[continued from previous message]   
      
   Heartbroken over Oz's departure, Willow casts a spell to forget him or to   
   "let [her] will be done".   
      
   While her pain over Oz remains stronger than ever, Willow notices that   
   one-off comments she makes are starting to come true. Giles loses his   
   eyesight, Xander becomes a "demon magnet", and most entertainingly, Buffy   
   and Spike, former mortal enemies, decide to get hitched. Remember, at this   
   point there was no Spuffy, so watching them together is beyond hysterical,   
   especially because they're so lovey-dovey and twee. "Something Blue" may not   
   heal the wound of Season 4, but it sure distracts us from the pain.   
      
      
   3 TABULA RASA (SEASON 6, EPISODE 8)   
      
   Oh Willow, you wily witch. In "Tabula Rasa", she's in the doghouse with Tara   
   so logically, the most thoughtful thing to do is cast a forgetting spell so   
   all will be hunky-dory. All is not hunky-dory.   
      
   The entire Scooby Gang loses their memories, including Willow herself. They   
   cobble together identities based on what little evidence they have. The   
   result is like a shuffled deck of cards. Giles provides the most   
   entertainment of all, thinking that Spike is his son because they're both   
   British. But as much as they make us laugh, the gold medal for squabbling is   
   between Giles and Anya, who think they're husband and wife. Any episode that   
   finds Anya yelling, "Bugger off, you brolly!" deserves some recognition.   
      
               [since 'Tabula Rasa' follows 'Once More With Feeling' (when it   
   aired and on the DVD), I always watch it after enjoying yet another viewing   
   of OMWF]   
      
      
   2 PANGS (SEASON 4, EPISODE 8)   
      
   What is it about Thanksgiving that brings out the dysfunction in all of us?   
   Buffy wants to have a perfect holiday with the Scoobies, but as they live on   
   the Hellmouth, that proves impossible. We can't help but cringe a little at   
   the premise of an indigenous demon terrorizing a bunch of white people's   
   Thanksgiving, though the episode does its best to remind us of the darker   
   side of the holiday—even if its efforts are a tad obtuse.   
      
   The non-offensive moments of the episode, however, are undeniably the   
   funniest of the show. Only Buffy writers could make us laugh at syphilis.   
   Also, Angel makes a welcome return, reminding us that he's at his finest   
   during lighter episodes. Then there's Willow as the classic freshman who   
   thinks she knows everything about the world because she has a whole semester   
   of college under her belt. Spike hilariously mocks her. Only he can pull off   
   haughty whilst tied to a chair, and he really is the comedy star of the   
   episode. "A bear...you made a bear! Undo it! Undo it!'   
      
      
   1 BAND CANDY (SEASON 3, EPISODE 6)   
      
   Thank the chaos gods for Ethan Rayne. The tricks up his sleeve always make   
   for whimsical, mischievous episodes. In "Band Candy", Ethan supplies   
   Sunnydale with enchanted candy bars that make all the adults think they're   
   teenagers. The Scoobies are gobsmacked at how different the authority   
   figures in their life used to behave back in the day. Responsible Joyce is a   
   wild child with a penchant for bad boys, making her putty in Giles' hands,   
   who reverts back to his Ripper persona. Then there's Snyder the   
   black-hearted principal, who reveals that he was once a clingy try-hard.   
      
   Every moment of this episode is gut-bustingly funny. The only criticism is   
   that it's not a two-parter. For our money, we can't get enough of Snyder   
   following the Scoobies around like a puppy. And Joyce and Ripper are beyond   
   shipworthy. Buffy may be horrified to later find out that the adults in her   
   life defiled a cop car, twice, but what can they say? Blame it on the band   
   candy.   
      
      
      
   David   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)