Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Script Book Season 2, Vol. 3

Rating:
Summary: Published at last: Joss Whedon's scripts for "Becoming"
Review: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Script Book, Season Two, Volume 4" finally provides in print Joss Whedon's scripts for the two part of "Becoming." It was the second season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that established the show as being operatic television, in which case "Becoming" is the grand aria in which Whedon hits the highest note on the scale. "Becoming, Part 2," in which Buffy has to kill Angel and send him to a demon dimension to save the world, is still one of the ten best television episodes I have ever seen in my life. Having a copy of the script in my hands puts the final touches on my enjoyment of these episodes, not because it is a question of finding differences between what is in the final shooting script and what got aired on television, but simply because I finally get to see Whedon's stage directions. For example, after Joyce has learned Buffy is a vampire slayer there is a scene in Buffy's living room. There is no dialogue, just the shot, which is described as follows: Joyce sits in the living room with Spike. They both are silent and uncomfortable, like it's Sunday and he's come a 'courtin'. Joyce has a glass of bourbon in her hands, which shakes only slightly.

For such small gems of insight into the mind of Joss Whedon picking up this collection of scripts is going to be worthwhile for "BtVS" fans. Completing the Angelus story arc that covered the second half of Season Two begun in Volume 3, you will find in Volume 4 "Killed by Death," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Go Fish," "Becoming, Part One," and "Becoming, Part Two." Actually, I enjoyed "Go Fish" a lot more being able to read the inside jokes, production notes, and cut dialogue than I did actually watching that rather [weak] episode. Overall I think it was a good move to have divide the scripts for Season Two this way, so that the first two volumes do the Spike-Dru story arc and the last two the Angelus story arc. I was going to point out that all six of the episodes for the "BtVS" Season Two video tape set are from this latter arc, but now that we are in the world of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on DVD this is no longer a concern.

Rating:
Summary: Published at last: Joss Whedon's scripts for "Becoming"
Review: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Script Book, Season Two, Volume 4" finally provides in print Joss Whedon's scripts for the two part of "Becoming." It was the second season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that established the show as being operatic television, in which case "Becoming" is the grand aria in which Whedon hits the highest note on the scale. "Becoming, Part 2," in which Buffy has to kill Angel and send him to a demon dimension to save the world, is still one of the ten best television episodes I have ever seen in my life. Having a copy of the script in my hands puts the final touches on my enjoyment of these episodes, not because it is a question of finding differences between what is in the final shooting script and what got aired on television, but simply because I finally get to see Whedon's stage directions. For example, after Joyce has learned Buffy is a vampire slayer there is a scene in Buffy's living room. There is no dialogue, just the shot, which is described as follows: Joyce sits in the living room with Spike. They both are silent and uncomfortable, like it's Sunday and he's come a 'courtin'. Joyce has a glass of bourbon in her hands, which shakes only slightly.

For such small gems of insight into the mind of Joss Whedon picking up this collection of scripts is going to be worthwhile for "BtVS" fans. Completing the Angelus story arc that covered the second half of Season Two begun in Volume 3, you will find in Volume 4 "Killed by Death," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Go Fish," "Becoming, Part One," and "Becoming, Part Two." Actually, I enjoyed "Go Fish" a lot more being able to read the inside jokes, production notes, and cut dialogue than I did actually watching that rather [weak] episode. Overall I think it was a good move to have divide the scripts for Season Two this way, so that the first two volumes do the Spike-Dru story arc and the last two the Angelus story arc. I was going to point out that all six of the episodes for the "BtVS" Season Two video tape set are from this latter arc, but now that we are in the world of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on DVD this is no longer a concern.

Rating:
Summary: Who imagined that television writing could be this good?
Review: Television writing is simply not supposed to be this good. Or at least we have become acclimated to a good deal less even in very good shows. But I am not sure that any other show in the history of television has put together five shows with scripts this strong. In the history of Buffy, these are the episodes in which the show moved to an entirely different plane from all other contemporary shows. Not since TWIN PEAKS had TV seen anything this well written. Seeing these episodes for the first time, I was in complete awe that the Neanderthals running the WB had actually allowed anything this good to hit the screen. These are also significant episodes because in them Buffy started becoming a show that appealed as much to adults as to teens, as the themes and issues became progressively more complex and darker.

