tough. They prey upon freshman college
I was wondering if Sunday wasn't a former slayer. Her skills were almost
on par with Buffy's. But we will never know will we.
> students, and probably never get much of a fight. And it's not like
> they're ganging up on Buffy; for most of the fights, Blondie alone
> was picking on Buffy with the others watching. Now, her slackened
> slayer abilities were shown in the first scene when she never even
> noticed the vamp climbing out of the ground, but it still remains
> inexplicable. Buffy herself said that she spent the summer fighting
> off vamps (probably whatever remained of the Mayor's army), so why
> was she beaten so badly here?
> Giles' semiretired state was a bit fun, and I hope we get to see
> more
> of him lounging around, listening to old Bowie albums. It would be
> nice of him to finally get a social life. Plus, we can have the
> wonderful episode where he tries to find a new job, and all sorts
> of
> related wackiness. I mean, his cash runs out and he has to move
> from
> his house, and ends up living with Xander in the ex-frat house.
He is extremely well educated and went to the best of colleges so i
figure he was born into money and probably lives on a nice inheritance.
He mentioned his father was a watcher and if he comes from a line of
watchers then i would think he came from money.
> Hilarity ensues. Hell, I'd love to see that as a spin-off of Buffy.
> Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode, and
> seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
> world. With luck Anya will return sometime to offer him a foil.
Maybe we should all be male strippers if thats the way to learn about
the world.
> Willow and Oz seemed weak, almost superfluous in this episode.
> Sure,
> Willow was necessary in the beginning for Buffy to play off of, but
> neither one really fit in with the college life. Both seemed to
> acclimated already, which is totally illogical, and out of
> character
> for Willow.
> Now, we do have some new characters who might play a roll in this
> season. But then again, remember that guy who was interested in
> Buffy
> at the beginning of last season? Exactly.
> The TA and Bitch Teacher seem awfully stereotypical, and I wager
> one
> will be vamped this season. Now Buffy's roommate has potential,
I wonder if the TA wasn't the one involved with the kidnapping of
the vampire at the end.
> although not too much. She'll either be an annoying bink snooping
> around Buffy, spreading rumors about how unstable she is, or the
> newest member of the Scooby Gang.
Snooping around then Buffy pulls her into the Scooby gang to get her
to stop.
I wonder if Olivia will be a regular. As a watcher in training.
> Then again, anyone of them could meet the same fate as Eddie
> Somerset.
> Still, it looks like this could be a good season, so long as they
> don't
> change the show into a typical college drama with vampires.
> --
> Reverend Sean O'Hara
> You two can be an ordained minister: http://www.ulc.org/ulc
> "Father, I killed my monkey."
> Tori Amos, "Bliss"
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Aaron P. Brezenski
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>all colleges I know of is to place freshmen in the crummiest rooms
>possible, yet Buffy has a room with
> A) Curtains. Not venetian blinds. Not shades. Curtains made of
> cloth. As if! Student gets home from an all nighter, goes
> to his/her room and vomits all over the curtains. How are
> you going to get that out? Nope, plastic blinds, besides
> being so fashionable, are all the rage on campus.
> B) The wall were painted. They even looked like they had some
> wallpaper. Every dorm I've seen is white plaster.
> C) That was the most unbelievably big dorm room I've ever seen.
> I've seen upper classmen with small rooms than that. There
> were four people inside with personal space for everyone.
This was my biggest problem with the episode.
>o As much as I hate agreeing with Dan, I've never seen that many
> activists on a school campus outside of a 60's movie. Normally you
> have a gang of Granola Girls passing out pamphlets for Veganism, or
> petitions to save the rain forest; three Xtians trying to win
> converts; some old guy passing out Gideon Bibles; two cute Mormon
> girls trying to sucker some hapless freshman; a Jehovah's Witness;
> a guy who forgot to leave campus in 1969, sitting in front of a
> Student Union, playing protest songs on his guitar; and five billion
> credit card companies offering 1% interest for about five minutes
> after which they jack the rate to 29%. And on the first day of
> school, the only group which has had time to organize are the
> credit card companies.
