The northern East Coast is transforming into Canada with its sheets of ice. Weather folk experct power outages from the Midwest to the East Coast. How will this affect the Best Buffy Teaser search, you wonder? Obviously, I won't be able to deliver new posts. That's about it. My gut tells me that the general public wouldn't lose sleep over a Foot-less day anyway. In fact, I'd wager that the general public has no idea TV With The Foot exists. But people love Buffy so maybe the masses will turn out as I write about each and every Buffy teaser.
Yesterday, I named the Best Teaser from season one. "Prophecy Girl" won the award despite close competition with the "Pilot." Perhaps I should've constructed a numerical list in descending order to show how I rank all of the teasers. Maybe that numerical list will make its debut today.
Today is all about season two Buffy teasers. I barely explained how I evaluate the teasers. Simply, I look for the highest level of enjoyment and the teaser that sets up the central personal arc and the A story the best. If a teaser is tremendous without introducing the essentials of the story then I have no problem with that.
LET IT BEGIN:
WHAT IS THE BEST BUFFY TEASER FROM SEASON TWO?
"When She Was Bad"--Written By Joss Whedon
After briefly dying and defeating The Master, Buffy left Sunnydale and spent her summer LA with her father.
Season 2 opens the night before school, where we find Xander and Willow enjoying ice cream cones while rattling off movie quotes. No writers enjoys exposition but Joss is great at making expositional dialogue sparkle with wit and character that helps one forget that its exposition. We learn that monsters have been MIA since The Master's demise, and that Buffy's barely kept in touch with her friends except for a few postcards to Willow, which is an important piece of information for the ensuing forty minutes of episode. Xander's infatuation with Buffy has diminished to a degree, and he and Willow find themselves on the verge of kissage (a word Joss uses in his scripts) until a vampire interrupts the fun. Xander and Willow briefly try to battle the vamp. Fortunately, Buffy arrives and quickly stakes the vamp. She turns and asks, "Miss me?"
This is a tightly constructed teaser. Whedon showed how close Xander and Willow were to kissing so that the sting of Buffy's dance with Xander will hurt both Willow and the viewer more. The teaser raises an important question: why hasn't Buffy kept in touch? What's going on with her? The lack of communication between Buffy and her friends is essential as well because Buffy's bitca-ness dominates most of the episode. Again: why is that? It's a great way to kick off the episode and the season.
"Some Assembly Required"--Written By Ty King
Buffy awaits a vampire to rise in the graveyard. As she waits, Angel arrives and accidentally spooks her. Angel assures her the vamp will show after the disorientation of waking up disappears, and Buffy remarks that it's weird thinking of Angel experiencing that. There's a connection there until the conversation shifts to the two of them in a romantic sort of way. Angel expresses jealousy about Buffy's dance with Xander. Buffy says she just danced with him. Angel says, "'Danced with' is a pretty loose term. 'Mated with' might be a little closer--" before he's interrupted. That's a funny a line with a great David Boreanaz deliver. Soon, they're bickering. The vamp arrives. He's dusted. The bickering continues until Buffy falls into an open grave. Why an open grave? Did another vampire rise? Angel thinks so. Buffy said no: a grave robber opened the grave.
"Some Assembly Required" is about relationships and love (the grave robbing plot is a macabre love story), and the Buffy/Angel scene sets the stage for such thematic content. We see the fantastic chemistry between Buffy and Angel, plus their growing feelings for each other.
I love this episode. This teaser displays terrific dialogue between Buffy and Angel. Terrific dialogue is a constant in Buffy.
"School Hard"--Written By David Greenwalt
"School Hard" opens with Buffy and another student being scolded by Principal Snyder. As I wrote yesterday, Snyder's distrust of Buffy only grows during the course of the series, especially in season two. Snyder blackmails the two girls into organizing parent/teacher night by promising to withhold information that could infuriate the parents. Later, as Buffy tells her friends about her new responsibilities, Xander casually says that it's no biggie: the parents will love what Buffy did, and she'll be fine as long as nothing bad happens between now and parent/teacher night. Famous last words. Buffy and Willow accuse Xander of putting the jinx on the night. Sure enough, Spike arrives in Sunnydale for the first time. Xander has, indeed, jinxed Buffy's night of responsibility.
Once again, the teaser spotlights how enjoyable the characters are as well as the dialogue. The teaser sets up the intriguing A story--Buffy will obviously need to be slayer girl once danger arrives in Sunnydale, but how can she do that with her mom and other Sunnydale parents around? Her mother's involvement adds something personal to the story. She can't let Joyce find out what she is. Plus, we get that great introduction of Spike (he drove his car, while listening to punk rock, through the Welcome to Sunnydale sign. That signals that a different kind of vampire has arrived).
