Tribute to Andy Hallett

Last month, the wonderfully talented Andy Hallett died of congestive heart disease at the age of 34. Andy was best known for playing the singing host-with-the-most, Krevlornswath ("Lorne"), on Joss Whedon's sci-fi drama Angel for four seasons. Lorne is a green-skinned demon from the music-less dimension of Pylea. After he is sucked through a portal to Los Angeles, Lorne establishes Caritas, a demon-friendly karaoke bar where humans and demonic beings alike are encouraged to bare their souls through song. To the crew of Angel Investigations, Lorne is a mentor, a confidant, and a trust-worthy friend whose gentle nature is the yin to their yang.

After Andy passed away, a friend and I selected some of our favorite Lorne clips from his 76 episodes on Angel and pieced them together in a 7 minute farewell tribute in memory of the actor and the character he embodied on one of our favorite series.

We tried to post the tribute on Youtube but were blocked because of copyright infringement as the video "may have content that is owned or licensed by FOX". The heated debate over copyright on the web is one that I won't get into now, though it can be argued that fan-made video tributes do far more to attract new audiences to genre television than to harm corporate revenue streams. Ahm, Fox.

To keep our tribute and Andy Hallett's memory alive, I have instead embedded our video here in Quicktime format. Andy, you are missed!

A Joss Whedon Valentine's Day Special

Along with a delicious homemade dinner from my boyfriend, I received another Valentine this week - the opportunity to meet two of my personal heroes. Yippee!

On Monday, February 9th, I began work at a new full-time job in mid-town Manhattan. It just so happens that one of my coworkers is friends with Chris Baty, the crazy man who began National Novel Writing Month, and Chris was in the city that very day, taking a tour of my office before attending the Tools of Change for Publishing Conference. When I heard that Chris was in the office, I had a real geek-out moment - which was even geekier than usual because no on else had even heard of, much less participated in, NaNoWriMo. My coworker was kind enough to introduce me, and the three of us conversed for 10 minutes on novel writing, word counts, George R.R. Martin, and Phillip Pullman. In my experience, all of the best writing-related discussions involve at least one of the above four topics, so it was quite a lovely chat.

Of course, 24 hours later, my hero-meeting on Tuesday would completely blow Monday's out of the water ... no offense, Mr. Baty.

On Tuesday evening, my BFF Alicia (a fellow die-hard Whedonite) and I went to see Joss Whedon speak about his new series Dollhouse at the Apple Store Soho event in NYC. We were only expecting to see Joss, so we were pleasantly surprised a few times that evening because ...

• Joss was there, and so was Eliza Dushku, Dollhouse's ass-kicking heroine, best known for kicking ass as Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

• The opening act of Dollhouse was screened, with promises that it only gets better from there. The series "simmers before it boils", really kicking into high gear halfway through the first season's thirteen filmed episodes. Episode six has been guaranteed to blow our minds.

• Best of all, despite the protests of douchy Apple Store employees, Joss was kind enough to stick around for an hour after the event to sign posters and other fandom as well as take pictures with his adoring fans. Including me! Yippee!
  

I didn't bring any of my DVD sets for Joss that night, but I did get a free mini Dollhouse poster which he happily signed. Of course the best part of meeting Joss was being reassured that he is not a Hollywood diva. He is a genuinely nice, brilliant man, who surrounds himself with genuinely nice, talented people, whom he respects. There's a reason why Whedon alumni keep popping up again and again in new Whedon projects, including Amy Acker (Angel), Alan Tudyk (Firefly) and Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog) as Dollhouse special guest stars. He likes them and they like him, and together, magic happens.

Dollhouse premiered on Friday night (Friday the 13th, exactly 5 years after the WB announced Angel's cancelation), and while critics and fans are unsure of where this will fit on Whedon's top ten list of best shows ever, I'm definitely willing to give it a shot ... and my fingers are crossed that the big-bad FOX executives will too, despite it debuting with an unimpressive 4.7 million viewers.

Dollhouse is a futuristic, sci-fi drama that revolves around Echo (Dushku), a young woman who has willingly subjected herself to being pimped out as an "active", an agent of a shady organization who can be imprinted with false memories and skills to use on highly covert missions. When her missions are complete, Echo is returned to the "Dollhouse" where her memories are wiped and she becomes, once again, a complacent and vulnerable human doll.

Even without a stellar pilot to reaffirm our commitment, most of Whedon's fans are trusting that regardless of how commercially successful the series is, we will not be disappointed. If the series is anything like its predecessors, Dollhouse will establish a uniquely inventive world with an ensemble of compelling, morally-grey characters (heroes and villains), whose struggles will unfold across a story arc that explores themes of faith, sacrifice, friendship, love, and humanity.

That, in essence, is a Whedon show, and that is why I have been a fan since I was eleven years old when Buffy premiered on March 10th, 1997.


