The Great Buffy Rewatch: The Witch, Season 1, Episode 3

This is the first episode following the pilot, and no vampires, none. Not even Angel (boo). Indeed, the "big bad" of the episode is not a monster but a parent, the very person who is supposed to cherish and protect her children. Let's proceed.

The episode starts with a greatly agitated Giles, outraged that Buffy, chosen to vanquish vampires, choses to engage in something as banal as cheerleading. Buffy points out that Giles can't stop her, especially as she wants to do something normal and...safe. Famous last words.

Giles may not approve of Buffy trying out for the squad, but Willow and Xander willingly accompany her to the gym. Xander awkwardly offers Buffy an I.D. bracelet that's inscribed "Yours always". He quickly claims all the bracelets had the same inscription.

As the tryouts begin, Willow greets Amy, who is clearly anxious about the audition. As they watch, the first would-be cheerleader breaks out into flames. Buffy quickly douses her. The girl had been talented, but no way she would be on the squad now. By the way, the use of a body double for Amber, the girl on fire, is pretty obvious. 

The team gathers in the library to discuss what happened. Deciding vampires are not involved, Willow decides to hack the school systems and Xander will ask around about the charred cheerleader.

Buffy goes home to find her mother preoccupied with her first deliveries for the gallery she will be opening. Joyce can't even remember what Buffy is trying out for. Upon being reminded, Joyce remarks Buffy quit cheerleading right before she started getting into trouble. Buffy mentions that Amy's mother trains with Amy hours everyday. Joyce comments that Amy's mom clearly doesn't have much to do.

Back at school the next day, the auditions have resumed, and Buffy, Cordelia, and Amy are in the first group performance audition. Amy starts out strong, but eventually misses a few moves and crashes into Cordelia.

Buffy catches up to Amy in front of the trophy case. Amy tells Buffy about her mother, the former head cheerleader who took her squad to the tri-county tournament. Mom was the Homecoming Queen who married the Homecoming King. But sadly, her high school days were her best years, and the King left his family for "Miss Trailer Trash". Buffy tries to encourage Amy, but Amy clearly is under a lot of pressure by her mother.

Cordelia threatens Amy in the locker room.

The list is posted. Cordelia has made the team, but Buffy and Amy are alternatives. They explain to Xander that being an alternative means they are only on the team if one of the cheerleaders on the team drops out.

We then watch a witch intone a spell. We can see she is casting a spell on Cordelia.

Buffy's at home, and her mother is clearly trying to reconnect. When Joyce suggests Buffy join the yearbook staff, Buffy tells her its not her thing. Joyce gets angry, telling Buffy that Buffy's "thing" got her kicked out of school, requiring them to move to Sunnydale as it was the only decent school that would take her. Buffy is hurt and leaves.

As Xander tries to gather his courage to ask Buffy out, Buffy notes that Cordelia doesn't seem right. She follows Cordelia who gets in the driver's seat in driver's ed. (Why are other students in the car?) Anyway, Cordelia loses control. When she gets out of the car, she wanders into the road. Buffy saves her from an on-coming truck. But Cordelia can't see anything - her eyes are covered up by a murky film.

Giles declares witchcraft is involved. Amy is the first suspect. Giles is surprised that someone with power would be willing to use it to become a cheerleader, but Buffy points out the pressure that Amy's under from her mother to be a cheerleader. They decide to use a test to determine whether Amy really is the witch.

Xander, Willow, and Buffy decide to try the test during chemistry class. The test is positive - Amy's a witch. But at the same time, one of the other cheerleaders in class suddenly loses her mouth. Everyone is shocked, even Amy. Perhaps she doesn't know what she's doing?

Amy is walking home. Entering her surprisingly nice home, she seems to change. She mocks her mother for watching television all day. She orders her mother to write her history report, then notes that Buffy stole her hair. She dangles the bracelet that Xander had given Buffy.

The next morning, Buffy wakes up in an extremely good mood. She's singing and bouncy. When Joyce tries to apologize for her words yesterday, Buffy waves it away. She tells her mother that it's hard for people to understand about the whole vampire slayer thing. She somehow escapes without revealing too much more and her mother's just confused.

At cheerleading practice, Buffy is still verbose - loud and clumsy. She finally flips a girl too far. She's kicked off the team, and Amy's made a cheerleader. Xander and Willow get Buffy out of practice and take her to the library.

Giles diagnoses Buffy as afflicted with a Bloodstone Vengeance. Apparently it makes you feel exceedingly drunk, then shuts your immune system down. Whoever cast the spell wants Buffy dead. Giles and Buffy will go to Amy's house to talk to her mother, while Xander and Willow will keep an eye on Amy.

Giles's car is a piece of crap. I don't believe it's the same one he drives later. Giles confronts Catherine, Amy's mother, but Buffy, clearly dying, realizes the woman is really Amy, that Amy and her mother have switched places. This apparently occurred a couple of months ago. Amy-Catherine shows Giles the attic where her mother works her spells. He finds what he needs and the three go to school.

Catherine-Amy is cheering with the rest of the squad, very ecstatic, with Xander and Willow looking on. Giles, Amy-Catherine, and Buffy are in the chemistry lab. Giles starts spells. As the spell starts working, Catherine-Amy realizes what is going on, and, furious, heads to the lab. Xander and Willow try to delay her, but Catherine-Amy uses her magic to fend them off.

Chaos seems to ensue when Catherine-Amy arrives. The two are switched into their proper bodies, and Catherine is furous at her daughter, berating her for causing her nothing but trouble. She then starts to cast what looks like a particularly nasty spell. Buffy interferes, and somehow blocks the spell, reflecting it back on Catherine. With that, Catherine is gone.

Buffy's back at her home. Joyce acknowledges that she just doesn't understand Buffy and has no clue what she's thinking. It's a biological imperative that she can't understand her sixteen year old daughter. Buffy asks Joyce if she'd ever want to be sixteen again. Joyce says no, not even to understand Buffy. Buffy is pleased and declares she loves her mother. Who continues to be confused.

Buffy and Amy are talking in the halls. Amy is describing her life with her newly returned father; she's clearly very happy. No one has seen Catherine since the spell. They're confident they will never have to worry about her again.

We see the trophy from the cheerleading championship. It then becomes clear that Catherine is stuck inside the trophy.