"Surprise" was written by Marti Noxon, who had very quickly in her first season on Buffy established herself as one of the best writers on the show. She was not merely good; she was prolific. This is one of the more interesting scripts to compare to the actual show produced. These collections compile the shooting scripts; they are not transcripts of the final product. Usually, one will find slight wording alterations, or small scenes that got excised in the final shooting. Often shooting instructions provide a great deal of insight into what is happening in the scenes. But in this script, there are significant differences between the final result and the script, especially scenes involving Cordy and Xander. The script was much, much too long for the time slot, and heavy editing took place. The story itself, of how Buffy came to lose her virginity to Angel, resulting in his losing his soul, provides the foundation for everything that happens thereafter in both BUFFY and ANGEL. We'll leave aside the fact that the gypsy curse-that because he has a soul Angel lives in torment for his past crimes, but if he achieves a moment of perfect happiness he loses his soul and reverts to the evil Angelus-is a bald and rather dumb plot device. It makes no sense as a curse, and his potentially becoming evil again makes the curse profoundly self-defeating. But so much else is tremendous, I and apparently everyone else cut them some slack on this one.

Joss Whedon himself wrote "Innocence," in which we learn that Angel, after having made love to Buffy, has lost his soul. If the show had been a teen series before, it was not after we see Buffy's boyfriend literally transformed into a monster on the morning after. It's an old adage that bad characters are more interesting than good ones, and it is reproven in the transformation of Angel into Angelus. But not just Angel, but Buffy is transformed as well. I believe the title in part is a reference to Blake's SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND SONGS OF EXPERIENCE. Buffy loses her innocence as she gains in experience. Willow also struggles with new pain when she catches Xander and Cordelia kissing in the stacks. (By the way, part of the joy of the scripts is reading the directions. As Xander and Cordy begin to kiss we read: "They haben der big smootchen." And when Willow sees them she "has pain on her face like a blush.") In an episode of many awesome moments, one of my favorites is the freshly reborn Angelus killing a streetwalker smoking a cigarette, and then him expelling her smoke out of his lungs after he kills her. That was shot precisely as written.

"Phases" was written by the team of Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, who were also the final script editors on the show until they left for THAT SEVENTIES SHOW. Often in Buffy episodes as strong as "Surprise" and "Innocence" are followed by relatively weak episodes, as if they are trying to create a balance between weak and strong scripts. But "Phases" is a fun, fascinating, and tragic episode in its own right, although it provides a break from the emotional roller coaster of the previous two shows. Buffy never deals with potentially hackneyed subject like werewolves in unoriginal fashion, and that is true here.

Well, others start noticing Cordy and Xander's not-terribly-well-hidden relationship, so Cordy dumps Xander to salvage her social reputation. Marti Noxon produced yet another stellar script in "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered," in one of the funniest shows ever in the series. Because Cordy dumped Xander, he wants revenge by having Amy the school witch (from the first season) created a love potion that would make her love him, allowing him to then dump her. But it backfires and every girl in the school EXCEPT for Cordelia falls her him. After the emotional stress of the previous episodes, the show provides a great deal of comic relief. Great moment: Xander demands that Cordy give back the necklace he gave her as a Valentine's present. She goes to her locker to get it, but discretely takes it from around her neck.

"Passion" by Ty King is simply stunning. The show had often proven it could be funny, and sometimes scary, but there is gothic horror in this episode that can bring a tear to the most hard-hearted. Angel's voiceovers would work perfectly in the final shooting, giving a structure to what is one of the most tragic episodes in the run of the show. The episode also served as a warning to its fans: anything can happen on this show. On other shows, the main characters are safe, but here they can die, and proved it by having Angel murder Jenny Calendar. But her death was not as horrific as the macabre scene where Angel has rearranged Giles's apartment to make it seem like Jenny had staged a romantic tryst, only for a romantically touched and excited Giles to ascend his stairs to find Jenny's body in his bed.

This is by far the best single collection of scripts yet published in this series. One writer in the early nineties stated that television had a greater potential for excellence than cinema, and that eventually a series could come along to prove this. I believe that it was in these five episodes that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER did precisely that.