Wow, disagreed. Northwestern during New Student Week nine years ago seemed
absolutely *plagued* with activists. Perhaps the key phrase is "nine years
ago". Though "deferred Rush" cut way down on the "Jello shots for Freshman
girls" frat parties (at least on the advertising about it, anyway).
>Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode,
Having lots of screaming women stuffing cash into one's g-string might affect
one's ego. In what way, I have *no* idea.
(really, I don't)
--
Aaron Brezenski
"Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean there isn't someone out to get me."
Card-Carrying Member of the Illuminati
ti...@enteract.bottblock.com
> In article <37FBAFA1...@rcn.com>,
> Reverend Sean O'Hara <oha...@rcn.com> wrote:
>>
>>Spoilers
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>>all colleges I know of is to place freshmen in the crummiest rooms
>>possible, yet Buffy has a room with
>> A) Curtains. Not venetian blinds. Not shades. Curtains made of
>> cloth. As if! Student gets home from an all nighter, goes
>> to his/her room and vomits all over the curtains. How are
>> you going to get that out? Nope, plastic blinds, besides
>> being so fashionable, are all the rage on campus.
>> B) The wall were painted. They even looked like they had some
>> wallpaper. Every dorm I've seen is white plaster.
>> C) That was the most unbelievably big dorm room I've ever seen.
>> I've seen upper classmen with small rooms than that. There
>> were four people inside with personal space for everyone.
> This was my biggest problem with the episode.
But can you really see them trying to film in your average college dorm,
where there's hardly any room for two people to move around, much less
block any scenes or anything?
I'm chalking it up to the same spacial warp that allows apartments like
they show on "Friends"...
>>o As much as I hate agreeing with Dan, I've never seen that many
>> activists on a school campus outside of a 60's movie.
> Wow, disagreed. Northwestern during New Student Week nine years ago seemed
> absolutely *plagued* with activists. Perhaps the key phrase is "nine years
> ago". Though "deferred Rush" cut way down on the "Jello shots for Freshman
> girls" frat parties (at least on the advertising about it, anyway).
Yeah, definitely. I'm surprised it wasn't a TKE party. ::grin::
What was the "What do we want? When do we want them?" rally about? It
almost sounded like "What do we want? Rooms! When do we want them?
Now!" which would have been far too deja vu for me (NE MO ST U, '89-'90).
>>Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode,
I was having a hard time with Xander for a little bit, 'cause I like the
"terminally-uncool" Xander, and this one had more maturity and stability.
But after the first couple of minutes, I realized I really *like* this
facet of Xander! :)
Tirya
--
I've got a pantheon of animals in a pagan soul
Forest Green '99 TJ Sahara
http://www.enteract.com/~tirya/jeep
Karina Wright
Reverend Sean O'Hara <oha...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:37FBAFA1...@rcn.com...
> THE REVEREND'S REVIEW
>
> Spoilers
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> RAW SCORE: 6.5
I'll go with that
> Let's start by nitpicking UC Sunnydale:
>
> o First of all, the dorms on this campus are unbelievable. The SOP at
> all colleges I know of is to place freshmen in the crummiest rooms
> possible, yet Buffy has a room with
> A) Curtains. Not venetian blinds. Not shades. Curtains made of
> cloth. As if! Student gets home from an all nighter, goes
> to his/her room and vomits all over the curtains. How are
> you going to get that out? Nope, plastic blinds, besides
> being so fashionable, are all the rage on campus.
Ummmm. I'd sure as heck rather take the curtains down and toss 'em in a
washer, than get a rag and tediously wipe each of the blinds down. Blinds
have way too many crevices for stuff to get lodged in, they're slick so the
stuff'll drip off 'em if you decide to try to take 'em somewhere to hose 'em
down instead (you can put the grotty curtains in a plastic bag for transport
and really touch them only a little bit in the cleaning process).
