Discussed in these episodes
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656 Endless Slumber Party
We wrap up our seven-year walkthough(!) of the seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The show is slowly grinding to a halt, but are there gems to be discovered? Buffy’s got a speech about that. Maybe the real Big Bad was the friends we made along the way!
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555 Dawson's Crypt
The sixth season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” features dark and unpleasant themes, a painful magic-as-heroin allegory, and creative decisions that manage to be cruel to both the show’s characters and its audience. But there’s also a musical!
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521 Knights of Exposition
Our walkthrough of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” continues with season 5, in which Buffy inherits a sister with retcon powers, the gang loses someone close to them, and everyone realizes it’s time to grow up. Also, the Big Bad thinks she’s prettier than Buffy, but when you spend all that time around a bunch of gnomish lackeys, your aesthetic sense is bound to get a bit skewed.
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477 Klimt Versus Monet
Our season-by-season survey of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” goes to college, as we explore season four. UC Sunnydale is full of welcoming professors, friendly TAs, annoying roommates, and a collection of government commandos who are experimenting on the local demons and vampires. Spike returns as comic relief. We’re all about Willow and Tara. And then there’s that episode where nobody talks and that other one where they’re all dreaming. We break it all down like it’s 1999.
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429 A Juicer For People
Well, gosh! Our slow walk through all seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reaches season three, full of extra slayers and friendly-but-demonic mayors and all the hallmarks of your senior year in high school. Is Faith a good addition or does she disappoint? Does Xander continue to stink or does he grow up? Was the introduction of Anya (and the vampire version of Willow) all we could wish for? Did the WB network demand all of the romance and love-triangle subplots? We talk about the season as a whole and our favorite (and least favorite) episodes.
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381 That's Me Only Shirt!
Yeah, baby, we’re back! It’s time to return to Sunnydale and discuss the second season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” considered by many fans (including Jason) to be its best. The main adversaries are a trio of vampires, including Billy Idol, the bizarrely insane Drusilla, and Angelus—because Latin names are more evil. Plus there’s an evil smurf, a tragic rendezvous at Giles’ apartment, a big rock, inexplicable gypsy ensoulment curse strategies, and a whole whiteboard full of classic horror tropes.
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365 Humour With a U in It
We return to our first wave of inductees into The Incomparable’s Television Hall of Fame, as we enshrine 10 more series that our panelists consider among the greatest of all time. This second batch spans seven decades and includes sketch comedy, animation, sitcoms, dramas, and even a show that premiered less than a year ago.
[Part two of two.]
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298 Tumblr Would Have Loved It
It’s a cult show that could’ve hit the zeitgeist if it had just happened a few years later. From angsty vampire-human romances to a butt-kicking lead in a nice dress, the first season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” delivers. We break down our favorite episodes, marvel at the show’s great casting, and appreciate the unlikely nature of a smart, character-driven teen series emerging from the wasteland that was The WB network in the late ’90s.
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22 Stephen Fry (Does Not Appear)
Recorded live and in person before a studio audience (of one)! We discuss Stephen Fry, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Sean Connery, Scottish accents, corpulent detectives, V for Vendetta, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, Solaris, The Fountain, Garfield, “in medias res” movie conceits, Doctor Who special effects, our favorite TV shows of all time (including Buffy, Max Headroom, Sports Night, Spaced, Smack the Pony, and the Rockford Files), The Middleman, Kevin Sorbo, Gene Roddenberry’s posthumous oeuvre, and why Steven Spielberg can’t make a good TV show. Also: the debut of the Spoiler Quack.
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12 He Who Controls Mr. Peanut Controls the World
Discussing Joss Whedon, from Buffy to Firefly (to the Avengers?) and everything in between. What’s the appeal? What are our favorite episodes? Why did Firefly die young and leave a great-looking corpse?
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6 Go Ahead, Lisa, Destroy My Childhood
Comic Book Club returns! This week we talk about TV adaptations of comic books, TV shows inspired by comic books, comic books that would make good TV shows, and more. Plus, random discussion of X-Men Annuals, the Micronauts, and why Reed Richards is a douche (in X-Men Annual #5, anyway).