"Inca Mummy Girl"--Written By Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkemeyer
The teaser's sort of a throwback to season one. Buffy, Willow and Xander are in a museum learning about mummies and the ancient Inca tribes. Buffy rants about how a foreign exchange student will live in her house for two weeks. The dialogue, again, shines. The trio of friends learn about an Incan princess who was sacrificed to their god by being buried alive for eternity. The remains of the girl are protected by a cursed seal. If the seal's removed, the princess awakens. "God's gift to the bell curve," Rodney Munson, breaks the seal and awakens the princess. And then the credits roll.
It's not the best teaser nor the worst. When a beautiful girl arrives as Ampata, we'll know something is a-miss because Buffy informed her friends and Cordelia that Ampata is a male. Xander's sort of set up for romance with a female exchange student when he supports the beautiful melding of two cultures. All in all, it's nothing spectacular. The mummy stuff, in particular, is cheesy.
"Reptile Boy"--Written By David Greenwalt
The Scoobies are hanging out in Buffy's room, watching a Bollywood film. Buffy and her friends joke about the movie. Buffy admits that she enjoys a vamp-less night where she can relax and be with her friends. In the next scene, a woman runs for her life from hooded men. They eventually capture her and, interestingly enough, the hooded men are human beings rather than demons or vampires. What's going on there? Stick around after the credits to find out.
Even if the vampires and demons are hushed, something evil always afoot in Sunnydale.
"Halloween"--Written By Carl Ellsworth
Buffy fights a vampire in Pop's Pumpkin Patch. There's some fun alliteration. In the bushes, a vampire films her with a video camera for Spike. Buffy stakes the vampire. The vampire smiles, pleased with either his impeccable work as a cameraman or pleased that he successfully scouted this fight of Buffy's...or both.
It's very short. The only audible words from Buffy's mouth is "Hmmn." The audience doesn't know that Spike assigned the vampire to film Buffy so audiences were wondering who wanted her filmed and why. The fun Halloween madness doesn't begin until Act One.
"Lie To Me"--Written By Joss Whedon
This teaser starts out creepy. Drusilla stalks a small boy as he waits for his mother on a playground in the evening. Before Drusilla can kill him, Angel arrives. The two have history and the scene between Dru and Angel reveals some of their history. Meanwhile, Buffy watches Angel and Drusilla talk unaware of who she is or what her relationship with Angel is. On ground level, Angel warns Dru to leave town with Spike before Dru warns him that "this is just the beginning."
The teaser accomplishes two things: it reveals some of the history between Dru and Angel, and it introduces Buffy to that history even though she doesn't understand it yet. The Buffy side propels the first act as she wonders who that girl is in Angel's life. The scene between Dru and the small boy also shows the audience what Dru's capable of--she's a bad, bad girl, and she won't hesitate to eat a child. The teaser's most interesting on first viewing. On repeated viewings, it loses that because everyone's already familiar with Dru and her history.
"The Dark Age"--Written By Dean Batali & Rob Des Hotel
A British man walks rapidly on the Sunnydale campus. He asks a custodian where Mr. Giles can be found. As he walks to Giles' office, a woman with rotted flesh approaches the nameless British man. The man pounds on the door to Giles' office but Giles cannot hear because Buffy's in the middle of her step-aerobics routine which features loud noise (or music as Buffy opines). The woman strangles the man. She then dissolves and whatever possessed her enters the man's body.
The mystery of the man, the woman and the relationship to Giles is the most mysterious aspect of the teaser. Bits and pieces of Giles' background have been revealed but the teaser promises the most Giles-centric story in the series thus far. Because the man is British, one can determine he must be a Watcher but it doesn't explain what has been chasing the man. Also, we know that man will now be chasing Giles. This is a very good teaser, friends and well-wishers. And I love the brief scene when Buffy's doing her step-aerobics.
"What's My Line Part 1"--Written By Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon
Buffy, Willow and Xander are taking career aptitude tests. Buffy wonders if she should bother because her fate has been fixed. Willow insists Buffy continue with the test because it's fun. Also, Snyder would punish her for ignoring it. In the next scene, Spike continues to plan the slayer's death while seeking a cure for Drusilla. The Spike-Drusilla scene reminds the viewer of their twisted romance and reiterates Spike's intention to kill Buffy. The career aptititude test fits in nicely with this two-parter because Buffy will have the opportunity for a different life once another slayer arrives only she doesn't know that yet. Her future isn't fixed.
"What's My Line Part 2"--Written By Marti Noxon
Part 2 is a continuation of part one, obviously. Buffy and Kendra face off. Buffy's aware that she's a slayer. The girls make a truce so Giles can explain how two slayers exist when only one is supposed to. That's the hook. Meanwhile, Angel's locked in a seedy bar storage room. Can Buffy save him? Typical teaser fare.