Rating:
Summary: Who imagined that television writing could be this good?
Review: Television writing is simply not supposed to be this good. Or at least we have become acclimated to a good deal less even in very good shows. But I am not sure that any other show in the history of television has put together five shows with scripts this strong. In the history of Buffy, these are the episodes in which the show moved to an entirely different plane from all other contemporary shows. Not since TWIN PEAKS had TV seen anything this well written. Seeing these episodes for the first time, I was in complete awe that the Neanderthals running the WB had actually allowed anything this good to hit the screen. These are also significant episodes because in them Buffy started becoming a show that appealed as much to adults as to teens, as the themes and issues became progressively more complex and darker.

"Surprise" was written by Marti Noxon, who had very quickly in her first season on Buffy established herself as one of the best writers on the show. She was not merely good; she was prolific. This is one of the more interesting scripts to compare to the actual show produced. These collections compile the shooting scripts; they are not transcripts of the final product. Usually, one will find slight wording alterations, or small scenes that got excised in the final shooting. Often shooting instructions provide a great deal of insight into what is happening in the scenes. But in this script, there are significant differences between the final result and the script, especially scenes involving Cordy and Xander. The script was much, much too long for the time slot, and heavy editing took place. The story itself, of how Buffy came to lose her virginity to Angel, resulting in his losing his soul, provides the foundation for everything that happens thereafter in both BUFFY and ANGEL. We'll leave aside the fact that the gypsy curse-that because he has a soul Angel lives in torment for his past crimes, but if he achieves a moment of perfect happiness he loses his soul and reverts to the evil Angelus-is a bald and rather dumb plot device. It makes no sense as a curse, and his potentially becoming evil again makes the curse profoundly self-defeating. But so much else is tremendous, I and apparently everyone else cut them some slack on this one.

Joss Whedon himself wrote "Innocence," in which we learn that Angel, after having made love to Buffy, has lost his soul. If the show had been a teen series before, it was not after we see Buffy's boyfriend literally transformed into a monster on the morning after. It's an old adage that bad characters are more interesting than good ones, and it is reproven in the transformation of Angel into Angelus. But not just Angel, but Buffy is transformed as well. I believe the title in part is a reference to Blake's SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND SONGS OF EXPERIENCE. Buffy loses her innocence as she gains in experience. Willow also struggles with new pain when she catches Xander and Cordelia kissing in the stacks. (By the way, part of the joy of the scripts is reading the directions. As Xander and Cordy begin to kiss we read: "They haben der big smootchen." And when Willow sees them she "has pain on her face like a blush.") In an episode of many awesome moments, one of my favorites is the freshly reborn Angelus killing a streetwalker smoking a cigarette, and then him expelling her smoke out of his lungs after he kills her. That was shot precisely as written.

"Phases" was written by the team of Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, who were also the final script editors on the show until they left for THAT SEVENTIES SHOW. Often in Buffy episodes as strong as "Surprise" and "Innocence" are followed by relatively weak episodes, as if they are trying to create a balance between weak and strong scripts. But "Phases" is a fun, fascinating, and tragic episode in its own right, although it provides a break from the emotional roller coaster of the previous two shows. Buffy never deals with potentially hackneyed subject like werewolves in unoriginal fashion, and that is true here.

Well, others start noticing Cordy and Xander's not-terribly-well-hidden relationship, so Cordy dumps Xander to salvage her social reputation. Marti Noxon produced yet another stellar script in "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered," in one of the funniest shows ever in the series. Because Cordy dumped Xander, he wants revenge by having Amy the school witch (from the first season) created a love potion that would make her love him, allowing him to then dump her. But it backfires and every girl in the school EXCEPT for Cordelia falls her him. After the emotional stress of the previous episodes, the show provides a great deal of comic relief. Great moment: Xander demands that Cordy give back the necklace he gave her as a Valentine's present. She goes to her locker to get it, but discretely takes it from around her neck.