My thoughts watching this: Instead of monstrous vampires outside the house, this episode focuses on the monsters inside the home. Catherine took everything from her daughter - her body, her dreams, her autonomy. Contrast her with Joyce, also disappointed in her daughter, but who struggles to understand and accept Buffy as she is.

We also get to see Xander's unrequited attraction for Buffy and his bumbling attempts to connect. In the background is Willow, the good friend, who clearly has some unrequited feelings herself. It's sweet.

The characterization of Catherine-as-Amy seems off to me. At one point, Amy describes how great her mother is to help her train for the auditions. But later she tells Buffy about the pressure she's under from her mother. And why did this great former cheerleader who's been in Amy's body for months have such a hard time with auditions? Surely she should have gotten used to Amy's body in that amount of time. 

That said, this episode builds in the promise introduced in the pilot, further developing a world where the bad guy might be a neighbor, not just a monster. The relationships building among the characters is also progressing. Already, the personalities of the characters are pretty well-established. A great chapter. 

What we learned about Buffy: Buffy's parents are divorced, something hinted at before, but now made clear.


Best quotes:

Xander: Oooh, where was I?
Willow: You were pretending that seeing scantily-clad girls in revealing postures was a spiritual experience.
Xander: What do you mean, pretending?

 Willow: That girl's on fire!
Cordelia: Enough with the hyperbole!

Giles: Well, that is the thrill of living on the hellmouth - one has a veritable cornucopia of fiends, devils and ghouls to engage...Pardon me for finding the glass half full.

Xander: I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide til it goes away.

Willow: Average student - got detention once for smoking - regular smoking, with a cigarette. Not being smoky.

Buffy: Mom, I accepted that you've had sex. I'm not ready to accept that you've had Farrah hair.
Joyce: This is Gidget hair. Don't they teach you anything in history?

Giles: Why would someone want to harm Cordelia?
Willow: Maybe because...they met her. Did I say that?

Xander [upon Willow announcing that Xander has checked out a number of books on witchcraft]: All right, all right. It's not what you think.
Willow: You like to look at the semi-nude engravings?
Xander: Oh. Well, then, it is what you think.

Giles: I think all the spells were reversed. Of course, it's my first casting. I may have got it wrong.
Buffy: You saved me. You were a god.
Giles: One doesn't want to be immodest, but I am not unsatisfied.
Buffy: Giles, stop being so proper. You're in America. Brag.

Cordelia: Hey, I'm really sorry you guys got bumped back to alternate. Hold it - wait - no, I'm not.
Amy: Well, I know I'll miss the intellectual thrill of spelling words out with my arms.
Cordelia: Ooh, these grapes are sour.

Buffyverse fan alert: Sarah Michelle Geller's comedy, The Crazy Ones, has been cancelled. Meanwhile, Alyson Hannigan has just finished her run in How I Met Your Mother and is set to co-star in More Time with Family. 

Who Knew? Evangeline Lilly and Elisabeth Rohm

Sometimes, an actor can surprise me, often for the better. Here's two that have, recently. 

Evangeline Lilly

Lilly had the dubious honor of playing Kate Austen on Lost. Kate was a great character at first, as the female center of the primary triangle with a mysterious past. Who didn't feel for her when it was revealed she killed her abusive stepfather?  But as her story unfolded, it became evident that her storyline was half-baked. She robs a bank to get a toy airplane? She marries and then leaves Nathan Fillion because she doesn't do taco night? It doesn't help that her inability to pick between Jack and Sawyer seemed more like wishy-washiness than anything else. 

It was hard to tell whether a different actress would have made Kate more bearable. Lilly's Kate was a mopey sad sack. After a while, the character became a deadweight. And having never seen Lilly in anything else, I had no idea whether it was the actress, the character or both.

So I was a little bemused to hear that Lilly was starring as an elf in the Hobbit movies. Would she drag down that bloated series too?

Our first clue was her appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She was actually funny! Amusing! What? Who was this woman? Where was she during Lost?

Then, we finally saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  She stars as Tauriel, the created-for-the-movie Chief of the Guards of the Elven King in Mirkwood. She and Legolas are colleagues and good friends. Together, they are formidable foes of Orcs. She becomes enamored of a dwarf, Kili, and abandons Legolas to heal Kili from his Orc-inflicted wounds. 

So, it reads as soap operish, but somehow it works, in large part because of the charm Lilly brings to the role. She's happy in her life, except when being manipulated by Thranduil (but who wouldn't be?), and loves what she does. She's powerful, she's strong, and she doesn't get people killed so she can get a toy airplane out of a bank safe deposit box. 

Who knew Evangeline Lilly can act?

Elisabeth Rohm

Another revelation in the movies comes from Elisabeth Rohm. 

I first came to know Rohm from her morose turn as Kate Lockley in Angel. The character was justifiably a sad, brooding woman, so I was happy for the actress when she got a role on the original Law & Order as the second chair for the District Attorney. I was actually still watching that show when she started. I tried really hard to like her, I did. But the woman was so flat-affected, so unable to express an emotion, that I decided she just couldn't act. I gave up on her, and the show, and basically forgot about her. 

Then, I saw American Hustle, a fabulous movie. Great acting, a tightly developed plot, and a fun premise. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you do. One of many characters I enjoyed was Jeremy Renner's wife, Dolly Polito. She was an over the top Italian woman who loved her husband and loved her life. She was loud and dynamic (and possibly shrill). Emotion and affect dripped out of her. She was a great character. And she seemed familiar. 

So imagine my shock when watching the credits to discover Dolly Polito was played by one-note Elisabeth Rohm. 

Who knew she could act? And good for her! Keep it up, Rohm. You've earned my respect, again. 

Lost Fan Alert - Evangeline Lilly was Kate Austen. Apparently her talents were wasted. 

Buffyverse Fan Alert - Elisabeth Rohm was perfectly fine as Kate Lockley, a potential love interest for Angel. 

And an extra....

Pushing Daisies Fan Alert - Ned's Lee Pace is weirdly warped as Thranduil, King of the Wood Elves in Mirkwood. Watch his scene with Tauriel. That elf has issues. 

I Have a Girl Crush - SMG

Yes, I must admit, I have a girl crush. Now, those of you who are thinking inappropriate thoughts, shame on you. You clearly don't know me that well, and get your head out of the gutter.