Couldn't make it to the Apple Store event on Tuesday? Pretend like you were there too by replacing my head with your own in the picture provided above. Ah, memories. :)

You Owe Me a Michelin, Motherf*cker.

During my most recent foray into marathon television via Showtime's killer original series, Dexter, my heart opened - somewhat unexpectedly - to the arrogant asshole, Sergeant James Doakes (played in spectacular archetype fashion by Erik King).

In Dexter, the titular Dexter Morgan is your run-of-the-mill, likable sociopath whose day job with the Miami Metro Police Department is in blood spatter forensics where he works with Sergeant Doakes, a homicide detective with a short temper, a foul mouth, and frequently pursed lips. While Dexter's sister Deb works her way up the police ranks and Lieutenant Maria Laguerta gives him googly eyes, everyone in MMPD seems surprisingly oblivious of Dexter's after-hours job, moonlighting as a serial killer of the people who "deserve" to be murdered the most - other murderers.

Except Doakes.

Sergeant Doakes is on to Dexter from the beginning, making it clear that the forensics investigator gives him the f*cking creeps and promising to uncover his secrets. The sergeant has a lot of free time on his hands, spending every night for a month tailing Dexter in the second season, and later breaking into his apartment to find whatever bloody trophies Dexter has stashed away in air conditioning vents. The Doakes v. Dexter tension (sexual, perhaps?) climaxes in one very bad week for both men, bringing their altercation to an explosive end.

I'm sorry to see the Doakes v. Dexter conflict end with the season two finale. Doakes is crude and obnoxious, bullheaded, and he curses like a sailor who did time in special ops. It's hard to deny that the sergeant ultimately reaps what he has sown, but in Dexter's freshman and sophomore seasons, he was also a lot of motherf*cking fun.

Doakes Drinking Game

• A shot for every time Doakes says "motherf*cker"
• A shot for every time Doakes stares down Dexter, this close to jumping his bones
  

Doakes Motherf*cker Buttons
Surely Showtime will add these classic Doakes quotes to their merchandise line.

Veronica Mars: Vixen, Cynic, Sleuth

Television has gotten good in the past few years - so good that many original network and cable series are, on average, significantly better fare than the middling drivel Hollywood has produced lately (Meet the Spartans, Fools Gold, Prom Night, the list goes on).

The best thing about television being so good these days is that now there's more outlets available to watch the shows you miss first time around:

• DVRs allow for record now: watch later while almost every series can be found on DVD mere months after the most recent season wraps.
  
• Network series are regularly rebroadcast days later on cable channels owned by the same parent company (new episodes of NBC's House and Law and Order: SVU also air on the USA channel)
• Most networks and the network-approved Hulu.com feature a back-log of recently aired episodes and older series to catch-up on with modest 30 second commercial breaks. Available episodes range from a handful of recent broadcasts to entire seasons' worth.

Because of all of the above (and also the less legitimized Bittorrent), I have been able to keep up with favorite series and watch, marathon-style, the series I missed in primetime.



Enter Veronica Mars and a two-week, 64 episode marathon.

The relatively short-lived UPN/CW mystery series was a critical darling and obsessive fan-favorite, but abysmal ratings (seriously low, low, ratings - the nadir of the networks) couldn't keep the series alive.

I'll admit that I heard about the series when it was still in production and the fans were trying desperately to keep it alive, but I ignored it. I ignored it because everyone was calling it the new Buffy and I wasn't looking for a new Buffy - I was perfectly content with the one I already had and my shiny 144-episode box set. When I finally did sit down with the series, the similarities are there, but they're mostly superficial:

• Heroine is a petite, blonde highschooler (later college chic), formerly of the popular crowd but now an outcast.
• Heroine combines forces with other misfits to form "Scooby Gang" (only instead witches and chipped vampires it's computer geeks and biker gang leaders).
  
• Heroine helps people (slaying vs. solving crimes), including schoolmates who come to her for help despite her unsavory reputation.
• Series includes episode-contained plots (monster of the day vs mystery of the week), as well as overarching story lines.
• The teenage characters are far more witty and pop-culture savvy than actual people tend to be.

From the first episode, the trajectory of season one is clearly set. High school junior Veronica Mars has a few problems. Her best friend Lilly Kane was murdered (and the wrong guy went to jail for it), her boyfriend unceremoniously dumped her, her mom skipped town, her father lost his job and the town's respect, her social standing has been obliterated, and to top it all off, she was roofie'd and raped at a party but doesn't know who did it. Fortunately for Veronica, she's no damsel in distress. Relentless and often bitchy to hide her vulnerable seventeen year-old self, Veronica is a smart, head-strong private investigator with a knack for solving mysteries, even as she tends to dig herself deeper into trouble. By the time the mysteries of season one are wrapping up, the more convoluted - and superior, IMO - season two is already underway.

