Hundreds Mourn, Celebrate Human Rights Activist (Ruzicka Like Mother Teresa, Buffy)

CNN ^ | April 23, 2005 | AP

[wildwood]

Maybe it's "You know, Buffy: sweet girl, not that bright" they're thinking of when they make the comparison to Marla Ruzicka.

ha, ha. yeah, flunk out of college type, make do with beatin' up the hood...YEAH! i think you're right!

[Sofa King]

"bitchiness in all areas gets tiresome."

Look who's talking.

[exDemMom]

Considering that Buffy the Vampire Slayer has got to be one of the most contemptible cesspools of crap ever put on television, they have a point.

I guess I won't be inviting you over for a Buffy-thon, or even an Angel-thon, any time soon. You cannot borrow my DVDs. I won't e-mail you my desktop image. That'll show you, so there.

[Sofa King]

Pffft. My desktop image owns all.

[wildwood]

"bitchiness in all areas gets tiresome."

ha ha! yeah! we get we're you're comin' from.

need some potato chips, sofa king?

[Sofa King]

You realize that you just quoted yourself, right?

[wildwood]

whoa! you're a bright one!

[Sofa King]

Ok, now you realize that talking to yourself on an Internet message board is a sign that you need a psychiatrist, right?

[wildwood]

Ok, now you realize that talking to yourself on an Internet message board is a sign that you need a psychiatrist, right?

yeah, talking to you is pretty much like talking to oneself.

that said, let's just call a truce, there, pardner. i just ate some potato chips, sofa king, having worked all day and then rowed for an hour at the gym.

buffy rocks, however, regardless of political points of view...kickbox your way to health, i say!

[Sofa King]

"yeah, talking to you is pretty much like talking to oneself."

That has got to be the worst example of an attempt at a put-down gone wrong that I've ever seen.

[wildwood]

sigh. well, just roll over, burp your beer on your t-shirt, pull up some more chips and drown yourself in your sorrows, pal.

[Sofa King]

Don't worry, I'll get that shrink on the dial for you.

[RockAgainsttheLeft04]

RE: "Considering that Buffy the Vampire Slayer has got to be one of the most contemptible cesspools of crap ever put on television, they have a point."


Nope. You're thinking of the Simple Life (*shudder*). Or The Secret Diary of Desmond Phifer (*SHUDDER*). Or the 700 Club (Double *SHUDDER*).

BtVS was one of the best written, best acted, most complex and most utterly addictive shows ever created, and that lousy dead hag "nun" doesn't deserve to have her name mentioned in the same sentence as the beautiful, a$$-kicking Slayer!

[Sofa King]

Buffy was typical WB teeny angst crap with generic fantasy elements. The show couldn't so much as manage to create one believable character, and Joss Whedon couldn't put together a season-long story arc to save his life.

[RockAgainsttheLeft04]

RE: "Buffy was typical WB teeny angst crap with generic fantasy elements. The show couldn't so much as manage to create one believable character, and Joss Whedon couldn't put together a season-long story arc to save his life"


What the Hell show were you watching?
In the BtVS I saw (the one which ran on the WB and UPN between 1997-2003), elements of horror, suspense, verbal wit and physical comedy, real-life tragedy, operatic romance and clever metaphor were combined on a regular basis (often in the very same episode) and it almost always worked.

The characters of Buffy Summers, Willow, Giles (and to a lesser extent) Xander were allowed to evolve much along the lines of normal human beings as the show progressed-- to age, mature and take greater responsibility for their lives and the lives of others-- and the show handles complex issues of sacrifice and family like no other.

Season 5 alone (with standouts like the shattering "The Body" and the emotional "The Gift") has more power in it than the entire run of the current best drama on TV-- Fox's "24".

[Blue Jays]

Hi All-

Here's my message to Marla Ruzicka as she departs this world: "AMF!"

~ Blue Jays ~

[Sofa King]

In the BtVS I saw (the one which ran on the WB and UPN between 1997-2003), elements of horror cheesy latex monsters, suspense, verbal wit fake, grating dialoge and physical comedy REALLY cheesy latex monsters, real-life tragedy TV tragedy, operatic teen-age soap opera romance and clever uninspired metaphor were combined on a regular basis (often in the very same episode) and it almost always worked.

Joss Whedon's idea of "character development" is also insanely unnatural, and usually just consists of the characters changing the personalities to serve a forced plot point. This on top of the fact that all of his characters are no deeper than 2-3 personality traits tied together in the first place.

[RockAgainsttheLeft04]

RE: "Joss Whedon's idea of "character development" is also insanely unnatural, and usually just consists of the characters changing the personalities to serve a forced plot point. This on top of the fact that all of his characters are no deeper than 2-3 personality traits tied together in the first place."


Bunk. All the characters I already mentioned experience changes only gradually on the show, and with much pain and confusion, and they react to situations like passion, heartbreak, and the loss of a loved one in a way I found very realistic (esp. since I've reacted in much the same way in those particular situations).

Just what is your definition of "deep" characterizations if not the Buffy character?

Just what kind of TV "drama" do you like? The kind where one-note Joe Friday characters with no personal lives whatsoever (therefore no reason to care about them) waste countless hours of the viewers time by solving the problem in an hour and never referring to it again (like that damned CSI)?

[Sofa King]

Try watching Naruto some time- even bit characters are given more personality than Buffy's mains.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

All the characters I already mentioned experience changes only gradually on the show, and with much pain and confusion, and they react to situations like passion, heartbreak, and the loss of a loved one in a way I found very realistic (esp. since I've reacted in much the same way in those particular situations).

I don't argue that Buffy delves into that stuff, I just found myself asking too many questions about what the characters were doing. For example, there was the episode where the gang attempted to resurrect Buffy from the grave. They perform the ceremony, but nothing happens. Then they leave, and later Buffy claws her way out of the ground. Now, it did not occur to them to dig up her body?

I was also never clear on the subject of Angel's humanity. The series seems to give us two personalities, a human Angel and a vampire Angel. Initially, it seemed like Angel was just the vampire Angel but given a conscience. That makes the whole "amends" theme understandable. But if there's a human and a vampire Angel, then only one is responsible for committing murder and mayhem, and that would be the vampire version, leaving the human one blameless. Of course, human Angel would try to keep his evil alter-ego from running lose again, but I think that's different than atoning for one's past sins. Unless of course, I'm reading this all wrong.

I don't think I got Joss' sense of humor either. The Mayor in season 3 had this bright and cheery disposition that was supposed to spoof father figures from old 50s shows, I guess. It just didn't work for me. He's the villain, and I never was able to invest anything in him (except when Faith came into the picture, but his turn-into-a-snake plot left me cold). Principal Snyder, again, he was too much of a type. When the mayor does his snake thing, Snyder shouts for quiet, even though a giant snake has appeared right in the middle of the graduation ceremony (and goes on to eat the principal)! Wouldn't he at least take cover?

When it comes to Buffy, to each his own. But the Buffyverse has me just plain puzzled.