"Ted"--Written By David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon
Buffy, Xander and Willow walk the Sunnydale streets, enjoying the quiet night. Buffy especially enjoys the happy non-thoughts that come with an absence of vampires and demons. The trio arrive at Buffy's home. They enter. Buffy hears a noise then glass breaks and her mother says 'No!' Buffy enters the kitchen, ready to protect her mother when she finds her mother locked in a kiss with a man. Buffy is stunned.
Buffy can never enjoy a danger-free stretch of days. If isn't vampires or demons, it's frat boys who take advantage of girls, or grave robbers, or robots who date her mother. Before the robot thing surfaces, Buffy's forced to deal with her mother dating another man following the divorce. Nothing's quiet for Buffy.
"Bad Eggs"--Written By Marti Noxon
Buffy and Joyce shop in the mall. Joyce asks her daughter to pick up a dress for her, but a vampire distracts her before she can. She doesn't defeat the vamp. She forgets the dress. At the food court, her mother expresses annoyance and disappointment wit her. She asks her daughter for a little responsibility, unaware that Buffy's the most responsible person in the world. Joyce wonders whether her daughter thinks of anything besides boys and clothes. Buffy responds, "Saving the world from vampires." Joyce ignores that and says that has no idea what goes on inside of her daughter's head sometimes.
The end of the teaser essentially announces the theme of the episode to the audience: the difficulties of parenting, while reminding us that Joyce is blind to Buffy's life, as most parents are with their teenage child. "Bad Eggs" throws the Sunnydale High students into that role when they have to look out for eggs as if they were their own children. The dynamic between Buffy and her mother propels the A story in "Bad Eggs."
"Surprise"--Written By Marti Noxon
Buffy's dreams are prophetic, and her dream that begins "Surprise" is no different. She's in The Bronze. Willow's having coffee with a monkey. Angel arrives to dance with her, but Dru staked him before they could. Angel turns to dust. Angel dies on her birthday--FORESHADOWING. Drusilla wishes Buffy a happy birthday. She wakes up in bed, panicked, and sweating.
Buffy's 17th birthday is important because she'll lose her virginity. Her mother asks, in the dream, whether or not Buffy is ready, but Buffy doesn't understand. Ready for what? Take away all of the vampires and demons and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer is a show about growing up, coming of age, and first experiences. The dream begins a terrific two-parter about one of the most important moments in a girl's life followed by one of her worst fears. Nothing will be the same for Buffy the character or for the series. This two-parter marks a great turn for the series.
"Innocence"--Written By Joss Whedon
The teaser opens with an impatient Spike waiting for The Judge to actually do something destructive. Drusilla feels a sensation of something changing. She smiles as Spike wonders what happened. In the next scene, Buffy wakes in Angel's bed, naked and alone. She calls out shyly for Angel, but he's gone. He's outside, on the street, suffering as the soul leaves his body and Angelus takes over. A woman asks is he okay. Angel isn't, but Angelus says he feels just fine before biting her, exhaling her smoke after biting into her neck. Things have, indeed, changed.
The teaser has one of the most iconic moments in the show's history: Angel goes bad, and the image of Buffy naked and alone in Angel's bed is one of the show's most famous moments; however, their scene later in the episode is much more famous.
"Phases"--Written By Rob DesHotel & Dean Batali
Willow and Oz talk for a bit in the hall but Willow leaves frustrated because she feels stuck in place with Oz. She wants a relationship and some of the physical stuff. Buffy tries to help, but she's sad about Angel. Meanwhile, Xander can't stop talking to Cordelia about Oz and Willow. Cordelia wonders why he only talks about Willow and Buffy when he could be kissing her. Outside of the car, a werewolf growls softly as Cordy and Xander kiss.
"Phases" is about teenage hormones and sexuality. Werewolves represent uncontrollable sexuality. Giles and Buffy draw parallels between werewolves and the typical male. Larry, a recurring character, represents the bad side of the werewolf/sexuality metaphor. He is introduced as an abrasive, aggressive guy with girls during the first part of the episode before his confession to Xander in the locker room. The teaser's all about hormones and sexuality. Interestingly, in a reversal, Oz is respectful of Willow and won't take things fast. It's an interesting reversal because Oz is the werewolf so Joss and his writers reverse that werewolf trope.
