Day 7: "I should care about this, why?"

[rogueslayer452]

Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show

There's not a specific episode, but some of the stand-alones in Battlestar Galactica's third season. I liked some of them well enough but overall they didn't really serve much purpose for furthering the bigger story that was being told, which for a series like BSG everything was fluid in its storytelling so it seemed kind of off when they did one of those here and there. I believe it was the network that pushed for those stand-alones until Ron Moore took control again and decided he was going to do things his way.

For Buffy the Vampire Slayer there were many episodes I didn't favor, most of them were in the latter half of the series, especially in the sixth season because that was my least favorite season ever. So it's really hard to say. I think "Where The Wild Things Are" in season four was just that random wtf kind of episode where it was just so horribly bad, it's that "what were they thinking?" kind of an episode. The only redeeming quality of it was having Anthony Stewart Head singing with his guitar in that one scene, because him singing is never a bad thing. But yeah, I think even though I loved BTVS it had quite a handful of cringeworthy episodes which, for a series running as long as that of course it's gonna have its bad eggs of either episodes or seasons in general. It's just the inevitable.

And for the sake of it, in Supernatural it's mostly the filler episodes in these last two seasons which they should have minimized greatly when dealing with a larger than life apocalyptic plot. As for specifics, definitely "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Heaven and Hell", which I think everyone knows the obvious reasons why those episodes sucked major. DNW ever again, Kripke.

Masterlist of days here.

Comments

[alexwhitman25.livejournal.com]

I heartily agree with "Where the Wild Things Are" for it's random weirdness. Much of S6 was just plain awful.

I wish I could mindwipe "Heaven and Hell" from my brain.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

First, love that icon. :D And yes, S6 was just idk. I get what they wanted to do with it, having it be more mature and darker and more depressing, but it was just too dark with its content. I don't think I'll ever get over the scene with Spike trying to rape Buffy, or how fucked up Willow got, or how the Magnificent Bastard killed Tara in such a manner that I'm still kind of shocked over. So much mess happened in that season that it's like I just glaze over it.

That episode we definitely needed some brain bleach, for sure. I pretty much purge anything from those two episodes in general. As far as I'm concerned, it never happened.

[alexwhitman25.livejournal.com]

This would be my oldest icon. I've had it uploaded forever and I love it to bits. crackers4jenn made it.

The Buffy/Spike thing got to be too much about degradation to the point that I felt like I was gonna heave in their scenes. The attempted rape was just way too far. I hated Willow's lame magic addiction storyline. There were a handful of good eps in S6, but I tend to forget about them because the whole season seems tainted to me.

I was thinking about how all over the place this season of SPN was the other day because I was considering a complete season rewatch. There are a few episodes I would put on my worst episodes top ten list. But they also gave me "The End" which I would put on the best and possibly "Point of No Return". I decided if I do a full rewatch, there is just no way I can sit through "Fallen Idols" again though.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I never liked Buffy/Spike (the one-sided version in S5 is an exception) just from the example of how they handled it. Also, I cannot stand the majority of Spuffy fans that try to defend what Spike did or find ways around what happened. HE TRIED TO RAPE HER. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT NO MATTER HOW YOU TWIST THINGS. Just, ugh. Everyone was so broken and depressing in S6, I pretty much consider it the "everyone was out of their minds and didn't know any better" season.

I think as a whole for SPN S5 that it's not as horrible as it seemed to us because we suffered through two long hiatuses and after those hiatuses we returned with filler episodes, which prolonged anything substantial towards the plot. I've counted how many episodes I really loved or enjoyed, it's 14 episodes. The majority of them were plot-related. 14 out of 22 isn't so bad, really. It's definitely how they organized the season overall is what makes it seem like it was all over the place, which it was. Particularly the latter half since we should have just had episodes dealing with the Apocalypse right after the last hiatus and not just come back with a stupid filler. That's what threw us off (and the lack of Castiel made it worse).

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I think there wouldn't be so many if a series had fewer seasons, or shortened seasons, that mainly focus on the story at hand and not filler episodes like some of them do. Because I find the shows that only have one or two seasons have very few bad episodes or writing issues.

[skieswideopen]

I read a theory somewhere that "Where the Wild Things Are" was Joss's perverse response to complaints that Buffy was too violent...

But really, there were a bunch of things in seasons six and seven I didn't care for. Not that they were enough to stop me from being the DVDs. (Curses on my need for the complete set.)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

So he made an episode that made little to no sense? lol

I know right? Joss Whedon kind of has that hold on me, even if I don't like a season and probably won't watch it all that much I'll still buy the DVDs. Dammit Joss! ;p

[skieswideopen]

So he made an episode that made little to no sense?

