Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1, Episode 5: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Written by Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali; Directed by David SemelSurprisingly, this episode wasn't half as bad as I'd remembered. Okay, so the plot is yet another generic affair, this time using the "Buffy goes on a date and it goes wonky" framework that would be returned to on more than a couple of occasions in subsequent seasons. It's not a dreadful concept, but the date, like so many others in the world of Buffy, is a bland, poorly-acted, personality-deprived, generic "hunk" named Owen who, thankfully, is never seen again after this episode.
It's not all bad, though. The production values are now reasonably consistent and the pacing is beginning to improve too. Also, the final scene is very good, offering us a glimpse at some much-needed character development for Giles as well as hinting at the more serious tone that the show would gradually embrace. Actually, I strongly suspect that that particular scene was written by Joss Whedon (his "style" is all over it) rather than the writers credited for this particular episode, Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, who, if my memory serves me correctly, struggled to achieve anything but the lowest common denominator throughout their two-season tenure on the show.
5/10
Up next: The Pack. This was the episode that finally sold me on the show when I watched Season 1 for the first time.
3 Comments:
This episode struck me as winning the 'Plot? What plot?' award for season one, primarily because very little of consequence really happened in it.
You liked 'The Pack'? It actually left me quite cold.
By Baron Scarpia, at 19:42
Well, I'm less indisposed to Xander than you, so perhaps it's not surprising that I liked the season's key Xander-centric episode more than you. I also enjoyed the episode with the Internet demon... until, that is, the demon turned out to be a ridiculous talking robot.
In any event, Prophecy Girl strikes me as being the strongest episodes of the season. Not surprising, as a list of top episodes from any season would probably consist of all the Whedon-directed ones and a small number of others.
By Whiggles, at 20:08
Yes, the Internet demon was good, up until the STUPID STUPID robot.
Oh, by the way, I didn't dislike Reptile Boy as much as I did Inca Mummy Girl.
By Baron Scarpia, at 20:57
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