These were okay
This set of episodes is just okay to me (well, "Homecoming" is a blast); glad you had a good time with them. I'm totally with you on disliking the heavy-handed metaphors of B&TB and the stupidity of the regressed-adults stuff in "Band Candy." You'll have to get used to the fact that Jane Espenson's…

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I read once that Whedon proved he was willing to flat-out lie about what was ahead. He supposedly explictly said during the summer between Seasons Two and Three that he wouldn't be introducing a new Slayer to replace Kendra.

The people talking about the radio signal are correct. That was the origin of the phrase, anyway, and then it slipped into some people's slang. Faith says it because Whedon once heard Dushku use the expression, and wrote it in.

Hello! You're tall!
Welcome back to the Buffyverse. Season Three is my favorite year of the show, so hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It really is a great start to the season. "Anne" doesn't totally work for me (mostly the Sunnydale scenes), but Buffy's recovery and being forced to face life again is a story…

BTVS writeups
Noel, can I suggest one more time that you at least consider coordinating your watching of BTVS and its spinoff, once the latter starts? It's true that it may interfere with your neatly laid plans. And it is indeed true that seeing one Buffyverse series is not necessary for watching the other: they're…

Steady as she goes
As someone who grew up an unabashed Trekkie and still has a lot of unabashed fondness for the franchise (well, TOS/TNG/DS9, anyway) - great review, Zack, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

wookie: The other special monsters besides BecII are:

phel: Thanks. Some is stuff I observe, most is second hand. A few years ago I was the newbie reviewing the show (in the remnants of Usenet, which technology-wise is a great place for an involved discussion) and certain other posters were always anxious to contribute trivia and recollections of what it was like…

It's been fun
Noel: This has been great. We'll have to do it again sometime.

Supposedly (this is second-hand info, since it's from before my BTVS time), "Xander's Lie" became a commonly capitalized phrase in fandom. Xander haters ranted about how he'd have been an accessory to murder over petty jealousy. Xander fans maintained that Buffy would be dead if not for The Lie, because she…

*spoilers here, and above*

The scripts universally call him "Angel" too, souled or not, although that could also be a matter of convenience.

- Oh, and apparently the song playing on the radio in IOHEFY was recorded a couple years after the episode is allegedly set.

Good to be back
Yes, IOHEFY is a brilliant bit of atmospheric TV. Love those wasps. I've always been a little annoyed that Whedon and others think that the thematic message is so clear. Supposedly, the reason James (I believe the kid's name is James, not Frank) takes over Buffy is that she's the one who thinks she…

Kudos
Noel, you are a man of exceptional taste; I'm glad someone else agrees that once the spell is cast, "Bewitched, etc." goes off the rails into shrill, unpleasant, cringe-worthy territory. I despise that episode rather than merely having a few problems with it for a few other reasons I won't get into, but I get…

Amazing stuff
Some of my favorites come in this block. I remember being just as thrilled as Buffy when Ted hit her, because it would lead to a satisfying beat-down… and then he "dies." It was a "holy shit" moment unlike anything I'd seen to date from the series. But for great moments, I don't know if it's possible…

I told myself I wasn't going to get into a long shouting match listing favorites in 1000-word posts in a forum like this. I told myself this would be my last word on the topic of any and all Marti Noxon (and other) episodes that Noel hasn't seen yet. This wasn't the right forum for my defense of "Dead Man's Party"…

Last bits of trivia
Also, Bianca Lawson [Kendra] apparently auditioned for the role of Cordelia, joining the last of actors who were impressive enough in auditions to land other roles on the show. Others who we've seen so far include Elizabeth Anne Allen [Amy from "Witch"] and Mercedes McNab [Harmony, one of…

[shrug] One thing that sets me apart from many BTVS fans is that I'm not a huge Espenson fan (here or on BSG); she's a candidate for my least favorite of the five most prolific writers (Whedon, Noxon, Fury, Petrie, and her). Like everyone heavily involved in the show, she certainly has her moments, at least. Well,…

Highlights
Glad you're enjoying the show so much, Noel. This week and next week, excepting one clunker, represent my favorite run of Season Two (yes, better than the slightly overrated set at the end). You've been adequately enthusiastic to make the _Buffy_ fans happy.