"Passion" by Ty King is simply stunning. The show had often proven it could be funny, and sometimes scary, but there is gothic horror in this episode that can bring a tear to the most hard-hearted. Angel's voiceovers would work perfectly in the final shooting, giving a structure to what is one of the most tragic episodes in the run of the show. The episode also served as a warning to its fans: anything can happen on this show. On other shows, the main characters are safe, but here they can die, and proved it by having Angel murder Jenny Calendar. But her death was not as horrific as the macabre scene where Angel has rearranged Giles's apartment to make it seem like Jenny had staged a romantic tryst, only for a romantically touched and excited Giles to ascend his stairs to find Jenny's body in his bed.

This is by far the best single collection of scripts yet published in this series. One writer in the early nineties stated that television had a greater potential for excellence than cinema, and that eventually a series could come along to prove this. I believe that it was in these five episodes that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER did precisely that.

Rating:
Summary: Contains three of the greatest Buffy's scripts ever written
Review: This collection of shooting scripts contains three of the greatest scripts ever produced for the show, as well as one of the weakest. The two-part "Becoming" solidified the emergence of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER as one of if not the best-written shows in the history of television. Although the season as a whole was remarkable, earlier in the season with "Surprise" and "Innocence," the show moved beyond being merely one of the finest shows on television to one of the finest ever produced. The emotional depth and complexity of those two episodes, and later of "Passion," signaled that this truly was a remarkable series.

The question as the second season began winding down was whether the season ending could match the highpoints of the season.

"Killed by Death" didn't bode well for the end, being the second weakest show of the season (following "Some Assembly Required"). It was not a flat out dreadful show, but it failed to match the inventiveness and passion of earlier episodes. Whenever fans vote for the weakest episodes in the history of the show, "Killed by Death" usually receives a significant number of votes, though it never rivals such shows like "Some Assembly Required" or "Beer Bad" for the top (bottom?) slot. The episode provides some opportunities for some funny lines, such as Xander's "My whole life just flashed before my eyes. I've got to get me a life."

If one had any idea that the show might be slipping at all, "I Only Have Eyes for You," put any fears to rest. Marti Noxon's final script for her first year with the show, is arguably her best in the superb way she blends a wonderful ghost story about a female teacher who had been murdered by a student with whom she had been having an affair, with Buffy's feelings about her relationship with Angel. Although the scene between the dead lovers is played out twice earlier in the episode, the force and power when the two ghosts reenact the scene near the end is almost overwhelming in its power, not least because the ghost of the murdering male enters Buffy, and Angel speaks the lines of the school teacher. When it was filmed, an actress I have always loved but have too rarely seen, Meredith Salinger, plays the schoolteacher. I'm baffled why she hasn't been in more roles in her career.

"Go Fish" is not an episode that I like very much. It doesn't do much in carrying forward the story arc, though it was probably helpful to have a tiny bit of a break before the emotionally overwhelming end to the season. The episode provides a few laughs at the expense of Xander, but I just couldn't get into the story of a high school coach who biochemically alters his swimmers to enhance their performance.

Joss Whedon saved the final two episodes of the season, "Becoming," for himself. I am not sure that anyone not named Joss Whedon has ever written two better scripts for a television series than these, and in non-series perhaps only Rod Serling. Whedon is like a juggler with eight or nine balls in the air at once while riding about on a unicycle. The balance between all the elements in these two shows, as Angelus gradually brings the crisis to a head, Kendra returns to Sunnydale and is killed by Druscilla, and Buffy is separated from all her friends and mother is nothing short of astonishing. Every few seconds in the show brings forth some gem, either a new shock (like Kendra dying or Joyce learning that her daughter is the slayer) or line (as when Joyce asks "Have you ever tried not being the Slayer?") or comic moment (such as Joyce and Spike sitting silently in the Summers's living room, and her asking whether they had met before) or jolt (such as Angel recovering his soul only to have Buffy kill him a few seconds later) or even introducing a new character (the extraordinary and mysterious Whistler, who tragically did not become an occasional visitor on the show, but who at least managed some utterly memorable lines), all of it culminating in that one heartbreakingly awful moment when Buffy finishes kissing Angel, and whispers to him, "Close your eyes." For me this remains the two most emotionally devastating hours in the history of television.