> B) The wall were painted. They even looked like they had some
> wallpaper. Every dorm I've seen is white plaster.
> C) That was the most unbelievably big dorm room I've ever seen.
> I've seen upper classmen with small rooms than that. There
> were four people inside with personal space for everyone.
I think this may depend on the college. Hood College has pretty decent size
dorm rooms (not so big admittedly, but then they're not filming a TV show in
them, either. And the walls are painted off-white.
> o UC Sunnydale has the damnedest class offering I've ever heard of.
> A) Just *one* section of Intro to Psych, which happens to be
> filled to the max. Intro to Psych is one of those classes
> which just about everyone takes (I've gone through college
> avoiding it like the plague, but that's just me), and this
> University only has one section.
They were calling Intro Psych Psych 105, when I took it it was Psych 101.
> B) A course in pop culture open to freshmen. Having taken my
> share of similar courses, I have to say they are fluff,
> and usually have so many prerequisites that you have to be
> a sophomore at least to get in.
> C) A course in Modern Novels, and another on short stories,
> open to freshmen. Assuming that Buffy took and passed an
> English 101 equivalency test (English 101 being required
> for any other English course), English departments generally
> have students take literary survey courses (European Lit.:
> Neoclassicism to Post Colonialism; English Lit.: Romanticism
> to Post Modernism) before something that specific. Most
> English majors (Note: actual English majors and not people
> looking for another course to fill out their schedules)
> complain because they can't get into classes on specific
> topics (like Modern Novels) until they're juniors. But UC
> Sunnydale will let freshmen into those type of courses.
While I agree about the usual pre-req of 101, our local schools only have
that as a pre- or co-req for the specialty classes. And, there are Pop
Culture classes (and others) that are Freshman-encouraged.
> o UC Sunnydale has a bunch of pricks teaching. In three years of
> college, I've only had one teacher even half as bad as the two
> professors in this episode.
The first guy was a total jerk. Can't see how he would last. The second, I
will give the benefit of the doubt to, she didn't seem really jerky, just
brusque...more like an East Coast than West Coast teacher.
> The big problem I had was Buffy's wussification which occurred over
> the summer. Last year she could take on three vamps, by herself without
> breaking a sweat, and beat a fellow slayer single-handedly, but here
> she is with a group of reject vamps whoopin' it up on her butt. It's
This bugged me, as well. I think, maybe, she was already psychologically
down and overwhelmed and just couldn't get into the swing quick enough.
Later, when she had the right incentives under more daunting circumstances
she acquitted herself just fine.
> Giles' semiretired state was a bit fun, and I hope we get to see more
> of him lounging around, listening to old Bowie albums. It would be
> nice of him to finally get a social life. Plus, we can have the
Oh, I hated Giles in this ep. He did not seem in character at all. And,
where are al the books that they rescued from the old library?
What REALLY ticked me off is that at no time did anyone anywhere mention
Cordelia. Nada, nothing. I found this incredibly disturbing, especially as
she acquitted herself reasonably well in the last couple of eps.
Truthfully, this episode put me in a lot of doubt as to whether I was going
to continue watching Buffy (although I know I will, I have never missed an
ep. yet). But the group dynamic needs a lot of work, preferably without
having to strain one's imagination as to how they are accomplishing it.
George Avalos
Reverend Sean O'Hara wrote in message
Well, Rev., welcome back. (Sadly, a downside of your posts is that it
necessarily is accompanied by replies from He Who Must Not Be Named. The 2nd
one is -- what the heck newsgroup are you posting from?)
Anyway....
(snip nits on college life)
>Now, putting all that aside, we have left a pretty good episode. The
>first half was a bit boring, mainly because they had to set up the
>new location, new characters and new social dynamic. On the whole,
>this part was more like a pilot episode since it has to reestablish
>everything with a new beginning.
In just about every way, this series is re-launched.
