@purofilion—

Yes, it’s a shame Charisma’s time in the Buffiverse ends on such a crappy note. But I guess that’s how these things go sometimes.

The parallels with the mass Slayerage in Buffy s7 are interesting. There’s lots of parallels with lots of Buffy themes here. Jasmine is an evil God, not unlike Glory. You already mentioned the…[Read more]

@ScaryB — good to see you back in the ‘verse, to coin a Firefly-ism…. Yes, this election’s going to be a doozy, what with all the squealing about the rise of the SNP. All that love-bombing and ‘family of nations’ pish doesn’t seem to be quite so funny or heartfelt now apparently….

@purofilion — I’m about as far as you can get from a churchgoing type so no offence is possible. I’m pretty sure Joss is of the non-religious persuasion also (remember ‘note to self: religion, creepy’). But I’m thinking that if there’s any satirical intent in the Jasmine storyline then it’s at the more peripheral cult-ey end of the spectrum –…[Read more]

@purofilion — ah, Release. So, you’re well into the little mini-Faith trilogy, which I think is one of the highpoints of this season. I really like seeing Wes and Faith finally getting that Watcher/Slayer relationship that has been thwarted since Buffy s3.

Good point about the stagecraft. Yes, it is a big old cheat and probably points to shonky…[Read more]

@purofilion — RE. Bond. I’d count On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as my favourite Bond film. I think Lazenby gets a bad rap. He starts off shaky but I’m totally sold on him by the end of the movie. And it has the best Bond girl in the mighty Diana Rigg — not just eye-candy by any stretch and more than a match for Bond — to the extent that he…[Read more]

@janetteb —

The whole Two Cultures debate is one I’m quite interested in and while that binary opposition is still too prevalent, it has waned slightly I think. But it is still kind of destructive and kicks in in most education systems too early I think. Certainly when I was in school decisions are made about which direction to send you down too…[Read more]

@purofilion —

I think you’ve got to cut Awakening a bit of slack as being deliberately hokey. It’s very much riffing on an Indiana Jones kinda deal, I think and the hokeyness is because Angel is, well, kind of a hokey bloke — remember how much part of him was attracted to the straightforwardness of the warrior life in Pylea? This is the same…[Read more]

@purofilion — no, no tuition fees for undergrads anyway here in Scotland. It’s one of the things that creates a bit of tension over the border where getting a degree can clock up to 30 odd grand now. But I’m glad that we’ve managed to hold on to the idea of seeing a value in education beyond a purely fiscal one.

HECS, that was it. Lived and…[Read more]

@purofilion — I’ll not have a word said against Craig as Bond. I think he’s done brilliant work in escaping from the comedy parody the part had become.

RE. education. I thought Australians already had to pay for their education. And it’s all bad news for higher education these days. Interesting, if long, piece on the Guardian about the…[Read more]

@purofilion — yes, Wes now does kickass action hero quite well now. He’s certainly a far cry from the dweeb of s3 of Buffy, although that is still in the mix too. There was some talk that he was considered a serious contender to play Bond in Casino Royale, losing out to Daniel Craig in the end. I can kind of see it too — although he’s maybe a…[Read more]

@purofilion — there are times when the Fish just has to keep his gob shut. Just be prepared for some twisty, turny stuff….

The rift between Gunn and Wes is interesting, given that they were so tight in s2. I always felt that Gunn gave up on Wesley that bit too easily in s3, bearing in mind that the man took a bullet for him. I don’t really…[Read more]

@WhoHar — a collaborative piece of creative writing could definitely work and be quite interesting I think. I did do a few installments of a kind of alternative first season of Who as a blog and as the fiction category has been set up, maybe we just set something up as a blog post which he can all add to in the comments? But initial pitches in…[Read more]

@purofilion

Re. Connor and Cordy. I think people mostly say ‘ewwww’. It was to an extent forced on the production team because Charisma Carpenter was pregnant in RL and they had to find some fast narrative way to explain it.

Yes, Lilah’s great and, as you say, more vulnerable than Lindsay who was pretty much engaged in a macho pissing contest…[Read more]

@purofilion

Thought I’d redirect the telly chat back over here.

RE. Angel.

I think the ‘Fred’ roleplay between Lilah and Wes is very much a power struggle — which is what their relationship largely is. Lilah tries to be the dominant one by mocking Fred and saying how unthreatened she is by her. Wes takes back that power by making her go…[Read more]

@whohar — No problem. Yes, Amazon is kinda prescriptive at the moment but if you’ve got a feature it’s worth popping it on — although if you’ve been able to find interest elsewhere then that should definitely take priority. You’re working on a WW2 drama? Me too at the moment. Maybe we should compare notes.

@ichabod — I loved the Red Riding…[Read more]

@frimann79 — sorry for not getting back to you earlier. Personally, I’m of the mind that it’s OK to put this kind of thing on On The Sofa. Memorabilia and merchandise is a big part of the Who experience — just so long, as you say, the forum doesn’t turn into a marketplace….

Sunday has all the best songs, it seems. Johnny Cash, Nick Cave and the Velvets all have strong contenders, but to me it really has to be the ‘Hungarian suicide song’ that wins out. Have a cheerful and jolly Sunday, everyone…

Happy Birthday, @Craig…. Loaded is an awesome track. It’s one of those ones that seemed to represent a consciousness-changing moment for such a lot of people

Saturday — it’s either going to have to be Drive-In Saturday — but we’ve already done a lot of Bowie this week, so it’s got to be Uncle Tom Waits, back when he was a god-damned legend.…[Read more]

Fridays are a little easier. I realise I should probably have gone for The Specials’ original but I kind of like the Nouvelle Vague version, although their breathy ohh-la-la, we are so Freeench schtick gets a bit annoying sometimes….