Those of you who know that the initials "SMG" stand for "Sarah Michelle Gellar" probably think, well duh - Buffy's one of your favorite characters in the whole wide world. And you would be half right in your assumptions. Of course I've had a girl crush on Buffy for over a decade. First, a brief view of my crush on Buffy.

Joss Whedon, in my opinion, is a genius. He took the old horror movie trope of the beautiful blond in the negligee walking down the stairs to investigate that scary noise. Any intelligent watcher is screaming at the television for the idiot blond to stay away, but she never listens, and sure enough, ends up brutally killed. You knew Buffy would be a different type of show from it's opening scene. A high school jock, clearly with nefarious plans in mind, is escorting a tremulous blond through the halls of Sunnydale High School. She's nervous, scared of every noise, but the jock assures her it will all be alright. Sadly for him, the blond isn't a high school girl, but a vampire well over 400 years old. The jock didn't score, but Darla had a nice meal.

Buffy was not the victim but the heroine, the slayer, the chosen one, who has supernatural powers that enable her to kill vampires and other evil creatures.  Slayers were normally solitary creatures who were infused with the essence of demons so that they could kill demons, often dying young. Buffy wanted nothing to do with being a slayer after getting kicked out of high school in LA, but, of course, her destiny followed her, and she eventually gave in. But she always played by her own rules. First, she had friends who knew her "secret identity" and frequently took part in the battles against the forces of evil. She was determined to maintain her sense of style, being the mall rat she was. She also had a sense of humor that wouldn't stop, no matter how serious or tragic the circumstances. Look at the following quotes:

In Faith, Hope, and Trick, about her life returning to normal: "All right, yes, date and shop and hang out go to school and save the world from unspeakable demons. You know, I wanna do girlie stuff."

In Real Me, after Giles complains about his new car's automatic transmission:
Buffy: Giles, are you breaking up with your car?
Giles: Well, it did seduce me, all red and sporty.
Buffy: Little two-door tramp.

And in the final episode, Chosen, to Angel, explaining her complicated feelings about Angel and Spike and her desire to wait before deciding between the two: "I'm cookie dough. I'm not done baking. I'm not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day, I turn around and realize I'm ready. I'm cookies. And then, you know, if I want someone to eat (eyes go wide as she realizes what she's saying) ... or enjoy warm, delicious cookie me, then...that's fine. That'll be then. When I'm done."

Let's face it, I could talk for hours about Buffy, and what she means to my life and my view of popular culture and television. But I must remind you the title references Gellar, not Summers.

One of the most difficult things I think that we as television viewers have to do is dissociate the actor from the character. We're adults, and we learn early on the distinction between the two. But this can be harder to achieve than it appears, as evidenced by comments that actors who play polarizing characters receive from members of the general public. But I think I've done a pretty good job of making that distinction. Patrick Stewart is no Jean Luc Picard, James Gandolfini is no Tony Soprano, and Valerie Harper is no Rhoda Morgenstern. I get it.

And Sarah Michelle Gellar is no Buffy Summers. Gellar started in Hollywood very young, staring in a series of Burger King commercials that were involved in a lawsuit by McDonald's. But she first really became famous when she starred as Erica Kane's long lost daughter Kendall on All My Children. I've long heard about the professionalism of Erica's portrayer, Susan Lucci, and even before Buffy hit the television air waves, I had heard that Lucci and Gellar did not get along.

I also read some silly magazine articles about Gellar, in which she impresses the author because she and her friends had "girls weekends" in which no one was allowed to wear make up. Wow.

But I truly lost respect for Gellar when she announced via Entertainment Weekly that she was quitting Buffy, before she told her co-stars. Yeah, you just don't do that in my world.

Post-Buffy (and, to be fair, during), Gellar appeared in a number of movies, with only Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions and The Grudge being remotely respected. How many movies with Gellar have I seen? None. I'm just not interested in any of them.

Her personal life is quite boring, certainly, compared with her contemporaries. She married one of her movie co-stars, Freddie Prinze, Jr., who, honestly, is one of the most boring actors ever, and had a daughter in 2009.  I never see her in the tabloids and rarely in the magazines. I think better of her for that, certainly.

But really, her biggest problem is that she's not Buffy. No one is.

All that said, I was excited to hear that Gellar was scheduled to star in a new series, Ringer, about identical twins, one of whom takes over the life of the other. The trailer was intriguing, and if Gellar did as good a job on this show as she did on Buffy, well, what's not to like?

My first clue that it might not be such a great show was before it even aired - it went from CBS to the CW. The CW is famous for its teen and young adult soaps. And critics I trust who had seen the pilot episode didn't have much good to say. But I had to see it.

And see it I have - all episodes that have aired. And it's horrible. The story lines don't make sense, the characterization missing, and the tension untense. The basic story is this: former prostitute Bridget is in protective custody because she plans to testify about a murder she witnessed. Newly sober, she somehow escapes from protective custody and reconnects with her wealthy identical twin sister. Apparently the two had a falling out related to Bridget's drug use and the death of Siobhan's child (presumably related). Siobhan appears to commit suicide, and Bridget decides to take her sister's identity to hide from the murderer.

Bridget discovers that Siobhan's life isn't all great - she and her husband have a hostile relationship, her stepdaughter hates her, and she's having an affair with her best friend's husband. Worse yet, it becomes clear that someone was paid to kill a woman named "Siobhan Martin". Bridget is doing her best to take on Siobhan's life and hiding the fact that she isn't the same woman. All the slight differences between the two women don't seem enough to clue anyone that the woman isn't Siobhan.  Seriously?

Of course, Siobhan was not dead, but living in Paris. It's clear she has an agenda, against her husband and against Bridget. We don't know why, but it appears we'll learn soon enough.

And the two men in Siobhan's life - Andrew (husband) and Henry (lover) are both dull as dishwater (maybe Freddie Prinze, Jr. was the model?). I guess that Siobhan had an affair with Henry because Andrew ignored her for his work. But it feels like not only is the wife new in this marriage, so is the husband. A man who put work before his family has made lots of changes in his life, apparently. I don't know. The men are pretty to look at but not much else.