I think the idea was that he went for an episode with relatively little violence, but LOTS of sex. :D

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Which still makes little sense. XD I think the more one tries to understand what the entire thought process of this episode was, the more it's like "yeah, filler, not much point."

[skieswideopen]

Well, yes. I think you may have a point there.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Although with BTVS some episodes were kinda like that, ngl. Some episodes were in that "let's make something completely wacky and crazy!" as Joss often thinks at times, and sometimes it works while sometimes it doesn't.

[silverusagi]

Buffy season 6 has so much badness. Season 7, too, IMO. I'll probably never watch most of it again. I can't think of a specific episode I hate, because it all just blends together in stream of badness. I could rant forever, but I won't. The worst part it, I'm a Spuffy fan, so the majority of my Buffy flist is as well. And there is a great deal of love for S6/7 because that's where the majority of the Spuffy "relationship" happens. But I just can't do it. I can't read meta and discussions about how amazing those episodes were, because that's the point when I honestly think the writers lost their minds. Yeah, they tried to do something different and dark, but guess what? That's not why I was watching the show. I can tune into any primetime drama to get "life is the big bad" and a heroine who's struggling with depression, whose little sister shoplifts and whose best friend has a magic drug addiction.

As for SPN: Chris Angel is a Douchebag is my worst episode ever.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I actually loved S7 because I liked the setup with the First Evil and the Potential Slayers. I didn't like Buffy though for some of it though, especially her holier-than-thou attitude she held, but I really loved the ending of the series and I felt it held true to the feeling of what BTVS really was. At least for me. But yeah, S6 was just a horrible mess because it made me really dislike characters I had previously liked before. And as you know, I'm not that into Spike/Buffy (the concept in S5 was innocent enough, but that's where the extent ends). I thought the more they shoved it into the show to more degrading it was, especially when he attempted to rape her. That was the final straw for me during that season.

Just, S6 was just a dark mess. Of course one could say that this was the time where Joss was juggling three shows at once, but that still doesn't excuse what the horrible outcome was of the season as a whole. :/

Eh, "Criss Angel Is A Douchebag" was alright but more filler than the worst. I just find any kind of filler episode like that which takes away from the main plot is something the show has troubles with. Keep with the consistency, folks.

[silverusagi]

I felt like S7 spent a long time cleaning up after the mess they had made in S6. And I hated the Potentials, LOL.

There's usually a big kerfuffle/discussion about the attempted rape every six months or so in the Spuffy fandom. And it goes every which way. It was a device by the writers because they had to force Spike to get a soul/show Spike was still bad. Or it was in character and logical. It was out of character for Buffy to be turned so into the victim. Or it was well done to show Buffy as the everywoman. It was irresponsible of the writers to go there in the first place, without considering the repercussions to the story. Or it wasn't. Etc, etc.

Really, though, I think they wrote themselves into a corner with the whole soul thing. Souls make everything better. Unless you're, you know, Warren.

I would have been perfectly happy to have Spike and Buffy stay as they were in S5, with him in a one sided relationship and her beginning to accept him as an ally. The whole messed up, abusive, sexing thing in S6 was, well, messed up. But I don't really like anyone in S6. They all turn into crazy depressed people. Yeah, I know Buffy is depressed over Heaven, but that still doesn't mean I like the way the story went.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Really, though, I think they wrote themselves into a corner with the whole soul thing. Souls make everything better.

I completely agree. The writing just was horrible in that season in general that they realized they needed something to justify what they were doing to these characters, and to Spike in particular. It's like they just went HEY, LET'S HAVE HIM GET A SOUL! THAT'LL CURE EVERYTHING WITH WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE! Which is just sloppy.

I would have been perfectly happy to have Spike and Buffy stay as they were in S5, with him in a one sided relationship and her beginning to accept him as an ally.

I agree so hard with this, it's not even funny. That would have been completely logical and reasonable in regards to their characters, because it's just like what occurred in S2. It would have stayed true to that ally concept, and with Spike having his crush and Buffy remaining neutral to him and it wouldn't have turned into the nauseating mess it was in S6.

[silverusagi]

I sort of think Spike/Buffy is a prime example of a ship getting together in canon and completely ruining it. (And not in the good way that happened with Buffy and Angel--that quote from one of the writers "give the viewers what they want in the worst possible way." Buffy sleeping with Angel and causing him to lose his soul was the worst possible way. Buffy sleeping with Spike and using sex to escape/punish herself? Not so much.)

I was perfectly happy with their sweet, weird little story, which I was free to read more into in fic. Then they turned it into depressive Buffy and Spike as the bad boyfriend.

Really, it's things like this that make me so glad there's no chance of Dean/Cas ever being canon. Because they can never get together and ruin it. Though I hope their friendship isn't ruined/abandoned next season. It had better snap back, so I can continue to enjoy platonic Dean/Cas awesomeness, while reading as much into it as I choose.