>However, once Xander returns, I think everything picks right back up.
His scene with Buffy was one of the best of the series. Funny -- yet Xander
was nails in terms of getting right to the heart of the matter. And
suddenly, those 2 have chemistry, and maybe more than just as friends.
>The big problem I had was Buffy's wussification which occurred over
>the summer. Last year she could take on three vamps, by herself without
>breaking a sweat, and beat a fellow slayer single-handedly, but here
>she is with a group of reject vamps whoopin' it up on her butt.
That seemed jarring to me as well. But here's how I think that comes down.
I think she got over-confident, as suggested in the opening sequence, where
the vamp slips away. Buffy got through high school, and was the school's
class protector. She whipped the Mayor, she whipped Faith. She's on top of
the world. Just like people who are seniors in high school often are.
Suddenly, she's tossed into adversity and the alien environment of college.
She can't whip the girl three ways to Sunday, and all of a sudden, that
confidence is a bit shaken. That 10-0 record suddenly looks a bit shaky, and
she wonders if that winning streak wasn't a bit too easy. The hesitation,
the doubt (seen in Gellar's very expressive eyes) is enough to take the
edge off Buffy. And all of a sudden, the little jerk is whipping her good.
>Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode, and
>seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
>world. With luck Anya will return sometime to offer him a foil.
Yes, hopefully Anya will be back.
>
>The TA and Bitch Teacher seem awfully stereotypical, and I wager one
>will be vamped this season.
I suspect one or both are more than what they seem, and not in a "be all you
can be" sort of way.
>Now Buffy's roommate has potential,
>although not too much. She'll either be an annoying bink snooping
>around Buffy, spreading rumors about how unstable she is, or the
>newest member of the Scooby Gang.
The title of the next episode suggests that roomate situation could come to
a head shortly.
>Still, it looks like this could be a good season, so long as they don't
>change the show into a typical college drama with vampires.
The appearance of the special ops guys, tossed in very surprisingly at the
end, suggests it will be anything but Felicity & the Vamps. and the
announcer, I think, just before the episode began, said something like
"Buffy's most defiant season," or "Buffy's year of defiance."
--George
Daniel Silevitch
Reverend Sean O'Hara <oha...@rcn.com> wrote:
>THE REVEREND'S REVIEW
>
>Spoilers
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A few comments on your comments on UCS:
>
>Let's start by nitpicking UC Sunnydale:
>
> A) Just *one* section of Intro to Psych, which happens to be
> filled to the max. Intro to Psych is one of those classes
> which just about everyone takes (I've gone through college
> avoiding it like the plague, but that's just me), and this
> University only has one section.
I may have missed something, but it seemed to me that the Pysch class
was one big lecture with a bunch of discussion sections (the prof
talked about TAs plural). The lecture should have been bigger, given the
apparent size of the university and the apparent popularity of the course.
> B) A course in pop culture open to freshmen. Having taken my
> share of similar courses, I have to say they are fluff,
> and usually have so many prerequisites that you have to be
> a sophomore at least to get in.
Both universities I've been a student at (4 years undergrad at MIT, 3 years
and counting grad here at Hopkins) had "fluff" courses aimed specifically
at freshmen; something about easing the transition shock I imagine. There
were a couple of courses I took as a freshmen that were pretty fluffy, and
I've seen similar-looking specimens in the catalog here.
>o UC Sunnydale has a bunch of pricks teaching. In three years of
> college, I've only had one teacher even half as bad as the two
> professors in this episode.
A few comments here. I've seen my fair share of hard-ass professors, and
there are a few common traits. You very rarely see them teaching survey
courses like Psych 101; department chairs and curriculum committees know
who the nasty professors are, and tend to keep them in the advanced courses,
so there is less chance that they will scare people away from the major.
Secondly, the typical nasty professor is sufficiently secure in his/her
nastiness that they don't have to inform the class of their nastiness on
day 1. Thirdly, nasty and obnoxious != bad teacher. The two nastiest-
personality professors I've had were also among the best three or four
_teachers_ I've had. There is a correlation, granted, but it isn't universal.