At the end of the first season, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER had established itself as an absolutely first rate, funny, and exceedingly hip show, but one wouldn't after the first twelve episodes have been able to describe it as truly great. But Season Two changed that. Buffy became a genuinely great show this season, one of the high-water marks in the history of the medium. And the foundation for that was the writing. It isn't an accident that the scripts of this show are being reproduced: it is a demonstration of what truly great writing grounded the whole show.

Rating:
Summary: Contains three of the greatest Buffy's scripts ever written
Review: This collection of shooting scripts contains three of the greatest scripts ever produced for the show, as well as one of the weakest. The two-part "Becoming" solidified the emergence of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER as one of if not the best-written shows in the history of television. Although the season as a whole was remarkable, earlier in the season with "Surprise" and "Innocence," the show moved beyond being merely one of the finest shows on television to one of the finest ever produced. The emotional depth and complexity of those two episodes, and later of "Passion," signaled that this truly was a remarkable series.

The question as the second season began winding down was whether the season ending could match the highpoints of the season.

"Killed by Death" didn't bode well for the end, being the second weakest show of the season (following "Some Assembly Required"). It was not a flat out dreadful show, but it failed to match the inventiveness and passion of earlier episodes. Whenever fans vote for the weakest episodes in the history of the show, "Killed by Death" usually receives a significant number of votes, though it never rivals such shows like "Some Assembly Required" or "Beer Bad" for the top (bottom?) slot. The episode provides some opportunities for some funny lines, such as Xander's "My whole life just flashed before my eyes. I've got to get me a life."

If one had any idea that the show might be slipping at all, "I Only Have Eyes for You," put any fears to rest. Marti Noxon's final script for her first year with the show, is arguably her best in the superb way she blends a wonderful ghost story about a female teacher who had been murdered by a student with whom she had been having an affair, with Buffy's feelings about her relationship with Angel. Although the scene between the dead lovers is played out twice earlier in the episode, the force and power when the two ghosts reenact the scene near the end is almost overwhelming in its power, not least because the ghost of the murdering male enters Buffy, and Angel speaks the lines of the school teacher. When it was filmed, an actress I have always loved but have too rarely seen, Meredith Salinger, plays the schoolteacher. I'm baffled why she hasn't been in more roles in her career.

"Go Fish" is not an episode that I like very much. It doesn't do much in carrying forward the story arc, though it was probably helpful to have a tiny bit of a break before the emotionally overwhelming end to the season. The episode provides a few laughs at the expense of Xander, but I just couldn't get into the story of a high school coach who biochemically alters his swimmers to enhance their performance.

Joss Whedon saved the final two episodes of the season, "Becoming," for himself. I am not sure that anyone not named Joss Whedon has ever written two better scripts for a television series than these, and in non-series perhaps only Rod Serling. Whedon is like a juggler with eight or nine balls in the air at once while riding about on a unicycle. The balance between all the elements in these two shows, as Angelus gradually brings the crisis to a head, Kendra returns to Sunnydale and is killed by Druscilla, and Buffy is separated from all her friends and mother is nothing short of astonishing. Every few seconds in the show brings forth some gem, either a new shock (like Kendra dying or Joyce learning that her daughter is the slayer) or line (as when Joyce asks "Have you ever tried not being the Slayer?") or comic moment (such as Joyce and Spike sitting silently in the Summers's living room, and her asking whether they had met before) or jolt (such as Angel recovering his soul only to have Buffy kill him a few seconds later) or even introducing a new character (the extraordinary and mysterious Whistler, who tragically did not become an occasional visitor on the show, but who at least managed some utterly memorable lines), all of it culminating in that one heartbreakingly awful moment when Buffy finishes kissing Angel, and whispers to him, "Close your eyes." For me this remains the two most emotionally devastating hours in the history of television.

At the end of the first season, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER had established itself as an absolutely first rate, funny, and exceedingly hip show, but one wouldn't after the first twelve episodes have been able to describe it as truly great. But Season Two changed that. Buffy became a genuinely great show this season, one of the high-water marks in the history of the medium. And the foundation for that was the writing. It isn't an accident that the scripts of this show are being reproduced: it is a demonstration of what truly great writing grounded the whole show.