The tension, beyond Bridget trying to be Siobhan, comes from Bridget trying to hide the body of the man who killed her, or trying to hide a gun, or staying out of Henry's bed. Gemma, Siobhan's boring best friend, discovered that Siobhan and Henry were having an affair. Bridget finally confessed to Gemma that's she's Bridget, and Gemma then blackmailed Bridget to get Henry to sleep with her so Gemma could ensure Henry gets none of her money. Bridget refused, and shortly thereafter, was Gemma was apparently killed. I guess that's a mystery now.

No matter what I write, I know that I am fighting a useless battle. There's no way I can convince you that this show is good and worth your time. It's not. The show gets a C- or D. If only I could stop watching.

What makes me watch this show week after week? There's only one possibility: SMG. So, it's true, I have a crush.

Veronica Mars fan alert: Jason Dohring, Veronica's bad boy boyfriend Logan Echolls, plays a teacher in the high school of Andrew's daughter attends.

Lost fan alert: Nestor Carbonell, Richard Alpert, is the FBI agent determined to find Bridget.

Buffyverse fan alert: Well, duh.

What New Shows Am I Watching This Season?

Well, folks, here it is, the new fall season of television, usually one of my favorite times of the television year. Last year was rough, with no new shows making my list of must sees. This year I believe will fair a little better.

On Monday nights, Fox airs Terra Nova. Terra Nova presents a dystopian future, that has somehow figured out how to send people back to a far distant past, before pollution, greed, and overpopulation made our world an environmental disaster. So far in the past, that dinosaurs rule the earth. Terra Nova features the very likable Jason O'Mara as a cop who had been imprisoned for daring to have three children. His wife, a noted physician, is recruited to Terra Nova, but she can only take their two oldest children. A little bribery and chicanery later, the entire family makes it to Terra Nova. I'm going to give this show a try, but I'm not convinced I like it. It features not one but two stereotypical teenagers, and O'Mara's character was rather easily accepted by the leader, played by the exceptional Stephen Lang. Terra Nova is clearly trying to make itself the Lost of the season, with its hints at mysteries under the surface. Indeed, several times, I felt like I was watching scenes from Lost.

On Tuesday nights, the CW is airing The Ringer. This soap opera/thriller focuses on identical twins, both with so many secrets that nothing is what it seems. There's only one reason I'm watching this show: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy herself, plays the twins. So far, there are holes a-plenty, and the male characters are especially one-note. But I can't help myself. I must watch. I'm sure I'll have more to say on this later.

On Thursday nights, Person of Interest airs on Fox. What happens if there is a computer that can monitor humans so much, it can determine when a crime of violence will happen? Michael Emerson's character created such a computer to combat terrorism. The fact that the computer could predict other crimes was an unexpected, and apparently unwanted, side effect. For reasons yet unknown to us, Emerson has hired the man who once played Jesus, Jim Caviezel, to help him prevent murders and other kinds of violent mayhem. Both men are extremely serious and driven, and both have secrets and painful pasts. Like Lost, little bits of the characters' pasts will be revealed week by week. Some critics are not fans of Caviezel's stoicness, but like Anna Torv's Olivia on Fringe, I think it fits.

One show I hope to watch and just haven't yet is New Girl, with Zooey Deschanel. As soon as I have, I'll give my impressions.

Buffyverse Fan Alert - Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar on The Ringer. Duh.

Lost Fan Alert - Michael Emerson, the mysterious Ben, plays a mysterious do-gooder billionaire on Person of Interest. Nestor Carbonell, the immortal Richard Alpert, plays an FBI agent trying to catch one of the twins on The Ringer.

In the meantime, what are you watching?

Cowboys in Space

Why didn't I watch Firefly when it aired? I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and I was confident that anything Joss Whedon did would be interesting and entertaining. And I'm a huge fan of serial television in general. What happened?

Well, life happened. I had no DVR at that time, and I was working a second job on Friday nights from 7 PM to 7 AM. But I think what really interfered was that I was involved in a new love affair at the time. We all know how that ended.

I wasn't the only television fan who wasn't watching. Low ratings led to the show being canceled. Why did Fox air the show on Friday nights? Why did they insist a new pilot be created? Why did they air the episodes out of order? It seemed at the time that Fox was doing everything it could to cancel the very show they were airing.

I finally got a chance to watch all the episodes of Firefly this past January, as Ovation aired them, in order, starting with the real pilot, and even airing the three episodes Fox never did. If I ever had a column called "Gone Too Soon," this show would top the list.

I called this series "Cowboys in Space," and the show certainly felt like it took place in the wild west, only with spaceships. The crew used guns, and frontier law ruled the worlds the ship, Serenity, visited. The worlds were dusty, filled with sometimes desperate people trying to survive. Even the language that the crew used made me think of Westerns.

As I watched, I couldn't help thinking of the original Star Trek, which, as you may recall, was touted at the time as a Wagon Train in space. The show had some similarities: a charismatic captain, a spaceship, and a doctor. But really, to me, they didn't have a whole lot in common. Captain Kirk was a member of the Federation, a governmental entity that commissioned the Enterprise to space exploration. Mal Reynolds, on the other hand, was a refugee from a losing civil war to the Alliance, a centralized federal government. The Enterprise was a slickly clean, efficiently run operation, while Serenity forever seemed in need of a good housekeeper and was kept together by glue. Kirk's crew was intensely loyal, while Reynolds' crew felt free to question every decision and poke fun at him. Worse, he never knew when one of his henchmen, Jayne Cobb, might betray him.

Each show was truly a show of it's time. The Sixties were a time of optimism, and a belief that man can solve any social ill. Think of the War on Poverty and the belief that governmental programs could actually cure poverty. Such was Roddenberry's Federation, which had somehow succeeded in ending poverty (but not the common cold, oddly enough) and created a just world. By the early 2000s, however, we'd become suspicious of government, believing it to be a malicious force in society. The Alliance, indeed, mistrusted by Serenity's crew, fought against by several members, was to be avoided when possible, exploited if necessary. Its motives were always suspect.

