From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/feature/a863237/buffy-plot-hol   
   s-vampire-slayer/   
      
      
   BY DAISY PHILLIPSON   
      
   It was only a matter of time before Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer   
   was given the Hollywood reboot treatment. After all, while it might feel   
   like it was only yesterday that Sarah Michelle Gellar's titular slayer   
   punched, kicked, and staked her way through Sunnydale's demonic inhabitants,   
   it's been a solid 22 years since the Hellmouth first opened its fiery gates.   
      
   Ever since Fox announced its partnership with Whedon to bring the beloved   
   show back from the dead, the passionate fandom has been in a predictable   
   tizzy. Some are stoked Buffy and the Scooby Gang are getting a "richly   
   diverse" modern era update. Some think it's nothing more than a cash grab   
   set to destroy the vampiric franchise and everything it represents. Some   
   just can't wait to see who replaces James Marsters as Spike (will the   
   bottle-blonde look stick?).   
      
   Whatever your take on the matter, the revival at least serves a good   
   opportunity for Whedon and co to revisit the plot holes and mysteries that   
   were left open-ended by the original series. The Scoobies were thorough, but   
   not thorough enough to leave a bunch of blood-drenched stones unturned.   
      
   With the Buffy reboot officially on the cards, here are the major mysteries   
   we want closure on when the new episodes roll around.   
      
      
   1. Out of sight, out of mind   
      
   Remember Marcie? Clea DuVall's Sunnydale High Student who became invisible   
   and proceeded to take out all of her teen angst bitterness on clique queen   
   Cordelia? If that's a yes, you'll also remember that the moment Buffy   
   finally managed to capture her (with a well-positioned stage curtain), a   
   couple of FBI agents came and whisked her off to a government training   
   agency to learn about "Assassination and Infiltration" and all that jazz.   
      
   Despite the fact that this federal operative story seemed like it was going   
   somewhere and the huge potential it posed for future narratives, it was   
   dropped and never spoken about again. Ironically, the title of the episode   
   is 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind', presumably because that's exactly what the   
   Buffy writing team did with this totally open-ended episode.   
      
      
   2. Giles, you creep!   
      
   Did anyone else not find it completely inappropriate for Giles (Anthony   
   Head), the school librarian, to be hanging about with a bunch of teenagers?   
   Yes, he had adult love interests, and yes, he only wanted what was best for   
   Buffy. But we're still surprised that during those many years as the   
   Watcher, he wasn't called in to stand before the Teacher's Council for his   
   highly questionable extra-curricular activities.   
      
   It'll be interesting to see how his character is handled in the reboot –   
   because in the post-MeToo era we're currently living in, that just won't   
   fly. Fictional or not.   
      
      
   3. One place fits all   
      
   "Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen   
   one." Cool concept, we'll give it that. But what about the rest of the   
   world? We get that Sunnydale is built on top of a Hellmouth and the   
   Hellmouth is the source of all that is evil in the world – but as the series   
   shows, Sunnydale isn't the only town hit by the supernatural.   
      
   Perhaps the reboot might see Buffy venture outside of her suburban trappings   
   to offer up her services on a pro bono basis. Couldn't hurt, right?   
      
      
   4. Take our breath away   
      
   This is a plot hole that has been plaguing Buffy fans since the birth of the   
   Master – can those damn vampires breathe or not? In the season one finale   
   when the biggest of the Big Bads left Buffy knocking on death's door, Xander   
   (Nicholas Brendon) and Angel (David Boreanaz) came to her rescue. It's at   
   this point Angel revealed he couldn't give Buffy mouth-to-mouth because   
   vamps can't breathe.   
      
   That we can deal with. But what we can't deal with is he was quite literally   
   out of breath as he told Xander this. It also doesn't explain how or why   
   Spike spent 50% of his screen time sucking on a cig. Eh?   
      
   Side rant: Remember the scene in which Spike strangled his blood-sucking   
   girlfriend Drusilla? Or when Spike was waterboarded by a Toruk-Han? Now try   
   and argue vamps can't breathe, Angel, you dum-dum.   
      
           [My take is that vamps don't need to breathe to stay functioning,   
   but they need air moving over their vocal cords to talk.    Spike liked the   
   'bad boy' image of a rebel smoker (and he might have had a slight nicotine   
   addiction).   About him choking Dru until she passed out, or him being   
   tortured by waterboard, or why Angel couldn't give Buffy mouth to mouth (his   
   breath would have more oxygen that Xander's since Xander was exhaling CO2 as   
   well as O2] - no idea how to explain those.]   
      
      
   5. Red pill, blue pill   
      
   Ah yes, one of the most debated theories of the Buffyverse – was Summers an   
   ass-kicking demon slayer, or was she actually just suffering from a severe   
   case of psychosis, as outlined in season 6 episode 17?   
      
   While the conclusion goes that it was in fact an illusion within an illusion   
   and Buffy was given an antidote to bring her back to reality, there are some   
   who contend that it was a bit of a red pill, blue pill situation and Buffy   
   chose to go with the fake reality. Or, as is likelier, the writers chose a   
   smart moment for Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) to give her daughter a little   
   pep talk from beyond the grave.   
      
   It remains a bit of a mystery, and even Whedon himself said the ending's   
   open to interpretation. Whatever your take on the episode, it would make for   
   an interesting trope for the reboot to revisit.   
      
   For the fans, a mind-bending journey that delved deeper into Buffy's psyche   
   would certainly not go amiss and perhaps it might finally resolve the whole   
   "Is she, isn't she batshit insane?" dilemma.   
      
      
   6. The Guardians of the Watchers   
      
   The penultimate episode of Buffy threw an absolute curveball in the shape of   
   the Guardians – a group of powerful mystic women who just so happened to   
   help the slayer from the sidelines while watching over the Shadow Men and   
   the Watchers Council (the watchers of the Watchers, if you will). They also   
   created the all-powerful scythe, hid it from the Shadow Men, and kept it   
   secret in Sunnydale in the event of the apocalypse.   
      
   This is all well and good, except it felt a little rushed from the writers'   
   side to throw such a significant plot point in right at the end. Where were   
   they when Buffy quite literally died in season one? Or during her   
   apocalyptic battle against Glory?   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)