The teaser of this week’s Lie to Me ended with the main character, Cal Lightman, seemingly shot dead. There’s been a buzz since the airing that, because there was never any doubt that by the time the end credits rolled the human lie detector would be back on his feet, the drama was all manufactured and, well, empty. Show runner Shawn Ryan has been fielding questions to that point on Twitter. The same sentiment can be found in the comments on Brett’s SG:U post. It begs the question: can television shows ever put their heroes in any realistic danger?

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(Buffy Season 4, Episodes 5-6)
(Angel Season 1, Episodes 5-6)

Change is brewing already on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A little abrupt, and saddening, but it will push the characters into new emotional territory. Never want them to stagnate too much.

Over on Angel, it was so good to see Angel doing something other than the whole brooding thing. The show is really coming into its own comedy-wise, which is important. I don’t need it as light as Buffy, but you can’t have characters like Cordelia and Doyle and stay that dark forever. Read the rest of this entry »

(Buffy Season 4, Episodes 3-4)
(Angel Season 1, Episodes 3-4)

Now that’s a crossover between two shows. Brilliantly and seamlessly handled. This is why I chose to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel back-to-back like this. I knew Whedon had dropped little treats like this in for his loyal viewers, and now I can pretend to be one, too.

It was also nice to see the return of some familiar faces to both series. As I said last week, the casts are pretty lean. And while I can forgive it as we’re getting settled into our new environments on both shows, it’s time to start stretching out and meeting new people, as well as reconnecting with old friends. Read the rest of this entry »

Pulling quotes from our favorite TV shows is one of my favorite things to do (true story), but why limit our quotes to just the shows, when celebrities — and some of CliqueClack’s greatest — say some of the darnedest things?  So, from time to time, we figured we’d share some of those funny lines.

Quotes from the Ether

“A chil[sic] day. Reflection.Shower No shave. Sneak in an episode of “Deadwood!” Ian McShane … What the F! Holy shitballs the M F C S is great!” – @Danny_Devito — who shared with us the above … er … picture. (via Twitter)

“Now I’m not just a good pooper, but an optimum one.” — David Duchovny, in his new Pedigree commercial

“sorority row opens today! bring on the blood the boobs and the comedy!!!” – @IMKristenBell — speaking directly to Brett’s heart. (via Twitter)

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(Buffy Season 4, Episodes 1-2)
(Angel Season 1, Episodes 1-2)

Welcome to the new and shorter-titled “Diary of a Buffy/Angel Virgin.” I’m a completist by nature, so if I’d been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it was on, I would have surely tuned in to Angel. I’ll bet the vast majority of people who were watching did the same, or at least sampled Angel.

So far, both shows feel a little lean. They took two of the regular cast members of Buffy, and put them on Angel. Buffy is just making do with the smaller number, while Angel added one. After high school so much changes, so it’s pretty cool watching two different shows to see how everybody’s lives are moving in such different directions. Read the rest of this entry »

Summer is coming to a close, which means two things. Many of the brilliant summer shows that cable gave us this year are over or close to, and its time for the fall premiers. Two of my favorite Virgin Diaries posts also found some closure, as Buffy finished high school, and Veronica just finished.

Defying Gravity

“Do you guys ever get, like really bad cramping when you clench your butt checks together like that?” — Wass

Greek

“He was a nerd but he was hot … it was just so confusing.” — Random ZBZ sister to Casey, about Max

“I had to fake a nosebleed to get out of there.” — Dale to Calvin, on how he supposedly escaped from Sheila at the party

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While I was gleefully devouring all four seasons of Supernatural for my Diary of a Supernatural Virgin column, I couldn’t help but notice all of the similarities between Dean Winchester and my favorite ass-kicking blonde slayer, Buffy Summers. There’s no denying that Eric Kripke owes much to Joss Whedon for paving the way with his ground-breaking iconic series, but I also think he instilled in his hero, Dean, many of the same qualities that make Buffy the well-rounded character that she is.

It even goes beyond qualities and encompasses actual story elements that touched both characters. I’m going out on a limb here and saying that Kripke didn’t borrow without rhyme or reason: I think he paid homage to Whedon in the ways he subtly carved Dean’s complex character to be similar to Buffy’s duality — the lighthearted banter masking the inner angst.

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