But let's face it. What appeals to me most about Firefly is, of course, the characters. Each character was relatively well developed (the series ended far too soon to flesh out some of the characters, sadly) and the relationships that developed among the crew and passengers was realistic. Mal and his second-in-command Zoe. Zoe and her husband, Wash, the pilot, who respected but also resented Mal. Jayne Cobb who sold his services to the highest bidder, and whose relationship to his guns was stronger than any relationship to a person. Kaylee, the naive engineer with no formal training, protected and loved by all. Then the passengers. Inara was a Companion (think high-class prostitute) who rented a shuttle from Serenity. Sparks flew between her and Mal, but his insistence on calling her a whore perhaps interfered with an easy relationship. Book, the Shepherd, who knew far more about criminal enterprises then you'd think a good pastor would know. Lastly, the brother and sister Tam: Simon, the doctor, who rescued from the Alliance, his sister River, the psychic, who'd been in training to be an assassin.

Only fifteen hours of show was produced (a two-hour pilot and thirteen episodes), but Whedon was given the opportunity to produce a movie, where he was able to flesh out some of the storyline more. I saw the movie, Serenity, long before I saw all the episodes. I'll need to see it again.

Sadly, we'll never know what this show could have been. But I'll definitely add it to my list of "Favorites". If you're into science fiction, compelling characters, and great stories, I highly recommend you give this show a shot. Surely Ovation will air it again?

One thing that Firefly did was put several actors on the map. Who had heard of Nathan Fillion before Firefly?

Buffyverse fan alert. Joss Whedon was loyal to his actors. Nathan Fillion appeared on Buffy as the homicidal cleric Caleb (I almost never forgave Fillion for gouging out Xander's eye). Gina Torres was the goddess Jasmine who tried to impose peace on Earth on Angel. Adam Baldwin guested as Marcus Hamilton, a guardian of the Senior Partners, also on Angel. Summer Glau made her professional acting debut as a prima ballerina cursed to dance the same ballet for two centuries on Angel.

Dollhouse fan alert: Alan Tudyk played the criminally insane doll, Alpha. Summer Glau played scientist Bennet Halverson.

Chuck fan alert: Adam Baldwin plays a character similar to Jayne Cobb in Chuck. His John Casey is often the best part of Chuck.

V fan alert: Morena Baccarin, Inara on Firefly, plays Anna.

And of course: Barney Miller fan alert: Ron Glass played Book the Shepherd. But I'll always remember and love him best for playing Detective Ron Harris, author of Blood on the Badge.

Season Finale of Mad Men

For the first time in a long time, B and I are actually caught up with Mad Men. Last night we watched the episode only 30 minutes behind the actual airing. It was an enjoyable and thought-provoking episode.

The entire season was focused on the question "Who is Don Draper?" Haughty and hostile when asked that in the first episode in the season, he ended the season telling Sally and Bobby that he was once called "Dick", even as he minimized the importance of the name. It was a tough season for Don: the woman who knew him better than any other died, his company nearly went under, and his drinking led to a "lost weekend" for him.

Don's divorce left him adrift. He sought solace pretty much in the arms of anyone in a skirt and as already noted, took his drinking to all new levels. His love interest for the season, Dr. Faye Miller, refused him at first, but eventually became his lover, an equal. He even cost her her job when he announced to the world at large that he gave up cigarettes (actually, they gave him up). So, who wasn't surprised when he proposed to Megan?

Megan was his beautiful secretary who agreed to travel to California with him to watch his children. She was gentle and caring with the kids, and gentle and caring with him. When the juice spilled, ruining the perfection of the family, she thought nothing of it, mopping it up and refusing to let it ruin her day.

Why Megan? B read a post on Salon that Don's proposal was another attempt by Don to buy into the perfect, shiny happy family. The first attempt with Betty was an utter failure, of course, and his children are far from perfect, especially Sally, but clearly Don isn't quitting. But I don't know that I agree. Don was devastated by the death of Anna Draper, the real Don Draper's widow. And Megan's gentle demeanor could be very appealing to Don after the brittle Betty. That said, Megan is certainly not Don's intellectual equal as Faye Miller could have been.

Perhaps we'll learn next season what the meaning of Don's choice is. Some other thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed Peggy griping about Don's engagement with Joan. Peggy continues to grow into her own at the office, certainly putting various male co-workers in their place when needed. I'm not quite clear on her relationship with Don, and why each is so important to the other. But he's certainly pushed her all along to stand on her own two feet. Unless, of course, he wins an advertising award, when he takes all the credit! Her personal life brought her new friends and a new lover (who isn't glad that her icky relationship with Duck is over?). And leave it to Peggy to bring the first new business into the firm after the pull out of Lucky Strike.

Pete became a father (again), and nearly destroyed his relationship with his father-in-law. Having just recently given birth myself, I was amused that Pete was essentially run out of the hospital by his in-laws. B would have been killed had he tried. Pete also has an unusual relationship with Don, which cost him a new client when NASA started a background check on Don. Don, however, made it up to Pete by paying his part of the firm assessment to pay for salaries.

Never a fan of Betty's, it was a hard season for those who are. Betty could easily win worst mother in TV Land for her interactions with Sally. Sally cuts her own hair; Betty slaps her. Sally hangs around with Glen; Betty finally decides to move out of Don's house. She even fired Carla, her housekeeper and just about the only stable presence in the Draper children's lives, for allowing Glen to say good bye to Sally. Even her new husband was exasperated by her smallness.

Joan reignited her affair with Roger Sterling this season, resulting in a pregnancy. Roger made all the arrangements for an abortion, and it seemed that she followed through on it. But the biggest surprise of the finale was her revelation that she hadn't yet. Her husband believes the child is his, and appears to be thrilled. Her affair with Roger is over, and his handling of the Lucky Strike withdrawal may have cost him her respect.

Ken Cosgrove is back, buying himself into the new firm with his client list. I'm not sure how long the relationship will last, though, after he refused to use his future in-laws to land a client. I loved it. Go Ken!

Roger had a terrible time this season. He was humiliated by his Lucky Strike client, Lee Gardner, Jr., who then left the firm unceremoniously (I'm sure I'm not the only viewer who thought that everyone is better off without Gardner in their lives). His firm tried to woo some Japanese clients, despite Roger's obvious antipathy toward the former enemy. I think that Cooper said it best. The tragedy of Roger is that he never took himself seriously, so no one else did, either.

Sally Draper was the break out character of the season, and my heart broke for her. Sally was a sweet girl, but she was also rebellious. As such, she was not the perfect daughter that Betty expected. The entire season pitted the two against each other, with Sally losing every time. But Sally's time with a therapist seemed to make a difference, if only to teach Sally to keep her unhappiness to herself.

