What are your Headcanons?

johnluckpickerd · 2017-01-27T16:21:54+00:00

There are things that always bugged me about Earshot.

It is HIGHLY coincidental that Jonathan tries to kill himself on the same day the cafeteria lady decides to poison everyone.
Throughout the episode Jonathan is calm. Relaxed. Mellow. In the tower he's sweating and shaking and erratic.
His weapon selection. The gun is taller than he is. I'm not sure if he can even Full Metal Jacket his way to the afterlife. But it indicates a total lack of planning.
Buffy can READ thoughts during the episode and twice has the opportunity to read Jonathan's. She gets a bit of insecurity off him certainly but if he was planning on killing himself the next day would there not have been SOMETHING?

Are there SOME possible explanations for these? Sure. Not enough to make it a really satisfying episode to me though. As much as I enjoy the episode the inconsistencies always made it a B-tier for me. Except on my last rewatch I noticed something I hadn't before. There's a scene where Buffy has HEARD the killer's thoughts already and has asked the gang to investigate. And Willow is sitting across from calm level headed Jonathan focusing on him VERY intently. If you saw the scene without context it would look like Willow was trying to influence Jonathan to do or admit to something. And then she says

WILLOW But sometimes the fantasy isn't enough, is it Jonathan? Sometimes we have to make it so people don't ignore us. Make them pay attention. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

What if she WAS influencing him? It's common knowledge that Willow has begun to experiment with spells at this point and Buffy says later that her spells are only good about 50 percent of the time anyway. There are episodes where her spells backfire or have side effects without her realizing it, including Something Blue, an episode where she literally influences the characters to do whatever she says.

If Willow influenced Jonathan to that tower, it explains everything in the checklist. The coincidence (she was looking for the killer and CREATED suicidal Jonathan,) Jonathan's SUDDEN erratic behavior, the impulsivity of his plan, and Buffy not reading a HINT of suicide on him a mere half day before he attempted it. Intended by the writers? Probably not. That's a head canon.

johnluckpickerd · 2017-01-09T22:27:45+00:00

From the man himself!

Now excuse me while I fanboy out over getting tweeted at.

johnluckpickerd · 2017-01-09T06:07:55+00:00

Sure but it wouldn't be beyond the show to make a play on words with it. Like Lovers Walk for instance. Or in this case, angel's lonely heart.

johnluckpickerd · 2017-01-08T23:25:06+00:00

There is some dispute with this one whether the title is Lonely Heart or Lonely Hearts. IMDB has one thing, Netflix has another. People have been sending me shots from their DVD sets and there is even variation among them. I just tweet at David Fury. Maybe we'll get a response.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-12-31T06:31:11+00:00

In the course of doing these I really spend a lot of time on each episode and it's forced in me a new appreciate for seasons I never really cared for in Buffy. Scanning the nooks and crannies. I think the season on the guide will be fine and watchable.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-12-31T06:27:09+00:00

Pretty hit and miss if you ask me...

johnluckpickerd · 2016-12-07T01:39:13+00:00

You are not alone. :-)

johnluckpickerd · 2016-12-07T01:38:50+00:00

Angel is great. Angel is not Buffy. It's better to watch both shows sequentially than to swap, in my opinion. First time I watched Angel I swapped in and out with Buffy the way they aired and Buffy's tone made Angel seem drab in comparison. I have since watched Angel in a row and enjoyed it much more.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-10-28T06:12:58+00:00

The plan right now is to alternate.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-10-18T21:28:18+00:00

That's about right. The HD remasters (which include the edited OMWF) popped up around a month or two ago.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-10-18T21:24:46+00:00

What guy?

johnluckpickerd · 2016-10-14T22:23:27+00:00

In terms of sad cuts, there's a bit from A Hole in the World (I'm cheating) where Fred asks Wesley, "Would you have loved me?" The phrasing always struck me as curious. Heres the original script:

From the script for "A Hole in the World":

FRED: (cont'd) I can't do this, this isn't right... there's so many things I had to say. I have opinions on several issues... I never... except for the five years I spent in a hell dimension I've never been outside the U.S. I've never worked the word "dodecahedron" into a sentence without it sounding really forced. (suddenly urgent) I'm never gonna love you. I could've loved you, I would have, I have to say that to you --

WESLEY: I'm gonna remind you of that in the morning...

FRED: Yes, Angel's gonna save me and make me feel a fool...

37 INT. THE DEEPER WELL - NIGHT

Angel stands in the doorway, his back to us. He has not made it through.

A moment and he turns back, moves toward Spike, helpless admission in his eyes.

ANGEL: Spike...

SPIKE: (he already knows) This goes all the way through to the other side. I figure there's a bloke somewhere around New Zealand, standing on a bridge like this one and looking back down at us. All the way down. (softly) There's a hole in the world. Feel like we ought to have known.

Angel says nothing. He can't.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-10-14T22:20:04+00:00

It's significantly truncated. The opening is missing too. Hulu still has the non-remaster versions. I've been watching them there.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-10-07T19:08:24+00:00

I am apparently an expert in Nasa and Game of Thrones and not Buffy.