On a related note, I had a hard time believing the scene where Buffy was
kicked out of the pop culture course. Professorial obnoxiousness aside,
the professor shouldn't have been able to hear her (quiet) conversation. The
acoustics of large lecture halls is typically such that the person on the
stage can't hear much from the audience unless the student speaks fairly
loudly, and the professor is listening. I've lectured and done Q&A sessions
in similar rooms (2 years as a TA...), and the acoustics are optimised
for the audience hearing the speaker, not vice versa.
[Comments on the episode per se snipped]
-dms
Maureen Goldman
> >seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
> >world.
Really minor nit (about minors). I assume Xander is 18. Would he be able
to work in the sort of club he described?
Dan Tropea
<inksl...@sunshine.net> wrote:
> > >Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode,
> and
> > >seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
> > >world.
> be able
> to work in the sort of club he described?
If it was part restaurant/part bar he could. He just couldn't drink.
Also it seemed like he initially just worked in the kitchen so no
problem there. Working as a stripper at 18? I believe many strip clubs
hire women who are 18/19 to strip so i believe there are no legal
problems here. They just can't be served drinks.
rs...@lehigh.edu
>o Frats. That popular? Not outside of animal house. Only the most
> naive freshman girls actually fall for the Jello Shooters.
My dear Reverend, you have yet to see Lehigh.
rick
Grad Student/Teaching Assistant "The essence of the conception
Mathematics Dpt., Lehigh University of righteousness... is to
Office 306 afford an outlet for sadism by
x8-3757 cloaking cruelty as justice."
rs...@lehigh.edu -Bertrand Russel, 1930
Klyfix
>
>> >Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode, and
>> >seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
>> >world.
>
>Really minor nit (about minors). I assume Xander is 18. Would he be able
>to work in the sort of club he described?
>
Sounded like this place was Mega-Scummy, plus Xander probably isn't
above lying about his age.
V.S. Greene : kly...@aol.com : Boston, near Arkham...
Eckzylon: http://members.aol.com/klyfix/eckzylon.html
RPG and SF, predictions, philosophy, and other things.
Renovations underway, Aug. 22, 1999
Janet Dornhoff, DVM
got course listings and personal anecdotes to back them up. ;-)
Reverend Sean O'Hara wrote:
>
> THE REVEREND'S REVIEW
>
> Spoilers
>
>B
> l
> o
> n
> d
> e
> G
> o
> t
> h
> s
> d
> o
> n
> t
> e
> x
> i
> s
> t
>
> Let's start by nitpicking UC Sunnydale:
>
> o First of all, the dorms on this campus are unbelievable. The SOP at
> all colleges I know of is to place freshmen in the crummiest rooms
> possible, yet Buffy has a room with
My college required all frosh to live in the dorms (or with their parents if
in town), and the vast majority bugged out to apartments as soon as allowed.
That meant even the cool dorms were open to frosh.
> A) Curtains. Not venetian blinds. Not shades. Curtains made of
> cloth. As if! Student gets home from an all nighter, goes
> to his/her room and vomits all over the curtains. How are
> you going to get that out? Nope, plastic blinds, besides
> being so fashionable, are all the rage on campus.
Um, on the girl's floor at least, there were very few people vomiting in their
rooms. Those sort of girls rush the sororities. Then again, I was in a dorm
with an arts program, rather than the dorms next to the stadium. But either
way, there are *some* dorms that don't assume students will behave in a
disgusting manner. <eg>
> B) The wall were painted. They even looked like they had some
> wallpaper. Every dorm I've seen is white plaster.
Our walls were painted! Okay, painted cinder blocks, but still...
> C) That was the most unbelievably big dorm room I've ever seen.
> I've seen upper classmen with small rooms than that. There
> were four people inside with personal space for everyone.