There's so much that happened this season that I just can't address. Don's lost weekend. Sally's running away to live with her father. Mrs. Blankenship's untimely demise. Bertrand Cooper leaving the firm carrying his shoes. Ted Chaogh's antagonizing of Don. As always, so many layers to contemplate, and only so much time.

Buffyverse fan alert: Danny Strong joined the cast as Danny Siegel. Danny joined the firm as a cousin of Roger's new wife, and left after Lucky Strike pulled out. He grew on Peggy.

The Fall Season

I must say I'm sadly underwhelmed by the new season this year. For the first time in I can't tell how long, I'm not adding a single show to my "must see" list. Some thoughts:

I don't know why I wasn't interested in The Event, touted by many as the next Lost. As you know, I like me some Lost, but nothing about the show interested me in any way. I'm happy that Jason Ritter (from Joan of Arcadia), ER's Laura Innes, and go-to guy Blair Underwood have found work, but their presence is not enough to make me want to watch. I saw a half hour the other day. As you may recall, I didn't start Lost from the first episode. But I caught part of an episode later in the season, and I found myself enthralled and wanting to know more. That's not the case with my glimpse into The Event. None of the characters jumped out at me, and I'm totally not interested in knowing why some characters will do anything to get Jason Ritter's character.

I did watch a full episode of the revamped Hawaii Five-O, solely to watch Daniel Dae Kim's new show. The powers-that-be have been desperate to find a vehicle for Alex O'Loughlin. His first show, Moonlight, was a cult favorite that was cancelled too soon (full disclosure: I never watched it). His second show was the abysmal Three Rivers, which found itself on the chopping block pretty quickly. I think he's found a successful show, however, in Hawaii Five-O, in which he takes over from Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett. He's joined by Scott Caan as Danno, Kim as Chin Ho Kelly, and Grace Park as the now female Kono. I watched the premiere, and will watch no more. I found the dialogue to be cliched, the characters to be cardboard, and the villain (played by the former Spike, James Marsters) to be dull.

I have on a season pass of sorts Undercovers, a new show by J.J. Abrams. I've yet to watch a single episode. That tells me I'm not looking forward to it, and I may just have to cancel the whole thing. I never watched Alias, so maybe I just don't like the genre?

I also tried to watch No Ordinary Family, starring the former Darla and Dexter's Rita Morgan, Julie Benz. She's joined by Michael Chiklis and one of the Panabaker girls. You would think the show is right up my geek-girl alley. The family takes a trip, the plane crashes, and each has a special power afterward. But I found nothing new or unusual in the pilot, just a family drama filled with cliches, in which the family just happens to develop powers. It doesn't help that the show has one of the worst cliches of all time: the stereotypical troubled teenager.

Lost and Buffyverse fan alert: Daniel Dae Kim (Jin and Gavin Park) plays Chin Ho Kelly in the revamped Hawaii Five-O.

Buffyverse fan alert: James Marsters, Spike, played a villain in the premiere episode of Hawaii Five-O. Does Marsters just not want a series or do producers not recognize his charisma? Granted, his charisma was not in evidence in this episode... Also, Julie Benz, Darla, plays Stephanie Power in No Ordinary Family.

Cable Drama Finales

Well, I must apologize. It's been a long time since I've posted. There hasn't been a whole lot going on in the world of television, but that's not my excuse. Here's some unsolicited, un-television-related advice for you. If you find yourself pregnant with twins, don't decide to buy a house. Stupid. Just stupid!

Because of all that, I'm way behind on my television. But this past weekend, I finally saw the final finale of three of my cable shows. I thought I'd give my impressions.

Leverage

Leverage is new for me. I didn't see the first season, except for a couple episodes. Those episodes impressed me so much that I put Leverage on my DVR schedule. As you know, the relationships between characters is often what draws me in to a show. It's one of the things I love about Lost and about Bones. If the relationships aren't true, or are forced, I will eventually lose interest. Heroes is one show that lost me because of their failure to develop characters who could grow.

Leverage has a host of interesting characters. Nate Ford is a former insurance investigator who quit the business and sank into a drunken rage when his son died after the insurance company refused to pay for treatment. For reasons I don't understand, seeing as I never saw the pilot, Nate decided to help someone, but he needed skills he didn't possess. So, he found a grifter, hitter, thief, and hacker. All four of these characters were basically amoral who used their skills to help themselves, not others.

Sophie is the grifter. She's also an actress, but a terrible one when on stage. She fabulous when working a con. She works the most with Nate, and a romance of sorts is brewing between them. She humanizes most of the other characters who are somewhat socially limited. Sophie left to travel for a number of months "to find herself". The real reason is that Gina Bellwood, the actress who plays Sophie, was on maternity leave.

Eliot is the hitter. He's the hitter because he doesn't really like using weapons, though he can if he must. Skilled in martial arts, he mostly protects the group. He's often assumed to be a dumb jock, but he's actually smarter than he looks. He likes being underestimated.

Parker is the thief. No one knows if that is her first or last name. Raised in a number of foster homes, she is socially backward and relies on Sophie to help her with social skills. She is an extremely skilled thief, and is probably the most amoral of the group.

Lastly, Hardison is the hacker. He was also raised in foster homes, though it sounds like his childhood was more stable than Parker's. He's a self-professed geek who is able to hack into just about any computer system. However, in a funny joke, he did point out that he cannot "hack a hick."

But that doesn't tell you what the relationships between the characters are. Sophie and Nate are attracted to each other, but, of course, they keep fighting it. Hardison is attracted to Parker, but she doesn't recognize his flirting for what it is. Eliot is protective of the team, though he gets frustrated when Nate doesn't give them all the information he believes he needs. The group broke up at the end of the first season (for reasons unknown to me), but the four thieves found that they couldn't return to their normal lives. They liked helping people too much.

Nate changed the most in the second season. He sobered up during the break between seasons, but relapsed during a job. Although he tried to curtail his drinking, he never quite gave it up. He made it clear that, unlike his cohorts, he was not a thief. All he was doing in setting up his cons was helping the downtrodden get what was rightly theirs from the rich and powerful. He always maintained an aura of superiority over his colleagues, which they did not fail to note. But in the final episode, Nate lost control over his con and his own actions, partially due to alcohol and partially due to other reasons too long to discuss here. His team confronted him on a few occasions, but he insisted he was fine. What his team didn't know was that he had been caught.