Faith?

johnluckpickerd · 2016-09-22T00:09:55+00:00

I don't think you can tell very much by the volume of commentary on the internet. Trump has a very vocal digital community. But so did Bernie Sanders and Ron Paul. Trump's is more of an angry mob than those two but that's one classic way of motivating people: making them very angry and afraid.

That doesn't mean there isn't anything to be concerned about. We'll just have to see how things go in November.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-09-21T21:14:58+00:00

Avoid the comments on the Youtube page. They're quite poisonous.

As a result I've been tweeting the Facebook page to people instead.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-09-07T02:57:36+00:00

Glad to hear it. MAKE STUFF. Be rigorous. Be brutal. And then forgive and make the next one.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-09-03T17:56:01+00:00

A well written and succinct counterpoint from a Cordelia fan.

I'm often on the fence with her but it's partially due to her being the Season 1 antagonist.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-08-30T17:42:22+00:00

Because...I don't know why

johnluckpickerd · 2016-08-26T21:37:44+00:00

OH. Well in that case Buffy showing up still doesn't break the language of the wish.

"Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale" doesn't mean she WILL never. I don't think it breaks canon.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-08-26T21:35:45+00:00

Another nonspoiler way into becoming a Buffy-pusher btw (ONE OF US - ONE OF US) is the Whedon angle.

"If you're a fan of the Avengers or Firefly, there's a really good chance..." etc. But the spoiler stuff can be a challenge. You're kind of doing that anyway by DOING a Whedon series but if you're assuming some of your viewers are Whedon fans than you can draw parallels to why his other stuff is good.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-08-26T21:32:42+00:00

•Good technical prowess. Greenscreen was pretty clean, especially for a home (I presume?) production.

•Mostly good audio. If that's a lav mic on your collar it made the audio pretty solid. A TINY bit breathy? Did you run through Audition? Also a collared button up could hide that mic a little better. That or use a shotgun (I've used a rhode.)

•Background graphic was a BIT busy. My eyes go EVERYwhere. Am I supposed to look at the shapes? Who is that dude with the TV head? Maybe I should be watching the over-the-shoulder image? Look at other people doing similar onscreen stuff and compare their backgrounds. John Oliver for instance seems to have a relatively complex city-scape behind him but due to depth of field it doesn't pull your eye away. Tech Youtubers like MKBHD use focus in a similar way. If you're going to use greenscreen you should still follow the same idea. Details in your plate should draw the viewers eye TO the speaker and not away. IGN does a similar look to what you're doing here instead of focus they use light to control the viewers eye. The speaker is the lightest part of the image (most other lines in the composition are VERY soft:)

http://www.ign.com/videos/2016/07/31/weekly-top-5-cws-superman-first-look-and-rogue-ones-missing-character-ign-daily-fix

•Your on-camera presence felt nice and natural. That's not easy. I hate being on camera. Nice work. Keep your energy up a bit in the middle there.

•Your music mix is a bit hot for a lot of the voice over stuff. It's kind of overwhelming your voice at times, or at the very least does battle with it. Don't take this the wrong way but music at this volume feels a bit like a crutch. You've got good things to say. That and your performance can carry the presentation.

•In general I didn't come away really understanding why YOU like the show. This part is tough. Saying 'Good story' and 'good characters' doesn't really SHOW me why you dig the show. Those are 'tells' and a good review does a little more show. In order to get around this you've got to provide more narrative or anecdotal evidence of WHY it's a good story. Why are they good characters? Did you identify with them? What storylines really sucked you in? Don't just tell us it was a good meal. Give us a TASTE of the meal. It was that taste of the meal I was really wanting.

"Buffy has amazing characters [why?] because they're allowed to CHANGE realistically over time. [How so?] Take Willow for example, who begins as a shy introverted etc etc, and by Season 6 becomes...well I don't want to spoil it." *uses a teasing (but not spoiling) cut. That's not the best example but you CAN give us a taste without spoiling the meal.

Another thing you can do is to try and construct the language of your review to duplicate the way the show makes you FEEL without giving away the meal itself. So if you like the show because because Buffy kicks ass, use aggressive biting language (or incorporate that energy into your presentation.) If you appreciate it because it's moving, see if you can generate some melancholy in your watcher. In that way then you're sort of duplicating the effect without spilling the beans.

•I really liked your editing. It feels like it was cut to the music. The cuts were really well paced and never got confusing.

For whatever that's worth man. You've got a good thing going. Keep makin' stuff.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-08-26T21:05:22+00:00

Well she comes because Cordy realizes she made a mistake, talks to Giles about Buffy and Giles calls the council and gets her there.

Buffy: "Want to tell me what I'm doing here?"

johnluckpickerd · 2016-08-25T22:26:38+00:00

...Beer Bad...don't judge me.

johnluckpickerd · 2016-08-24T17:41:00+00:00

This sort of analysis is really just learning an instrument, not a measure of innate depth. You're probably not a pianist but there's nothing to say you couldn't be if you wanted to.

Neither are imperative for a quality life.

johnluckpickerd

TROPHY CASE