My dorm at U of I was, granted, tiny. But believe it or not, I shared a room
that big during my preceptorship in Manhattan! They may have had guidelines
for requesting an exterminator printed in the Welcome info packet, but the
rooms were big!
> o UC Sunnydale has the damnedest class offering I've ever heard of.
> A) Just *one* section of Intro to Psych, which happens to be
> filled to the max. Intro to Psych is one of those classes
> which just about everyone takes (I've gone through college
> avoiding it like the plague, but that's just me), and this
> University only has one section.
First off, that was a lecture, and they usually have several lab sections per
lecture. Second, Willow's interest was specifically in that professor, so
maybe there is someone else giving other sections. But our hugely popular
professors usually only gave one or two lectures.
> B) A course in pop culture open to freshmen. Having taken my
> share of similar courses, I have to say they are fluff,
> and usually have so many prerequisites that you have to be
> a sophomore at least to get in.
From the University of Illinois course guide, Fall 1999:
Comm 101 "The Social and Cultural Foundations of the Mass Media"
Prerequisite: Freshman or sophomore standing.
> C) A course in Modern Novels, and another on short stories,
> open to freshmen. Assuming that Buffy took and passed an
> English 101 equivalency test (English 101 being required
> for any other English course),
Or was placed out based on her SAT scores, as I was...
> English departments generally
> have students take literary survey courses (European Lit.:
> Neoclassicism to Post Colonialism; English Lit.: Romanticism
> to Post Modernism) before something that specific.
Again, from the U of I courses:
ENGL 101 "Introduction to Poetry"
ENGL 102 "Introduction to Drama"
ENGL 103 "Introduction to Fiction"
ENGL 104 "Introduction to Film"
ENGL 202 "Medieval Literature and Culture" (soph or above)
ENGL 209 "English Literature from the Beginning to 1798" (soph or above)
> o UC Sunnydale has a bunch of pricks teaching. In three years of
> college, I've only had one teacher even half as bad as the two
> professors in this episode.
I've heard of worse, from blatant sexual harassment to exactly that sort of
singling out anyone daring to whisper. On the other hand, the psych prof
reminded me of one of my *favorite* teachers in high school, Mrs. Wheeler.
She was extremely tough but we learned a *lot* from her. The prof also
reminded me a little of Jenny Calendar, so that may bode ill for her. ;-)
> o As much as I hate agreeing with Dan, I've never seen that many
> activists on a school campus outside of a 60's movie.
Okay, at U of I the first day the Frosh are on campus, they have "Quad Day,"
in which all sorts of student groups pass out flyers and try to recruit new
members. Believe me, you can pick up a *shopping bag* full of flyers. We
have specific activism days during the year like Earth Day and Hash Wednesday,
but any group can pass out flyers any time. Last week a group set up a
cardboard-box shanty-town to draw attention to the homeless in our area.
> o Frats. That popular? Not outside of animal house. Only the most
> naive freshman girls actually fall for the Jello Shooters.
This is another which-part-of-campus dichotomy at U of I. The six-pack of
dorms next to the stadium, and the frats surrounding it, house the party
people, and the others to the east are relatively calm and dry. And there are
plenty of naive freshmen, male and female, who get wasted the first time they
are able to just because they can. Besides, Willow doesn't necessarily plan
on *going*, she was just disappointed no one offered her the flyer. ;-)
> a group of reject vamps whoopin' it up on her butt. It's
> not even like these guys are tough. They prey upon freshman college
> students, and probably never get much of a fight.
I got the impression that Sunday was the older, tough-guy leader, and it was
the rest of the vamps who were screw-ups. Remember, her physical age and
appearance don't necessarily correlate with her age and power. She reminded
me, at one point, of Drusilla fighting Kendra. A big surprise how competent
she was once she was healed.
> Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode, and
> seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
> world. With luck Anya will return sometime to offer him a foil.