What is apparent is the reason why the series is so beloved and why comparisons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer are more than fair. Veronica Mars features a masterful combination of clever writing, teenage angst, unexpected twists, relevant themes, identifiable characters, humor, drama, and tragedy, all wrapped up in a slick, attractive 42-minute package. Joss Whedon may be the show's unabashed #1 fan, but I'm a happy new recruit, grateful both for quality television and the means by which I am able to watch 14 episodes in 12 hours, if the mood strikes.

Ode to the Buffy Musical

Last summer, I began watching the sitcom Scrubs in syndication, catching as many as four episodes per day in no particular order - season one, season four, season two, they were all funny. The series is brilliant, featuring an outstanding ensemble cast, ridiculous daydream vignettes courtesy of narrator John Dorian, and a musical episode aptly named "My Musical".

In the Scrubs musical episode, a patient at Sacred Heart hallucinates that everyone is singing and dancing around her, as though they are performing in a musical. Is she crazy or genuinely ill? Who cares! We are in for a musical treat, and the particularly ridiculous song about stool samples is bound to get stuck in your head at the most inopportune of times.

You see....
Everything comes down to poo!
From the top of your head, to the sole of your shoe
We can figure out what's wrong with you by lookin' at your poo!

As fun as "My Musical" is, it just can't compare to the ultimate televised musical spectacle, the quintessential Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Once More, With Feeling".

Why is "Once More, With Feeling" so bloody brilliant? Let me count the ways (with bullet points!):

• The episode was written and directed by Joss Whedon. Enough said.

• Wait, there's more - Joss wrote the music and lyrics too!

• Pop culture (and Broadway!) references galore.

• There are no dubs here - the whole cast is really singing, inspiring countless fans to sing along.

• Anya rocks out in a solo about why bunnies should be feared. (and for good reason too)

• Buffyverse logic: singing + dancing = spontaneous combustion!

Mostly though, "Once More, With Feeling" is brilliant because it not only seamlessly weaves the reasoning behind the singing into the plot (a new demon is in town wreaking havoc, duh!), it also packs a major story arc punch with more character and plot development in 50 minutes than most series feature in entire seasons.


When the characters are forced to reveal their inner most thoughts through song, this is what we - and they - discover:

• Buffy feels detached and discontent. Ever since coming back from the dead, she has failed to feel really alive ("Going Through the Motions").

Still I always feel
This strange estrangement
Nothing here is real
Nothing here is right

• Anya fears bunnies - okay, not a big secret ("I've Got a Theory/Bunnies").

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses
And what's with all the carrots
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway

• In her love song, Tara boldly announces that she is under Willow's spell, not realizing that it's the literal truth as well as the figurative ("Under Your Spell").

I'm under your spell
How else could it be
Anyone would notice me?

• Soon-to-be-married Anya and Xander reveal that they are full of insecurities, and like any couple, they bother the heck out of each other, foreshadowing a tragically doomed marriage attempt ("I'll Never Tell").

I lied
I said it's easy
I've tried
But there's these fears I can't quell

• Spike's obsession with Buffy continues to grow as he encourages her to reciprocate his love, insisting he is the only one who understands her dark side ("Rest in Peace").

You're scared
Ashamed of what you feel
And you can't tell the ones you love
You know they couldn't deal

• Dawn's excuse for becoming a klepto is that she feels ignored by the Scooby Gang, but can you really blame them? ("Dawn's Lament").

Does anybody even notice?
Does anybody even care?

• Giles believes that he is standing in the way of Buffy's potential to fulfill her adult responsibilities, and the only way she can fully come into her own is if he skips town for good ("Standing").

The cries around you,
You don't hear at all
'Cause you know I'm here
To take that call

• Tara discovers that Willow has used a spell to make her forget an earlier fight. Tara, already convinced that Willow is using too much magic, is heartbroken ("Under Your Spell/Standing Reprise").

Wish I could trust
That it was just this once
But I must do what I must

• Buffy reveals that her failure to readjust/be happy is because when she was resurrected, she was ripped out of a heavenly dimension, and compared to that, living sucks ("Life's a Show").

Life's a song
You don't get to rehearse
And every single verse
Can make it that much worse

• After the semi-successful "defeat" of the demon Sweet, the Scooby Gang feels lost and unsure, overwhelmed by all of the revelations of the episode - who wouldn't be? Meanwhile, Buffy concedes to a relationship with Spike, believing that she doesn't deserve any better ("Where Do We Go From Here").

Where do we go from here?
Why is the path unclear?
When we know home is near
Understand
We'll go hand in hand
But we'll walk alone in fear

Buffy the Vampire Slayer the Complete Sixth Season - $48.99

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Collector's Series - $164.99

Attending a theatrical screening of "Once More With Feeling" (ala Rocky Horror) and getting to sing along with fellow Buffy fans and Whedonites - PRICELESS.