In exchange for his assistance, Nate would go free, but his team was not. After all, they were thieves, Nate was not. There appeared to be no way out. But, as usual, Nate outsmarted the officials. The only evidence to convict a truly evil dude was Nate's testimony. And the price for his testimony: his colleagues go free. His team was not grateful, however. Sophie even slapped him. As they took off in a helicopter, Nate pronounced to the world, "I am a thief."

I guess they'll have to get the team back together in the first episode next season.

White Collar

White Collar has been essentially mind candy. The only reason to watch it, other than the impossibly handsome Matt Bomer, is the bromance between Bomer's Neal and Tim DeKay's Peter. Peter was the only FBI who could capture Neal (which he did, twice), but is hesitant when Neal suggests that Peter allow him to help solve white collar crimes. You know, an "it takes a thief" kind of thing. Have you ever noticed that thieves are all terribly handsome?

Despite his reluctance to work with Neal, and despite the differences in their character, Peter finds himself appreciating Neal's skill and enthusiasm. He finds himself relying on Neal's advice on their cases and in his personal life. He even moves in with Neal when his home is being wired (that didn't work out so well).

But as Neal got involved in a plan to steal a music box to free his girlfriend, Peter becomes suspicious. He tries to talk Neal out of the theft, even promising to arrest Neal if he attempts the crime. Peter's no fool, though, and he realizes Neal will go forward with his plans regardless. What Neal didn't anticipate was the effect this would have on Peter - Peter's wife was accused of various crimes (clearly bogus), and Peter was suspended for two weeks.

Of course, Neal stole the music box, and Peter couldn't arrest Neal because Peter was on suspension. Neal is promised to be reuinited with his girlfriend with a new identity. He says good bye to everyone, except Peter. Peter find him, and Neal acknowledges he didn't say good bye to Peter because Peter was the only one who could talk Neal out of escaping with his girlfriend. Frankly, I thought Peter was doing a bad job of convincing Neal to stay, but it turns out his intervention saved Neal's life, as the airplane containing the girlfriend (allegedly) exploded.

Burn Notice

Michael Weston has spent three years trying desparately to find out why he was burned from the CIA. In this season's finale, we finally learned why. A rogue agent was so bad that he was placed in a remote jail. Because a power that is needed someone like this rogue agent, they altered Michael's file so that it appears Michael committed the horrible acts of the rogue agent. Both the rogue agent, Simon, and Michael protest they want their lives back. But Simon, who has escaped from his jail, is a true psychopath, and doesn't care who he kills to get what he wants. He even bribes Michael into helping him by putting explosives in a Miami hotel. If Michael doesn't help, the bomb goes off.

The FBI are onto Michael and his activities, and they believe what his CIA file contains. They try to find him, interrogating his mother, Maddy. Despite their attempts to convince her that Michael is a killer, she refuses to give her son up, and is eventually arrested by the FBI. But she's devastated. Michael managed to stop Simon, but was captured by the FBI. Within 2o minutes of his capture, another "suit" took custody of Michael. We last saw Michael being led in chains with a hood over his head to a meeting. But Maddy has no idea where her son is. Her distress was palpable.

Buffyverse fan alert - Christian Kane, Lindsey McDonald on Angel, plays Eliot on Leverage. The two characters are not all that alike. Lindsey was amoral, yes, but he committed his evil as an attorney for the soulless (literally) Wolfram and Hart. Eliot, on the other hand, prefers to use his fists, and has discovered that he has a desire to help people.

Deadwood fan alert and The 4400 fan alert. Garret Dillahunt, Francis Wolcott and Jack McCall on Deadwood and Matthew Ross on The 4400, played Simon on Burn Notice. I wonder, is Dillahunt as disturbed as the characters he plays?

Lost fan alert - Marsha Thomason, Naomi Dorrit on Lost, plays an FBI agent on White Collar. She is apparently joining the cast for the next season. Although she has an American accent on White Collar, she really is from Manchester, England, just like Naomi.

V - The Pilot

If you plan to see the pilot and haven't yet, don't read this post. Spoilers abound.

I am certain that V was either my most anticipated or my second most anticipated new series of the Fall TV season, neck and neck with FlashForward. Well, we all know that I thought of FlashForward. But let's not dwell on that right now.

I'm not sure why V started so late in the season. It will be aired for 4 weeks, then will take a break until March, 2010, after the Winter Olympics. A lot of people are upset about this, because they feel that the break will be disastrous to the show. I don't know. I do know that V got excellent ratings last night for its pilot.

I can't tell you where I was when JFK was shot, but I do know where I was when I first heard of a plane crashing into the first tower on 9/11. The pilot of V started by asking where you were during those events, then added, "Where were you this morning?" This morning being the morning that 29 alien ships appeared over cities across the globe, of course. After a few minutes of suspense and anticipation, an apparition of Anna, a leader among the Visitors in the alien ships, talking in the language of the city the ship is over, assuring us that the Visitors are thrilled to find another planet with intelligent life, and promising to bring healing and peace to the world.

As might be expected, some people find hope and believe in the message, while others protest their presence. The news channels are abuzz with what little information they can gather about the Visitors, while the aliens arrange for trips from earth to their ships. Anna arranges to meet with the UN.

In the meantime, our heroine, Erica Evans, an FBI counterterrorism agent, notices that the activity of a particular terrorist cell spikes. She and her partner, Dale Maddox, investigate, but unfortunately, seem to be one step behind the suspects throughout the hour. Erica must also deal with her teenaged son, who is, of course, troubled. Tyler is clearly fascinated with the Visitors, taking a trip to their ship and agreeing to become a V Peace Ambassador Program. Tyler becomes attracted to a Visitor named Lisa.

In the meantime, a businessman named Ryan Nichols is disturbed by nearly constant calls from an old acquaintance named George, who wants Ryan's help, but Ryan wants nothing of it. He plans to propose to his girlfriend, but she becomes paranoid about the number of calls Ryan refuses to answer.