I'm sure Xander would rather get together with the now-available Buffy than
the man-hating Anya, but I think they make a cute couple. ;-)
> Willow and Oz seemed weak, almost superfluous in this episode. Sure,
> Willow was necessary in the beginning for Buffy to play off of, but
> neither one really fit in with the college life. Both seemed so
> acclimated already, which is totally illogical, and out of character
> for Willow.
On the contrary, I thought it was perfectly natural for Willow to love
college. She's always been very school-oriented, and she's really been
blooming socially as well. You know, going to basketball games, dating a lead
guitar, teaching a class and tutoring a valuable jock.
Oz they explained; he's been playing on the campus. I grew up in a college
town, and I went to all sorts of events on campus while I was in high school.
I was quite comfortable and knew my way around. That's what they were going
for with Oz. Willow may have been going to stuff on campus with Oz, too.
> Still, it looks like this could be a good season, so long as they don't
> change the show into a typical college drama with vampires.
Scary thought for the day: Is Willow not rooming with Buffy because she's
rooming with someone else? A lead-guitar werewolf, maybe?
-Janet <dorn...@prairienet.org>
College: a bar with a $50,000 cover charge.
Janet Dornhoff, DVM
got course listings and personal anecdotes to back them up. ;-)
Reverend Sean O'Hara messed with the follow-up and wrote:
>
> THE REVEREND'S REVIEW
>
> Spoilers
>
>B
> l
> o
> n
> d
> e
> G
> o
> t
> h
> s
> d
> o
> n
> t
> e
> x
> i
> s
> t
>
> Let's start by nitpicking UC Sunnydale:
>
> o First of all, the dorms on this campus are unbelievable. The SOP at
> all colleges I know of is to place freshmen in the crummiest rooms
> possible, yet Buffy has a room with
My college required all frosh to live in the dorms (or with their parents if
in town), and the vast majority bugged out to apartments as soon as allowed.
That meant even the cool dorms were open to frosh.
> A) Curtains. Not venetian blinds. Not shades. Curtains made of
> cloth. As if! Student gets home from an all nighter, goes
> to his/her room and vomits all over the curtains. How are
> you going to get that out? Nope, plastic blinds, besides
> being so fashionable, are all the rage on campus.
Um, on the girl's floor at least, there were very few people vomiting in their
rooms. Those sort of girls rush the sororities. Then again, I was in a dorm
with an arts program, rather than the dorms next to the stadium. But either
way, there are *some* dorms that don't assume students will behave in a
disgusting manner. <eg>
> B) The wall were painted. They even looked like they had some
> wallpaper. Every dorm I've seen is white plaster.
Our walls were painted! Okay, painted cinder blocks, but still...
> C) That was the most unbelievably big dorm room I've ever seen.
> I've seen upper classmen with small rooms than that. There
> were four people inside with personal space for everyone.
My dorm at U of I was, granted, tiny. But believe it or not, I shared a room
that big during my preceptorship in Manhattan! They may have had guidelines
for requesting an exterminator printed in the Welcome info packet, but the
rooms were big!
> o UC Sunnydale has the damnedest class offering I've ever heard of.
> A) Just *one* section of Intro to Psych, which happens to be
> filled to the max. Intro to Psych is one of those classes
> which just about everyone takes (I've gone through college
> avoiding it like the plague, but that's just me), and this
> University only has one section.
First off, that was a lecture, and they usually have several lab sections per
lecture. Second, Willow's interest was specifically in that professor, so
maybe there is someone else giving other sections. But our hugely popular
professors usually only gave one or two lectures.
> B) A course in pop culture open to freshmen. Having taken my
> share of similar courses, I have to say they are fluff,
> and usually have so many prerequisites that you have to be
> a sophomore at least to get in.
From the University of Illinois course guide, Fall 1999:
Comm 101 "The Social and Cultural Foundations of the Mass Media"
Prerequisite: Freshman or sophomore standing.
> C) A course in Modern Novels, and another on short stories,
> open to freshmen. Assuming that Buffy took and passed an
> English 101 equivalency test (English 101 being required
> for any other English course),
Or was placed out based on her SAT scores, as I was...