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"--Written By Marti Noxon
Love, or the lack of love, is the central focus of the episode. Valentine's Day has arrived. Buffy and Xander are patrolling together in the cemetery where Xander rants about his relationship with Cordelia, even comparing perilous slaying to his relationship with Cordelia. Xander can't relate to her. They sit, for a stretch of time, in comfortable silence while Xander continues to prefer a relationship with Buffy. His discontent with Cordelia doesn't last into the second act, though. Xander eventually eats the words he spoke in the teaser because he DOES like Cordy. Such reversal is quite common in Buffy's teaser. A character will say something and then the next scene reverses what the character just said.
"Passion"--Written By Ty King
Angelus stalks Buffy throughout the short teaser as he narrates his thoughts about the word "passion." He watches Buffy and Xander dance. He watches Buffy and her friends leave. He watches her in her bedroom. Angelus enters her room as she sleeps and caresses her cheek with his hand. It sets an ominous tone for the episode and portends something bad. Indeed, "Passion" is a devastating episode for our characters. The audience sees how evil Angelus really is in this one.
"Killed By Death"--Written By Rob DesHotel & Dean Batali
Buffy, sick with the flu, tries to patrol. Her friends insist she go home, but Buffy doesn't want Angel to kill anyone else she or her friends care about after what happened to Jenny. Angelus shows up, of course, and attacks Cordelia. Buffy's not at full strength and fails to stake him. After Angel leaves, she faints.
Angel will continue to be a bastard but he doesn't do anything else in "Killed By Death." The flu sends Buffy into a hospital. A strange but bad episode follows. The teaser highlights Buffy's devotion to protect her friends, and her friends' devotion to cover for her when she's sick.
"I Only Have Eyes For You"--Written By Marti Noxon
Ah, the Sadie Hawkins dance. A boy from Buffy's Algebra II class invited her invited her to the dance; however, the Angel (and Angelus) of it all stops her from saying yes. Buffy tells Willow about the boy who asked her to the dance. Willow tries to encourage Buffy to date, explaining that love isn't always terrible, that it can be nice. Immediately, the episode cuts to two feuding lovers. The female no longer loves the male and he points a gun at her.
This an important episode for Buffy as she prepares to fight and kill Angelus. The mojo which possessed the two students in the teaser eventually possesses Buffy and Angel, which helps her find the closure she needs. Angel is gone. The teaser shows how stuck Buffy is. It's important to see a Buffy who hasn't gotten over Angel because it informs why she hasn't been able to fight him.
"Go Fish"--Written By David Fury & Elin Hampton
Sunnydale High celebrates a championship the swim team won. One of the members of the swim team, Cameron, tries to connect with Buffy by telling her how the team practices in the ocean. Flirty banter ensues. One of the other swim team members bullies Jonathan. Buffy breaks it up. That bully soon loses his skin to a mysterious sea creature-ish figure.
I wonder why the Scoobies bothered going to the beach to celebrate the swim team because school spirit never infected them, but it's necessary for the monster-of-the-week story that involves the swim team. I can buy that Buffy and company wanted to enjoy a normal school event, but they should know that nothing normal happens to them.
"Becoming"--Written By Joss Whedon
Whistler opens the episode with narration about events in life that shape a person's life and identity. We're also in Galway, 1753 as a drunk Angel leaves a tavern. He notices a beautiful woman, Darla, and follows her. Darla asks Angel does he wants to experience things he's never seen or heard of. He does. She asks him to close his eyes. Remember those words for the end of this episode. He closes them. She sires him. In the present day, Buffy fights three vampires. She wants Angel to know that she's ready to kill him. Angel lurks in the shadows and promises that it'll all be over soon before disappearing into the shadows.
What a wonderful teaser for one of many terrific Buffy finale. This teaser gives us Angel's origin story. There's wonderful symmetry between both of Angel's death scenes in the two-parter. It shows a stronger and more determined Buffy. The teaser establishes that the episode will split between present day preparations for Angelus, Dru, and Spike and the past with Angel's history to the time gypsies cursed him with a soul.
AND THE WINNER OF THE BEST SEASON TWO BUFFY TEASER GOES TO..."When She Was Bad." I think its a wonderful tone-setter for what the series is, what the episode will be and what the season will be. And, as promised, a numerical list in descending order:
21. "Inca Mummy Girl" 20. "What's My Line Part 2" 19. "Go Fish" 18. "Halloween" 17. "Ted" 16. "Bad Eggs" 15. "What's My Line Part 2" 14. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" 13. "Lie To Me" 12. "Killed By Death" 11. "Passion" 10. "The Dark Age" 9. "School Hard" 8. "I Only Have Eyes For You" 7. "Reptile Boy" 6. "Phases" 5. "Surprise" 4. "Becoming" 3. "Innocence" 2. "Some Assembly Required" 1. "When She Was Bad"
Tomorrow, I plan on covering the entirety of season three.
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