Father Landry finds his church, formerly a congregation of 3, has standing room only during Mass. His fellow priest encourages Landry to praise the Visitors for bringing peace and healing, but Landry is skeptical. One of his original parishioners, Roy, has visited a healing center, and can walk. But another of his congregants gives Landry an envelope with an address on it, telling him to go to the meeting. The man has been wounded, and dies in the church.

Chad Decker is a television news anchor who reports on the Visitors. He scores an exclusive interview with Anna but is shocked when told right before the interview that he is not allowed to ask any questions that would embarrass the Visitors or make them look bad. He agrees to the interview, but clearly finds it distasteful.

Erica's investigation leads her to a clandestine meeting run by Ryan Nichols' friend, George. All attendants have to undergo a slicing of skin over their ears to ensure they are all human. Then George announces that the Visitors are lying - they've been on Earth for decades, infiltrating various institutions. Their intentions are not peaceful but nefarious, though we didn't learn much about that. Erica almost left, but Landry, who was at the meeting in mufti, showed the envelope he had been given. It contained pictures that coincided with Erica's investigation. As she discussed this with Landry, a metallic ball flew into the room shooting bullets. Then men came in, including Dale Maddox, Erica's partner. He tries to kill Erica, but she wounds him instead, and uncovers his lizard skin on his face. Dale is a Visitor. Landry grabs Erica and they escape.

Meanwhile, Ryan Nichols shows up to rescue George, but is injured while doing so. Ryan apologizes for not coming earlier, saying that there needs to be a resistance against the Visitors. He then reveals his injured arm, which shows lizard skin. Ryan isn't the only Visitor traitor who is working against the Visitors' aims.

Okay, now that I have the recap over and done with, I must say that I found myself very engaged in the show, with one notable exception. The actors were all excellent, and the storytelling structure was interesting. I am curious about the moral quandary facing Chad Decker as he finds himself the reluctant spokesman for the Visitors but also getting worldwide exposure. I found Landry's uncertainty to be intriguing. I was a little confused by Ryan Nichols and his involvement with the main storyline, so I certainly didn't predict that he was a "sleeper" Visitor. I did guess that Dale Maddox was a Visitor - Erica kept mentioning how the suspects seemed to be tipped off in time to escape. It also didn't help that the actor playing him is listed as a guest actor. And let's face it, Alan Tudyk did a version of this in last season's Dollhouse.

The exception is the tired cliche that is troubled teen Tyler Evans. In a conversation between Tyler and his mother, he accuses her of not caring about him because she's never home. Essentially, the lines have been written and spoken in thousands of shows before now, and will be written and spoken in thousands of show afterward. Hopefully, the dreaded teen angst will be minimized in future episodes.

Lost Fan Alert: Duh - Elizabeth Mitchell, Juliet Burke on Lost, plays Erica Evans. Damn those Lost producers for letting her go. She remains beautiful, smart, and fabulous.

Buffyverse Fan Alert - Dale Maddox is played by Alan Tudyk, Hoban "Wash" Washborn in Firefly and Serenity, and Alpha in Dollhouse. Morena Baccarin, Anna, was Inarra Serra on Firefly and Serenity.

The 4400 Fan Alert - Joel Gretsch plays Father Landry. He played Tom Baldwin in The 4400. That show ended way too soon.

Other actors of note: Morris Chestnut plays Ryan Nichols. Scott Wolf from Party of Five and The Nine plays Chad Decker. Lourdes Benedicto, also of The Nine, plays Valerie Stevens, Ryan Nichols' girlfriend.

Dollhouse: Instinct

What happens when an Active's body is altered on a glandular level such that she has the instincts of a new mother, and can even breast feed? That's what happens in this episode, which explores not just the strength of a mother's love for her child, but also the feelings of an Active.

Nate Jordan is so devastated when his wife dies in childbirth that he cannot connect with his baby. Instead of hiring a nanny or seeking help from family and friends, Nate uses his vast financial resources to hire a Doll. Thanks to Topher's wizardry, Echo is transformed into a doting and lactating mother. But the glandular changes also increase her susceptibility to paranoia. Noticing Nate's discomfort around her and the baby, Echo reasons that her "husband" must be having an affair. Or involved in illegal schemes. One or the other. She breaks into Nate's home office and finds Nate's wedding pictures. His wife is not her.

Nate somehow talks Echo down, but then calls the Dollhouse to have Echo returned. Unfortunately, Echo overhears and misunderstands; she believes Nate is arranging for her murder. Although she "escapes" from the home with the baby, she is soon found, and Ballard takes her back to the Dollhouse to be wiped. But the device only wipes the brain, not the glandular changes. Echo knows that she has lost her baby, and believes that it is in danger, so she escapes the Dollhouse, and returns to Nate's home. Again, miraculously, Nate talks her down - the baby belongs to him and her feelings aren't real.

The episode ends with Ballard comforting Echo. Echo has revealed that she retains memories from her prior imprints, but knows that they are not her. In Instinct, Echo reveals that even if her relationship with the baby was not real, her feelings for him were. When offered an opportunity to be fully wiped, so as to lose her memories of the imprints, though, Echo declines.

I'm not quite clear on why Echo has retained the memories or impressions of her former imprints. I can only assume that these memories are a result of Alpha's downloading so much into her in last season's finale. She is choosing to keep the memories, despite the pain, in stark contrast with Madeline, the former November. Madeline agreed to become a Doll to escape the grief she felt following the death of her infant daughter. Of course, Madeline is no longer an Active, but she has found that the grief is gone, and she is grateful for it. Nor is Echo responding like Dr. Saunders, who fled the Dollhouse in the season premiere, unable to cope with the fact that she is an Active.

In the season premiere, Echo asked Ballard to help her find her true self. I am not convinced that Echo's true self is Caroline, though who else would she be? Caroline willingly gave up her body, leaving a Topher-created shell of child-like passivity. I hope that we are able to explore Echo's identity in more detail in future episodes. I also hope Dr. Saunders returns soon (Amy Acker has another series).

Buffyverse Fan Alert: Alexis Denisof, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, failed Watcher and rogue demon hunter, plays Senator Daniel Perrin, who is determined to bring down the Rossum Corporation, which funds the Dollhouse. It is very odd to hear Denisof speak, since he's using his regular, American accent, instead of Wesley's British accent. Denisof joins fellow Buffyverse alums, including Eliza Dushku (Faith) and Amy Acker (Dr. Saunders/Whiskey).