> English departments generally
> have students take literary survey courses (European Lit.:
> Neoclassicism to Post Colonialism; English Lit.: Romanticism
> to Post Modernism) before something that specific.
Again, from the U of I courses:
ENGL 101 "Introduction to Poetry"
ENGL 102 "Introduction to Drama"
ENGL 103 "Introduction to Fiction"
ENGL 104 "Introduction to Film"
ENGL 202 "Medieval Literature and Culture" (soph or above)
ENGL 209 "English Literature from the Beginning to 1798" (soph or above)
> o UC Sunnydale has a bunch of pricks teaching. In three years of
> college, I've only had one teacher even half as bad as the two
> professors in this episode.
I've heard of worse, from blatant sexual harassment to exactly that sort of
singling out anyone daring to whisper. On the other hand, the psych prof
reminded me of one of my *favorite* teachers in high school, Mrs. Wheeler.
She was extremely tough but we learned a *lot* from her. The prof also
reminded me a little of Jenny Calendar, so that may bode ill for her. ;-)
> o As much as I hate agreeing with Dan, I've never seen that many
> activists on a school campus outside of a 60's movie.
Okay, at U of I the first day the Frosh are on campus, they have "Quad Day,"
in which all sorts of student groups pass out flyers and try to recruit new
members. Believe me, you can pick up a *shopping bag* full of flyers. We
have specific activism days during the year like Earth Day and Hash Wednesday,
but any group can pass out flyers any time. Last week a group set up a
cardboard-box shanty-town to draw attention to the homeless in our area.
> o Frats. That popular? Not outside of animal house. Only the most
> naive freshman girls actually fall for the Jello Shooters.
This is another which-part-of-campus dichotomy at U of I. The six-pack of
dorms next to the stadium, and the frats surrounding it, house the party
people, and the others to the east are relatively calm and dry. And there are
plenty of naive freshmen, male and female, who get wasted the first time they
are able to just because they can. Besides, Willow doesn't necessarily plan
on *going*, she was just disappointed no one offered her the flyer. ;-)
> a group of reject vamps whoopin' it up on her butt. It's
> not even like these guys are tough. They prey upon freshman college
> students, and probably never get much of a fight.
I got the impression that Sunday was the older, tough-guy leader, and it was
the rest of the vamps who were screw-ups. Remember, her physical age and
appearance don't necessarily correlate with her age and power. She reminded
me, at one point, of Drusilla fighting Kendra. A big surprise how competent
she was once she was healed.
> Xander's character came across most strongly in this episode, and
> seemed to be the only one with an idea of what's going on in the
> world. With luck Anya will return sometime to offer him a foil.
I'm sure Xander would rather get together with the now-available Buffy than
the man-hating Anya, but I think they make a cute couple. ;-)
> Willow and Oz seemed weak, almost superfluous in this episode. Sure,
> Willow was necessary in the beginning for Buffy to play off of, but
> neither one really fit in with the college life. Both seemed so
> acclimated already, which is totally illogical, and out of character
> for Willow.
On the contrary, I thought it was perfectly natural for Willow to love
college. She's always been very school-oriented, and she's really been
blooming socially as well. You know, going to basketball games, dating a lead
guitar, teaching a class and tutoring a valuable jock.
Oz they explained; he's been playing on the campus. I grew up in a college
town, and I went to all sorts of events on campus while I was in high school.
I was quite comfortable and knew my way around. That's what they were going
for with Oz. Willow may have been going to stuff on campus with Oz, too.
> Still, it looks like this could be a good season, so long as they don't
> change the show into a typical college drama with vampires.
Reverend Information Arcade Workstation
dorn...@prairienet.org wrote:
> Scary thought for the day: Is Willow not rooming with Buffy because
> she's
> rooming with someone else? A lead-guitar werewolf, maybe?
Her roommate was probably assigned.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.