Ten Unpopular Opinions...

[thepeopleseason]

1. I'm unconvinced that Michael Rosenbaum is as good an actor as everyone says he is.
   
2. The whole Tom Bombadil section of FOTR was utterly boring and was rightly excised from the movie.
   
3. The only time Sarah Michelle Gellar might have deserved an Emmy nod for her Buffy work was in the first season.
   
4. Season 3 is the most overrated Buffy season for two reasons: horrible Faith characterization and an agonizingly bad metaphor driving the season finale.
   
5. Joss Whedon might have deserved an Emmy award for his Buffy work, but only for the work he did well before the voters/critics actually noticed.
   
6. "The Body" is the most overrated and overwrought episode of Buffy.
   
7. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone was a pretty lousy movie.
   
8. After Season 2, Buffy's character turned to a self-involved, slightly-power-mad child with less maturity than Season 5 Dawn. In fact, most of the Scoobies, with the exceptions of Giles, Tara, and Xander, are now petulant twits.
   
9. As well-plotted as it might have been, Babylon 5 had some of the worst dialogue I'd ever seen in any show.
   
10. Between Seasons 4 to 7 (after the departure of Dan Vebber), no one on the Buffy writing staff had any inkling of how to write Xander, even Joss, who made him the scapegoat of "Once More, With Feeling" when he wrote himself into a corner.

And here's my slightly different take on Shanshu for the open_on_sunday Prophecy/AU challenge.

Comments

[chinook-wind.livejournal.com]

"The Body" is the most overrated and overwrought episode of Buffy.

Preach on.

[thepeopleseason.livejournal.com]

Cool. I think I knew of two other people who felt this way. Now I know three :)

The thing was like a after-school special, falling well short of Mutant Enemy standards.

[chinook-wind.livejournal.com]

I remember having a long discussion with blanders about it -- he started off saying that it was the best Buffy ever; I said I actually didn't like it much and found it one of the worst Buffys ever. This discussion went on for a while ... my opinion never changed.

[thepeopleseason.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Google groups has pretty much everything I wanted to ever say about the episode posted in response to a review (in a thread 434 posts long...).

Heh

[(Anonymous)]

Alas, I was deluded. "The Body" doth indeed sucketh. Keep in mind that I was a late-comer to BtVS (late season 3, somewhere around "Bad Girls") and didn't have the wonder that is "Lover's Walk" or "Passion" or "Becoming Pt. 2" to compare with. It was still better than 90% of season 7 (snippets of "Beneath You" and "Conversations with Dead People" excepted).

--lurking blanders

Re: Heh

[thepeopleseason.livejournal.com]

Keep in mind that I was a late-comer to BtVS (late season 3, somewhere around "Bad Girls") and didn't have the wonder that is "Lover's Walk" or "Passion" or "Becoming Pt. 2" to compare with.

Even as a stand-alone episode, not taking into account anything that has come before, I've got a real huge problem with the episode, because there's nothing in the way of dramatic tension or any sort of character development--the only thing that really comes close is Anya's breakdown (frankly, why the hell are we focusing on Anya's character in an episode about Buffy's mother's death?)

Everything about the episode just seems to forward a glaringly obvious thesis--the death of a loved one is sad--and yet, there's nothing substantial going on beyond that basic premise.

Glad you got to catch the first few (best) seasons...

It was still better than 90% of season 7 (snippets of "Beneath You" and "Conversations with Dead People" excepted).

That's not really saying much... :/

Re: Heh

[chinook-wind.livejournal.com]

True nuff. To all of it. :)

How are you, btw? Whatcha up to? You can comment in my LJ if you want, instead of cluttering up tmhsiao's ...

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

Joss Whedon might have deserved an Emmy award for his Buffy work, but only for the work he did well before the voters/critics actually noticed.

I'd agree.

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone was a pretty lousy movie.

Actually I tend to think SS is pretty decent. Chamber of Secrets, otoh, is interminable. Not even Kenneth Branagh can save it.

[thepeopleseason.livejournal.com]

Actually I tend to think SS is pretty decent.

I think my problem with it is that it tries hard to capture the magic and wonder of the book, but just ends up being very, very bland, which is probably the worst thing it could have been in my eyes.

Chamber of Secrets, otoh, is interminable. Not even Kenneth Branagh can save it.

Actually, Branagh is one of the things I really dislike about CoS. I guess I prefer him like I like Robin Williams--soft-spoken and subtle.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

I think my problem with it is that it tries hard to capture the magic and wonder of the book, but just ends up being very, very bland

See, for me, the settings and most of the characters were so very much like what I'd pictured, that it worked for me. I think it also helps that I like the kid actors, even though they were either wooden or overacting. I thought Radcliffe did a lovely job as Harry.

Branagh is one of the things I really dislike about CoS. I guess I prefer him like I like Robin Williams--soft-spoken and subtle.

but Lockhart is *such* an OTT character that it worked for me. He, Jason Isaacs and Alan Rickman chewing the scenery were the best parts. And maybe the flying car. I liked the flying car. *g*

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

"The Body" is the most overrated and overwrought episode of Buffy.

You, me, and DHines in the bunker on that one...

[thepeopleseason.livejournal.com]

What a maddening thread that was...

[aviationwolf.livejournal.com]

"The Body" is the most overrated and overwrought episode of Buffy.

I don't think this is really all that unpopular of an opinion.

[thepeopleseason.livejournal.com]

You'd be surprised how many people jump down my throat when I say so.