Rating:
Summary: Contains three of the greatest Buffy's scripts ever written
Review: This collection of shooting scripts contains three of the greatest scripts ever produced for the show, as well as one of the weakest. The two-part "Becoming" solidified the emergence of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER as one of if not the best-written shows in the history of television. Although the season as a whole was remarkable, earlier in the season with "Surprise" and "Innocence," the show moved beyond being merely one of the finest shows on television to one of the finest ever produced. The emotional depth and complexity of those two episodes, and later of "Passion," signaled that this truly was a remarkable series.

The question as the second season began winding down was whether the season ending could match the highpoints of the season.

"Killed by Death" didn't bode well for the end, being the second weakest show of the season (following "Some Assembly Required"). It was not a flat out dreadful show, but it failed to match the inventiveness and passion of earlier episodes. Whenever fans vote for the weakest episodes in the history of the show, "Killed by Death" usually receives a significant number of votes, though it never rivals such shows like "Some Assembly Required" or "Beer Bad" for the top (bottom?) slot. The episode provides some opportunities for some funny lines, such as Xander's "My whole life just flashed before my eyes. I've got to get me a life."

If one had any idea that the show might be slipping at all, "I Only Have Eyes for You," put any fears to rest. Marti Noxon's final script for her first year with the show, is arguably her best in the superb way she blends a wonderful ghost story about a female teacher who had been murdered by a student with whom she had been having an affair, with Buffy's feelings about her relationship with Angel. Although the scene between the dead lovers is played out twice earlier in the episode, the force and power when the two ghosts reenact the scene near the end is almost overwhelming in its power, not least because the ghost of the murdering male enters Buffy, and Angel speaks the lines of the school teacher. When it was filmed, an actress I have always loved but have too rarely seen, Meredith Salinger, plays the schoolteacher. I'm baffled why she hasn't been in more roles in her career.

"Go Fish" is not an episode that I like very much. It doesn't do much in carrying forward the story arc, though it was probably helpful to have a tiny bit of a break before the emotionally overwhelming end to the season. The episode provides a few laughs at the expense of Xander, but I just couldn't get into the story of a high school coach who biochemically alters his swimmers to enhance their performance.

Joss Whedon saved the final two episodes of the season, "Becoming," for himself. I am not sure that anyone not named Joss Whedon has ever written two better scripts for a television series than these, and in non-series perhaps only Rod Serling. Whedon is like a juggler with eight or nine balls in the air at once while riding about on a unicycle. The balance between all the elements in these two shows, as Angelus gradually brings the crisis to a head, Kendra returns to Sunnydale and is killed by Druscilla, and Buffy is separated from all her friends and mother is nothing short of astonishing. Every few seconds in the show brings forth some gem, either a new shock (like Kendra dying or Joyce learning that her daughter is the slayer) or line (as when Joyce asks "Have you ever tried not being the Slayer?") or comic moment (such as Joyce and Spike sitting silently in the Summers's living room, and her asking whether they had met before) or jolt (such as Angel recovering his soul only to have Buffy kill him a few seconds later) or even introducing a new character (the extraordinary and mysterious Whistler, who tragically did not become an occasional visitor on the show, but who at least managed some utterly memorable lines), all of it culminating in that one heartbreakingly awful moment when Buffy finishes kissing Angel, and whispers to him, "Close your eyes." For me this remains the two most emotionally devastating hours in the history of television.

At the end of the first season, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER had established itself as an absolutely first rate, funny, and exceedingly hip show, but one wouldn't after the first twelve episodes have been able to describe it as truly great. But Season Two changed that. Buffy became a genuinely great show this season, one of the high-water marks in the history of the medium. And the foundation for that was the writing. It isn't an accident that the scripts of this show are being reproduced: it is a demonstration of what truly great writing grounded the whole show.

Rating:
Summary: Not the same as before...
Review: Though the quality is not as great as the previous script books, Volume 3 of Season 2 does have some of the best scripts of the season!
The book is slightly smaller than the previous 4, yet holds as many scripts. The pictures of the side and cover are smaller as well. Still, it holds the scripts that are the main point. Nice otherwise for any Buffy fan!